Welcome to my blog all about my birdwatching, wild bird ringing activities and moth recording at Linacre Reservoirs, Derbyshire; in Great Britain and abroad.
This afternoon, I spotted a record of a Dotterel (197), that had been found on Burbage Moor (on the Derbyshire/South Yorkshire border).
Jayne and I drove across (less than half an hour from home!), and after a short, uphill jog (!!), we enjoyed fantastic views, at the bird ( a juvenile) sat on the moor, approximately 20m away!
Normal service was resumed today, as Jayne and I set out "twitching" again! This time, we headed up to Edderthorpe Flash, near Barnsley, to see a Grey Phalarope (196).
We found the bird straight away, thanks to the small group of birders there (!), and got decent, but distant, views, as it fed about 500m out on the water. Here's a heavily cropped image.
Every year, at about this time, Jayne and I drive over to RSPB Frampton Marsh to catch up with a few passage waders, that can be seen, at this time of the year. It also gives us a chance to catch up with a damselfly that I haven't yet manged to find in Derbyshire.
This year has been very dry all across the UK, so most of the usual pools at Frampton were dried out. This meant that the birds that were there, were concentrated onto the few, remaining wet areas. We visited one, by the side of the reedbed, where we spotted a very obliging Wood Sandpiper (193) and 2 less obliging Green Sandpiper (194), that flew straight off!!
After lunch, we went across to the Reedbed Hide were we spotted c.100 Greylag Geese, Black-tailed Godwits (c.30), Lapwing, 3 juvenile Shelduck, Ruff (6), Avocet (1), juvenile Little Ringed Plovers and 4 Little Stint (195).
Our final stop was the dragonfly/dipping pool, where we spotted a couple of mating Migrant Hawkers and a pair of Willow Emerald Damselflies (in tandem). Common and Ruddy Darters were also seen, as was a pair of Common Blue Butterflies and a single Small Copper.
After our week in Anstruther, Jayne and I drove across to Oban, to meet up with the rest of the family. Whilst there, in between the touristy bits, we managed to add 3 new bird species to the "Year List", a new butterfly for the year and add a new species of butterfly and mammal to the Life Lists.
The 3 new birds were: Greenshank (190), when 2 were spotted on the loch near our holiday home, Black Guillemot (191); 2 birds in and around Oban harbour and Manx Shearwater (192), with a flock of c20 seen from the ferry, whilst crossing over to Mull.
The new species of butterfly was a Scotch Argus, that flew past us on the beach (!) and landed, very briefly, hence the awful photo, on Ganavan Sands, Oban.
Mammal wise, we spent an enjoyable few hours out with the Heart of Argyl Wildlife Organisation in the Knapdale Forest on a "Beaver Walk", where we managed to watch an adult beaver swim the entire length of the Loch of Barnluasgan!!
Whilst on the ferry across to Mull, we saw a small pod of approximately 6 Common Dolphins (no photos unfortunately). The final animal of note, was a single Red Squirrel, seen disappearing into the bushes!
Jayne and I are up in Scotland for a couple of weeks. On the drive up, we stopped off at Musselburgh Lagoons, near Edinburgh, to look for some scoters.
There were 4 species of scoter to find, but, as you can imagine, we only managed to find 2 of them, Velvet Scoter (185), Common Scoter (186). Annoyingly, the White-winged and Surf remained elusive!! Other species seen were: Eider Duck, Razorbill (187), Redshank, Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Herring Gull and Goosander.
Arriving in Anstruther, we spotted 6 species of gull, around the harbour area: Black-headed, Common, Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed and a single Kittiwake. 2 Kingfishers were also seen feeding in the rockpools, along with Redshank, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Turnstone. A single Shag (188) and a single Common Tern (189) were spotted on the nearby rocks.
A walk along the coastal path to Pittenweem added Linnet, Painted Lady and a single Hummingbird Hawkmoth.
As always, at this time of the year, the Year List slows down, as most of the easier-to-find species have been recorded. I have, however, managed to add a few new species.
The first is Long-eared Owl (179), that was seen in NE Derbyshire in June. Next up was Crossbill (180), that was recorded at Linacre on 5th July. Spotted Flycatcher (181) was seen on a walk in Tideswell Dale, also on 5th July. Green Woodpecker (182) was heard, but not seen, at Hardwick Hall last week, and the final bird, Yellow-legged Gull (183), was seen today, at Ogston Reservoir.
Our base in Northumberland was at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, on the outskirts of Amble and Ashington.
