Linacre - 25th January 2025

 This morning, I had only my second visit of the year, to Linacre. It was still pretty quiet (as it has been all winter!), but I did add one species to the Year List: Grey Wagtail (117).

Other waterbirds seen were: Mallard (74), Tufted Duck (5), Mandarin Duck (20), Moorhen (just 1!!), Coot (1), Cormorant (3), Black-headed Gull (3) and a near breeding-plumaged Great Crested Grebe, on the middle reservoir.

In the woodlands, I heard Great Spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove (singing), Nuthatch (calling), Common Buzzard (1 heard), Woodpigeon, Robin, Magpie, Blackbird, Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal Tit.

Later in the day, whilst walking in New Whittington, I added Goldcrest (118) to the Year List.

Linacre - 8th September 2024

 It rained hard last night, so I decided to have a look at Linacre this morning, on the off chance that something exciting had dropped in. Guess what...? It hadn't!!!

When I go there (9am) it was dry, so I set off up to the top reservoir. On arrival, I heard Grey Wagtail ( 4 were seen) and saw the first of 94 Mallards. I then spotted a Cormorant, that very quickly turned into 2, 3, 4 and 5 ( the highest count of the year)! 

Cormorants ( distant and in the pouring rain!)

Other birds seen, before it began to rain very heavily, were: Coot (2 adults), Moorhen (7 adults and 1 juvenile), Mandarin (42), wheeting Chiffchaffs and a single Swallow.

Linacre Nestboxes - 27th April 2024

 Yesterday, I had my first visit of the year to check on the nestboxes at Linacre. The initial few boxes didn't bode well, but, by the end of the session, I had 20 boxes with eggs in them. As always, the boxes were checked under licence, and the results will be added to the BTO's Nest Record Scheme. There are still a few boxes to check, so hopefully, there will be a few more to add to the list.

All of yesterday's boxes contained tit nests, including only my second Coal Tit nest. The highest count of eggs was 13 in one clutch! Unfortunately, there weren't any Pied Flycatchers around at all. I'll keep checking, and hopefully, there will be some nests this year.

After checking the boxes, I walked around the rest of the site, recording my first Common Sandpiper (162) of the year. 

Common Sandpiper

There were also approximately 15 Swallows, 1 House Martin and 1 Sand Martin, flying around the top reservoir. The ringed Grey Wagtail was still present, singing on the top reservoir, and was joined by a female bird. Other birds seen were: 1 Grey Heron, 21 Mallard, 7 Mandarin Ducks, 1 Canada Goose, 7 Coots (1 nest on the top reservoir), 4 Moorhens, 3 Great-crested Grebes,  24 Tufted Ducks, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 2 Song Thrushes and a calling Great-spotted Woodpecker. Unfortunately, the female Mute Swan, 6Y24, appears to have left the site.

Swallow

In the afternoon, I was down at The Avenue Washlands, and spotted my first Swift (163) of the year.

Linacre 24th and 29th March 2024

 I had a couple of visits to Linacre in the last few days of March. It was quite quiet on both occasions, but I did manage to see a few summer insects and check up on the Mute Swan.

Waterfowl numbers have fallen off in March (as usual), as birds set up their breeding pairs/territories. Having said this, there have been a few still about, with double figure counts still for Mallard (43 on 23rd) and Tufted Duck (18 on 23rd). As mentioned above, the female Mute Swan (6Y24) was present on both visits. 1 Little Grebe was heard on 23rd, so hopefully breeding will take place again this year. Great-crested Grebe numbers are also up to 5, with birds present on all three reservoirs. Surprisingly, a late female Goosander (29th) and 1 Black-headed Gull (24th) were also noted. Three Grey Wagtails were also seen on 29th. 2 Cormorants were seen on 24th and 1 was still present on 29th.

Mandarin Ducks

The woods held the usual suspects, but a nice addition was my first record of Stock Dove for 2024 (3 near the Rangers' Base), along with up to 8 singing Chiffchaffs, and, best of all, a Red Kite, low over the woods, being mobbed by two Jackdaws on the 29th. This is my first record for a couple of years, although there were a few sightings by other people last year.

Insect wise, it's still quiet, although I reported my first hoverfly species of the year, Eristalis sp, on 24th, along with a Buff-tailed Bumblebee. It was warmer on 29th (14 degrees), so there were more insects about, including Common Carder Bees, Tree Bumblebee, an unidentified Mining Bee sp and a beautiful (male, I think) Tawny Mining Bee.

