Common Greenshank - Chatsworth

 A nice surprise this morning when a Common Greenshank flew south down the river in front of Chatsworth House. Typically it was the distinctive call that got me on to it, and if it hadn't called I would probably have missed it. There was a bird at Middleton Moor yesterday so it could have been that bird continuing south.

It's only my fourth record for the area with one on Flash Lane on 7 August last year, 2 over Beeley Moor on 23rd May 2023 and another at Chatsworth on 10th August 2020.

Common Greenshank

Still two Little Egret at Chatsworth although one flew off heading south.

More Yellow-legged Gulls, Roe Deer at Chatsworth

 I've been back to look at the gulls in the Elton Common area and yesterday they were on and around the Y-Not Festival site. Talking to the people doing the clean up after the festival it seems the gulls have been finding plenty to scavenge around the site. 

I counted at least 700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and found 7 adult type and a single juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls. I would love to know where they are from, and there must be a chance of finding one with a colour ring one day, perhaps the French Atlantic or even Mediterranean coast.

Yellow-legged Gulls -top two adults, bottom juvenile

Walking round Chatsworth a smart buck Roe Deer walked across the path which caused me to think how few I have seen there. They are now well established in Matlock Forest but seem scarcer further north.

Roe Deer - buck

Kingfisher family - Chatsworth

The breeding season is drawing to a close now and many birds have already departed their breeding sites. Wood Warblers and Pied Flycatchers have left the woodlands and Curlew and Snipe have already left the moors. 

Today I was able to confirm that the Kingfisher has bred locally again with an adult and two juveniles at Chatsworth where I also had a Spotted Flycatcher feeding fledged young.

Common Kingfisher adult and two juveniles

Spotted Flycatcher adult

Hen Harrier - Beeley Moor

 A late afternoon visit to Beeley Moor proved better than expected when an adult female Hen Harrier flew across the moor from Fallinge to Harland Edge. It was very distant but managed a record shot.

Hen Harrier - adult female

Earlier in the day I'd walked along the river at Chatsworth where the highlight was two Little Egrets feeding just below the house. My first locally since February.

Little Egret

Whinchat, Hobby and a first Common Lizard of the year

 A male Whinchat held territory on Beeley Moor from late May in to June and I had hoped that it would breed, but despite several searches I have not been unable to find any juveniles and suspect the male either remained unpaired or the attempt failed. However, I did find an adult female on the fence line above Harthill Pond in Youlgrave earlier this week. 

Coincidentally, there were also records from Carr Vale and Ogston Reservoir on the same day, all the records were of adults and perhaps signals a departure of the adults from their breeding grounds.

Whinchat - adult female

Yesterday I came across two, presumably a pair, of Hobby chasing swallows above Rowsley. They have bred in the area previously and hopefully there is a nest with what should be almost fully grown juveniles somewhere nearby.

Hobby - second calendar year bird, lacking the red undertail and already moulting some primary feathers

During the summer months I always keep an eye on the dry stone walls in the hope of seeing a Common Lizard. Usually my first sightings are in late April or early May but this year I hadn't seen any until today when I saw a single adult on Flash Lane.

I perhaps haven't looked too hard this year and the weather was very poor in June but still it's very late for my first of the year. Hopefully I'll see more in the coming months as I usually record them through to mid-September.

Common Lizard

Yellow-legged Gull - Pikehall

 The number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls has been steadily increasing in the recently mown cereal fields in the Elton Common area and today I saw at least two adult Yellow-legged Gulls with them, just beyond Pikehall.

The Yellow-legged Gulls breed on the continent and disperse north, post breeding, arriving on the Channel coast in early July with some continuing north. Most of my records are adult or sub-adult birds but it may be that younger birds are overlooked amongst the similar looking Lesser Black-backs.

Yellow-legged Gull - adult

Tufted Duck with ducklings - Bakewell

 In the last few days I've seen a couple of broods of Tufted Ducks in the Bakewell area. Both looked to have 3 ducklings, at Bakewell Bridge and Ashford Lake.

Tufted Duck female with duckling

A Common Sandpiper at Bakewell was the first I've seen there and nice to see a juvenile Dipper.

Juvenile Common Cuckoo - Beeley Moor

 This year has been one of the best I can recall for Common Cuckoo records on the moors with as many as six males being present. I had wondered if I might manage to see a juvenile this year, and today I did. 

I think I must have seen the odd juvenile in the past, but I can't recall having done so, and they are certainly scarce. I think they head south soon after fledging, following the adults, which have mostly departed already, to Africa.

Todays bird seemed to be attached to a Meadow Pipit which was presumably the foster parent and I was a little sad to think that this might well be the last cuckoo I see this year.

