Carsington Bird Club

Mar 2010 Bird Notes

MARCH 2010 BIRD NOTES

 March Highlights: Red Throated Diver, Great Northern Divers, Whooper Swans, Garganey, Osprey and early summer migrants return.

A Red Throated Diver was off StonesIslandfrom 1630hrs until dusk on 22nd and the Great Northern Diver count was a juvenile from last month to 5th plus an adult which remained all month. A Sunday treat for observers on 7th was 24 Whooper Swans landing at 0930hrs and a single Pink-footed Goose was with Canadas from 8th. The big surprise of the month was a very early Drake Garganey at the Wildlife Centre on 2nd March, a day when several were found around England. The earliest record at Carsington previously was 16th April but the extreme earliest Derbyshire record was on 1st March 1978. Maximum counts this month total 25 Little Grebe on 14th, 35 Great Crested Grebe on 14th, 8 Greylag on 6th, 46 Barnacle on 1st and 14th, 3 Shelduck on 17th, 53 Wigeon on 5th, 3 Gadwall on 14th, 21 Teal on 8th, 109 Mallard on 8th, 4 Pintail on 5th, 5 drake Shoveler on 21st, 325 Tufted Duck on 14th, a female Scaup on 2nd, 28 Goldeneye on 21st, 8 Goosander on 15th, a Water Rail on 7th, 18 Moorhen on 19th and 247 Coot on 14th.

Four Sparrowhawks were noted on 21st and 8 Buzzards were in the air on 14th, with 10 on 21st. An Osprey was on site from 1550hrs on 26th, one day earlier than previous records at Carsington. It was seen from Stones Island and the Wildlife Centre and later it caught a fish and went to dine and roost in Blackbrook Plantation. An immature Peregrine flew north over Sheepwash on 28th.

At least 5 pairs of Oystercatcher were noted on 8th and the first Little Ringed Plover record of the year was 1 on Stones Island with a Dunlin on 26th. The first Dunlin of the year was 1 on 7th then 2 at the Wildlife Centre on 10th. Snipe totalled 8 on Horseshoe Island on 20th and 6 Snipe were seen in flight at Warrington Knob on 7th. A Woodcock was flushed near Paul Stanley Hide on 24th. The largest Curlew numbers were 12 at Sheepwash on 9th, 16 on 11th and 11 were in a field near Lane Ends on 13th. 6 Redshank were noted around the Wildlife Centre, Stones Island and Sheepwash on 8th, 23rd and 31st.

An adult Mediterranean Gull was at the Wildlife Centre on 10th and was subsequently seen in the gull roost on several evenings up to 24th. Counts of the gull roost proved difficult due to the spread of the roost this month but 242 Common and 65 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were counted in an early roost on 1st. There was a first winter plus a second winter Herring Gull on 20th and an adult Yellow-legged on 10th and 23rd.

A Little Owl was seen in the field on the left between the main car park and Wildlife Centre on 2nd, 7th and 30th. As expected, the first Sand Martins flew through, with 4 on 18th and a flock of 12 the following morning. Swallows started slowly with 1 on 25th then 1 on 28th. Meadow Pipit records have been unusually low for this time of year with 1 on 19th and several singles since. A Rock Pipit was on Sheepwash Spit for at least 2 hours on 19th, 2 White Wagtails were on Horseshoe Island on 31st and a female Stonechat was on Stones Island on 5th. The first Wheatear was on the dam wall early on 19th and 3 were at the Wildlife Centre on 22nd. A wintering Blackcap was near the Wildlife Centre on 10th and a pair there on 24th. Chiffchaff were first noted on 19th with 5 singing and 12 were singing between Millfields and Sheepwash on 31st. Two Willow Tits were singing on 8th and 2 Linnets flew over Sheepwash on 10th.

102 Species recorded this March compared with103 in March 2009, 104 in 2008, 95 in 2007, 100 in 2006, 107 in 2005 and 98 in 2004.

Carsington Bird Club

Tittesworth – Spring 2010

Weather and season

It was one of the longest and coldest winters for many a year. Snow arrived on the 17th December and was still present – above about 1200ft – at the end of March.

JANUARY:  There was a little snow on New Year’s Day but 3 inchesfell on the 2nd. Low temperatures, often sub-zero until mid-month, meant no thawing. A little more snow fell on the 13th but a steady but slow thaw began on the following day. Frosts began again on the 29th plus there was a fall of snow in the early hours on the 31st. The national mean temperature for the month was about 3ºC below the 1971-2000 average. It was the coldest January over theUK since 1987 and equal eighth coldest in a series from 1914. Rainfall was well below normal. It was the eighth sunniest January in a series from 1929.

