Golden Plover returning to the moors

 A flock of 6 Golden Plover on fields at the edge of the moor this morning are the first I've seen since the snow moved of the birds that hung around up to Christmas. A very scarce breeding bird on Beeley and East Moor these birds will be eventually heading north, perhaps to the Dark Peak although we often have been around well in to April which suggests that they are heading much further north.

Golden Plover

Merlin - Beeley Moor

Nice views of a male Merlin this morning. Any day that you see a Merlin is a good day in my book and, sadly, the sightings have become less frequent during the last decade. When I first moved to Darley Dale in 1998 they regularly bred on both Beeley and East Moor but they gradually became less frequent with the last pair in 2007. 

I postulated about the possible impact of climate change on Merlin when writing about the decline of the Red Grouse and as with the grouse it's difficult to come up with an explanation. Numbers have recovered in the past from declines in the early twentieth century and in the 1970's, following the adverse effects of organo-chloride pesticides, so perhaps we will see them back as a breeding bird one day.

Merlin - male

First returning Curlew!

Spring could be just around the corner with the first returning Curlew on the moor this morning and what I assume was the same bird later this afternoon close to Gladwin's Mark. I also had my first Brambling of the year on Flash Lane, in what is the worst year I can recall for them. 

I saw a single Red Grouse on Beeley Moor on Thursday and Little Egret close to Bakewell Bridge so I have had a decent month, having seen 85 species so far compared to just 76 in January.

For anyone interested in shorebirds I've managed to put an identification video I produced back in 1994 on Youtube. 

Eurasian Curlew

Woodlark breeding in Matlock Forest

2017

In June 2017 I received  a message from Ken Smith to say he had had a Woodlark singing in Matlock Forest. We had often talked about the possibility of Woodlarks occurring as the habitat is similar to that where they can be found in Sherwood and Budby in neighbouring Nottinghamshire.

Unfortunately I was unable to follow-up on Ken's record as I was travelling in northern Finland and Norway. I didn't return until early July and it seemed unlikely that I would see the bird although Ken had occasional sightings in the intervening period.

Back at home I made regular visits to the area of Ken's sighting without success until 28th July when I had several sightings of a lone bird which, gave its distinctive melodic call occasionally. I saw the bird again before the end of the month. On 1st August Alan Stewardson rang me to say he had several sightings of two birds and had seen one of them carrying food. On the 5th August I saw both adults, accompanied by a recently fledged juvenile. They had nested successfully and raised one youngster!

One of the adults (top) with the first juvenile in 2017

There were several more sightings but the birds quickly disappeared. Would they return in 2018?

Woodlark are generally early migrants, returning to their breeding grounds by March, sometimes earlier so expectations were high the following Spring. 

2018

In 2018 March turned to April then May with no sight or sound of Woodlark. I was away from early June until mid-July but received news of Woodlark sightings in late June. When I returned I saw three birds on 21st July but wasn't sure whether it was an adult and 2 juveniles or 2 adults with a single juvenile but the matter was resolved on 26th July when I saw 4 birds, the breeding pair with 2 juveniles. 

A moulting adult Woodlark with one of the juveniles in 2018

Success again, but why such a late arrival. The only theory we could come up with was that the adults had bred somewhere else first and moved to Matlock Forest to raise a second brood. Again the adults and juveniles were only present for a few weeks before departing from the area.

2019

Again in 2019 we had high hopes of returning birds in the Spring but again nothing in March or April until Alan found a singing bird on 21st May, I was leaving on a birding holiday later that day but managed to see the singing male in the morning before I left. During my absence the male was seen and heard several times and was still present when I returned on 26th June although I didn't manage to see it and there was no evidence of breeding that year.

2020

A singing male was found in a new location in Matlock Forest on 30th May and I saw and heard it the following day and again on the 2nd, 7th and 9th June but there were no subsequent records in 2020 although I covered the whole area thoroughly and with no trips abroad to interrupt due to the Covid-19 outbreak and various lockdowns.

A lone male was recorded in 2020

Status in Derbyshire

According to 'The Birds of Derbyshire' the Woodlark bred in the County until the late 1800's. Details are provided of a nest in 1910 and since then of just 24 records up to 2011. The last record was a bird flying over Beeley Moor on 5th November 2011 which I missed, although I was close by when it flew over.

