Had to decide on friday, spend the day in the kitchen, doing menial tasks, finding stuff to do, inevitably getting bored, or go out on my bike despite the frequent heavy rain showers and foreboding looking clouds, inevitably getting wet.
Obviously i got on my bike. Went once again to Netherfield lagoons. I wanted to go to Attenborough this week at some point but it is quite a lot further afield, meaning that if I'm restricted by time, then a shorter ride is certainly more appropriate. So i made sure i packed my raincoat, and headed out.
I got about halfway before the heavens opened so got my coat on. What had begun as a bit of rain soon turned into a heavy downpour, and with a couple of miles to go i was resigned to getting wet. Even the raincoat didn't afford much protection, and somehow the inside of the arms got wet, but i kept going knowing that once i got to the reserve boundary there was a nice big train bridge to hide under while the worst of the weather passed.
I ended up spending most of my visit to the reserve under here. The rain persisted until i got under the bridge and continued on and off for around 45 minutes, but there was an end in sight, as to the west there was some brighter skies, i just had to wait. The wait wasn't actually ever so bad, there was plenty of wildlife to look at while i stayed dry. Sand Martins and Swallows were continually passing through, the former passing by within a few feet, the latter performing breakneck aerial maneuvers chasing each other defending their territories. There's a large colony of these birds which nest each year under this bridge, providing quite a welcome as you enter the reserve.
Finally the weather improved so I emerged from my shelter and made my way to the main paths round the reserve. Upon cresting the top of the steps, i looked behind me and saw that i potentially didn't have long to wander round, as some extremely dark clouds were gathering in the distance. Some i saw were already depositing rain down over Gedling and others had just passed me by and were hanging low over Radcliffe on Trent. Luckily, where i was the rain seemed to pass either side, leaving me relatively dry except for one small shower which lasted only a couple of minutes.
The weather must have been keeping the birds at bay, as walking around there wasn't too much to look at, although there were a few Warblers about and a Song Thrush was belting out its song from the woody areas. The lagoons however were bustling with life, i guess birds which live near water don't mind getting a bit wet.
I stopped soon after i joined the central path which runs between the two main lagoons, as i had heard a Green Sandpiper had been spotted to the far left of the reedbed a few times this week. And sure enough amongst a lapwing, a few Mallard and even a couple of Teal (first i've seen in a while), there was a tiny little wader nipping in and out of the reeds. I have seen these birds before and they just didnt seem so small, in comparison to the Lapwing it was minute. I watched it for a while, making sure of its ID and it all added up, but it was very difficult to observe, as it was in a patch of reeds which were obstructed from view. Still i was happy enough with the sighting as its not a species i see often.
Looking out over the rest of the lagoon, there was a good diversity of birds about, and there were loads of them too. The water level was very low, as is the norm in the country this summer, and as a result, there was lots of exposed mud and aquatic vegetation. On the far left there was a group of Lapwing moving about feeding in the detritus. Further along were a group of ducks snoozing on the waters edge, mostly eclipse plumaged Gadwall and a handful of Pochard. As i scanned further to the right there were groups of different birds all clumped together. There were lots of ducks and coots, and the right half of the exposed mud and shallows was almost completely dominated by Gulls and a couple of Terns. Most were Lesser Black Backed, of varying ages, but there were a few Greater Black backs which were easy to compare when standing amidst some lessers. Black headed gulls of a range of ages were also scattered here and there.
The highlight, aside from the Green Sandpiper however, was a Little Ringed Plover, which was seen by chance as the sun shone upon it. It was only really visible when it was dashing across the mud, in its usual style. Its a species i haven't seen at this reserve, and although i've seen quite a few this year, especially at besthorpe, it was still nice to see something a little different. Compared to the other birds this little thing seemed absolutely tiny, its a surprise one of the gulls hasn't picked it off.
I scanned the lagoons a while longer, picking up on a few Grey Herons, and some wildfowl which i hadn't expected to see at this time of year, around 6 Shoveler and 2 Eurasian Wigeon. There were loads of Reed Warblers singing from the reeds and a few were also showing particularly well. Also of note was the sheer number of juvenile birds on the water. A huge family of Gadwall were present, with loads of tiny ducklings, there were countless mallard chicks and the Coots were aggressively defending their young from any birds which strayed too close. It really was very busy on the lagoon today. A kestrel was also seen hunting above the path, always good to see.
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