Common Crane - Middleton Moor

 An exciting day at Middleton with good numbers of common migrants but the star bird was a Common Crane which we believe is just the third record for the site.

It usual for the gulls to spook periodically often for no apparent reason but I always check the sky incase a raptor has scared them. This happened yesterday and I looked up to see a Coomon Crane no more than 100m above me. It did a nice fly past then started to circle, quickly gaining height until it was just visible with the naked eye then drifted off south. A fantastic sight and as breeding numbers continue to increase in Norfolk and Linconlshire, reported as 87 pairs last year, it may become a commoner site.

Common Crane

Other birds seen included both Yellow and White Wagtail (the Continental counterpart of our Pied) and Garden Warbler as well as Wheatears and Common Redstart that have been around for several days.

White and Yellow Wagtails

Finally I found a 1st winter Caspian Gull amongst the gulls which still number about 60 Lesser Black-backed and up to 100 Common.

Caspian Gull - first winter

Yellow Wagtail - Elton Common

 A single report of a flyover Yellow Wagtail over Beeley Moor on 3rd May was the first of the Spring but I had three, a male and two females, at Elton Common this morning.

Yellow Wagtail - female

Although passage birds may be encountered almost anywhere locally this is still the only site that I know where breeding is attempted.

A kettle of 9 Common Buzzards over the fields was a notable count.

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

First Yellow Wagtail and Whinchat and a stray Black Swan at Chatsworth

 Made an early visit to Chatworth to avoid the inevitable crowds on a Bank Holiday weekend. A Black Swan on the river in front of the house was a complete surprise. 

A native of Australia they are widely held in wildfowl collections and have established a small breeding population in the UK, mainly in the warmer south. In the most recent figures I could find the population was estimated at around 50 birds with a small number of pairs actually breeding. There have been several sightings at Carsington over the winter and there are perhaps several feral birds in Derbyshire.

Black Swan

A Yellow Wagtail, a scarce bird locally, was feeding along the edge of the river and at least one pair of Common Sandpiper.

Yellow Wagtail

Up on the moor the lone Whimbrel has been joined by a second bird and I had distant views of my first Whinchat of the year.

Whinchat, almost lost in the haze

I finished April with 106 species which is my highest monthly total for the Darley Dale area. Starting again today but may not try quite so hard!

Lockdown day 28 - Yellow Wagtail patch gold

Not quite gold but certainly bright yellow the Yellow Wagtail is a scarce visitor to the areas around Darley Dale so I was very pleased to find a superb bright yellow male on Beeley Moor this morning. Although odd pairs breed on the limestone plateau of the White Peak I am lucky to see one or two ay year around where I birdwatch. Doubtless it is just passing through on its way to breeding grounds elsewhere but it certainly brightened my day. 
Still stuck on a lockdown garden list of 63 the wagtails takes me to 91 species for my local patch and with several more weeks of lockdown getting to 100 is a possibility!

Yellow Wagtail 

Yellow Wagtail juvenile - Carr Vale

I went back to have a look at the Sabine's Gull in this morning's sunshine, it showed well again as did a family of four juvenile Yellow Wagtails. I don't see many around Darley Dale, just the occasional flyover so it was nice to see this party.
Most of the youngsters lacked any yellow so looked surprisingly pipit like and I can see why they can be mistaken for Tawny Pipit at this age. 

Yellow Wagtail - juvenile

Yellow Wagtail - Elton Common

At least two but possibly more Yellow Wagtails at Elton Common this evening. The Yellow Wagtail is quite a rarity in the Darley Dale area, typically I will only record one or two a year and then as birds flying over calling so this is its first appearance on the blog.
I think they are slightly more frequent in the limestone dales than around the gritstone moors. Nice to be able to see these birds on the ground.

Yellow Wagtail - male