Greenshank - Middleton Moor

Black-tailed Godwits have been reported from several sites in Derbyshire during the past week but none locally as far as I know. I have made several visits to Middleton Moor with very little to show for it but a Greenshank this morning was a nice surprise. I did have a Dunlin there on the 1st and two femalw Gadwall are resident at the moment.

Three juvenile Wheatear at Middleton also on the 1st and a male Whinchat was my first of the year!

There are several Whinchat on Screethem Lane and still at least two Quail still calling there.

Greenshank - adult

Common Quail - Beeley Moor

I heard a Quail calling from Screetham Lane last Wednesday (11th) and it was still present on Friday (13th). It was difficult to hear due to the persistant wind as well as the traffic noise. I did manage a brief recording of the call which can be heard on my eBird list.

I had a good evening with Nightjar, Woodcock and Long-eared Owl all seen or heard calling.

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!

Common Quail - Bonsall Moor

At least three Quail have been calling in hay meadows adjoining Green Lane, Bonsall Moor since the 23rd June. I could hear two this morning but the birds were some distance apart and it was difficult to be certain how many birds were calling. 

They have occasionally been visible with a bird calling briefly from on top of a drystone wall this morning. This evening it was thought that there could be as many as five males calling. 

A chance Long-eared Owl

 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.

Long-eared Owl

I'm still not sure whether they are resident on the moors but it seems likely that they remain in some years as a bird was photographed on Beeley Triangle in November a few years ago. It probably depends on how severe the winter is.

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.

Wood Warbler

It looks like the Mute Swans have had a better year with 6 cygnets at Caudwells Mill and 4 in Bakewell.

Mute Swan

The Cuckoo have been very active on the moor and I had an interesting encounter a few days ago. Both the male and female were using the fence posts, the male to hunt for caterpillars and the female to locate Meadow Pipit nests. The male caught a large caterpillar, either a Fox or Northern Eggar I think, then the female took the caterpillar from the male although it took her three attempts to grab it.

Common Cuckoo - male and female

I received some exciting news a few days ago of a female Hawfinch feeding a youngster in the Darley Dale area last Saturday (11th). Although there have been occasional sightings in the breeding season this is the first confirmed breeding record for many years.

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.

Quail - Beeley Moor

Wow!! Doug Aston sent me this photo which he took yesterday evening at Beeley Triangle. Doug said he was parked up in his usual spot and the Quail walked out on to the grass verge. A few hours earlier all the verges were covered in cars as the Tour of Britain came up on to the moors from Beeley Village.
A great reward for Doug for all the hours spent watching the area. 
I posted a photo in Spring of a distant Quail in flight near Elton and commented that that was probably the only photo of Quail that would make it on to the blog. It just goes to show what's possible if you spend the time looking.
I have looked this morning without success but the weather is very poor so far today.

Quail (©Doug Aston)

Quail - Elton Common

Simon sent me a message yesterday to say that he had had two, possibly three Quail calling at Elton Moor late yesterday evening. I spent this evening in the area and heard one bird calling intermittently shortly after 9pm, doing the distinctive three note 'wet-my-lips' call. I was taken completely by surprise when it flew across the field in front of me and only managed a rather blurred photo as it was landing.
I have only previously seen one Quail in flight before in the UK and that was about ten years ago when one circled my moth trap in Darley Dale calling late one summer evening! 
The Quail is scarce in Derbyshire and numbers recorded, usually just of calling birds vary but the Elton Common/ Pike Hall area appears to be one of the more reliable areas for them.
Although the photo is poor I've posted it as I'm unlikely to get another!

Quail landing in wheat field