The Bird Watching & Wildlife group meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 10.30 am at the meeting place. The contacts for the group are Chrys and Paul Millington on 01773 764 943 or 07986 037 871. No one is an expert and new members would be very welcome.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?
Please contact Chrys/Paul
If unsure about the weather please contact Chrys/Paul. Thanks.
Hi everyone. Our numbers are rapidly increasing which is good to see. Being a member of the Bird Watching & Wildlife Group involves travelling to locations beyond the boundaries of Eastwood but the benefits are huge: fresh air, lovely walks (not too strenuous), nature, exercise, good company, learning a new hobby etc. We go out once a month to a variety of locations so please contact us if you are interested.
2023 Venues and Dates
19/01/2023 Shipley Park – Shipley Visitors Centre
16/02/2023 Rufford Park – Ollerton NG22 9DF
16/03/2023 Attenborough – NG9 6DY Notts Wildlife Trust
20/04/2023 Newstead/ Annesley Country Park – Newstead village NG15 0BU over rail crossing
18/05/2023 Dearne Valley Old Moor – RSPB Barnsley S73 0YF
15/06/2023 Codnor reservoir – Reservoir car park
20/07/2023 Rutland Water – Egleton, Rutland LE15 8BT
17/08/2023 Aldercar Flashes – Brinsley
21/09/2023 Carsington Water – (Sheepwash Car Park B5035 Wirksworth road) DE4 4DD
19/10/2023 Skylarks – NG12 2LU Holme Pierrepont
16/11/2023 Kingsmill Reservoir – NG17 4PA Notts county council
21/12/2023 Brinsley Headstocks – Brinsley
Dec 2023
Christmas outing
The bird watching and wildlife group were due to visit the Brinsley headstocks to walk along the old railway tracks. Past years we have seen plenty of winter birds here but due to high winds the visit was cancelled for safety reasons. This year we have had several events cancelled, or moved to another date, which has never happen in previous years! Global warming. We did not let this puts us off as we all met at the Brinsley Lodge for Paul and Christine’s social Christmas lunch as previously arranged. We had a wonderful time with good food and company. The group over the year had seen 68 species of birds with the highlights probably being Avocet, Black necked grebe, Marsh harrier, Osprey and Little ringed plover. Another good and enjoyable year with the weather playing its part. Paul and Christine Millington
July 2023:
This month (July) we visited Rutland water nature reserve. This is looked after by Leicestershire & Rutland wildlife trust. The day was warm with sunny periods, no rain! Walking along the grass paths lined with trees there were nettles and wild flowers in abundance, ideal for the wild life. Numerous butterflies were spotted and we all agreed this year we hadn’t seen so many or indeed variety. In total we saw 6 species, Gatekeeper, Speckled wood, Commer, Red admiral, Small white and Peacock. Various Damselflies and Skimmers were also seen. We saw a total of 23 species of bird on our visit to the various hides over looking Rutland water. With all the normal ducks spotted our top birds of the day have to be Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Common Tern. Including theBuzzard makes a total of four birds of prey spotted. This brings our total bird species seen this year to 67.
Lunch and drinks were taken at the visitors centre and a good day was had by all.
Chrys and Paul Millington
MESSAGE FROM JANE JOHNSON I have had a project with my eldest granddaughter to breed butterflies and last month we released 6 painted lady butterflies into the wild (both in Newthorpe and in Northleach, Gloucestershire) and have currently 7/10 small tortoiseshell caterpillars eating as many nettles as we can collect. We have a luxurious wildflower lawn which attracts bees and butterflies and counted 43 in 15 minutes in the fields behind your house for the Big Butterfly Count last week. The hedgehog hibernated all Winter along with another (in another box) and comes back to feed occasionally. We are collecting hay and straw for him to make a nest for this Winter. We also built a very small ‘fairy’ pond and put a frog house next to it and the frogs from next door come visiting through a small pipe under the fence between our gardens and the blackbirds and pigeons bathe in it and the goldfinch and other birds come for a drink. Today on our walk we saw mining bees coming out of a burrow near Giltbrook and of course we see the buzzards regularly overhead, as well as the kestrels.
May 20th at Newstead/Annesley country park
Hello everyone,
Decided for my allowed daily exercise I would have a 20-minute walk across the fields to Watnall woods bird feeders. In horse racing terms it would be deemed heavy going. My intention was to try and add to my years list looking for Nuthatch, Chaffinch and Coal tit. As Guinness and I made our way there we saw a raptor being mobbed by a crow. Too far away to be sure but looked to be a Sparrow hawk. No positive ID so not going on my list. As we approached Reckoning house the going got very heavy, glad I had my wellies on. There was a Raptor calling somewhere between Reckoning house and the woods but could not find it. Watching the feeders from the bench it wasn’t long before the birds came visiting. It was fabulous to see so many Blue and Great tits darting in and out on the feeders. Blackbird and Dunnock on the ground and of course the grey squirrels, which didn’t go unnoticed by Guinness! Then a pair of Nuthatch turned up along with a Song thrush. You usually see one or two Robins at any given time, but I have never seen so many Robins in one place at the same time as today. Most were getting along but of course there was the inevitable fallout. Thinking of making tracks when two Chaffinch appeared. Crossing the fields, on the way home, saw a Buzzard gliding overhead then a small flock of birds Starling size landed in the field. Manoeuvring to get a better view of the flock, the crops were up to the birds’ necks, I saw the thrush-like bird with the tell-tale grey, brown and spots of the Fieldfare.
A lovely hour’s adventure with the Chaffinch, Song thrush, Fieldfare and Nuthatch added to my 2021 bird list.