Just a reminder that the membership fees are now £15 for a single member and £20 for a joint
Simon Roddis has recently taken on the role of BTO Regional Officer for Breeding Bird Surveys in Derbyshire. In order to get as much survey work done as possible, he is looking for volunteers.
Full details can be found below:
The gang of 12 minus the photographer
On a bitterly cold but sunny, still day, a goodly turn out of 12 members met at North Cave to enjoy a walk round the increasingly extensive reserve. All in all, 50 species were seen, nothing particularly unusual but a flock of 20 Curlew, a Sparrowhawk that flew alongside the party, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Dunlin, Tree Sparrows (now seemingly absent from Blacktoft) and a Pochard were all nice to see. Then it was off to Blacktoft where the species list was increased by a measly 7, but included several flypasts by the resident Kingfisher, up to 8 Marsh Harriers in the air at one time, a distant Barn Owl and 4 Bearded Tits.
The 2 good photos thanks to Rob Simmons – the blurry one by Martin Kaye and the group by Bill Padley.
Marsh Harriers ‘mucking around’
Male Marsh harrier
Proof we saw a Bearded Tit
A group of 9 assembled at the Visitors’ Centre at 09:00 prompt and headed off for the sea wall. On the way our attention was drawn to a Green Sandpiper close to the path and then a small flock of Yellow Wagtails, many of them juveniles.
From the mound, a sharp eyed member managed to pick out a Little Stint from the small group of juvenile Dunlin.
Little Stint
There was then very little else until we were walking along the sea wall from where we saw lots of Ruff, huge numbers of Avocets (folks remarked that they’d never seen so many), Black-tailed Godwits and the star of the marsh, a Black-winged Stilt.
Walking north along the sea wall, a wandering Marsh Harrier caused mayhem bringing up hundreds of birds except the ‘lazy’ Spoonbills that didn’t even raise a bill.
From the crowded East Hide, we were able to see between all the heads, Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank plus both adult and juvenile Black-winged Stilts.
A trip to the Reed Bed Hide came up with the resident Whooper Swan and a couple of juvenile Pintails which at the time caused a bit of discussion as to their true identity. A walk round the reed bed came up with a Sparrowhawk and finally, the other star of the show, a Water Vole.
52 species for the day thanks to Bill Padley our recorder. Photos – John England and Martin Kaye
If you have left a walking stick at Jim Mart, it can be found leaning against the bench below the butterfly bank.
A relatively small group of 8 arrived at Blacktoft to decent weather having suffered a foul journey in torrential rain. 47 bird species were identified by the group but it was by no means the stand out trip that it was last year at this time. The stars were without doubt the Spotted Redshank, one of which, a male, was in breeding plumage. The supporting cast
Spotted Redshank – the one on the right in breeding plumage
included Green Sandpipers, a single Snipe, a few Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits still largely
Ruff in the centre surrounded by a cast of Redshank and a Lapwing
in breeding plumage. Then of course there were the ever present Marsh Harriers patrolling
Green Sandpipers
the reed bed and we also had a few sightings of Bearded Tits but with high water levels across the reserve resulting in very little exposed mud, views were very distant. Also
Female/juvenile Marsh Harrier
present were a couple of Great White Egrets on Singleton’s lagoon and a pair of Mute Swans with 9 well developed youngsters – pretty impressive parents.
Apologies for the quality of the photos – compact camera and digiscoping!
The Flash Lane crepuscular trip for Nightjars, Woodcock and Tree Pipit took place on 24th May enjoyed by a group of 22 souls. A fine but rather chilly evening, Nightjars eventually churring but only a brief view. Perhaps too cool and a bit breezy for display flights. Certainly, the vegetation is getting rather tall which doesn’t make for an enjoyable experience, However, roding Woodcock were plentiful. Twenty plus sightings of Woodcock were observed but, unusually, just a couple of Tree Pipits.
The dark quickly descended and the temperature went in the same direction as the hardy gaggle left for home.
Steve Slack
16 folk enjoyed a gorgeous morning at Annesley, sunny but not too hot. This relatively new reserve seems to get better with every passing year. All told we Identified 50 species of bird of
Black-necked Grebe
which the best were the Black-necked Grebes, a Little Ringed 
Plover, a Kingfisher and a small number of Hobbies. Sadly we failed to see the Wood Larks which had been seen by others who had arrived earlier. In addition to the birds, many of the group were interested to see the Emperor dragonflies, Black-tailed
Black-tailed Skimmer
Common Blue Damselfly
Skimmers and Common Blue damselflies. The reserve is rightly well known for its wild flowers of which Common Spotted, Early Purple and Bee Orchids got the most attention.
