A few more birds for the list

Monday 4th June -
afternoon arrived a little too soon and I was in danger of not seeing a bird all day, and when compared to the previous days stomp around Yorkshire this would have been sacriledge!! So when news of a Red-footed Falcon at Willington turned up on the internet I have to admit I nearly jumped. Then I thought "leave it a while, there's no point racing down there if it's onyl a fly-over". And sure enough an hour later there was the dreaded 'no sign' message on Birdguides. So I got on with updating my blog, and bird and moth records. That killed 2 hours, and I checked the internet again. Bugger! The earlier no sign message had been followed with at least four more positive mesages. I packed the bins and shot down the A38 and fast as I was allowed.

On arrival at Willington one very determined gentleman overtook me whilst pointing out a Lesser Whitethroat to me on song, so I decided to keep up with him. As I got down towards the end of the lane more and more people appeared to be coming away...mutterings of "crap viewpoint" and "not seen for an hour" were reaching my ears! Within minutes of standing at Platform 5 I could understand their frustrations. It appeared the bird was feeding low down over the other side of the river and the chance of seeing it through the willows at Platform 5 were very slim. A few birders had chosen to try down the other side of the Trent, and soon a text came through from one of the gathered birders to say that the bird had been found over there. My determined gentleman was one of the first off the mark, with me close behind him. We traipsed down the opposite side of the Trent (although by this time he'd outpaced me, and I thought I walked very fast!?). A few others had chosen to give this route a try and around 15 of us were stood overlooking the fields beyond the wood. After half an hour or so I picked up a bird coming up off the river, floating low over the fields and it landed in a bare hawthorn. Red-footed Falcon! Epic! Until my determined birder just pipped me to the post! He'd spotted the same bird and got his voice heard first!! The following hour was taken up watching the falcon hunt low over the fields, around the willows along the river and mostly perched in a small hawthorn hedge. My second ever RFF, and amazingly both in Derbyshire and even more amazingly only around 6km apart and even, even more amazingly only (4 years and) 10 days apart!

I also finally managed to pick out a Garden Warbler whilst watching for the falcon!
Tuesday 5th June -
An evening wander around Cannock Chase to try and pick up the specialities (yeah, I know now that this wasnt the best time to visit!). I parked at the Punchbowl and walked up to the Stepping Stones and then into the Sherbrook Valley. It was the first time I've visited this part of the Chase and I can see, despite the large amount of rain that was falling this evening, how attractive it would be to birds such as Pied Flycatcher etc. The walk was wet but very pleasurable with Cuckoo calling in Sherbrook and eventually showing over my head. A Green Woodpecker seemed to call constantly around me, and eventually gave itself up - my first for the year would you believe (see previous posts as to my frustration with this species). The only other decent bird was a Redstart that didn't seem to mind the rain. The rain was pretty persistant until around 745pm when it lifted and seemed to immediately put the Tree Pipits into song. I picked this one up in a side path along which a number of oak trees were growing. Apologies for the terribly gloomy video but it gives you an idea of the conditions.

Then there it was, slight at first, right on the edge of my hearing, but after I'd heard it I focussed on it more and it became much more positive. That fast trilling endin in a rapid flourish? A Wood Warbler, and no doubt. Just a short distance away it trilled a few more time allowig me to pinpoint its location. Alas it would not show! So I vow to return and pin down both this warbler and the Pied Flys that are supposed to be in this area. It is a great little spot some amazing spots such as along the stream at the Stepping Stones picnic area (right)

and a quick walk up one of the side paths gives views over the heathland such as this (left). Probably not the best photos in the world, and definitely not going to make it into the "Cannock Chase Sunny Day Visitor's Guide" but was gobsmacked at how wild this pace felt, despite being completely managed.

As is usual I came away with some photos of the magnificent fungus species found along my walks which continue to thwart my id skills. If anyone can put a nam to these faces then I would be most appreciative of your help.

 

Bird Yearlist - slowly edging up now at 161.

One flew over the gravel pits

Last night whilst Jordan was at Scouts I had a run down to Willington Gravel Pits to see what was about. The last time I was there a few weeks ago it was during the massive amount of rain that we were experiencing and the entrance track looked like this...

Fortunately it had dried up a little and was passable. In fact I think all that water had levelled things out along the road - it didn't seem half as full of pot holes as I remember! The rain started to spit a little so I donned waterproofs and a cover for the scope and made the best of it. I'm glad I did too, as the first bird I spotted was this...



It stayed in the first field where the sign board is, and flitted around between perches, cuckooing occasionally. Its mate was seen briefly further back towards the reeds presumably looking for warblers or maybe pipits nests in which to lay its progeny.

