Todwick Environment: Wild Birds
SK58 Birders – November 2011
by Brian Chambers
Notice of the November Indoor Meeting – 30th November 2011 at 7.30 pm at "The Loyal Trooper" may just reach readers in time. It includes a Talk & Slides by Phil Palmer on Birds of Antarctica & South Atlantic, Phil is a regular speaker at SK58 meetings, I’m sure he will have lots of great photographs of the area’s bird-life – EVERYBODY MOST WELCOME.
The next Meeting will be on 25 January 2012. (Non in December 2011). SK58 member, Chris Lilley, is a member of the North Derbyshire Bird Ringing Group, he’ll be giving an outline of the Group’s activities.
Each year we have a count of the Wildfowl in the SK58 recording area. Many of the Ducks & Geese are resident in the area, but in the Autumn & Winter many birds move south from the frozen areas of Northern Europe as well as more locally from Scotland to enhance the numbers.
The count was on Sunday, 13 November 2011 starting at Roche Abbey, here a small pond usually supports a number of Teal. Today 6 Teal were present, 2 pairs of Mallard and a Little Grebe.
Next stop Lingodell, the Lake to the right of the Eastfield Lane on the way to Firbeck, here was a pair of Wigeon, most probably migrant birds, and 7 Mallard.
The pond near Firbeck Hall held 18 Mallard, 6 Coot, a pair of Tufted Duck, a Little Grebe and unusually for this site 2 Mute Swan.
Langold Lake, the best Wildfowl site in SK58, was teeming with birds. The count included 23 Tufted Duck, 47 Mallard, 78 Coot and 362 Canada Geese! This site always attracts good numbers of Gadwall, 110 today, which are slightly smaller than Mallards. The female is very similar to the female Mallard but the males have a finely vermiculated grey chest which close-up makes for a very attractive appearance, a species that is easily overlooked. Also present were 2 Adult Mute Swan with 4 Cygnets (formerly 5) and 7 Great Crested Grebe.
Brown Bayley’s Pond (near Fox Covert on the A57) held 20 Tufted Duck, 9 Coot, 4 Mallard and the Bird-of-the-Day a female Goldeneye, a definite migrant into our area.
The last site was the Hewett Arms Pond at Shireoaks, this held a good count of 25 Mallard.
So, a good morning’s birding, plenty of Wildfowl and many other species including many Gulls, Woodland Tits and Winter Thrushes.
SK58 Birders – October 2011
by Brian Chambers
Our meetings resumed after the summer break with a talk at the end of September by Ron Marshall. He gave a well illustrated account of the bird-life on St Kilda, the remotest Island of the Outer Hebrides, and the central Outer Hebrides area of Harris.
Notice of the October meeting may just reach you in time. This is a talk on the Birds of North-West USA. If you miss this then the November talk is by a regular speaker at SK58 meetings, Phil Palmer, he will be highlighting the birds of Antarctica & The South Atlantic.
This is a quiet time of the year for Garden Birds, there is plenty of food to forage in the woods & hedgerows, especially this year with a great berry crop. As the Autumn progresses then I’m sure birds will return to the feeders, so keep them well stocked, please remember to provide some clean water as well.
Locally the Axle Lane fields have been alive with singing Skylark, 600+ were recorded early in October. There have also been good numbers of Yellow Wagtail, 20+, these are migratory birds, returning to winter in Africa. Another regular species seen on migration is the Wheatear, again good numbers, 15+, were feeding in the stubble fields a few weeks ago. This species often favours perching on the old stonewall, its white rump being obvious as it flits down onto the ground.
A Peregrine Falcon has been a frequent hunter over Axle Lane, attracted by the large numbers of Woodpigeon and Golden Plover. A few years back there were 3000 – 4000 Golden Plover wintering on these fields, unfortunately now numbers are just in the hundreds. The Peregrine’s presence could be the reason.
