April 2020 Report

23 March – 30 April.

When starting to write the April report I realised that I would actually overlap with the March report as I had mistakenly referred to sightings in the March report which had actually occurred after March 23. I don’t suppose it really matters but apologies anyway.

BIRDS of Lady Bay

Headline BirdsAnother new tick, Gadwall at Pinders Pond or the re-appearance of Barn Owl and Tawny Owl in the area. You choose. You may however opt for our second and third Red Kites. Whatever you choose it was an absolutely superb month preceded by much anticipation of the summer migrants; and they didn’t disappoint.

Herons and Egrets13 sightings of Grey Heron (including two of two birds on 23rd) is an increase on the March report and is, again, the best ever monthly total for the group. The other species which we have in the area is Little Egret which showed up five times – three times on Regatta Way and twice on The Hook. A single Grey Heron took up residence on our section of The Grantham Canal and seemed to be very interested in the presence of the good numbers of Coot chicks. After much concern, it may not have been successful as good numbers of chicks were still present at the end of the month.

Swans, Geese and DucksCanada Geese – breeding season has reduced the numbers locally with up to six birds on the river and frequent fly-pasts of two birds over the area – very often at 5 in the morning. The maximum count was of 21 birds on the river on 1 April. Unusual sightings were of two birds on the Grantham Canal on 26 March and infrequently in the same spot up to the end of April, often trying to oust Moorhens from their nests.Greylag – A maximum of eight birds on the river on 1 April was a nice total and up to six birds are regularly seen near to the Boat Club on Adbolton Lane. As with the Canada Geese, an unusual sighting was of four birds on the Grantham Canal on 26 April.Tufted Duck – six records is a good tally for our area on the river with the maximum being two pairs in the week commencing 6 April. The last sighting was a single bird off The Hook on 15th.Teal – The last sighting of this cracking duck was on 3 April at Pinders Pond.Wigeon – The last sighting was on 3 April at Pinders Pond.Gadwall – a new tick for the area! Two birds were noted on Pinders Pond on 2 April.Coots – They seem to be heading for another good year with up to 12 adults and at least 25 chicks present during the month.Moorhen –Numbers dropped again to just five birds at the beginning of the month. Recent ‘Covid’ walks seem to suggest that numbers have increased slightly. One seems to have taken up residence on The Hook and occasional ones are still seen on the river.Mute Swan – Two pairs are happily settled onto nests with possibly six and eight eggs. A problem has occurred on the central section of the canal whereby the inflow to the canal seems to have become blocked. The result is that the canal is drying up thereby exposing the nest behind Rutland Stores and rendering it a lot more vulnerable.Great Crested Grebes – up to four birds seen on the river throughout the month with one pair again seen displaying on 1st.

Gulls and TernsLesser Black-backed Gull records were notable. There were six records during April with up to three birds seen generally on the Trent. The birds were all adults apart from one juvenile seen on 1 April.Black-headed Gulls have now dispersed to breeding grounds. Singles and small groups regularly seen over the area with the maximum flock size being six birds.Common Terns arrived back in the area on 22 April with three birds skimming along the river. They are seen most days.

RaptorsBuzzard – 35 records gives testament to its success and this is probably a wild underestimate. Seen throughout the month the maximum number seen together was five birds on 6 April.Kestrel – Seven records between 6 and 23 April continued the bird’s success in the area. Sparrowhawk – nine records of single birds during the month equalled March’s tally. There is obviously a healthy population in the area. Sightings seem to be split between private gardens and the wider area. Birds were noted on 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th and 28th.Red Kite : following the single bird over Gertrude Road on 26 March, a second bird was seen over The Hook on 8 April and then preceded to fly down the Mona Road area.

Owls – a double whammy this month with the superb return of Barn Owl sightings and Tawny Owl calls.

April 2020 Report

A Barn Owl was seen by one lucky observer on 5 April in the Pinders Pond area and a Tawny Owl’s alarm calls were heard at 01.45 on 26 April from the canal area.

