On arrival we were treated to a marvellous display of hirundines – swallows, house martins and even a few sand martins – over the field in front of the car park.  Many of us were then treated to a garden warbler singing in the wood even before leaving the car park. The reservoir was full to the brim so little to be seen from the hides apart from great crested grebes and the ever reliable great northern diver.  A noisy pair of oystercatchers added to the list and a male reed bunting just as we were leaving. Songbirds were in good form so a good chance to brush up on song thrush, blackbird and the warblers.  A sedge warbler was heard (with help from ‘Merlin’) and seen near the wildlife centre, a first for some, and a bullfinch was a nice spot in the top of the waving branches.  11 members enjoyed a fine warm day.

45 species  seen/heard

 

Canada Goose	Buzzard	Coal Tit	Bullfinch
Greylag goose	Coot	Long Tailed Tit	Siskin
Mute swan	Moorhen	Magpie	Blackbird
Mute swan	Oystercatcher	Jay	Song Thrush
Mallard	Lapwing	Carrion Crow	Mistle Thrush
Tufted duck	Swallow	Jackdaw	Robin
Gadwall	House Martin	Wood Pigeon	Dunnock
Cormorant	Sand Martin	Black Headed Gull	Wren
Great Crested Grebe	Blue Tit	Chaffinch	Chiff Chaff
Great Northern Diver	Great Tit	Goldfinch	Willow Warbler
Black Headed Gull	Blackcap	Garden Warbler	Sedge Warbler
			Pheasant

 

Summary

It was a bright sunny morning as we arrived and parked by the mill although there was a chilly breeze.  There was not much happening at the mill – a brief sighting of a Peregrine but otherwise mostly Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons.  There was nothing much around the weir either but House Sparrows greeted us as we set off up Wyver Lane.  Others of our regular species were added to our list as we continued up the lane and tried to identify the songs we were hearing. A stop at the hide added to our waterfowl count, including Gadwall.  Towards the top of the lane where there were breaks in the trees we saw Buzzards circling, together with two Peregrines and a Kestrel. Some mobbing of the Buzzards was followed by mobbing of a Raven by a pair of crows.  By the time we returned to the weir, both a Pied and a Grey Wagtail were flitting along the top of the weir wall but the mill’s Peregrines were nowhere to be seen; we trust the Peregrines were out on the wing, enjoying the warmth of the sun as we had.

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Summary

It was exactly one year ago that we visited this RSPB reserve on the Dee estuary. Just four members making the trip on that occasion. This time the weather was better; sunny and reasonably warm for the time of year.  Although the number of species counted was much the same, around one-third were different to those seen in 2022.

A pair of Treecreepers caught our attention early on.  Little Egrets appeared to be nest building in the tree tops at a distance but we also had close views of one from one of the hides.  Black-tailed Godwit were plentiful and in a range of plumages, varying from winter to full breeding. 

Mediterranean Gulls were clearly identifiable among the rather larger numbers of Black-headed. There were several songsters to be heard as we walked through the reserve, including Cetti’s and Reed Warbler, Robin and Wren. Towards the end of our stay House Martins and Sand Martins were spotted in the distance.

It was good to have a number of our newer members on the trip and all seemed to appreciate and enjoy the day.

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Summary

Wet, wet, wet but great for the birds! Almost uninterrupted rain throughout our stay at this reserve in the Dearne Valley near Barnsley, which sometimes made it difficult to identify birds. Fortunately, there are several hides, including at least two that are particularly large. It was from one of these that we saw the three Spoonbills; initially just one of them was feeding in characteristic fashion with its long bill dipped in the water, swinging from side to side but then the other two joined in.

We failed to reach consensus over the Sandpiper – was it a Green or a Common? Hopefully we are all still on speaking terms and will meet again next month!

It was good to see such a variety of species, including some that don’t appear regularly on our lists and the café proved a welcome refuge at the end of our visit.

