Third Osprey and first Merlin of the autumn

Watched an Osprey fly up from the river in the Rowsley area this morning carrying a large fish, it landed on Beeley Moor and was still there eating it 2 hours later. The fish looks like a Brown Trout. Most years I see Ospreys carrying fish up on to the moor to eat them, you would think it would be easier to eat them close to where they are caught but I guess it's quieter up on the moor.

Osprey with fish

Stood on Flash Lane I watched a Merlin following the Chesterfield Road flying towards Sitches Plantation, my first of the autumn. It's almost certainly a juvenile female bird that was caught and ringed on Tuesday.