Common Purple Orchid
Thanks to Joyce Sawford, David Griffin and Philip Buxton for the photos.
12 of us set off on a beautiful sunny morning, along the West Bank, through Brackenfield, down to the Amber, over the railway (unusually quiet due to strike action), through the fishing lakes and across the fields and back.
Species seen –
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lapwing, Redshank, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Reed Bunting, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Magpie, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Black-headed Gull, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Oystercatcher, Wren, Chaffinch, Swift, Swallow, Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon, Cormorant, Pied Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Robin, Linnet, Jay, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw
Nothing outstanding birdwise but the hedgerows and meadows were at the finest, full of still fresh Hawthorn blossom and buttercups.
40 species in all
Steve Slack
Rather down on numbers this week but glorious weather for a stroll looking at birds. It can be a hard life at times!
First stop Whisby Nature Park. Target species – the beautiful Nightingale, once heard, never forgotten! However, there has been no records here for the last two years so we didn’t hold out much hope. And this turned out to be the case. However, we did enjoy the stroll around the park with the May blossom at it’s best.
As you might expect, the lakes were not short of a noisy Black-headed Gull or two but once we’d crossed the railway line, their squawking had faded and we could enjoy the song birds. Great sightings of many Whitethroats showing off, the Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Garden Warblers really helps towards separating the warbler songs, particularly the latter two.
Nothing particularly exciting to add but 23 sightings in all. A lovely walk and on a day like this it must be good for our wellbeing if not our yearly bird tick lists.
Lunch at the picnic tables before departing to Langford Lowfields.
I always find the walk from the car park rather long and tedious but once on site we weren’t let down by our avian friends. Common Tern provided the initial entertainment until after a 30 minute wait we finally got sight of the target bird, the Hobby. At one point, 6 were spotted in the air although with the bird’s speed and our aging eyes all looking in different directions but with overlapping fields of view,who knows!
Another 30 minutes and we caught a brief glimpse of a Bittern. And it was brief. Nothing like the flypast we had last year. But, a tick is a tick as they say.Apart from the reed dwellers like Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Little Egret and Sedge Warbler the only other bird of note was a soaring Sparrowhawk which seemed set for a duel with one of the Hobbies before parting company. Spoilsports.
Another 25 species added to the list, bringing the days total to 48.
Happy Days!
Steve Slack
A gaggle of 14 (actually 12 with two laggards catching up with us later) assembled at the usual parking spot at the top of Padley Gorge. After a healthy debate about the weather forecast (everyone seemed to have a different one) we set off dressed in a variety of outfits involving shorts, wellingtons, woolly hats and thick winter coats.
A tour of Lawrence Field produced very little until we reached the southern end above the gorge. First we ticked the usual suspects – Meadow Pipit, Swallow, Carrion Crow, Goldfinch, Robin, Red Grouse, Wren and Pheasant. A distant Cuckoo couldn’t be picked out though. Then it got interesting, first a Redstart and then a single Tree Pipit.
As we gathered before leaving the field into the Gorge, a male Pied Flycatcher obliged giving good views to everyone. As we proceeded to zigzag through the gorge, we saw plenty more Pied Fly’s, a couple of Goldcrests, Treecreepers and Nuthatches. Further singing Redstarts were heard .on the way out if the gorge. As we returned to the car, a Common Buzzard came into view and various Tits showed in the bushes.
Off to Barbrook. A new place for me and I found it most pleasant. Upon joining the path, we dropped immediately down to our left where eventually we picked up many lively Willow Warblers and a single Spotted Flycatcher was reported. Upon rejoining the path, we saw a very obliging male Stonechat and eventually it’s mate. We followed the winding path for another mile to a site where Whinchats had been reported. Along the way a Cuckoo decided to fly back and forth down below us just above the brook. Searching for a Whinchat gave us all a chance to rest and the Cuckoo gave us a party piece to entertain us. Very visible and very vocal. After 30 minutes and with the call of the Grindleford Railway Station cafe ringing in my ears, we picked up a beautiful Whinchat. Looking down certainly does provide a good view and eventually two showed really well. A job well done, some took lunch at the spot whilst others departed. Those departees (?) were treated to a basking adder on the path back to the cars.
As for the choice of clothing? David Griffin won with the shorts.
31 species all told.
A grand day out.
Steve Slack