Members participating: 10 + 1 guest

Bird list (46 species seen and/or heard)

Little Grebe	Tufted Duck	Herring Gull
Great Crested Grebe	Pheasant	Woodpigeon
Cormorant	Moorhen	Pied Wagtail
Little Egret	Coot	Dunnock
Great Egret	Ringed Plover	Robin
Grey Heron	Golden Plover	Blackbird
Spoonbill	Lapwing	Song Thrush
Greylag Goose	Little Stint	Long-tailed Tit
Canada Goose	Dunlin	Blue tit
Shelduck	Snipe	Great Tit
Wigeon	Jack Snipe	Magpie
Gadwall	Black-tailed Godwit	Carrion Crow
Teal	Green/Common Sandpiper	Chaffinch
Mallard	Black-headed Gull	Greenfinch
Shoveler	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Goldfinch
Pochard

Members participating: 14 + 1 guest

Summary

We had a good turnout of members for the first outing of the new season. It was a dry day with an occasional glimpse of the sun.

The reserve is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and a team of staff and volunteers were busy working on the site for much of our visit. Unfortunately for us that may have reduced the bird population, not least because of the noise generated by the petrol-powered strimmers. It was noticeable that a group of six Grey Herons were looking on from a green field overlooking the lagoon where the work was happening, apparently waiting for the labour-force to quit and allow the Herons back to their normal habitat. As soon as the strimmers started up again after the mandatory 11 am coffee break, there was a noticeable migration of ducks and geese away from the din. That movement did at least enable us to get closer views of the lone Barnacle Goose in amongst the Canadas.

The wooded approaches to the main lagoon and fishing pond were not completely devoid of birds but there was not much to hear even when the strimmers fell silent. Nevertheless, there was a good range of bird species to be seen and a Speckled Wood butterfly caught our eye too.

Bird list (25 species seen and/or heard)

Mute Swan	Pochard	Blackbird
Pink-footed Goose	Buzzard	Goldcrest
Greylag Goose	Moorhen	Blue Tit
Canada Goose	Coot	Great Tit
Barnacle Goose	Lapwing	Magpie
Wigeon	Black-headed Gull	Carrion Crow
Gadwall	Woodpigeon	Starling
Mallard	Robin	Bullfinch
Shoveler

 

Summary

One of the most beautiful of Derbyshire’s dales, Lathkill provides a variety of habitat for birds, other wildlife and wild flowers; the latter including Jacob’s Ladder. Surrounded by birdsong, what better place to spend a morning!

We entered from the top of the dale where there was a Buzzard circling overhead. Then as we dropped down into a wooded area we paused to watch a family of treecreepers. Further on still where there was an exposed cliff-face, we saw Redstarts coming in and out of a crevice, presumably feeding their young. A Peregrine passed overhead with two or three crows paying it some attention. The upper part of the dale was dry but once we reached flowing water, we had good views of a Grey Wagtail.

Members participating: 10 + 1 guest

Bird list (29 species seen and/or heard)

Grey Heron	Grey Wagtail	Blue Tit
Mallard	Wren	Great Tit
Buzzard	Robin	Treecreeper
Peregrine	Redstart	Magpie
Pheasant	Blackbird	Jackdaw
Moorhen	Whitethroat	Carrion Crow
Coot	Blackcap	Raven
Black-headed Gull	Chiffchaff	Chaffinch
Woodpigeon	Willow Warbler	Goldfinch
Swallow	Spotted Flycatcher

Summary

The weather was perfect as we left the car and a song thrush and blackcap were in full song. We soon spotted a pair of common sandpipers along the water’s edge, Redmires is one of the few places they breed in the Peak District. A pair of grey wagtails was feeding young in a nest by the dam wall and we could admire the brilliant yellow of the male and the black throat. We turned the corner alongside the conduit and were immediately greeted by the calls of lapwings and curlews. The lapwings had chicks but they were difficult to spot in the long grass. An obliging red grouse gave us some good views on the heavily managed grouse moor. We had a fleeting glimpse of a snipe and a slightly longer look at a golden plover flying over but not the views we had hoped for, they are more conspicuous later when they have chicks on the ground. By this time the wind had got up and it was distinctly cool. Those who had seen the weather forecast were unprepared so we took the shortest way back to the car park. Four of us soldiered on along Long Causeway and were rewarded by some warm sunshine and marvellous views of a cuckoo atop a dead tree in the felled area used by nightjars later in the summer. Tree pipits like this type of terrain so we had fun trying to convince ourselves that we could distinguish between them and the meadow pipits we had seen earlier.

