Whooper Swan - Middleton Moor

 My first Whooper Swan of the autumn dropped on to Middleton Moor this morning but didn't stay long before flying off to the west.

Whooper Swan

A flock of 21 Goosander were also present at dawn and presumably roosted but soon departed as did a noisy flock of 166 Greylag Geese.

Goosander

Little Egret - Chatsworth

July is a fairly quiet month as the breeding season comes to an end and some of our breeding migrants are already leaving the area, my last Curlew was on 4th July although there is still a chance of birds passing through and both Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler have left their breeding sites.

A Little Egret was a surprise this morning at Chatsworth, the first I've seen for about 6 weeks and interstinglly it looks like a fresh juvenile with its dark eye and green-yellow legs. Perhaps a bird from southern Derbyshire.

Little Egret - juvenile

Goosander look to have had a fairly typical year with family parties on the Derwent at Chatsworth and on the Wye at Bakewell.

Goosander - 3 juveniles standing with an adult female behind

Nightjar are still displaying on the moorland fringes and I have had some great views recently of birds flying very close to me and even landing on the path a few metres away.

Nightjar

Chatsworth - Oystercatchers

 I made a brief visit to Chatsworth last week but saw neither Oystercatchers or Common Sandpiper so I was pleasantly surprised to hear Oystercatchers calling as I walked along the river this morning. I was even more surprised to see 5 birds flying circling in the sky, a record count for me locally. As I put my camera up to take a photo I saw that they were mobbing a Red Kite. 

Oystercatchers mobbing Red Kite

I saw them again a little latter when two of the birds were displaying to each other. Impossible to know whether these are new birds or if two of them are the original pair, will have to wait and see if there is a breeding attempt.

A Common Sandpiper was also feeding along the river raising the possibility that it is one of a breeding pair.

Common Sandpiper

Although this is only my first week back after a three week absence I was hoping to see more evidence of Goosander breeding but a female seen today is the only bird I have seen, maybe they have had more success on the Wye?

Goosander breeding success

 A female Goosander with 5 downy young was a nice surprise on the River Wye at Rowsley this morning. I didn't see any young last year so hopefully this is a sign of a better breeding season.

Goosander - female with 5 chicks

On the moor I managed all three chats today, with at least 4 Wheatear and a lovely singing male Whinchat as well as several pairs of Stonechat, which are now feeding the young of their first brood.

Northern Wheatear

My first Swifts were on the 10th May over Darley Dale but they may have arrived earlier as I have been away for a week. 

Alan reported the first Nightjar yesterday which he heard in the plantations bordering the moor and there was an unusual report on the 9th of a Black Kite seen over Flash Lane.

New Year - highlights so far

I got off to a reasonable start on the 1st with the Little Egret still present at Harthill Pond, Youlgrave, where there were also 3 Goosander, and a Water Rail giving its squealing call by the River Wye just south of Bakewell. It was very windy on the moors and I struggled to find either Stonechat or Reed Bunting but a flock of 339 Lapwing on Screetham Lane was a record count and I had 18 Yellowhammer in the same area.

A group of 18 Herring Gulls at the stables on Longside Road above Holymoorside was another record count and included a first winter bird that looked like a Herring Gull x Caspian Gull hybrid with pale head and rather long bill, sloping forehead, barring on the scapulars and clean white base to the tail.

First winter Herring Gull left and presumed hybrid Herring x Caspian Gull (right)

I didn't do much yesterday but added some of the commoner birds like Bullfinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker plus another 2 drake Goosander close to Chatsworth which I saw again today.

Goosander - drakes

Today's highlight was a pair of Gadwall on Emperor Lake, I had a pair there last spring and wondered if they might be attempting to breed but never saw them after the spring but I'm guessing that this may be the same pair.

Gadwall - pair

There were at least 8 Teal and 4 Mandarin, the latter have now largely disappeared from the area now but will start to return to the rivers in the next couple of months.

I'm still missing a few common birds but have recorded 66 species on the first 3 days of the year, I made it to 80 in December so thats a reasonable target.

With ongoing travel issues associated with COVID and concern over the impact of travel on global warming there are more birdwatchers adopting local patches. This is the 8km (5 mile) radius from Darley Dale where I do most of my birdwatching.

But, I still do a few trips further afield, some of which I include on here and I made it to Carsington on the 31st December to see the Red-necked Grebe which is still there today.

Red-necked Grebe

Kingfisher and Goosander both scarce this summer

 I walked around Chatsworth yesterday and had decent views of both Kingfisher and Goosander both of which have been scarce this summer. The Goosander is a juvenile, so born this year, but is my first since the middle of May and I suspect they didn't breed on the local stretches of the Wye or Derwent this year.

Goosander - juvenile

Although I see the Kingfisher most months it's usually just a brief fly-by so it was nice to be able to watch this bird fishing in front of Chatsworth House.

Kingfisher - probably a juvenile with dark feet and dark breast band

The Oystercatcher are still about and a single Common Sandpiper was on the river but neither species has bred successfully here this year.

Seven Teal were on a pool by the upper lakes and hopefully these will remain now, they are almost certainly from the few breeding pairs that remain on East Moor/ Leash Fen.

Osprey at Chatsworth

 Definite autumn feeling as I set out this morning with a fresh NE wind blowing. I decided to have a look at Chatsworth before heading to the moor and was rewarded with an Osprey sat on a dead tree by the river with what looked like a small fish. There is a lot of water flowing down the river at the moment, consequently the water is very brown so the Osprey did well to catch something.

