Wyver Lane Nature Reserve (DWT) (4 Viewers)

Wyver Lane Bird Notes February 2011


Highlights include Pink-Footed Goose, Mandarin, Pintail and Herring Gull.


Site maximums for February include 5 Cormorants on 1st, 6 Grey Heron on 12th,
2 Mute Swans on 21st, 25th and 28th. 3 Pink-footed Geese on 10th, c100 Greylag
Geese on 7th, 149 Canada Geese on 5th, 2 Shelduck on 9th, 4 Mandarin on 7th,
8th and 21st, 43 Wigeon on 27th, drake Gadwall on 21st, 19 Teal on 25th, 85
Mallard on 7th, a pair of Pintail on 21st which is only the third record since 2007.
11 Shoveler on 2nd, 2 drake Pochard on 21st, and a female seen on several dates.
8 Tufted Duck on 5th, 21 Goosander on 5th, 21 Coots on 5th, 10th and 28th,
6 Moorhen on 25th.

2 Sparrowhawks were seen in the air on 1st and 2 Buzzards were recorded on 5th.
43 Lapwing on 7th and 3 Snipe on 5th.

630 Black-headed Gulls on 21st, 3 Common Gull on 7th, 6 Lesser-Black Backed
Gulls on 21st. An adult Herring Gull which is extremely rare for Wyver was around
the main pool on the afternoon of the 7th.

6 Stock Doves on 25th, 21 Long-Tailed Tits on 1st, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
on 1st, a Green Woodpecker on 1st, a Willow Tit on 8th, 2 Mistle Thrush on 1st,
a Brambling on 1st, 17 Magpies on 28th, c50 Fieldfare on 28th, 17 Redwing on
10th, c20 Siskin on15th and 7 Reed Buntings on 20th.

A little belated but a few birds of note at Wyver this week. On Tuesday the first Curlew of the year was heard and the first Skylark was seen flying from the mound. Also on Thursday the first Oystercatcher of the year.
Also reported recently was activity around the Heronry with up to 12 birds seen.

Amazing day down Wyver today. I was in two minds about whether to go down due to there being thick fog and me having man flu.

I got down there around 08.40 and because of the fog I could barely see the far side of the pool. The usual stuff was around including 30 Wigeon, 4 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 5 Tufties, female Pochard, Herons, Cormorants, Teal etc.

At c09.30 the first goodie arrived in the shape of 2 Sand Martins which were the first of the year. Shortly after the first Chiff Chaff of the year was heard singing near the river.

I took a walk down the lane which was fairly uneventful apart from 2 Buzzards and a Kestrel. By the time I got back to the hide the fog had lifted slightly and after a short while a Curlew flew over. Over the course of the day another 3 would fly through. A Redshank then flew in and done several circuits of the main pool before flying towards the upper pool although It wasn't seen again.

At around 12.30 over 100 BH Gulls flew in and started circling the main pool. Then in almost disbelief I heard an Avocet call. I scanned through the Gulls and saw not 1 but 5 Avocets flying around. I almost went into panic mode wondering what to do. After a nervy minute or two they landed on the pool and after a brief look I started ringing everyone I could think of.

Luckily there was no need for panic mode as they stayed for the remainder of the day so up to 20 birders managed to get to see them. These are a new species for Wyver Lane and equals the highest flock ever recorded in Derbyshire. The other two records were 5 at Carsington on April 2nd 2009, and 5 at Eggington Sewage Farm in September 1956. A truly memorable moment.

Anything else sort of pales into significance but other birds seen today was 2 Common Gulls, several large flocks of LBB Gulls going over inc several GBB Gulls, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll, GS Woodpecker, Green Woodepcker, c75 Fieldfare, c100 Starling, 8 Goldfinch, several Reed Buntings and c300 Jackdaws. Near dusk there were a total of 6 maybe 7 Sand Martins.

Amazing stuff Dave, bet you're glad you went down there now.......

Nice report, and hopefully someone got some pictures.

Neil.

Neil-T said:

Amazing stuff Dave, bet you're glad you went down there now.......

Nice report, and hopefully someone got some pictures.

Neil.

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Cheers Neil and yes I'm very glad I went down. There is a record shot by Dan Martin on the Derbyshire thread and I will have to sort through my photos to see if any are worth posting. If not then I'm hoping a friend has some decent shots that he can send me.

