Fourteen members turned up on this the hottest day of the year so far. (On the return journey, my car clocked 38 deg C.)
While there weren’t many birds about, perhaps as a result of the heat, nonetheless, the group managed to ID 47 different avian species and in addition, plenty of big dragonflies and good views of a stoat and a water vole. Of the birds seen, the highlights were closeup views of a Red Kite right in front of the Marshland Hide, a small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits which flew off immediately the kite appeared overhead, great views of adult and juvenile Marsh Harriers, adult and juvenile Yellow Wagtails and finally 11 Spoonbills in front of the Singleton Hide. Dragonflies included Southern and Brown Hawkers and Emperors.
Photos courtesy of William Radford, Tracy Solman and Martin Kaye.

Lunch in the shade

This is by far the latest date in the year that we’ve run a Nightjar trip and it proved to be a mistake. A full complement of members attended what proved to be the most disappointing birding trip thus far. The weather was fine but s late in the year, bird song was at best very limited which minimised the opportunities of catching up with the warblers. Our disappointment was most profound at the Nightjar viewing spot where not only did we neither see nor hear any Woodcock, but had only one instance of a nightjar churring and no sitings.  Such a contrast with the earlier three trips. All told 35 species ID’d.
Oh well you live and learn.

The forecast was that it would stop raining at 17:00 and then remain dry for our evening trip. At 16:30 it was still raining persistently so a quick phone call to the trip leader John Parlby and the trip was cancelled. The next phone call to one of the members discovered that they’d already set off and didn’t want to be put off.  A subsequent phone call to another member representing three others, established that nobody wanted the trip cancelled!!!! Trip back on. As trip organiser, I can only blame the others for what turned out to be an evening of persistent light rain and low cloud.
In spite of the damp and gloom, the spirits of the party of ten remained remarkably high and when the two recorders lists were amalgamated, an amazing total of 42 species had been clocked up.
Some of the highlights early evening were a family of Grey Wagtails, sightings of Sedge Warblers feeding their young and the enormous numbers of Swallows, Swifts and House Martins arrowing through the air at all levels. Raptors were unsurprisingly, largely absent but we did get close to a female Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel and Buzzard were seen at some distance.
At 20:30 we set off for the Nightjar watch point where we were rewarded by a churring male at 21:20 (no doubt the gloom brought on this early awakening). After that there was a fleeting sighting of the bird in the trees accompanied by its yelping call but the icing on the cake was the extended view that we all got of a Nightjar flying across the clearing. But sadly, that was its final appearance and from then on we had to be satisfied with a few calls and churrs. However, unlike the earlier Nightjar trip, we did get excellent and numerous views of  Woodcock. All in all, maximum pleasure was rung out of a foul evening.

Enthusiasm undimmed, hopeful observers wait for the Nightjar to put in an appearance

Eight members assembled at the car park in, for this year, unseasonably, warm and sunny weather. Mind you, when the wind blew in some of the more exposed parts of the reserve, it still felt decidedly chilly. A first time visitor might well be put off because of the semi-industrial approach to this reserve and indeed, feel even more uneasy after passing the fenced off, vandalised ex-visitors’ centre. However, this reserve is maturing and becoming a real gem for wildlife of all kinds. The wild flowers clearly benefit from the impoverished

Breath-taking flower meadow

soil/pit spoil and at this time of year provide a riot of colour. The star bird was undoubtedly the Black-necked Grebe.

Black-necked Grebe (poppet or what)

In addition to the grebe, there was a supporting cast of Reed and Sedge Warblers, a lot of Reed Buntings dominating with their repetitive little ‘song’ and a few Common Whitethroats

including 2 juveniles. Also of note was a flock of 25+ Long-tailed Tits and a few Little Ringed Plovers.

Little Ringed Plover showing the yellow eye-ring

All told, 40 species were clocked up. In contrast to last year when the summer was sensational, very few damselflies were observed and only one Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly.
Credit for the bird photos to Dave White and his Nikon Coolpix P900.

Nine members assembled in the car park at Whisby with the organiser counting his blessings that it had stopped raining and was actually brightening up. Walking through the early part of the reserve, an early disappointment at the lack of Mediterranean Gulls was made up for by the surround sound of warblers on full volume. However, that was where the organiser’s luck ran out because there was no sign of the main target species, the Nightingale. In spite of revisiting the expected site five times, there was no sight or sound of the little tinker. In addition, there was also no sightings of the other hoped for bird, the Lesser Whitethroat.  The attention of some of the members who had threatened the organiser with a ducking in the lake for this poor showing, was briefly diverted with the sighting of a lot of small black moths (later to be colourfully identified as Chimney Sweepers) and later by our botanical expert Jenny Johnson who was intrigued by a plant that she didn’t recognise (later identified as Spindleberry). Sadly the dedicated birders weren’t mollified for long.

After lunch, we moved to RSPB Langford Lowfields where the organisers luck changed for the better. For a start the sun had come out and then at Avocet Lake not only were there 6 Avocets but also several Redshank and a Wood Sandpiper (a lifer for some). High overhead, 10 Hobbies were out chasing insect food.
On the main body of the reserve, the good luck continued with sightings of a Bearded Tit, Sedge and Reed Warblers, good views of three Black Terns and the sound of 2 booming Bitterns.

All in all it turned out a great trip in spite of a disappointing beginning – 56 species identified. Photos T Solman & M Kaye