Ruff and other migrants Middleton Moor

 I've been away for a month so had some catching up to do on the Spring migrant front. A party of 5 female Ruff ( reeves) turned up at Middleton on 9th April and a male joined them on 16th and I was pleased to see they were still present yesterday on my return.

Ruff - five females with the larger male at the back

It was a decent day with Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpiper and a good range of migrants including Ring Ouzel, several Redstart, Whitethroat and a dozen or more Willow Warbler. 

Also a White Wagtail which is the first I've seen at Middleton.

White Wagtail

No change this morning but a single Dunlin had joined the Ruff.

Red Knot - Middleton Moor

 Usually just referred to as Knot in the UK as it's the only Knot which regularly occurs here and the vast majority seen in Britain are in the grey none breeding plumage but this bird, which has been at Middleton Moor for a couple of days now, is in breeding plumage and you can see why it gets its name.

Knot

There are only a handful of records each year in Derbyshire so it's a rare visitor to the County. 

I also had a female Ring Ouzel there yesterday which is my first of the year and always great to see.

Ring Ouzel -female

First Ring Ouzel of the year - Beeley Moor

Distant views today of 2 of 3 Ring Ouzel ( a male and 2 females)  found by Robin Elliott in the same area we had them last year, in the fields bordering Harewood Moor (Cathole). They stayed in the area for several days last year, so hopefully they'll do the same.

Ring Ouzel - male

Willow Warbler numbers have increased in the last few days and I had 6 Wheatear on the moor on Saturday.

Turtle Dove back for its 6th year

 The lone male Turtle Dove which has frequented Uppertown, Darwin Forest and the Matlock Farm Park area returned for its 6th summer on the 20th April and has been seen several times since. If only it could attract a mate! An amazing record and one of very few to be found in Derbyshire.

Turtle Dove

I heard my first Cuckoo by Beeley Triangle on the 22nd April and there are several birds now, around the moors and Matlock Forest. On the same day there was a group of 6 Ring Ouzel (a record count for me) on the edge of the moor which increased to 6 birds before they departed.

Three Common Sandpiper were present along the river at Chatsworth this morning but more surprising was a Dunlin flushed from the river bank, only the second time I have seen one locally. It circled round a couple of times before flying off north, giving me just about enough time to get a record shot.

Common Sandpiper

Dunlin

The Oystercatchers are still present at Chatsworth and making use of the props for the forthcoming horse trials!

Oystercatcher

Whilst many of our summer migrants have returned there are still several missing and I would usually have seen Garden Warbler, Wood Warbler and Common Whitethroat by now but I suspect the persistent cool temperatures are holding them back south of us somewhere.

Ring Ouzel - Flash Lane

 After the persistent wind and rain of recent days it was a pleasure to go out this morning in dry and calm conditions. I was soon rewarded with a couple of Tree Pipits singing in Whitesprings with several Willow Warblers jn the background.

Walking up Flash Lane with Alan we had a nice party of 35 Fieldfare on the edge of Sitches plantation and returning to the same area half an hour later a Ring Ouzel was sat in a roadside tree. Judging by the amount of white on the chest it's probably a first summer male but could be an older female.

Ring Ouzel

On the moors a Red Kite drifted over, then another bird circling high over Harland Edge turned out to be a Short-eared Owl, my first this year. It gained height and was eventually lost to view.

To finish the morning a male Peregrine treated us to a close fly past.

Peregrine Falcon - male

There should be more migrants arriving in the next few days with the warmer weather forecast.

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

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

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.

Ring Ouzel at last

I was on Flash Lane this afternoon, looking for a Turtle Dove that Alan Stewardson had heard this morning. 

No sign of the dove but 2 female Ring Ouzel were ample compensation. I've struggled to see Ring Ouzel locally the last few years so I was very pleased to see these two birds and to manage a record photo.

Hopefully the Turtle Dove will be relocated.

Ring Ouzel - female

 

More migrant arrivals

Since my last post I have added Common Sandpiper at Chatsworth and a male Ring Ouzel on Flash Lane taking my April list for the Darley Dale area to 101 species which is a record for me. 

With still almost a week to go there is a good chance I can add one or two more species to the monthly total.

Common Sandpiper 

Ring Ouzel - male if you can find it, with thanks to Richard Lowe for pointing it out

Ring Ouzel in song - Beeley Moor

There is no more welcome sound to me than the plaintive song of the male Ring Ouzel on an early spring morning. Although it is a regular breeding bird to the north on the edges of Curber, Froggatt and Stanage it is most often seen around Beeley as a bird of spring and autumn passage but it does occasionally stay to breed.
This male was in full song this morning and hopefully he can attract a female.

