{"id":499,"date":"2009-05-01T20:16:14","date_gmt":"2009-05-01T19:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/?p=499"},"modified":"2011-07-17T21:37:20","modified_gmt":"2011-07-17T20:37:20","slug":"may-2009-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/may-2009-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"May 2009 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>No 2 \/ May 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>CHAIRMAN\u2019S THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I write this in early May, a Great Northern Diver was still popping up around the reservoir. It will already have seen<br \/>\nmany summer migrants arrive and by now will probably have made its own exit. This period of comings and goings \u2013 when<br \/>\nchangeable weather can send some unusual migrants our way \u2013 is possibly the most exciting period for birdwatching at<br \/>\nCarsington. Sightings come thick and fast, but don\u2019t assume that everyone else makes the effort to record them, so you<br \/>\ndon\u2019t need to &#8230; please keep recording what you see!<\/p>\n<p>It is also the time when members tend to go on holiday most regularly and with the credit crunch, maybe we\u2019re beginning<br \/>\nto see a trend towards more holidays taken in the UK and less abroad. Passenger numbers at the three major London<br \/>\nairports are down, and the recession does seems to be taking effect. Personally, I\u2019ve experienced the disappointment of<br \/>\ntrying to book a birdwatching trip to the Arctic with two companies that ultimately had to conclude they simply didn&#8217;t have<br \/>\nenough clients to run them economically.<\/p>\n<p>These are probably two of the best known and most important carriers, one stating the trip was their &#8216;Blue Riband&#8217; holiday<br \/>\nthat had previously run consistently for 17 years. So perhaps the scene is set for more birdwatching \u2018within these shores&#8217;<br \/>\n\u2013 yet nowhere in the world can offer more opportunities, and more guides to help you find the birds. There is a plethora of<br \/>\nbooks detailing &#8216;Where to watch &#8230;&#8217; and &#8216;Best Birdwatching Sites&#8217;, local ornithological logs (our own excellent annual report<br \/>\nincluded) and information leaflets from reserves covering widely differing birding habitats.<\/p>\n<p>Add to this the latest &#8216;what&#8217;s about?&#8217; information on the internet (or even pagers) and nowhere on the planet can it be<br \/>\neasier to find birds than here on our own doorsteps. This, of course, also means more visitors to Derbyshire in general<br \/>\nand Carsington in particular so we in turn can help those strangers to our area. All we need is good weather (and I believe<br \/>\nthis summer\u2019s long-range forecast is favourable) to make the most of birding in the UK &#8230;. so much so, in fact, that I\u2019ve<br \/>\nconvinced myself and my family to pull out of a holiday to the Algarve and book a week in Scotland and another in Devon!<br \/>\nTwo different ends of our fantastic country \u2013 and, with luck, two good lists!<\/p>\n<p>Peter Gibbon<br \/>\n<strong>SUMMER ARRIVALS SWARM INTO CARSINGTON<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s that exciting time of year when early spring weather may blow in just about anything as birds begin their migration<br \/>\njourneys, and when the date-stamp comes out to log the earliest arrivals of those birds choosing this area as their summer<br \/>\nretreat and, hopefully, breeding ground.<\/p>\n<p>First across this imaginary finish line were Sand Martins on 12 March, the same day the first Chiffchaff was heard (though<br \/>\nup to five were singing just three days later). A Wheatear arrived on the 22nd, followed by the first Swallow a day later, and<br \/>\na Blackcap on the 30th.<\/p>\n<p>A Swift lived up to its name by turning up 8 April, a week earlier than the species had ever been logged before at<br \/>\nCarsington Water, and beating House Martins to the site by three days. Other April arrivals included Common and Lesser<br \/>\nWhitethroats, both recorded on the 19th, a Pied Flycatcher that was heard singing in Hall Wood on the 20th, and a Garden<br \/>\nWarbler noted the following day.<\/p>\n<p>Both Rock and Water Pipits were recorded in March on the dam wall, a favourite with White Wagtails, though they also<br \/>\ntook a liking to Stones Island. A maximum of only eight Yellow Wagtails were seen this year. One of the latest migrants<br \/>\nlogged was a Cuckoo, noted on 18 May.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, two Hobbys had turned up earlier than usual on their migration, on April 15, but a Honey Buzzard was<br \/>\nperhaps the star raptor turn that month, making only a fleeting visit before being escorted away by two Common Buzzards.<br \/>\nCommon by name and nature, up to 13 Buzzards were seen in the air at the same time a month earlier, when a pair of<br \/>\nPeregrines was also spotted over Hall Wood. Meanwhile, Red Kites \u2013 an increasingly regular sight at Carsington \u2013 were<br \/>\nseen four times during May.<\/p>\n<p>April\u2019s wader passage was poor, but a total of six Avocets made up for the lack of variety \u2013 though Black-tailed Godwits<br \/>\nwere seen in both March and April, their Bar-tailed cousin cropped up in April, and a Woodcock was flushed near Paul<br \/>\nStanley Hide in March, when the largest Curlew flock seen numbered 44.