Huddsbirder

Unexpected day out at Old Moor proved a worthwhile visit catching up with summer migrants and a few insects. The Bittern could be heard booming from the visitor centre whilst I watched the birds at the centre feeders,  Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch,  Bullfinch,  Dunnock  and Pheasants. Strolling on towards Green Lane warblers were out in force Whitethroats, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge and Reed Warbler. On at the Wath Ings Black tailed Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Gadwall and Teal.  Back on Green Lane I spotted what I thought was a bee but it turned out to be a hoverfly Bee mimic Eristalis intricarius a us, looking further I came across Spiders and a few Alder Leaf Beetles, finally I caught sight of Avocet and Sparrowhawk over Green Lane. Butterflies for the day Peacock and Orange-tip.

Day list in no order :-

Avocet, Redshank, Black tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Black headed Gull, Cormorant, Bittern, Grey Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Crow, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch,  Goldfinch, Bullfinch,  Swift, Sand Martin, Whitethroat,  Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler,  Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Shoveler, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Sparrowhawk, Reed Bunting, , Woodpigeon, Tufted Duck, Blackbird, Jay,  Linnet.

Hoverfly Bee mimic [Eristalis intricarius]

Alder Leaf Beetle

A weekend stop over in Oakham very near to Rutland Water at the “Cat Basket” (see my B&B link here > Link < ) a great Cottage with a wonderful garden with lots of birdlife, highlights over the weekend were Great Spotted Woodpecker (♀ and ♂), Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Long-tailed Tits, Treecreeper, Buzzard (fly over) and Little Egret (fly over). Butterflies Brimstone, Comma, Large White, & Peacock.

We obviously spent a few hours at Rutland Water whilst we were there who wouldn’t. Our day one was spent in the Manton Bay area viewing the Osprey’s, we thought the better views were had at the shallow water hide, along with the Osprey’s the highlights we saw Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, House Martin, Buzzard and Butterflies loads of Brimstone, along with Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Day two we were around the Egleton Birdwatching Centre and around the centre feeders were Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and a fly thru Sparrowhawk try to find dinner. From the centre itself Little Egrets, Red-legged Partridge, Common Tern, Sand Martin, Shelduck along with the main duck species Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Shoveler, Geese about included Egyptian, Greylag, Canada and a suspect Barnacle. We had then a long walk up to the Lagoon 4 complex where most of the action seems to have been taking place and we were not disappointed with Sedge Warbler seen along the pathway bushes and with Dunlin, Redshank, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow and another fly thru Sparrowhawk we were not disappointed. For a more detailed list press THIS

The Cat Basket

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Nuthatch

Comma

Well its all Old Moor at the moment but that may change in the next couple of week, well Old Moor it was and here is the visit highlights

Summer migrants still thin on the ground that thin I only one solitary Sand Martin, I also added Snipe to the list these were viewable from Wath Ings hide. Other birds for the day Black-headed Gulls, Canada Goose, Teal, mallard, Goosander, Coot, Moorhen, Gadwall, Shoveler, Lapwing, Cormorant. Around the Tree Sparrow farm Reed Bunting, Brambling coming nicely into their breeding plumage, Yellowhammers, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Wren, Collards Doves

Well now entering April and the cold winter weather hangs on in and with the wind coming in off the lakes here at Old Moor we were feeling it. However the birds delighted with this years first sighting of Mediterranean Gull in the large Black-headed Gull colony this was from the family hide, also from here Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Wigeon, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Cormorant,

On at the wader scrape hide were a couple of waders in the form of Redshank, along with other birds we noted Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Starling, Shoveler, Goosander. Around at the Tree Sparrow farm were a good selection of birds notably, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Yellowhammers, Wren, Reed Buntings, Brambling, Dunnock, Tree Sparrows and a tricky Weasel.

