Little Egret at Chatsworth

 Another Little Egret at Chatsworth today, it flew up from the river and landed in a tree, and at least one back at Youlgreave yesterday.

The Little Egret bred in south Derbyshire for the first time at Drakelow in 2018 and it seems likely that they will breed locally before too long. This year I have recorded them in most months of the year from January through to December.

Still around a dozen Mandarin Duck along the river, numbers have continued to fall since a peak of 93 in September. I assume they have moved on to some of the local ponds which they seem to prefer in the winter.

Mandarin Duck

Fall and rise of the Raven

 I came across a dead sheep on Flash Lane yesterday which attracted several Magpie, Carrion Crows and 2 Raven.

Raven

Ravens are now a common sight around the moors and I regularly see and hear them from my house in Darley Dale but it was only in the mid 1990's that the Raven regularly bred in Derbyshire. 

However, according to The Birds Of Derbyshire the Raven was common in the County during the 18th Century but was subject to persecution and quotes a record of 1725 Ravens killed at Wirksworth between 1707 and 1724. 

Breeding continued until the the 1860s after which there are just occasional records of visiting birds until regular breeding commenced again from 1992 onwards.

Although most of my records are of 1s and 2s I counted 28 together over Harland Edge on 3rd October this year.

Long-eared Owl in winter

For many years I thought the Long-eared Owl was just a summer visitor to the Beeley Moor area. This was based on the simple fact that I had never seen or heard one in the winter months. When I first moved here, twenty years ago I spent many winter nights cycling round the moor listening for Long-eared Owls but with no success.

I have a pair of Tawny Owls which nest in the wood close to my house and I decided to monitor how frequently I heard them calling. I found that on some nights they would be very vocal, although this may only last for 5 minutes at the most, but on most evenings in the winter time they were silent. The time of vocal activity was also very variable and whilst I heard them most frequently before midnight There was a significant bias because this was the time I was awake and by listening for them at times when I awoke in the night I found that their often brief periods of vocal activity were at 2am to 3am.

Assuming that Long-eared Owls have similarly limited times of vocal activity it would need a good deal of luck for me to be present when they were calling or I would have to spend many nights on the moors to have a chance of hearing them!

In the end I decided to leave a portable recorder running in areas that I thought might be suitable and whilst I still have a low success rate I have had some success!

This is the typical deep hooting song of a male Long-eared Owl recorded in December;

I think this sequence is a territorial dispute, probably involving two females. It starts with a couple of distant hoots from a Tawny Owl followed by the sound of wing clapping there is then an interchange of calls between two birds.

Marsh Tit at Youlgreave

 A couple of weeks ago Doug Aston let me know that a friend of his had seen a Marsh Tit on a feeder in Youlgreave. Although I've seen Marsh Tit a couple of times in Alport and also at Over Haddon and in Monsal Dale I've never found one in Bradford Dale before.

Today I corrected that with reasonable views of a bird visiting a feeder on the edge of the village in Bradford Dale. 

It's difficult to judge how scarce the Marsh Tit is locally but from my records I'd say it is very scarce. Although it's present in several of the limestone dales the populations must be very small.

Marsh Tit

Today's Marsh Tit was the first on my Darley Dale centred patch this year and my 129th species for the year. I'm not likely to add any more species this year but you never know.

Redwing in Chatsworth

 There have been hundreds of Redwing flying around this week and they appear to be settling in to feed now. I came across a nice group feeding with Chaffinch below an oak tree in Chatsworth today as we experienced the first dusting of snow of the winter.

Redwing

I managed to count the Lapwing flock at the end of Screetham Lane earlier in the week. I'd estimated the flock at 200 but counting from a photo I came to 308. The Golden Plover, which have been as high as 170 can be counted at 50 now in the same photo. With the ground now freezing it's likely that these birds will leave the moor for milder areas.

Lapwing with Golden Plover above them

I watched a Hawfinch flying over Cromford Bridge yesterday morning which I think is the first recorded there so far this winter. Still hoping they may return to the yews at St Helen's Church in Darley Dale.

Whooper Swans over Chatsworth

Two more Whooper Swans flew over the patch this morning. Flying high SE over my head, following the river at Chatsworth. I also had a small skein of 5 Pink-footed Geese flying east and 18 Goosander with 5 Teal on Emperor Lake, 

Not bad for another very overcast day.

