carsington water – tonydavisonphotography.com

A Surprise County Tick

2012, Birds No Responses »

Dec 022012

A Velvet Scoter in Derbyshire – A fairly mediocre kind of day turned out rather good, with an unexpected County Tick. We had decided to visit Carsington Reservoir, as there was a Slavonian Grebe and Great Northern Diver and there is always a chance of finding a good bird at this site. We eventually saw the Slavonian Grebe from the Wildlife Hide, along with a couple of Willow Tit at the feeding station and a few Tree Sparrows – but the GND's (two of them) were from Millfields, so we decided to head-off there later. From Sheepwash Hide there were […]

Right Time – Right Place – Sunday 16th September 2012.

2012, Birds, Birds of 2012, Year No Responses »

Sep 162012

Right Time - Right Place - Sunday 16th September 2012.

Local Patch Birding Really paid off to-day. Another early morning start at Carsington Water. After a walk around "Stones Island" and a visit to the main Wildlife Hide, we had seen very little. The regular adult Yellow-legged Gull and a few Chiffchaff and Blackcap. We then made our way to Sheepwash Hide and on arrival walked straight onto an adult Great White Egret. The bird was feeding in the bay and performed for around half an hour, long enough for me to run back to the car for my camera, before flying straight past the hide and disappearing down the […]

Local Patch Raptors – Sunday 9th September 2012

2012, Birds, Birds of 2012, Year No Responses »

Sep 092012

Local Patch Raptors - Sunday 9th September 2012

Local patch birding in my county of Derbyshire is hard work but sometimes rewarding. It is all down to the quality of birding one is looking for. In my view you cannot compare a days birding in Derbyshire, to a days birding at a coastal site in Norfolk or Yorkshire. These locations would win hands down, however there are exceptions and today was one of them. The early morning was spent at Carsington Water and a Turnstone, always a good bird in our county, a Wheatear and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were the major highlights. Yellow-legged Gull – Carsington Water, […]

Winter Returns – Briefly – 18th March 2012

2012, Birds, Birds of 2012, Year No Responses »

Mar 182012

Winter Returns - Briefly - 18th March 2012

The weather this morning was a complete contrast to last weekend. Upon arrival at Carsington Water this morning, we were met with a freezing cold mixture of snow & heavy rain. The front lasted for well over an hour, then grey but very calm conditions and Carsington turned into a “Mill Pond”. The day did however produce my first spring migrants for the year. We were hoping for a Kittiwake dropping in but no such luck. In fact apart from the long staying Great Northern Diver, the numbers of wildfowl were very low. Five Goldeneye; 5 Oystercatcher; […]

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