Cetti's Warbler - Holme Pit 27th/28th Nov & 9th Dec 2007

On the 27th November at 4.00pm i was looking for the Eurasian Bittern on Holme Pit when i heard a bird calling from the reed-beds in the far left corner of of the pit, I recognized the call to be that of a Cetti's Warbler. Searching the area proved fruitless with no sighting of the bird,at around 4.10 pm it called for a second time  but the light was now very poor as it was almost dark so i left the area, but as i left the area  saw the Eurasian Bittern fly out of the reed bed.

On the 28th i manage to leave work an hour early so i arrived at holme pit at around 3.00pm. At 3.30pm the Cetti's began calling and this time i managed to locate it sat in the bottom of a Hawthorn Bush near one of the fishing platforms where it stayed for about 5mins before disappearing into the reed-bed.

The Cetti's wasn't seen or heard again until the 9th December when it was very vocal for long periods calling and showing occasionally from the reed-bed at around 1.00pm-2.00pm.

 Eurasian Bittern - 17th/24th/25th/27th/28th November 2007 Holme Pit.

On the 17th November  i was showing two visiting birders(John & Ken) around the area when we had the good fortune of seeing a Eurasian Bittern fly across Holme Pit and land in the reed bed at the far side of the pit. We stayed in the area for half an hour or so but the bittern stayed out of sight in the reed bed. Later that afternoon just before dusk i decided to visit the area again, on the way i met Chris a local birder and ringer who came along with me to try and relocate the Bittern. Viewing from one of the fishing platforms just of the path in Clifton wood we began to scan the area and it wasn't long before we saw it fly out of the reed bed and land out in the open on the far side of the pit. The Bittern was seen by myself again on the 24th/25th/27th and was last seen on the 28th.

                                 

                  Eurasian Bittern - Holme Pit November 2008

Whooper Swan -Beeston Weir 12th November 2007

At 7.30am on the 12 November i was watching 2 Stonechats in the scrub area of Beeston Weir when i noticed a large group of Swans flying towards me from the direction of Beeston. Expecting them to be Mute Swans i casually looked at them through my Bin's. "Whoopers" I couldn't belive my luck, 17 Whooper Swans flew straight over my head and disappeared in the direction of Attenborough Nature Reserve.

Osprey - 29th/30th April 2007 Barton-in-Fabis

On Sunday 29th April at 11.15am I noticed a large raptor appear high over the top of Branshill Wood, it wasn't long before it was obvious that the bird was an Osprey. The Osprey drifted slowly S/W over Barton Flash and over the river towards Attenborough where it was lost to view at 11.30am.

This same bird or possibly another was seen again on Monday 30th April heading N/W . The Osprey appeared from over Barton Flash at 1.15pm and drifted slowly over the ridge of Branshill Wood and was lost to view at 1.45pm. 

  

 Osprey - Barton-in-Fabis

Tree Pipit - 23rd April 2007 Barton-in-Fabis

On Monday 23rd April whilst walking along the edge of the ploughed field behind Barton Flash I heard a bird singing from the hedgerow I recognised the song straight away as a Tree Pipit. The bird was soon located singing on the top of the hedgerow, it was then seen to fly over the ploughed field and land in the small trees on the edge of the seta side where it again began singing its very distinctive song. As I edged closer it dropped down into the field for a short time before it flew off towards Branshill Wood and was lost. I managed a few poor record shots whilst the bird was on the ground.

 

Tree Pipit - Barton-in-Fabis

Twite - 3rd Febuary 2007 Barton-in-Fabis

On Saturday 3rd February at 10.30 am I was watching the area of millet on the edge of the set-aside facing branshill Wood Barton-in-Fabis as it had been attracting large numbers of finch and buntings over the last few months.

After about half an hour a flock of linnet flew in and landed only a few feet away, scanning the group I noticed one of the birds had a pale yellow bill. Looking much closer at this bird I noted that it had a rich orange/ buff coloured throat and face, sides of Brest were buff with dark streaks fading slightly down to the whitish flanks.

The upper parts were streaked, with dark brown feathers with buff edges giving the bird a stripy appearance. Very Prominent wing bar when resting and in flight tips greater covets were tipped off-white/buff.

In flight white in the primaries and tail were noticed plus two buff wing bars and a buff coloured rump. Tail was deeply forked.

Very similar in size and shape to Linnet but appeared more slender.

I soon came to the conclusion that the bird I was watching was an adult winter Twite.

