Wyver Lane Nature Reserve (DWT) (1 Viewer)

[Gomphus]

Both Hobbies were performing again today. A pity nothing materialised with them but maybe they will come back next year. A couple of Warblers of note. A Willow Warbler and a Garden Warbler...never common down Wyver.

Not long before I left a flock of around 20 Gulls dropped in consisting mostly of Bh Gulls but 2 1st summer Common Gulls were a nice surprise. Common Gulls are never that numerous in Winter so 2 at this time of year was most welcome.

I've saved the best for last. I was taking a walk around the back of the main pool when I almost stood on a Grass Snake which was basking in the warm sunshine. I managed to get a few decent shots before it slithered off. This is only my second record of Grass Snake at Wyver. A few shots of the Snake and one of a Common Gull.

Wow Dave I am jealous of the Grass Snake... never seen one in Belper! Well apart from a rescue one which was released near us many many years ago.... cannot count that!

ATB

Steph'

 

[DaveN]

Wyver Lane Bird Notes July 2012

Highlights include: Peregrine, Hobby, Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher.

This month's maximum counts are 2 juvenile Little Grebes from 23rd, 8
Cormorants on 23rd, 4 Grey Herons on 25th, 3 Mute Swans on 20th, 63
Greylag Geese on 21st, 86 Canada Geese on 31st, 4 Mandarin on 25th,
female Gadwall with 5 well grown young for most of the month, 11 Teal
on 26th, 72 Mallard on 25th, 3 drake Pochard on 8th, 10 Tufted Duck on
3rd and 4th, 4 Goosander on 20th, 22 Coots on 25th, 6 Moorhen on 25th,
4 Pheasants on 20th.

Raptors include 4 Buzzards on 18th, a family of 5 Kestrels on 7th, a
Sparrowhawk on 17th, 2 Hobbies all month and 2 Peregrines on several
dates.

A site record 9 Oystercatchers on 9th and 10th, c100 Lapwings on 5th and a
Common Sandpiper on 6th.

The Black-headed Gull chick from the raft finally fledged on 23rd, 88 Black-
headed Gulls flew through on 4th, 2 1st summer Common Gulls on 21st,
18 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on 17th, 2 Common Terns on 3rd and 20th,
3 Stock Doves on several dates, a Collared Dove on 2nd and 3rd, 10 Swifts
on 10th, a Kingfisher on 28th and 31st, 2 Green Woodpeckers on 21st, 25th
and 28th, a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker on 7th, c50 House Martins on
11th, 9 Wrens on 3rd and 10th, 6 Robins on 18th and 23rd, a male Redstart
on 11th, 8 Blackbirds on 18th, 2 Sedge Warblers on 4th, 4 Whitethroats on
10th, 6 Blackcaps on 3rd, a Garden Warbler on 26th, 10+ Chiff Chaffs on 14th,
a Willow Warbler on several dates, a juvenile Goldcrest on 14th, a Spotted
Flycatcher on 11th and 17th, 15 Long-tailed Tits on 14th, 6 Blue Tits on 14th,
a family of 4 Treecreepers on 2nd and 3rd, 2 Jays on 21st, 10 Magpies on 7th,
a Siskin on 7th, 9 Goldfinch on 11th and 5+ Reed Buntings on 21st.

 

[DaveN]

Not been down Wyver much of late but today was the first visit in months without seeing any Hobbies. So unless they were keeping a very low profile it looks like they have gone. The only raptors were 4 Buzzards, female Sparrowhawk and a Kes.

Plenty of activity on the main pool: 2 Mute Swans, 2 Little Grebes, 3 Grey Herons, 110 Canada Geese, 20 Coots, 15 Moorhen, 19 Teal, 87 Mallards, 3 Gadwall and 3 Tufted Ducks.

 

[DaveN]

Yesterday Chris and myself did the summer all dayer at Wyver. Well not strictly all day but 10 hours is long enough. We did the same in Winter, Spring and will do the Autumn one in late September early October.

