Linacre 5th April 2025

 We've had a couple of weeks of warm, sunny weather, so, having a free afternoon, I popped down to Linacre to see if I could see the first butterflies of 2025. In three hours, and temperatures of 12 degrees, I spotted 16 butterflies of 5 species.

The first butterflies seen were Peacocks, and, in total, I recorded a minimum of 9 around the site. The next commonest species was Orange Tip, with 5 males and 2 females seen. Also seen were: Comma (1), Large White (1) and Green-veined White (1).

Peacock

Other insects seen were: Tawny Mining Bee (1 male), another Mining Bee sp (possibly Clarkson's), Broad-bordered Beefly (20+), Eristalis sp (hoverfly) and 4 species of Bumblebee; Common Carder, White-tailed, Buff-tailed and Red-tailed.

Flowers were also out in good numbers: Lesser Celandine, Bluebell, Wood Anenome, Coltsfoot, Dandelion, Daisies, Cowslip and Stitchwort. 

Last, but not least, the birds! I had 2 "Year ticks", with Swallow (134) (3 birds over the middle reservoir) and Blackcap (135) ( a minimum of 4 birds singing). Other birds were: Chiffchaff (9 singing), Buzzard (2 over), Sparrowhawk (1 displaying over the middle reservoir), Great-crested Grebe (5 birds; a pair each on the bottom and middle reservoirs, and 1 single bird on the top reservoir), Cormorant (1), Mallard (c.20), Mandarin (6), Tufted Duck (17), Lesser Black-backed Gull (c.30 flew over!) and Greylag Goose (4 birds on the middle reservoir).

Another "year tick" was Dipper (133) that was seen flying over the main road in Dronfield on 4/4!

Year List Update - 28th January 2024

 This last week, I've managed to add three new species to the Year List.

The first species, Dipper (102), was added last Sunday, when 1 bird was seen in Monsal Dale. The second species, Egyptian Goose (103) was seen yesterday, when 3 were seen at Center Parcs whilst gull ringing. The third new species, Great (White) Egret (104), was seen today on Carburton Lake, Nottinghamshire. In fact there were 2 Great Egrets and 6 Little Egrets together, all within about 100m!!

Great (White) Egret

Just before we saw the egrets, Jayne and I had had a short walk around Clumber Park. We'd gone to see a Red-breasted Goose, that had appeared on the South Lawn. Unfortunately, it was wearing 2 plastic rings, so was an escapee from a collection, and can't be added to the list. Still a lovely bird to see at such close quarters.

Red-breasted Goose

Last, but by no means least, was a new Norwegian-ringed Black-headed Gull, J2847. This bird, a 2nd calendar year, had been ringed 995km away, in June 2023, as a pullus. Our sighting was the first since ringing.

J2847

Year List Update

 This week, I've added a few new species to this year's Year List.

The first new addition was Reed Bunting (93), which I recorded on Sunday whilst out ringing. The next addition was Chough (94), a single bird seen and heard flying over the Premier Inn at Aberystwyth on Monday. A Dipper (95) was the next species. This was seen at Bodnant Gardens on Tuesday. The final new species was Barn Owl (96), one of which was seen near Chapel-en-le-Frith yesterday.

Whilst in Aberystwyth on Monday, Jayne and I spent some time watching the 50,000ish (!) Starlings coming in to roost on the pier. Unfortunately, they didn't "murmurate" when we were there, but it was amazing to see them coming in, and leaving next morning.

Starlings

Linacre - 15th January 2022

 This morning the weather was zero degrees when I arrived at Linacre at 7.45am, and it didn't rise throughout the  two hour visit! Thankfully, the cold (but bright) weather seemed to have brought a few winter visitors in, with my first record of Pochard (2 males on the top reservoir), since 2013!!

Pochard

Also seen were: a pair of Wigeon on the middle reservoir, 109 Mallard, 24 Tufted Ducks, 11 Coots, 17 Moorhens (14 adults and 3 juveniles), 11 Mandarins,  3 Little Grebes, 1 Great-crested Grebe (in breeding plumage and calling on the middle reservoir), 1 Grey Heron, 3 Goosander (1 male and 3 females), 1 Cormorant, 63 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Grey Wagtails and 1 Pied Wagtail. Woodland birds were quite vocal with Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tit seen and heard. A Treecreeper was also seen (year tick) as was a single Bullfinch, Blackbird, Robin, Jay and my first drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker of the year.

