After a chat with Dave W it seemed a good idea to visit some of the winter delights of Nottinghamshire. After picking up Kev C at 7am we headed to southern Yorkshire to get Dave W and at 8-15am made our way to the first stop at Thoresby. This area had been home to some Hawfinch this week, but after a good 40 minutes none were seen but Nuthatch, Goldfinch kept us entertained. We moved onto a place that we have visited a few times to see Hawfinch before, Rufford Abbey Country Park, I said that I have always connected with this species here! At this time the sat-nav in my car decided to have a bit of an off day, couldnt possibly be driver error was said! But with two navigators on board we soon found the place. We arrived, eventually and began walking around till we connected with a Hawfinch, one sat in the arboretum, it was mainly obscured so, better views were required. We got back to the car and whilst having refreshments a dumpy looking bird landed in the tall tree above our heads, it was a smart looking Hawfinch, what a colourful bird! Then a Great Spotted Woodpecker performed well nearby, time to move on then as lots of people began to arrive.
Next stop was Budby Common (more famous for naked men running around) to see if we could see any larks, but after 30 minutes we abandoned looking as it was very quiet. Back at the car we saw around 20 Blue Tits all together enjoying food from a bird table. We headed for Idle Valley near Lound, this place has produced a fair number of rare birds in the past, and our quest was a female Smew that had been seen on Neatholme Fen this very morning. The area is also playing host to some Beavers in a special guarded area. If only it was that easy to locate Neatholme Fen after looking at various site maps. We started on Chainbridge Lane and searched the areas that we knew managing to see: - Goldeneye, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard and a Green Sandpiper. We wandered about the area and saw a large flock of Siskin busily feeding and flying around, what a pleasure that was. After checking out a large pit with some gulls on it we finally found Neatholme Fen, there were large numbers of Lapwing, some Golden Plover and eventually the female Smew came in to view, what a joy to watch this smart little duck that seems to be visiting our shores in larger numbers than before? With the gloomy conditions telling us it was time to head for the car we headed for home all having enjoyed a good day out in Nottinghamshire. The sat nav performed well for the rest of the day, must have been allergic to Notts?