We only managed 46 species which equals the Winter count but was 9 short of the Spring count. There were some really daft birds missing yesterday including Dunnock, Jackdaw, Jay, and Goosander which we thought we might get in the roost but failed.

There was however a few surprises including Spotted Flycatcher (3 inc a juv), Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Hobby.

A couple more highlights were a flock of 8 Mandarin, and good counts of Mallard (136), Coot (31) and Moorhen (20).

 

[DaveN]

I had a couple of hours down Wyver yesterday morning. On the main pool Teal has increased to 29. Also 5 Tufted Ducks and at least 2 Gadwall. The main highlight was the Spotted Flycatchers again. There was 4 (2 ads and 2 juvs) with there possibly being 5 birds. Also up there with them was a male Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat and several Chiff Chaffs.

 

[DaveN]

Teal numbers have increased to 44 today. That's quite a good count for this time of year. Last August there were 25 and by November we had 175 which was a record. So maybe this year we could beat that. Other wildfowl of note is a juv/fem Pochard which has been there for a few days, and 7 Gadwall.

No sign of any Hobbies on my last couple of visits. Just 4 Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. 57 Swallows and 5 House Martins flew south. c40 Lapwings were around the upper pool. A single Sedge Warbler was in front of the hide and a couple of Chiffies on the lane.

 

[DaveN]

Wyver Lane Bird Notes August 2012

Highlights include: Peregrine, Hobby, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart
and Raven.

A fairly quiet month with high water levels being good for returning wildfowl,
but not so good for passing waders.
Maximum counts for the month include 2 juvenile Little Grebes on 11th and 14th,
3 Cormorants on 14th and 18th, 3 Grey Herons on several dates, 3 Mute Swans
on 21st, 29 Greylag Geese on 14th, 110 Canada Geese on 11th, 8 Mandarin on
14th, 44 Teal on 25th, 7 Gadwall on 25th and 28th, c200 Mallard on 16th, 2
Shoveler on 28th, a Pochard on 21st, 22nd, 25th and 28th, 5 Tufted Ducks on
18th, 31 Coot on 14th and 20 Moorhen also on 20th.

Raptors include 4 Buzzards on 6th and 25th, single Sparrowhawk sightings on
several dates, single Kestrel sightings also on many dates, 2 Hobbies on 3rd and
a Peregrine on 22nd.

c120 Lapwings on 3rd. The only other wader was a Common Sandpiper on 21st.
17 Black-headed Gulls on 11th, 5 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on 25th, A Common
Tern on 3rd an 6th, the last Swift record was of 2 on 14th, 3 Green Woodpeckers
on 6th including 2 juveniles, 24 House Martins on 18th, 60 Swallows on 14th, a
female/juvenile Redstart on 14th and an adult male on 18th, a Sedge Warbler on
25th, a Lesser Whitethroat on 14th and 18th, 5 Chiff Chaffs on 14th and 18th, 3
Willow Warblers on 21st, 3 Spotted Flycatchers including at least one juvenile were
near Wyver Woods on 14th and on the 18th in the same location 4 birds were
present including 2 juveniles, 19 Long-tailed Tits on 18th, 2 Jays on 21st and a
Raven on 18th.

 

[DaveN]

The first Snipe of the autumn down Wyver yesterday. Teal have increased to 54, 5 Gadwall and 4 Shoveler. Also 2 juv Little Grebes on the main pool. 113 Lapwings were around the upper pool. And a single Peregrine noted.

 

[DaveN]

Meadow Pipits are slowly starting to show at Wyver. The first of the autumn was on Wednesday and 2 more flew over today. Hopefully some big movements are still to come later in the month just as Sep 28th last year when 540 flew over.

Intriguingly I was speaking to a birder at Carsington yesterday who had been to Wyver on Thursday evening and recorded the largest Greylag Geese flock ever at Wyver. There was 132 on the main pool and then another c100 flew in surpassing the 184 in September last year.

