Kingfisher and Goosander both scarce this summer

 I walked around Chatsworth yesterday and had decent views of both Kingfisher and Goosander both of which have been scarce this summer. The Goosander is a juvenile, so born this year, but is my first since the middle of May and I suspect they didn't breed on the local stretches of the Wye or Derwent this year.

Goosander - juvenile

Although I see the Kingfisher most months it's usually just a brief fly-by so it was nice to be able to watch this bird fishing in front of Chatsworth House.

Kingfisher - probably a juvenile with dark feet and dark breast band

The Oystercatcher are still about and a single Common Sandpiper was on the river but neither species has bred successfully here this year.

Seven Teal were on a pool by the upper lakes and hopefully these will remain now, they are almost certainly from the few breeding pairs that remain on East Moor/ Leash Fen.

Yellow-legged Gull and an unexpected Common Quail

 I went out early this morning to avoid the day-time high temperatures and headed for Elton Common to look for the gulls. James had said that around a hundred Lesser Black-backs were in a newly ploughed field at the Winster end of the Winster to Newhaven road yesterday. 

I found about 80 gulls just beyond Pikehall and the flock contained at least one adult Yellow-legged but they weren't in a great position for looking at them, so I took a few photos of the Yellow-legged and went up to Elton where there is a better vantage point for the fields. I hadn't been stopped long when I heard what sounded like a single call from a Common Quail. I walked around for a while a heard it call a couple more times which confirmed its identity but I couldn't tell where the call was coming from. I decided to drive up to the traditional area of Elton Common where quail are recorded most years, but having tried several times for them in May and June I wasn't too hopeful. 

As soon as I got out of the car the Common Quail called several times, much closer, from the wheat field with the derelict barn. I heard it several more times over the next hour but could only hear a single bird. Hopefully they have been there a while and could therefore be breeding.

Yellow-legged Gull - adult

Last year I had at least 9 Yellow-legged Gulls appearing with the Lesser Black-backs and I'll be interested to see if there are similar numbers this summer.

The Coronet - a new moth for the area

Overnight Simon caught not one, but three examples of the Coronet in his garden in Darley Dale, a new moth for the area.

Coronet (© Simon Roddis)

Traditionally the Coronet has had a number of discrete populations in the UK and whilst the northerly populations have remained fairly static those from the south have been spreading north (red arrows on the map below).

So it's likely that we'll see more records in the future.

Coronet historical distribution from British Moths by Chris Manley

Current NBN Gateway distribution for the Coronet

My first Sedge Warbler for the Darley Dale area

 Not the first record for the area as there have been several other sightings over the years but this is the first I've seen. Given that it's a common breeding bird at both Carsington and Ogston it is surprising that there aren't more seen locally. 

The 'Birds of the Bakewell Area' which covers the 1990's documents just 15 records of which 11 were at Middleton Moor,  2 at Barbrook (which are both outside the area that I cover) and just 2 from the Wye Valley. Regarding the Wye valley records the report goes on to say;

'In the Wye valley a bird was seen near the Quaker ponds , Monsal Dale (no date given) and a bird was singing near Bakewell on 2 May 1997. The latter has been a traditional site for Sedge Warbler for many years but no specific data was available.'

Where the traditional site in Bakewell was I'm not sure but there is a reedy pool which looks suitable, by the A6 just south of Bakewell by the Haddon Park Farm entrance track that I have checked several times without success.

The bird today was both singing and doing the characteristic display flight in a patch of phragmites which borders the Peak Rail line on the edge of the Whitworth Park. 

Sedge Warbler (not the bird I saw today unfortunately)

The Sedge Warbler is the 160th species I've seen locally (in the Matlock/ Bakewell/ Youlgreave area) which is quite an impressive total for an area lacking any significant open water.

Grasshopper Warbler and another Osprey

 Parked on Beeley Triangle this morning I was very surprised when a Grasshopper Warbler landed on the dry stone wall next to me. At a first glance I thought it was going to be another Meadow Pipit, it's certainly very unusual to see a Grasshopper Warbler in the open other than when it's singing.

Grasshopper Warbler

The legs and feet are quite robust, developed for clambering around in the undergrowth.

Had some luck yesterday with an Osprey seen from the garden gliding down the valley followed by a Hobby circling high over head. During a brief visit to Clough Wood I counted at least 6 Marbled White butterflies which were my first this summer.

Tree Sparrow juveniles and the Small Argent and Sable

 I saw my first juvenile Tree Sparrows of the year today, these were at Stonedge. I've mentioned before that the only other place I've seen them locally is Uppertown but there must be other locations that have small populations and its hard to understand why it has such a restricted distribution in the area.