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Carsington Bird Club

Feb 2010 Bird Notes

FEBRUARY 2010 BIRD NOTES

 February Highlights: Great Northern Divers, Red-necked Grebes and Jack Snipe.

 A juvenile and an adult Great Northern Diver were present all month, quite often together at dawn and dusk. Early on 23rd the adult was calling while the juvenile was close by diving. As the mist cleared at 1320hrs on 15th a Red-necked Grebe was seen and photographed from Sheepwash and Lane End Hides and then lost to view. Searches were made by several birders and the bird was eventually relocated in Hopton Arm, in the rain and near to dusk. It was there that a second bird was noted. One bird remained in Hopton Arm, as far as the ice allowed, until 23rd, while the second bird was elusive, wandering as far as Millfields. Counts for February included: 27 Little Grebe on 8th, 41 Great Crested Grebe on 8th, 45 Cormorant on 15th, 6 Mute Swans on 23rd, 46 Barnacle Geese on 1st, 5 Shelduck on 25th, 48 Wigeon on 28th, 6 Gadwall on 22nd, 59 Teal on 1st, 141 Mallard on 23rd, 2 Pintail on 18th and 28th, 5 Shoveler on 20th, 2 Red-crested Pochard on 18th, 2 Pochard on 28th, 442 Tufted Duck on 23rd, 19 Goldeneye on 23rd, 5 Goosander on 13th, 5 Moorhen on 23rd and 401 Coot on 23rd. These counts were low for winter but similar to or slightly less than those in February last year demonstrating that many of the wintering wildfowl had gone by the end of the month.

Two Sparrow Hawks were noted on 10th, 6 Buzzard were in the air at the same time on 10th and, on 1st, a Buzzard was perched on the cairn on Flat Island while another searched the island for food. Peregrine were noted on several days with a female on 13th, 1 over Hopton Arm on 16th, an immature on 23rd and 1 from Sheepwash on 28th.

Oystercatchers have been returning and claiming their breeding island and, by 28th, numbered 10 including a pair mating on Millfields Island and the male with a bar-code leg ring returning to Flat Island and Sheepwash area. A Jacksnipe flew in to Hopton Arm on 19th for 2 hours and temporarily stole the red-necked grebe’s show, see photograph on our website. Snipe numbers have been low this winter with just 4 recorded on 13th and 22nd. A Woodcock was flushed from the path behind Sheepwash Hide on 23rd. Curlew are now moving through, with the first heard on 24th, 2 on 27th and 5 on 28th including 3 which landed to the right of Sheepwash Hide. Redshank were seen in singles at many locations but the maximum count was only 3 on 22nd and 24th.

The gull roost was larger than in mid-February last year, with at least 3000 Black-headed Gulls, 550 Common Gulls and 300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on 13th. The daytime resident, little grebe eating adult Yellow-legged Gull has not been recorded since 6th, and a heron was noted struggling to swallow a gull carcass on 16th!

A roost of 60 Woodpigeon was noted at Sheepwash on 8th and 16th, a Kingfisher regularly between 14th and 24th, 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers on 16th, 2 Skylark flew over on 16th, a singing wren on 28th highlighted how few were seen this month, in excess of 50 Fieldfare at Sheepwash on 16th, 4 Song Thrush singing on 28th, 8 Long-tailed Tits squeezed onto Paul Stanley feeders on 23rd, 4 Willow Tits on 24th, 15 Magpie on 11th, 50 Jackdaw over Sheepwash on 12th, 6 Rooks on the dam wall fields on 23rd, 2 Raven on 6th and other dates, 4 Brambling in the Visitor Centre car park on 14th, 13 Siskin at Sheepwash on 15th and 10 Lesser Redpoll near the Wildlife Centre on 17th.

87 Species this month compared with 86 in Feb 2009, 86 in 2008, 88 in 2007, 89 in 2006 and 90 in 2005.

CBC Newsletters

Feb 2010 Newsletter

No.1 / February 2010

 

CHAIRMAN’S THOUGHTS

As I write this it is snowing once more – hopefully winter’s last throw despite being only February. If it’s been testing our resolve, then it’s been a bigger challenge still for the birds. Evidence will probably come from the recently-completed Big Garden Birdwatch, but certainly my ‘tiny’ garden in Holloway has attracted a bigger variety and greater number of birds this winter than any other in recent times – and you just know they’re hungry when eight blackbirds eye up the single garden table with bread on it and await their turn! Jackdaws always come for scraps but even a Rook and Treecreeper turned up this year!