DaveN said:

Cheers Neil and yes I'm very glad I went down. There is a record shot by Dan Martin on the Derbyshire thread and I will have to sort through my photos to see if any are worth posting. If not then I'm hoping a friend has some decent shots that he can send me.

Click to expand...

So did you stay until dusk Dave, and were they still there?

Sorry, just read the rest of your post, and they were still present at dusk. It's been a long day!

Clive A said:

Sorry, just read the rest of your post, and they were still present at dusk. It's been a long day!

Click to expand...

Yes they were still there at dusk. I left at about 18.15 and they looked quite settled. If I've got time in the morning I might nip in on my way to Carsi to see if they are still there. Nice to see a few familiar faces on my patch for a change.

DaveN said:

Amazing day down Wyver today. I was in two minds about whether to go down due to there being thick fog and me having man flu.

I got down there around 08.40 and because of the fog I could barely see the far side of the pool. The usual stuff was around including 30 Wigeon, 4 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 5 Tufties, female Pochard, Herons, Cormorants, Teal etc.

At c09.30 the first goodie arrived in the shape of 2 Sand Martins which were the first of the year. Shortly after the first Chiff Chaff of the year was heard singing near the river.

I took a walk down the lane which was fairly uneventful apart from 2 Buzzards and a Kestrel. By the time I got back to the hide the fog had lifted slightly and after a short while a Curlew flew over. Over the course of the day another 3 would fly through. A Redshank then flew in and done several circuits of the main pool before flying towards the upper pool although It wasn't seen again.

At around 12.30 over 100 BH Gulls flew in and started circling the main pool. Then in almost disbelief I heard an Avocet call. I scanned through the Gulls and saw not 1 but 5 Avocets flying around. I almost went into panic mode wondering what to do. After a nervy minute or two they landed on the pool and after a brief look I started ringing everyone I could think of.

Luckily there was no need for panic mode as they stayed for the remainder of the day so up to 20 birders managed to get to see them. These are a new species for Wyver Lane and equals the highest flock ever recorded in Derbyshire. The other two records were 5 at Carsington on April 2nd 2009, and 5 at Eggington Sewage Farm in September 1956. A truly memorable moment.

Anything else sort of pales into significance but other birds seen today was 2 Common Gulls, several large flocks of LBB Gulls going over inc several GBB Gulls, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll, GS Woodpecker, Green Woodepcker, c75 Fieldfare, c100 Starling, 8 Goldfinch, several Reed Buntings and c300 Jackdaws. Near dusk there were a total of 6 maybe 7 Sand Martins.

Click to expand...

Nice one I know how you feel Dave, getting good birds on you local patch ..you can't beat it.
We have breeding Avocets at my patch in Worcestershire and other birds pass through in spring. On Sunday there were 8 birds this had dropped to 6 Today. Lots of the local(regional) sites pick up our birds at passage times so maybe your birds had stopped off at my patch on route from the south west to the north east (Humber). I am pretty sure there is now an overland migration route between the SW and NE.
:t:John

upstarts1979 said:

Nice one I know how you feel Dave, getting good birds on you local patch ..you can't beat it.
We have breeding Avocets at my patch in Worcestershire and other birds pass through in spring. On Sunday there were 8 birds this had dropped to 6 Today. Lots of the local(regional) sites pick up our birds at passage times so maybe your birds had stopped off at my patch on route from the south west to the north east (Humber). I am pretty sure there is now an overland migration route between the SW and NE.
:t:John

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Cheers John. Always nice seeing some good birds and like you say, you can't beat it on your local patch. Did I read somewhere that they have bred at your patch for the last couple of years? They've yet to breed in Derbyshire but maybe one day.

We was discussing today where they could possibly have come from and where they could be going. They appeared to have come in from the NE but they could well have been up there for some time getting disorientated due to the thick fog. Either way I'm glad they found their way to Wyver.

A Dunlin was down Wyver Lane yesterday morning. That takes the number of Wader species seen this week to 7 which is unheard of down there. The Oystercatcher which turned up last week has now found a mate. 2 Chiff Chaffs were by the hide.

