Road Runners on the A52

Well, the best laid plans etc etc. I was all enthused up about having a stroll around Shipley park on Thursday with 200-Chris and I go and get the sort of cold that is best kept under the duvet – which is exactly what I did. Pity really, because Shipley has a good mixed environment, with 3 different size and sort of lakes, housing, woodlands and fields. 

In an RSPB guided walk many years ago, before I got to know a bit about birding, I was pointed out a Grey Heron in the trees at Mapperley reservoir which turned out to be a plastic bag. It was also the first bird site that I ever went to for a dawn chorus walk.  

My only compensation this week was that on Tuesday on the way back from Carsington after a Volunteer Ranger meeting, a Barn Owl flew over near the Cock Inn at Mugginton, so that dragged me on to 179 year to date.

Good news from the meeting. Plans are starting to be formulated for the celebration on 22nd May. 2017, of the 25^th Anniversary of the opening of Carsington Water by The Queen in 1992.  22^nd May will be a Monday, so most of the activities and celebrations will be in the previous week. It will also include the official opening of the new bird hide on Stones Island, thanks mainly to the generous bequest by the late Janet Ede. I have written about Janet before, and this will be a fitting tribute to her memory.

A quick look at Birdguides shows that there have been 37 reports TO-DAY (Thursday 24^th November) of Waxwing sightings mainly way up in the North East, including one report of 600 in Nairn on the Moray Firth. A few have drifted further south, with 15 in Somerset near Weston-Super-Mare, but closer to home some have been sighted in Bamford and Glossop. A group appears to be well settled at The Spa PH in Scarborough, and a few have been seen in Norfolk.   I don’t think there is much doubt – the irruption is happening.  

Ed: A nice cock pheasant had Kamikaze intentions on the road to Ashbourne. Missed!

Hello………………. Quick flurry of Whatsapp messages as a result of Supergran adding a Scaup at Carsington this morning, to hit 198!!

Just received my copy of the DOS Bird Report for 2015. Superb publication with an incredible 226 pages, 4 more than last year. It has a huge amount of information on sightings, specialists, rarities, ringing, trip reports, just masses of good useful information. Many people contribute to the publication, compiling sections on groups of species to build up the jigsaw of the 143-page systematic list of the 2015 sightings.

I particularly like the ringing section. If you have been (lucky enough-) to see my Osprey presentation, you will know how I enthuse amount how much we found out about the 3 Carsington Osprey visitors just based on the leg ring. 

In the Report, as examples, there is a Blackbird seen in Clowne, then 3 years later dead in Sweden, or the Chiffchaff ringed in Derbyshire and caught by a ringer 2 years later in Norway.   Fascinating stuff.

Sunday 27^th November.

Encountered a group of birders from Grimsby RSPB who had come for a days’ birding at Carsington. No reports yet of the GN Diver, but at the Wildlife Centre, a Stonechat was very visible for everyone, on Horseshoe Island, and a Brambling popped in briefly on the willow bush in front of the windows. 

Guess who didn’t hear the call!!

Sunday 4^th December.  Just a reminder that next Sunday will be the last Beginners walk for 2016.

BFN

A new British bird…. From Waitrose!

When Mary and I visit antique fairs, we frequently pick up a trade paper in which the editor has a monthly column, “Tittle Tattle and Tantrums”.  This may be appropriate heading for some of my news items!

My latest “tantrum” happened at the end of October and concerned the “photographer” in Leicestershire who was feeding sardines to a Glossy Ibis to try and get the bird close enough for the ultimate photo.  Surprisingly, I saw on Birdguides last week that the Ibis did return to the site – I hope the photographer hasn’t.

I have no problem with photographers wanting competition standard photographs, but bird watchers have a code of conduct which includes not disturbing or distressing wild birds, and I don’t see why photographers should not be included in this code.

I recall the Squacco Heron which was seen by many birders at Attenborough Gravel Pits in Notts in November 2011, and the conflict between photographers and other parties, which led to deflated car tyres, fishing trolleys thrown in the pits etc., mainly due to the photographers who were crawling down the bank towards the water to get the closest possible view of the Squacco catching a fish! 

I also recall going into the main hide at Marshside, Southport, to find 6 windows blocked by 3 photographers each of whom had commandeered a second window for their camera.

Whereas, Old Moor encourages photographers with a below ground level hide with views of a food strewn log just 8 feet away. Now that gets the ultimate photo!

Ed: Will you stop whingeing and take your medication.

Tuesday 16^th November. I did my Osprey presentation again, this time in the north of the county at Grindleford, to the Hope Valley Birdwatchers Club. Nice friendly group and clearly well organised. May have led to solving a birding problem of mine, but I’ll tell you more IF it is resolved.

It was interesting listening to the 34-people sharing their knowledge of recent sightings, particularly to hear local news of a Great White Egret, Grey Shrike and good numbers of Waxwings near Bamford … is this the start of an irruption???

Very misty on the journey home at 9.30pm, but I was kept alert hoping to see a Barn Owl – I didn’t.

Congratulations!!!!!!

In the 200-species race, it transpired that Super AP Grandma (known to her friends as Super Gran) had been wrongly handicapped, so without even leaving the stalls she added Red Throated Diver to reach 197. CS Supremo went to Loughborough today to see the Waxwings, and headed home knowing that for the first time ever she had seen 200 different UK species in a calendar year. It remains to be seen if she can add to that number before 31^st December 2016. Brilliant.

Super Gran has 45 days to get her last 3 – keep watching this space.

Despite having letters and articles published in local papers, I still aspire to one published in the Daily Telegraph. But they do have some interesting wildlife photos and articles.

Yesterday (17^th) they reported that Farmoor Reservoir, a nature reserve near Oxford, has erected an Osprey nest on a 33ft post to try and attract a breeding pair of Ospreys. The reserve warden refers to male Ospreys as “notoriously lazy”!

Good luck – we have had our posts at Carsington since 2011, and whilst we have had visitors, including “short-term lets” sadly no signs of a pair.

Are you looking forward to the forthcoming polar vortex? Maybe not because until now, like me you did not know it is the name for the bitter winds that swirl around the Arctic, and which this year are being pushed further south. This was the subject of another DT article, and which stated that we could be heading for the coldest winter for 5 years. 

The article suggested that when you see squirrels hiding food for the cold weather (caching), and Jays, experts on storing, doing the same, it’s time for us to stockpile wood for the cold times ahead.

In passing, you may have heard of Geocaching, and I have spotted one such cache in the trunk of a tree in Markeaton Park. I have not opened it, but I might one day to see how often it has been successfully found by Geocachers.

Finally, if you watch the Waitrose Xmas commercial wonder at the resilience of the Robin. But marvel at the stamina of the falcon…. which is 11,000 miles off course, because this species normally resides in New Zealand!!!, and it is not the Merlin that Waitrose wanted it to be/look like!.