Since 2011 a pair has nested intermittently in NE Derbyshire with the only other breeding records those noted above in Matlock Forest.

According to the latest report (2018) of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) there were 22 singing males in Nottinghamshire and 2 in Derbyshire out of a total of 833 singing males for the whole of the UK. The UK population estimates have fluctuated somewhat in 2012 the Woodlark was removed from consideration of the RBBP when the population was estimated at 951 breeding pairs but reinstated in 2016 following indications that the population may be declining.

With just a single pair in the Matlock Forest area it seems unlikely that a viable population will be established especially when it appears the male was unable to attract a female in 2019 and 2020. However, there is plenty of suitable habitat at the moment and I'm hoping for more records in 2021.

Marsh and Willow Tit double

In a repeat of my post for 1st December, today I saw both Marsh and Willow Tits again on the same day. The Willow Tit was again on Flash Lane and is the first time I have seen it since the 10th December last year. There is still around 6cm of snow in the Flash Lane area and, with wind chill, it must have been around -5 °C so it was a surprise to see it.

The Marsh Tit was again in Alport and could be the same bird I last saw on 1st December. 

Both species are extremely scarce locally.

Marsh Tit 

Swans & Geese

An unexpected movement of Whoopers Swans and Pink-footed Geese of the last couple of days. This morning 38 Whooper Swans flew NW up the valley over Darley Dale followed by at least six skeins of Pink-footed Geese totalling 430 birds with an additional 100 yesterday. Not sure why they would choose to go north now, usually they are moving south in cold weather.

Whooper Swans

Pink-footed Geese

More snow and return of the hybrid Tufted Duck

 A bit more snow fell overnight but the forecast is for more in the next 24 hrs. There was very little in the valley bottom but 2 or 3cm was present higher up. It's always nice to see birds with a snowy background and a took a few photos of some of our commoner birds.

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

The hybrid drake Tufted x Pochard has returned to Bakewell, I first saw this bird on 2 February 2014 so it's at least 11 years old. Recently I think it has been at Ogston Reservoir but it's nice to see it back in Bakewell. It sometimes gets reported as a drake Scaup but which would be very rare locally.

Tufted x Pochard hybrid

There are still groups of gulls, mainly Black-headed with a few Common on the flooded fields but an adult Herring Gull put in an appearance yesterday in the fields between Darley Dale and Darley Bridge. 

Generally the Herring Gull is a rare winter visitor to the area, often just seen flying over the valley.

Herring Gull

First Red Kite of the year and a stray Pink-footed Goose

Had a decent day today with a small passage of Skylark over the moor and both Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gulls plus roosting Barn Owl and Little Owl. Followed by my first Red Kite of the year over Alport. 

It was actually September 2020 when I last saw one locally and it looks like they are absent in the Darley Dale area during the winter (late September to February).

At Youlgrave I counted 107 Greylag Geese, and with them a lone Pink-footed Goose, also had 3 drake Goosander and a Water Rail there.

Red Kite

Pink- footed Goose (juvenile) with Greylags

Floods followed by blue skies

 After two days of almost continual rain the flooding around Darley Dale was as bad as I can recall in the past two decades with the roads closed at Fourlane Ends, A6 at Rowsley and in the centre of Matlock.

Flooding between Darley Dale and Darley Bridge at Fourlane Ends

Fortunately with dryer weather following and clear blue skies today the river level has fallen quickly. I took a walk up on to the edge of the moors and was rewarded with great views of both Common Raven and Northern Goshawk.

Northern Goshawk - male

Common Raven

I was sad to hear that the juvenile Whooper Swan in Bakewell had died a couple of days ago, at was odd for a young bird to be separated from its parents at this time of year.

Whooper Swan still in Bakewell

I'm pleased to report that the Whooper Swan is still in Bakewell, just north of Bakewell Bridge and looking healthy. It looks to be settling in with the Canada Geese and I suspect it could remain for some time.