A bit later this year but the farmer was mowing the grass today ready for bailing. Despite this the Wildfowl seemed fairly settled....33 Canada Geese, 14 Greylags, 52 Teal, 3 Shoveler, 2 Gadwall, 31 Mallard, 30 Coots and 17 Moorhens. Raptors put on a good show today....2 each of Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine. c50 House Martins and c30 Swallows were moving through. 3+ Chiff Chaffs including one in song.

 

[DaveN]

A more than satisfactory few hours down Wyver today and a new species for the year to boot. I intended to spend most of my time on the mound but before I did I had a quick count of what was on the main pool. Teal had gone up to 63 but a little later a Buzzard flushed more out and I counted 95 which for this time of year is quite an exceptional figure. There was also 4 Shoveler, 3 Gadwall, 40 Mallards, 2 Little Grebes, 29 Coots, 17 Moorhens, 65 Bh Gulls, and 4 Grey Herons.

So I made my way to the mound to see if there was anything moving through. Before I had chance to get on there I noticed huge numbers of House Martins seemingly everywhere. Really difficult to count but I estimated 400 but could well have been over 500. Not surprising but all the Hirundines were attracting the attention of a few Raptors. A couple of Sparrowhawks and a single adult Hobby zipped through.

I stood on the mound for a while but it was clear that there wasn't much moving. The usual flock of Lapwings were present, c130 noted. The only other things of note was 2 Pied Wags, 4 Bullfinch, 4 Buzzards, Green Wood, G.S. Woodpecker, Jay, Chiff Chaff and a few Goldfinches.

I went and sat back in the hide for a while and caught sight of 2 passerines flying over the main pool. I raised my bins to see 2 Yellow Wagtails (new for 2012) fly over the main pool calling as they went. I left the hide to check the fields behind which look quite suitable but it looked like they had gone straight through.

I spent my last hour back on the viewing mound where I had 2 more Hobbies, another Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel. A pretty good day for Wyver.

 

[DaveN]

I noticed over the past few days that Meadow Pipits along with other bits have started to move. So I stood on the mound this morning hoping for a bit of Vis Migging but it didn't take long for me to realise there wasn't anything moving.
Whether conditions just wasn't right or it's a bit early for Wyver I'm not sure. Probably a bit of both. The only things I did have was a few Siskins, and Redpoll heard.

As with other days this week there was masses of House Martins....around 350 plus c50 Swallows. Raptors were putting on a good show again. 3 Buzzards, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Hobbies and 2 Peregrines. The pools were pretty much as you were.

 

[DaveN]

What a difference 24 hours make. Yesterday and absolutely nothing was moving down Wyver. Today, however, a good movement of Meadow Pipits. I'd only been down a few minutes when the first one went over. I then made my way to the mound where I had 127 through over a few hours. Other places I hear were also having Meadow Pipits through.

Also passing over was 24 Siskin, 6 Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches, a Linnet and lots of Swallows and House Martins. Raptors today included 5 Buzzards and a couple of Sparrowhawks. A Goosander and a Mandarin were new in on the main pool.

 

[DaveN]

Some great vis migging down Wyver over the past couple of days. My time down there yesterday was cut short because of a certain Great White Egret but in the time I was there I had amassed 215 Meadow Pipits, c200 House Martins, 110 Swallows, 21 Siskin, Yellow Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtails, 17 Starlings, 2 G.S.Woodpeckers and 4 Chaffinches.

Not as productive today probably due to the clear blue skies. Still 93 Meadow Pipits, Yellowhammer, 4 Pied/White Wags, c50 House Martins, 25 Swallows, 15 Siskin, 12 Goldfinch. Raptors today include 3 Buzzards, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels and a Hobby.

 

[DaveN]

I've been away in Norfolk all week but I've been back down the patch over the weekend. The first Wigeon of the autumn arrived earlier in the week and now 7 birds are present. Another couple of firsts for autumn are Skylark (2 over) and Water Rail heard squealing in front of the hide. 10 Gadwall on the main pool equals the site record.

