Wonderful moments of 2012

Hello birdwatchers

Well what a fantastic year it has been - I hope that you have been able to follow the Start Birding blogs over the last 12 months and have enjoyed reading about the wonderful birds we have seen on our trips.

Since my last post, we have remained in Yorkshire for the rest of December. The Monday and Wednesday evening classes joined forces for their first Christmas party at Rodley Nature Reserve while the Tuesday class dressed up as birds for their 8th Festive evening of fun.

Our trip to Pugney's and Calder Wetlands in Wakefield allowed us to watch a displaced, deep sea duck in action on the main lake. Long-tailed duck occasionally turn up in Wakefield along with other scarce wildfowl such as scoter, scaup, smew, ring-necked duck, American wigeon and feruginous duck. It is like a ley line for wandering birds right on our doorstep.

Long-tailed duck at Pugney's Country Park (Rodney German)

The final trip on the 2012 programme was to one of Leeds' local gems, Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve. It was a sunny morning and the woodland birds were enjoying a pause in the wet weather. The sunshine brought out the warm colours of bullfinch, greenfinch, siskin, robin, blue tit and song thrush. Ahead of us on the water-logged path, the puddles provided a much needed pre-preening bath for a male bullfinch. We finished the walk with a hot drink and a festive mince pie.




A male bullfinch bathing at Kirkstall (Rodney German)

Festive birdwatchers at Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve


As usual at this time of year, I put on an extra, unannounced trip to walk off the cobwebs and the over indulgence of Christmas day. This year, festive birdwatchers joined me at RSPB Blacktoft Sands. After everything I said about having good weather on my trips and being very lucky in 2012, I think I changed my luck. It rained most of the day. Luckily, there are enough hides at Blacktoft and we were able to take shelter from the prevailing wind. The weather did inhibit us from thoroughly scanning a field of greylag geese but we did find a Greenland white-fronted goose among them before the rain covered the telescope lens. Back at the hides, barn owl, marsh harrier and hen harrier hunted in front of us; the male hen harrier being the star of the show for me. We toasted the new year with a thimble full of home made sloe gin and Christmas cake (with Wensleydale cheese of course) from one of the hides before heading home.

It is a tradition of mine on new year's eve to look back on the birding year and pick my top 5 birding moments and top birds. 2012 has been filled with wonderful birding moments - thankfully all shared with equally wonderful people. My favourites are: watching thousands of barnacle geese flying overhead at Caerlaverock in January; finding European white-fronted goose, taiga bean goose and tundra bean goose with greylag at Staveley in February; hearing a corn bunting singing on a new BTO survey site at Great Heck in May; watching a pied flycatcher singing in Middleton Woods in Ilkley and finding an illusive grey phalarope at Carsington Water in October.

So why am I sitting here writing my blog on new year's eve? Well, the dreaded norovirus struck our house for the second time this month so we had to cancel our plans this year.

I wish you all a happy and peaceful 2013 full of birds and wonderful wildlife moments.

Linda



Ma @ Donna and child

Hello birdwatchers

I hope that you have managed to catch up with some of our winter visitors over the last couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about their waxwing sightings. It has been great to hear that Leeds birdwatchers have managed to see them for the first time this year.

Since my last blog, we have been experiencing some real autumnal weather. We've been shivering in our classroom at Rodley, peering through fog in the vale of York and battling with an icy wind on the Lincolnshire coast. Thankfully we've had plenty of warm clothing, blankets and cups of tea to keep out the cold.

On 24th November, our planned ringing trip was postponed due to the fog. Feeling disappointed, we headed off to North Duffield Carrs in the hope that the fog would lift and we would be able to view enough birds on the lagoons close to the hides. We had encouraging views of the sun emerging from the mists but, instead of lifting, the fog very quickly got worse. I decided that it wasn't worth staying so we headed west to RSPB Fairburn Ings.


Canada geese fly onto a fog covered lagoon

On the journey, the thick fog lifted then dropped again making us unsure about whether we would manage to see any birds that day. Thankfully, Fairburn was clear when we arrived and we managed to see waxwing, redwing, siskin, tree sparrow, kingfisher, and plenty of wildfowl before the fog and the freezing temperatures finally got the better of us.

