Nosterfield Bird Review September 2025

by Andrew (Andy) M Hanby

Dusk at the Reserve                                                                                      Adrian Wetherill

Autumn birding, whilst exciting, also has a thread of melancholia.  This is caused by the departure of old acquaintances, of which the Swift is one of the first. Thus, a single Swift on the first day of the month and another on 10th brought an element of poignancy to a bird we may not see again until next May.

Good numbers of warblers were present throughout the month, including a late Garden Warbler on 1st.  The 3rd brought a bumper crop of six Wood Sandpipers briefly on Flasks Lake, before they headed off south-west.  Another was present on 5th together with a flock of eight Goosander.

Also present on 5th was an Osprey; in the last few years only one or two are seen after the end of August and therefore, the five seen this September, including the last on 17th, is unprecedented.

It was a fantastic day on 6th, with 76 species of bird recorded, including two Glossy Ibis and a Crane. The supporting cast was none too shabby either, with Eurasian White-fronted Goose, two Yellow-legged Gull, and impressive numbers of warblers – if Carlsberg did good birding days, this would be one!

Glossy Ibis - Tim Jones                                                  Common Crane – Christine Weaver

The following day was only one notch less good, with Little Stint and five Curlew Sandpipers through and 29 Ruff and 11 Common Sandpipers in the area.  A late Lesser Whitethroat and a White Wagtail added to the assortment of goodies to be seen.

‘You ain’t seen me, right?’ an unusually confident juvenile Water Rail posed during the month

Nathaniel Dargue

Eleven Curlew Sandpipers made a brief stop at Kiln Lake on 8th, whilst nine Black-tailed Godwits and yet another Glossy Ibis flew through on 9th.  A Bar-tailed Godwit arrived the next day and stayed to the month’s end.  Three more Curlew Sandpipers and five White Wagtails added to the month’s tally.  The 11th seemed uneventful, until a juvenile Little Gull was found sitting on the silt at Flasks Lake.

Little Gull and Bar-tailed Godwit – Tim Jones

A Raven flew north-east on 12th and 20 Lesser Redpoll headed south.  The movement theme continued the next day, with hundreds of hirundines and Meadow Pipits moving

The first Pink-footed Goose of the autumn appeared on 15th, together with six Pintail.  An additional Little Stint made a brief visit and three Curlew Sandpipers were present.  Another Little Stint passed through on 17th, with a further bird present until 21st.   A Knot was present on the Flasks silt on 20th and the first two Whooper Swans of the autumn materialised on 21st.

Common Kestrels abounded during the month, including this very showy female – Christine Watson

On 22nd, 95 Skylark headed south, whilst a Barnacle Goose was hiding in plain sight amongst the Greylag Geese.

By 25th the drums started to roll for the Grand Finale, with the discovery of a lone Bearded Tit in the reed bed.  It was still present the next day and a Red-crested Pochard was found.  This crescendo was, arguably, somewhat muted, but that all changed when a splendid  Red-necked Phalarope was located on the Reserve and performed well for many visitors to the month’s end.

Red-necked Phalarope           Nathan Beer

Common Sandpipers on Flasks Lake                                                        Tim Jones