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The Birding Year at the Netherfield Lagoons

Winter (January & February)

The lagoons are a great place to start off the New Year, a refreshing walk to re-invigorate you after the holiday festivities will often be rewarded by some excellent birds. Entering the site from Teal Close you may see a flash of vivid blue as the Kingfisher zooms along the Ouse Dyke a little patience may gain you a view of this stunning bird perched along the bank. A Grey Wagtail is also often seen along the dyke, characteristically bobbing its tail and dashing along the muddy edges catching insects.

The Lagoons in WinterCommoner species such as Wren, Dunnock, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit will be seen along the hedge often joined by a feeding party of Long-tailed Tits moving through giving their delightful contact calls whilst a Song Thrush is busy smashing snails on its ‘anvil’ under the bushes on the opposite bank.

Crossing over the footbridge on to the actual reserve take a moment to scan the fields, Pied Wagtails, Common Pheasant, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw will often be in evidence and you may also find Linnet, Yellowhammer, Lapwing, Grey Partridge and Mistle Thrush. Depending on the vegetation in the fields you may also encounter a small flock of Golden Plover hiding amongst the furrows, along with our Scandinavian winter visitors, Fieldfare & Redwing.

Around the footbridge is often a good place to see Bullfinches giving away their presence with their soft ‘phu’ calls. After climbing the steps of the slurry pit bank you should see and hear Redwings as they feed along the hedge bottoms and any Fieldfares flying over will announce themselves with their distinctive ‘schack-schack-schack’ calls. The slurry pit itself should hold good numbers of Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot and Moorhen with a few Little Grebe and maybe one or two Shelduck and Goldeneye. The apparently empty reed beds will actually hold several Reed Buntings which will flit down to the path edges as they feed. Along the water line, depending on the water level, you may see several Snipe as they roost or feed on the reed fringes.

A familiar sound at this time of year is the slightly alarming squeal of Water Rail which may be heard from any of the reed beds the best chances of seeing this secretive bird are when it flutters low across the water between reed beds or when it ventures out along more exposed shores to feed, especially in freezing conditions. These muddy edges may also attract waders such as Dunlin, Redshank, Common Sandpiper or Green Sandpiper.

Gulls on ice
Gulls on ice

The number of gulls on the slurry lagoon varies greatly depending on the time of day and the prevailing weather conditions. After early morning groups have dispersed many drift in and out during the day as they move into the adjacent farmland or further away to feed. Mid-afternoon often sees a gathering of gulls loafing around the lagoon. The most common species is Black-headed Gull with much smaller numbers of Common Gull. The large gulls are mainly Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls with smaller numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls, it is always worth searching the gull flocks as Iceland, Glaucous, Yellow-legged and Mediterranean Gull have all be recorded here in the winter months.

The Deep Pit will hold similar wildfowl species to those already encountered and Great Crested Grebes with probably have one or two Cormorants fishing whilst others rest and dry their wings on top of the nearby electricity pylon. The banks of the Deep Pit may hold a few wintering Meadow Pipit and an occasional Stonechat. Walking towards the railway bank you will invariably hear the ‘yaffle’ call of a Green Woodpecker and maybe see its lime-green back as it bounds away from you. If very lucky the explosive song of the Cetti’s Warbler may be heard but sightings are much more difficult to obtain.

The path along the railway bank is usually productive and sought after species such as Redpoll, Siskin and Willow Tit can often be seen with a little patience, the latter often visiting the bird table at the bottom of the bank near the signal box.

Both Pied and Grey Wagtails are often seen around the railway bridge and Stock Doves can be seen in the fields and on the wires across the river. The fields & river also have Canada & Greylag Geese, Wigeon and a few Grey Herons with the possibility of Redshank, Oystercatcher, Goldeneye or even a Goosander.

Kestrel
Kestrel

The Gravel Pits hold varying numbers of wildfowl but this is where you should see the highest numbers of Wigeon and careful searching of the Tufted Ducks may be rewarded with views of the occasional Scaup and Smew. Kestrels hunt over the grassy areas and Sparrowhawks may be encountered anywhere but especially along the hedges. A walk along the dense hedge between the fields and the gravel pits may reveal an over wintering Chiffchaff or even a Blackcap.

