Welcome to my blog all about my birdwatching, wild bird ringing activities and moth recording at Linacre Reservoirs, Derbyshire; in Great Britain and abroad.
Over the last two days, I've managed to add another 2 species to my "Year List" for 2025, namely Purple Sandpiper (209) and Waxwing (210).
The Sandpiper was sent yesterday, at St Mary's Island, while the Waxwings (2 birds) were seen briefly at Edlingham, Northumberland.
As you can see, my total of 210 is quite a high number for me (!), and is one of the best years for a long time. The three lifers were: White-billed Diver, Lesser Scaup and American Black Tern.
Yesterday, Luke and I went across to Lincolnshire to add a few new species to this year's Year List.
We started off at Tongue End, where we added Tundra Bean Goose (206), Bewick Swan (207) and European/Russian White-fronted Goose (208), all feeding with a large herd of Whooper Swans. Unfortunately, the Snow Goose, had done a bunk!!!
Afterwards, we drove to Titchmarsh LNR, in Northamptonshire, so that Luke could add American Wigeon, to his list. Whilst there, we also saw a minimum of 4 Great White Egrets, including this one that posed nicely, next to a Little Egret.
Our final stop for the day was Eyebrook Reservoir in Leicestershire. We stopped off here so that Luke could see his first adult, male Smew. In total, we saw 4 males and a couple of "redheads".
I wasn't able to get down to Linacre earlier this month for the WeBS walk, so Jayne and I popped down on 27th to do it.
It was a grey, overcast morning and just 7 degrees, but we recorded the following birds: Mallard (73), Tufted Duck (68), Mandarin Duck (36), Coot (7), Moorhen (3), Grey Wagtail (1), Cormorant (2), Goosander (4; 2 males and 2 females), Little Grebe (2), Great-crested Grebe (2) and Black-headed Gull (92 - the highest count of the year).
Yesterday, Luke and I had a few hours birding in Nottinghamshire. Despite the grey, dreary conditions, we added two new species to our Year Lists.
The first species, Smew (204), was added at Collingham Pits , a set of working/disused gravel pits near Newark. 2 "redhead" birds were seen.
The next species, Caspian Gull (205), was a very nice addition, especially as it was found (by Luke), at our very own Rufford Country Park! This is the second winter in a row, where we've had this species here, and yesterday's bird was a very good looking adult bird. Here are some photos (first two from Luke).
