RSPB Langford Lowfields - A new place to go birdwatching?

Its been a while since I posted anything here (apart from the fairly frequent run reports, and even then I've missed the last 2 sessions due to illness). In fact its been a while since I've been out to do anything interesting at all. Its been busy at work, and on days off I need to catch up with the weekly chores, and before I know it, Monday appears again.

It's flippin' relentless!

But, that all changed a few days ago. My partner @dawnsart has returned home from her university studies. And I was able to plan and book this week off as annual leave so we could spend time together catching up and getting ready for Xmas.

I then managed to catch some flu bug that was going round so the last few days I've been generally feeling sorry for myself

Good news though, after 4 days of aches, shivering, abject misery and drowning in snot, I am finally feeling better. And as the sun was shining we decided to not waste any time in getting outside and exploring somewhere new.

Todays 'new location': RSPB Langford Lowfields

A nature reserve owned and managed by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). They are a wildlife conservation organization who were originally set up to protect bird species, but very quickly realized that to protect birds you need to protect all parts of the habitat including the environment and other species such as mammals and insects.

The reserve here is on the site of a working quarry, and is still in its early stages of development. As the raw material is taken out the area left behind has been turned over for the creation of a new wetland habitat site.

I say early stages, as on one side the quarry is still active with heavy machinery and trucks going back and forth. We actually ended up in this part by mistake due to the poor directions we were given, but a quick correction and we headed round to the either side to see the area which had already been created into a nature reserve.

Dunnock - Prunella modularis

Not only is it exciting to visit this in its early stages, but being located in Nottinghamshire (just outside of Newark), it is literally on our doorstep. Well worth taking a chance today and seeing whats going on.

After the initial wrong turn, we ended up driving down a tiny little (incredibly pot-holed) road to find a small car park. The sign said the reserve was located approx. 800m away on the other side of a small patch of woodland. We grabbed our gear and and with cameras at the ready we set off to see what we could find.

Great Tit - Parus major

Well, almost immediately, we saw some of the smaller and more common song bids. There were Great Tits and Blue Tits flitting back and forth in the branches, and then a couple of Dunnocks on the ground looking for food (seeds and insects etc)

I think there may have been some Long Tailed Tits up in the trees, but they were really high up in the branches

While my partner was looking skywards, I was distracted by what was lurking in the undergrowth...

Candlesnuff Fungus - Xylaria hypoxylon

Oh crikey, Fungi!

I didn't expect to see much of these in Winter (I am aware of Winter species, but the peak time for many is Autumn).

This is apparently incredibly common (although I've only found it twice before) and goes by the common names of Candlesnuff or Stags Horn. Both names looking quite relevant to be fair!

And then I found some more fungi...

Not sure on the ID on this one above

But I at least know that this one below is Tukey-Tail.

Meanwhile, Dawn just carried on walking...🤣

After 30 minutes or so of walking...

...we eventually made it to the reserve.

(it took so long as I kept stopping to photograph everything!)

The habitat being created here is basically wetland. Lots of water everywhere, with Reed Beds being established and banks being cleared so wading birds can feed.

I'm not entirely sure when this project was first begun, but its only been a few years, and already a lot of species have moved in:

Plenty of ducks for starters: Tufted Ducks, Mallard Ducks, and Coots can all be seen in the image above.

Black-headed Gull - Chroicocephalus ridibundus

There was just the one Black-headed Gull swooping overhead. I suspect there would have been many more in the summer months.

Something else to consider of course: we have come here today to see what we can see, but to get a full picture we would have to come back at a different time of year as there are different species doing different things at different times.

Mute Swan - Cygnus olor

Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo

Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola

The next one was a nice surprise.

There were 2 male Stonechats (plus a single female, although I didnt get a picture of her). The species can be found various places across the UK, but getting pictures can be hit or miss as they like big open spaces like heathland and moorland.

As luck would have it, these 3 came and perched on the fence about 10m away and spent 5 minutes feeding on seeds before moving onto a new location.

always nice to see something a little different!

Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola

Here in the distance you can see the 'active' quarry still being, well, active. It is good to see that even though the business is hard at work extracting the raw materials, they already have plans in place for the the ground afterwards so it can be returned to benefit the local wildlife.

Duck in flight... a female Mallard I think?

A male Shoveller Duck (I'm sure of this one, look at the size of that bill!)

We carried on winding our way around the only open path available... there were lots of Reed Beds, and lots of ducks.

And then, we had another little treat.

As we rounded the corner, I spotted a medium sized bird perched near the top of a tree. I took a quick picture to see what it could be, and it was:

...a Fieldfare. (Turdus pilaris).

These are larger members of the Thrush Family, and migrate to the UK each Winter in search of food. The numbers seen can vary greatly depending on the weather. They are mostly from Northern Europe and Russia, and if the weather is really cold, then more of them come to escape the hard conditions. If the Winter is mild then fewer of them come over.

Because the numbers can vary so much, it is pot luck if I manage to see any. I don't recall seeing any in the last 5 Winters (although that is partly down to me not going out to the right locations to look for them I suppose).

Redwing - Turdus iliacus

It looked like it was our lucky day again, as we had stumbled across a small flock of 50-70 birds.

Not all of them were fieldfares though, some were Redwings another member of the Thrush Family and one often seen intermingling with Fieldfares. They almost certainly would have migrated with them for the same reasons: to avoid the cold Winters in Northern Europe

Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris

Well, we were excited to see them. But they didn't seem to excited to see us!

They seemed very skittish and sensitive, and if I even looked at them, they flew across the water to land on the other side, hence why most of these pictures are rubbish!

Redwing - Turdus iliacus

Everytime I took a carefully placed step forward, another 4 or 5 birds which shoot up out of the bushes and over to the trees the on the other side.

Redwing - Turdus iliacus

I did at least manage to get a shot of a Redwing in flight, which illustrates the red wing weathers under the wing which gives the bird its name.

They were feeding on the Red Berries seen below from Hawthorn. And these bushes are common across the countryside, so there will be plenty of food for them whether ever they go this Winter

Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris

I suspect image below of a Redwing hiding in the Hawthorn bush will the best image I will be able to get, as a species they just seem to timid to get close to them.

Redwing - Turdus iliacus

By this time we had been on the reserve for a couple of hours, and we decided that we'd seen enough to make the trip worthwhile, so it was time to start heading back.

Still worth keeping an eye out though, such as this Grey Squirrel trying to hide at the top of a tree.

And we came across and incredibly tame Robin:

He (or she, they both look the same) was perched on a sign near the path as we walked by. I took a quick photo, and then he actually flew closer!

He looked this way...

...and then that way...

In fact, he turned out to be a right little poser!

After a few minutes, I politely thanked him for his time. He was much easier to work with than those camera shy Fieldfares!

So yeah, it was a nice little trip out in the end. Some interesting birds, some great work being down in the creation of a new habitat for wildlife, and some reasonable pictures to show for it.

And as it is so local to me, I will look forward returning over the next few years to see it grow and take shape into a established Wetland Nature Reserve.