Some vis migging yesterday produced 110 Meadow Pipits, 50 Swallows, 120 House Martins, 4 'alba' Wagtails, 6 Greenfinches, 18 Lesser Redpoll, 14 Siskins, 5 Chaffinches, and the 2 Skylarks.

I walked down to Wyver this morning whilst it was still dark. As I approached the reserve with the old pumphouse on the right I could hear a couple of Tawny Owls calling to one another. Then 2 birds caught my eye flying near the woods. I locked onto them and realised they were Woodcocks. Whether it was the Owls that had flushed them I don't know but this is the first record since January 2005 and a site tick for me.

Vis migging produced 47 Meadow Pipits, 110 Swallows, 120 House Martins, 16 'alba' Wagtails, 1 'flava' Wagtail, 7 Mistle Thrush, 9 Lesser Redpolls, 8 Siskins, 90 Wood Pigeons, 16 Goldfinches and 6 Chaffinches. Also 5 probable Golden Plover flew through.

 

[DaveN]

Wyver Lane Bird Notes
September 2012

Highlights include: Record count of Greylag Geese, Water Rail, Woodcock,
and visible migration.

Maximum counts for September include: 2 juvenile Little Grebes on 3rd and
11th with singles on other dates, 4 Cormorants on 19th and 13th, 5 Grey
Herons on 2nd, 3 Mute Swans on 17th, a site record c230 Greylag Geese on
6th, 110 Canada Geese on 20th, the first returning Wigeon was 2 on 26th
with up to 7 by the 29th, 7 Mandarin on 23rd, 95 Teal on 11th, 10 Gadwall
on 29th and 30th, 84 Mallards on 20th, 4 Shoveler all month, 2 Tufted Duck
on 29th, 2 redhead Goosander on 17th and 20th, a Water Rail heard on 28th
and 29th, 33 Coots on 23rd, 22 Moorhens on 13th and 5 Pheasants on
several dates.

Raptors include 3 Sparrowhawks on 11th, 7 Buzzards on 19th, 4 Kestrel on
9th, 3 Hobbies on 8th with singles on other dates, 2 Peregrines on several
dates.

2 Woodcocks were seen flying around at the southern end of the reserve early
morning on 30th. This is the first record since January 2005. The first Snipe
of the autumn was on 3rd, but surprisingly no further sightings throughout
the month. c130 Lapwings on 11th.

Some visible migration has been undertaken this month. Counts of note include
Meadow Pipits: 127 on 15th, 215 on 16th, 93 on 17th and 110 on 29th. 400+
House Martins on 11th and 13th, 620 Swallows on 19th, 2 Sand Martins on 19th
and 20th, 11 Pied Wagtails on 19th and 16 on 30th, 2 Yellow Wagtails on 11th,
also 1 on 16th and 1 on 30th, c100 Wood Pigeons on 23rd, 2 Skylark on 29th,
26 Siskins on 19th, 17 Lesser Redpoll on 29th, 6 Greenfinch on 29th, 6 Chaffinch
on 15th and 30th, 17 Starlings on 16th and 20 Goldfinch on 19th.

Other notable sightings include 160 Black-headed Gulls on 30th, 70 Lesser Black-
Backed Gulls on 22nd, a Great Black-Backed Gull on 29th, 2 Tawny Owls on 30th,
a Little Owl on 23rd and 30th, 18 Mistle Thrush on 13th, 5 Chiff Chaffs on 19th,
a singing Willow Warbler on 5th, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers on 16th, 4 Stock
Doves on 29th, 7 Blackbirds on 16th, 11 Robins on 23rd, 5 Jays on 29th, 2 Raven
on 23rd, 14 Magpies on 5th, 4 Bullfinch on 11th, 4 Reed Buntings on 19th and a
Yellowhammer on 17th.