Waders and Rails – The Common Snipe continued to be seen in the early part of the month with the last sighting on 15 April. There were 3 further sightings of Water Rail with the last being on 3 April. Vegetation may be screening the birds now or they have moved to other breeding grounds; probably the latter. Hopefully Winter will bring them back.

Smaller StuffWarblers – The anticipation is over and seven warblers have been heard up to now this year. It all kicked off on 8 April. Sedge and Willow Warbler heard on The Hook; the earliest by far for these species. There were 18 records of Willow Warbler during the month and there was high hope that they would stay. They have, however, not been heard in the area since 28 April; still they stayed much longer than last year so there is still a lot of hope. Sedge Warblers have been seen and heard all month and there is an outside possibility that there are two – unless there is one bird and it can fly as as fast as Usain Bolt could run. There is still no proof that there is a pair and, as last year, the bird may struggle again. Common Whitethroats eventually made their entrance on 20

April and they seem to be everywhere now; hopefully it’ll be a good year for them and at least four birds on The Hook is a good indication. The Hook has had eight records of Lesser Whitethroat, all single birds except for three on 28 April. The last bird of the month was heard on 30th. The first singing Chiffchaff was heard on 1st and they have been present all month with at least two birds singing on and off. The first ‘Spring’ Blackcaps began their beautiful song on 23 March and have continued throughout the month. As with Whitethroats they appear to be on for a good year. Excitement is mounting for a possibility of seeing and/or hearing a Cetti’s Warbler on The Hook. A single bird seems to have just taken up residence in undergrowth by The Trent by the Forest training ground and sports complex at the west end of our area. It has been heard twice on 7 and 18 April.

Sedge Warbler (M Jones)

Swifts, Swallows and Martins - The true indicators of Summer. Swifts, Swallows, House and Sand Martins have all now arrived in the country but it has to be said that the numbers of House Martins in this area seem to be way down. The first Swift was recorded on 24 April over The Hook and this has been followed by up to ten birds over the area. The first House Martins were three birds over The Hook on 19 April, Sand Martins on 26 March over The Hook and the first Swallow was over the Trent on 4 April.

Tits: 72 records of Blue Tit show they are doing fairly well and as you can see further on in this report, are near the top of the most regularly reported birds list. There was a superb tally of 19 records of Coal Tit during the period all of which were of single birds.Great Tits had another very good month with decent numbers throughout with up to 6 birds on The Hook and a few gardens reporting good numbers. Long-tailed Tits were seen throughout the month with 19 records but not in any large numbers; two gardens on Mona Road reported an increase and ‘lots’.

Finches: both Greenfinch and Goldfinch were noted all month with good numbers of both species; the maximum number of each was at least ten birds on The Hook on 28th and 30th. The Chaffinch shows a similar story with slightly less numbers but it’s been fantastic to hear them again after thinking at one point that they may

April 2020 Report

be deserting the area. Our ‘jewel’ of The Hook, the Bullfinch, was seen regularly towards the end of March and then became fairly quiet until a spate of sightings, of generally two birds, between 19 and 23 April.

Other: Dunnocks have been seen and heard regularly throughout the period with up to four birds at any one time. It is a similar picture for Robins where The Hook seems to hold the most birds’; private gardens, however, are still recording regular visits from 1s and 2s to occasional appearances. There was another super tally of four records of Goldcrests with a fantastic total of four birds near the Yacht Club w/c 6 April. Treecreepers maintained their presence in the Pinder’s Pond area with three records on 5, 8 and 10 April. Wrens were heard regularly throughout the month but again in lowish numbers. The maximum was at three birds on The Hook on 1 April.

Kingfisher: An increased fantastic total of 16 records of Kingfisher seen on the River Trent during the month. A welcome reward for hours of watching.

