An Early Sign of Winter

After a latish night and a slight hangover, I was surprised I made it out by 5am this morning. The Pit Tip only produced a Red Fox alongside the main Plantation and a picturesque sunrise, but heading down the hill to Dawson's Corner I sighted a group of three Cormorant heading south, high over the Mill Lakes and down the Leen at 5:15am.

Heading down the Reedbed Boardwalk a yellow juvenile Willow Warbler was feeding in the Alder Carr. A Reed Warbler was in the surrounding willows, and a Jay was in the trees along eastern edge of the Reedbed. Heading around the lake produced a possible Garden Warbler seen briefly behind the Dipping Ponds, where a Lesser Whitethroat and Willow Tit where also seen and heard. A single 'sum plum' Ruddy Duck was in the middle of lake moving between the islands, and one of the adult Great Crested Grebe had the juvenile in tow again. Towards the north end a (probable juvenile) Grey Heron was circling the lake, but seemed to fly off, and a group of Canada Goose flew in from the north to yield a count of 62.

The stone bank island had emerged from the water again today, but there was little of interest at the north end, so I headed up to the Leen Pastures. Again, all was quiet. Even the Golf Course was quiet, with a distant Kestrel hovering in the background. Walking back along the embankment produced a few warblers, including another Lesser Whitethroat.

Back at the Peninsula, I crossed paths with two kids equipped with fishing rods. They didn't seem too pleased to see me, but only moved on to the next jetty. Moving on myself, Ralph caught my attention with a whistle, and I headed up to meet him as he waited for Julie. Having not seen the others since April, we caught up on the latest news, and set off round the lake.

A Pied Wagtail was in the long grass near the Dipping Ponds, and reaching the far side, a Sparrowhawk was circling high over the lake. A few Bullfinch were elusively feeding on the rowan berries, giving the slightest of views. I picked out a female/juvenile and then a male, before we retraced our steps to take the back path instead - barely anything to be seen though.

We spent about twenty minutes at the north end. A couple of single Black-headed Gull put in an appearance before one adult in winter plumage, came in and settled on the water. It was joined by two others in their summer to winter transition, hinting at the start of winter. Another birder, who I'd not met before, joined us for a chat and I picked up the juvenile Great Crested Grebe again, now separated from the adults, which is first time I've seen it away from its parents. Julie picked up on two Cormorant circling high over the southern end of the lakes, and then flying north over our heads.

It was time to be getting back, and the three of us parted company with the other birder. We had a quick look for the Grey Wagtail under the bridge where Ralph had seen it earlier, but without any luck. As Julie and I walked back along the path the the main entrance a Chiffchaff put in an appearance, showing just well enough for us to see its leg ring, and a male Yellowhammer was heard singing from the hedgerow behind the adjacent farmer's field. A nice, but relatively quiet, morning, racking up a respectable total of 45 species.

Two Notable Juveniles

A nice morning walk with my children started with a Jay at Ted Heath, which flew off quickly, much to the disappointment of my little girl. She made up for it by finding a male Pheasant along the western edge of Big Wood School Field, which turned out to be first one this month recorded in our 10km square on BirdTrack - obviously a notable record!

After a play in the Adventure Playground, we headed down to the Khalsa Wood, which was quiet enough to produce a Coal Tit, a Treecreeper, and a Nuthatch. The skies were overcast, but a very yellow-coloured warbler resembling a Chiffchaff/Willow Warbler caught my attention as it called from a tree top behind the Khalsa Wood. Noting a mental description and looking it up when we got back, confirmed my first juvenile Willow Warbler.

Day of the Kestrel

Leaving between dawn and sunrise, produced a family of Red Fox (two adults and a juvenile), and two Lesser Black-backed Gull heading SW over the Pit Tip on my way to the Mill Lakes. A male Kestrel was over Farmer Fox's Cow Field, two Chiffchaff - one a singing male - were together at Dawson's Corner, and a juvenile red-crowned Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the large oak of the farmyard near the western entrance and viewed from the Sustrans path.

At the Mill Lakes an adult Black-headed Gull was circling, and a flock of around ten more were over to the north-east. The number of geese and swans seemed to be back down to normal, with quick counts of 15 Mute Swan and 16 Greater Canada Goose. Two adult Great Crested Grebe were on the lake, one of them with the streaky juvenile in tow. Two Reed Warbler were calling in the willows around the Reedbed Boardwalk, and another male Kestrel was hunting over Reedbed. At the Leen Pastures two more were seen, including one of the juveniles that landed on Railway Line. The morning sun allowed for some brief footage of the juvenile hunting over the Golf Course.

Heading back via the back path produced a good view of a female Sparrowhawk flying low, towards me across the Horse Paddock at Broadvalley Stables and up into the hedgerows behind me. This was briefly followed by a lot of commotion from all the smaller birds using the hedgerow for cover. The Sparrowhawk emerged a minutes later, seemingly unsuccessful, and flew up over the rooftops of the nearby houses. Three Mistle Thrush were on the overhead wires at the entrance to Bestwood Quarry, but I didn't have time to venture in to the quarry itself.

Yet another male Kestrel was hunting over the Parkside Pasture, this time with one or two missing secondaries, and the same bird was later seen over the Horse Paddock by the Adventure Playground. To finish the morning off, I had my first Treecreeper of the summer on a large tree trunk along Woodman's Path, which also permitted some reasonable footage.

Mistle Thrush by the Dozen

This evening I walked around Bestwood Quarry via the Winding House area, producing a single Coal Tit in the firs by the Winding House. Good numbers of the common finches were in the hedgerows along Parkside Pasture, with Greenfinch, Goldfinch, and Chaffinch - the former in dominant numbers with plenty of juveniles. An overhead wire nearby provided a perch for many of the Goldfinch, and a couple of possible Linnet, but the views were too distant, and the evening sun may have been playing tricks on me.