Along the lane were the usual warblers with Lesser Whitethroat showing briefly and a male Blackcap eventually giving himself away. The hawthorns were absolutely buzzing with bugs, a huge hatch of midges and flies providing food for hundreds of hungry Swift, Swallows and Sand Martins (but no House Martin spotted) that were feeding in droves over the lakes! A brilliant sight. Sedge and Reed Warbler were singing/chirruping and the Cetti's even gave me one blast of song, just to let me know he was still there. The lakes looked a bit bare of waterfowl with only a few Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan and Mallard being seen. But these Ruff reminded me that Willington really was a place that things can turn up out of the blue!

 

This thought also got my mind racing when a small wader flew across the main lake and landed on the spit. In the gathering gloom it could have been anything from a Little Ringed Plover to a Temminck's Stint, but I'm struggling to pin it down with the very brief views I had of it. Some just have to go down as mystery birds, don't they! The return to the car was done a bit quicker as the rain got a bit heavier, but these small mushrooms growing on the side of a chopped down tree caught my eye. If any of my readers have any ideas what they are, I'd be most appreciated!

Bird Year list = 141

Moth Yearlist = not much improvement on 42. Although the weather looks like it could be good this weekend so hopefully there'll be more Lep news shortly!

Catch up Thurs to Sun

A few bits and bobs seen over the last few days but struggling to find the time to update regularly just lately! These are mostly summer migrants that are dropping onto my list, the moths have taken a serious back seat due to the cold weather.


Thursday - A quick pop into Wyver Lane at 5pm to see if there were many hirundines showing yet. The Oystercatchers put on a good show zooming between both pool whilst watching them from the mound. Also present were Lapwing, 2 x Shelduck, a number of Wigeon still, 2 x Teal, a Siskin flew over and then dropped into one of the trees along the lane. We chatted with a couple of guys who informed us that due to the showery weather (we turned up during a sunny patch) the hirundines had been down but had now dispersed. We did manage to find one Swallow though. Wyver looks really green now, the bit of rain has obviously helped the vegetation. Also found this Spider on the gravel on the viewing mound.

Friday afternoon - whilst Jordan was at his mates birthday I grabbed an hour down at Willington and decided to try and find Sand Martins over by the quarry side. This Chiffchaff was too close to ignore, and I heard a Willow Warbler (didn't see it though). After walking up to the railway bridge I'd spotted my first Orangetip for the year, and a number of Swallows were feeding around the birches along the railway. A couple of Buzzards were up on the thermals and whilst watching them I heard the familiar buzzing of Sand Martins. Sure enough after a quick search a party of 8 Sands together with 15 Swallows were heading north over the quarry. Great!

Sunday morning - a lovely sunny walk along the Greenway to Ripley saw a number of recently arrived migrants including Blackcap, Chiffchaff and a year first Willow Warbler, merrily belting out its pleasant descending song. Also had a pair of Bullfinch on the entrance near Peasehill.

Bird Yearlist = 129
Moth Yearlist = still stuck on 24 but with a brief reprise of the warmth on Monday/Tuesday it looks like I might actually be able to get the trap out!

Every cloud...

Friday saw me jumping into our lorry at work for a jolly down to Oxfordshire to pick up some drill core. My first obvious thought was "Yes! Red Kite country". However, the excitement of spotting my first Kite for the year was quickly dampened around 1130am when the electrics on the dashboard blew and we had to towed back to Nottingham! The kites put on a good show to cheer me up though, two flying right overhead about 1300 whilst waiting for the recovery truck to turn up!

Friday evening and a quick wander round Elvaston Castle Park in the hope of hearing (and then finding) the Tawny Owl resulted in nothing but this toad.

No owls to be heard, but I did also see a weasel (or something similar). The evening got slightly better with some drinks at my bessie mates house before his inevitable slump into married life, and after getting through beer and chat he booted me out at 230am. The walk home leads me past the Ripley Greenway at the bottom of our road and to my excitement the Tawny's were calling! And even better I'd brought my bag with my torch inside with me as I'd gone from work to my friends and left my car there. Brilliant! What ensued must have looked a bit odd with me creeping slowly over the grassy fields, listening with head on one side, occasionally trying to imitate a drunken male Tawny and flashing the torch at the slightest movement. Eventually, one flew across my path, but I reckoned there was at least three calling. Well, I think it was three?

Sunday - A quick wander round Willington in the afternoon provided some interesting sightings. 17 Curlew were present on the main pond but flew off north about 1600 and a Dunlin was at number 4 platform. Good numbers of Goosander were present, along with Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall. At least 2 Cetti's lead me on a merry dance but eventually gave themselves up, and Reed Buntings were very evident, with at least 8 pairs zipping around platform four.

Birding Yearlist = 120