While it’s nice to see birds close by, the weather made it difficult to get around to other places, including Carsington, and both John Bradley and I were snowbound on the day we had set aside for the December WeBS count. When we finally carried out the January count the Wigeon seemed already to have gone and small numbers now remain. Roll on Spring!

Among my books, I was recently leafing through the Atlas of Wintering Birds of 1986, and the Atlas of Breeding Birds for 1976 and 1993, and reflected on the fact that even the ‘latest’ issue was being prepared before Carsington Water existed. Roger Carrington and I have been participating in survey work for a new issue of the Atlas, and have already sent in figures for this area. On publication, I expect it to show what a massive difference Carsington Water has made to the birdlife of mid-Derbyshire. Looking at maps in the 1976 issue, it is extraordinary to see only two Raven breeding sites in the High Peak and Staffordshire borders; compare that with today. And in 1986 there were no wintering Gadwall sites barring two in the north and two in the far south of the county. Now we get dozens of these handsome ducks in the winter months. It’s important to do as much survey work as possible for the latest issue – and the comparisons will be worthy of an article when the new Atlas emerges.

We are now well into our 2010 indoor meetings programme, and earlier this month were treated to a fascinating look at wildlife through the eyes of Eddie Hallam ( see later report for a little more on this ). We have just one left before the spring/summer outdoor season gets under way, so can I urge you to attend next month’s talk which will be presented by Neil Glenn – a Notts birder, writer of bird guides like The Best Birdwatching Sites in Norfolkand a leader of tours to all quarters of the globe. The wildlife of one of these farther-flung spots – the Lower Rio Grande in the US – will be Neil’s subject on 16 March ( 7.30pm ). I look forward to seeing you there. And finally, can I remind you that 2010 subscriptions are now due – and a renewal form should also be in the envelope.

 

DIVERS PASS THE WORD ON – AND RED-NECKED GREBES GIVE CARSINGTON A TRY!

The freezing weather conditions has prevented much activity from non-water birds, though Barn Owls were seen hunting near the Wildlife Centre and Fishtail Creek, and other highlights have included Crossbill, Siskin and Lesser Redpoll. And before the really bad weather arrived, a Water Pipit – the first winter record and only the fifth ever for Carsington – was viewed on Stones Island on 19 December.

Our seemingly annual pilgrimage by Great Northern Divers has continued this winter, with at least two individuals – often an adult and juvenile – seen regularly since the first arrived on 1 December. This ever-welcome sight was augmented this month with the arrival of two Red-necked Grebes, last seen in 2006.

A Little Egret was a late Christmas present for a number of birders, arriving the day after Boxing Day and staying around until 24 January. The following month, a Jack Snipe was seen near the reed bed in Hopton Arm. Two Bewick’s Swans graced the reservoir on 2 December, a day after an Egyptian Goose popped up near both Sheepwash and the Wildlife Centre, and 150 Pink-footed Geese flew east at a low altitude on 8 January.

Coot numbers recorded during a WeBS count in January were well down on the same period last year – 1,424 as against 1,844 in 2009. Other wildfowl maximum counts included 596 Tufted Duck, 232 Pochard, 116 Wigeon, 36 Gadwall, 49 Teal, 20 Goosander, 12 Goldeneye and, respectively, 79 and 50 Little and Great-Crested Grebes. Pintail and Shelduck also featured, while a first-winter female Scaup was sighted in December and January.

Anyone spotting ducks with unusually coloured bills might like to know they are marked this way in France and Spain , generally with numbers added, for identification purposes. During December, a female Teal was seen with a pale green nasal saddle, proving it had been marked in Normandy , while a pair of Tufted Ducks sporting bright turquoise bills were also noted.

The gull roost has seen peaks of 4,000 Lesser Black-backed, 600 Common and 500 Black-headed in January, with relative rarities including an adult Mediterranean Gull and Ring-billed Gull in December and adult Caspian Gulls in both December and January, when a Kittiwake was also recorded. Meanwhile, an apparently ‘resident’ flesh-eating Yellow-legged Gull has been witnessed eating Little Grebe and dead fish.

Raptor records have been rather thin on the ground, but Peregrines were seen in both December and January, when one was witnessed mobbing a Buzzard. As many as six Buzzards have been seen in one day in February, when two Ravens were also logged.

