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Sunday 26th January 2003, 20:11
On my way to my first target bird I decided to find a company that had granted me a job interview next Thursday. They are based in the Birmingham Business Park not far from the Birmingham International airport. What a cracker of an Industrial Estate this is. Lakes, fountains, plenty of grass and trees and, more to the point, birds. I found the company easily enough but as I pulled away from there a Green Woodpecker dropped to the ground just in front of us whilst 50+ Siskins took flight from a tree to the side of us. Now this is what I call a working environment.
Anyway, first port of call was Swarkestone Lakes, which is just south east of Derby. This is one small area of the midlands that I have to admit to never birding there before. On the way highlighted one of the things I enjoy the most about driving after birds. As I said earlier this area is new to me for birding and on the way there I went down roads I had never used before. One road took me through a couple of absolutely beautiful villages, Tonge & also Wilson. These two villages, especially Tonge, would definitely go onto my places to live if I had the money.
We had started out from Birmingham quite late, after 09:00 and it was 10:30 before we arrived. About 20 birders were already there and I was soon onto my target bird, albeit over 100 yards away. This was the well-reported female Lesser Scaup that had been present for quite a few days. Virtually every well-known birder had been to see it and at first there was doubt to what this bird actually was but it seems that the experts have finally agreed that it is a Lesser Scaup, and who am I to disagree. It was far too windy to take any sensible shots but I managed one very blurred one that shows the underwing as the duck stretched out its wings plus one that just shows the duck on the water but it is not a brilliant shot.
There was not too much else on this lake just Tufted, Mallard and a few Swans whilst a couple of Cormorants flew over so it was off to a nearby reservoir for a reported Red necked Grebe. On the way we were treated to a Kestrel flying low near to the car. Mistle Thrush were seen every now and again and at one point a large flock of possible finches flew across the road in front of us but were gone before we could stop the car to check them out. 100’s of Lapwings twinkled in the sky as they flew over us and in the distance a skein of about 100 Canada Geese slowly dropped down to settle into one of the distant fields.
We were soon at Foremark reservoir and unusually no other birders were there. The Grebe had been reported close to the dam but that must have been about 500 yards away and the grey light wasn’t helping as by now the sun had decided to try a bit of hide and seek. Dozens of Tufted Duck, Cormorants, Wigeon and Great crested Grebe could be seen along the line of the dam. After about 10 minutes of hard scanning a much thicker set, but smaller, Grebe could be seen swimming past a Great crested Grebe. It had a much shorter, thicker, neck with a dumpier look about it and was quite easy to pick out, once you found it that is. Almost as soon as I found it another 5 birders joined me. One of the birders, who had tried for ages the day before to find this bird, was eager to get his scope up once he knew that the bird was there.
My next port of call was just outside Barrow on Trent where 6 Bewick Swans had been reported in the fields by the side of the main road. This was easier than we had thought as they stood out like white gems on a carpet of green. 4 Adults and 2 juveniles were amongst a party of about 10 Mute Swans and were soon joined nearby by about 100 Lapwings.
Basically I had seen the three birds I wanted so I decided to go to Whitemoor Hayes to see if I could see the Short Eared Owls again. There have been up to 4 being reported here and I would dearly love to see all 4 in one go. Unfortunately it was not to be. The first area of Whitemoor Hayes was totally devoid of birdlife. No Geese, Swans or any other bird except one lone Robin in the hedge. We drove further on but apart from the Crows and Rooks hardly anything was flying. Most surprising as this is usually a productive place for quite a few birds. We came to the part that overlooks some distant pools. This is usually where up to 7 Whooper Swans have been seen recently but again no birds could be seen. Then a smallish flock of birds flew over the field in front of us and dropped onto a tree in a nearby farmyard. Another new year bird entered my notebook as I counted 22 Linnets. I decided to try and scan the distant pools. All that could be seen were a few Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Canada Geese. As I scanned the water something seem to settle onto a fence between me and the water. Being slightly close to me it was out of focus. I focussed up to the bird and another bird entered my notebook when a Stonechat came into view.