Tree Sparrow - juveniles

Whilst on the moor I came across a nice example of the small, day flying, moth the Small Argent and Sable. It's an attractive moth whose lave feed on the widespread Heath Bedstraw and consequently the moth can be seen right across the moors at this time of year.

Small Argent and Sable

Spotted Flycatcher - Rowsley

 I've noted three of pairs of Spotted Flycatcher at Chatsworth and at least one pair at Rowsley, where these photos were taken today. So it's looking like a similar number of pairs to last year in the Darley Dale area for me. 

Spotted Flycatcher

Three new for the year!

 Not birds this time, but my first Forester and Latticed Heath moths and Common Lizard. The two moths are probably only just emerging now but the lizards will have been out since the spring, but I've only just managed to find one. All on Flash Lane this morning.

Forester

Latticed Heath

Common Lizard

Redstart juvenile at Rowsley

 Nice to see some juvenile Redstarts starting to appear.  With the prolonged spell of warm settled weather from early May to early June it looks like it will have been a good breeding season for many of our woodland birds.

Common Redstart- juvenile

Osprey at Chatsworth

 Fantastic views of an Osprey fishing below the first weir at Chatsworth this morning, it took two dives to catch a fairly small fish which it carried off towards Beeley Moor to eat. There have been several reports of Osprey at Chatsworth during the past week and they presumably relate to the same bird. It looks much more worn than the bird seen at Ogston recently.

Osprey

Also had the Dipper feeding young, one of the youngsters looked like he'd taken his first dip and spent too long in the water! When I returned 30 minutes later he was looking much drier fortunately.

Dipper feeding juvenile

Dipper - wet juvenile

I also saw my first Juvenile Pied Flycatcher of the summer. They leave the woods where they have hatched soon after fledging and I'm not sure where they go, perhaps just moving around along the river edges. This bird was still being fed by the female which bore a metal BTO type ring.

Pied Flycatcher juvenile

Pied Flycatcher female

Mute Swan a scarce breeding bird

Although the Mute Swan is relatively easy to see locally with one or two birds usually present in the centre of Bakewell and at Caudwells Mill, Rowsley I think there are only one or two breeding pairs in the area.  

One pair nested on the banks of the River Lathkill this year but only have one cygnet. They typically lay 5-8 eggs, but mortality is high with 50% failing to survive beyond 3 months old, but just one surviving cygnet now is not a good outcome for them.

The total number of birds in the area doesn't seem to vary much so I suspect one or two youngsters surviving to adulthood is probably typically, resulting in just 7 or 8 birds in the area most of the year.

Mute Swan - female with cygnet

Whinchat breeding success

 Pleased to see at least one recently fledged Whinchat at Beeley Triangle yesterday. It's a very scarce breeding bird around Beeley Moor with breeding birds more likely to be encountered a little further north around Big Moor, but juveniles often pass through Beeley in the autumn. As far as I can recall this is the first confirmed locally bred bird since 2014.

Since first posting this blog Doug Aston has been in touch to let me know that a pair bred below Fallinge Edge in 2016 so maybe some pairs have been missed, which is quite likely.

Whinchat juvenile

Hen Harrier - a rare visitor to Beeley Moor

 I watched this adult female Hen Harrier for over 30 minutes hunting above and below Harland Edge this morning. At the end of this period it climbed until it was a dot in the sky and did two steep swoops, the classic 'sky dance' for which the male Hen Harrier is well known, before drifting off west.

An occasional breeding bird in Derbyshire it has suffered from persecution in many parts of its former range in England and there are typically less than 20 pairs nesting in northern England each year.

Why a lone adult female would be on Beeley Moor in June is a good question. It is perhaps an unpaired bird or a failed breeder from further north.

Hen Harrier - female

Whinchat - Beeley Triangle

Whinchat have been in short supply this spring so I was pleased to find a female close to Beeley Triangle this morning. I was even more pleased when the female was joined by a male. 

I saw no evidence that they were breeding but it seems highly likely at this time of year so I left them to it.

Whinchat - male upper

Greylag Goose breeding at Chatsworth

 A pair of Greylag Geese with three goslings in front of Chatsworth House this morning is the first time I've confirmed breeding in the Darley Dale area. I suspect numbers will rival those of Canada Geese in a few years time.

Postscript: After publishing this post I went to Bakewell on 10th June and counted 55 Greylag Geese by the river and lake just north of the Thornbridge Brewery. At least half of the birds were juveniles so the number of birds in the area is going up rapidly!

Greylag Geese

After the controversial netting of Chatsworth House to prevent House Martins nesting it was good to see several pairs nest building under the Three Arch Bridge today.

House Martin