 

WHAT’S THAT BIRD? … JACK SNIPE (see image above)

A Jack Snipe was one of the more unusual sightings at the reservoir in recent months – and arguably a lucky one since these small waders are highly secretive in the winter. Hopton Arm reed bed, where it was spotted in February, is a typical habitat, though, along with other wetland sites such as lagoons, river edges and muddy ditches, where its slim bill probes for insects, earthworms and plant material.

Lymnocryptes minimus is the world’s smallest snipe, and actually in a genus of its own, though very similar in many ways to other snipes in the Gallinago family. Jack Snipe has a shorter bill than the Common Snipe, and lacks the central crown stripe of its larger cousin, instead having two pale lateral crown stripes that a separated from the supercilium by an area of dark plumage. Its upper body is mottled brown, pale underneath, and yellow back stripes are clearly visible in flight; its wings are narrow and pointed.

Another difference from its close cousins that may help in identification is that Jack Snipes will keep still until an intruder is only a metre away, then fly low only a short distance when flushed before dropping back into cover, while Common Snipe will fly some distance in a high, zig-zagging flight path.

Jack Snipes are migratory, preferring the tundra/taiga of northern Europe to breed (laying 3-4 eggs in a well-hidden ground nest), but wintering in locations such as the UK and Atlantic coastal Europe and travelling as far as Africa and India . While silent in winter, they are easier to see and hear in the breeding season, with the male performing an aerial courtship display, incorporating a sound like a galloping horse! When feeding, a Jack Snipe has a distinctive bobbing motion, rather like it’s attached to a spring!

Groups of snipes have an odd array of collective nouns – including a walk, leash, whisper and volley!

 

NEW PLANS FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS

In the ‘What’s on’ section later in this newsletter, you will notice some subtle differences in our spring and early summer outdoors programme. These reflect the experience of the last couple of years, with diminishing numbers of people attending events and signing up for trips, and the demographic shift of the overall membership.

We plan to begin some evening walks a bit earlier, introduce one morning walk (as well as the annual Dawn Chorus walk), stage one walk away from Carsington, and eliminate the August walk altogether, since it’s a poor time for birds and, as it’s also prime holiday time, few people have historically turned up.

It’s a similar picture with club trips. Traditionally, we have undertaken around two each year – usually all-day affairs to far-flung locations involving the hire of large coaches. For the last couple of years filling seats (even enough to break even) has been an increasing struggle, to the point where a trip last year had to be cancelled altogether. This was disappointing – particularly for the ‘hard core’ of around 15 people that did still want to go, but couldn’t because of the economics and inflexibility of booking a large coach.

Though no trips have yet been arranged for 2010, those that are may well prove to be half-day trips, or involve more flexible transport, such as our own cars, mini-buses or community buses (possibly self-driven), to locations nearer at hand … anything that allows us to keep trips on the diary however many – or few – people want to go.

Please give us feedback ( call the committee, or comment via the ‘forum’ on the website ) if you have any thoughts on these planned changes.

 

EDDIE HALLAM – A WILDLIFE STAR IN EVERY SENSE

The amazingly varied life of Eddie Hallam was the entertaining focus of the club’s February indoor meeting at Hognaston Village Hall. This remarkable man held his audience in thrall as he used virtually no ‘props’ (in fact he almost forgot to show the few slides he’d brought along to help illustrate some of his many activities) to describe the central core that wildlife had played in his long, busy and clearly very fulfilling life.

He has been to university twice, gaining degrees in biology and wildlife conservation, he has been assistant curator at Chester Zoo, managed a wildlife collection at Riber Castle, which boasted an exemplary breeding record for various animals – notably his favourite, the Lynx – led numerous wildlife expeditions to all corners of the globe, and is now a wildlife artist who produces stunning and much sought-after studies in bronze. Not only that he owns his own nature reserve near Lea and Cromford Canal , which (partly by keeping human visitors to a minimum) has one of the highest concentrations of grass snakes and dragonfly species in the county.

Earlier, two of the club’s committee stepped into the breach to give fascinating illustrated talks to those hardy members who braved the freezing weather conditions to turn out for December and January’s indoor meetings. Secretary Paul Hicking’s subject was biodiversity, and he explained how elements of nature had interacted over centuries and millennia to produce the world we know today – and the delicate balance required to maintain that world and the mind-boggling animal, vegetable and mineral diversity of the planet. Chairman Peter Gibbon then called on pictures and experiences from a recent trip to some of the most northerly territories of Europe for a look at the wildlife inside the Arctic Circle .