Whooper Swans

 

Close encounter with a Kingfisher on the River Bradford

 We've had a spell of very gloomy weather recently and today was no exception but I had very close views of a Common Kingfisher on the River Bradford at Youlgrave today. It was so intent on fishing that it allowed me to get within several metres. It caught three fish whilst I was watching it. I didn't realise at the time but it has a BTO ring on its right leg. If the weather had been better I may have been able to read some of the ring but it was very dark and spitting with rain.

Common Kingfisher

A little further up the river a young male Wigeon was still present which I had first seen on the 25th November.

Wigeon immature male

It's been fairly quiet recently although several skeins of Pink-footed Geese are still passing over the moor and there are now 20-30 Common Crossbill in the forestry plantations on Flash Lane. 

Lapwing are still present around Screetham Lane in decent numbers (over 200) and I've seen up to 170 Golden Plover in the same area.

A Marsh Harrier was seen in the same area last weekend but there has been no further sightings.

Whooper Swans over Beeley Moor

My first local Whooper Swans of the year today, with six birds seen distantly from Beeley Moor crossing Whitesprings Plantation heading towards Matlock. They are not the first of the autumn though, as Alan saw 11 going east on the 4th November.

Whooper Swans

It was probably a family party but the birds were too distant to be certain of their age.

There was another reasonable easterly movement of Pink-footed Geese with 540 counted in 10 skeins this morning. Also several Common Crossbill and a flock of 30-40 Brambling on Flash Lane.

Footnote: A party of 6 Whooper Swans, 2 adults and 4 juveniles, were flushed from Broadstone Reservoir south of Huddersfield on the morning of 19th November and were seen in the afternoon at Shipley Lake 67km to the SE. I'm sure that must have been the same party which I saw over Beeley.

Red Grouse feeding on Cowberry

 The Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), which is also known as Lingonberry, has a fairly restricted distribution locally with just a few patches around Beeley Moor and each year, in the late autumn, it attracts the Red Grouse to feed on its berries.

Red Grouse feeding on Cowberry

I think the bird above is probably a juvenile male as it is starting to show the white malar stripe at the base of the bill. There was also an adult male present.

Red Grouse adult male

Cowberry

Cowberry local records taken from the NBN Atlas

Autumn giving way to winter

 After the excitement of the Woodpigeon movements last week with a record count of just under 188k from Ramsley on the 4th it has been much quieter this week, the pigeon numbers are back to a few hundred a day. Although there are still the occasional skeins of Pink-footed Geese it feels like autumn is well and truly over. 

The only thing that stops it feeling like winter is the temperature which is still hitting the late teens during the day and staying above ten at night. 

For the past few years Red Kites have largely disappeared from the area by late September and don't start to be seen regularly again until February but this year I'm still seeing them more or less daily as we approach the middle of November. Not sure if this is weather related but I can only assume it's to do with food availability.

Red Kite carrying a food item

The river levels have risen to a more usual level and I'm starting to hear the song of the Dipper more regularly as they have established their winter territories. 

Dipper

There is still a chance of something interesting turning up and Red-flanked Bluetail on the Cromford just north of Ambergate on 4th November was a reminder of how unpredictable birdwatching can be. Sadly, it has not been seen since but could reappear.

Black-headed Gull 2T51 returns to Bakewell

 The Black-headed Gull bearing the blue colour ring 2T51 has returned to Bakewell for its third successive winter. 

It was rung in Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria in September 2019 and has returned each winter since visiting the river in Bakewell town centre,

Black-headed Gull - adult

Woodpigeons on the move

There have been some big movements of Common Woodpigeon in recent days. 

This morning Alan Stewardson and I counted 13,100 birds moving in a westerly or south-westerly direction over Harewood Moor but 29,000 birds were counted earlier in the week from the highpoint at Stone Edge behind the Red Lion.

Common Woodpigeon a flock of 119 birds

There were several hundred finches, mostly Chaffinch but with several flocks of Lesser Redpoll and Siskin.

A Ring Ouzel was still present in the Cathole area yesterday but the Black Redstart on Flash Lane hasn't been seen since last Thursday (24th Oct) but could still be in the area.

