Brown Argus - Lathkill Dale

Good numbers of butterflies on the wing today in the hot sunshine. Another Painted Lady at Lathkill Dale but my main target was the Brown Argus and I noted over a dozen, it was quite breezy which made photography a little difficult. 
Historically treated as a race of Northern Brown Argus but now generally considered a Peak District form of the Brown Argus.

Brown Argus

Phoenix

The migrant moths which have been gracing moth traps from the south coast to the midlands are still eluding me, but the warm southerly winds over the next few days may do the trick. 
Still catching a reasonable variety of moths but nothing special, this Phoenix was the best of last nights catch, like a number of other geometers such as the Red-green Carpet the Phoenix tends to rest with the abdomen curled upwards.

Phoenix

Painted Lady - Bonsall Moor

A walk round Bonsall Moor early morning produced a good showing of orchids with Common Spotted the most obvious but Pyramidal, Fragrant and Bee Orchids were all in reasonable numbers. 
A singing Lesser Whitethroat proved typically elusive, and, like the Yellow Wagtail, is only seen occasionally on passage on the gritstone moors but is widespread if thinly distributed in the White Peak.
Plenty of butterflies on the wing; Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Common Blue and only my second Painted Lady of the year. Butterfly Conservation has predicted a major invasion of the Painted Lady this summer but this one looks like its been here a while.

Painted Lady

Peregrine

A grey day today, at least until late afternoon when the sky cleared. The nesting season is just about over for the majority of Peregrines with the young having fledged now although birds can still be found in the nesting areas.

Peregrine

Common Lizard - pregnant female

I can only assume from the size and shape of this lizard that it's a pregnant female. It certainly looks to be in good condition and has what must be one of the longest tails I have see.

Common Lizard - pregnant female

Monkshood - Cupola Ponds

The Monkshood has been in the press this week following the tragic death of a gardener who had been in contact with the plant. Although the plant is known to be poisonous this appears to be an extreme reaction.

It's described as a rare established perennial in The Flora of Derbyshire, I came across this plant on the edge of the Cupola Ponds near the Red Lion at Stonedge. It is widely cultivated in gardens and there are various hybrids recognised so it's impossible to know if this is a truly wild example but its a very striking flower.

Monkshood

Monkshood distribution from the Derby City Council flora website

Greater Butterfly Orchid - Abney

I've been browsing my copy of the new Flora of Derbyshire by Alan Wilmot and Nick Moyes. 
When I ordered the pre-publication copy at £25 I though it would be just an updated version of The Flora of Derbyshire edited by A.R. Clapham and was very pleasantly surprised to receive a book of a similar size to the Birds of Derbyshire with distribution maps for the majority of species as well as many colour photos.
If your interested in the flora of the County then this book is a must but even if you have a more casual interest it's a nice book for the coffee table.
I added a new orchid to my Derbyshire list today; the Greater Butterfly Orchid which has a restricted distribution in the County and is a rather tall and impressive member of the family.

Greater Butterfly Orchid

Cistus Forester - Longstone Edge

Very windy on Longstone Edge this afternoon but managed to locate the Cistus Forester, this is a small day flying moth with a body length of about 10mm so it takes a bit of locating. With the sun out the metallic green wings are striking.
The Cistus Forester has a conservation category of Nationally Scarce B, which indicates that it has been recorded from only 31 to 100 10km squares in Great Britain since January 1980.

Cistus Forester

Orchids - Wragg's Quarry

Heath Spotted and Northern Marsh Orchids amongst the Birdsfoot Trefoil in Wragg's Quarry. It looks to me like the number of Heath Spotted are increasing and the Northern Marsh decreasing. There are also Common Spotted near the pond and one or two Common Twayblade so an impressive showing.

Orchids in Wragg's Quarry

Osprey - Rowsley

Ken located an Osprey sat in a tree north of Rowsley late afternoon. It was raining quite hard at the time so it looked unlikely to fly off immediately but as I arrived it dropped in to the river and caught a small trout. It then flew off in the direction of Haddon Hall, presumably looking for a tree in which to eat the fish.
Not sure whether this record constitutes the last of the Spring or the first of the Autumn? Looking at the plumage it certainly looks like an adult with quite a lot of damage to the flight feathers and tail. This bird is likely to be slowly heading South but could stay in the area for a while, fingers crossed.

Osprey

Red-necked Footman - Flash Lane

Ken came across this Red-necked Footman today on Flash Lane. This is another scarce moth which appears to be moving in to the area. Like the Orange Footman it feeds on lichen growing on oaks Beech and Larch so these two species have similar habitat requirements.

Red-necked Footman (c. Ken Smith)

Common Sandpiper youngster - River Derwent

An endearing family of 4 downy young Common Sandpiper with both adults in attendance on the River Derwent this morning between Rowsley and Chatsworth. Even at this age they bob up and down just like their parents which is quite comical.
These are the young of the colour-ringed bird which I have photographed previously.

Common Sandpiper - chick

Quail - Elton Common

Simon sent me a message yesterday to say that he had had two, possibly three Quail calling at Elton Moor late yesterday evening. I spent this evening in the area and heard one bird calling intermittently shortly after 9pm, doing the distinctive three note 'wet-my-lips' call. I was taken completely by surprise when it flew across the field in front of me and only managed a rather blurred photo as it was landing.
I have only previously seen one Quail in flight before in the UK and that was about ten years ago when one circled my moth trap in Darley Dale calling late one summer evening! 
The Quail is scarce in Derbyshire and numbers recorded, usually just of calling birds vary but the Elton Common/ Pike Hall area appears to be one of the more reliable areas for them.
Although the photo is poor I've posted it as I'm unlikely to get another!

Quail landing in wheat field

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

Orange Footman - Darley Dale

This Orange Footman was a nice addition to the garden list last night, first recorded in the local area in June 2013 by Simon and only added to the Derbyshire moth list as recently as 2004 so this is a moth which appears to be gradually spreading north.

A flock of 10 Crossbill flew over Flash Lane this morning but little else of note.

Orange Footman