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".
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).
On Saturday, Jayne and I went over to Spurn Point NNR to visit our nephew, who is volunteering there. Whilst there, we had an eight and a half mile walk from the Bird Observatory to The Point, and back, and managed to add 4 new species to the Year List.
The first new species was Whimbrel (200), that we saw feeding around the estuary and beach area.
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.