Common Cuckoo - juvenile

Yellow Wagtail and Lesser Whithethroat new for the year

 A male Lesser Whitethroat, almost certainly one of a pair was singing between Winster and Birchover during the week. Although I see, or hear, odd Lesser Whitethroats elsewhere this is the only area where they breed with any regularity and it's difficult to understand why as similar habitat is fairly widespread in the White Peak.

On a similar vein I caught up with Yellow Wagtail today at Pikehall. Most years I get a pair at Elton Common but I could not find them there this year although there were one or two reported. So I went a little further and came across a singing male with a female so presumably breeding.

The Common Quail was calling there again today but no sign of any on Bonsall Moor this year.

Yellow Wagtail - male

Another very scarce breeding bird was encountered yesterday at Chatsworth when Pam and I flushed a Green Woodpecker from the grass by the river. I've seen or heard them several times during April and May so again presumably breeding in the area.

Green Woodpecker

Little Grebe breeding success on the Lathkill

 At least one pair of Little Grebes have successfully hatched young on the River Lathkill. I usually have a couple of pairs at Chatsworth but, although I see one or two adults I've not seen any sign of nesting this year.

Little Grebe

A Common Quail at Elton Common on 6th June is fairly typical date for them to arrive, two males were calling there yesterday so hopefully they will be here for the summer.

Gulls are starting to appear on the upland fields where grass cutting has commenced. I counted 70 Lesser Black-backed at Pike Hall recently and 40 on the fields by the Alicehead crossroads has an adult Herring Gull with them. Hopefully we'll get a few Yellow-legged as the summer progresses.

Herring Gull

More of a surprise was an adult Pink-footed Goose with the breeding Greylags at Ashford Lake on 6th June and I presume its one of the birds that wintered with the Greylags at Youlgrave but it's my first summer record.

Pink-footed Goose

As of yesterday I have seen 100 species locally since the start of the month which shows how diverse the birdlife is locally!

Osprey - Chatsworth

 A lucky encounter this morning when an Osprey flew directly over my head as I was crossing the single arch bridge at Chatsworth. It was flying away from me as it flew north following the river but it stopped and hovered a couple of times but didn't dive and was last seen continuing north beyond the house.

Osprey

There have been several records in Derbyshire in the past week with a bird seen over several days at Ogston and others in the south of the county, which I presume are non-breeding, second calendar year, birds but its surely only a matter of time before they breed in the County.

Red-legged Partridge - Elton Common

 I visited Elton Common looking for, or rather listening for Quail this afternoon but there was no sign, it's still a little early for Quail in any case. There is also a chance of Yellow Wagtail in the meadows of the White Peak but I had no luck there either.

I did flush a pair of partridge and had brief views before they landed in a grassy field full of what I took to be some kind of buttercup. I was fairly sure they were Red-legged Partridge but really need a view to confirm. I scanned the field for ten minutes then saw a head pop up and managed a photo before the bird disappeared. It was a long way off and the photo is out of focus but it was enough to confirm their identity as Red-legged Partridge.

Interestingly I've had more local records of Quail over the years than I have Red-legged Partridge so it was a successful trip after all!

Red-leeged Partridge

An evening on Beeley Moor

 When I gave my update on returning migrants I forget to mention the Hobby. The first returning birds were reported on the moor on 31st April and have been seen irregularly since, the cold weather preventing insects emerging on the moor. Recent warmer weather has brought out the moths and I saw at least three birds last night hunting what I presume were Fox Moths.

Eurasian Hobby

More unusual though was a Short-eared Owl, my last sighting was of a bird present for just a few hours in April last year. Hopefully this bird will stay longer.

Short-eared Owl

In the forestry clear fell I had several Woodcock and at least four Eurasian Nightjar churring. It was a feat of endurance waiting for them to start churring at around 21:30 as there were clouds of biting midges, but worth it in the end.

Eurasian Woodcock

Whinchat - Beeley Moor

 It was good to be back on the moor this morning, having just returned from several weeks in France and Spain.

The weather could have been better though, as it was very misty first thing. Over the last few days I've caught up with most of the birds that I had either missed or hadn't arrived before I left such as Garden Warbler, Common Swift and Spotted Flycatcher and a lovely singing male Whinchat below Harland Edge this morning, albeit in the mist. Still with a bit of photo processing you can at least tell what it is.

Whinchat - male

The only regular breeding summer migrant I've yet to see is Nightjar, which I know have been back for about a week now, so will look to correct that omission in the next week, weather permitting.

Wood Warbler - Stanton Moor

 My first Wood Warbler of the year, calling in the woodland on the edge of Stanton Moor. Several times over the years I've noted that the first Wood Warblers are calling rather than singing males and I wonder if this is something they do before they actually establish a territory?

There were two male Pied Flycatchers in the same area which I think is a reflection on the quality of this ancient wooded area.

I usually expect the first Wood Warbler in the 'twenties' rather than 'teens' of April but the dates, as with other migrants are definitley getting earlier.

Wood Warbler