Ring Ouzel - male 

I have played around with a sound file recorded on my phone and if all has gone well you should be able to hear it by clicking the arrowhead below. From a distance the plaintive three note whistle is all that can be heard but in between there are a range of other weaker notes.
Having worked out how to do it I've also added a sound file to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker post below.

Common Cranes over Beeley Moor!

After almost a week of cold and mist weather on the moors it felt a lot more Spring like this morning. After male Ring Ouzel and singing male Redstart we had already had a good morning when two Common Cranes came over the moor just before 10am and circled close to Whitesprings plantation gaining height before drifting off in the Farley/ Matlock direction. They were subsequently seen over Loscoe Dam.
With the increase in the Norfolk population and birds regularly around Thorne Moors in South Yorkshire it is surprising that there are still less than twenty records in Derbyshire.
A Tree Pipit singing on the edge of the plantation as we left was another first for the year.

Common Cranes

Red Kite and more Spring migrants

Given the breeding numbers of Red Kite both to the north and south of Derbyshire it is surprising that it is still a relatively scarce bird in the County or at least in the Peak District. Most of my sightings are distant specs over the Derwent Valley or Beeley Moor so it was a real treat this morning to get very close views of a bird hunting around Flash Dam. It did catch something as you can see in one of the photos and I suspect it was a frog.

Red Kite - second calendar year

I've aged it as a second calendar year as it has very little black streaking on the upper breast and pale tips to the greater coverts.
In the Flash Lane area I also had a Ring Ouzel and my first Willow Warblers of the Spring.
Also a decent night for moths with Tawny Pinion, Yellow Horned, and 4 Oak Beauty amongst a good crop of commoner species.

Ring Ouzel - Wragg's Quarry

Great to be back on the moors after another short trip abroad. 
Plenty of birds about, Fieldfare and Redwing have arrived in large numbers whilst I've been away and there must have been several thousand around the moors. Pride of place though goes to this male Ring Ouzel, happily feeding in Wragg's Quarry but with Peregrine, Goshawk and a fine pair of Stonechat there was plenty to look at.

Ring Ouzel - male

Stonechat - female

Fieldfare

Ring Ouzel - Beeley Moor

The weather forecast was for rain first thing this morning so I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to a blue sky, above the mist in the valley. 
Plenty of Meadow Pipits around indicated that a few birds had arrived overnight and this was confirmed when a male Ring Ouzel alighted with a customary 'chak' in a Mountain Ash. There was mist drifting up from the valley but it still made a reasonable photo. A couple of Stonechat and Wheatear added to the feeling that birds were on the move.

Ring Ouzel - male

More summer migrants

Added Tree Pipit and Blackcap to the local year list this morning plus 4 or 5 Wheatear around the moor and at least three Ring Ouzel early morning. A pair of Greylag Geese flying over the moor was an unusual record.
Caught up with Redstart this afternoon and Orange Underwing moth at Stanton.

Ring Ouzel - male

Ring Ouzel - male

One of the first birds I saw this morning was a fine male Ring Ouzel from the road to Holymoorside. I've just been watching them in numbers in the Alps but its nice to see them on the local patch. Also had my first local Swallow of the year.

Ring Ouzel - male

Ring Ouzel - Beeley Moor

Got off to a good start to the weekend with this superb male Ring Ouzel on the edge of the moor. It was feeding quite happily in a grass/bracken area and singing constantly which is a hopeful sign. At least 5 Wheatear in the same area and a Cuckoo calling.

Ring Ouzel - male

The Ring Ouzel story

The Ring Ouzel is a scarce passage migrant through the area in both Spring and Autumn. This year, in common with much of the UK, there were more sightings throughout the Spring. A male and female were seen regularly together through early May and the female was seen nest building, in the presence of the male on 26th May. 

Ring Ouzel - female

Both birds were seen feeding young on 13th June and thereafter were very visible in the nest area. The male made no attempt to defend the nest but the female was very vocal flying down to chase off any intruder. 


The young birds, four I think, left the nest on about 27th June and both the male and female could be seen taking them food in dense cover until the 30th but could not be located on 1st July but may have only moved a short distance.

A hide was used to take photographs of the birds gathering food, mainly worms whick looked to be plentiful.

Ring Ouzel - male

Female Ring Ouzel on nest

On the nest the female tended to sit facing out with her bill pointed vertically upwards, once the female was sitting on the nest the male disappeared leaving no signs of the birds continued presence in the area.

Ring Ouzel nest on almost vertical hillside under over hanging heather

Ring Ouzel - female

Still a small number of Ring Ouzels passing through, James came across this female on the edge of the moor.

Ring Ouzel - female