Whooper Swan - juvenile

Whooper Swan - Bakewell

I was very surprised to see this juvenile Whooper Swan on the River Wye just north of Bakewell Bridge this afternoon. It's odd to see a lone juvenile not accompanying adults and, although it looked healthy enough, it's possible that it is sick which raises the possibility of Avian Influenza (bird flu). 

Whooper Swan juvenile

The whole of England is currently in an Avian Influenza Protection Zone and there have been several records of Avian Influenza in both wild and captive birds over the winter. I'll have a look for it again tomorrow and if necessary notify DEFRA. 

There was an inversion this morning with clear blue skies above about 200m and thick mist below. 

It had clearly been a cold night and cold this morning as I cycled up to the moor, mist or rain had frozen to the tops of the trees creating a spectacular jewelled effect, with the trees twinkling in the sunshine.

Inversion in Darley Dale

ice on tree tops

Sleeping Barn Owl

It's always exciting to start the New Year bird list. No surprises today but a sleeping Barn Owl and a skein of Pink-footed Geese flying NW up the valley got me off to a good start.

Barn Owl - roosting

 

2020: A year in review

As I posted my first post of 2020, on 14th January who could have predicted what lay ahead? By then I had heard of the Covid-19 infections in Wuhan but that seemed an awful long way away and I didn't envisage it impacting significantly on the UK. 

I even managed short trips to Rumania and the French Alps in January and February before things started to get serious. It was 18th March I think, when the Lockdown was first announced, coming in to effect on the 24th. 

The Lockdown lasted 50 days, until 13th May, by which time I had recorded 105 species in the Darley Dale area and 66 species from my garden. It wasn't all bad news though as spending more time birding locally I added several new birds to the Darley Dale area with Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Great White Egret, Firecrest and more recently Grey Phalarope in Bakewell bringing my total number of species in the area to 159 of which 130 were seen in 2020. 

A Green Woodpecker calling on the first day of Lockdown from the Whitworth Park was new for the garden and my only record of the year.

Highlights for me were the return of a Turtle Dove and Woodlark (I'll write up the successful breeding of Woodlark in prior years in the New Year) although neither could be proved to have bred. 

The Bearded Vulture, passed close to Darley Dale as it headed north in June, passing Hassop, before settling at Howden Moor. It moved on to Crowden, Glossop in early August before returning south on 19th September when it appeared to roost in Lathkill Dale. It finally crossed the Channel in East Sussex on 15th October.

Red Kites bred locally again and look set to be a regular feature of the summer. Other breeding birds of prey appeared to do OK but I only saw a single Long-eared Owl and Merlin were in very short supply with just two sightings but there has been an encouraging number of sightings of Hen Harrier through the autumn.

The Great Grey Shrike found in November was the first for 4 years and kept me occupied in trying to determine it racial identity.

Plenty of Pink-footed Geese crossed the moor from October onwards, continuing through in to December.

The mild prolonged summer proved excellent for breeding birds and Stonechat did particularly well on the moor with some pairs successfully raising 3 broods. Whilst in the woodland Wood Warblers had the best year I can recall with up to 14 singing males in the Darley Dale valley. I found, and managed to photograph my first juvenile Common Crossbills and it was pleasing to prove that they had bred successfully.

Yellowhammer also look to be doing well with singing males encountered in half a dozen locations during the summer, mainly on the moorland edges.

On the other hand Red Grouse continued their decline and sadly I posted that they could disappear from the moors in the next few years.

Roe Deer now seem to be established in small numbers in the larger wooded areas and I've had further reports of Muntjac and of Otter but have seen neither. Weasel and Stoat both remain scarce but are occasionally encountered on the moor.

I made my last visit of the year to Chatsworth this morning which proved quiet but the regular Grey Heron, caught by the early morning sun made a nice photo.

Grey Heron

Having just entered Tier 4 restrictions today it's impossible to predict what 2021 will bring but I hope everyone enjoys a healthy and wildlife filled New Year.

The First Breeding of Honey Buzzard in Derbyshire

The article below has just been published in the 2019 Derbyshire Bird Report and, as a co-author, I thought it would be of interest to those who are not members of the Derbyshire Ornithological Society. With a few additional photos.