Corvids: Jackdaws, Carrion Crows and Rooks seen all month throughout the area but numbers have obviously been affected by breeding. The maximum number of Jackdaws was at least 20 birds on 14 April on The Hook, at least 10 Carrion Crows on 24 April also on The Hook and 15 Rooks on 1 April, again on The Hook.

Wagtails – an increased total of 12 records of Pied Wagtails mainly from the Regatta Way area. The maximum number was three birds on Regatta Way on 2 April.

Buntings – 17 records of Reed Bunting was a great total for the period with one garden on Pierrepont Road reporting a regular visit from two birds. All of the records are of one or two birds.

Starlings – still reported intermittently but one garden on Mona Road had a nice total of 13 birds on 18 April with the maximum total being at least 20 birds on Regatta Way on 24 April. The Hook seems to have a good population with regular birds seen flying with food items tucked into bills.

Doves and Pigeons : No records of Stock Doves for the second month in a row is disappointing. Collared Doves are reported infrequently in 1s and 2s and seem to favour particular gardens. Woodpigeons are everywhere with particular good numbers on Regatta Way.

Thrushes – The winter thrushes may have gone but super records for Blackbirds all month from almost the whole area; it is a very common bird but what a beautiful song. The maximum number was at least ten birds on The Hook on 19 April. At least one Mistle Thrush has been heard every day in this period in the Rutland Road area – a song just as beautiful as the Song Thrush but very different. Mistle Thrushes have also been heard regularly on The Hook.

House Sparrows – with the instigation of Garden Watch (see below), records have nearly tripled up to 79 records from 26 in March. Trent Boulevard seems to attract some nice totals of up to 12 birds.

Woodpeckers – There were two welcome records of Great Spotted Woodpecker with a single bird seen at close quarters on 28th on The Hook and a female bird in a Gertrude Road garden (date unspecified). There were an incredible 19 records of Green Woodpecker throughout the period but the only bird seen was on The Hook on 23 April.

Crisis Nature List On 23 March 2020, on the advice of the Government, the country implemented restriction measures due to the spread of the Coronavirus. This affected many aspects of our lives that we hold dear and required the cancellation of many social activities. To combat these effects and maintain some

April 2020 Report

semblance of normality, many alternatives were created. This list was created so that people could continue to enjoy nature in its entirety by encouragement to see and record what can be found wherever they find themselves in these difficult times. The area involved is not restricted to Lady Bay or Nottinghamshire and the listing is not just restricted to birds but includes any flora and fauna. Due to the restrictions imposed most records come from local areas and our gardens and therefore really do represent what’s on our doorstep.

To date, since March 23, 101 species of bird have been seen, ten species of butterfly, 12 species of insect, 32 types of flower, ten species of mammal and three species of amphibian. The full list is on the website (www.ladybaybirdwatchers.wordpress.com) and so is not repeated here. A few special mentions though have to be made:

BirdsThe current top ten birds in terms of the number of sightings is as follows; this may not reflect the website as the website is updated daily:

Species No of SightingsWoodpigeon 119Blackbird 116Blue Tit 94Robin 93Great Tit 89House Sparrow 85Goldfinch 82Magpie 81Dunnock 79Carrion Crow 78

Away from the Lady Bay area the implementation of Garden Watch has seen records submitted from Mapperley, Holme Pierrepont, London, East Leake, Carlton, Gamston and West Bridgford. 101 species have been seen with the 100th being a Green Sandpiper at Holme Pierrepont.

FlowersIf only for its name the Cut-leaved Cranesbill has to take top spot

(M Harbron)

Mammals

April 2020 Report

No photographs submitted but two fantastic sightings of Stoat and Weasel were a great addition to the list.

Insects13-Spot and 2-Spot ladybirds were welcome additions to the list.

AmphibiansNo further additions to the list but it is hoped that the current problem with the water level in the canal is rectified soon.

Butterflies

Of the ten species of butterfly, the Orange Tip has had the greatest number of records as follows (it’s almost like a weather chart):

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Orange Tip Sightings

Sightings