Just returning now are the Winter Thrushes, Redwing & Fieldfare. If you watched Autumn Watch this week, 14th Oct, they reported large numbers over the Spurn Point nature Reserve on the Humber. 3-400 Redwing were recorded over Axle Lane this past week. Redwing arrive a few days ahead of the Fieldfare, a bit larger bird, easily recognized by its chach-chack call and if seen by its grey head and speckled chest.
Just to add a bit of glamour, a Red Kite has been a fairly frequent visitor to the Firbeck area.
The monthly meetings of SK58 are at "The Loyal Trooper", South Anston, every last Wednesday of the month starting at 7.30 pm. Everybody most welcome.
SK58 Birders – June 2011
by Brian Chambers
The last indoor meeting before the summer break will be on the 29th June 2011 at the "Loyal Trooper" and will feature a talk by Mick Turton, a regular SK58 Speaker and seasoned traveller. The talk is entitled "Binoculars to Lhasa", so no doubt some excellent wildlife photography of this remote Tibetan city and its bird-life. Everyone is welcome to attend whether a member of the group or not.
This year has seen an above average arrival of our smallest gamebird, the Quail. The persistent south-westerly winds during May and June may have forced many birds to overshoot their European Mainland destinations. Most years just 1 / 2 birds are located within SK58 and as often as not none at all. This year, so far, about half a dozen have been recorded, including two birds on the 14th in the cornfields on Axle Lane.
Quail winter in Africa, returning birds face a fierce barrage from the Mediterranean hunters before reaching sanctuary in the corn fields of Europe. It is a rarely seen species, chaffinch size, located by its call – a repeated sort of whiplash sound. So if you walk Axle Lane towards South Anston listen for this peculiar call, it was located by the cross path which leads to the stone wall.
Another species you should encounter on this walk is the Yellow Wagtail, also on the 14th six birds were flitting about in the same area as the Quail. Yellow Wagtail is also a wintering African species, the male particularly resplendent in bright canary yellow, the females and juveniles also handsome but not as brightly coloured.
The cornfields and rape crop still support a reasonable number of breeding birds despite the regular spraying that takes place. Linnets are quite numerous, often they can be seen perched on top of the rapeseed plants. Reed Bunting, the male has a black head, are also present.
On a warm sunny day, not many of those lately, Skylark are very common over Axle Lane, both singing high in the sky and flitting about, larking, over the fields.
The next indoor meeting will be on September 28th, the talk will be about bird-life on the Hebridean Islands, Harris & St Kilda.
SK58 Birders – April 2011
by Brian Chambers
The April 2011 meeting featured a talk on the area’s butterflies. Occasionally, for a change, we have a talk on some wildlife topic other than birds. Today there is much discussion about the decline of numerous bird species mainly as a result of human activities. It was interesting to learn that butterfly numbers were hugely reduced at the time of the industrial revolution in our area. The smoke filled air, the soot and grime deposits on the land made for dreadful conditions for butterflies. Species such as Peacock, Small tortoiseshell and even the "cabbage" whites, which are now common, were only just managing to cling on. An interesting small butterfly to look out for in our gardens is the Holly Blue, it has black dots on the under-wing, the Common Blue has much bolder markings, and as its name suggests favours Holly and also Ivy.
Early in the month the Group had a field trip to Hatfield Moor, now a nature Reserve but formerly a site for peat extraction. It is a good place to see Hobby, a medium size raptor which hawks for dragonfly insects and later in the year will take young Swallow and House Martins to feed its own young. It’s also a great site on a warm sunny day at this time of year to see Adder, possibly not to everybody’s taste but a reptile that few people actually see.
Other excellent local Nature Reserves include Old Moor, an RSPB site in the Dearne Valley, Doncaster’s Potteric Carr Reserve which is just off the M18 and of course our nearby Rother Valley Country Park. They are all good sites on which to enjoy a day out, with the chance of seeing something out of the ordinary.