 

WEBSITE SHOWS VALUE IN FACE OF EVER-ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY

Seems like each year flies by faster than ever: Technology never pauses for breath and the way birdwatchers get their information changes, too. We have pagers, email and text alerts, online alerts, mobile-to-mobile calls, iphone apps, Blackberrys … you name it, birders have them! However, there is still some good old-fashioned word of mouth news. Against all that pressure, the Carsington Bird Club website still held its own.

Over 2009 we had almost 63,000 hits on the website. Apart from the UK, visitors came from the US, France, China, Ireland, Spain, India, Malta, South Africa, Australia, Russia, Canada, Malaysia, Italy, Slovenia, Romania, Singapore, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Taiwan, Colombia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Israel and New Zealand.

‘Latest Sightings’ continues to attract the highest level of traffic (25,000 hits) – thanks go to those who submit sightings online. It’s really easy, so why not try it out during 2010. Another success story is Roger Carrington ‘s ‘Bird Notes’, which saw an increase of 75 per cent (nearly 3,000 hits) in 2009. They are published monthly on the web page for viewing or download, and are available all the way back to 2004.

During 2009 we sought to save on postage with an experiment to see how many members would be prepared to receive their quarterly newsletters as a download from the website. Though the newsletter had been reproduced online for over two years, the new initiative resulted in visits to the ‘Newsletter’ rise above 3,000, an increase of 75% on 2008. Thanks to all those members who opted to take the electronic newsletter!

Our online ‘Definitive Bird’ List has been available from the website for some years, but extra features have added to make it more interesting and informative – sorting data to show which birds were at Carsington for the same month the previous year and links revealing more information about individual bird species. It is a valuable resource for teachers wanting to have some information for a school visit, and its popularity was reflected in 2,500 hits in 2009.

Two “static” pages – “What is Carsington Water” and “Where is Carsington Water” – saw a 200% increase in visits. Hopefully all these virtual visitors became real visitors – and maybe led to one or two new members!

The site still tries to provide diverse articles and items to browse: Bird of the Month, UK and World bird news, ads for CBC events, quizzes, items for sale/wanted and links to other websites and holiday destinations. The forum (which is moderated) was quiet in 2009, but hopefully some visitors will find it useful in sharing information or engaging others in debate or conversation. Picture galleries were changed to make it easier for photographers to upload their own images and to review and rate others. There are a few regulars using this facility – so why not upload some of your own images for 2010 [ follow the instructions from the gallery link ].

Site development will continue this year, aiming to keep the content fresh for all visitors – but the important thing to remember is that it is your website and you determine how it grows. So please, if you have anything you wish to submit to the website, we welcome all suggestions. Here’s to an exciting 2010!

Richard Pittam – Webmaster, Carsington Bird Club

 

NEW BRIDLEWAY LINK CREATES SAFER ROUTE FOR CARSINGTON VISITORS

For more than two years Severn Trent Water has been developing a proposal to create a new link along the Carsington Water bridleway. Currently when visitors come to the two road crossings over the B5035 at the north end of the reservoir, they could either cross the road and walk through Carsington and Hopton villages or walk alongside the busy B5035. After several near misses were reported along this stretch, and accidents occurred further on up the road, the team at Carsington Water began to plan how it could offer a safe alternative.

Middlemarch Environmental Consultancy was commissioned to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to see what effects on wildlife would result from the creation of a new link to the path along the reservoir side of the B5035.

After a wide-ranging consultation – including detailed surveying with all interested parties such as the Carsington Bird Club, Natural England, RSPB, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Carsington/Hopton Parish Council and the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust – a way forward was found and it was put to planning in July and finally passed in November 2009.

The proposed new pathway is currently under construction using traditional methods and natural materials such as recycled rocks, crushed aggregates and topsoil taken from the site. All these materials will be sourced locally to blend in naturally with the surrounding area and existing paths. The rocks will be used on the steepest slopes of the north shore to stabilise the embankment retaining the new path in a similar way to the rocks used on the reservoir’s dam wall. The new track will be screened at several key points as outlined in the EIA report.

Construction began at the beginning of 2010, and major works should be completed by mid March. It is hoped to be open for the summer 2010 season. The new link will offer excellent views of the stunning water and wildlife, and offer a safe and enjoyable alternative to the existing roadside route. The path through the villages will remain an option for visitors preferring that route.

I would like to personally thank members of the Carsington Bird Club committee for their valuable input and support throughout this project. The committee has been instrumental in monitoring the wildlife during work and helping to ensure little to no disturbance takes place to the wildlife at Carsington Water.

Ben Young – Site Manager, Severn Trent Water

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