I hope you have been enjoying the warm and dry weather, which we\u2019ve been experiencing continuously until the last few days when a little bit of rain finally arrived (got to be good for the garden) and the temperatures moderated.<\/p>\n
It has, as is traditional, been a quiet time for the club, as we concluded our season of indoor meetings and gave the trips and walks a bit of a break to allow members to go off on summer holidays \u2013 and the birdlife to hunker down to raise their new families.\u00a0 As you will see when you read on, however, that doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s nothing to see for the determined birder at the reservoir, where two monthly species count records have been broken this year.<\/p>\n
We are now picking up the pace again, though, and it\u2019s only a few weeks before the next indoor season carries us across the winter into next spring.\u00a0 We kick off our 2025-26 season next month by retaining the heat, as Gary Hobson delivers a talk on the birdlife of southern Turkey.\u00a0 See below for the upcoming programme, which will also includes the work of the BTO and \u2018travels\u2019 to the lush forests of India and the often endemic species that have evolved and inhabit islands around the globe.<\/p>\n
I hope you can make one or two of these talks.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll be on the move again with our most recent club outing \u2013 one of our slightly longer trips, to Burton Mere in Cheshire.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had a couple of previous trips to this well-maintained site on the edge of the Dee Estuary, which has traditionally produced a good and varied list of birds.<\/p>\n
Read on, too, for the latest reservoir report, which is surprisingly busy, including two species record counts \u2013 not something usually expected over the summer, and at a time when water levels have rapidly dropped.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve included a summary of the excellent fund-raising activity that has been boosting the club\u2019s bank balance in recent times.<\/p>\n
Gary Atkins<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DATES FOR YOUR DIARY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Below are the dates of upcoming events.\u00a0 Remember \u2013 all indoor meetings are held in the Visitor Centre\u2019s Henmore Room, beginning at 7.30pm:<\/em><\/p>\n ** TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER **<\/strong> \u2013 Talk: The birds and wildlife of south-west Turkey; Gary Hobson describes this multi-habitat area sitting at the edge of Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n ** SUNDAY, 12 OCTOBER **<\/strong> \u2013 We jump in our cars for a club trip to the RSPB\u2019s excellent reserve at Burton Mere on the Wirral.\u00a0 We aim to arrive at the visitor centre by 10.30am.\u00a0 Contact Chris Lamb (see details at the end of the newsletter) if you wish to come along.\u00a0 A lift could be available for those not wishing to drive.<\/p>\n ** TUESDAY, 14 OCTOBER **<\/strong> \u2013 Talk: The British Trust for Ornithology; Jon Potts describes the important work undertaken by the BTO (note that, unusually, this is the second Tuesday of the month<\/em>).<\/p>\n ** TUESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER ** <\/strong>\u2013 Talk: India \u2013 Land of the Tiger; the ever-entertaining Tony Davison tells us about his trip last year where he encountered a plethora of birdlife … and the iconic Bengal Tiger.<\/p>\n ** TUESDAY, 16 DECEMBER **<\/strong> \u2013 Talk: Birds and Islands; David Parkin reprises the presentation on the evolution of birdlife on island that he was due to give us last season before an injury forced him to postpone.<\/p>\n NEW RECORDS ARE A SURPRISE AS WATER LEVELS PLUMMET<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a tendency to regard the summer as a relatively quiet period for birding, but that has not proven to be the case at Carsington this year, which saw a record equalling number of species in June (102), then a brand new record for July when 112 species were logged.<\/p>\n One probable reason for this mid-year boost has been the steadily reducing water levels which have resulted in increasingly large expanses of mud for visiting waders and other waterfowl.\u00a0 An outstanding 30 Little Egrets on 1 August reflected high numbers of this attractive species across the whole county.\u00a0 Interestingly, two colour-ringed Little Egrets that arrived recently were ringed at the same location in Merseyside, albeit a week apart.