Around the main pool was 62 Canada Geese, 30 Wigeon, 12+ Teal, 2 Shoveler, female Pochard, 10 Tufted Ducks, 12 Lapwings, 50+ BH Gulls 4+ Reed Buntings and 2 Grey Wags.

From the mound were 4 Cormorants, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Buzzards, 3 Stock Doves, Skylark, G.S Woodepcker, 2 Green Woodpeckers, Siskin and a Goldcrest.

83 Greylag Geese were in the field down the lane and 30+ Fieldfare flew over.

Not a great deal to report from Wyver yesterday but there was a single Barnacle Goose that flew in with some Canada Geese. Never had chance to see its legs so who knows if it was the colour ringed bird that's been seen at Carsington.

Wigeon numbers are slowly dwindling from 30 in the week to 16 yesterday. 4 Shoveler still remain, as does a pair of Gadwall giving hope that the latter might attempt to breed. It was looking like they were thinking of breeding last year but it never materialised.

3 Buzzards were seen from the mound and a pair of Kestrel were observed successfully hunting.

2 Grey Wags were in front of the hide and a single Chiff Chaff was singing near the hide.

Other birds seen were 3 Grey Heron, 2 Cormorants, a female Sparrowhawk, Oystercatcher, 4 Lapwing, Green Wood, GS Wood and 15 Starling.

Here's a few recent photos from Wyver. 4 of last Tuesday's Avocets taken in very misty conditions. A Dunlin seen on the island on Thursday taken at distance and in bad light. And a Grey Wagtail in front of the hide.

A count of 9 Buzzards in the air today is more than likely a record although I haven't checked yet. A pair of Kes were again seen from the mound and a Sparrowhawk seen several times.

Wigeon numbers are now down to 5. Teal peaked at 30, 3 Shoveler, pr Gadwall, 9 Tufted Duck, female Pochard and a female Goosander. 32 Greylags were feeding on the old tip.

11 Lapwings were on the island, 3 Snipe behind the island and an Oystercatcher on the raft.

2 Meadow Pipits flew north over the mound. 7 Stock Doves, Chiff Chaff singing, 2 GS Woods, Green Wood, only 7 BH Gulls which is a sure sign that the better weather is on its way and 5+ Reed Buntings.

A long overdue site tick today in the shape of a male Wheatear. I've only been waiting almost 10 years for one. We were standing on the viewing mound when it just flew in and dropped in front of the mound. Also a Raven over.

A pair of Gadwall on upper pool and a pair on the main pool, 36 Teal, 5 Wigeon, 3 Shoveler, drake Goosander, female Pochard and several Tufted Ducks. 5 Jays seen together from the gate yesterday, a Barnacle Goose with Canadas and Greylags near the upper pool.

A few Small Tortoiseshells have been enjoying some early spring sunshine together with several Peacocks. And a pair of Toads were seen on the lane making their way to the main pool.

Good record Dave, and well predicted!

Swallows have now made it to Wyver Lane. I had 3 today and 4 were also recorded at the weekend. Also 6 Sand Martins today. 5 Wigeon are still present, as are 2 pair of Gadwall, 34 Teal, 3 Shoveler, 4 Mandarin, 3 Tufted Ducks and 2 female Goosander.

The Heronry isn't looking too promising now. Earlier in the month there were a total of 12 birds seen and 5 platforms counted. Now only 2 Herons seen and no activity at all near the woods.

4 Cormorants were in their usual spot. 5 Buzzards were in the air and a dead bird was seen down the lane near the woods. A couple of sightings of Sparrowhawk and a female Kestrel.

A lone Oystercatcher is still around, 2 Snipe in front of the hide and 11 Lapwing.

There were 8 BH Gulls with a pair showing interest in the Tern raft. 2 Pied Wags also on the raft. 5 Jays flew over, a Willow Tit on the feeder, 3 Chiff Chaffs, Green Wood, Great Spot Wood, and a Greenfinch over.

Spent quite a few hours down Wyver over the last couple days. Of note yesterday was 7 Swallow, 3 Linnet, 3 Grey Wagtail, 5 Reed Bunting and 12 Mistle Thrush including a pair nest building near to the hide.

It looks like all the Wigeon have now left for their breeding grounds. Still 28 Teal, 4 Shoveler and 4 Gadwall though.

