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Wyver Lane Nature Reserve (DWT) (1 Viewer)

Papa 10 said:
Dave
Thanks again for these updates. As you are aware it takes a lot to shift me from my little 'paradise' but I believe birds traversing between Wyver and Shipley CP pass over my place hence my continued interest. Hoping Goosander will be added to the garden list in the near future (oh for the chance to sit scanning all day) ;)
Click to expand...

No problem, Ro ;). I've actually quite enjoyed my visits lately. Not something you will here me say that often when talking about Wyver.
 
Whilst most of my visits of late have been primarily to do the roost, I've also been getting down there a little earlier to give the place a bit of a going over. This proved to be good move yesterday.

When I was counting Teal which were mostly around the edges I noticed a lot of Snipe feeding all over the back edge. My previous best for Wyver was in the low 50's but I blew that out of the water with 74. I then counted again a short while later and got to 83. A massive count for Wyver and probably for the county too. 83 is the second highest count for Wyver after 101 on 01/12/1984.

Incidentally I had 83 Teal. 57 Wigeon, pr Shoveler, 67 Mallard, 2 drake Pochard, 7 Tufties, 21 Goosander, pr of Oycs, c100 Starling, 24 Magpies and a singing Goldcrest.
 
I'm getting closer to the all time record Snipe count of 101. Managed to beat Wednesday's count of 83 with 93 yesterday. A scope is needed to count them accurately as many are sitting among the vegetation well camouflaged.

Best of the rest was 2 Cormorants, Grey Heron, 2 Little Grebe, 61 Teal, 51 Wigeon, pr of Shoveler, 2 drake Pochard and 3 Tufties. 22 Goosander came into roost which equals the best count this winter.

The pr of Oycs were observed mating on the island. 24 Lapwings around the main pool. 2 Song Thrushes singing, a Jay, Goldcrest, Green Woodpecker, and 32 Magpies pre roost.
 
Well that was a bit of a let down. I could only muster 21 Snipe yesterday. Either the majority have found somewhere else to hide out or were just birds passing through and have now gone.

Grey Heron around the pool, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Cormorants in the usual trees, single Mute Swan, 51 Wigeon which was the same as yesterday, 6 Gadwall, pr of
Shoveler, 69 Teal, 2 drake Pochard, 8 Tufties, and 20 Goosander in the roost. 29 Magpies in a pre roost gathering.

Pr of Oycs and 32 Lapwings along with the 21 Snipe. A single adult Common Gull with 32 BH Gulls. A walk from one end of the lane to the other produced 4 singing Song Thrush, 10 Robins, 11 Blackbirds, a Jay, 3 Goldcrests, c90 Starling and 2 Reed Buntings.
 
Wyver update. Feb 19th: 2 Herons, 2 Little Grebes, Shelduck, 51 Wigeon, 11 Gadwall, 4 Shoveler, 60 Teal, 6 Tufties, 21 Goosander, 2 Oycs and 22 Magpies.

Feb 21st:3 Cormorants, 2 Swan sp high North, 8 Gadwall, 46 Wigeon, 72 Teal, 2 drake Pochard, 20 Goosander, female Sprawk put up c40 Snipe, male Peregrine, pr of Oycs, 51 Lapwings, c80 Starlings, 2 Reed Buntings and 29 Magpies.

Feb 24th: Wildfowl starting to reduce now. 8 Gadwall, just 16 Wigeon, 64 Teal, 15 Goosander, 2 drake Pochard, female Tuftie, pr of Oycs, 84 Lapwings, 3 Jays, 6 Stock Doves and 28 Magpies.

Feb 28th: 6 Gadwall, pr of Mandarin, 14 Wigeon, 47 Teal, 15 Goosander, 4 Tufties, pr of Oycs, 59 BH Gulls, Raven and 20 Magpies.
 
A Red Kite yesterday is the first for a couple of years. It came in from the north at 15.41 scattering the gulls. It hung around for about ten minutes before drifting south. Wigeon were down to just 2 birds. Teal (49), pair of Gadwall, 3 Shoveler, 4 Tufties, a drake Pochard, and 14 Goosander in to roost.

5 Cormorants in their usual trees. 2 Grey Herons. 2 Sparrowhawks and a couple of Buzzards. Pr of Oycs, 32 Lapwings, 182 BH Gulls, 4 Common Gulls and a single Lesser. 3 Stock Doves, a Goldcrest, 3 Reed Buntings and 35 Magpies.
 
