Wyver Lane Nature Reserve (DWT) (1 Viewer)

The female Gadwall now has 8 chicks so 2 have been lost. There was 2 fresh broods of Mallards, also 3 Teal and 6 Tufted Ducks. 2 Kestrels over the old tip field. An adult Hobby chasing hirundines after lunch.

Not much else to report. 3 Whitethroats inc a juv, 3 Sedge Warblers, 4 Blackcaps and 5 Chiffchaffs. 6 Reed Buntings inc a family group on top marsh.

The viewing mound has now become just a mound as viewing is very restricted due to the vegetarian all growing up in front of it. If the DWT can't be bothered to sort it out I'll have to do it myself. It's bad enough from the hide where there is limited viewing due to the huge tree next to it.

And while I'm here and I post the 1000th post on this thread I'd like to thank everybody who has contributed over the past 5 years. Well, not quite everybody. There is one person who I wish had never bothered posting his stringy sightings. You know who you are.

The female Gadwall still has her 8 chicks. Plus another 3 adults on the main pool together with a drake Teal, 43 Mallards and 5 Tufteds.

A juvenile Peregrine spent about 30 seconds half heartedly having a go at some BH Gulls and Lapwings before flying towards the mill which I presume is where it came from. The 2 Oycs still present with 20 Lapwings.

7 Swifts feeding over the pool and Sedge and Whitethroat in song. I also heard a snippet of a song which was probably a Reed Warbler.

Every now and again I like to give Wyver a real good grilling, and today was one of those days. And quite productive it was too as there was plenty of young birds on show.

First off on the pools and the Gadwall has lost another chick so now has 7. Better news was a female Tufted with 9 fresh young. Also on the main pool was 57 Mallards, a female Mandarin, 3 more adult Gadwall and 4 drake Tufties.

A couple of Grey Herons and a couple of Cormorants. 2 Kestrels hunting over the old tip field, 3 Buzzards and young heard calling from some nearby woods.
No sign of the Oycs and only 7 Lapwings.

A Kingfisher hunting from the posts on the near bank. A Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Swifts, 8 Swallows, Sand Martin and 4 House Martins.

Lots of small birds inc many young. 12 Reed Buntings, 13 Chiffchaffs, 3 Sedge Warblers, 10 Whitethroats inc 4 juvs, 10 Blackcaps, 2 Redstarts, 2 Song Thrush, 3 Jays, 2 Nuthatch, 6 Coal Tits inc 2 juvs, 9 Robins, 16 Wrens, Grey Wagtail, 10 Blackbirds, adult and juv Goldcrest.

Just out of curiosity, Dave, how long did this "good grilling take?" I was down for the best part of four hours one afternoon recently and saw about a third of what you recorded. Don't misunderstand me. I take you word as absolute gospel on all matters ornithological, especially where Wyver Lane is concerned. I'm just trying to establish in my mind how far off the birding pace I am these days. It would probably help a bit if I could recognise the odd call but I have a tin ear for virtually all birdsong apart from the cuckoo.

The female Tufted Duck has lost 2 chicks overnight so has 7. The female Gadwall still has her 7 and are now 2 weeks old. Not much else of note apart from a 1st summer Hobby zipping around towards the river and a Redstart heard calling from near Wyver Woods.

Blitherinamateur said:

Just out of curiosity, Dave, how long did this "good grilling take?" I was down for the best part of four hours one afternoon recently and saw about a third of what you recorded. Don't misunderstand me. I take you word as absolute gospel on all matters ornithological, especially where Wyver Lane is concerned. I'm just trying to establish in my mind how far off the birding pace I am these days. It would probably help a bit if I could recognise the odd call but I have a tin ear for virtually all birdsong apart from the cuckoo.

