Carsington Water is one of those places where a simple walk can quickly become a memorable birding adventure. The mix of open water, woodland edges, reedbeds, and rolling Derbyshire countryside makes it a magnet for birds - whether you're spotting familiar species or hoping for something more unusual.
The main reservoir viewpoint is often alive with activity. Great crested grebes gliding in close, tufted ducks diving in synchronised rhythms, and cormorants perch with wings outstretched like patient sentinels. Kev @kev07713 and I were surprised by how low the water level was, with wide stretches of dry mud around the edges and the birds pushed out toward the deeper centre. Even so, a few people were still out on boats, fishing.
But some of the best moments happen away from the crowds. The hides around the wildlife centre offer quieter encounters: in winter, flocks of wigeon and teal gather on the water, and if you're lucky, you might spot a visiting goldeneye or even a great northern diver.
Carsington Water has a habit of surprising its visitors - the reservoir’s ever-changing birdlife makes every trip feel fresh. With good paths, welcoming hides, and wide-open skies, Carsington is the sort of place that reminds you to slow down, look twice, and let the natural world reveal itself, one bird at a time.
We first stopped at the Millfield's Picnic area where some woodland species are drawn out to the feeders when food sources become depleted in the surrounding woodland - species such as marsh and willow tits. We paused here, filling up feeder that had been attacked by the tits and finches visiting regularly. We could hear jays calling from distant oak trees and had two ravens fly overhead - we returned our attention to the three trees in front of us.
We picked out a distant flock of linnets and watched meadow pipits feeding on the exposed mud and rocks, but our attention quickly shifted when a great spotted woodpecker dropped into the right-hand tree, scattering the tits and finches that had been busy on the fat balls and suet pellets.
We continued watching and waiting, now spotting coal tits joining the blue and great tits in the trees, with long-tailed tits flitting quietly behind. A couple of birds dropped into a tree to our left and into the hedgerow, and we could see they were siskins - a male and a female. They lingered for less than a minute. More linnets passed overhead, and the Merlin app reported a hawfinch nearby, though we never saw or identified it by call.
Kev walked along the path to get a wider view of the water, and as he passed under one of the trees, a handful of siskins broke cover and vanished behind a small copse. On his return, we briefly caught sight of some lesser redpolls landing in the top of a tree within the copse, but they stayed only about twenty seconds.
We lingered a while longer, but eventually decided that lovely as it was to watch these birds, we would try to track down the four twite reported here the previous day, thought to be associating with a linnet flock. We jumped in the car and drove to the main Visitor Centre and car park, heading toward the area indicated on BirdGuides.
From the vantage points we could see wigeon, teal, cormorants, and some geese, but only a couple of meadow pipits and pied wagtails. We circled around, stopping frequently to scan the exposed mud, rocky outcrops, and water edges, but there was no sign of anything unusual.
Following a grassy track, we heard the soft call of a bullfinch. Kev quickly located them, a male and female feeding in the low scrub. The male perched on a distant plant, while the female stayed further left, giving Kev a better view.
A greater scaup had also been reported, and through our scopes we thought we could make it out in the bay farthest from our position, only for it to drift left and vanish from view, frustratingly out of reach. We moved on and spotted a great white egret stalking along the water’s edge. Though distant, it seemed intent on a particular spot. It paused briefly - just ten seconds - before striking, not just gracefully but with full force, plunging deep into the pool.
We continued along the shoreline, spotting a few meadow pipits before finally noticing an increasing number of linnets. For the next thirty minutes, we watched them feeding among the long grass and rocks, but there was still no sign of any twite - just the familiar meadow pipits and linnets.
Our patience was tested when three people strolled across the exposed shore, sending the flock into the air. We waited for their return and carefully worked through the birds again, only for a dog walker to appear and flush them once more. Eventually, we circled back and found the flock moving along another section of shore. We worked through the birds one last time but still drew a blank. Accepting defeat, we made our way back to the car.
We decided to grab some lunch before heading up to the Sheepwash car park, planning to visit the hide. There, we met another birder and chose to join him along the track to see if we could locate the scaup. Along the way, we spotted goldeneye, tufted ducks, wigeon, teal, and a large group of pochards, but there was still no sign of our target.