After my walk around Linacre, Jayne and I had a drive to Monsal Dale. On the way over, we spotted a Little Owl (year tick), on a tree in Holmesfield, and 3 Dippers (year tick) on the river in Monsal.

Little Owl

Year List update:

97 - Pochard

98 - Treecreeper

99 - Little Owl

100 - Dipper

Year List Update - 15th May 2020

I last updated my year list back in February (see here). At the time, I had recorded 91 species in the UK, and was looking forward to an Easter trip to Majorca!! Obviously, due to the Corona Virus lockdown, the trip was cancelled, as was all other, non-essential travel, and opportunities to see some of my usual spring birds didn't happen.

Having said that, the list has continued to increase, with birds seen over the garden, or on our daily exercise walks, and it now stands at a not- too-terrible 108 species.

Year List update:
92 – Yellowhammer
93 – Chiffchaff
94 – Whooper Swan
95 – Dipper
96 – Skylark
97 - Blackcap
98 – Willow Warbler
99 – Raven
100 – Linnet
101 - Swallow
102 – House Martin
103 – Whitethroat
104 – Garden Warbler
105 – Swift
106 – Pied Flycatcher
107 – Meadow Pipit
108 – Cuckoo (heard)

Birds 92 - 105 were all first recorded in Dronfield and the surrounding area, with the exception of the Whooper Swan, which was a late addition, having been seen over Linacre on 21st March (my last visit before lockdown). Willow Warbler was first recorded in the garden, my first ever garden sighting! Numbers 106 - 108 were seen yesterday, by Jayne and me, on our first car trip since March, when we had an hour at Padley Gorge (4pm - 5.00pm).

Year List Update - 2nd February 2019

It's been a while since I updated the 2019 Year List, and, as you can see, there are a few new additions.

The Song Thrush was heard singing at Linacre on 26th whilst the Water Rail was heard down at Holmebrook Valley Park.

The Raven and Dipper were both seen today, whilst walking through Monsal Dale, and the last four species, 108 - 111, were all seen on the feeders at Shilito Woods.

Year List update:
104 – Song Thrush
105 - Water Rail
106 – Raven
107 – Dipper
108 – Lesser Redpoll
109 – Brambling
110 – Reed Bunting
111 – Yellowhammer

Birthday Lifer

It was my birthday this weekend, so I travelled up to Teesdale and RSPB Bempton Cliffs with my family for a couple of days. High on my wish list was a bird that I've looked for before - Black Grouse. This year luck, and a bit of research, paid dividends, and I got to watch an amazing 22 males and 19 females at a lek site in Upper Teesdale. The birds were seen (and heard) from the road, with the birds about 500m away. After the lekking was over, a female bird and 2 males flew closer to me, allowing a couple of reasonable shots from the car.

Black Grouse (female)

Black Grouse (male and a Curlew)

Driving back down to our hotel in Barnard Castle I managed a couple of lovely photos of 2 other moorland birds; Lapwing and Snipe.

Lapwing

Snipe

Other birds seen in Teesdale were: Red Grouse, Common Sandpiper (1 on the Tees in Barnard Castle), Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Curlew, Swallow (5) and Red-legged Partridge (year tick).

After Teesdale, we drove across to Bempton Cliffs in North Yorkshire, and added another 4 species (Razorbill, Puffin, Gannet and Kittiwake) to the "year list", taking me to 141. It was pretty windy when we got there, and the Gannets, in particular, were hovering just on the edge of the cliffs, and dropping down onto the grass to grab mouthfuls for  their nests, allowing some decent photo opportunities.

Gannet

Other species seen here were: Guillemot, Tree Sparrow, Skylark, Fulmar and Herring Gull.

Year List update:
136 – Black Grouse
137 – Red-legged Partridge
138 – Razorbill
139 – Puffin
140 – Gannet
141 – Kittiwake

Monsal Dale in the Sunshine

It was a lovely, sunny day yesterday, with blue, cloudless skies and a high of 13 degrees celsius, so Jayne and I had a walk though Monsal Dale. We parked up at the White Lodge car park and walked the mile and a half, along the River Wye, to the viaduct, at Monsal Head.

