Kestrel Chicks

Photograph of a brood of Kestrel chicks in a box made by Brian and put up by him only last year at his Lincolnshire reserve.

Photograph subject to owners Copyright, reproduced here with permission.

Bempton Trip 10th June 2017

We all met up at Slack’s coach garage at the appointed time and it was nice to see a very near full coachload! The weather wasn’t the best with rain and wind forecast but clearing later in the day.

The journey was smooth and steady with a brief stop at a service station and took approximately 2 ½ hrs. The first bird we saw even before we got off the bus was a surprise, A cockatiel! Obviously someone’s pet that had escaped and found its way there.
The weather as it now seems usual for our trips defied all the odds and remained mainly dry and the wind was actually warm and not at all unpleasant. We left the visitors centre and made our way en mass around the cliff tops. We had a very good 5 hrs to study the cliffs including a stop for lunch and saw 30 different species in total. We don’t expect many at such a site so that was actually quite an impressive number. Stuart was on fine form as ever pointing out different birds and providing specialist knowledge for example correcting myself when I spotted a couple of pigeons tucked in a crack and told me they were actually rock doves and explained that they mated with ordinary pigeons and there were now very few true rock doves left.

The journey home was a mirror image of the journey out and ended at Slack’s garage in unfortunately a downpour!

All in all another great trip out so I am sure all those who attended will join me in thanking Dorothy for her time and effort in making the day a memorable one.

Bird list: Fulmar, Gannet, Cormorant, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Herring Gull, G B B Gull, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin, Rock Dove, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting, Common Crane, Cockateil.

Frampton Marsh 22nd October 2016

The day started a bit cold and misty and due to good planning everyone was picked up and whisked uneventfully to Frampton in around 2 ½ hrs.

While everyone was sorting out their coats and footwear the keen ones were already setting up their scopes and spotting in the field next to the car park, calling out to Dorothy to note down what they were seeing.

The RSPB site at Frampton is a large coastal wetland reserve with a large reed bed and fresh water scrapes. There is a visitor centre where you can buy snacks and hot and cold drinks and chat to the RSPB guides and find out “what’s about”.

We spent the first 1/2hr in the visitor centre before moving out to scan the reed beds. There are 3 good hides which we availed ourselves of and some of the high lights were sighting a Jack Snipe and a Long Billed Dowicher also a great aerial display by a flock of Finches late in the afternoon.

A few laughs were had over the light hearted argument as to whether a particular group of Godwits we were looking at were black tailed or bar tailed or indeed a mixture of the two!

The weather held out and a very pleasant sunny day was enjoyed with 52 different species being recorded by Dorothy.

A well deserved thank you goes to Dorothy for her organisational skills and to Stuart Slack who as ever called out the different species and pointed us all at their locations.

Species Seen:

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WILLINGTON 17th SEPTEMBER 2016

Our first outdoor visit of the season was to Willington Gravel Pits, a former sand and gravel quarry situated in the Trent Valley. A Derbyshire Wildlife Trust site that has a variety of habitats and so a haven for wildlife.

The day was fine though a little muddy underfoot in places due to rain the day before but still an easily accessible site with several good viewing platforms and a relatively new hide at the end of the lane.

Perhaps not as many waders around that we had hoped to see but still an interesting day with a couple of warblers still around and nice to see the usually elusive Water Rail.

The full list of birds seen…….

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Swift Boxes Update

Last month we posted about our new nest boxes for Swifts in the Bakewell Church Tower.

Swifts returned to Bakewell dead on schedule, May 9th, and we almost managed to get our swift boxes ready in time, just a couple of days late. Mike was recovering from his holiday in Germany so this time it was the aforesaid John Boyle, myself and my friend Jack from Sheffield who climbed the stairs and ladder into the belfry. Angela was in Cyprus sunning herself so – no coffee.

While John finished converting the circular holes in the shutters into slots of the designated width (22mm) Jack and I assembled the electrical equipment which makes the swift noises. This consists of a 12v amplifier of the type used on motor cycles, a 240v/12v power adaptor and a pair of speakers or “tweeters”. The amplifier is fitted with an SD card slot, the type you put in your camera, whereas our swift calls had been recorded onto a CD given to us at Tanya Hoare’s swift talk by Andrew and Barbara Wager of Thorpe and I’m very grateful for their help. I cajoled a friend who has a computer with both a disc drive and an SD card slot to transfer the swift calls onto the card then I set it all up in my living room beforehand – and it worked! And all for under £50.

We sited the amplifier adjacent to one of the boxes on the N window and fixed one of the speakers inside (photo). We threaded the speaker cable through the bottom of the box and secured them to the terminals at the back of the amp. Needless to say this is a rather simplified account of what actually happened, in actuality more time was spent discussing methodology, looking for lost screws and avoiding accidents. Then there were the ear piercing bongs every quarter of an hour although it seemed like every 5 minutes: time definitely goes faster in a bell tower (cf Einstein). The second speaker was fitted inside another box on the NW window. All that was needed now was to set the times on the plug socket timer when the calls would play, we chose 7 to 8am and 8 to 9pm.
As we descended into the sunlight swifts were circling the bell tower and we dared to think that they might use the boxes this year….So if you are in Bakewell on a summer evening stroll up to the church and listen to the swifts.

Brian Shaw May 2016

Swift Nest Boxes – April 2016

On April 21st five intrepid climbers scaled the fifty-seven steps up to the ringing chamber of All Saints’ Bakewell church, carrying twelve boxes which Brian Shaw and Mike Nelms had made, to entice our visiting swifts to set up home.