 

[DaveN]

On Thursday me and Chris did the Autumn all dayer down Wyver. We managed 56 species with, as usual, a few glaring omissions. Namely Dunnock and Bullfinch.
Highlights were 11 Gadwall which is a site record. Another site record was 64 Pied Wags going through mostly between 16.20 and 18.00. Making a mockery of the first few hours of daylight being the best for viz migging. List as follows. For some reason there's only 55 species here although I did count up 56 when we did it. And despite going through the book again I still can't find the 56th.

Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mandarin, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Chiff Chaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll.

 

[DaveN]

The first Redwings of the autumn arrived down Wyver this morning. I had 157 flying west in 6 flocks. Apart from them vis migging was a bit flat. Conditions looked ideal but didn't get a single Mipit or Skylark. Only things of note was the Redwings, 130 Wood Pigeons, 9 Greenfinch, 12 Chaffinch, 3 Lesser Redpoll and 3 Pied Wagtails.

48 Teal, 8 Gadwall, 8 Wigeon and 4 Shoveler on the main pool. There was quite a large tit flock working its way up and down the lane. I didn't count the LTT's but there was at least 10 Blue Tits and a couple of Goldcrests.

Hardly surprising that Blue Tits are in good numbers considering the number that is/was passing through Falsterbo recently.

http://www.falsterbofagelstation.se/index_e.html

 

[upstarts1979]

On Thursday me and Chris did the Autumn all dayer down Wyver. We managed 56 species with, as usual, a few glaring omissions. Namely Dunnock and Bullfinch.
Highlights were 11 Gadwall which is a site record. Another site record was 64 Pied Wags going through mostly between 16.20 and 18.00. Making a mockery of the first few hours of daylight being the best for viz migging. List as follows. For some reason there's only 55 species here although I did count up 56 when we did it. And despite going through the book again I still can't find the 56th.

Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mandarin, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Chiff Chaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll.

Hi Dave
At Upton Warren.
we do all dayers each spring and autumn in May and Sept,on the 1st Saturday of those months.(and have done for over 20years now).
We compete against Steve Nuttall at Belvide and Nik Barlow at Marsh Lane West Mids. We average about 85 in spring and a bit lower in the Autumn. We did have 92 one spring though.
Maybe you could compete with you next year. Mind you we can have up to 30 people on site throughout the day. Once you do it, you really get hooked.
B John

 

[DaveN]

Hi Dave
At Upton Warren.
we do all dayers each spring and autumn in May and Sept,on the 1st Saturday of those months.(and have done for over 20years now).
We compete against Steve Nuttall at Belvide and Nik Barlow at Marsh Lane West Mids. We average about 85 in spring and a bit lower in the Autumn. We did have 92 one spring though.
Maybe you could compete with you next year. Mind you we can have up to 30 people on site throughout the day. Once you do it, you really get hooked.
B John

Hi John
We started doing the all dayers last winter and we said that we would do all the 4 seasons for comparison, although the summer one was obviously fairly quiet. So all we've done so far is 4...Winter, Spring, Summer and the recent Autumn one. Between September and April I would like to do more but it's getting others involved that can be the problem. I remember reading about your all dayers recently. The trouble is with my patch Wyver is that it can't compare with places like UW and Belvide. As you can see we only managed 56 species in our Autumn all dayer which was 2 more than our Spring all dayer.
Wyver is only a small reserve consisting of a couple of pools with a bit of marsh. You will have to let me know when you do the all dayers next and I'll try and get a couple of mates down Wyver and see what we can get.

 

[DaveN]

Some vis migging down Wyver today from 08.30 until 11.30: 90 Meadow Pipits, 23 'alba' Wagtails, 12 Chaffinch, 7 Lesser Redpoll, 4 Siskins, 172 Redwings, 5 Skylarks, 8 Greenfinch, Brambling, 11 Goldfinch, 42 Wood Pigeons and a Yellowhammer.

Other highlights today was a Water Rail squealing in front of the hide. Little Owl, 6 Jays, Grey Wagtail, Raven and a flock of c80 mainly Goldfinches.