As the sun was out, we were hoping for our first butterflies of the year, and we were not disappointed, with 2 Peacocks, 5 Brimstones and 2 Commas. We also spotted a Bee-Fly, but couldn't get a photo to identify to species level, before it flew away!

Comma

Birds seen along the way were: Dipper, at least 2, possibly more, Mandarin Duck; 1 pair, Canada Goose; 1 pair, Grey Wagtail 2, Mallard 2, Tufted Duck 5, Little Grebe 2, Chiffchaff (singing) and Common Buzzard (2).

Dipper

Wild flowers seen were: Lesser Celandine, Dog Violet, Wood Anenome and Primrose.

Primrose

Year List update:

111 – Tree Sparrow (seen on 18th March at Carsington Water)

112 – Dipper

Cairn Gorm

Jayne and I are up in Scotland for a few days, and, as the title suggests, we visited Cairn Gorm today. We went in search of Ptarmigan, but were out of luck. We did, however, manage to hear Red Grouse and see Meadow Pipts (!), a male Pied Wagtail and a super flock of 15 Snow Buntings. Four of the buntings landed close enough to get a few photos.

Snow Buntings in snow

After the visit to Cairn Gorm we drove down to RSPB Loch Garten where we popped into the centre to see the pair of breeding Ospreys. Both birds were on the nest when we arrived. We didn't see the other specialities, but we're heading back there tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

In the evening we had a short visit to the River Spey where we saw 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 pairs of Goldeneye , several singing Willow Warblers and a single Dipper.

Year List update:
136 – Red Grouse
137 – Common Sandpiper
138 – Redstart
139 – Snow Bunting
140 – Osprey
141 - Dipper

Monsal Dale Redstart

The sun was shining again this afternoon, and despite it being only 9 degrees and pretty windy, Jayne and I went for a walk along Monsal Dale.

As soon as we got out of the car we heard the first of six or so singing Chiffchaffs, and a Willow Warbler. We also came across this Common Toad that was walking back across the path away from the water.

Common Toad

 

We then set off following the River Wye towards Monsal Head where we spotted 4 Dippers, including this pair, a Grey Wagtail, a pair of Mandarin Ducks, 3 Swallows, a Common Buzzard and several Mallards.

Dippers

 

After a spot of lunch at Hobb's Café at the top of Monsal Head (lovely Watercress and Potato soup for Jayne and a Banana and Peanut Butter toastie for me!), we walked back along the valley when Jayne spotted a flash of red fly out from this tree; a male Redstart!! We managed to get a decent view as it landed in a tree on the other side of the river, but unfortunately it disappeared before I could get a photograph. Click here to see and hear just how amazing a bird it is.

River Wye

 

Checking in the Derbyshire Ornithological Society's Bird Report for 2013 I noted that the first Redstart reported in that year was 12th April, so today's bird beats that by 1 day- nice! Unfortunately, another bird was reported in Lathkill Dale on 9th April this year, so ours isn't the first for 2015.

 

Year List update:

102 - Redstart

Dovedale Walk and Carsington Water

Yesterday I went for a walk along Dovedale with my family and a good friend. We walked around the river from the car park at Dovedale to Mill Dale and back again, a long, but enjoyable 6 mile walk.

Dovedale

 During the walk we spotted a few nice birds and added a couple of "year ticks". The first "year tick" was a Dipper, which we spotted flying up the river. We also managed to find 3 Swallows feeding high above the valley at Mill Dale. Other birds seen along the way were: Grey Wagtail, Wren, Robin, Chaffinch, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Mallard and Grey Heron. Along with the birds, we also spotted this plant called Butterbur.

Butterbur

 

Today I spent a few hours at Carsington Water, and also added a couple more "year ticks"; namely Tree Sparrow and Barnacle Goose. The Tree Sparrows were looking in the nestboxes, and the flock of feral Barnacles were feeding on the bankside opposite the Wildlife Centre.

