Middleton Moor Update

 Considering we are moving towards mid-summer, and the high temperatures have not been conducive to spending a lot of time out doors, I've had a pretty good run this week.

I started the week with a superb Black-tailed Godwit on the 4th and then had several sightings of both adult and juvenile Water Rail, which confirmed that they had bred there.

Black-tailed Godwit

Water Rail - juvenile

On the  8th I saw two juvenile Little Egrets which, perhaps surprisingly, were the first records for the year but only stayed a day.

Little Egret

Yesterday I was surprised to first hear, then see an adult Wood Sandpiper and a little later a Greenshank put in an appearance.

Wood Sandpiper

So I'm hoping the second half of July is just a productive, and hopefully a little cooler!

Hawfinch - St Helen's Church, Darley Dale

 Despite several searches in the early part of the winter it wasn't until 1st January that a single Hawfinch was seen briefly by Alan at St Helen's. 

I made several visits to the churchyard in the first week of January but didn't manage to see the hawfinch until yesterday when it perched up for a few seconds in a Sycamore before it dropped out of view in to the Darley Yew.

Today Simon saw three birds together so things are looking up. They have been scarce in the County so far this winter with up to 3 birds seen at Cromford but most reports have been of just a single bird.

Hawfinch

Generally its been a fairly quiet start to the year but I've seen Little Egrets at Chatsworth and Bakewell with one by the river at Ashford today. I also saw the Cetti's Warbler at Middleton Moor today but the lagoon is almost completely frozen at the moment.

Mediterranean Gull - Bakewell

 A surprise this morning to find a first winter Mediterranean Gull with the Black-headed Gulls at Bakewell Bridge. I check the gulls every time I go in the hope of finding one but it's something of a shock when you actually do! 

I'm not aware of any previous records in Bakewell but with the number of Black-headed Gulls there it seems likely that they must occur occasionally.

Mediterranean Gull - first winter with Black-headed Gulls

Two Little Egrets by the Fire Station is also unusual although a single bird has been in the area for a month or so.

Little Egret

Twelve Hawfinch at St Helen's Church yesterday is my highest count of the winter with 8 seen there this morning. They like to site in the Alders at the back of the church having eaten some of the Yew berries.

Shoveler at Chatsworth

 Having been abroad for almost a month it was good to get back to the moors yesterday and Chatsworth today. With another inversion, the day started misty at Chatsworth but I hadn't walked far before I heard the sound of Pink-footed Geese overhead, my first of the autumn and always great to hear. Unfortunately I couldn't see them due to the mist but I did see another skein later.

I was surprised and pleased to see a Little Egret still present by the river below the House but the bird of the day was a female Shoveler which flew up with a small group of Teal when a Grey Heron disturbed them from the pool they had been feeding on. 

My last record locally was at Chatsworth in November 2015 and it's only about my sixth for the Patch so a scarce visitor here.

Northern Shoveler female (top right) with Eurasian Teal

Little Egret

Pink-footed Geese

Common Greenshank - Chatsworth

 A nice surprise this morning when a Common Greenshank flew south down the river in front of Chatsworth House. Typically it was the distinctive call that got me on to it, and if it hadn't called I would probably have missed it. There was a bird at Middleton Moor yesterday so it could have been that bird continuing south.

It's only my fourth record for the area with one on Flash Lane on 7 August last year, 2 over Beeley Moor on 23rd May 2023 and another at Chatsworth on 10th August 2020.

Common Greenshank

Still two Little Egret at Chatsworth although one flew off heading south.

Hen Harrier - Beeley Moor

 A late afternoon visit to Beeley Moor proved better than expected when an adult female Hen Harrier flew across the moor from Fallinge to Harland Edge. It was very distant but managed a record shot.

Hen Harrier - adult female

Earlier in the day I'd walked along the river at Chatsworth where the highlight was two Little Egrets feeding just below the house. My first locally since February.

Little Egret

A Norwegian ringed Black-headed Gull at Chatsworth

I'm always on the lookout for colour ringed birds and came across this adult Black-headed Gull today in front of Chatsworth House. It was ringed as an adult last summer in Kristiansand, Norway 800km away.

Surprisingly I saw another Little Egret flying down river at Chatsworth.

Black-headed Gull

Little Egrets - Youlgrave

 I was very surprised to see two Little Egrets together on Harthill Pond, particularly since the pond was almost completely frozen. Checking in my notes it was last August when I last saw one locally, at Chatsworth, and it was last April when I saw one at Youlgrave. My thoughts that they might become established locally have certain not been realised yet.

Little Egrets

The juvenile Pink-footed Goose was still with the Greylags and there was a nice group of 15 Teal displaying on the small area of open water.

Pink-footed Goose with Greylags

I walked up the Monsal Trail from Bakewell yesterday and came across a nice party of Waxwing at the edge of the town, by the A619 road bridge. There were still Waxwings at Hassop Station with plenty of admirers taking photos. There were also several Fieldfare and Redwing taking advantage of the apples that have been left for them. Surprisingly there still looks to be plenty of berries on the Hawthorns south of the station.

Fieldfare

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

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

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.

Little Egret back at Youlgrave

 I came across a Little Egret at Harthill Pond yesterday, could be the same bird that spent most of last winter there. It was sat motionless for the 20 minutes I was there then suddenly flew up in the air and flew off in a southerly direction, gaining height. Perhaps heading for Carsington, it will be interesting to see if it returns.

