A juvenile Red-necked Phalarope was discovered at nearby Attenborough Nature Reserve this lunchtime, so a trip to see it was worthwhile. Red-necked Phalaropes are now on the move, migrating from their arctic breeding grounds, to winter in the Pacific Ocean, (see below) a truly remarkable journey. The bird was only at the Attenborough reserve for a few hours before flying off and lost to view. I’ve been reliably informed that the majority of Red-necked Phalarope winter in the Arabian Gulf. However, I read an article about a Red-necked Phalarope, from the Scottish population, that was fitted with a Geo Location […]
The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Willington is getting to become a favoured place to see a Great White Egret. Another of these graceful birds arrived a few days ago and so I decide to take a look at it this morning. Although distant, it was showing well feeding out on one of the lagoons, before taking flight and disappearing into a reed bed. Also present and of note were a Black-tailed Godwit, a Ruff, 2 Green Sandpiper and still a few Sand Martin and Swallow about. Great White Egret – above 3 images – Tony Davison© Great Crested Grebe […]
A couple of special Derbyshire birds turned- up at the local reserve at Willington Gravel Pits this morning. A Spotted Redshank and a couple of Black Terns were discovered early morning. With a couple of Green Sandpiper, several Dunlin, a Kingfisher and plenty of Migrant Hawker dragonflies on the wing, it was a great place to be in my local area. Migrant Hawker – Tony Davison© 2 Black Terns were gracing the lagoons at Willington this morning – Tony Davison© Spotted Redshank – not many of these appear in the county during the year. Tony Davison©
On Saturday 1st September 2018, along with Barrie, I paid another visit to RSPB Frampton, in Lincolnshire. We had a reasonable day seeing the Stilt Sandpiper again and also the Long-billed Dowitcher that has been present for around a week now, but proven difficult to see. This morning both birds were showing on the main Reed-bed Lagoon, but were always distant during the time we spent at Frampton. Other highlights were thousands of Black-tailed Godwits roosting, a large mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover with a few Curlew Sandpiper mixed in, small numbers of Ruff and several lingering Avocets. […]