 

Year List update:

91- Dipper

92 – Swallow

93 – Barnacle Goose (F)

94 – Tree Sparrow

Barn Owl chicks

Earlier in the year I was talking to another member of the Sorby Breck Ringing Group at an event, when he told me about a nestbox on one of his sites that holds breeding Barn Owls. He promised to get in touch if they were successful again this year, so I was very pleased to receive a text over the weekend telling me there were four chicks ready to ring! Obviously, Barn Owls are a highly protected, Schedule 1 breeding bird, which means that you need a special licence from the BTO to ring them- something our group has.

Anyway, on Sunday, I set out to a secret site to ring my very first Barn Owl. There were four chicks in the box, and I got to ring 1.

Barn Owl chicks

After ringing, we put the chicks back in the box, and noted 4 dead mice/voles, which is a good sign that food is in good supply. We also saw an adult bird flying around the area hunting.

 

Whilst on site, we also took the chance to check another box, which had had 2 Stock Dove eggs in it earlier in the year. When we got there we found 2 well grown chicks, and again I got to ring 1.

 

Stock Doves

 

Both these species are "ringing ticks" for me, which is always nice. The Barn Owl was also a "year tick", which along with a Dipper a few weeks ago means I'm now on 150 species for the year.

 

Year List update:

149 - Dipper

150 - Barn Owl

Bittern and Dipper

Yesterday morning I decided to visit the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Wyver Lane reserve near Belper to see if I could catch up with one of the two Bitterns that have been over-wintering there. A three hour wait began, which ended eventually in success. One bird was seen for a grand total of 2 minutes but I didn't manage any decent photos, so here's one from a few years ago at Potteric Carr, near Barnsley.

Bittern

 

Whilst waiting for the Bittern to show I spent some time looking around the reserve and managed a few other "year ticks" including a pair of Oystercatchers. A Little Owl was also seen. Driving back I stopped off in Cromford and spotted 2 Dippers on the river.

 

Oystercatcher

 

This morning whilst having breakfast and watching the birds on the feeders I recorded another "year tick" with 1 Lesser Redpoll feeding on the sunflower hearts along with seven Siskin and about 20 Goldfinch.

 

Year List:

84 – Bittern

85 – Oystercatcher

86 – Lesser Redpoll

87 - Dipper

Ringing at the Avenue

This morning's ringing session at The Avenue produced a toatl of 11 birds, which included 3 "ringing ticks"; Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, along with several "year ticks"; Swift, Little Ringed Plover, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge and Grasshopper Warbler!

Whitethroat

Other birds ringed were: Blackbird, Dunnock, Yellowhammer, Blackcap (a male and a female) and a male Bullfinch.

Male and female Blackcaps

After the ringing I popped down to the reedbed to see the LRP, a male Wheatear, several Sedge Warblers and the Grasshopper Warbler that was "reeling away". Listen here to hear what one sounds like.

This afternoon I went for a walk around Padley Gorge were Jayne found me another 2 year ticks; a Dipper and a Stonechat.

The Year list moved on:

127 – Swift

128 – Whitethroat

129 – Lesser Whitethroat

130 - Little Ringed Plover

131 – Grasshopper Warbler

132 – Sedge Warbler

133 - Stonechat

134 - Dipper

Padley Gorge - 28th May 2011

Had a short walk down the gorge this afternoon with Jayne. Despite the fact that it was quite late in the day we still managed to find some great birds doing what birds do best at this time of the year, that is creating the next generations!

First sighting was a family party of Grey Wagtails around the top of the gorge, followed closely by an adult Dipper (my first of the year!). Crossing over the river and returning back up towards the moor we could hear Pied Flycatchers singing and soon found a pair feeding young in one of the nest boxes. Whilst watching these birds we heard a real commotion and, looking up, we could see a male Great-spotted Woodpecker feeding young in a perfectly circular nesthole. The young really do make a noise, calling constantly, even when the adults birds aren't present! Nearby a Wood Warbler was heard singing and a female Redstart was spotted in the trees. Highlight of the day, however, went to the pair of Spotted Flycatchers that Jayne found nest building in a broken off tree stump -well done!! The nest is easily viewable from the main path, so I'll pop back laer this week and get some photos. Until then, here's an adult bird I saw back in 2007 at Barbrook Plantation.

Spotted Flycatcher