I started off going down the river to radcliffe on trent before carrying on to Gunthorpe. On the way i heard and saw many birds, the most notable being singing yellowhammers near shelford, and over the amazing view from the top of radcliffe, a Buzzard being mobbed by a couple of Jackdaws.
At gunthorpe i stopped off for a little rest by the river, at a beautiful spot with a mature bit of woodland on the far bank. There were green and greater spotted woodpeckers calling from the wood, and on the riverbank i watched a restless Heron moving up and down. There were lots of fry boiling up the shallows so i think the birds had plenty to feed on. I then biked down the river for my half-way destination - Hoveringham.
I haven't been to hoveringham since the end of January when i went down to see some pinkfooted and white-fronted geese and a Great white egret. A few bits and bobs have been reported here of late but i wasn't here to see anything in particular, though a few waders would be nice.
I set my scope up and stopped periodically to scan the water and the far banks. The vast expanse of open water was a little empty really owing to the time of year - much better covered in ducks and gulls in winter! However the far bank was what i was really interested in. However there wasn't much to be seen - until i got about a quarter of the way down the lake and i spotted a single Oystercatcher at the waters edge. A bird not often seen by me and one of my favourites so this was good. Otherwise my views over the lake didnt really reveal much else, but i did see something interesting fly over the water towards the islands in the middle. I decided it would be better to go and view these instead. On the way i briefly saw a Stoat watching me before it dashed for cover into a dry ditch along the path, causing alarm amongst some reed warblers within.
Over at the islands there was a hive of activity. There were a lot of nesting canadas and greylags and a few goslings about too. Also present were many ducks and a good number of Great Crested Grebes, some with little ones riding on top.
Most interesting however were the Oystercatchers. I think the bird i had seen previously flying over was the original oystercatcher i had seen earlier. In total i believe there were 5 birds present, there was an obvious pair on a central island, with what must have been the male standing guard over a more inconsipicuous female. Elsewhere were a further two, one of which waas quite mobile and the other standing on the island to the far right calling incessantly. The 5th bird was one i saw being shunned by the pair on the central island, getting chased to the waters edge before being forced to fly off down to the far end of the lake. These birds provided entertainment for a good while for me, even while i sat down to enjoy my lunch.
I scanned the area to the right hand side of the islands too, a grassy penisula which reaches out into the lake. There were a few lapwing milling about in the grass while on the waters edge i noticed a group of 3 small waders running along. They were very difficult to see as they were well camoflauged and in the distance but i believe they must have been Little Ringed Plovers. This species soon became more obvious as i watched the area with the Oystercatchers again, up to 5 LRPs were seen flying about the islands, chasing each other and running up and down the waters edge. They were extremely mobile, not staying in the same place for more than a minute or so, and proved highly interesting to watch. Along with the other birds my final count came to around 8 of these tiny little waders, which is great, i hope they manage to nest successfully.
This proved to be an exciting birdwatching trip and was finally topped off by seeing a couple of drake Wigeon on one of the islands. I thought this was quite odd and wondered what they were doing here so late, but apparently it isn't too late for them to be heading up north. It was nice to see them though and I look forward to watching them come the winter once again.
After this I cycled back through the village, through Lowdham and on to Lambley. It was a pleasant, if a little tiring route. Much of my cycling around nottinghamshire doesn't involve a single hill, so around here its a bit of a change, I got my breath back at the small Notts Wildlife Trust reserve in Lambley, seeing a couple of Red-crested Pochards, which i wasn't expecting, and it was also interesting to watch a small group of Swallows divebombing the surface of the pond, presumably collecting water for building their nests.
I ended the ride cycling out of lambley and back to town via mapperley top. A thoroughly enjoyable day!
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