It wasn't happy to stay by the river with walkers passing but flew a short distance to the tree by the house to finish its meal.

Osprey

A party of 5 juvenile Goosander was a welcome sight and perhaps an indication that there has been some breeding success locally. The usual flock of Mandarin (32) feeding on the grass and a single Sand Martin still visiting a nest burrow which is very late but quite a few House Martin and Swallows were more expected.

Goosander - the white area between the eye and gape indicating that they are juveniles

Up on the moor a party of 8 Stonechat had a Winchat with them and my first group of 7 Snipe heading up on to the moor for the winter.

Whinchat

Goosander - Bakewell

I quite often see one or two Goosander on the river at Bakewell but ten this morning is a record count for me. Two males and a mix of adult females and first winter birds. 
One of the males had a strong pink tinge to the breast whilst the other was yellowish. 
As is usually the case on the river at Bakewell they are less wary than elsewhere.

Goosander - males

Goosander

Goosander, Mandarin and a record count of Hawfinch

Although the main roads are all clear of snow the minor roads are still snow covered so again I've not ventured far from Darley Dale. 
Simon Roddis and Alan Stewardson had an amazing count of 51 Hawfinch at St Helen's Church this morning which must be one of the largest flocks recorded in the County. Roy Frost & Steve Shaw's 'The Birds of Derbyshire' cites a winter roost in 1979/80 of up to 50 birds at Chatsworth which is the only reference to a similar number. At St Helen's this afternoon I could 'only' find a dozen birds and I wonder if they have started to roost at the church, dispersing to feed more widely during the day? 
Moving on to Peak Village I was rewarded with nice views of a pair each of Goosander and Mandarin.
Lots of thrushes about, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare, presumably moving west to avoid the cold weather.

Goosander - male

Mandarin - pair

Goosander, male - Bakewell

The presence of Goosander in the centre of Bakewell is very unpredictable, but when they are there it's a great chance to get closer to a bird that is normally very shy and unapproachable. 
What a difference it makes to see the male in sunshine!

Goosander - male

Goosander with young - Bakewell

Martin Derbyshire sent me this photo of a female Goosander with her off spring. He says it was taken the same date as he saw them last year which makes it around 17th May.
Bakewell is probably one of the best places to see Goosander as they tend to be tolerant of people walking past.

Goosander - female with young (©Martin Derbyshire)

Juvenile Shag Bakewell

Went in to Bakewell this morning looking for a male Goosander I had seen on Friday where they feed the Mallard and gulls. No sign of the Goosander, so I walked up river a bit and was very surprised to find this juvenile Shag on the narrow island by the A6 opposite Lumford Cottages.  Looks like it's starting to get some green adult scapulars. 
I think there are still three at Linacre Reservoir, which are the last of the original 8, which turned up there last November. The other 5 went to Carr Vale in December and there was still one there in January so it's possible that this bird is one of the original 8.
As I returned to the town centre the male Goosander was out in the feeding area.

Shag - juvenile

Goosander - male

Goosander - Bakewell

Another grey day but nice to see three Goosander still on the river at Bakewell. I assume these are siblings from a local breeding pair.

Goosander

Goosander with young - Bakewell

I mentioned that Martin Derbyshire had seen a female Goosander with a couple of youngsters on the river at Bakewell. This is his photo of them attempting to get up the weir which Martin says they gave up on after several attempts.

Goosander female with young (Martin Derbyshire)

Goosander display - Chatsworth

In between the heavier rain I managed a trip to Chatsworth this afternoon and came across 9 Goosander on the river, including three males. The males were doing the 'saluting' display, preening and then pointing their bills skywards. Unfortunately the light was poor but it was nice to see this party which is the largest group I have seen since the Spring.

Goosander

Goosander and ducklings - Bakewell

I received a call from Pam mid-afternoon, whilst she was shopping in Bakewell, to let me know that there was a female Goosander on the river with four downy youngsters. I got through the holiday traffic and eventually relocated the female taking the ducklings from the river by the playing fields upstream. 

Goosander - female with ducklings

Goosander - Peak Village

A pair of Goosander on the River Derwent at Peak Village this afternoon and plenty of Sand Martins now.

Goosander - male and female

Goosander - Bakewell

Although Goosander are very secretive and flighty during the breeding season they can be more confiding in the winter particularly if they associate with other wildfowl at a regular feeding spot like Bakewell. This juvenile was still very wary but allowed a reasonably close approach. The lower photo shows why the merganser family are also known as 'sawbills'.
Had my first party of Pink-footed Geese yesterday but they were hidden by the mist.

Goosander - juvenile

Goosander juveniles - Rowsley

Two juvenile Goosander on the river at Rowsley this morning. These are the only youngsters I have seen this year and my first Goosander sighting for a couple of months.

Goosander- juvenile

Goosander - Whitworth Park

For at least the past couple of days there have been two or three Goosander on the small pond in the Whitworth Park in Darley Dale. I assume they have taken to feeding on the small fish in the pond due to the high volume of water in the River Derwent and consequent lack of visibility in the water.
Although the Goosander is generally a rather shy bird they can be very confiding on occasion at regular feeding places such as by the bridge in Bakewell.
James took this photo at close to dusk.

Goosander - male