<\/p>\n<p>By May, easterly winds brought in Turnstone, Sanderling and Ringed Plover, but this month also saw the final departure of<br \/>\nthe long-staying Great Northern Divers \u2013 by this time in their summer plumage. Two months earlier, they had been joined<br \/>\nby a single Red-throated cousin (divers must be giving Carsington a good travel report!) which gave little chance of views<br \/>\nas it stayed just 50 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>May highlights also included the arrival of Spotted Flycatchers and a Mandarin seen regularly at Penn Carr. After a good<br \/>\ntern passage, with Common, Arctic, Black and Sandwich varieties all logged, a determined Common Tern remained on<br \/>\nthe Watersports pontoon having had to watch Black-headed Gulls take over the tern raft. Nevertheless, it again looked<br \/>\nunlikely Carsington would be able to claim any tern chicks.<\/p>\n<p>By mid-May breeding was under way elsewhere, however, with five broods of Mallard, two of Moorhen, one, maybe two<br \/>\nOystercatcher broods and one successful Redshank nest all being monitored, along with active nest boxes containing<br \/>\napparently successful Great and Willow Tits.<br \/>\n<strong>BIRD IN FOCUS: RED KITE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Milvus Milvus \u2013 or Red Kite \u2013 was seen several times at Carsington in May, which is a reflection of an astounding<br \/>\nconservation success story that brought this beautiful bird of prey back from the brink of extinction in Britain. In the Middle<br \/>\nAges it was one of the commonest birds in towns and villages, and protected by Royal Decree for its value as a<br \/>\nscavenger, the refuse collector of its day. Ironically, it is today once again protected by law and, thankfully, seems to be<br \/>\nthriving with what\u2019s reckoned to be over 1,000 breeding pairs in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Wales remains this graceful species\u2019 main stronghold, but there are growing populations in England \u2013 notably in the<br \/>\nChilterns, Yorkshire and Oxfordshire \u2013 and in Scotland, mainly in Dumfries and Galloway. Non-breeding kites, though,<br \/>\ncould be seen just about anywhere \u2013 including reservoirs in Derbyshire!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a long road back following a Europe-wide wave of persecution, especially in the late 19th century, as landowners<br \/>\nwrongly viewed kites as game-hunting vermin: this saw its extinction in England and Scotland, with just a few pairs<br \/>\nremaining in the ancient oakwoods of mid-Wales. Active protection to redress the decline began in 1903 but progress was<br \/>\npainfully slow for various reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from persecution (usually poisoning) by gamekeepers, as kites became rarer they became a target for egg collectors<br \/>\nand taxidermists. Also, the specific area inhabited by the sparse remaining population had relatively poor food availability<br \/>\n\u2013 particularly during and after the myxomatosis outbreak that devastated the rabbit population \u2013 which in turn resulted in<br \/>\nlimited breeding success.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, genetics were playing a part as it was later proven (by DNA analysis!) that the entire Welsh population was<br \/>\ndescended from a single female! Consequently, the population did not exceed 20 pairs until the 1960s, but as they spread<br \/>\nto new territories at lower altitudes it became clear more productive habitats were behind their accelerated success \u2013 and<br \/>\nre-introduction programmes began in England and Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who has seen this majestic bird in flight will agree that the programme has enriched our natural environment &#8230;<br \/>\nthose that have not should head for Wales, or the M40 that runs through the Chilterns, or Yorkshire\u2019s Harewood estate, or<br \/>\nthe Galloway Kite Trail in Scotland. It would be well worth it!<br \/>\n<strong>DANNY ANSWERS ARCTIC CALL &#8230; BUT BIRDS KINDLY STAY PUT AT\u00a0CARSINGTON!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prizewinning photographer Danny Green should have given the last indoor talk in March but at the last minute had to step<br \/>\nin for a business partner as guide for a trip to the Arctic. Apologies to those who turned up especially to see him, but it<br \/>\ncould not be helped. Instead, CBC Chairman Peter Gibbon stepped into the breach with a talk on a trip to Shetland\/Fair<br \/>\nIsle. Some of the audience had been there and one couple had a son living on the most northerly Shetland isle, so there<br \/>\nwas plenty of interest in the striking scenery and huge birding interest of this remote corner of Britain. When the indoor<br \/>\nmeetings begin again in September, the subject will take us even further, to the most famous wildlife islands of all, the<br \/>\nGalapagos.<\/p>\n<p>So to the big outdoors nearer to home \u2013 and those attending the first summer walk on 21 April had fresh, dry conditions<br \/>\nand found there was more insect life than birds on display on and around Stones Island \u2013 though two of the long-staying<br \/>\nGreat Northern Divers were seen clearly along with a single Shelduck. Yellow Wagtails are often a feature of this walk,<br \/>\nbut only Pied showed themselves this time, while summer migrants included House and Sand Martins and Swallows in<br \/>\ngood numbers. Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew were also on view, and a Snipe and Common<br \/>\nTern were seen by some.<\/p>\n<p>The Dawn Chorus walk, braved by 16 club members prepared to rise in the middle of the night to make a 4.30am start,<br \/>\nbrought the usual early spring arrivals \u2013 including Chiffchaff, Garden and Willow Warblers, Blackcap and Whitethroat \u2013<br \/>\nplus an excellent view of an early-morning fox trying his luck on the shore just opposite the Wildlife Centre. Whimbrel and<br \/>\nDunlin were among the waders spotted over breakfast in the centre.