Spring (March/April/May)

Sand Martin
Sand Martin

Spring is always a season of change as the leaves begin to unfurl, the first migrants and summer visitors are eagerly anticipated as the winter visitors start to drift away. Friendly competition drives the local patch regulars to spend more hours of the lengthening days in the field hoping to get the first record of the year for each species. Sand Martins are often the first to return with some passing thorough as early as the second week of March closely followed by the first early Swallows, these are often few in number and pass straight through on their journey north, the main arrival occurs in late March and early April.

Little Ringed Plovers start appearing from the third week in March and can be seen performing their aerial courtship displays throughout early spring. The warblers then start to arrive and mornings can become very noisy with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler all singing heartily to attract a mate and declare their territory. A special treat at this time is to hear several Grasshopper Warblers delivering their reeling song from the scrub and bramble patches, before the leaves fully develop is the best time to catch a glimpse of these beautiful songsters.

The growing chorus is then joined by newly arrived Garden Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats, the latter often favouring the taller trees and bushes along the railway bank. The familiar call of the Cuckoo is heard, especially around the Deep Pit and the Gravel Pit, if you hear one search along the fence posts for the chance of a good sighting.

Common Tern
Common Tern

Yellow Wagtails will be found on the fields or the grass banks across the river and House Martins will be seen around the bridge as Swallows begin to nest under the bridge itself. Sand Martins begin nesting in the river bank and Common Terns will have returned to the nesting platforms on the Deep Pit.

By early May good numbers of Swifts can be seen feeding over and around the reserve and the Hobby will be putting in regular appearances as it hunts over the lagoons.

Spring is a great time to see more scarce birds pass through some are annual such as Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, Arctic Tern, Ringed Plover and Whimbrel. You may be fortunate to see some less frequent visitors such as Garganey, Marsh Harrier, Osprey, Black Tern, Little Gull and Common Redstart, anything is possible, as proven in May 2001 when a Little Swift spent 4 days feeding over the fields and lagoons and roosting overnight on the railway bridge.

Summer (June/July/August)

After the hyper activity of spring things start to calm down as we move into the summer and breeding gets fully underway with the first fledglings appearing. The reserve is taken over by the beautiful summer flowers and their attendant butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies as the days become long and lazy.

Wader species that breed in the tundra regions start to occur on return passage as early as July which may be failed breeders or juvenile birds, these may include Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Knot, and Curlew Sandpiper. The chances of seeing any of these stop over at the lagoons largely depends on the water levels and a fair degree of good luck.

Autumn (September/October/November)

The summer visitors disappear as migration gets underway with more waders such as Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit and Ruff passing through along with warblers as they head south after breeding.

Redwing
Redwing

October sees the return of the first Redwings and Fieldfares which may also bring in one or two Brambling. Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, and Stonechat may be seen lingering for a few days and Siskins & Redpolls will arrive. The wildfowl numbers begin to build again and may include something a little more unusual such as a Pintail or Egyptian Goose, while careful sky watching could see the first flocks of Pink-footed Geese flying over or even a few Whooper Swans.

Winter Returns (December)

The rapidly shortening days and cold nights return as winter takes hold but there are still things to see at the lagoons as wildfowl numbers continue to grow, large concentrations of gulls form on the slurry lagoon and the fortunate visitor may catch sight of a Little Egret or even a Bittern before it disappears into the reed bed.

The Year at Netherfield – 2001

January

Several species of bird reached peak numbers this month, with Teal and Mallard reaching the one hundred mark and Gadwall reaching thirty. There were also twenty Cormorants, but a cold spell with frosts, mid-month, kept the Golden Plover numbers low. An adult winter Mediterranean Gull was a lucky find for one observer on the 5th.

 

February


As February warmed up the Golden Plover numbers rose too, reaching 1,000 by the middle of the month. The Gull numbers got higher too and a first winter Glaucous Gull roosted on the slurry lagoon on 14th, 21st and 22nd with the Herring and Greater Black-backed Gulls. Two Peregrines were present on the 21st (one had some primaries missing) and three Stonechats were around for most of the month. On 15th a lonely Brambling flew through.

 

March


At last some signs of spring with Ringed Plovers passing through and Lapwings displaying over the nearby fields. The first Chiffchaff arrived on the 8th while two Redwings seemed to be setting up a territory, with the male singing from the same bush for several days. On 1st of March a strange dark bird joined the Stonechats, its appearance suggesting a Pied Bushchat. Could it really have been one or just the result of the over active imagination of a poor deluded patch watcher?