No sign of summer migrants as yet for us but Chiffchaff and Blackcap have been reported from along Green Lane

Redshank

Yep back to Old Moor and today was a great day for  the small birds Buntings, Finches etc and on arrival we were straight round to the Centre Feeders Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Buntings, Wren, Bullfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Collard Dove, Blackbird, could all be seen and with the addition of Brambling, Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow up at the Sparrow Farm and was a great start. We then had a walk up to the Bittern Hide and in this area we saw Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Goosander, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Pochard, Moorhen, Coot and the bird of the day eventually found the female Smew (an addition to the Old Moor list), short but sweet

Collard Dove

Blue Tit

A day out was on the cards and we decided on a new place near Nottingham called Attenborough Nature Reserve. Car parking was £1.50 for the day and it would take you more than a day to get around everything here it’s a large place. The nature centre is next to the car park and of course as in any car park like this you get a variety of wildfowl, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Tufted Duck could all be seen but we didn’t see the Red Crested Pochard that has been reported around this area. We decided on a move down to the Tower Hide around Clifton Ponds and during the walk down we saw a variety of birds on the various areas of open water close to the paths, there were a few Goosanders about mainly males with a few females thrown in. Ducks were represented by Gadwall, Teal, Goldeneye, Pochard, and Mallard, gulls around were Black-headed Gulls, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, also Great Crested and Little Grebes were seen. We finally made it into the Tower Hide and were immediately put on to a Bittern hiding in the reeds and with the occasional movement we were able to pick it up, for an hour we waited and then it finally came out into full view, it decided on a big area to walk around, which of course was away from the camera it did this for about 10 minutes before settling back into the reeds it was then that we left. On our way back down the path from the hide we came across a pair of Goldcrest picking their way down the hedge side. Our walk then took us down to the river on our loop of this little corner of Attenborough birds seen around here were a single Fieldfare, Bullfinch, Dunnock, Robin, Cormorants flying over, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Great Tits.

Day List :-

Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Bittern, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pochard,Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Goosander, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon,Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Crow, Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch

Pied Wagtails

Bittern

Today was most definitely a Waxwing day they preformed well from the moment we arrived in the car park at Old Moor perched on nearby trees to the very moment we left at the end of the day seen feeding on berries around the car park feeders. Nothing much else on the reserve but we did plenty of walking and searching for various species. Family hide produced the most waterfowl with Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, and a female Goldeneye along with Cormorant, Mute Swan, and Little Grebe. At the Wader scrape hide we added Redshank, Shoveler and Sparrowhawk.

Waxing delight

Couple of hours spare so I decided on a ride around the Ingbirchworth area to try and catch up with some local area stuff for the 2013 year list. I started out around the Broadstones Res. area where it turned out to be very quiet except for a few Black headed and Common Gulls mainly Common Gulls and a Pheasant.

I decided on a stop at the Royd Moor viewpoint for a photographic opportunity and was joined here by a Skylark in the nearby field,.After the photos I travelled on down to Ingbirchworth Res. to try and find a few water birds to make the list up. Out on the water more gulls of the same as seen earlier along with Canada Geese, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and Little Grebe (2)

Coot at Ingbirchworth Reservoir

A Christmas present resulted in a weekend trip to London from the 25^th it wasn’t a birding trip as such but you’re always on the lookout for something no matter where you travel. We decided on travelling M1 to j15A then cutting down to the M40 and travelling in that way for a certain bird. When we hit the M40 there were Red Kites everywhere, we had nether seen as many apart from Gigrin Farm, we carried on enjoying the spectacle as we travelled towards London.

The hotel we were stopping in, Reading Lake Hotel, is nicely located on a lake side so here we were able to overlook the lake from the apartment balcony  to see Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Red Kite, Black headed Gull, Common Gull, and Mute Swan. An Early evening walk around one of the lakes gave us sightings of Coot, Moorhen, Long tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin.

The journey back home was uneventful only seeing Ring-necked Parakeet (2) fly over the M4 as we made or way towards London from Windsor

The full weekend bird list (In no particular order) :-

Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Coot, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail, European Robin, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, 

thought we would have a change this weekend and take a trip out to Fairburn Ings for a little change of scenery, on the way out we caught sight of 12 Waxwing in the Huddersfield area, nice start to the day.

On arrival at Fairburn we made a start around the visitor centre feeders to pick up quickly a few common species House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Long tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Nuthatch (2) nice surprise along with a female Brambling. Photo opportunity at the hide watching Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, Canada Goose, Pheasant, Cormorant. A walk around the boardwalk gave very little else except a nice Robin

On then to the feeding area for some practice in flight shots of the Black headed Gulls

Also at the feeding area were Tufted Duck, Mute Swans, Moorhen, Coots, and Mallards

Day List in No Particular Order :-

House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Brambling, Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Nuthatch, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Pheasant, Coot, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Mallard, Teal, Tufted  Duck, Lapwing, Mute Swan, Black headed Gull, Grey Heron