Throughout this year, I've been taking my mobile cafe on each of the Start Birding trips which, I think, has really been beneficial to my companions. My guests have the choice of a selection of teas, coffee, hot chocolate, juice and a range of different biscuits to provide some much needed calories.

Last weekend we took a trip to Donna Nook, one of the best places in the UK to get close up views of grey seals, the third rarest seal in the world. Only a low fence separates viewers from new born and growing seal pups. Close to the scenes of maternal bliss, testosterone fired males engage in combat to win the rite to mate with the females as they come into season.  Many males can be seen bleeding from their battle scarred, blubbery necks and it is amazing how fast they can move across the sand when chasing off a rival.

Warring male grey seals

newly born seal pups with their mums

An exhausted male: grey seal males are the largest of all UK mammals

a proud mum with her pup (photo by Rodney German)

seal milk is almost 60% fat and pups can grow from 15kg to 40kg in 3 weeks

Unfortunately, not all pups thrive to look like overstuffed sausages. Some are either still born or die soon after being born. This probably doesn't come as a surprise, but what is surprising is that the dead seal pups and seal afterbirth create a very strange birding moment. My guests very quickly went from revulsion to fascination and disbelief as they watched turnstones avidly eating seal flesh just a stones throw away from the path; behaviour you usually only expect from crows, gulls and passing raptors. Don't look at the next photo if you're squeamish!

a turnstone eating seal afterbirth

Along the Lincolnshire coast we saw flocks of meadow pipits and skylarks feeding on the ground. Waders included turnstone, grey plover, curlew, dunlin and redshank and a flock of dark-bellied Brent geese flew in from the fields towards the middle of the day.

This coming weekend, we're heading to Pugney's and Calder Wetlands in Wakefield. There is a long-tailed duck there at the moment and smew, scaup and American wigeon in the area so fingers crossed for a good day. We're hoping to see bittern on the reserve at Pugneys and the forecasted cold weather will give us the right conditions.

Next week will be the last of this year's indoor classes at Rodley Nature Reserve. We will be having a festive party with birdwatching games and exercises then will enjoy a break before starting again in January. If you are interested in hearing more about indoor and outdoor classes in 2013 then my next newsletter will be out very soon. You can email me to receive the list of my forthcoming trips on linda.startbirding@gmail.com or call me on 07778 768719.

Finally, I'd like to say goodbye to my friend and long-term furry companion, Josh who sadly didn't make it to Christmas and died at the end of November aged 17. He was such a character and the house feels empty without him. He will be missed for a very long time.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and for your understanding and support over the last couple of weeks. Rest in peace Josh. You've been an absolute star x

Josh 1995-2012

 

LEOs, SEO and BNG - what do the abbreviations mean?

Hello Birdwatchers

What a fantastic day we had yesterday at RSPB Saltholme reserve at Teesside. We woke to pouring rain and travelled north

By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped. The air was still damp and the light was somewhat 'milky'; not very good conditions for photographs but, thankfully, enough visibility for birding.

We started our day with great views of gadwall, teal, redshank and goldfinch then nipped into the excellent visitor centre to see what was around.

Redshank busily feeding in front of the hide

Goldfinch feeding on niger seed

Our birding was very quickly focused when we heard that volunteers were setting up scopes on some long-eared owls (LEOs) at the far end of the reserve. We were also invited to watch out for a starling murmuration from the balcony of the visitor centre at the end of the day.

On our way round to the LEO spot we found two hunting kestrels on the aptly named Kestrel Trail. A little egret suddenly appeared from a ditch close to the Paddy's pool hide. All around us we could see flocks of golden plover and lapwing restlessly rising and falling across the wet grassland - perhaps a sign that a peregrine or a merlin was hunting in the area.



Golden plover flock over Saltholme

Pochard, tufted duck, mute swan, shoveler, teal and a heron were seen on the Allotment Pool while blackbird, fieldfare, redwing and mistle thrush grazed on the remaining hawthorn berries around the reserve. Occasionally, we heard water rails squealing their courtship songs from deep in the reedbeds.

Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that I try to highlight any interesting landmarks or pieces of art that are close to our destination. Saltholme is surrounded by both natural and man-made landmarks. Teesside is home to Britain's largest art installation, Temenos, by Anish Kapoor, the creator of the Olympic centrepiece, Orbit and this can be seen from the reserve. I'm sure that is isn't possible to fully appreciate the structure from Saltholme reserve, however I found it really interesting to observe how the structure appeared to change shape as we walked around the reserve. At one stage, as we watched the golden plover and lapwing flocks, it looked as if the birds were flying through into a long net. To the right of Temenos, the transporter bridge can also be seen to the south of the reserve and Roseberry Topping provides a notable backdrop to the east.

Temenos by artist Anish Kapoor

A poor photo but a view of birds flying close to Temenos

  
We knew we were near our LEO spot when we could see a group of people gathered to the right of us along a muddy path. Some very helpful RSPB volunteers guided us, with expert visual descriptions, to the tree where three LEOs sat blinking at us through the crisscross of lichen covered branches. See if you can spot them in the photos.

Long-eared owl number 1

number 2

number 3

It's always wonderful to introduce a birdwatcher to a completely new bird - something that I love to do as much as possible for my guests - but to show people long-eared owls, in fact any owls, always gives me a buzz. They are so enigmatic and regal and I think long-eared owls specifically extend a privilege that allows us to observe them (and be observed) up close. I find looking straight into the eyes of an owl a very humbling experience. This time all the hard work was done for me and I was able to enjoy the experience without having to hunt through the whole copse.

Our next mission was the black-necked grebe (BNG) which had been seen from the Saltholme Pools hide. On our way to the hide, a flock of barnacle geese landed in a field nearby. After trying to explain to my guests where they might have migrated from, we later learned that this flock are feral birds and can be seen at the reserve all year round.

Black-necked grebe



Barnacle geese

Mallard, wigeon, teal, pintail, shoveler, tufted duck and gadwall were present in small numbers on the pool. A female goldeneye fed busily in deeper water. Later, the sun finally burned off the last of the milky whiteness of the atmosphere and we were treated to an autumn glow across the grassland.

Golden plover flocks took on an orange glow. We decided to sit for a while and appreciated them before returning to the visitor centre for the starling murmuration.

 

Golden plover and lapwing sitting in the autumn sun

 

From around 4pm, we watched small flocks of starlings making their way from the reserve to the pylons close to the visitor centre. Group by group, they gathered and swirled until an estimated twenty thousand starlings could be seen perching on every available horizontal part of the pylons. Gradually, they left their perches and the murmuration began. Starlings bunched, swirled, dipped and glided until, as if one of them had given the signal, they began funneling down into the reedbed below. A few thousand lazy individuals that had remained on the pylons used this as a cue to retire for the night and a second wave funnelled down to join the others - struggling to find a place in the reedbed. What a fantastic sight. One of the volunteers commented that this was the biggest gathering he had seen yet at the reserve.

 

It was almost dark now, so we decided to look for a short-eared owl (SEO) over another section of Saltholme Pools and have a cup of tea while we were waiting. No sooner had Linda's cafe made a brew for my guests, a short-eared owl appeared just above the reedbed, perching nicely for us to get a reasonable decent view. Clear skies and an autumn sunset brought an end to our day and we drove home, discussing what we had seen on our day.

 

 

Next week we continue our classes on bird adaptations at Rodley Nature Reserve and at the weekend we will be bird ringing on a farm near York. For more information contact Linda at Start Birding on 07778 768719 or email linda.startbirding@gmail.com

 

Don't forget to look for those waxwings!

Everyone's talking about waxwings

Hello birdwatchers

The word of the month in the birding world has to be waxwings. They're everywhere but if you haven't seen any yet then this is because they are very nomadic and faithful to their favourite places -places that are filled with berries.