Tawny Mining Bee

Linacre - 7th January 2023

 After our week away, I was back down at Linacre on Sunday for my second walk of 2024. It was a cool 3 degrees, grey and overcast.

Birds seen were: Mallard (104), Goosander (5; 2 males and 3 females), Great-crested Grebe (2 on the middle reservoir, including 1 in near full breeding plumage), Little Grebe (1), Moorhen (17), Coot (7), Tufted Duck (32), Black-headed Gull (70), Mandarin (37) and Cormorant (1).

I also managed a couple of "Year Ticks"; 1 Grey Wagtail (96) and 1 Green Woodpecker (heard - 97).

Linacre - 2nd December 2023

 Last Saturday, I had a few hours down at Linacre. It was a relatively quiet walk, until the end, when I spotted 80 Teal on the middle reservoir! This is the highest count since January 2023, when 49 were seen.

Other birds seen were: 137 Mallard, 39 Mandarin Duck,  5 Tufted Duck, 18 Moorhen, 9 Coot, 1 Great-crested Grebe, 33 Black-headed Gull, 1 Little Grebe and 2 Grey Wagtail.

Woodland birds seen were: Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Crow, Chaffinch, Nuthatch and Treecreeper. 

Linacre WeBS - September 2023

 I was down at Linacre yesterday morning for this month's WeBS count. I had a good walk around all three reservoirs, and recorded some good numbers of returning waterbirds.

Birds seen were: Mallard (124 - my highest September count), Mandarin Duck (157 - also my highest ever September count), Tufted Duck (13 - still quite low numbers), Moorhen (23; 17 adults and 6 juveniles), Coot (9; 6 adults and 3 juveniles), Little Grebe (1 adult on the bottom reservoir), Great-crested Grebe (3; 2 adults and 1 juvenile on the middle reservoir), Kingfisher (2 on the bottom reservoir), Grey Heron (10) and Grey Wagtail (2).

Walking around, I also had 5 species of corvid (Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Jay, Magpie and Raven), along with 2 singing Chiffchaffs, 1 Mistle Thrush, Blue/Great and Long-tailed Tits, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Woodpigeon.

Linacre WeBS December 18th 2022

 After a week of ice and snowy conditions (maximum temperature of  3 degrees) I went down to Linacre yesterday morning (17th) to carry out this month's WeBS count. I had expected the reservoirs to be frozen, but, apart from a little ice ( c.10 %) on the bottom reservoir, the other two reservoirs were completely ice-free.

I walked around all three reservoirs and recorded the following numbers: 231 Mallard (highest count of the year), 114 Mandarin Duck, 72 Tufted Duck, 16 Moorhen, 8 Coot, c.50 Black-headed Gull, 5 Cormorant, 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 Little Grebe.

Black-headed Gulls

Other birds seen around the site included: 1 Tawny Owl, Siskin (3, the first of the winter), Magpie, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Wren, Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tit, Fieldfare (heard) and Redwing (10 over).

UPDATE: A report on Derbyshire Facebook Page from 18th recorded 119 Teal (!!!), 2 Gadwall, 1 male Shoveler, 104 Tufted Duck, 8 Goosander, 3 Cormorants and  19 Lapwing!!!

Linacre Nestboxes - 3rd May 2021

 It's been a couple of weeks since I last checked the nestboxes at Linacre, so I popped down for a couple of hours this morning, before the rain and wind started!!

It was a mixture of good news and bad news (as is always the case with every nestbox season). The bad news was that all three owl boxes, that had been used by Mandarins this year, appear to have failed. A quick check yesterday afternoon, revealed cold, uncovered eggs and no females. The better news, however, is that this morning's tit box check revealed a total of 32 active nests, the first chicks of the year (7 Great Tits, still naked and blind, so most likely very recently hatched),  my first ever record of a Coal Tit using a nestbox, and a pair of Pied Flycatchers entering a nestbox!! In addition, the Mallard's nest with 8 eggs was empty this morning (hopefully fledged successfully), and another nest, with 6 eggs this time, was found on the floor in the woods.