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A good grilling by Dave's standards is probably about 8 hours at a guess. You are spot on with knowing the calls/song that is vital for picking up a lot of the stuff, particularly during migration periods.Enjoy the learning process, slowly, slowly things start to fall into place.:t:

Clive A said:

A good grilling by Dave's standards is probably about 8 hours at a guess. You are spot on with knowing the calls/song that is vital for picking up a lot of the stuff, particularly during migration periods.Enjoy the learning process, slowly, slowly things start to fall into place.:t:

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Funnily enough, Clive, I was down for about 8 hours and as you are aware sometimes it's even longer.

And in reply to Mr Amateur I'm curious as to what you you saw in your few hours, you haven't said yet. And what part of the reserve did you cover? I've had this before, most people park up and then walk from the car to the hide. A distance of around 100 yards and then walk back to the car again. So all they tend to do is a small fraction of the lane and the main pool, and they wonder why I see more.

When I say a 'good grilling' I will do the whole length of the reserve from the signals to the end of the lane. A distance of just over a mile. I'll record practically everything, listening, looking and picking up a lot of stuff. I also take my time and it's amazing what can appear if you just hang around.

Also, being the warden on a voluntary basis gives me access all around the reserve in areas with no public access. Areas that I covered on Tuesday which were quite productive picking out family parties of Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and Reed Buntings for example.

As Clive said, knowing calls/songs is vital. Luckily I know most of the calls and songs so don't miss much.

The problem with being 70 is that you lose things and you forget things. I cannot recall what day it was when I made my four hour visit. And When I got home, I had lost the piece of paper on which I recorded my sightings.
For an answer to you question, you would need to look in the logbook and find the last entry with my initials - NH.
As for the extent of my observation, it ranged the full length of Wyver Lane right up to where it forks. Not much to see at the far end because the place was crawling with rather noisy types from some woodland archery group.
The other problem with being 70 is that you find it more difficult to learn things. I have a CD of British bird calls and songs but when I get into the field most of what I hear sounds unfamiliar. I did hear several snatches of song from cover close to that flooded area to the left of the lane beyond the mound but apart from being pretty sure the were not from a chiffchaff I was pretty much baffled.
Is there an app you can load into a smartphone that records what can be heard and then reproduces it with an identification panel? No, I thought not.

A couple of hours spent in the hide this morning. The female Gadwall still has her 7 chicks, as does the female Tuftie. 3 Cormorants flew over high from the east. 3 Oystercatchers briefly on the island. 2 Kestrels and 2 Buzzards.

5 species of Warbler heard or seen including Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, and a Reed Warbler singing from behind the island.

I've noticed a few reports of Swifts heading south over the past few days including a couple of three figure counts at Ogston. Also 5'200 past Spurn by 12.00hrs today. Can't quite compete with those figures but I did get c70 going through this morning.

A flying visit with Chris on Thursday morning produced a Common Sandpiper on the island. 2 juvenile Peregrines around the horse field. 2 Buzzards and 3 Kestrel.

Blitherinamateur said:

The problem with being 70 is that you lose things and you forget things. I cannot recall what day it was when I made my four hour visit. And When I got home, I had lost the piece of paper on which I recorded my sightings.
For an answer to you question, you would need to look in the logbook and find the last entry with my initials - NH.
As for the extent of my observation, it ranged the full length of Wyver Lane right up to where it forks. Not much to see at the far end because the place was crawling with rather noisy types from some woodland archery group.
The other problem with being 70 is that you find it more difficult to learn things. I have a CD of British bird calls and songs but when I get into the field most of what I hear sounds unfamiliar. I did hear several snatches of song from cover close to that flooded area to the left of the lane beyond the mound but apart from being pretty sure the were not from a chiffchaff I was pretty much baffled.
Is there an app you can load into a smartphone that records what can be heard and then reproduces it with an identification panel? No, I thought not.

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I'm only 42 and I forget things too. God knows what I'll be like later in life. There are many great CD's, apps etc out there with calls and songs which are a great help. But I've found that you can't substitute actually being out in the field and listening to the birds in the flesh. It's taken me years to be confident enough with calls, songs etc and even now I sometimes hear something and have to admit defeat. The thing with birding is you never stop learning.