In Leeds, one such nomadic flock travels between Woodhouse Square, Hanover Square, Woodhouse Moor, Headingley, Burley and Armley. Small foraging flocks will occasionally go in search of new sources of food so, if you have berries in your garden, keep your eyes peeled for signs of this beautiful bird. Their call is similar to the high trill of the old trim phones (if you are old enough to remember them) and they look very similar to starlings in flight. Once you get your binoculars on them though, they couldn't look less like starlings. The waxwing is a very exotic looking bird with pinkish brown plumage, a long crest, black mask and a yellow stripe on the end of its tail. Its name comes from the red tips on its wing feathers that look as though they are made of wax. For some fantastic detailed photos of waxwing plumage visit the Fair Isle Bird Observatory blog here

waxwing in Leeds (photo by Rod German)

This is really one great reason to take your binoculars everywhere with you as you're likely to bump into them when you are doing your shopping! As many supermarkets plant berry laden shrubs in and around their car parks, this is one of the places that waxwings are regularly seen - even in the middle of the busiest city! Don't be caught out - you'll be kicking yourself if you are unprepared and may not get another chance to see them next year.

Large flocks of waxwings entering Britain in the Autumn can be due to environmental reasons (bad weather or poor berry crop) or because the waxwing population has increased and there is not enough food to support them all. Early indications show that food is generally scarce this year on the continent. Many birds, such as thrushes, woodpigeons, bramblings, redpoll and siskin, have travelled here early this year. That's a lot of birds competing for food. This means that, as food gradually diminishes from preferred sites in the UK, birds will need to "graze" their way around the country. Hence the chance for you to get an unexpected visitor in your garden.

Our mild autumn is providing enough natural food to support large flocks of birds at the moment, even waxwings are feeding on insects while they are available, but as soon as the temperature drops then berries will be in demand.  If you don't have any berries, or if your berry source runs out, you may be able to attract waxwings by skewering apples onto tree branches or sticks in the garden. It may be best to wait until the weather gets cold and food is scarce before doing this thought to get the best results.

This weekend, Start Birding will be travelling to Teesside to the RSPB Saltholme reserve. The link will take you to the latest sightings on the reserve. As well as having their own flock of waxwings, large flocks of wildfowl and waders are now gathering on the reserve. You'll also be able to see the recent installation, Temenos, by the artist Anish Kapoor, from the reserve. Anish Kapoor is the creator of the Olympic centrepiece Orbit.  If you'd like to join me then please call me on 07778 768719 for details.

So what has Start Birding been doing this week. Well, our Rodley classes have been learning about bird adaptations and have been looking at beaks, skulls, legs, feet and bird pellets.

The intricate adaptation of a guillemot beak (bird found dead on the east coast)

Last weekend we had a fantastic time at both our venues. On Saturday, a fantastic starling murmuration and flypasts by peregrine and barn owl, ended our walk about YWT Staveley Carrs. Flocks of greylag geese gathered noisily on the reserve and we also saw fieldfare, redwing, snipe, shoveler, teal, lapwing, little grebe and reed bunting.

View across the lagoon of the new hide at Staveley

Evening light over the reedbed at Staveley

A starling murmuration over Staveley

Resting barn owl (photo by Richard Weil)

 Our Sunday Stroll took us to Bramley Falls Wood for a wonderful autumn walk around this popular Leeds wood. Common woodland bird calls were the focus of this trip and we were able to track nuthatch, treecreeper and great-spotted woodpecker through the woods by listening to their calls. Redwing and fieldfare flocks were found foraging along the canal edge and a singing dipper was found on the River Aire. A solitary grey wagtail fed on the canal overflow.

A canal overflow offers the perfect feeding place for grey wagtail

Autumn colours in Bramley Falls Wood

If you are interested in learning more about Start Birding walks and classes then visit my website on www.startbirding.co.uk or call me on 07778 768719

Start Birding has signed up to Twitter!

Yes I know I said that I probably wouldn't do this but I've now got a Twitter account and have sent out my first tweet. I thought I'd dip my toe in the water and see what happened. The aim is to publicise Start Birding to a wider audience and get more people out enjoying wildlife and the outdoors.