On March 7th 2 Grey Herons, 3 Cormorants, 31 Teal, 6 Gadwall, 7 Wigeon, drake Pochard, 7 Tufties, 11 Goosander, pr of Oycs, 27 Lapwings, 179 BH Gulls and 4 Buzzards.

Yesterday the obvious highlight was a female Pintail. The first record for quite a few years. It spent most of the time left of the island feeding or sleeping where it was difficult to see.

3 Grey Herons were on the top pool feasting on frogs, and another 2 Herons flew in from the north and continued south. 33 Wigeon well up from yesterday's 7. 6 Gadwall still. 5 Mandarin on the river. 36 Teal, drake Pochard, 4 Tufties, and 12 Goosander roosted. Another first for the year was a single Curlew that flew through. 15 Coots and 5 Moorhens spread between the 2 pools. c40 Starlings, Goldcrest, 28 Magpies and a male Reed Bunting.
 
Wyver update: March 9th 3 Grey Herons, Little Grebe, 6 Wigeon, 4 Gadwall, 31 Teal, 9 Tufties, drake Pochard, 9 Goosander, 5 Buzzards, Curlew, pr of Oycs, 35+ Snipe, 166 BH Gulls, 5 Common Gulls, Grey Wag, 25 Magpies, and a Bat sp was the first of the year.

March 13th: 3 Herons, 25 Teal, 3 Shoveler, 31 Wigeon, 10 Gadwall, 6 Tufties and 10 Goosander. Pr of Oycs, Curlew and 24 Snipe.

March 15th: 3 Herons, 12 Gadwall, 25 Teal, 26 Wigeon, 3 Mandarin, 6 Tufties and 13 Goosander. 4 Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. c400 BH Gulls and 6 Common Gulls, 2 Grey Wags. The highlight was 2 Little Owls calling from the fields behind the hide. The first record for some time.

On March 16th I wasn't there but Chris had the first Sand Martin and Chiffchaff of the year.

March 17th: A good count of 7 Grey Herons which is also the best count for some time. Also 5 Wigeon, 31 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 10 Goosander, 6 Tufties, 69 Snipe, 2 Chiffchaffs and the Blue morph Snow Goose came into roost.
 
Not been down Wyver a great deal lately due to my hernia op but managed to get a few evenings in this week. The first House Martin of the year was on Apr 4th with another the following day. Swallows are slowly increasing with 8 on 5th and c12 on 6th. Not many Sand Martins though, just a single on 6th.

A pair of Shelduck took up residence a couple of weeks ago. The male is very aggressive and chasing almost everything off. Teal numbers are still quite with 39 last night. Snipe are also still present in reasonable numbers with 30+ recorded last night.Other highlights from the last few nights include 3 Mandarin on 5th, also 2 Buzzards, 2 Kestrels, 2 Oycs, 2 Chiffchaff and 3 Reed Buntings.
On the 6th there were 8 Gadwall, 5 Goosander, Curlew over and a Raven.
Last night 9 Gadwall, 3 Herons, 5 Goosander, Curlew again, 6 Swallows and 3 Chiffchaffs.
 
Quite a remarkable sight down Wyver yesterday evening. A quick scan around the pool on our arrival didn't reveal anything different. But after a quick look in the log book there was a record of male and female Garganey for earlier in the day. To be honest we were a bit sceptical as Garganey are mega rare on Wyver.
In fact, they are that rare that in over 15 years of birding Wyver I've only ever seen one. And that was a bird that Chris found 02/08/2010.

I had always longed for a nice spring male but every year I've been left disappointed. Chris and me both scanned the pool again and still didn't see anything of note. Then a short while later I looked into the extreme left hand corner of the main pool and saw a small group of 4 ducks. Almost in disbelief I saw a stonking male with 3 females. I quickly told Chris and we both enjoyed prolonged views as they almost continually fed. We put the news out and about half a dozen birders came down to enjoy them.

It is without doubt a record count for Wyver. The previous best count was 2. There have been about 15 records at Wyver but with several of those involving the same bird there are around 7 records in reality. In fact it's probably one of the best spring counts for Derbyshire. Looking through the Birds of Derbyshire (Frost & Shaw) most of the bigger counts of between 4 & 7 tend to be in autumn.

As dusk approached they looked to be getting a bit restless. At around 20.30 the male started calling and at 20.37 in the gloom they all flew off. Fantastic record for Wyver and it makes all those hours of seeing nothing somehow worth it.

Anything else is a bit of a comedown but the best of the rest was 2 Herons, 31 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 8+ Gadwall, 11 Tufties, 4 Goosander, 2 Oycs, 20 Snipe, 10 Lapwings, 2 Curlew over, 11 Coot, 7 Moorhen, 7+ Swallow, 15 BH Gulls, 3 Chiffchaff and a singing Goldcrest.
 