With all the Osprey sightings across the midlands today I thought I might get my own but no such luck. I did however get my second Wheatear in a week when from the mound I spotted a female on one of the brick buildings. Similar Wildfowl counts to yesterday plus the Barnacle Goose was again with the resident Canada Geese.

Also from the mound was 4 Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawks (male & female), Kestrel, 5 Lapwing, Little Owl, Green Woodpecker, GS Woodpecker, 20+ Sand Martin, 6 Swallow, Willow Warbler (first of the year), 2 Chiff Chaff, 5 Mistle Thrush, Linnet, Siskin, Jay, 8 Magpie, 4 Meadow Pipit and a Skylark.

There were at least 5 Reed Buntings and a Willow Tit at the feeding station.

Wyver Lane March Bird Notes


March highlights include Barnacle Goose, Pintail, Avocet, Wheatear and the
return of Summer migrants.

A relatively dry month which also had its fair share of misty days with the latter no
doubt contributing to the appearance of the star bird of the month.....The Avocet!

Totals this month include 5 Cormorants on 6th. At the beginning of the month there
was a total of 12 Grey Herons around the Heronry including at least 5 platforms.
As the month went on it was apparent that they had been disturbed and there were
only 1 or 2 birds being seen with no activity around the woods. This is a little
disappointing after the success of last year.

A pair of Mute Swans have been present all month, 97 Greylag Geese on 10th, 62
Canada Geese on 17th, a single Barnacle Goose from 19th. 4 female Mandarin on
2nd and then 2 pairs seen on several dates until the end of the month. Wigeon
peaked at 38 on 6th and just 2 remained on 29th. 2 pair of Gadwall all month, 53
Teal on 29th, female Pintail on 29th, 5 Shoveler on 10th, 3 Pochard on 6th, 10 Tufted
Duck on 17th, 13 Goosander on 6th, 20 Coot on 1st and 7 Moorhen on 1st and 6th.

A site record count of 9 Buzzards were seen on 21st, a pair of Kestrel have been seen
successfully hunting from the mound. Single Sparrowhawk sightings throughout the
month.

The first Oystercatcher of the year returned on 10th with 2 birds on 17th but no sign of
either bird at the end of the month. Around lunchtime on the 15th and in very misty
conditions around 100 Black-headed Gulls flew in. As they approached the main pool
the unmistakable call of an Avocet was heard. Among the Gulls were not 1 but 5 Avocets.
After a minute or two the Avocets and Gulls landed on the pool and almost immediately
started feeding. News was quickly put out and up to 20 birders managed to see them.
They were present until dusk but there was no sign the following morning. This is the
first record of this cracking Wader for Wyver Lane and is also one of the largest flocks ever
recorded in the county. Lapwing numbers peaked at 60 on 1st and by the end of the month
only a few pairs remained with several birds seen displaying. A Dunlin made a brief
appearance on 17th. 4 Snipe on 28th, 3 Curlew over on 15th and a Redshank also on
15th.

c500 Black-headed Gulls on 1st, also 9 Common Gulls on 1st. 14 Stock Doves on 10th,
2 Green Woodpeckers on 17th, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers on 22nd, a Skylark over
on 8th and 17th. The first Sand Martins to arrive were 6 on 15th, also 6 on 29th, the
first Swallows were 4 on 26th. A Meadow Pipit over on 15th and 2 over on 22nd, The
first Grey Wagtail of the year appeared on 1st and a pair seen towards the end of the
month. 2 Pied Wagtails on 28th. A male Wheatear dropped down in front of the mound
on 25th, c75 Fieldfare on 15th, 30 Redwing on 15th, the first Chiff Chaff of the year was
heard on 15th with at least 3 singing by the months end, a Willow Tit has been coming
to the feeding station in the latter part of the month, 5 Jay on 24th and 29th, 18 Magpies
on 6th, c300 Jackdaw on 15th, a Raven on 8th and 24th, c100 Starling on 15th, a
Greenfinch on 29th, a Siskin on 17th and up to 5 Reed Buntings seen almost daily.

Not a great deal to report from Wyver but the first Housemartins of the year (2) and the first Blackcap of the year were seen yesterday.

Also of interest was a report of a Raptor that was seen around the reserve on Sunday. By the descriptions I've heard I think it could have been a Harris Hawk. One was seen locally fairly recently.