Now you can do two things

1. you can "follow me by email", on the right hand side of the text, to receive email alerts when I've posted a new blog and/or
2. you can follow me on Twitter by clicking the link 

Who knows where this will lead but I've already found out that someone is out there tweeting all waxwing sightings across the country and I'm linking to other birding tweets too.

The nights are really drawing in now and it is dark by the time I arrive at Rodley Nature Reserve on Monday and Wednesday evenings for my birdwatching classes. On Monday we had to scrape the ice from our cars at the end of the class which was a first for the year. This week we have been learning about the complex subject of migration, how birds navigate and how the weather plays a big part in the process.

Last weekend Start Birding took a long overdue visit to Yorkshire Water's Top Hill Low reserve. The day alternated between mist and autumn sun which brought out the colours of the yellowing larch and the redness of the hawthorn berries.



Top Hill Low is a mixture of large raised reservoirs and semi-natural pools and woodland.

Lots of autumn colour at Top Hill Low

There were a lot of redwing and fieldfare about and we also found a chattering flock of siskin on the alders close to the car park. Tree sparrows occupied their stronghold around the visitor's centre but the feeders weren't in use there on Saturday. There was a lot of activity around the feeders in the woodland close to the D reservoir though and here we saw willow tit and goldcrest. It was lovely to see that so much work had been done to the reserve since my last visit with a new hide being built overlooking Hempholme Meadows. Check out the link above to see the blog post about this. We were lucky in that we saw the belted Galloway before they were taken off the reserve (my favourite cattle). We ambled around at dusk in the hope of seeing barn owl and eventually found one quartering along a ditch close to the D reservoir. By that time we were cold but very happy. 

Below are photos of some of the other birds seen. Top Hill Low is one of my favourite reserves and it was a pleasure to spend some time there again.

European white-fronted goose with a flock of greylag geese

What looked like a first year Greenland white-fronted goose (right) with a greylag

 

Goldeney male and female with teal, tufted duck and wigeon

This coming weekend, Start Birding will be spending time closer to home. On Saturday we'll be visiting Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's excellent reserve at Staveley where we hope to see water rail, barn owl, yellowhammer, reed bunting and a starling murmuration. After our walk we'll be having a soup stop at the Royal Oak pub in the village before going home.

You can also join me for my new Sunday Strolls programme to local areas around Leeds. This Sunday's trip is a walk around Bramley Falls Wood and a section of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. If you're interested in joining us then please give me a call on 07778 768719 or email me at linda.startbirding@gmail.com

Happy birding

Linda

Goodbye October, hello waxwings

Hello birdwatchers

For me, October has been a month of cloudscapes, colour and snipe. I don't think I've ever had so many snipe on my Start Birding trips before.

wonderful cloudscapes over North Cave

Last Saturday we even managed to add a jack snipe to our list. This smaller cousin of the common snipe has a characteristic bobbing jizz. The individual we saw at North Cave Wetlands slept on the edge of the lagoon for a while before performing his bobbing ritual beautifully for the birdwatchers that joined me on the trip.

Jack snipe at North Cave Wetlands

 Autumn was in full swing. Golden and russet leaves were already on the ground; fieldfare and redwing grazed on the berry laden hedgerows and fungi emerged out of the carpet of leaves. We came across a clump of common cavalier, a lovely sable brown fungus with a wide, thin cap and short stipe.

Common cavalier (photo by Rod German)

 A single whooper swan was the first of the winter for most of the party but the main topic of conversation was a family of mute swans that had been joined by a black swan male. The female had taken a shine to the male black swan and was following him everywhere. The male mute swan and two cygnets seemed have been rejected for the time being but the remained close by. A male goldeneye fed enthusiastically on one of the lagoons and goldfinch flocks fed on thistles and teasels.

Whooper swan at North Cave Wetlands

Goldfinches on teasels

On Sunday morning, my Wednesday birdwatchers joined me at Rodley Nature Reserve to practise their birdwatching skills. The lagoons were relatively quiet due to work being done on the reserve to install a fish pass on the river, but we managed to pick up a lot of bird activity on other parts of the reserve. In the two hours that were were there we managed to see, flying overhead, red kite, common snipe, around 40 wigeon, 30 gadwall, kestrel, sparrowhawk and great-spotted woodpecker. Stock dove, redwing and fieldfare sat in nearby hawthorn trees and black-headed and common gull provided some good study material for the beginners class. We finished off the morning by having pie and peas for lunch in the excellent visitor's centre.