The First Breeding of Honey Buzzard in Derbyshire

On 16 July 2016, while scanning an area of moorland in North Derbyshire, Roger Carrington was very surprised to see a pale morph male Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus, clearly in hunting mode, fly almost directly over him. The date was intriguing, which led to several observers subsequently spending time in the area, and pulses quickened when a female was found with the same male a week later and the exhilarating wing-clapping display was observed. 

The moorlands in the area are fringed by some extensive stretches of mixed woodland and it seemed possible that breeding was taking place, but this could not be confirmed despite co-ordinated long-distance watches involving several observers, especially on 29th and 30th July. However, the birds were spending most of their time in a particular wooded valley, where the last sighting of the summer concerned the female on 24 August.

The authors have all spent some time observing Honey Buzzards at breeding sites in neighbouring Nottinghamshire where a last sighting in August is consistent with an unsuccessful year; when young are raised, the last sightings are typically in September. It is, however, impossible to say how long the Derbyshire birds had been in the area before the first sightings and whether they had attempted to breed but been unsuccessful.

Honey Buzzard = male August 2016

Honey Buzzard - female August 2016

Honey Buzzard - male (August 2017) and female perched (August 2016)

In 2017 hopes were high for a return but were initially kept on hold. A sighting of a bird in the Wye Valley at Rowsley could not definitely be ascribed to either of the Derbyshire 2016 pair, while a male seen at Ogston Reservoir on 28th May and 3rd June was believed by the observer, in retrospect, to be quite possibly the 2016 summering male. It was not until 17th June that a female Honey Buzzard was seen in the valley where the birds had spent most of their time in 2016. The male was seen the next day, flying from the Leash Fen area towards the valley, several kilometres away. Photographs and detailed descriptions of both the male and female in 2017 left no doubt that they were the same individuals as in 2016. In particular the male was a strikingly pale bird with a complete absence of barring on the breast, inner forewing and belly and distinctive dark markings around the carpals and neck. From 18th to 24th June there were almost daily sightings of the male at Ramsley, where drainage of the reservoir in 2002 led to the creation of several small, shallow pools which support high numbers of frogs and toads, known to be an important food source for Honey Buzzards, e.g. see Roberts & Law [2014]. Subsequently, there were occasional sightings of both male and female Honey Buzzards, with activity increasingly centred on one particular area, on the edge of extensive woodland on the valley slopes, and surrounded by upland pasture. Following a great deal of long-distance viewing, the specific patch of woodland was visited on 6th August, when the male Honey Buzzard was flushed from a Sessile Oak Quercus petraea growing out of a very steep bank. A side fork in the tree held the nest, which contained a single youngster, estimated to be about seven days old. Extrapolating back, using an incubation period of 32 days following Roberts & Law [2014], gives a laying date of 29th June, just 12 days after the first sighting in the breeding area. This is a month later than the situation in Nottinghamshire, where eggs are normally laid at the end of May [pers. obs.].

Honey Buzzard one of the few occasions when I saw the pair together 16/08/2016

Long-distance observations of the nesting area, in the three weeks or so after hatching suggested that the male did most of the provisioning, with sightings more evenly split between the sexes after that. The male was seen wing-clapping on 28th June, this being the only occasion when display was noted during the breeding success in 2017. Interestingly, the 28th June date correlates closely with the extrapolated laying date of 29 June. On four occasions between 11th and 22nd July the female was observed ‘whiffling’- quickly extending each wing alternately while rapidly losing height; could this have been an atypical form of display? The male was seen at Ramsley on 10th and 23rd August, and was last seen, close to the nest, on 6th September, whereas the female was not seen after 30th August. On 23rd August the observer commented that; 

“as it left Ramsley the male was clearly carrying prey, but after it had gained height and tucked its feet in, the prey could not be seen”.  

Visits to the nest were made at roughly weekly intervals by observers holding the relevant disturbance licence from Natural England. Observations were made from some 30m, though views were heavily restricted, firstly because of dense foliage between the observer and the nest tree and secondly, due to difficulty obtaining a clear line of site through the heavily leaved oak branches. The chick, which was predominantly white when a downy nestling, was last seen in the nest on 6th September, by which time it was almost completely brown but with fine, pale streaks on the head recalling an eaglet. 

