A Grand Day - on 27th September, 2018

It was forecast to be a fine-weather day, so I set off to visit Willington Gravel Pits, where I had not been so far this year, although it is not very far from my home. This place can be good for birds, and also offers the possibility of dragonflies.

The first viewing platform gave some pleasant views of Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, and Little Egret, and a Snipe came in and landed reasonably close but in a position that made photography difficult.

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Willington Gravel Pits

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Willington Gravel Pits

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Willington Gravel Pits

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Willington Gravel Pits

The 2nd and 3rd viewing platforms didn't yield anything of interest and when I got to the hide at the end of the run it was quite busy with people. There was plenty to see, but all at a great distance. I took very few photos, but did grab some shots of a Lapwing flock in flight and also of a distant Ruff. Close examination shows other birds in the Lapwing flock some of which were, I believe, Starlings and two of which were Black-tailed Godwits. There was at least one other bird which was a Godwit-sized wader, but I can't identify it.

Lapwings + other birds - Willington Gravel Pits

Ruff (Calidris pugnax) - Willington Gravel Pits

I wasn't able to stay long as I'd told Lindsay that I'd be back for an early lunch time. I headed back along the track, finding the Snipe was still in the same place, and was resting.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Willington Gravel Pits

Working out that I still had half an hour to spare before I needed to head homeward, I took a short walk along the path that leads to the railway bridge and canal. Here I saw a few Common Darter dragonflies. These mainly seemed to have the preservation of future generations on their minds.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male + female in cop) - Willington Gravel Pits

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Willington Gravel Pits

I arrived home to find that a rather special bird, plus another slightly less special, had been discovered only a couple of miles (3 km) from my home. The finder was local birder, and 'thoroughly nice bloke', Mick Smith, who kindly gave me directions as to how to find its location. I quickly had lunch and set off again.

Parking in Donisthorpe church car park, I set off down the track, which is the bed of a disused railway line. It was only a walk of just over 800 metres to get to the point where I could see the stretch of water below me. I managed to find a spot with an extremely narrow field of  view through the trees and the nearest bank approximately 70 metres away (per Google Earth).

Fortunately I quickly spotted the lesser of the two birds - the Great Egret. It was, however, in an un-photographable position. My luck changed when it flew off to the right and landed on higher ground in the adjacent field. I managed to find another spot where I had a clearer view.  It was now, however, about 120 metres away. It then did the most massive poo and headed back to the water. Had it done this to save polluting the water?

Here are a few of the Great Egret:-

Great Egret (Ardea alba) - near Donisthorpe

It was definitely my lucky day, however, when the Glossy Ibis strode into view at the near bank. In this next image, which contains both the Egret and the Ibis, you can see virtually my whole field of view. It probably included less than 10% of the water surface, and the visible stretch of near bank was probably less than 1% of the total water's edge.

Great Egret and Glossy Ibis - the flash near Donisthorpe

The Ibis stayed in the visible stretch for quite a while, but at that range the photos were never going to be great. Here are some that I did manage:-

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) - near Donisthorpe

The Ibis eventually wandered out of sight and, having waited a little while in case some birders showed up wanting to find the location (none showed), decided it was time to leave. I realised that I'd not been to Ticknall Limeyards for a while, so set off to visit there.

Having arrived by the lake that's usually the most productive for dragonflies, I found a couple of Migrant Hawkers, and a single Common Darter. I tried for some shots for a while, but then the sun went down and all was lost. I didn't quite come back empty-handed, but it was a close call!

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (male) - Ticknall Limeyards

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Ticknall Limeyards

It had, thanks to Mick, been truly a Grand Day Out!


Thank you for dropping by. My next post might well feature an owl or two!