Regarding your last point. That's something I've mentioned before. It would be great to have that facility to record something you're not familiar with and have an app that would instantly recognise it. I've got an app called soundhound which is similar to that. You play a song you don't recognise and it will tell you the artist and song title. Maybe an app like that is something for the future.

A very average couple of hours down Wyver this morning. The female Gadwall still has her 7 young. They should be ok now as they are 3 weeks old. The Tufted has lost one so now has 6. A Grey Heron, 61 Mallards, 2 Teal and 11 BH Gulls about the best on the main pool. The bird of the day was a juvenile Peregrine hunting around the reserve.

Grass Snake

One of the river garden snakes found dead today but not the big female thankfully.

Not much has changed since last week. The female Gadwall still has her 7 young. They are now 26 days old and look like smaller versions of her. The female Tuftie has her 6 young still. They are a little younger at 14 days old. 3 Teal are new arrivals. 61 Mallards, 2 Grey Herons and 53 Greylag Geese about the best on the pool.

Lapwings have increased to 77. A family group of 3 Kestrel. c60 House Martins feeding over the main pool. Only warblers were Whitethroat and Sedge.

A large gull through North was a possible adult or near adult Yellow-legged.
And a Gatekeeper butterfly was my first of the year.

Lapwings have increased to 106 today. They were mostly on the right hand side of the pool which is just shallow enough to hold them. But I suspect that might change over the next 24 hours with what's forecast. Both the female Gadwall and female Tufted Duck still have 7 & 6 young respectively.

63 Mallards, a fem/juv Mandarin, 3 redhead Goosander, 3 Mute Swans, 2 Grey Herons the best of the rest. A Sparrowhawk seen twice with prey. Also 2 Buzzards and a Kestrel.

Three species of gull which is good for Wyver. The usual BH Gulls (15), and a 2nd summer of both Common Gull and LBB Gull.

All three hirundines present.....Swallow (10), House Martin (28), Sand Martin (4). Also a few Swifts. The only Warblers were a Sedge and a Chiffy.

Plenty of Butterflies in the very warm sunshine. At least 7 Gatekeepers, numerous Meadow Browns and Ringlets, 5+ Small Torts, 2 Red Ads and a Comma.

After the rain....

Visited early evening and the water level is high, no waders apart from 2 Lapwing. Counted 14 Gadwall and 12 Teal, Tufties have 4 young.
The main highlight was 100's of hirundines feeding busily in every direction. They were over the pool, the wood, cemetery, over the fields to the north.......like flying ants everywhere. Most were House and Sand Martins with fewer Swallows. Counting was impossible so I concentrated on groups in various directions and realised there must have been over 500 birds in every direction.
A couple of juv Kestrels floated through them at one stage but made no attempt on them as Hobby might.
The viewing platform continues to be almost redundant due to the Hawthorn around it which is a shame. Many juv Goldfinch fed on thistles in the field.
Two Shelduck dropped in as I left and Little Owl was calling.

Nice one, Dan. It must have been some sight seeing all those Hirundines.

I must admit to being totally pissed off with the DWT and their reluctance to sort out the viewing mound and the tree next to the hide. It's not like they don't know about as I've mentioned it several times but they just can't be arsed. Several people have come up to me and complained about it. Some already members are thinking about cancelling their membership and other potential new members said they won't bother joining. And I can fully understand their views. I've even lessened my visits lately.

It's mental mate. All of my last few visits have left me feeling DWT have given up. I know the issues with the new residents don't help but a quick strim and the view is restored, simple. There is some evidence of trimming back elsewhere around the place so I don't get it.
The top pool is also overgrown and the water level seems unregulated again. Any gain through a dry summer for muddy edges is soon lost unless they lower the levels at the sluice.
Last years Blackwit and Crake look unlikely at the minute.