The Twite was seen well on two occasions but was generally very mobile with the Linnet flock and was very hard to view when feeding on the ground.

Little Egret - 25th September 2006 Barton Flash

At 11.00 am 3 Little Egret were seen flying low over Barton Flash, the birds circled the flash for about 5 mins before heading over the river. These birds were oviously the 3 Little Egrets that had been present on Attenborough Nature Reserve for the last month.

Black Tern - 14th September 2006 Barton-in-Fabis

At 6.45pm I was viewing the area around Barton Flash when I noticed a Juv Black Tern flying down the river just behind the flash. The bird was only seen brifly as it flew down the river and out of view.

Spotted Flycatcher - 8th September 2006 Branshill Wood

   

After a walk around the setaside fields in the Barton area I stopped to view the ponds in front of Branshill Wood when I noticed a small bird high in the tree tops snatching insects from a perch. Setting the scope on the bird I saw that I was watching a Spotted Flycatcher.

This was my first sighting of this bird in the area for over 5 years. The flycatcher was still present prior to dusk but couldn't be relocated the following day.

Marsh Harrier - 8th September 2006 Branshill Wood

On the 8th September 2006 2 female Marsh Harrier appeared from over the top of Branshill Wood and began quartering the area near the ponds in front of Branshill Wood. Both birds stayed in the area from 4.00pm to 4.20 pm. Both birds were last seen drifting low across the fields towards Holme Pit. The Harriers showed very well at times and were at times to close to try and digiscope, and only a few poor images were taken. 

Black-tailed Godwit - 17th August 2006 Holme Pit.

Walking along the field at the back of Holme Pit i noticed a group of waders heading towards me from the direction of Attenborough. As the birds got nearer i could see that they were a group of 13 Black-tailed Godwit. The Godwits flew straight over Holme Pit and off in the direction of Clifton Bridge.

Woodchat Shrike - 2nd May 2006 Trent Meadows

When news broke that a Woodchat Shrike had been found at Trent Meadows in Long Eaton Derbys I decided to go and have a look at the bird, hoping that it would fly over the river into Nottinghamshire and into my local patch. On arrival the shrike was seen sat distantly in a Hawthorn Bush sheltering from the wind. After an hour or so it moved much closer giving good views and the chance of a few digiscope shots. The shrike stayed faithful to the area and was never seen to fly the short distance across the river into Nottinghamshire, but it was aa great bird to see so close to my local patch and shows that the unexpected can turn up anywhere.  

   

Blue-headed Wagtail - 23rd/24th April 2006 Barton-in-Fabis

Hoopoe - 18th April 2006 Ratcliff-on-Soar

Red-tailed Hawk - 23rd January 2006 Branshill Wood

On the 23rd of January 2006 i was photographing Common Buzzards in the Branshill Wood area of Barton-in-Fabis. A few flight shots were taken and then i noticed one sat on the top of a Larch tree and managed a few pleasing shots. The bird in question turned out to be a Red-tailed Hawk but at the time i never noticed as the bird dropped out of the tree and flew off into the wood and was only seen in flight for a few seconds.

Around late May early June i was watching Common Buzzards displaying over Branshill Wood when i noticed one of the birds had a bright orange tail.  Steppe Buzzard or a Hybrid were my first impressions. The buteo species was always very distant and it wasn't until the 11th July that the bird started to show well and its true identity was solved. The Red-tailed Hawk was seen displaying to a common Buzzard throughout July and August, and was observed carrying sticks into the woodland and was even seen mating with a Common Buzzard on one occasion. The Red-tailed Hawk  has now been in the area for almost a full year possibley longer.

As their are so many Red-tailed Hawk kept in captivity this bird is almost certain to be an escaped bird. But you never know ?   

Hawfinch - 23rd December 2005 The Alder Plantation

At around 1.00pm I was watching Siskins feeding on Alders in the Alder Plantation just behind Clifton Wood I noticed a large finch sat high in the tree tops. Setting up the scope on the bird i was amazed to see that the bird was a Hawfinch. The Hawfinch flew from the tree and out of view on the other side of the hedgerow. I quickly followed and relocated it sat in a small group of trees where it was quickly joined by a further 2 Hawfinch. All 3 birds stayed in the area for around an hour before they flew off towards the diection of Clifton Grove.

Snow Bunting - 20th November 2005 Clifton Grove

Mediterranean Gull - 25th September 2005 Clifton Bridge.

Waxwing - 2nd/10th April 2005 Clifton Estate