Carsington again

Had another free day so again got dropped off at Carsington Water by the girlfriend on her way to work (halves the bird-miles you see). For the ten hours spent there I found 64 species, not too shoddy for a reservoir shared with sailing and fishing interests.That Grebe is still playing fetch.

Best birds were the migrants (if no much hoped for Black Tern), a Whimbrel movement is on nationally with one bird present at Carsington, tricky IDing job too since the head markings weren't as prominent as should be, eventually the RSPB guy in there with me agreed it was a 1st-year bird rather than short-billed strong-eye-striped small male Curlew. Also showing in the distance of the middle waters was the odd Arctic Tern with the Commons. Difficult call at that range, I know some people who just call them 'Comics', so I was mainly going on the proportions of the bird - the wings on the Arctic look forward set compared to the Common which have them in the middle. Decent bird on such an inland site.
A Common Sandpiper was about too, plus a few Little Ringed Plover, a Curlew that apparently pops down once a day from the hills to bathe, Raven probably nesting, and the regular summer warblers. And the Great Northern Diver is still there! Getting ever more elusive though, all day I got only the briefest view of a bird that was far from shy back in November when it first appeared. Now we're into May, it really ought to think about moving on.

Best moment of the day however went to showing some kids the Curlew through my scope. Their grandparents were already doing a decent job enthusing about the birds, and when the wader flew in with its extravagant bill, it was the natural thing to call them over. The small kids seemed genuinely impressed.
Great birding karma I can tell you!

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

Haven't I used that pun before? Anyway...

Trying to get around the birdmiles limit I tagged along on my girlfriend's journey to work yesterday and had her drop me off at Carsington Reservoir. With few buses making it that far out into rural Derbyshire it meant I was there for the 10 hours until she could pick me up again. Plenty of time to squeeze out every last bird around.

Redshank was a nice start, this one wandering a yard in front of the glass screen at the Wildlife Centre, completely oblivious to the thrilled onlookers inside.

Almost as close were the nest-building Great Crested Grebe. A really nice touch for what is basically an education centre for local kids.


Another nidifying pair were Oystercatcher, again close views, this time ten yards from a bird hide at the other end of the water.

The feeding station outside that hide was fruitful for the day list, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, etc

Several more thumbnails...

...and Great Spotted Woodpecker.







That ring, could this be the same ringed bird I saw in January? Very likely.











Most species are now in fine plumage, including the richly coloured Dabchicks. They were incessantly vocal too, still divying up territory it seemed.

Chiffchaff were another constant theme.











My day total came out at 64 species after a brief detour to Ogston Reservoir on the way home, where late on I saw my first Common Sandpiper (indeed first Sandpiper) of the year (#141), and big numbers of Sand Martin.
Birds of the day? The Great Northern Diver is still at Carsington, at least one has been there all the way back to late November. A nesting pair of Raven displayed in the blue skies, and in one of the carparks a pristine male Lesser Whitethroat was twittering its fine song. Waders were a bit sparse, only a couple of Little Ringed Plover really to speak of, and all of the winter ducks have left now. The three resident hirudine were plentiful, only a few House Martin up there though. Right at the end, to top of my list a splendid Yellow Wagtail appeared, do they ever not dazzle?
Oh and in one of the ponds I saw Palmate Newt, which always look rather alien to me.

At the Wildlife Centre I was closely followed in by a group of school children. Sitting in there with all my gear obviously sparked the curiosity of one of the boys who sat beside me and began quizzing me about birding. He must have been perhaps 8 or 9 years of age. He asked why do I like birdwatching, and of all the possible answers I could give I decided to explain the challenge of looking for rare and interesting species. That seemed to register well with the kid and he drew his own comparison to fishing.
Thinking further he then unleashed his killer question, "So... what's a duck worth?"

Mercifully his teacher called him away, to my utter relief because I really had no idea how to answer him.
I mean, what do you suppose your answer would be?

Some of the other kids asked about my scope and the ducks, and generally I was really chuffed they were asking questions about our hobby. Frankly, for all of the birds I saw, it was the coolest part of my day.

Holkham NNR

I find late summer is lovely time for birding, it's the families. Just the other day I watched a gang of half a dozen Redstart darting after each other as much as food, a nice find for the East Midlands.

A couple of weeks ago we camped for a weekend down on the North Norfolk coast, very nearby to Holkham National Nature Reserve. The site comprises a sandy shore, extensive dunes, saltmarshes, pinewoods, and some reclaimed marshland a little further inland. I was beach-holidaying with my girlfriend so didn't devote as much time to the reserve as I'd have wished but still found stunning and close views of Marsh Harrier, enough to excite any birder. Below them species like Sedge Warbler could be heard. Underfoot the dunes were full of toads, and out on the beach Little Terns skimmed the surfed, and a pair of Oystercatchers babied their one remaining chick.
We plan to make future visits, give the reserve the attention it deserves. Also not a long drive west along the coast are both Titchwell Marsh and Snettisham RSPB reserves. This part of England really is very rich for birders.


Driving back home through the quiet farm roads brought us across this Barn Owl patrolling over one of the vast Norfolk wheatfields. We've found travelling along such lanes to be a marvellous birding tactic. It may not be very eco-friendly but there seems few other ways to cover so much rural habitat in a mobile bird hide.

The Beginning of It for Me

I've been thinking about what is was that first excited me about birds, whenever I do so my mind immediately returns to something my father told me.

He explained how during a family holiday to Argyle, Western Scotland, his father showed him an Oystercatcher. My dad says that as a small boy seeing for the first time this very distinctive bird he thought it was a clockwork toy.
Years later when he had a family of his own he took us to the same loch - Loch Caolisport - (pronounced 'killis-sport') the name means shallow sandy inlet and it's a beautiful quiet stretch of the coast not often visited, as if it's a secret to those of us fortunate enough to have been there. At this very same spot I must have seen the very same bird as my father because I thought precisely the same thing he had when he'd been a kid there 35 years before.
Well okay, maybe it wasn't the same bird, just the same magic.