Got myself a new bike! Had the morning free, so biked to Netherfield Lagoons. Not been there in ages, and was hoping to add some spring migrants to my list, and it didn't disappoint... too much!
The weather, as usual, is pretty horrible, the bike ride there wasn't too bad but it was a bit drizzly, not ideal. However once i was on the exposed paths around the lagoons, with the rain coming down heavier and a very chilly wind blowing across, i soon got a bit grumpy. There were plenty of birds about though which brightened things up a little.
Riding down the trent path towards the reserve I finally heard my first Common Whitethroat of the year, which was great, and it amazed me how they sounded so much like the Sardinian Warblers I'd heard in Portugal. Its strange how you can forget the sound of a bird when its only been gone from the country a few months. Other warblers were in attendance by the dozen, mostly willow warblers and Blackcaps, although a few Chiffchaff were about too. I also heard my first Sedge and Reed Warblers, but didn't manage to see any, as they were deep in cover on the Silt lagoon reedbed, not wanting to come out into the horrible weather, i guess! 2 Cetti's warbler were also calling from the sides of the deep lagoon.
Swallows and Sand Martins were here in good numbers today, many round the river and also lots flying low to the water on the lagoons themselves. I also managed to see a couple of House Martin too.
Several ducks were knocking about too, some seem to just stay at this particular site year round, and some, such as Pochard and Gadwall, actually breed here too. These species were here in small numbers, though I didn't look down at the lower gravel pits which are their preferred location, so there may have been more. A single Shoveler was also present, along with around 10 Teal and a few tufted ducks. The water level on the silt lagoon is high at the moment, so the usual wader spot was hard to see as most of it was underwater or covered in vegetation, although a handful of Lapwing and 2 Oystercatcher were on the waters edge.
A new wader habitat has been added since I last visited, a bit of compensation for the Severn trent water construction thats going on next door, where they have created some shallow pools and open ground. I had a scan of this but not much was about, largely I'm sure to the chilly blustery winds which made it difficult to stand there for long. 3 Little Ringed Plover were noted in the distance, but by then I'd had enough of being so cold and decided to head home.
Not a bad day apart from the weather, with 5 new spring migrants for me, as well as a total of 50 species, which is good for this reserve. I'll definitely be back to have a closer look at that new wader scrape too!
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