<br \/>\nMay\u2019s walk, from Millfields, is commonly called the \u2018warbler walk\u2019 and it lived up to its name though again it was another<br \/>\nspecies that was the real star when a Tawny Owl was spotted being mobbed by four smaller birds \u2013 a Blackbird, Wren,<br \/>\nLong-tail Tit and Willow Tit.<br \/>\n<strong>FINAL MONTH TO SUBMIT THOSE PRIZE-WINNING PHOTOS!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>May heralded the start of \u2018Compose Carsington\u2019 &#8211; a nature photography competition to highlight the beauty of the reservoir<br \/>\nand its wildlife. As we enter June any competitors have only a few weeks left to submit their entries.<br \/>\nThe competition is open to amateurs as well as professionals so don&#8217;t waste any time getting out and about to find those<br \/>\nwinning shots. Knowledge of the area will definitely be a huge advantage to entrants who know where to find the most<br \/>\npopular spots for wildlife.<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of exciting prizes being awarded in several categories, and judging will take place soon after the<br \/>\ncompetition closes on 30 June. Our star judge, Ben Osborne, will be casting his eye over the entrants to help pick the<br \/>\nbest of the best. His spellbinding shot that won the 2007 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award was a rich mixture of<br \/>\nmovement and abstract composition so bear this in mind for the water category.<\/p>\n<p>Project assistant Michaela Hancock and I are also planning some photographic tuition workshops to complement the<br \/>\ncompetition. Keep an eye out for these in order to pick up some tips for any late entries to the competition. I&#8217;d one again<br \/>\nlike to thank the Carsington Bird Club for their generous donations to the prize-list and wish any entrants the best of luck.<br \/>\nAll the details are on www.rspb.org.uk\/composecarsington.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Johnstone &#8211; Aren&#8217;t Birds Brilliant! Project Officer<br \/>\n<strong>VOLUNTEERING PROVIDES TWO-WAY BENEFITS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Severn Trent Water\u2019s band of volunteers do, we hope, get fulfilment from the activities they are able to undertake for us at<br \/>\nCarsington, and certainly it\u2019s a two-way street for us as the volunteer rangers play an invaluable role in helping to maintain<br \/>\nand develop all of our public access sites. In 2008, 649 duties (totalling 3,205 hours) were performed by STW volunteers<br \/>\nat our sister Derbyshire reservoirs &#8211; Carsington Water and Ogston.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2008 we began recording and compiling data to assess the financial savings that volunteer rangers help Severn<br \/>\nTrent Water to achieve, and in the succeeding six months the volunteer rangers\u2019 time amounted to an equivalent value of<br \/>\n\u00a310,941. That\u2019s almost \u00a3 2,000 per month, or \u00a360 every day \u2013 valuable in every sense.<\/p>\n<p>Rangers carry out a number of important tasks at our sites including conservation work and site maintenance\/<br \/>\nimprovements to assisting at special events and open days. Conservation takes in the widest range of activity \u2013 from<br \/>\nwoodland and island work, and grassland management to collecting seeds and building objects as varied as bird feeders,<br \/>\nhedgehog boxes and dry-stone-walls. Volunteers are involved in vital maintenance tasks such as erosion control,<br \/>\nvegetation control and dead hedging, and maintaining the miles of track around the site.<\/p>\n<p>As well as helping out with open days, and serving as well-informed guides on wildlife walks (not forgetting the twiceweekly<br \/>\nduties alongside the RSPB project officers managing the Aren\u2019t Birds Brilliant! initiative), volunteers even found\u00a0time to raise some charity cash themselves \u2013 by staging a car wash in aid of Children in Need. Yes, variety truly is the\u00a0spice of life for the Carsington volunteer ranger.<\/p>\n<p>Rose Day, STW Ranger<br \/>\n<strong>WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The club has had a number of new members over the last several months. We hope they are enjoying the outdoor<br \/>\nactivities at such an excellent \u2018home\u2019 venue, will join some of the club\u2019s forthcoming coach trips and will enjoy the fabulous<br \/>\ninsight into the natural world we get from local speakers during our winter indoor season.<\/p>\n<p>Those new members for 2008\/09 include: Kay Billings, Quarndon; S Daffin and S Mason, Chesterfield; Roger Jaques of<br \/>\nSomercotes; David and Sue Edmonds, Ashbourne; Don Newing, Belper; Bill Samson, Matlock; Ed Whiting of Cheddleton<br \/>\nin Staffs; Peter Wright, Darley Dale and S Wright of Mansfield &#8230; Welcome one and all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No 2 \/ May 2009 CHAIRMAN\u2019S THOUGHTS As I write this in early May, a Great Northern Diver was still popping up around the reservoir. It will already have seen many summer migrants arrive and by now will probably have made its own exit. This period of comings and goings \u2013 when changeable weather can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[111,112],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cbcnewsletters","tag-great-northern-diver","tag-ogston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk\/cbc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}