Holmebrook Valley Monthly update

Since the end of October there has been quite a few different birds turning up on the lake at Holmebrook Valley.

On the 31st of October there was a male Teal which was first found at the north east end of the lake. This is my first Teal at Holmebrook since October 2017 so I expecting one. The bird was very shy and didn't come in very close, but with some persistence I managed a very badly let shot of him. 

Male Teal

Also on the 31st I had my first Common Gull of this winter. Unfortunately it didn't stick around and left very quickly so I only managed a record flight shot.

Common Gull

On the 6th of November there was a lovely male Pochard on the lake which was a first for the site for me. With the him there was a female Tufted Duck and they spent most of the time I was there in the middle of the lake.

Pochard and Tufted Duck

Also on the 6th I managed to find not one, but two Water Rails in the reeds at the bottom end of the lake. Not only was this the best Water Rail count for the site, but also my first since the 11th of November 2017. The birds were being very vocal but one was only seen twice.

Water Rail record shot

At least one Water Rail has been present calling in the same area within the last week and was there again today.

One of the Mute Swan cygnets had disappeared on the 6th but I now know it was taken away by the RSPCA because of lead poisoning (See post HERE). Hopefully it will get well enough to be returned. 

Also seen on the 6th was a Herring Gull. These can be seen around Chesterfield sometimes, but are still infrequent on the lake at Holmebrook. The bird was with 5 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and 69 Black-Headed Gulls.

Herring Gull 3cy

Lesser Black-Backed Gull 2cy

Away from birds, there was a Common Darter flying around the bottom end of the lake on the 6th, which is now my latest record of any species of dragonfly.

On the 8th I found an American Mink at the bottom end of the lake which at the time, I presumed was why the Mute Swan cygnet had disappeared. I have reported the Mink but have not seen it since.

Mink

Also on the 8th there were two Goosanders (Male and female).

Goosanders

Since the 8th not much else has appeared on the lake apart from all the Mute Swans yesterday (See post HERE). Both Great Crested Grebes are still on the lake and numbers of Moorhens, Coots and Mallards have stayed roughly the same. I have heard the Kingfisher a few times on the river but it has not yet moved onto the lake as it did last year.

Mute Swan mayhem!

Recently on the lake at Holmebrook Valley there have been 5 Mute Swans. Two 3s (born this year), one 5 (born last year) and 2 adults including a davic ringed male 089 from Treeton Dyke.

All 6 Swan on 23/10/18

One of the cygnets went missing around the 6th of November and I assumed it had been killed by either a dog or a Mink that I had seen round the lake. Today I found what really happened. Unfortunately it got lead poisoning and was taken in by the RSPCA. They have looked after he/she but I am unsure if they are going to return it back on the lake anytime soon.

All three of this years cygnets with there mum on 16/10/18

Yesterday morning someone reported 8 Mute Swans on the lake. They consisted of the normal Swans, two new adults and there cygnet. As you can imagine, our pair would not be happy with this and I presume the male 089 would have been very aggressive and they all got driven off. Later on they were found in the estate below the park on the road. The RSPCA were soon called. The male Swan was apparently covered in blood but this later was found to have come from a small cut which I presume 089 did while protecting his territory on the lake. This bird was taken first into care and will probably be released at Poolsbrook CP in Staveley. The cygnet and other adult bird flew off south later before the RSPCA came back and were not seen again.

This morning (17th) when I went to the park I noticed that the adult female had disappeared which is quite concerning. I checked the nearby Walton Dam but only the resident female "Polish" Mute Swan 462Y was there. I will update if I get anymore information and hopefully she will return.

"Polish" Mute Swan 462Y at Walton Dam

I would like to say thanks to my Aunty for all the information and keeping an eye on the female and cygnet to make sure they didn't get hit by any buses and cars. Also thanks to the RSPCA for helping and looking after the Swans.