I had great views of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon yesterday, chasing Fieldfare on Flash Lane. It made several stoops at feeding birds but was unsuccessful.

Peregrine - juvenile

Osprey at Chatsworth

 After the heavy rain this morning I went to Chatsworth mid-afternoon following the river from Beeley. There were the usual Mandarins along the river and 6 Goosander but as I stood in front of the House I picked up a large bird of prey some distance away but flying towards me from the Baslow direction. 

It was an Osprey and presumably the same bird I had seen last week. It past over my head and continued towards Beeley. It was around 4pm so I presume it will be roosting somewhere along the river.

The only other birds of note were two Wigeon feeding with Mallard and Coot on the river bank.

Osprey

Black Redstart - Flash Lane

 Another exciting day of visible migration on Beeley Moor with 1700 Fieldfare and 1100 Redwing crossing the moor but the star bird was a Black Redstart on Flash Lane. The first local record since November 2015, so it's been quite a wait! 

Good numbers of Black Redstart have been turning up on the coast over the last few days so it could well be a continental bird.

Black Redstart female or immature

Ring Ouzel Bent Lane

 With almost continual rain yesterday and mist and rain today its been difficult bird watching conditions. There are lots of thrushes about still and i found a male Ring Ouzel feeding in a rowen tree on Bent Lane, in the trees opposite the entrance to Bumper Castle. 

The Chaffinch look to have found the crushed Beech nuts along the lane with a flock of 50 feeding on the road and at least 8 Brambling with them.

Ring Ouzel - male just visible in the mist this morning

Big Redwing Day and an unexpected Osprey

 I was away over the weekend and was keen to see if there were any new birds at Chatsworth. I'd already seen that Dutch radar was reporting large number of migrants leaving their coast on Monday evening and the wind was forecast in the east so conditions looked good.

I was still very surprised to see an Osprey fishing below Beeley village as I set off for Chatsworth. It had just caught a fish and was flying towards Rowsley, presumably to find a suitable tree where it could enjoy its meal. A message from Alan reported large numbers of thrushes passing over Beeley Moor and as I scanned the hillside several flocks could be seen in the distance.

Osprey juvenile with fish

Although they were mainly Redwing there were several groups of Fieldfare with them which were my first local birds of the autumn.

Redwing

Fieldfare

As I walked towards Chatsworth House the Redwing total was approaching 1000 birds moving SW over the wooded valley sides with some birds dropping in to the trees.

A female Wigeon with Mallard in front of the House was a first for the year and posed nicely for a photo.

Wigeon female

The Redwing flocks continued to pass overhead and I was on 1900 as I returned to Beeley Village but my numbers were tiny compared to Simon who had counted 29,190 at Carsington!

Although Redwing were the main species on the move several hundred Wood Pigeon also passed over the area and Ken called early afternoon to say that he had seen a Marsh Harrier over the moor so all in all a very good day.

Marsh Harrier female or immature © Ken Smith

October Big Day 2022 on Beeley Moor

 On Saturday I participated in the eBird October Big Day recording as many species as possible around Beeley Moor.

 After a walk along Flash Lane with Mel and Alan we joined Robin Elliot and Ken on Harewood Road which is a good place to watch for visible migration. In the right conditions in autumn birds follow the valley travelling west, some birds having crossed the North Sea several hours earlier.

We were in luck as birds were moving up the valley and we were soon recording groups of finches and thrushes including small numbers of Redwing and Brambling which stopped off to feed on berry laden trees or in a recently ploughed field.

The first bird of real note was a male Ring Ouzel feeding on the edge of the field but which soon flew high in the air to continue its south westerly journey flying right over our heads.

Later in the morning a Merlin appeared, initially chasing a pair of Jays but for several minutes as we watched the tables were turned and the Jays chased the Merlin!

In all we recorded 56 species, not a huge total by UK standards but a very good total for Beeley and a very enjoyable morning.

More egrets and return of some winter visitors

 Over the last couple of days I've seen Little Egrets at both Chatsworth and Ashford Lake, I think we will be seeing them as regularly as Grey Heron soon and perhaps breeding somewhere locally in the not too distant future.