 

April


On the 4th a Black-necked Grebe arrived for a prolonged visit, annoyingly leaving the evening before our first patch-watch on 28th. The first Wheatear was seen on the slurry lagoon, three weeks later than last years first bird. On the 11th a stunning male Red-breasted Merganser put in a brief appearance and the end of the month saw two male Ring Ouzles and our first ever Pied Flycatcher. The patch watch on 28th was coincidentaly a very good day for finding migrants, the early morning rain downing Ring Ouzle, Whinchat, Redstart and Wood Warbler and the afternoon sun and wind coaxing a Marsh Harrier and a Hobby to pay a visit.

 

May


The beginning of the month saw a lot of passage activity through the reserve with 57 Arctic Terns going through between 1st and 13th, joined by a Black Tern on 12th and 13th. A Nightingale took up residence near the railway line from 7th to 11th, singing almost continuously but not showing as it kept in deep cover. Morning showers on the 10th again did the business for migrant watchers and a “fall” occured over the slurry lagoon. Some of the birds recorded were, Grey Plover, Knot, 6 Sanderling, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Whimbrel, 16 Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Green Sandpiper, 2 Turnstones and 11 Little Gulls. What could top this incredible day ? A Little Swift. On the morning of 25th an unusual swift was noticed over the slurry lagoon and identified as a Little Swift. Not only did the bird perform well for its thousands of admirers all day long, but it then went to roost on the railway bribge and spent an amazing three days on the site. The presence of so many birders for so long innevitably turned up more good birds and the site’s first Little Egret was seen as well as two or more Honey Buzzards and the first sighting of the long staying Argentine Blue-bill.

 

June


June could not match up to the excesses of May and was a very quiet month for birds. The orchids all flowered in their prescribed time slots and showed over all gains in numbers, even the Pyramidal Orchid doubling up.

 

July


Most of the birds were settled down and breeding and the sight of a Little Ringed Plover brooding three eggs was very heart warming. They were first noticed on the 6th and were hatched on 28th. On the 13th a batwatch was held, recording four species and also turning up the sites second record of a Little Egret, which attempted to roost with the gulls. Also noticed during the darker hours was the continual reeling of five Grasshopper Warblers. On the 30th a Red Kite was watched for twenty minutes over the slurry lagoon by one lucky observer.

 

August


Garganey and Spotted Redshank both put in a double appearance this month and a Black-necked Grebe also briefly reappeared. Merlin, Pintail and Spotted Flycatcher were also added to the sites species year list. There was also some interest amongst the gulls as a juvenile Mediterranean Gull spent some time on the slurry lagoon and a tentatively identified Caspian Gull was noted among the larger gulls.

 

September


A very early Whooper Swan was an unexpected find on the 8th and two other species of wildfowl broke site records this month. First the Grey-lag Goose flock topped 250 on the 8th and then 15 female pintail touched down on the slurry lagoon briefly on 29th. With the Pintail came other migrants as the autumn passage got under way.

 

October


The passage really took off during the first few days of the month with 865 Meadow Pipits being counted up until the 11th, the observer only counting for approximately one hour on each of the mornings, so very many more birds must have gone through. Over 100 Siskins were also counted passing over during this period. The month started well with an overnight gale bringing in a Grey Phalarope, which stayed from 1st to 4th and the Black Swan took up more pemanent residence and was joined by its mate between 3rd and 8th. There was a third visit from a Little Egret on the 17th and there were seven Common Scoter on 23rd. The month was topped off by another new species when three Bearded Tits were seen going through on 24th and 27th.

 

November


After so many good birds the year now started to wind down a little though a Merlin and a Jack Snipe on 4th provided one bright spot. The Golden Plover peaked this month on a dissapointing 2,000, but six Water Rail on 17th was a good count.

 

December


Cold December days were livened up by the presence of the Stonechats around the deep pit and occasional visits by a Peregrine. Common Gulls reached a high count of 80 on the 3rd, but the Common Snipe eclipsed that with 92 on the 16th rising to 200 by the 30th. On the 24th the Pochard/Tufted Duck hybrid returned to the site for its regular winter break.