The wet and gloomy weather probably put
off many people as only twenty five hardy souls set off from Stockport for the
March outdoor trip.
En route to Cromford, through the Peak
District, we recorded Kestrel, Pheasant, Mute Swan and Buzzard. On the A6
between Bakewell and Matlock a flooded field held six Mandarin duck, origins
unknown but the male’s colourful plumage was certainly eye catching from the
coach. A Dipper was seen briefly on the River Derwent prior to reaching
Matlock.
Arriving at Cromford, with high
expectations, the party set up in the car park of the playing fields. Scoping
of the adjacent wooded hillside produced little apart from Nuthatch, Stock
Dove, Woodpigeon and Jackdaw. There were a few small finches around with
Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and a couple of Siskin identified.
A walk around the churchyard added
Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit to the list. A few members walked down the river
and were rewarded with views of Dipper, Grey Wagtail and Cormorant.
For those that stuck it out on the playing
field the only highlights were soaring Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel. A
Raven passed overhead and a rather bedraggled looking Peregrine also put in an
appearance, missing a number of primary feathers.
Two hours were quickly up and we had
failed to connect with our target species, the hawfinch, so we retreated to the
coach to continue our journey to Carsington Water.
Arriving at Carsington Water in the rain
those that alighted at the Sheepwash Car Park quickly made their way to the
hides. Approaching the Paul Stanley bird hide the distinctive call of a Willow
Tit gave its presence away and good views were had of this species throughout
the day. A pair of Treecreeper chased each other through the woodland and a
Great Spotted Woodpecker showed briefly.
From the hide, viewing the water, small
numbers of Tufted Duck were present with Coot, Great-crested Grebe and a handful
of Teal. Reed Bunting fed in front of the hide and a couple of pairs of
Goldeneye gave distant views.
Moving on to the Sheepwash hide we added
Oystercatcher, Redshank and Little Grebe to the list. A pair of Grey Wagtail
foraged in front of the hide. Out on the water a small group of gulls were
resting with Lesser Black-backed, Common and Black-headed present.
A walk down to the Lane End hide produced
good views of Bullfinch and Nuthatch along with the commoner tit species. A
number of Chiffchaff’s were calling. At the hide the over-wintering Great
Northern Diver could be seen. Although an adult bird it was nowhere near
changing to its summer plumage apart from a darkened bill. Nigel picked up our
first Sand Martin of the year as it passed through.
Visiting the wildlife centre (hide) we
quickly added Snipe and Tree Sparrow to our list and watched Great-crested
Grebe doing their distinctive reed dance. Water levels were low on the
reservoir and there was a definite lack of duck and other waterfowl. There was
a heavy fishing and boating presence which may also have impacted on numbers.
We were all rather
sodden by this time so most headed for the cafe before retreating to the coach
for an early departure.
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