After days of poor weather, we were lucky to have such a pleasant one when we met at Nosterfield Reserve at 1 p.m. Passage waders to be found on the Reserve were a single Ruff, four Dunlins and lots of Curlews which were arriving for the winter, with 120 counted. Canada and Greylag Geese were numerous with Shoveler, Gadwall and many Wigeon and Teal seen, while Swallows, Sand and House Martins were overhead. In an attempt to add more species to our list, we took the track to the North Hide hoping for passerines, which were skulking in the bushes and so Robin, Wren and Goldfinch were heard but not seen, while Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps gave fleeting glimpses as they flew across the track; it was extremely quiet but, at last a Kestrel gave good views. We duly found the Wheatear, the species we were hoping to see having been told earlier that one was near the North Hide. On our return to the car park, four Common Buzzards were seen high overhead.
Lingham was our next destination, though this lake has lost some of its appeal since the washing of sand and gravel has ceased, making the shorelines less suitable for waders as they have now vegetated over. Great Crested and Little Grebes were present, with at least 12 of the former. A single Goldeneye, an early winter visitor, was found along with the Shelduck. A party of Long-tailed Tits flew over the viewing area – at least we saw those. We made our way over the fields towards Flasks Lake hoping for Little Owl, which was heard but not seen. The small Kiln Lake could have had anything on it, but the views were obstructed by trees and bushes, which was rather frustrating. A JCB was working on the reed bed and, as you do, we enquired as to what they were doing. They were removing silt to widen the channels in order to keep them open, and the material they removed is to be used to create a wader habitat on the edge of Flasks Lake. We had a brief view of a Hobby which was probably chasing Swallows.
We ended our visit at 4.30 p.m. having spent a very pleasant afternoon that had given us the chance to meet up with other members during these difficult times and in such good weather. Two of the group decided to return to Nosterfield in the hope of finding other species but the only new one they saw was a Bar-headed Goose. A total of 50 species was recorded on the day, an excellent result for the time spent.
June E. Atkinson