<\/p>\n Up to two Great White Egrets have also been seen on a number of occasions, while up to 12 Grey Herons have also appreciated the enhanced fishing conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n A larger-than-usual total of 15 waders were noted in July, including Sanderling, Knot, Greenshank, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Whimbrel and Green and Common Sandpipers.\u00a0 So far in August, the total is already one higher still as Turnstone, Ruff and Grey and Golden Plovers have added themselves to the list.<\/p>\n While two Black-necked Grebes were seen on two dates in June and again in August, the numbers of both Great Crested and Little Grebes have also been healthy.\u00a0 One of the ever presents during the whole life of the reservoir is, of course, Mallard \u2013 and yet a new site record for this familiar duck was attained, with 468 counted on two separate dates including the August WeBS count that also saw Coot numbers up to 977.<\/p>\n Canada Geese are proliferating again, with 1,150 counted in mid-July, outnumbering the 344 Greylags in late June.\u00a0 Egyptian Geese pop up now and again, and it\u2019s been interesting to see a family of five Barnacles including three young.\u00a0<\/p>\n There was a surprise Garganey on 4 June, a female Red-crested Pochard has been mobile throughout much of the summer, up to four Common Scoter have appeared a couple of times and a juvenile Shelduck has been seen often during the first half of August.<\/p>\n Gull numbers have been fairly steady: Black-headeds have been a regular sight, including a fair number of young; up to 1,500 Lesser Black-backs were counted on 19 August; Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls have made sporadic appearances, while an adult Caspian Gull has been seen with increasing regularity over the past month.\u00a0<\/p>\n During June and July, the tern passage was limited to Common Terns, but in August, Sandwich, Arctic and an impressive group of six Black Terns boosted the tern roster.<\/p>\n Raptors had had a fairly quiet time, though things livened up in mid-August when first of all a Marsh Harrier was briefly seen on the 13th<\/sup>, then, two days later, a returning Osprey passed through the site.\u00a0 The following day two Ospreys graced the reservoir, one nimbly catching its supper, on the 20th another single bird swung through early morning, alarming the gulls Brown Ale Bay, but they got their revenge two days later, harrying two further Ospreys that showed up (one again catching a fish).\u00a0 Other than that, up to six Red Kites have been seen, and the summer-migrant Hobbies have occasionally been seen eating on the wing, feasting on dragonflies and other small prey.<\/p>\n Five Yellow Wagtails on 27 July and a Wheatear two days later signal that we are on the cusp of the return migration.\u00a0 Most of our regular migrant species have been present and correct but in the coming weeks we can expect some of them to begin to move south.\u00a0 It\u2019s been good to hear and see Lesser Whitethroats and a few of their \u2018Common\u2019 cousins, which had been scarce in recent years.<\/p>\n Among other relatively scarce passerines, a Stonechat was spotted on 2 July, Crossbills were around in both June and July, the maximum count being 23, a satisfying eight Willow Tits were noted on 7 June and eight Spotted Flycatchers counted in August probably represented three family groups.<\/p>\n Also present and correct have been the various hirundines, though not seen in huge numbers \u2013 generally 25-50 Swallows, House and Sand Martins being the most seen, while up to 10 Swifts have regularly been counted.\u00a0 One of the most prolific small birds has been Linnet, 200 of which have often been recorded between Sheepwash and Lane End.<\/p>\n The haunting call of the Green Woodpecker is rarely heard at Carsington, but was noticed on two dates in June and then on two further dates in August, and an impressive group of 155 Rooks returned to roost on 19 August.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n AFTER THE SUMMER\u2019S LULL \u2013 RESUMING OUR CLUB ACTIVITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n We kick off the 2025\/2026 INDOOR SEASON<\/strong> with our first meeting in the Henmore Room on Tuesday 16 September.\u00a0 It will be a talk by Gary Hobson on the birds and wildlife of south-western Turkey; he will take us on a tour of the Dalaman, Fethiye and Oludeniz regions featuring a mixture of coastal, mountain and inland farming habitats, highlighting the rich range of birds and wildlife he saw and photographed there.<\/p>\n At our next meeting, on Tuesday 14 October, Jon Potts will describe to us the work of the British Trust for Ornithology. The BTO carries out invaluable scientific research to help secure the future of the UK\u2019s birdlife, with many volunteer-led activities such as population and breeding bird surveys and ringing. Jon is the BTO\u2019s Derbyshire North regional representative and will talk about projects at both a local and national level.