The lake is a great place, especially in winter, but, whilst there last week, we had a great time looking at the breeding birds, and the summering Black-headed Gulls. Most birds appeared to be 1st summer birds, with a few adults. Many of the 1st summer birds have a full brown hood, but still retain the juvenile feathers.
Another great bird for me was the Whooper Swan (177). This bird appears to be a resident bird, who I first saw here in January 2024 (see here). He/she was present around the site, and was quite tame, allowing some great views from the car park.
Whilst in Northumberland, I had a coupe of early morning visits to Lindisfarne to see if I could spot an American Golden Plover, that had been present for a few days. Unfortunately, I wasn't successful (!), but I did have a great time looking at the few, breeding- plumaged waders, including a single Year Tick, Knot (176), that were feeding up on migration.
Jayne and I have just spent a few days up in Northumberland. Whilst there, we added another few species to the year's "Year List".
Our first stop was the National Trust's "Long Nanny" tern colony. The main reason for visiting this site was to see the returning American Black Tern (167). Although not yet a full species, it was wonderful to see this elegant bird flying around the Arctic Tern (168) colony, looking for a mate. The bird, a female first seen in 2020, was seen just once during our visit, and it landed briefly behind the grass, allowing a quick, distant photo.
Over the last few weeks, Jayne and I have added several new birds to the Year List.
The first species were Wood Warbler (163) and Grey Partridge (164). The next two were both seen, on Thursday. They were: Nightjar (165) and Woodcock (166).
News came out on Bird Guides yesterday that a Hoopoe (162) had been discovered near Bolsover, Derbyshire. I couldn't get over then, but I popped across after school today, and got great views, as it fed on the lawns. I managed a few photos. 1 Little Owl was also seen.
Since my last post, Jayne and I have been out and about, and have managed to add another 6 species to the "Year List!.
The first new species was Pied Flycatcher (155), a single male heard singing at Linacre on 24th April. Several other were also seen and heard at Padley Gorge today. The next species, Garden Warbler (156), was special, as it was a female bird, with a brood patch, that was caught and ringed at Linacre on 26th April. Fingers crossed for successful breeding this year.
The other new species were all seen or heard at Padley Gorge and Big Moor this morning. Cuckoo , 1 heard (157), Redstart, several heard, but none seen - annoying leaves!! (158), Tree Pipit, 1 seen and heard singing (159) and finally, Whinchat - 1 male seen on Big Moor (160).
This last week, I've been out and about a few times, and have managed to add 6 more species to this year's Year List.
The first bird, Garganey (149), was a male bird that was seen at Catcliffe Flash, in Sheffield on Tuesday. It was asleep the entire time I was there (!), and quite distant, but I managed to get a record shot, along with a couple of Tufted Duck, a Gadwall and some Teal.
After our visit to Salisbury, Jayne and I spent the next four days in The New Forest and Poole Harbour/Swanage area. Whilst there we added 9 more species to the Year List.
Our first new bird was House Martin (139), which was seen around our accommodation in Fordingbridge. Firecrest (140) was added during a walk in Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary in The New Forest, as was Willow Warbler (141).
A couple of years ago, Jayne and I went down to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, to visit the Great Bustard Project, where we had great views of the birds. Last Monday (7th), we went down again.
As before, we took part in a guided visit, travelling around the site in a Land Rover. We visited the group's hide, where we had fantastic views of a single male bird, displaying to approximately 7 females. This was something we hadn't seen on our previous visit. Over the course of the next two hours, we saw another 2 displaying males and approximately 10 female birds. Great Bustard (137).
Whilst there, we also saw a single Corn Bunting (136), which was surprising, as we'd seen a dozen or so on our last trip. Other wildlife seen were: Red Deer, Brown Hare, Red Kite (including 5 together), Stonechat, Yellowhammer and Buzzard.
Afterwards, we travelled to RSPB Winterbourne Down, where we saw a single Stone Curlew (138), Skylark, Brimstone and Peacock butterflies and a couple of Dotted Beeflies.
We've had a couple of weeks of warm, sunny weather, so, having a free afternoon, I popped down to Linacre to see if I could see the first butterflies of 2025. In three hours, and temperatures of 12 degrees, I spotted 16 butterflies of 5 species.
The first butterflies seen were Peacocks, and, in total, I recorded a minimum of 9 around the site. The next commonest species was Orange Tip, with 5 males and 2 females seen. Also seen were: Comma (1), Large White (1) and Green-veined White (1).
