Red Grouse on the Triangle and Golden Plover arrival

 A had a single Red Grouse on the Triangle yesterday and then saw two flying near Wraggs Quarry and I thni three birds is now the total for Beeley Moor with perhaps a couple of pairs on East Moor. I think the bird in the photograph below is a juvenile with its rather dark plumage and lack of pale edges to the flanks. So the positive news is that they are still breeding, but raising a single yougster is unlikely to sustain the population. I have seen them crossing Harland Edge so there is some interchange with the East Moor birds.

A recent taxanomic decision by the International Ornithological Congress has elevated the Red Grouse back to full species status Lagopus scotica from its previous position as a race of Willow Grouse, Lagopus lagopus. With the likely future treatment of Scottish Crossbill as a race of Common Crossbill it will be the Uk's only endemic species.

Red Grouse

A nice flock of 22 Golden Plover with a Lapwing flock on Syda Lane are my first of the autumn.

Golden Plover

In the hope of seeing a few more wildfowl and waders I've made several visits to Middleton Moor recently and this morning I was rewarded with two Great White Egrets dropping in. They preened for about an hour then continued west. Seemingly only the second time the species has been recorded at Middleton Moor.

Great White Egret