Lockdown Day 5

All day at home and unsurprisingly not many new birds to add to my Lock-down garden list but I did manage one; Grey Heron which looked like it was probably dropping down on to the pond in the Whitworth Park.
The list for the last 5 days now stands at 46 which isn't bad and there are still a few commoner species still missing plus there is the promise of a few spring migrants just around the corner, if it would just warm up a bit. 
I'm averaging 33 to 37 species a day, no doubt helped by the decent weather.
A pair of Sparrowhawk were displaying over the garden yesterday, this is the male.

Sparrowhawk

Lockdown day 3 - Return to the moor

I decided to cycle up to Beeley Moor today for my 'daily exercise', apart from a few dog walkers still driving up to exercise their dogs there was very little traffic and it was therefore quite peaceful.
The Curlew flock has now largely dispersed with several pairs establishing territories.

Eurasian Curlew

 
Still no Wheatear but I did have a superb male Merlin eating something, though I'm not sure what. It was distant and there was heat haze but still great to see.

Merlin - male

Plenty of Chiffchaffs around and I've had a few reports of singing Blackcaps but haven't seen one myself yet but I did have my first Sand Martin at Rowsley on Monday.

Lockdown day 2

No surprise that I only managed a few new birds today, to add to yesterdays garden list, but another four isn't bad taking the total to 41. The new birds were a single Lapwing, 7 Great Cormorant (and I saw two in the trees by the Whitworth pond that were probably part of the same group later in the day), a male Bullfinch and overnight a calling Tawny Owl.
A pair of Sparrowhawk were displaying over the wood at the back of the house as were two Common Buzzard.
Taking a few photos in the garden in the sunshine and this preening Blue Tit was my favourite.

Blue Tit

Birdwatching under lockdown

Well, as of today most of us are home bound and likely to be so for several weeks but with hopefully a daily walk thrown in.
Looking on the positive side I've decided to do a garden bird list for the period of the Coronavirus lockdown. I get off to a good start with a surprise Green Woodpecker calling from somewhere around the Whitworth Park early on, it called several times and was clearly moving and I suspect it either went to Halldale Wood or Ladygrove. Several Mandarin flew over the house, commuting from the river to the ponds in Ladygrove and a lone Curlew flew over calling.
By the end of the day I had recorded 36 species which is a pretty good start.
Plenty of tits still visiting the garden, the Coal Tit is one of my favourites.

Coal Tit

The warm weather has brought out a few butterflies and I've seen Brimstone, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell in the last couple of days.

Migrant Marsh Harrier

In blustery conditions an adult female Marsh Harrier crossed Beeley Moor, heading steadily east this morning. Still at least 4 Common Crossbill on Flash Lane and several Brambling this morning also the first Chiffchaff on Flash Lane.

Marsh Harrier - female

Chiffchaff and a moorland Fox

I saw my first Chiffchaff almost a week ago at Congrieve on the 13th March but managed my first photo today of a bird calling at Rowsley. I thought this shot was quite interesting as the bird has a very distinct eye-ring which shows well in the photo.

Chiffchaff

The Fox was on Beeley Moor where the Curlew are now returning in decent numbers, I counted 27 on Tuesday.
With all the worry and constant news coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic it's nice to get out in to the countryside.

Fox

Common Crossbill - Flash Lane

There has been a small flock of Common Crossbill around Flash Lane throughout the winter. The numbers have varied peaking at around 20 at the turn of the year but generally around 6 to 10 birds. Males have been singing and I've seen occasional display flights. 
The Common Crossbill is known to be one of the earliest breeding passerines and in other areas of the UK nests with eggs have been reported but so far I have seen no signs of nesting activity. Strangely Doug Aston photographed juveniles on Flash Lane in July 2018 and I can only assume that these were from a second brood.
This morning I had a group of around 6 birds low down in the trees and managed to get some photos, usually they are either in flight or at the very tops of conifers so don't give much opportunity for photos.
Ringing studies have shown that both males and females can have orange in the plumage but only males have an orange throat so all three birds depicted below look to be males.

Common Crossbill adult male

Common Crossbill immature male

Common Crossbill immature male

Goshawk in the Peak District Update

I last commented on the status of the Northern Goshawk in the Peak District in January 2016 referring to the 2014 Derbyshire Bird Report which reported 10 pairs in the Peak District. Four years later and the Derbyshire Bird Report for 2018 reported 27 pairs in Derbyshire commenting that they are mainly in the Peak District so it appears that the Goshawk is doing well in the Peak District a trend which is mirrored in the UK where the national population is now estimated at around 620 pairs (up from around 420 pairs estimated in 2013).
From my own observation I would agree that there has probably been a small increase in pairs in the areas that I watch but the success of breeding pairs appears to vary significantly from year to year and this winter for example I have seen very few juvenile birds which implies that the 2019 breeding season was not particularly good.
The best time to observe them is from January to the end of March when both sexes may be seen displaying. The past week finally produced some blue skies and I managed to photograph a selection of birds.

Goshawk 2nd calendar year juvenile

Goshawk adult male

Goshawk adult male displaying

Goshawk immature male, probably 4 years old

Goshawk female at least 4 years old

If your interested in Goshawk identification I've updated my blog post on the subject here