Chatsworth in the snow

 With the snow and freezing temperatures over the last couple of days I didn't think it was a good idea to drive up on to the moor so I went to Chatsworth instead. I was hoping that with the freezing weather some waterfowl might have been forced on to the river but the only unexpected birds were two drake Tufted Duck but they were accompanied by the hybrid Tufted/ Pochard which is the first time I've seen it this winter. I first saw it in February 2014 so it's been wintering in the area for quite some time.

Tufted/ Pochard hybrid with two drake Tufted Duck

There were lots of Siskin feeding in the Alders along the river and they looked very festive in the snow laden trees.

Siskin

Evidence of birds being forced of the higher moors came in the form of two Common Snipe flushed from the river edge and a lone female Stonechat, both species are very scarce along the river.

Common Snipe

There were plenty of Redwing around and one or two Brambling but the scenery made up for any disappointment on the bird front.

River Derwent at Chatsworth

First Pink-footed Geese of the autumn over Beeley Moor

 I was pleased to see a small skein of 40 Pink-footed Geese crossing Beeley Moor this morning, I had thought they might have missed us this autumn with a large movement of birds down the east coast last weekend with 12,000 passing Spurn on Friday the 21st. Hopefully there are still more to come, and we may catch birds returning to the Lancashire coast before the end of the year if there are issues with the sugar beet crop in Norfolk like last year.

A female or immature Merlin give superb views through the telescope as it sat on one of the old stone shooting butts and if I'd known it was going to fly directly towards me I could have had a nice photo but by the time I'd got the camera it was flying away. There are hundreds of Meadow Pipits migrating over the moor at the moment so there's no shortage of food for it.

Merlin female/immature flying away

The old shooting butts also attracted a migrant Northern Wheatear, only the second I've seen this month.

Northern Wheatear

There have also been several Jay crossing the moor, with a group of 5 yesterday and several small parties of Common Snipe.

With the colder weather now it definitely feeling like autumn now.

Leucistic Common Snipe - Carsington Water

A leucistic Common Snipe  has been present at Carsington Water for over a week. I haven't managed to see it yet but Roger sent me these photos taken in the last couple of days. It has generally been seen in front of the visitor centre in company with anything from 7 to 30 Common Snipe.
Whilst Common Snipe are normally very well camouflaged it shows that they don't have to rely entirely on that to avoid predators.

Common Snipe exhibiting leucism (©Roger Carrington)

Common Snipe drumming

The sound of the Snipe's drumming display flight is a common feature of early morning walks on the moors but they can be surprisingly difficult to see as the aerial display is usually high in the sky. 
The drumming sound is created by fanning the outer tail feathers during a rapid dive and is the sound of the wind passing these feathers. In normal flight the feathers are retracted and the vibrating sound stops.

Snipe in drumming display

A wisp of Snipe

Ken had an interesting movement of Snipe on Friday totalling 27 birds during an hour flying up to Beeley Triangle from the Cathole (Holymoorside). This party of 10 was the largest group. 
Robin Elliot also saw a single Jack Snipe at Ramsley Reservoir with a couple of Common Snipe which have been widely reported in the country as immigrants from the continent so check any flyovers.
Ken also had Fieldfare today which is the first I have heard of locally and numbers of Stonechat have increased, I had a party of at least 7 on Bent Lane today and there were singles and pairs reported elsewhere on the moor.

A 'wisp' of Snipe (Ken Smith)

Snipe on a wall

Ken took this picture today and 'Snipe on a wall' is his caption which covers it nicely. Snipe will have young now and they use higher vantage points from which they will call to remain in contact with the youngsters but it also gives them a good vantage point to see approaching danger.
Great portrait!

Common Snipe (Ken Smith)

Snipe - Beeley Moor

Very misty this morning when I finally saw the Snipe on one of its occasional posts.

Common Snipe