Little Egret

I've not seen too much else of note recently but regular sightings of Kingfisher at Chatsworth are probably the birds that fledged at Rowsley also single Goosander at Chatsworth and three at Rowsley. 15 Teal at Chatsworth is the highest count I've had for some time and presumably includes some of this years youngsters.

Several Common Crossbill today with birds calling on Flash Lane and at Whitesprings Plantation.

Yellow Wagtail - Elton Common

 My first 'patch' Yellow Wagtail of the year this morning with a male singing at Elton Common. A scarce passage migrant migrant on Beeley and the Eastern Moors the Yellow Wagtail is a rare breeding bird in the White Peak. It's difficult to know how rare as I only tend to visit a small part and I would be interested to hear of any other records locally.

Yellow Wagtail - male

Another unexpected sighting today was of a Little Egret on the River Wye at Rowsley. It was disturbed briefly by grass cutting for Haddon's fishing access but soon settled again. The driver of the grass cutter was as surprised to see it as I was when I spoke to him later. It could be the bird that wintered at Youlgrave and it will be interesting to see if it lingers.

Little Egret

Yesterday I was fortunate to see a young (second calendar year) Goshawk displaying. Although females do sometimes breed in the second calendar year I can only assume that this bird is unpaired. 

The slight gap between the secondary and primary feathers is due to the loss of a juvenile primary feather as she starts the moult in to a more adult like plumage which will be completed by the autumn.

Northern Goshawk - female 2cy

Another Little Egret

 Having said last week that Little Egrets have remained scarce locally I've seen two in two days this week. The first bird was still at Youlgrave yesterday, it flew over the village and landed in the cattle field by the road leading to Harthill Pond. 

Today I saw a bird in Matlock flying from Lumsdale heading towards the ponds at Tansley. I guess it could be just one bird but it seems unlikely.

A Barn Owl hunting by the river below Beeley village was an unusual sighting this morning.

I had a look for the Great Grey Shrike at Bonsall Moor last Friday without success but it was still there on Thursday (9th Dec) so is probably still in the area.

Little Egret

Little Egret - Youlgrave

 Despite the dramatic increase in the number of Little Egrets recorded in the County it remains a scarce visitor to the Darley Dale area. So it was a pleasant surprise to find a bird this morning feeding in the field next to Harthill Pond in Youlgrave.

It was flushed by the cattle in the field and briefly fed on the river by the bridge before being disturbed by walkers and returning to the pond.

They are more or less resident during the summer at Carsington and Ogston and the first breeding was recorded at Drakelow in 2018 so we are likely to see more of them in the future.

Little Egret

Carsington Water - all day birdwatch

I took part in Carsington Bird Club's all day birdwatch today. The idea being to watch the site all day, from before first light until darkness. I was there from about 07:30 to around 14:00, the weather could have been a bit more helpful as it was heavily overcast most of the day with some heavy rain showers but the keener members of the team were there throughout!

This was a repeat of an event last September when they recorded 81 species, todays final total was 92 so a great achievement by all involved. Highlights for me were Common Scoter, Marsh Harrier, Little Egret and my first Pink-footed Goose of the autumn but the supporting cast of Northern Wheatear, several Common Swift, Red-crested Pochard and Ringed Plover. In addition I missed Great Egret, Common Sandpiper as well as quite a few woodland species but had a thoroughly enjoyable time. 

Marsh Harrier - juvenile

Pink-footed Goose

Little Egret

Juveniles on the wing

I've mentioned previously that Green Woodpecker is a scarce bird in the area so I was pleased yesterday to see a juvenile on 70 Acre Plantation I also had a very smart juvenile Wheatear in the same area which is the first of the birds that pass through during the late summer and autumn. Although the Wheatear breeds as close as Harrington they are a very scarce breeder around Beeley.

Green Woodpecker - juvenile

Wheatear - 1st winter

On Friday I had the very unusual sighting of a Little Egret flying across Harewood Moor. Perhaps heading towards Carsington where there are at least 6 at the moment. Amazing how the numbers of Little Egret have increased in the UK in the last few years. 
Poor photo but an interesting record.

Little Egret

Little Egret still on River Lathkill

Very overcast this morning with a thick mist on the tops so activity restricted to the valleys, Ken called to say he had seen the Little Egret near Bowers Hall on the Alport road but it was distant. It has presumably been in the area since Simon's first sighting on 10th January.

Little Egret

Little Egret - River Lathkill at Alport

Simon Roddis sent me a message late yesterday afternoon to say he had seen a Little Egret on the river near the entrance to Alport village. It was too late to have a look last night so made that my starting point this morning.
Fortunately it was still along the river between Bowers Hall and Alport but was quite flighty.
Although the number of records continues to increase in Derbyshire, as the egret continues its northward expansion, it is still a rarity in the Peak District. My last record was in December 2012 although Ken had distant views of 6 birds that were almost certainly Little Egrets in the valley last August.

Little Egret

Little Egret an unexpected record

Ken observed six egrets flying down the valley from Hackney and watched them fly up the hillside over Masson yesterday morning. He managed to get a photos from about a mile distance, which I've included for interest. I think there is little doubt that the birds were Little Egrets.
Numbers of Little Egrets have increased dramatically in the UK since the turn of the century and can now numbers in hundreds on the South coast. There has been a corresponding increase in Derbyshire with August the peak month. Given the direction they were heading in they may turn up at Carsington Water.
Quiet on the moor this morning, the Black Redstart is still around, the Osprey was last seen on Tuesday.

Egrets over Masson