The June SK58 meeting will be on Wednesday June 29th at the "Loyal Trooper", South Anston, I cannot say who will be giving the talk. I’m sure it will be interesting.
Everybody is welcome to attend, especially Non-Members.
SK58 Birders – March 2011
by Brian Chambers
Summer Migrant birds are now appearing in our Todwick area. The old wall, by the South Anston footpath, is always a favourite perch for the Wheatear. These birds winter in Africa and return to nest on the moors and high ground, they do not breed in our area just pass through. Easily recognized with their white stripe above the eye, a pinkish breast and a white tail very visible in flight, a striking bird especially the male.
Another colourful bird is the Yellow Wagtail, a summer migrant, not to be confused with our resident Grey Wagtail that also has a yellow front but a grey back. The male has a very yellow chest and vent, Canary yellow, and brownish back, the female a bit duller. They favour the rape-seed crop but often perch on the wall.
Hopefully our resident Corn Buntings will re-appear, their numbers have gradually fallen over the last few years. They usually perch in the shrubby trees alongside the wall towards South Anston, singing their jingling song. Not a looker, just a small brown bunting but a nationally declining species which still just keeps a toehold in our area.
Bluebell Wood supports a few small greenish Warblers – the Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Birds very similar in appearance but easily separated by song. The Chiffchaff endlessly repeating its name, the Willow Warbler a melancholy descending warble. Difficult to describe but obvious when heard.
A few Swallows have been spotted. Sand Martins are the first of these similar species to arrive back; there is a good nesting colony on the sandstone rock face at the old Brown Bayley’s Quarry at Fox Covert. House Martins are next back, distinguished by their white rumps, then the last back (and first to leave) are the Swifts.
The next SK58 Meeting is on Wednesday, April 27th 2011 featuring a talk by Ben Keywood on the region’s Butterflies. The May meeting is on the 25th, the talk is by Terry Piggott called "A Year of Islands" – I don’t know any more than that!
Everybody is welcome to attend, especially Non-Members.
SK58 Birders – February 2011
by Brian Chambers
The SK58 February meeting features a talk on the wildlife, mainly birdlife, of Ecuador; as always it is on the last Wednesday of the month, the 23rd, at the "Loyal Trooper", South Anston.
The March meeting will be on 30 March 2011 and features two talks – much nearer home – one on the North Anston Pit site and another even nearer to Todwick, the Birds of Axle Lane.
As you will know by now the SK58 Birders concentrate their birding in the 10 kilometre square defined on the Ordnance Survey map as SK58. Seven to eight thousand records are logged each year, mostly of common or fairly common species. These records can be of enormous value when planning applications encroach on some good natural habitat.
We are always on the lookout for unusual species dropping in, especially at migration times. A Green Sandpiper has been recorded at the former Thurcroft Pit site; this area has extensive rough ground with numerous dykes and pools of shallow water, ideal habitat. The bird has been present for a couple of weeks, obviously finding itself enough food, this species has also been seen in previous years at the North Anston Pit Top site and some time ago at Roche Abbey.
Other welcome visitors have been a flock of Waxwings. These birds are berry eaters and travel from Scandinavia when the local crop has been consumed. This year has seen a huge influx due to the harsh weather conditions in Northern Europe, as in this country. A flock of approximately 52 birds were feeding on Guelder Rose tree berries on Brandsmere Drive, Woodsetts mid-month. The birds must have some memory capability as they have fed on the self-same trees in previous years.
Waxwings are Starling size with a distinctive buff coloured crest on the crown and spots of colour on the tail and wings. The tip of the tail and the trailing edges of the wing feathers look as though they’ve been dipped in a pot of yellow paint, when folded the wings also show a spot of bright red – as old Post Office sealing wax.
Click the images to see larger versions
To find out "What’s About" check out the SK58 Birders website, it is kept up-to-date with a mass of information of locally recorded birds and sites of interest. If the March programme interests you then you are most welcome to attend, meetings are always open to Non-Members.
Continue to 2010 reports.