<\/p>\n India is our next destination at the meeting on Tuesday 18 November. \u00a0A country renowned for its rich diversity of birds and other wildlife, Tony Davison will describe his travels to India in 2024 and the birds and wildlife he encountered. \u00a0Tony\u2019s superb photographs are a given, and we will be treated to views of some amazing birds and animals \u2013 including the iconic Bengal Tiger.<\/p>\n Birds and islands is the theme for our final talk this year on Tuesday 16 December with David Parkin as our speaker. Many islands around the world have some very distinct and unusual birds. A few species have evolved as flightless, while the prolonged isolation of the more remote islands, such as Madagascar and the Galapagos, has resulted in a number of unique birds and other animals.<\/p>\n Moving OUTDOORS<\/strong>, our first trip in the Autumn is to an old favourite \u2013 the Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve on the Dee estuary in Cheshire on Sunday, 12 October. \u00a0This location always gives us a good day\u2019s birding and by this time of year many of our winter visitors will have returned.\u00a0 We aim to meet at 10.30am in the reserve car park. \u00a0Toilet facilities and a caf\u00e9 serving light refreshments are available in the Visitor Centre.<\/p>\n More information can be found on the RSPB website at:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.rspb.org.uk\/days-out\/reserves\/dee-estuary-burton-mere-wetlands<\/a><\/p>\n If you are intending to make this trip, please let Chris Lamb know by email at cflamb@yahoo.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n FUND-RAISING GATHERS PACE <\/strong><\/p>\n As well as being our club secretary, Louise Sykes together with husband John, does a remarkable job each year raising funds for us.\u00a0 \u00a0So far in 2025, the total raised is \u00a31,292 \u2013 with two events still to go!\u00a0 Here, Louise herself explains how they organise their presence at these local events:<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our fund-raising takes place at Broomfield Hall\u2019s Animal Unit at Morley, which is part of Derby College, and we are one of three charitable organisations invited to promote our work.\u00a0 The visitors are mainly young families, grandparents and prospective students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe usually run a tombola, a lucky dip and sell good quality second-hand books and challenging jigsaws.\u00a0 I am especially grateful to our fellow club and committee members, family and friends, as everything we sell is donated by them. \u00a0We also have a very kind neighbour who makes us small knitted dogs for the lucky dip and these are very popular.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been four events so far this year at the Animal Unit: a Valentine event in February, a Lambing themed show in March and Spring and Summer events in May and June.\u00a0 There are two more to go at Morley \u2013 Halloween and Christmas events, in October and December.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve attended two other large events this year: the Etwall Well Dressing, also in May, where we collected our highest total of the year by some margin, and the Mayfield Summer Show, which was a brand new event for us.<\/p>\n \u201cHere we sold over 20 jigsaws and a variety of\u00a0books. \u00a0As well as show awards for best cake, photo, flowers and onions there was\u00a0also the challenge of making a bird box, so we offered an extra prize in this\u00a0category. \u00a0The two brothers who won this prize (aged 9 and 13) came to our stall and each chose a book. \u00a0It was also a chance for Chris Lamb to tell the family about the\u00a0club and the monthly \u201cbeginners\u201d bird walk at Carsington. \u00a0One retired gentleman wanted to buy a jigsaw, but thanks to Dave Horsley\u2019s sales technique he walked away with three!<\/p>\n \u201cThe funds we collect are, of course, useful, but John and I really do enjoy participating at these community events and getting to meet and talk to so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n From the club\u2019s point of view, the funds are welcome; we just need to work out how to spend them quickly enough!\u00a0 Apart from helping to run club events for members and covering expenditure, the beneficiaries preferably need to be focused on the wildlife and habitats around Carsington.\u00a0 We are always investigating ways we can help in this regard \u2013 so if any club members know of or have ideas for projects we can engage with, we\u2019d be very pleased to hear them.<\/p>\n