Wyver update: April 12th: Another birder had 2 LRP which is the first record since September 2011. So 6 years and not 7 as I've been telling people.

April 14th:A singing male Blackcap between the hide and the mound was the first of the year. Also 2 Chiffchaff in song. 27 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 6 Gadwall, 7 Tufties, and 5 Goosander into roost. Still 16 Snipe around the pool. The pair of Oycs look like breaking from tradition and are nesting on the tern raft and not the island. A dozen Swallows, and 2 Curlew dropped in late evening.

April 15th: 3 Grey Herons, 31 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 22 Snipe, 2 Curlew, c40 Swallows, 4 House Martins, 2 Blackcaps and 18 Magpies.

April 16th: 2 Shelduck, 25 Teal, female Mallard with 7 yng, 2 Oycs, c20 Swallows, Sand Martin, Blackcap. The 2 LRP's or different ones were on the main pool again.

April 17th: The 2 LRP's again. 2 Shelduck, 4 Mandarin, 38 Teal, 8 Gadwall, 3 Oycs, only 7 Snipe, 15 Swallows, House Martin, Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Pied Wags.
 
Two new birds for the year yesterday. A Willow Warbler singing near the hide and a Sedge Warbler singing in front of the mound.
 
Chris has been down today and had the first Whitethroat of the year near the layby. Both Willow Warbler and Sedge still present and singing. Also 7 Chiffchaffs and 3 Blackcaps so certainly an increase in warblers since Friday.
 
A White Wagtail yesterday is a very rare bird for Wyver. Only my second and I think only the third ever. Mr Blue morph Snow Goose was present, as was 16 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 2 Gadwall, 2 Tufties, 2 Herons, 43 BH Gulls, 2 Oycs, 3 Snipe, 4 Pied Wags, Grey Wag, Whitethroat, 2 Blackcaps and c60 Swallows.
 
A Common Sand present last night. 24 Teal, Shelduck, 2 Gadwall, 2 Tufties, 2 Oycs, 73 BH Gulls, 2 Common Gulls, 3 Lessers, Whitethroat, Sedge, Canadas with 4 yng and female Mallard with 12 fresh yng.

Chris has been down today and had the first Redstart of the year in the usual area. Plus 14 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 2 Gadwall, 2 Oycs, Common Sand still, 80 BH Gulls, 7 Common, 2 Lessers and a Raven. He also did a thorough count of Warblers covering the whole reserve and had 6 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Whitethroat and 5 Sedge Warblers. The count of Sedge is particularly pleasing. Four of these were around the top marsh and one from the mound which has been there for a few days. Four is quite a lot for that area but is probably due to the fact that there is little habitat around the main pool for them any more.
 
7 species of Wader down Wyver yesterday is probably a record. This includes Lapwing (6), Oystercatcher (2), LRP (3), Curlew (2), Common Sandpiper (1), Snipe (1) and a Dunlin which is the first since July 2013. Also Shelduck, 7 Teal, 2 Gadwall and 4 Tufties. The female Mallard that had 12 yng now has 9 and the pair of Canadas that had 4 still have 4. Whitethroat singing near the layby.
 
A Black Swan was found down Wyver on Monday and was still present yesterday. The only other record was 2 birds way back in January 2006. A few broods starting to appear now. Pair of Greylags with 10 yng and another with 5. Pair of Canadas with 4 and another with 4. Female Mallard with 9.

01/05/2017: The male Shelduck still present on the main pool. 4 Gadwall, Teal down to 6. Seven Tufties, 2 Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, and the highlight was 2 White Wagtails in the evening with 4 Pieds and a Grey.

02/05/2017: Shelduck, 6 Gadwall, 6 Teal, Common Sand, 2 Oycs and a late Snipe.
 
A female Yellow Wagtail last night was the first of the year taking the year list up to 89. Not much change otherwise. Five broods of Canada Geese including a pair with 13. Common Sand still present.

Oyc still sitting and probably due to hatch in around 12 days. Up to 3 pairs of Lapwing are sitting so fingers crossed. It's been a very long time since we had Lapwing breed successfully on the reserve. Still 2 Snipe hanging on. The Blue morph Snow Goose was seen flying around a couple of times.

Male Grey Wagtail singing in front of the hide. 12 Swallows, 3 Sand Martins amd 3 Pied Wags. Not a single Warbler heard but it was cool and windy.
 
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