All in all a very enjoyable trip and I’d like to repeat it next year maybe a week or two later when the golden plover have chicks and the lapwing chicks are bigger. In the absence of Chris I thought I’d better go back and take some photos and picked up linnet, reed bunting and pied wagtail, so a good day.

Members participating: 7 + 1 guest

Bird list (32 species)

Common Sandpiper	Coal Tit	Snipe	Little Grebe
Song Thrush	Grey Wagtail	Red Grouse	Tree Pipit
Blackcap	Blackbird	Skylark	Stonechat
Grey Lag Goose	Wood Pigeon	Golden Plover	Mistle Thrush
Canada Goose	Blackbird	Swallow	Wren
Mallard	Carrion Crow	Chaffinch
Moorhen + chicks	Pheasant	Jay
Cuckoo	Meadow Pipit	Robin
Lapwing	Curlew	Willow Warbler

Summary

If you didn’t know it, you would speed past this small gem of a site alongside the A621 to Sheffield without noticing it. We soon had the first of many sightings of Pied Flycatchers but most of us missed the Cuckoo that Brian saw and heard soon after his arrival. There were good views of Redstarts and brief sightings of a Redpoll. Mid-way through our wander through the scrub / woodland Brian had us all take turns to stick our heads into a hole in a tree and report what we could see – not a lot if we were honest but a photo revealed the secret – a female Mandarin on her nest.

We lingered by Bar Brook, well away from traffic noise and were entertained by a Tree Pipit repeatedly flying up from a tree and parachuting down to the ground before returning to a tree to perch.

Members participating: 4 + 1 guest

Bird list (27 species seen and/or heard)

Mandarin Duck	Tree Pipit	Pied Flycatcher
Buzzard	Wren	Long-tailed Tit
Kestrel	Robin	Blue Tit
Pheasant	Redstart	Great Tit
Lapwing	Blackbird	Carrion Crow
Curlew	Song Thrush	Chaffinch
Woodpigeon	Mistle Thrush	Goldfinch
Cuckoo	Chiffchaff	Siskin
Swallow	Willow Warbler	Redpoll

Summary
As we arrived in the car park by the mill, we passed a bank of photographers with their long lenses trained on the upper stories of the mill. We soon spotted the Peregrine ourselves and Brian got it in his scope for close-up viewing. Once or twice it took off in an unsuccessful pursuit of a pigeon. We moved on to the weir, adding a few more species to our list before crossing the bridge and heading up Wyver Lane.
The sun was out almost continuously for our visit and the song birds kept us entertained, including Chaffinch, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Wren. From the hide we saw swallows, several species of duck, a Lapwing and a Little Egret. A couple of Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk increased our raptor count as we continued along the lane.

Members participating: 4

Bird list (41 species seen and/or heard)

Little Grebe	Peregrine Falcon	Blackbird
Cormorant	Pheasant	Blackcap
Little Egret	Moorhen	Chiffchaff
Mute Swan	Coot	Long-tailed Tit
Greylag Goose	Lapwing	Coal Tit
Canada Goose	Black-headed Gull	Blue Tit
Shelduck	Herring Gull	Great Tit
Wigeon	Feral Pigeon	Magpie
Gadwall	Woodpigeon	Jackdaw
Mallard	Green Woodpecker	Carrion Crow
Shoveler	Swallow	House Sparrow
Tufted Duck	Wren	Chaffinch
Sparrowhawk	Dunnock	Goldfinch
Buzzard	Robin