Now
then... that’s a bit more like it! A
good day’s birding, frozen to the marrow, snow, heavy traffic and a plate of
Yorkshire hotpot. Obvious why I go birding.
But
enough of this euphoria.. the story starts here..
Tuesday 26th
April Christine
picks me up at 9.00am and at last we find the journey to Old Moor is no longer
restricted to 50mph all the way to the M18. Broomhill Flash is the first stop,
having to climb through the (official-) gap in the hedge to face the north
winds and view the flash. Within minutes, my first Swift of the year (just love that bird) followed soon by
a Common
Sandpiper.
The builders tell us that the
new Garganey Trust hide IS due to open
next weekend (c7th May), which considering how often I have expressed my
disappointment, it will be great to see the finished 2-tier building.
Next stop, RSPB Old Moor and
we head straight for the Tree Sparrow farm. Good decision, because the first
bird we see is a gorgeous male Yellow Hammer on the grass.
We check all the
other hides, and as we leave the Wader scrape hide, volunteer Amanda (who also
volunteers at Carsington and helps with my bird walks) tells us the nearby spot
to see a Lesser Whitethroat. She adds
“It helps if you know the call”, which she does and we don’t! However, we find
the spot, hear an unusual call and stand still in the wind and sleet for 10
minutes to try and locate what would be a great addition for 2016. In due
course, our patience is rewarded and the bird works its way up into the open,
so that we can both see and hear the call of a Lesser Whitethroat, an excellent summer visitor.
A tasty Hotpot and a nice coop
o tea, and we are ready to check out the reedbeds. Sadly to no avail, but the
viewing screen is photographed as it gives me good ideas for our proposed
additional hide/screen at Carsington.
4pm, and we are now on our way
to Carsington for a 6pm walk to see some of the first Yellow Wagtail arrivals.
Traffic is ****** and Chesterfield is ditto, but thanks to Chris we pull into
the car park at 5.55pm. (Why arrive earlier? Except we did want a drink and
snack first.)
10 hardy souls brave more
sleet and the cold, but Jon Bradley from Carsington Bird Club knows where to
look, and spots our first Yellow Wagtails on water sports island in the scrub. The first is
a nice male, and a bit later a female is seen. Little Ringed Plover, Common
Sandpiper, White Wagtail, and
hirundines help make the evening what it was meant to be, a Yellow Wagtail
walk. (7.30pm, the car park emptied with remarkable speed, and I was grateful
for Chris putting on the under-seat heater on my side of the car!)
So it was a good day, 5 additions to my 2016 list
taking me to 151. The proposed target of 160 was clearly a figment of my
imagination!
...............or was it? Saturday 30th
April, I manage to catch a couple of
hours at Attenborough, with great success. Place seems to be full of
photographers, but all the summer migrants should be in by now, so plenty to
photo.
Common
Terns are in view before I get out of the car, and a
leisurely stroll to and around the tower hide area adds a female Linnet (I’ve been after THAT bird all year), Reed
Warbler (singing well and only one diving into the reeds
enabled me to add it to the 2016 list), several Sedge Warblers, and 4 Whitethroats.
For some reason Blackcap eludes me still, despite being a warbler that now often spends Christmas in the UK. Patience David.
I’m told there is a Hoopoe at Branston Golf Club (near Burton on Trent)
but that’s off my radar today.
I manage a brief view of a Whimbrel before it takes flight, so this short visit has added 6 to my list =157...
aint all that far off the forecasted 160.
Honour (mostly-) satisfied!
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