First in a While

Well, since I'd not been out for over a month I decided to make a good morning of it and visit most of the park - weather permitting. However, the weather wasn't very permitting, and it rained most of the morning, making life difficult for my optics and my not-so-waterproof left walking boot!

At dawn, there was little to see or hear on the Pit Tip Top. No Skylark, no Meadow Pipit, just a lowly Lesser Black-backed Gull flying over. Even the very common stuff was eluding me - except a load of Woodpigeon - but it's hard not to see one of those. Dawson's Corner was scarcely better. I could hear a couple of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff calling, but never saw them.

The Reedbed was bare, except for a Wren on the Boardwalk and another Willow Warbler calling nearby. The two remaining juvenile Mute Swan were together on the lake, and a single Cormarant briefly flew around the south end. Duck-wise there were far more Mallard than are usually present, with around 250 birds seen. They were very flighty, and seemed to be working their way toward the south end, where most of the 20 or so Tufted Duck were. At the north end was a single Gadwall, and an eclipse male Teal. A Kingfisher calling from a perch on Mud Island, provided the best footage I managed to-date, and returned to the perched a few times throughout the hour.

The Leen Pastures and Broad Valley Stables were both very quiet, with nothing of note during a light rain shower. At Bestwood Quarry the quietness continued, and two Green Woodpecker flying over were the only new birds I picked up on. I sat down to try and scope the hillside, but it was silent and still. Looking up, something was flying over towards Lamin's Lane, it looked gullish, so I got the bins onto it before it disappeared. How glad I was that I bothered to look - it was a Curlew. My first for the park! Keeping my eyes to the sky, I also picked up a distant Sparrowhawk high over the back of the Quarry before I headed home.

A Visit to Tophouse Farm

This evening I walked to the Friends of Bestwood Country Park meeting that was held at Tophouse Farm. On the way there I glimpsed a pair of Grey Partridge with at least one juvenile, as they ran into cover in the cereal field to the north-east of the junction on Lamin's Lane. Later that evening we saw - what I assume was - another pair in the middle of the field to the west of the junction. A Grey Heron was also flying over near the farm, probably from the lake at Lakeside (Papplewick Pumping Station), and there were good numbers of Barn Swallow and House Martin around the farm too. Walking back after dark, at least two Tawny Owl were calling from around the Dinosaur Dell area.

One Gone, Two to Stay?

This morning there were at least nine Skylark over the Pit Tip Top, and a singing male Meadow Pipit on top of a fence post on the track to the Cow Gates. Three juvenile Chiffchaff were catching insects at the Sustrans entrance to Dawson's Corner, and two Willow Warbler were calling nearby too.

At the Mill Lakes the Mute Swan family seem to hae lost one of their young, with only two juveniles present at the southern end of the lake. A female Ruddy Duck was also seen at the southern end. At the other end of the lake there was a single male Teal, and 23 Black-headed Gull were on the water, including two juveniles. At least two Sand Martin were amongst a larger group of House Martin that were hawking insects over the lake, and a Grey Wagtail was seen briefly on Mud Island before flying off to the north. On the way back, a group of four Mistle Thrush were on the Horse Paddock near the entrance to Bestwood Quarry.

Playing on the Line

Four Meadow Pipit were showing well on the Pit Tip Top this morning, and a Mistle Thrush flew over the Plantation from the direction of Dunvegan Gate. A Brown Hare was alongside the Plantation gate by the pond, and another Meadow Pipit was displaying from a fence post along the path down to the Cow Gates. At Dawson's Corner there was a juvenile Common Whitethroat, and a singing male Chiffchaff.

At the Mill Lakes, three of the juvenile Mute Swan were with their parents, and a group of three Jay flew to a tree on a nearby island whilst I was trying to scope an elusive duck, which turned out to be a female Ruddy Duck. Before heading to the Leen Pastures I noted a pair of Chiffchaff were again at the Double Gates - a singing male and a calling female. A Common Whitethroat was singing along the Railway Embankment at Leen Pastures, and a pair of Bullfinch were seen there too. Two Herring Gull flew north-east together over Leen Pastures, and I got some great views of a party of three juvenile Kestrel playing together on the Railway Line: Two perched on the old signal ladder, and one down on the rails.

Back at the lake a pair of Common Tern were over the north end. Both were calling, and one was carrying a small fish, with the other was chasing after it. They flew around several times low over the lake before heading off. On the way home, a female with a juvenile Green Woodpecker were seen calling in a tree between Alexandra Lodge and Calluna Clearing.

Signets

My morning visit to the Mill Lakes produced a male Bullfinch feeding in a hedgerow along Sustrans path - the first I've seen in ages. A Grey Wagtail flew from close to the Vehicle Bridge over the Reedbed towards the tram line as I arrived at the lake, whilst a couple of Reed Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat were singing close to the Reedbed Boardwalk. A male Kestrel was over the scrub opposite the Reedbed, and a pair of Mute Swan were with three young at the southern end of lake - probably the pair that nested nearby.

At least 80 Canada Goose were present in three large groups, including one bird that had odd head markings and pink bill, possibly hybridized with a Greylag Goose. A single male Gadwall was present at the northern end of the lake, and a single adult Black-headed Gull flew over and settled on the water. A relatively quiet morning.

Parachuting

A short trip to Bestwood Quarry this morning produced my first juvenile Green Woodpecker of the year, flying around in circles near the birch plantation. Two Garden Warbler were on the hillside there, along with a singing male Common Whitethroat. On the way to the Quarry, two relatively-tame Jay were together on the ground along Front Line - probably juveniles, and an adult male and a juvenile Common Whitethroat were at Dawson's corner. The highlight of my morning was seeing a male Meadow Pipit displaying from the top of small tree in Parkside Pasture. It was the first time I've had good views of their parachuting display, and even phonescoped a few shots. Sadly, the only shot that even had the bird in frame wasn't exactly "framed" well!

Pair of Stiff Tails

First thing on the Pit Tip Top a Meadow Pipit was on the main ride, and a Blackcap was singing on the woodland edge, whilst a group of five Lesser Black-backed Gull flew over to the north east. At the Reedbed, an adult male Reed Bunting flew up from the reeds to a tree in the middle, but there was no sign of any of the Reed Warbler. A pair of Garden Warbler were on the island closest to the Willow Carr, and a male Gadwall was still at the north end of the lake. A pair of Ruddy Duck were present, and I was lucky enough to see the male displaying to the female (rather than to another male, like last year!). A male Blackcap was feeding in the nettles opposite the Dipping Ponds gate, and two adult Carrion Crow were mobbing a Magpie at the north end, with a recently-fledged juvenile hiding in the long grass, and seemingly unable to fly off.

Over at the Golf Course, a male Kestrel flushed from the ground in the south-west corner, and there were still no signs of any young around the Mute Swan nest, but the pair were still at the nest. A Mistle Thrush was on the nearby fairway, and another was back at Broad Valley Stables' Horse Paddock , with a single Tree Sparrow calling from a tree along the path.