We had enjoyed the day immensely. Some really nice birds, some lovely scenery and places visited that I had never seen before. What more could you ask for?
Anyway, first port of call was Swarkestone Lakes, which is just south east of Derby. This is one small area of the midlands that I have to admit to never birding there before. On the way highlighted one of the things I enjoy the most about driving after birds. As I said earlier this area is new to me for birding and on the way there I went down roads I had never used before. One road took me through a couple of absolutely beautiful villages, Tonge & also Wilson. These two villages, especially Tonge, would definitely go onto my places to live if I had the money.
We had started out from Birmingham quite late, after 09:00 and it was 10:30 before we arrived. About 20 birders were already there and I was soon onto my target bird, albeit over 100 yards away. This was the well-reported female Lesser Scaup that had been present for quite a few days. Virtually every well-known birder had been to see it and at first there was doubt to what this bird actually was but it seems that the experts have finally agreed that it is a Lesser Scaup, and who am I to disagree. It was far too windy to take any sensible shots but I managed one very blurred one that shows the underwing as the duck stretched out its wings plus one that just shows the duck on the water but it is not a brilliant shot.
There was not too much else on this lake just Tufted, Mallard and a few Swans whilst a couple of Cormorants flew over so it was off to a nearby reservoir for a reported Red necked Grebe. On the way we were treated to a Kestrel flying low near to the car. Mistle Thrush were seen every now and again and at one point a large flock of possible finches flew across the road in front of us but were gone before we could stop the car to check them out. 100’s of Lapwings twinkled in the sky as they flew over us and in the distance a skein of about 100 Canada Geese slowly dropped down to settle into one of the distant fields.
We were soon at Foremark reservoir and unusually no other birders were there. The Grebe had been reported close to the dam but that must have been about 500 yards away and the grey light wasn’t helping as by now the sun had decided to try a bit of hide and seek. Dozens of Tufted Duck, Cormorants, Wigeon and Great crested Grebe could be seen along the line of the dam. After about 10 minutes of hard scanning a much thicker set, but smaller, Grebe could be seen swimming past a Great crested Grebe. It had a much shorter, thicker, neck with a dumpier look about it and was quite easy to pick out, once you found it that is. Almost as soon as I found it another 5 birders joined me. One of the birders, who had tried for ages the day before to find this bird, was eager to get his scope up once he knew that the bird was there.
My next port of call was just outside Barrow on Trent where 6 Bewick Swans had been reported in the fields by the side of the main road. This was easier than we had thought as they stood out like white gems on a carpet of green. 4 Adults and 2 juveniles were amongst a party of about 10 Mute Swans and were soon joined nearby by about 100 Lapwings.
Basically I had seen the three birds I wanted so I decided to go to Whitemoor Hayes to see if I could see the Short Eared Owls again. There have been up to 4 being reported here and I would dearly love to see all 4 in one go. Unfortunately it was not to be. The first area of Whitemoor Hayes was totally devoid of birdlife. No Geese, Swans or any other bird except one lone Robin in the hedge. We drove further on but apart from the Crows and Rooks hardly anything was flying. Most surprising as this is usually a productive place for quite a few birds. We came to the part that overlooks some distant pools. This is usually where up to 7 Whooper Swans have been seen recently but again no birds could be seen. Then a smallish flock of birds flew over the field in front of us and dropped onto a tree in a nearby farmyard. Another new year bird entered my notebook as I counted 22 Linnets. I decided to try and scan the distant pools. All that could be seen were a few Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Canada Geese. As I scanned the water something seem to settle onto a fence between me and the water. Being slightly close to me it was out of focus. I focussed up to the bird and another bird entered my notebook when a Stonechat came into view.
We had enjoyed the day immensely. Some really nice birds, some lovely scenery and places visited that I had never seen before. What more could you ask for?