Magical Murmurations

After spending most of yesterday morning stuck in the car travelling back from relatives, the kids and Mrs G were ensconced either on the sofa or in respective rooms playing with various new toys I decided to head down to Willington Gravel Pits to see what was about. The weather was OK but exceedingly windy and not overly sunny however the Starlings put on a fantastic display with approximately 18,000 birds coming in to roost in to the modestly sized area of reeds on the reserve. 

 

Today (28th Dec) the weather was much better (sunny, calm and not too cold) so I decided to take the whole family out to show them the magic that is a 'murmuration'.  For all the kids this would have been their first murmuration and I am hoping not their last!

 

 

We arrived early as I had promised a spectacular however (as is always the case) no Starlings!  The sunset on the reed bed was however pretty lush and there were plenty of  Wigeon, Teal and some Shoveler to watch. 

 

 

In addition over recent weeks the number of Lapwing on the reserve has built up so we were also able to enjoy some of their pre-sun set wheeling over the reserve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then albeit a bit late....... Starlings! (Phew!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small flocks became large flocks and then even larger and soon we were able to all enjoy black 'clouds' wheeling and turning over the reed bed before the birds finally came in to roost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disappointingly the display was not as good as the previous night with pre-roosting being particularly quick - I think a result of the lateness at which they arrived but it was nonetheless a very enjoyable evening.

 

 

 

Walking back to the car the reed bed was alive with chattering birds which seemingly didn't want to settle (probably due to two female Sparrowhawks that were both sneaking around the roost) and we were able to watch as the roost filtered through the reed bed until it was almost totally dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are local to Derby / Burton area I can thoroughly recommend going to watch what is one of natures most amazing spectacles and whilst it is not the millions of birds that are present at other sites nationwide it is still stunning and exceedingly easy to access. Oh and the best part is that it is totally free!!

 

Best time to arrive is approximately 30 minutes before sun-set and the roost is viewable from all of the platforms although P2, 3 and 4 offer better views.  P4 gives the best overall view however P2 and P3 will get you much closer to the birds coming in to the reeds.   

 

 



Patch Work Challenge 2014 'Willington'

Patch Work Challenge 2014

In addition to doing the Foot It 2014 challenge I will also be taking part in the 2014 PatchWork Challenge.  The two areas are slightly different as the PWC doesn't restrict me to going from home by foot so I will be using the gravel pits at Willington.

 

The rules are for the Patchwork site to be no more than 3km²  and the 'patch' of Willington works out as being 2.98.  This area includes worked and former gravel pits and comprises areas of open water with associated reedbeds, scrubby woodland, grassland,  a short section of the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Trent. 

 

The site is fairly well watched although due to recent management on the reserve and areas outside the site as well as an inability to control the water level in the pits birding is a little hit and miss (more miss in recent times).  That said it is only about 15 minutes from home and makes for a pleasant walk with a little bit of variety on offer as well as occasionally turning up a few nice birds (Pectoral Sandpiper, Red-footed Falcon and Whiskered Tern to name a few).  Lets hope these and many more turn up in 2014.

 

The challenge is to see (and find!) as many birds as possible over the course of the year with each species being scored based on its rarity value.  Double points if you find the rarer species (See blog link for all the rules and more information).

 

This is my first year of doing the Patchwork so I have no scores from 2013 against which to compare the success or otherwise of 2014 but I have downloaded the spreadsheet and am very much looking forward to local patch birding with a little bit of competition too.

2014 - Willington Patch Work Patch

The rules are for an area of no more than 3km²  and the area of Willington I have chosen is 2.98. The site is made up of former and worked gravel pits with areas of open water and reedbed some scrubby woodland and grassland areas.  The site has picked up some nice birds over the last few years including Pectoral Sandpiper, Whiskered Terns and Red-footed Falcon (all of which I was lucky enough to see).  Usual range of mixed habitat inland bird species

 

 

    
 

Foot It 2014 - Alvaston Derby

FootIt 2014

Another year brings along another opportunity to have a purposeful rummage around the area immediately surrounding my house by taking part in the ultimate of local birding challenges; Foot It 2014.

This year the rules have been changed slightly and I am having to go for the 2km radius (although much of this area won’t be walked) just so I can access water along the River Derwent and Alvaston Park.  Without this area I would have an exceedingly meagre target list. 

There is a map below that shows the area which will be subject to my FootIt efforts (both 1km and 2km radius shown) as well as a more accurate map of the area that I will be walking in. 

My FootIt target list is an optimistic 69 species – just have to hope I can flush a Woodcock (couple were found last year) and we finally get an invasion of Waxwings (follow WaxwingsUK to see their progress).  I was lucky enough in 2013 to find them on my Foot It patch as well as having them visit the garden.

1	Mute Swan	36	Jay
2	Greylag Goose	37	Jackdaw
3	Canada Goose	38	Rook
4	Gadwall	39	Carrion Crow
5	Teal	40	Goldcrest
6	Mallard	41	Blue Tit
7	Pochard	42	Great Tit
8	Tufted Duck	43	Coal Tit
9	Goosander	44	Skylark
10	Red-legged Partridge	45	Long-tailed Tit
11	Pheasant	46	Waxwing
12	Cormorant	47	Nuthatch
13	Grey Heron	48	Treecreeper
14	Little Grebe	49	Wren
15	Great Crested Grebe	50	Starling
16	Buzzard	51	Blackbird
17	Kestrel	52	Fieldfare
18	Peregrine	53	Song Thrush
19	Water Rail	54	Redwing
20	Moorhen	55	Mistle Thrush
21	Coot	56	Robin
22	Woodcock	57	Dunnock
23	Black-headed Gull	58	House Sparrow
24	Common Gull	59	Grey Wagtail
25	Lesser Black-backed Gull	60	Pied Wagtail
26	Herring Gull	61	Meadow Pipit
27	Feral Pigeon	62	Chaffinch
28	Stock Dove	63	Greenfinch
29	Woodpigeon	64	Goldfinch
30	Collared Dove	65	Siskin
31	Little Owl	66	Linnet
32	Kingfisher	67	Lesser Redpoll
33	Green Woodpecker	68	Bullfinch
34	Great Spotted Woodpecker	69	Reed Bunting
35	Magpie

 
I shall try my best to keep the blog up to date but you can always follow me on twitter MarkG76 .  I am also taking part in the 2014 PatchWork Challenge which is being done on a different patch to the very local ‘Foot It’ one as well as contributing to the Garden Moth Challenge.

Let the local urban birding fun begin!