On the way back, we paused to look across the bay and were delighted to spot a peregrine perched on a narrow strip of shoreline. With the sun low in the sky, the scene was bathed in a beautiful orange glow. We'd walk back to the car and make our way home.
I had planned to take the week off, and with Charlotte’s birthday falling mid-week, we decided to spend a couple of nights away in Bournemouth. On the way, we stopped in Lymington to visit the Normandy Lagoon, hoping to catch up with the drake long-tailed duck. Planning to have lunch at the Yacht Haven, we parked there and set off to explore the area.
A light breeze kept us on the lower path, and soon we were passing the pools surrounding the main water body. Redshanks and teal moved through the shallows, while a greenshank fed constantly, oblivious to our presence and getting reasonably close.
We made our way around the edge of the lagoon and were greeted by impressive flocks of dunlin, wheeling across the water before settling and then lifting off again in a constant swirl. Redshanks moved through the shallows, while black-tailed godwits fed methodically nearby. A lone spotted redshank kept appearing and disappearing in the distance. A group of dunlins finally settled on a spit opposite us, and I stopped to snap a few photos.
Scanning the water’s edge, I spotted a grey plover alongside two ringed plovers, hunkered down against the wind. At the back of the pool, even more black-tailed godwits and lapwings were scattered across the shallows, joined by an astonishing nineteen spoonbills - more than I’ve ever seen here before. Strangely, not all of them were asleep, which is usually the case when I encounter a large number together.
We made our way to the far side of the lagoon and as we scanned I picked out the drake long-tailed duck diving constantly and staying under for long periods. Long-tailed ducks are remarkable divers, often considered among the most accomplished of the sea ducks. Unlike many other ducks that feed on the surface, these birds spend a significant portion of their time underwater, diving for invertebrates, molluscs, crustaceans, and small fish. They are capable of impressive dives, frequently reaching 20–60 meters (65–200 feet), with some recorded diving over 60 meters. Their dives usually last between 20 and 90 seconds, though they can occasionally stay underwater longer when pursuing prey. With this pool being relatively shallow it was impressive how long it stayed under.
Their diving style is often described as active and deliberate, contrasting with the shallower, dabbling dives of other ducks - often diving repeatedly in the same area, surfacing briefly between dives. In winter, they are known to feed more frequently in sheltered bays, lagoons (such as here), or estuaries where molluscs and crustaceans are abundant.
True to their name, the males sport long, elegant tail feathers that trail behind them like a graceful ribbon in flight or on the water. Their plumage is particularly eye-catching: in winter, males display a bold contrast of black, white, and chestnut.
While down in Bournemouth we tried to find a Pallas's warbler around Durlston Country Park but delayed by rain and then search for an hour and a half we eventually gave up and repaired to RSPB Arne for lunch where a sparrowhawk was cruising and being mobbed by finches over the Visitor Centre. We made our way to the Middlebere Lookout and along the way spotted a single greenshank cutting along the water. We chatted to a couple on the hide and enjoyed black-tailed godwits, pintails (some juvenile males included), wigeon, teal, shelduck, cormorants and egrets - but nothing of particular note.
On our return we stopped to see a couple of Sika deer in the trees and made our way back to our hotel for dinner.
On the way home, we debated what to do and noticed that a penduline tit had been reported at Northwick Warth, Avon - a species I’d tried to see several times before but never managed to catch. It was quite a detour, but we decided to go for it and soon met up with a couple of friends (Adrian Sparrowhawk and Bryan Manston) who had travelled from Banbury and Didcot. They told us the bird had been seen at 7.00 am., but not since. Oh dear ...
Still hopeful, we joined the handful of other birders scanning the reedbed, but all we could find were stonechats, robins, wrens, blue tits, and a restless kestrel moving around the area. We waited for over two hours, but with the wind picking up -so strong that the Severn Bridge had been closed - we eventually accepted that a sighting was unlikely. Another failed attempt.
We headed home to focus on Charlotte’s birthday and finish wrapping the last of her presents.
Year list: 245.
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