The Attenborough Firecrest - a great Lifer for some.

It was great last week to get back to some serious birding and I was very pleased with the opening salvo!

Tuesday 8^th January, Chris and I had a pleasant visit to Broomhill Flash and Old Moor.  There had been some great reports of good birds at Old Moor on the 6^th, but in the morning I only added Snipe and Goldfinch. 

However, after lunch we had a good view of a Marsh Harrier drifting over the reed beds, flushing up the smaller birds and clearly looking for a meal.   Amanda came out with us after lunch hoping to find Redpoll, but to no avail. 

We thought our count of 43 was good until, Amanda told us her site list for the day, so far, was 52. We must have been looking in the wrong direction! She has ticked Bearded Tit, but they were elusive, and we did but try.

Mid-afternoon Chris and I decided to have a look at the Old Moor satellite site, Adwick. It’s about 3 miles away, and at least compared with a previous visit, there is now some signage, so this time we (ultimately) found our way to the viewpoint.   We were helped by a dog walker, who helped us. Nice chap, he had a very friendly Heinz dog, and he told us that he fostered dogs. He said that most dog fosterers prefer small dogs, but he liked the bigger dogs, so he was regularly in demand!

We will know the location another time, probably later in the year when it does not get dark by 3.30pm!!

Thursday 10^th January, Mary and I braved a very cold morning, for a walk round Elvaston Castle grounds. We did the nature reserve circuit and were rewarded with a flock of Long Tailed Tits, but more exciting was a colourful Jay.

Friday was nostalgia day with a trip to the Odeon cinema in Derby. Like my son, we are serious devotees of Laurel and Hardy, so Mary and I went to see the film “Stan and Ollie” on the first day of general release.

In very comfortable reclining seats with raised foot rests, with swing-in tables (for the tissue box), it was all conducive to 40 winks. But not this time. Excellent film – well worth going.

Saturday, we went to an Antique fair at Uttoxeter, and this is the latest addition to the Microtibialist collection!   Brass, 3 inches, and very modern. Not what you would call an antique.

Sunday 13^th January  When I retired from Carsington, I did say I would do one final away-1/2 day trip to Attenborough, and on the Sunday morning, 11 of us met for a damp 3-hour walk.

The hi-light was retracing our steps to the railway crossing to see a Firecrest buzzing about in the hedge. It took a while for us all to see this lovely little beauty, but the reward was a lifer for most of us. It was my 3^rd life-sighting, 2018 at Broomhill Flash in March, and November 2007 at Old Moor. The bird has been in the hedge area since 2^nd January, so a lot of birders have had a good tick start to 2019.

Otherwise, the high water revealed many Goldeneye, no waders (no mud), Egyptian Geese, but the outstanding view as we returned to the car park, from the iron bridge was a count of 38 Goosanders!!

Next week, Tuesday will be a day covering 3 or 4 sites, and Wednesday a day for Gull identification,. 

And that will mean following an expert!!    I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Happy Birding.

2019 and we are off with a vengeance

Everything is getting a tidy up at the moment, and there are a few things I need to tell you.

Shortly after Xmas I had a give and take discussion with the nurse at my local GPs. She gave me a dose of Methyl cobalamin in one arm, and I gave her some rhesus positive out of the other. I told her she could reduce the Methy-thingy if she wanted to, as I was getting some from my regular intake from Marmite on toast!!  Ed: Rhesus?  They’re Monkeys, aren’t they? (Copyright, Tony Hancock “The Blood Donor” – 23^rd June 1961)

As we are passed 31^st December, I have checked the candidates for the 2018 200 Club.   Just 2 winners this year. Christine breached the 200 with a Turtle Dove, finishing on 202. Amanda took pole position with 207 with her 200^th being a specious I have not heard of….a Created Tit. (So much for spell check!!)    There trophies will be organised shortly. (Ed: Crested Tit)

As the 200-club award was my initiative (and cost!) I’m afraid 2018 will be the last year.

Bit of good news and bad news just after Xmas, which I forgot to mention.

On our train journey back from London to Tamworth, the bad news was that we were delayed near Nuneaton. The very efficient and informative lady guard kept us up to date and said that (more) bad news was that a train in front had hit a member of the public, and the police and ambulance were involved. The good news was that the member of the public was alive, and we would continue as soon as possible.   

The further good news was that when we had been delayed 15 minutes+, she announced that we would be able to claim compensation!! She did not tell us that being 32 minutes late, our compo increased from 12.5% to 25% of the journey cost.   It was just a surprise to hear an employee telling us we could claim. (Unlike the attitude for those delayed by the Gatwick Drone.)

Whilst I have been wrapping things up in the last 3 months vis-à-vis my retirement as a VR, it was good to hear from a farmer not far from Carsington, that he would appreciate my help and guidance on Osprey Posts, as he plans to put a nest on his farm. For something like that, I’m glad to temporarily come out of retirement!!

Carsington water level Is really building up now and on 31^st December it was 74% full… that could pull the Great Northern Diver in a bit closer!!!!!

Answers to the post-Christmas puzzles: -

The numeric answer -  A MERRY XMAS TURKEY was 2, 97445, 6928 and the total 104,375.

8 strokes in golf?   A snowman, because that is what 8 looks like!!

I know I showed you my Osprey picture, but it has been more appropriately framed and looks like this on the dining room wall. Ed: AKA The Bird Room.

Last of the tidy-up, my nomadic friend Roy, e-mailed on New Year’s Eve at 23.28 to say he has his first bird for 2019, a Barn Owl!!  His message is from France giving him a 60-minute advantage, well used!! 

Right - here we go - BIRDING 2019!!!!!

It’s good to be back using my birding notebook!!  Tuesday January 1st   Mary and I enjoyed a casual stroll round Allestree Park and ticked off 21 species for our trouble! Mary spotted AND NAMED a Tree Creeper quite early on, and almost immediately after a Goldcrest. A nice start to the year.

Wednesday January 2, Christine and I set off at 8.00am for our first full birding day of 2019.  Markeaton Park was quiet with hardly anyone around and like yesterday we had a Tree Creeper within 5 minutes. A single Little Egret and 4/5 Goosanders were the other pick of the site, before we drove to Radbourne Lane.

A field adjacent to a farm was now no longer productive for Thrushes, but from a nearby lay-by we added Redwing and Fieldfare. Twixt here and Cromford 2 Buzzards in a dead tree with a superb specimen sitting boldly and facing us, and 8 pheasants, safely feeding in a field in Duffield, well away from the shooting club active in the grounds of Kedleston Hall.

Surprisingly not a birder to be seen at Cromford looking for a Hawfinch, maybe why we did not see one either!   But patience was rewarded along the Derwent when Chris spotted a Dipper alighting on the rocks. Pairs were frequent sightings to-day, and this one was joined by a second bird leading to a great deal of wing flapping for a couple of minutes. Encouraging!!

After some warming soup at Cromford Mill (Broccoli?? Not favourite) we moved to the Sheepwash hide at Carsington and added 17 for the rest of the day. The first good bird was the distant view of the Great Northern Diver, helped by the water being like a mill pond. This was followed by my finding what was to be the BOD, a Peregrine Falcon, on the rocks straight in front of the hide.

54 species for the first full day… excellent.

I’ll leave it there for this week. Amanda is head poncho to-morrow, along with Keith and Gary so I hope the weather, the customers and the birds are kind to her. Did she but know the lady’s toilets at Carsington now have bird walk posters on the inside of the doors of the cubicles… and DON’T ask me how I know…which is probably why she has 22+ bookings.

 Yes.......... we know the time is wrong!!

Good luck Amanda.

Happy Birding