This week has been half term so my Monday and Wednesday class have had a much needed break to digest what they have learned so far. However, my Tuesday group met learn more about migration and winter bird songs. Classes start again next week and will cover migration and weather and adaptations of bird anatomy and physiology. If you're interested then please call me to book a place on 07778 768719 or email linda.startbirding@gmail.com

November is now upon us and the outgoing migration has almost come to an end. We can now focus on the birds coming into the country from Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Northern Russia and Svalbard. Waxwings have already arrived in the country so watch your berry trees and pray for a visit.

Cotoneaster berries are a magnet for waxwings

An early influx of bramblings indicates that there isn't enough beech mast on the continent to sustain the number of birds feeding there. This would normally be an exciting prospect for us, however we may also not have enough food in the UK this year. These finches will readily go to garden feeders so please make sure that you put out plenty of suitable food and maintain the food supply all winter.

I'm currently reviewing a new bird feeder by Nature's Feast which as 3 compartments, allowing you to offer 3 different kinds of seed.

My birds had a choice of black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts and a high energy seed mixture. I decided to check the seed levels each day to see which was the most popular. The black sunflower was eaten first and more greenfinch visited the garden. Weight for weight, with the husks being on the black sunflowers, there was less edible food in that compartment so I suppose that is why this was emptied first but it has been fun watching the birds take to this new feeder. They usually take a while to use a new feeder, however, this one was in use within the first hour.

It did occur to me that this feeder would be a good option for small gardens with limited capacity for hanging feeders as you can attract more birds into your garden using less space. I've now refilled the compartments and will continue to use it and try different foods. I'll blog about it again when it comes to cleaning time - this is always the test of a good feeder when you're trying to dismantle a feeder with cold fingers!

all for now - Linda

Reward yourself with a rhapsody of colour

Hello birdwatchers

If you've been feeling depressed by the wet, cold summer then I urge you to take a trip outdoors this weekend and reap your reward.

That dreadful, torrential rain and flooding that we've all had to tolerate has created a rhapsody of autumnal splendour around our cities, parks and countryside. Leaves of green, yellow, gold, amber and russet are punctuated by berries of blue/black, red and orange - a sight that could inspire anyone to reach for the box of paints or a camera. Those November winds are just around the corner so don't leave it too late. Visit this link to find out more.

Autumn colours in the suburbs of Leeds

Guelder rose berries

 One big advantage of the November winds is that it becomes much easier to help beginners to identify birds; you can see them and they are in view for longer. Now is a great time to join a class or a birdwatching walk. I have some places available on my birdwatching classes at Rodley Nature Reserve starting again on Monday 5th and Wednesday 7th November for 6 weeks. If you are interested then give me a call. Alternatively, join me at the weekend on one of my walks.

Call me on 07778 768719 for more details or email linda.startbirding@gmail.com

Floods, fog and feathers

Hello birdwatchers

How lucky we have been with the weather this week on Start Birding birdwatching trips. We've been treated to the best of autumnal weather with dramatic mists hanging in the valleys, blue skies and wispy clouds. The diffused light has enhanced the seasonal yellow, gold and russet hues of the October landscape and has provided a colourful backdrop for viewing details of plumage as birds reach their peak plumage condition.

Great spotted woodpecker at Alkborough

In complete contrast, today is overcast and drizzly. The perfect day for looking at photographs and writing a blog. So where have we been this week?

As usual, Start Birding birdwatching classes took place at Rodley Nature Reserve on Monday and Wednesday evening. This week we began our journey into bird songs and calls. If you've always wanted to learn bird songs and haven't managed it so far then why not join a Start Birding class and commit to starting the journey yourself? You can contact me via this page or by visiting my website www.startbirding.co.uk

On Thursday, Alkborough Flats was the destination. We started in the village at the turf cut maze called Julian's Bower and looked over the cliff towards the flats and Trent Falls. We were looking forward to watching waders and wildfowl however, high tides during the week had flooded the area making exposed mud, and waders, scarce.