A lack of Barn Swallow at the entrance to the quarry might have been indicative of the Hobby that was seen hunting there on Friday afternoon - no sign of it this evening. The hillside near the entrance had seven Mistle Thrush and a single male Yellowhammer all searching for food on the ground. All flew off as two men with mountain boards walked/rode along the main path towards the entrance. The Yellowhammer flew off to join a female on a nearby overhead wire. The setting sun wasn't in my favour, with most of the birds in silhouette or tinted to strange colours. However, I did count twelve Mistle Thrush by the entrance on the overhead wires over the Horse Paddock.

Walking home I met another birder, Sean, who'd taken a recent interest in my Bestwood sightings. We had a nice chat about the park and its wildlife. He let me know of some recent Woodcock sightings, roding near to Broadvalley Stables, so I'll have to check that area out at sunset.

The 'Monday Volunteer'

Today I did some volunteer work in the park at the organized 'Monday Volunteers' event. Despite the good weather today, last night's thunderstorm probably put others off, as I was the only volunteer. I spent the morning with Sue - the ranger - clearing nettles and thistles from the boardwalk of the Dipping Ponds, where I learnt the difference between ferns and bracken, and saw my first Large Yellow Underwing moth. I had my lunch on the picnic table in the garden of Alexandra Lodge, where I watched a couple of different butterflies, including Red Admiral and one of the two Heath species, probably Small Heath, as the other is uncommon in Nottinghamshire. A pair of Woodpigeon were nest building close by, a Wren had a quick look in, a Song Thrush was sat in a nearby tree, and a group of 16 Black-headed Gull flew over heading SSE.

In the afternoon Sue and I were joined by another ranger - Jon, who helped us cut back the growth from the base of a lime tree near the Bestwood Lodge Drive car park. When we were done, there was one last job for the day... dispose of a lovely damp and smelly double mattress, kindly dumped by some idiot. After that I decided to do some real birding in the glorious afternoon sun.

Heading into the entrance of Bestwood Quarry, I noted a Greenfinch and two Goldfinch in the hedgerow by the stables. A few other finches were flying over, possible Linnet, but only silhouettes to go by. As I walked down the verge, a Sparrowhawk was soaring over the back of the quarry - the first I've seen in a while now. Nearing the infamous bend, a Lesser Whitethroat popped out of the scrub and perched to give great views in the afternoon sunshine.

Around the corner a few distant Stock Dove flushed, and continued to do so throughout my walk. I glimpsed some movement at the top of the scrub and connected with a male Linnet. More movement produced three birds, a pair with a single - possibly a juvenile. I also noted a Common Whitethroat, before moving on to ascend the sandy bank. On the way up, I had my first sightings on some grasshopper/cricket species, which I'd been hearing all around the quarry. Two small blueish coloured insects were sunbathing on a stone about halfway up - I might try to ID them at some point.

Absolutely nothing to be seen at the top, but I noted that the ever-increasing green border fence had reached here, thus preventing anyone from venturing into the wood by Mushroom Farm, and keeping me from seeing the Weasel again. I can't complain, as it's probably private land. On the main path back down, I flushed a Green Woodpecker from feeding in the grassy area - it's becoming predictable! By the entrance, a male Linnet was singing from one of the overhead wires in the adjacent horse paddock, and attracted two females: the first flew off only to be replaced by another, but that one didn't stay either. To finish the day off, a pair of Grey Partridge were feeding in amongst a group of Starling in the horse paddock - I'm still waiting for those red-legged though!

And a Tern for Me

In the hope of meeting up with the other birders ate the usual time and place, I took an early morning walk to the Mill Lakes. On the way there, a singing male Blackcap above the western entrance gate at Dawson's Corner was notable, being the first time I've seen one in this area. Moving on, I arrived with plenty of time to go around by myself first, and did so.

First was a Reed Warbler on the reeds close to the Reedbed, delivering food to a probable nest site, and giving close views. A group of three unknown juveniles were calling as they moved around the cover of the Reedbed Boardwalk - looked a bit like Wrens, but maybe some warbler species. Along the lake side I had close views of an adult teaching a streaky juvenile Great Crested Grebe how to fish.

At the Mud Island a Grey Heron was almost swimming, and two were later seen on the Golf Course. A single adult Black-headed Gull flew east over the lake as I headed to the Leen Pastures. There was barely anything to be seen, so I headed back in time to see two adult Black-headed Gull over and two juveniles swimming around Mud Island. A Common Tern (patch tick) was now fishing over the lake in wide circles, often disappearing for a while over the fields to the north east. The final notable sighting was the Kingfisher, which was flying towards the middle of the lake from its usual fishing post.

A Family Visit

We took an afternoon family visit to the Mill Lakes because there was an unusual sunny break in the rain. The park was pretty busy, so aside from close views of a streaky juvenile Great Crested Grebe, there wasn't much about. However, the Leen Pastures was quiet, and a Kestrel calling overhead caught our attention. The calling was quite persistent, and closer investigation by ascending the Railway Embankment - a struggle with a three year old on your shoulders - gave better views. As we reached the top the calling reached a crescendo as two juveniles landed on a third on the Golf Course, about fifty meters away. They continued to play, both in flight and on the ground. This included some great flight views at a height level with us, and in play along the rail tracks. An adult male was keeping a close eye on them, and a possible female was seen too. We also flushed a Green Woodpecker along the embankment and down towards the Leen Pastures before returning to the car.