White-tailed Eagle crosses Beeley Moor

 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!

Return of the Wood Warbler

 The first Wood Warblers were seen and heard in the woodlands close to Darley Dale today with two, possibly three birds present. 

The last week in April is typically when I expect them to arrive having wintered in sub-Saharan Africa although last year we had an exceptionally early record on 6th April. 

Garden Warblers have also returned in the last couple of days and I had my first Common Sandpiper at Chatsworth this morning so aside from the scarce migrants like Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail and Whinchat we just have the Swifts, Spotted Flycatcher and Nightjar to look forward to.

Wood Warbler

Return of the Turtle Dove and first Whimbrel on Beeley Moor

After my last blog, in which I mentioned that Alan had heard a Turtle Dove on Flash Lane, Simon Moody contacted me to say that he had first seen the regularly returning bird on 11th April and had seen or heard it fairly regularly since then. This is the 5th year that Simon has seen this particular returning male.

I looked and listened for it several times without success until this morning when I came across it purring from the top of a conifer tree not too far from Matlock Forest. It was calling regular and several times did a display flight which is very similar to the Collared Dove.

Can it find a mate this year? It would be fantastic if it could be the chances are low given that the Turtle Dove seems to be almost lost from Derbyshire now.

Turtle Dove - display flight

A little later I was cycling across Beeley Moor and stopped to check a field which held several Curlew and found a smart Whimbrel. 

It was feeding quite happily much as birds have in prior years and this seems like a regular stopping off spot for birds heading to Scotland or perhaps Iceland or northern Scandinavia.

Whimbrel

Ring Ouzel at last

I was on Flash Lane this afternoon, looking for a Turtle Dove that Alan Stewardson had heard this morning. 

No sign of the dove but 2 female Ring Ouzel were ample compensation. I've struggled to see Ring Ouzel locally the last few years so I was very pleased to see these two birds and to manage a record photo.

Hopefully the Turtle Dove will be relocated.

Ring Ouzel - female

 

More migrant arrivals including an early Hobby

 As I had hoped in my last post the warm weather produced more migrant arrivals with the first Grasshopper Warbler and several Wheatear on Thursday (14th) Cuckoo and Common Whitethroat yesterday (15th) all on Beeley Moor. 

This evening I had a call from Robin Elliot to say he had seen a Hobby on Bent Lane and fortunately it was still sat in an isolated Birch tree on the moor when I got there, a few minutes later. It's the first April Hobby I have seen and only a few days later than the earliest record listed in the Birds of Derbyshire which is given as 13th April. 

Thanks to Robin for finding it and giving me a call and for use of his photo.

Hobby © Robin Elliot

Spring has sprung - first Pied Flycatchers, Tree Pipits, Willow Warblers and Redstart today

 I was abroad during March and thought I had timed my return to coincide with the start of the spring migration. However, the first week of April felt more like winter than spring and the birds clearly felt the same as there was little evidence of any migrant arrivals. 

My first migrants were the expected Chiffchaffs which I have seen, or heard daily since 1st April. Surprisingly I had two Swallow over Beeley Moor on the 2nd but didn't see any Sand Martin until the 8th when I had six birds at Chatsworth where I also saw my first Blackcap.

The weather finally changed this week when the wind moved round to the south for a period and the day time temperature rose by several degrees. The effects were soon apparent with migrant numbers rapidly increasing. Today I had my first Willow Warbler, not just one though, I counted at least 14 today. I also recorded my first Pied Flycatchers of the year as well as Common Redstart and several Tree Pipit. 

Pied Flycatcher - always a welcome sight

Although the wind has moved round to the west maximum day time temperatures are around 16˚C to 17˚C so hopefully birds will continue to move north.

Although I haven't seen Wheatear yet on the moor I did see 9 (6 males, 3 females) in Long Dale, Hartington at the weekend. The males were singing and giving occasional song flights. It's amazing that migrant Wheatears are only just starting to appear locally but they are already establishing breeding territories just 12km from Darley Dale.

There have been several sightings of Osprey nearby with birds at Wyver Lane, Belper, Baslow, Carsington and Ogston so there must be a decent chance of one locally.

There are plenty of Mandarin back on the river and I got a nice photo of a pair mating yesterday. The males take some beating for their colour and ornate feathers.

Mandarin mating