I thought you might be
interested to see the original Carsington shirt logo, which certainly the
volunteers had in 1997. It features the
Stones on Stones Island, behind the visitor centre.
Then, as the result of the Osprey Project and the Sand Martin Project, the volunteers created their own version by adding an Osprey Post and a Sand Martin bank!
Then for the 25th
Anniversary in May, Severn Trent produced a special 25 years version, although
it looks like someone redesigned the Stones element.
Sunday 16th July My Beginners walk at Markeaton Park was
enjoyed by 7 people, a record number, but sadly they only enjoyed seeing 17
species. The foliage was very thick, and
very little song could be heard.
Pamela came with a good quantity of mixed seed
for the bird table in the woods, which had Coal Tits feeding within seconds.
Otherwise, the hi-light was a juvenile Goosander which was mixing it with the
multi-race species in the duck pond.
The
park had several public events on Sunday, and we might have to think about
starting the walks at 8.30 to beat the numbers and noise.
Monday 17th There had been a report of a
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Allestree Park, so I did a lap of the lakes, but
to no avail. 5/6 years ago, they were
frequently reported from the park, but it seems they have found nest holes elsewhere.
It was a pleasant walk, and as I arrived a Kingfisher flew over the upper lake
wall and away down the large lake. Otherwise, apart from 4 female Mandarins,
nothing much.
Tuesday 18th Christine and I went to Padley Gorge to see
if she could find Wood Warbler, Whinchat or Ring Ouzel, and I wanted Spotted
Flycatcher. We reached the top of the
gorge whilst it was still quiet, and walked down the gorge, until we could go
up towards the quarry and came out above the wooded area. Despite persistent
stopping and listening, we only enjoyed Nuthatches, Tree Creepers, and a good
view tracking a Green Woodpecker as it zig-zagged away above the gorse… oh and
a sun-bathing Stonechat!
After a picnic and a
quick look at Burbage for the Ouzel, again to no avail, we went back to
Carsington to see if we could pick up the Flycatcher and a Yellow Legged Gull.
Sheepwash was unproductive, so we moved on
to Millfield, and were rewarded with a very busy Spotted Flycatcher hunting for food.
Interesting article
that Chris had kept for me about the ideal places to find Spotted Flycatchers,
cut from Bird Watching Magazine…
"Spotted Flycatchers are birds of woodland glades among tall trees, with
room to swoop and catch insects" which is exactly what they were doing in
Penn Carr.
So, with Chris sadly
not moving on today, but I’m now on 191, it’s off home for a nice cup of Rosie in the
garden with Mary, and a chance to plan our trips for the Summer.
Wednesday 19th Now I really am starting to worry… I’d gone
to Attenborough Gravel Pits, with a Wood Sandpiper in mind, and what do I find
on arrival? I have left my
binoculars at home. Now that is what
I call a serious situation, and whilst I did have my scope, and in the boot a
small pair of 6 x 12 bins, I felt naked (didn’t look it fortunately). The
number of times I’ve said to someone, “No bins? You’re not dressed!” Hoisted by my own petard.
Ed: If
you are going to continue doing these pre-Bird walk talks, you had better explain
that this expression, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, means “to fall into one’s own
trap”. Déjà vu would have been better, and
by the way, a Petard is a small bomb.
Nothing to add to my list, at Attenborough, but Green Sandpiper, Ringed
Plover and Dunlin were good spots. And
water lower than I have seen for a long time. As the quarrying has ceased and
no tugs/barges going through the pits, the lack of movement seems to be reflected
in the amount of green algae appearing.
LATE NEWS. I was looking at Chris’s 2017 list to see
which birds she had seen which I hadn’t, and vice versa, and was able to tell
her that she had in fact reached the brilliant 2017 target of 200 species, and what pleased her
was that number 200 was the wonderful Nottinghamshire Bee-eaters.
Chris did 201
last year, but 200 before the end of July is excellent. Amanda is on 206, and I’m
tail-end Charlie on 191.
I’ll keep you posted.
I have also seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near Allestree Lake occasionally so it may worth the occasional visit again.
ReplyDeleteSpotted Flycatcher was a good spot (sorry). As you said, forgetting your bins was a little worrying....However, I'm confident that you will achieve the magic 200 this year particularly with the occasional barbed comment from your Editor.
A slight downside this time was the lack of culinary exploits.