Pied Flycatcher

After checking the boxes, I walked around all three reservoirs, and spotted the following waterbirds: Mallard (72; 51 adults and 21 ducklings from 4 broods of 8, 1, 5 and 7), Coot (12; 7 adults and 1 brood of 5 - first of the year), Moorhen 14; 9 adults and 1 brood of 5 - first of the year), Mandarin (7 males), Tufted Duck (30),  Canada Goose (5; 3 flew over and 2 on the top reservoir), Greylag Goose (2 on the top reservoir -  second record of the year), Great-crested Grebe (4 adults), Grey Wagtail (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult) and  a 1st summer/2nd calendar year (born 2020) Black-headed Gull - only my second May record of this species. 2 Swallows were also seen over the top reservoir.

Black-headed Gull

Whilst on site, I also had a short time on the ringing site, where I saw a pair of Bullfinch (first Linacre record of the year!), a singing Song Thrush, 1 singing Willow Warbler, and, best of all, my first Whitethroat of the year. 

Year List update:

139 - Whitethroat

Linacre WeBS - 12th December 2020

 I was down at Linacre yesterday morning to carry out this month's WeBS walk. It was one of the best walks I've done all year, with record counts for both Mallard and Mandarin Duck. 

Totals seen were: 181 Mallard, 179 Mandarin Duck, 69 Tufted Duck, 10 Moorhen, 5 Coot, 48 Black-headed Gull, 9 Goosander (5 males and 4 females, including birds displaying), 2 Grey Wagtail and 2 Little Grebes.

The woodlands were quite quiet, but I was quite surprised to hear a singing Song Thrush on arrival! The final bird of note was Fieldfare, which was heard flying over.

Linacre WeBS - 15th November 2020

 This month's WeBS walk was my first visit to Linacre in November. As is usual at this tine of the year, there were good numbers of waterfowl present, along with a singing Wren, Blackbirds, Jay, Crows, Woodpigeons, Goldcrest, Long-tailed, Blue, Coal and Great Tit, 2 Magpies, 1 Sparrowhawk and a fly over Raven.  

Waterfowl counts were: 115 Mallard, 80 Mandarin Duck, 48 Tufted Duck, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Cormorant, 29 Black-headed Gulls, 2 "redhead" Goosander, 11 Moorhens, 4 Coots, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Grey Wagtail.

Linacre WeBS - 17th October 2020

Yesterday I had a couple of hours at Linacre to carry out this month's WeBS walk. There had been a notable increase in duck numbers, and I recorded the highest count for Mandarin Duck for the year.

Numbers were: 140 Mallard, 105 Mandarin Duck, 43 Tufted Duck, 12 Moorhen, 4 Coot, 4 Grey Wagtail, 1 Grey Heron, 16 Black-headed Gull and 5 Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Grey Heron

Other birds reported around the reservoirs were: Blackbird, Wren, Starling (c.25 over), Treecreeper (2), Jay, Crow, Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Great-spotted and Green Woodpecker and  Tawny Owl (heard).

Later in the day, I saw a report of c140 Pink-footed Geese that had been reported flying over Linacre later in the morning. This was the first report of the year.

Linacre WeBS - 15th December 2019

Linacre's December WeBS walk was quite a quiet affair with the following birds seen: Mallard (80), Tufted Duck (just 4!), Mandarin Duck (21), Moorhen (16), Coot (2), Little Grebe (2), Great-crested Grebe (1), Grey Wagtail (1) and Black-headed Gull (58).

Linacre WeBS - 27th October 2019

Ringing at Linacre was cancelled this morning dur to strong winds, so instead, Sarah, Robin and I walked around all three reservoirs and carried out this month's WeBS count.

No real surprises this month, but the Mandarin Ducks (48) looked very smart in their newly moulted breeding finery. Also, it was nice to see my first Linacre Black-headed Gulls of the winter, with 24 seen (no rings though).

Other birds seen were: Mallard (87), Tufted Duck (22), Coot (5), Moorhen (13), Grey Heron (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Cormorant (1), Great-crested Grebe (1) and Little Grebe (1).

Linacre WeBS - 28th September 2019

I was down at Linacre birdwatching for the first time this month (!) and carried out the monthly WeBS count. It was quite quiet, but, as always, at this time of the year, the Mandarins were in good form, looking very smart, and giving me my highest count of the year... so far.

Birds seen were: Mallard (104), Mandarin Duck (72), Tufted Duck (21), Coot (5), Moorhen (17), Grey Heron (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Cormorant (1) Great-crested Grebe (2) and Little Grebe (1). At least 2 Chiffchaffs were also heard singing around the top and middle reservoirs.