Little Egret - upper with Black-headed Gull Chatsworth and with Eurasian Teal at Ashford Lake

The first winter visitors have started to appear, I had my first Redwing on 27 September on Beeley Moor and have seen several small flocks since. The first Brambling was also on Beeley Moor on 2nd October.

Pink-footed Geese have been seen most days but just one or two skeins most days.

An unexpected foreign bird was a Black-headed Gull bearing a Finnish ring photographed at Bakewell yesterday but I think it may have bee around a while. It will be interesting to see where and when it was rung.

Black-headed Gull with Finnish ring

Very quick response from Finland on the ring, it was ryng as a chick in June 2019. It's travelled 1600km form Pori on the Baltic coast to Bakewell.

More geese and first Common Gull of the autumn

 I saw my first Common Gulls of the autumn this afternoon with two adults feeding in a recently ploughed field with Lesser Black-backed Gulls close to Bonsall Moor. 

They will be joined by more birds as we get into winter with birds roosting at Carsington or Ogston.

Common Gull= adult

The Pink-footed Geese have continued to pass over Beeley Moor with 1200 yesterday morning and a further 1800 today. The first birds are generally seen around 08:00 and the movement is coming to an end by 10:00. This morning we counted 23 skeins, varying in size from a dozen birds to over 300 with most comprising 50 to 80 birds.

Pink-footed Geese

First Pink-footed Geese of the autumn

Following reports of several skeins in the Midlands yesterday there was a significant movement of Pink-footed Geese over the Peak District today with 550 counted in skeins ranging from a dozen birds to several hundred this morning. 

They were generally moving east or south east, presumably to the Humber or Lincolnshire coast.

Pink-footed Geese

Weasel - Beeley Moor

I rarely see Weasel or Stoat on Beeley Moor but I have had brief views of what I assume is the same Weasel several times in the last week. 

Very difficult to photograph as they run in and around a drystone wall, appearing and disappearing and seldom pausing.

Weasel

Hummingbird Hawkmoth - Darley Dale

 The exceptionally warm summer has produced lots of records of Hummingbird Hawkmoths locally. This one has been visiting the Honeysuckle in our garden for a week.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

A perched Red Kite and my first Yellow-legged Gull of the year

 Two adult Red Kites perched at Rowsley, close to where I saw the Osprey was a nice surprise. I haven't seen any juveniles this summer so I suspect it has not been a good breeding season for them locally. 

I see them perched very infrequently and usually hidden by foliage so this made a nice change.

Red Kite - adult

Early we been walking in Youlgrave, as we approached the village several parties of Mandarin Duck flew down the valley, in the end we counted 39 birds which was unusual for that location, perhaps they had roosted on the small lake.

Close to the lake I counted 350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and, after checking them carefully, a single adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Most years I check to Lesser Black-backs which favour the fields between Winster and Newhaven but they have only been present in small numbers so far so I was pleased to find this Yellow-legged. 

Yellow-legged Gull - lower foreground with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Adult Yellow-legged Gull showing the pale upper and underwing compared to Lesser

The Green Sandpipers at Chatsworth increased to three but weren't there yesterday when I checked and a Hobby this evening on Beeley Moor made a brief appearance this evening.

Green Sandpiper - Chatsworth

 Two Green Sandpiper today on Emperor Lake at Chatsworth. I have one previous record of Green Sandpiper from the Cupola Ponds at Stone Edge but I've lost the details and must have been 20 years ago, so this is my first documented record for the area.

The Birds of the Bakewell Area record annual sightings from Ramsley and Barbrook Reservoirs which are now almost gone with several records from Middleton Moor. It's recorded more regularly from Ogston and Carsington.

 

Green Sandpiper

Red Grouse - breeding success

 I've expressed my concern several times during the past decade about the decline of the Red Grouse on Beeley Moor (most recently in August 2020) so I was very pleased today when I came across a pair with two well grown youngsters. 

I also heard, and saw, several birds on East Moor yesterday so it looks like the current population could now be in double figures.

Red Grouse - adult foreground with two juveniles

Red Grouse - both juveniles (I think)

I had a decent day again today, in addition to the grouse I saw the Osprey again flying from Chatsworth direction then heading south towards Darley Dale. Also a family part of 3 Whinchat by the Triangle and a single Wheatear on Lumb Lane.