Fresh oak leaves were noted on the nest on all but the final visit with the nest expanding markedly in step with the growth of youngster. Wasp comb debris littered the nest on the second nest visit (chick c14 days old) but none was observed to be present on the fourth visit (youngster c28 days old). The nest was empty when visited on 17th September but a sighting of the juvenile in flight at Ramsley on 20th September made a very satisfactory conclusion to a summer of interest and excitement.

Montage of the Honey Buzzard chick as it matured

In 2018, now presenting feather damage to the right forewing, ‘our’ male was present in the breeding area between 28th May and 10th August, but sadly no female appeared.

Male Honey Buzzard - showing wing damage and looking like the radius was completely broken

A male at Ogston Reservoir on 11th June and 5th July was again thought to be possibly the same individual, whereas photographs of a male at Calver on 26th May showed that bird was a different individual. During June, the 2017 nest was built up by the regular male and frequent display flights were observed.

In 2019 there was a single distant sighting of a male over the breeding area on 31st May, which was considered likely to concern the 2016-18 male. Presumably it was this individual that was later seen in The Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire, where it spent the majority of summer and was easily identifiable as the Derbyshire male of 2016-18.

Montage of the male Honey Buzzard, final image showing damage to right forewing

This was the first confirmed breeding of Honey Buzzards in the county. Frost & Shaw [2013] described the species as a rare passage migrant and non-breeding visitor, with 70 records between the eighteenth century and 2011, this total including 11 records involving 

20 birds during an exceptional influx in the autumn of 2000. There were three records that might suggest possible breeding, in upland forestry areas in June 2006 and 2007 and in August 2009, to which can be added a further sighting in August 2013. All of these areas were well away from the 2016-18 site.

However, it would perhaps pay to be aware of the possibility of encountering this self-effacing species in well-wooded upland areas, as described for some Welsh sites by Roberts & Lewis [2003] and more recently for Scotland by Shaw et al [2017].  

Honey Buzzards are rare breeding birds in the UK, with the 2017 breeding population assessed by Holling et al [2019] as 27-47 pairs, while admitting that the true number may be double that. The nearest regular breeding area to Derbyshire is in The Dukeries region of Nottinghamshire, where a tiny population has a history of regular breeding, though this has become more erratic in recent years [Reece et al, 2019]. 

Acknowledgements; For their observations and/or replying to queries, we would like to thank John Atkin, Roger Carrington, Mel Hayes, Steve Mann, Simon Roddis, Ken Smith and Alan Stewardson.

References;

Frost, R.A. & Shaw, S.  2013.   The Birds of Derbyshire  Liverpool UP.

Holling, M. & the Rare Breeding Birds Panel  2019. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2017. Brit.Birds 112: 706-758

Reece, J., Crouch, N., Parkin, D.,  du Feu, C. & Ellis, B. 2019.  The Birds of Nottinghamshire   Liverpool UP.

Roberts, S.J. & Law, C.  2014.   Honey-buzzards in Britain. Brit.Birds 107: 648-691

Roberts, S.J. & Lewis, J.M.S.  2003. Observations of European Honey-buzzard breeding density in Britain.  Brit.Birds 96: 37-38

Shaw, K.D., McInerny, C.J., Little, A., Little, K., Nadin, J.S. & Goater, R.  2017. An exceptional season at a central Scotland Honey-buzzard study area. Scottish Birds 37: 3-13 

Roy Frost, Andy Butler, Mick Taylor, Paul Thomas.

More Common Crossbill and the shrike still around

I watched a nice party of Common Crossbills coming down to drink on Farley Moor today and for a change we had some sunshine. I've seen up to thirty crossbills in the last few days but generally just flying over so it was nice to see them at close quarters.

Common Crossbill - female (L) and perhaps an immature male with green in the plumage

The Great Grey Shrike is still around but is proving very elusive covering the area from behind Matlock Golf Club and Matlock Moor to the Farley clearfell area and perhaps also Bottom Moor.

Great Grey Shrike

I've had a good month so far having recorded 82 species in the Darley Dale area (Matlock, Bakewell, Chatsworth, Youlgreave & Beeley Moor) surprisingly I've still to see Sparrowhawk, for which I blame the weather and so far no Skylark.

I've updated my write-up on the shrike.