I must admit to being totally pissed off with the DWT and their reluctance to sort out the viewing mound and the tree next to the hide. It's not like they don't know about as I've mentioned it several times but they just can't be arsed. Several people have come up to me and complained about it. Some already members are thinking about cancelling their membership and other potential new members said they won't bother joining. And I can fully understand their views. I've even lessened my visits lately.[/QUOTE]

Fully endorse this Dave that's one reason I've stopped visiting Woodside (Farm). Many of the 'long-standing' locals feel just the same in respect of membership due to the (commercial) obsession with farm livestock as opposed to wildlife. Thousands of pounds has been spent on fencing to keep the stock in check with a perfect example being the 'butterfly box' where sheep were introduced to graze the area whilst orchids were still in flower and other 'butterfly' plants were destroyed before seeding. This area has remained 'untouched' for the past 10 years and was an excellent butterfly site so why the need to graze? obviously to aquire grant money for salaries and a super (stock watch) viewing platform , costing thousands, for the local youth to use for 'spliffing' and drinking ( I did remonstrate with 5 of them but shudder to think what would have happened if they had stood firm instead of reluctantly 'turning tail', without the empty bottles etc; they had left). It's the same at Erewash Meadows with new fencing everywhere but poorly maintained paths and 'stock' trampling breeding birds, so why call them a Wildlife Trust. Someone at Woodside mentioned about forming a petition highlighting their inadequacies but like you I can't be arsed so will just keep poddling down to Smalley Dam. Look at the DWT recording input for their local reserves and that tells it's own story. :smoke:

Daniel Martin said:

It's mental mate. All of my last few visits have left me feeling DWT have given up. I know the issues with the new residents don't help but a quick strim and the view is restored, simple. There is some evidence of trimming back elsewhere around the place so I don't get it.
The top pool is also overgrown and the water level seems unregulated again. Any gain through a dry summer for muddy edges is soon lost unless they lower the levels at the sluice.
Last years Blackwit and Crake look unlikely at the minute.

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Don't speak too soon Dan, next thing you know there'll be stock roaming everywhere and the wildlife will be minimal. Since my downturn in health it has also brought home to me how ageist and less able intolerant they are. Ro

I totally agree with Dave, Dan and Roland, the current regime at the DWT have lost the plot, particularly with their inept management of wetland reserves. I rarely go to Willington GP now because I am so despondent with what they have, or rather have not done to the place since making it a reserve. I have been birding there since 1971, I've seen it in all its various stages, and I can say that now, as a reserve, it gets worse and worse. The diversity of wildlife there now has been vastly reduced mainly due to the lack of diversity in habitat, it's basically a big, phragmites-fringed pond just allowed tick over to hopefully attract the 'glamour' birds of Bittern, Marsh Harrier and Osprey, to the detriment of other wildlife which used to frequent the site. There is no actual new creation of habitat diversity, let alone proper management of what's there already. Instead of marshes and new scrapes being made for waders, for breeding and/or passage, the DWT continue this insane method of allowing livestock to roam the open rough areas, and they think that's just fine so long as the they're of the 'rare breed' ilk. The livestock may be keeping grass levels down, but their hooves are doing untold surface damage, their droppings are over-fertilising the soil, especially with its nitrogen content and so allowing grasses to take over from the natural flora, and any marginal plants(besides phragmites) are utterly devoured, and breeding birds scared off or disturbed off nests. On the area at the southern end of the reserve, where there's now sheep, goats and horses, there used to be a colony of about 200 Southern Marsh Orchids, breeding sklyarks, grass snakes, a multitude in variety of beetles, several species of butterfly, etc.....all gone, just a desert of munched coarse grass along with its attendant cloved munchers. Perhaps the DWT ought to be renamed DW and Rare Breeds Trust. Also, the viewer-friendliness of this and other DWT reserves only requires that you are 8-feet tall, have X-ray vision, have a 100x mag on your scope, and lashings of mosquito repellent....