Alkborough Flats

Redshank, curlew and lapwing were found on the flats but we had to walk over to Trent Falls, almost getting our feet wet, to see flocks of golden plover. Two little egrets were on the Trent and small flocks of Brent geese flew towards the Humber estuary. Back on the flats, large flocks of teal, wigeon and shelduck were interspersed by mallard and shoveler. Great-spotted woodpecker and reed bunting were also seen. As it was relatively quiet, we followed a couple of other birdwatchers to Worlaby Carrs where short-eared owls had been seen that week, early in the afternoon. We weren't able to stay there too long and sadly the owls didn't show up for us this time but it was good to get some much needed exercise on our walk around the area. We did manage to see male and female marsh harrier, buzzards and kestrel, my first fieldfare of the year, mistle thrush and stock dove.

While we were waiting for the owls, loud laughing calls from many female mallards brought a smile to our faces. After a short walk, we found about 150 mallards on a small man-made pool encircled by reeds and banks. They were so engrossed with each other that they didn't hear us approaching which gave them a bit of a fright. Luckily they all took to the water instead of flying off so we were able to take a few photos before leaving them to their pre-nuptial gathering.



Mallards at Worlaby Carrs

We returned to Alkborough Flats to watch the evening starling roost across the flood plain. We weren't disappointed and watched thousands of starlings gathering in small groups before their murmuration across the river convergence.

Starlings gather before their murmuration over Alkborough Flats

On Saturday I took a group of birdwatchers to Ogston Reservoir and Carsington Water in Derbyshire. This was a scheduled trip on the Start Birding calendar but a quick search on Birdguides Bird News Extra the night before gave us target species of grey phalarope, rock pipit and drake scaup at Carsington Water. We journeyed south on the M1 in beautiful sunny weather but ran into thick fog as we headed for Ogston Reservoir so, consequently, made our stay a brief one. Luckily, a snipe stepped into view as we looked over to the hide belonging to the Ogston Bird Club and we were able to see a few birds on the water from the public hide.

At Carsington, the sun began to disperse the fog soon after we arrived so we spent the day in lovely sunshine. The scaup and rock pipit were easily found but the grey phalarope gave us, and a few other frustrated birders, the run around for a good part of the afternoon. After scanning every bit of water we could see, we finally caught up with it from the Paul Stanley hide in the far corner of the inlet. Everyone managed to get a good look of it before it flew swiftly right and out of view. Too quickly to get a photo but we did manage to get the scaup and a lovely nuthatch which we saw feeding with tree sparrows, willow tit and coal tit at the feeders.

Drake scaup at Carsington Water

Nuthatch (taken by Rodney German)

On Sunday I took a trip to Nosterfield Local Nature Reserve and Nosterfield Quarry. Again we arrived in thick fog but this time it took a little longer to clear. The excellent hide at Nosterfield provided us with enough literature to read with our flask of coffee while we waited for the fog to clear. As you can see, it wasn't possible to view many birds so we observed the behaviour of little grebe, mallard, wigeon, starling and teal at the water's edge close to the hide.

Fog restricted birding at Nosterfield

Thankfully, the fog cleared soon after and we managed to have a walk at the quarry in full sunshine and return back to Nosterfield reserve before it descended on us again.

Sun and wispy cloud over Nosterfield Quarry

Hundreds of golden plover were present in the area with large flocks of lapwing. Flocks of greylags moved between both areas, their grating calls piercing the late fog and guiding other flocks onto the water. Dunlin, shelduck and Canada geese were also present and a little owl was seen in the base of a coppiced tree at the far end of the quarry.

Golden plover at Nosterfield Quarry

Greylag geese at Nosterfield Quarry

Lapwing at Nosterfield Quarry

 

This week sees the end of the first Birdwatching for Beginners course at Rodley as we have a break for half term. At the weekend we'll visit North Cave Wetlands and the Wednesday birdwatchers will join me at Rodley Nature Reserve on Sunday to practise their bird identification.

 

More next week

 

Linda