My first Osprey of the year this morning, an adult sat on the tree tops above the River Lathkill on the Youlgrave Road.
It has a blue Darvic ring on the left leg which is just visible so could be the bird I first saw as a juvenile in 2012! Hope I get the chance to read the ring before it departs.
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| Osprey - adult |
I've made a couple of evening visits to the moor this week and was surprised to find that the Nightjars were still churring and wing clapping.
The breeding season must be over by now and the birds will shortly be migrating but their behaviour was much like in Spring.
Nightjar male churring
I came across a Little Egret at Harthill Pond yesterday, could be the same bird that spent most of last winter there. It was sat motionless for the 20 minutes I was there then suddenly flew up in the air and flew off in a southerly direction, gaining height. Perhaps heading for Carsington, it will be interesting to see if it returns.
Little Egret
I've not seen too much else of note recently but regular sightings of Kingfisher at Chatsworth are probably the birds that fledged at Rowsley also single Goosander at Chatsworth and three at Rowsley. 15 Teal at Chatsworth is the highest count I've had for some time and presumably includes some of this years youngsters.
Several Common Crossbill today with birds calling on Flash Lane and at Whitesprings Plantation.
Simon caught this Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) last night in Darley Dale, I have not heard of any previous records locally but it has been spreading north rapidly after the first UK record in 2007.
The moth is a native of SE Asia, but is now widely established in Europe where the caterpillar is considered a pest on the box Tree.
The Royal Horticultural Society has been monitoring its spread in the UK.
Between 2015 and 2016 over 800 records of the moth were received, this jumped to over 3000 in 2017, over 6 000 in 2018 and approaching 12000 in 2019. The box tree moth is now considered to be a "common resident" being widely distributed across England, particularly the south-east. It is also present in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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| Box Tree Moth © Simon Roddis |
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| Box Tree Moth - distribution © NBN |
I've seen my first Tufted Duck ducklings this week with a brood of three at Chatsworth and a single on Harthill Pond, Youlgrave.
They are late nesters, hatching several months later than the of the first Mallard. I've only seen them nesting on ponds/lakes so there is limited suitable habitat locally but I suspect they may also nest along the rivers where they will be harder to locate.
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| Tufted Duck with duckling |
Not a reference to Pam, but to the Old Lady Moth. This was found dead at Darley Dale Primary School today. It's a widely distributed moth but it tends not to be attracted by UV light so it's not often taken at light. It's more likely to be found in a dark out building, cave or tunnel alongside other moths like the Herald and the Tissue.
It's not been featured on the blog before although I'm aware of several local records.
Old Lady
Back after almost a month away in Spain and the south of France it looks like the temperature here is set to hit similar levels to those I've just left behind!
Not entirely sure what I have missed whilst I was away but I did see a report of a White Stork for Darley Dale with other reports fairly close from Ashbourne and Brailsford which were intriguing.
It was good to get back on to the moors and nice to catch up with my first juvenile Wheatear yesterday, coincidentally I had a juvenile in 2020 on the 18th July, perhaps indicating that these have been born close to the moors.
Northern Wheatear - juvenile
A lovely example of the Dark Umber moth caught by Doug Aston at Middleton-by-Youlgrave on 12th July.
Very scarce in Derbyshire with historical records from the White Peak dales of Dovedale, Lathkill Dale, Monks Dale, Coombs Dale and the Via Gellia.
Not a moth that I have managed to trap, but closely related to the Scallop Shell and Scarce Tissue which I do catch occasionally.
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| Dark Umber © Doug Aston |
Following my last post I did hear Common Quail calling at Elton Common on 26th May, so that's all our potential breeding birds back.
In early June I was lucky to see an adult Long-eared Owl, this bird had two fledged youngsters. The Long-eared Owl is one of the hardest birds to find locally as they are almost entirely nocturnal. The only time they are likely to be seen before dusk is when they are feeding young.
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| Long-eared Owl |
The breeding season is now well underway with parties of juvenile Stonechat and Meadow Pipits on the moors and I've seen both Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher feeding young today.
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| Wood Warbler |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Common Cuckoo - male and female |
I saw my first Spotted Flycatchers today, with a pair in Clough Wood. Although they've been back for a week at Carsington I think the 3rd week in May is a fairly typical arrival date locally. Whilst watching them I also had a male Pied Flycatcher singing. So a nice combination with both flycatchers together.
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Pied flycatcher - male |
I spent yesterday morning checking all the likely places for Sedge Warbler in the valley, which were discussed after my first record last year. I didn't find any, but shortly after returning home I received a message that Alan had found one singing on Beeley Moor. To para phrase Sherlock Holmes; when you have eliminated all the likely places you should then search the unlikely places!
Fortunately it was still there this morning but only singing occasionally in rather blustery conditions. News that Simon had found three juvenile Kingfisher being fed by one of the parents at Rowsley was too good to miss and luckily they were still being fed by the river when I arrived.
I'm amazed how unobtrusive Kingfishers can be, it was February when I last saw one at Rowsley but I did see them several times last year on the river close to the recycling station so perhaps they have nested somewhere in that direction.
I watched one of the juveniles make several unsuccessful dives and I imagine that it is a skill that they take some time to learn.
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| Kingfisher - juvenile |
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.
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| Yellow Wagtail - male |
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| Little Egret |
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.
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| Northern Goshawk - female 2cy |
Three male Nightjar churring last night in rather windy conditions. Also 2 Woodcock doing their rodding display flight.
The first returning bird was heard on 12th May, churring in daylight at 07:30 in the morning! I've heard birds churring several times in daylight, usually just short bursts of song.
Nightjar - male
A female Goosander with 5 downy young was a nice surprise on the River Wye at Rowsley this morning. I didn't see any young last year so hopefully this is a sign of a better breeding season.
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| Goosander - female with 5 chicks |
On the moor I managed all three chats today, with at least 4 Wheatear and a lovely singing male Whinchat as well as several pairs of Stonechat, which are now feeding the young of their first brood.
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| Northern Wheatear |
My first Swifts were on the 10th May over Darley Dale but they may have arrived earlier as I have been away for a week.
Alan reported the first Nightjar yesterday which he heard in the plantations bordering the moor and there was an unusual report on the 9th of a Black Kite seen over Flash Lane.
On 29th January 2005 I had cycled up to the Triangle and spent some time chat with Ken and Mel before working my way home. This was before the time of universal mobile phones and Ken didn't have my phone number. A little later I heard that they had seen an immature White-tailed Eagle land on Harland Edge where it spent some time there before drifting off towards Chatsworth. I drove back up to the moor but there were no further sightings after I returned.
This morning, also having cycled up, I was stood with Ken on the Bar Road when Mick Taylor rang to say a White-tailed Eagle had just left Ogston at about 09:10 heading North West. I knew Robin Elliot was also on the moors so quickly sent him a text message to alert him. Ken and I decided to move to the Triangle which give slightly better all round views.
At 9:30 Robin rang back to say that he could see the bird distantly from Whitesprings, a sub-adult, still travelling NW and looking like it was over the Sitches Plantation area. Ken and I scanned the area frantically but couldn't pick the bird up.
At around 11:00 a White-tailed Eagle past over Blackmoor Foot Reservoir just SW of Huddersfield which I presume was the same bird.
The fact that it was a sub-adult bird means it isn't one of the released birds for the Isle of Wight reintroduction programme and I understand that Roy Dennis has confirmed this. So it was presumably a wandering wild bird from the Scottish population.
Hopefully I'll see the next one!