John Boyle, bell-ringer and winder of the church clock, led the way for Brian and Mike to scale a ladder, go through a trap door and emerge into the bell chamber. They spent the next two hours erecting the boxes. The photo shows four in place, with the back slid open to show the entrance hole to the outside world.

Pauline Boyle, the Tower Captain, welcomed us and made sure we knew the safety procedures for working in the tower, and I? I provided the coffee!

The recording of the swifts calls is now being assembled. This will be fitted soon and will play for an hour, morning and evening, from May to July. Young swifts will cruise round to suss out suitable desirable residences for the future, so the boxes may not be used for two or three years.

I am so pleased that the Bird Study Group has adopted this as a project and thank Brian and Mike for giving their time and energy to make it happen. And we thank the church for welcoming their feathered friends. Let’s just hope the swifts aren’t too choosy!

Angela Bird. April 2016.

Please see our update on the swift boxes from May 2016

Wyver Lane Belper – 12th September 2015

The first outdoor meeting of the year began at The Riverside Gardens Belper. Located within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and adjacent to Strutts North Mill it proved a worthwhile place to start.

The bird life was very quiet at first but the list of birds began spectacularly when a pair of peregrine falcons came soaring towards the pigeons perching on the mill. They were in no hurry to move, perhaps the pigeons realised that despite the grating scraa coming from the female the peregrines were not hungry.

After this exciting start we walked through the gardens and back along the promenade enjoying the beautiful flower beds and hanging baskets. A grey wagtail was enjoying the pond and black headed gulls the riverside.

We moved on over the river and down Wyver Lane enjoying the riverside gardens belonging to the local houses. We were fortunate to catch a glimpse of a kingfisher cutting across a garden from a pond to the river. As Wyver Lane changed from from housing into fields all seemed very quiet but Stuart was able to pinpoint several smaller birds.

We eventually reached the premier wetland reserve of the DWT. From the hide we were able to watch buzzards and note the very white front of a juvenile which has hints of an osprey. We carried on to the end of the lane where we were treated to a family of jays and a raven flying overhead.

We retraced our steps ending our visit in style. Whilst watching the feeders in one of the gardens a sparrow hawk lived up to its name as it came in swiftly to attack the the house sparrows. Coming from behind us it gave a spectacular acrobatic display.

Bird list – wood pigeon, feral pigeon, magpie, blackbird, mallard, house martin, swallow, peregrine falcons, moorhen, robin, grey wagtail, great tit, tufted duck, black headed gull, muscovy duck, mute swan, little grebe, chiffchaff, canada goose, carrion crow, greenfinch, jay, kingfisher, buzzard, heron, cormorant, teal, chaffinch, jackdaw, dunnock, greater spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, siskin, raven, pheasant, nuthatch, blue tit, goldfinch, wren, greylag, house sparrow, sparrow hawk.

by Veronica Wheeldon

ALKBOROUGH TRIP – 17TH OCTOBER 2015

The Evans magic worked again. The weather forecast said heavy cloud and cold winds off the North Sea and hinted at something even worse. The reality was broken cloud, bursts of sunshine and a gentle breeze. So eighteen members were able to explore Alkborough Flats without streaming eyes and without clinging on to wind-rocked telescopes.

The Flats are well named. The Lincolnshire Wolds end abruptly with a few houses and a church and then, where the Trent meets the Humber, the land tumbles down to an expanse of reed and marsh and lagoons. The paths through the reeds are raised and well maintained; the hides solid and cleverly sited.

Most of the birds listed were seen, but some, like the Cettis Warbler, only heard. Just a few years ago the news of a Cettis this far north would have had the twitchers flocking. Now we put it on the list along with the Little Egret and move on.

Also more vocal than visible was the Water Rail, doing its imitation of an outraged pig.

Three Marsh Harriers seemed to be sharing a narrow strip of territory, rising and falling and getting in each other’s way. Once it appeared that two of them had had a mid-air collision but perhaps it was just something that Marsh Harriers do. But at least they were easy to watch.

Not like Bearded Tits. A bright flash as they flit from one reed to an identical one and they have gone before you can raise your binoculars.

But, for me at least, the highlight of the day was the view from one hide of ducks and waders spread over the water and mud banks of a lagoon like an illustration of a ‘Teach Yourself Bird Recognition’.

How many? Difficult to say. A single Heron, a few Curlew and Ruff, dozens of other species of duck and wader as well as a hundred-plus Lapwing and even more Golden Plover. But other people may have counted more. And the surprising thing, to me at least, was how colourful they were. No winter drab yet. The Golden Plover still had golden flecks and the Lapwing still had bright heads and a greenish sheen.

Every now and again, for no apparent reason, the Golden Plover would take off, fly around in a tight flock then land again while everything else ignores them and gets on with dabbling and probing.

Just before leaving the marshes, as seventeen members were peering down a drain in search of an elusive Water Rail, the lucky eighteenth was the sole witness of the classic panic of the ducks and the waders as a Peregrine passed overhead.

And finally, by some thoughtful management, the mini-bus was waiting at the foot of the hill and sixteen*grateful members were saved a long wearisome climb. (*Two of our number came by car).

Thanks for a smooth ride to the driver who happened to be a birdwatcher and brought his own telescope (perhaps we should have charged him) and to Stuart Slack for instant recognitions, both seen and heard, (sometimes of things that only he has seen or heard) and most of all to Dorothy for seamless arrangements.