Tufted Duck

Linacre Birds and Insects - 2nd June 2019

Last Sunday I got up early and had a couple of hours walking around all 3 reservoirs of Linacre. It was a lovely morning, and I managed to record a new species for June, along with lots of great breeding records.

I started by the middle reservoir where I saw 3 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a 2nd or 3rd calendar year Herring Gull ( my first June record, and only my 5th ever Linacre record, following records in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2017). Also present was a pair of Great-crested Grebes with 3 chicks and 2 Grey Wagtails (1 adult and 1 juvenile).

Great-crested Grebe

Other signs of successful breeding seen were: Mallard (43 adults and 7 broods of chicks totalling 47 ducklings), Coot (11 adults and 6 broods of chicks, totally 15 chicks), Moorhen (9 adults and 10 chicks; 2 broods of 6 and 4, and Mandarin Duck (6 adults and 20 ducklings; 12 and 8). There were 19 adult Tufted Ducks , but no ducklings yet.

Away from the water the brood of 7 Pied Flycatchers were old enough to ring and a few insects were also seen, namely Red Admiral (1), Chimney Sweeper (a day flying moth) and a hoverfly that I think is a Scaeva pyrasti. 

Scaeva pyrasti?

Linacre Bird News - 7th April 2019

Luke and I were at Linacre this morning for a walk around all 3 reservoirs. We recorded the following waterbirds: Mallard (37), Tufted Duck (46), Mandarin (14), Great-crested Grebe (5 - including 1 pair displaying), Cormorant (2), Grey Wagtail (1 heard), Black-headed Gull (3 - unusual in April), Coot (9), Moorhen (7, including 1 sat tightly on a nest).

Moorhen

Whilst walking around the reservoirs we also recorded at least 9 singing Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps and the first Willow Warbler of the year. Other signs of breeding included both Mistle Thrush and Chaffinch seen carrying nesting material.

Blackcap

Interestingly, Luke managed to spot 4 Bramblings by the top reservoir, an excellent record!

Linacre - 2nd March 2019

Luke and I had a couple of hours at Linacre yesterday morning, hoping to see, or hear, our first spring migrants. Unfortunately, we didn't see, or hear, any migrants, but we did get some good counts of the waterbirds, and recorded a species that we'd not recorded at Linacre since 2014!

First the waterfowl numbers: Mallard 59, Tufted Duck 29, Mandarin Duck 26, Moorhen 14, Coot 10, Grey Wagtail 2, Great-crested Grebe 5, Canada Goose 2, Black-headed Gull 14.

We also had drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove (1), Skylark (1 singing), Siskin,  and ….. Red-legged Partridge (2; the first record since 2014).

Red-legged Partridge

Linacre WeBS January 2018

This weekend was the date for the first BTO WeBS count of 2019. Luke and I had two hours down at Linacre this morning recording the following birds: Mallard (67), Tufted Duck (28), Mandarin Duck (12), Moorhen (15), Coot (5), Cormorant (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Grey Heron (1), Black-headed Gull (c.35) and best of all.... Whooper Swan (a herd of 8 that flew low over the top reservoir, but, unfortunately, didn't land). This was the first Linacre record since March 2017, and a nice way to get a "year tick" too! Luke managed  this photo as they flew through the mist.

Whooper Swans

Other birds seen/heard around the site included Siskin (year tick), Magpie, Green Woodpecker (heard twice and seen once), Kestrel (1), Redwing (loads!!) and Mistle Thrush (1).

Year List update:
102 - Siskin
103 - Whooper Swan

Linacre - First visit of 2019

On Wednesday, Luke and I had our first visit of the year to Linacre. We walked around the middle and top reservoirs recording the following waterbirds: Mallard (79), Tufted Duck (11), Mandarin Duck (6), Moorhen (15), Coot (4), Kingfisher (1), Black-headed Gull (76), Little Grebe (1) and Grey Wagtail (2).

We also added another few species to the "year list". Greenfinch was recorded in the garden.

Year List:
31 – Green Woodpecker
32 – Wren
33 – Mandarin Duck
34 – Goldcrest
35 – Wren
36 – Blue Tit
37 – Long-tailed Tit
38 – Nuthatch
39 – Jay
40 – Chaffinch
41 – Little Grebe
42 – Kingfisher
43 – Great-spotted Woodpecker
44 – Grey Wagtail
45 – Dunnock
46 – Greenfinch