RSPB St Aidan's - 29th March 2025

 Jayne and I went up to RSPB St Aidan's today. We walked around the reedbeds and added 4 new ticks to the "Year List", as well as enjoying great views of not one, but two Little Owls.

Little Owl

The new birds for the year were; Cetti's Warbler (128), Sand Martins (129 - c.15 seen), a drake Green-winged Teal (130), Bittern (131 - at least two heard booming) and Black-necked Grebe (132).

Green-winged Teal (asleep!!)

Other species seen were: Black-headed Gull, Coot, Moorhen, Pochard, Teal, Mallard, Greylag and Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Reed Bunting (several singing), Chiffchaff and Blackbird.

Rufford - 2nd March 2025

 My latest visit to Rufford was on 2nd March, when I had an hour, and spotted 14 Black-headed Gulls, including new birds; 2V03 (ringed on 18th January, as a 5, born last year), 218F (ringed by me, as a 1st winter bird, on 12th October 2024) and J3018 ( a new Norwegian-ringed bird, that was ringed, as a free-flying juvenile, in Oslo, on 5th August 2024).

2V03

218F

J3018

Other gulls seen were: 206A, 258A, 273A, 293A, 251B, 254B, 207C, 258C, 270C, 298C and 230F.

Linacre - Ringing, Migrants and Year Ticks

 Last weekend (1st March) I was down at Linacre for a ringing session, and yesterday (8th March),  I was back again for a walk around the reservoirs. 

The ringing session was quiet, with just 13 birds ringed: Great Tit 4/2, Coal Tit 0/2, Dunnock 1/0 and Lesser Redpoll 4/0. The Redpoll (125) were the best birds of the morning, being both the first record for Linacre in 2025, and being a "Year Tick". The retrap Great Tits had been ringed in 2023 and 2024, and the 2 retrap Coal Tits had both been ringed in 2024.

Yesterday's visit, in 5 degrees, and glorious sunshine, brought out the first Chiffchaff (126) record of 2025, with 2 singing birds. Other birds singing were: Robin, Dunnock, Song Thrush (3), Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Nuthatch, Coal and Great Tit and Wren. Other species seen were: Canada Goose (a pair on the top reservoir), Greylag Goose (a pair flying along the valley), Mallard (40), Mandarin Duck (6, including birds searching for nesting sites in the woodlands), Moorhen (7), Coot (10), Grey Wagtail (3), Great-crested Grebe (5 birds; a pair each on the bottom and middle reservoirs, and a single, calling bird, on the top reservoir), Cormorant (1 breeding plumaged bird on the top reservoir, Pheasant,  Jay and Great-spotted Woodpecker (drumming).

Canada Geese

After ringing, Jayne and I had a walk along Stanage Edge, where we heard our first Derbyshire Curlew of 2025 and saw Meadow Pipits, Skylark and 2 Red Grouse (127).