A Few More Birds!!

 Since my last post, Jayne and I have been out and about, and have managed to add another 6 species to the "Year List!.

The first new species was Pied Flycatcher (155), a single male heard singing at Linacre on 24th April. Several other were also seen and heard at Padley Gorge today. The next species, Garden Warbler (156), was special, as it was a female bird, with a brood patch, that was caught and ringed at Linacre on 26th April. Fingers crossed for successful breeding this year.

The other new species were all seen or heard at Padley Gorge and Big Moor this morning. Cuckoo , 1 heard (157), Redstart, several heard, but none seen - annoying leaves!! (158), Tree Pipit, 1 seen and heard singing (159) and finally, Whinchat - 1 male seen on Big Moor (160).

Tree Pipit

Whinchat

One new butterfly was also seen at Padley Gorge, namely, Green Hairstreak.

Green Hairstreak

Year List Update

 As well as the ringing, Jayne and I had a few walks to try and catch up with a few "year ticks".

The first new bird, Garden Warbler, (164) was seen at Linacre on 4th. The next three: Cuckoo (165), Whitethroat (166) and Redstart (167) were all seen at Burbage Moor and Padley Gorge. The final bird, Pied Flycatcher (168) was found at Linacre on 6th. 

Although not a year tick, another bird I wanted to highlight was this stunning male Garganey that had been reported at Manvers Lake, near  Barnsley, for a few weeks. Unfortunately, it has spent all the time coming to bread (!) along with the resident Mallards, so it may well have escaped from somewhere. Nevertheless, it's still a stunning bird, and great to get close to.

Garganey

Deep Dale - 14th May 2023

 The weather played ball today (20 degrees and sunny) so Jayne and I set off up Deep Dale for a walk.

Whilst there, we spotted 4 species of butterfly, including our first Green Hairstreaks of 2023. Species seen were: Orange Tip (15+), Green Hairstreak (c.10), Brimstone (1 male) and  Red Admiral (1).

Green Hairstreak

Birds were far and few between, but we did see 1 male Redstart, Jackdaw, Carrion Crows, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and, best of all, a single Spotted Flycatcher - my 163rd species of the year.

Longshaw and Padley Gorge

Jayne and I had a walk around Longshaw and Padley Gorge this morning. It was surprisingly quiet, but we did manage to hear a single Cuckoo (158), 1 singing Redstart (159) and 1 Tree Pipit (160).

Other birds seen/heard were: Kestrel, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Pied Flycatcher, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. 

Year List Update - 2nd May 2022

 Over the weekend, Jayne and I have had a couple of trips out and about, and have recorded a few new species for the Year List.

Our first trip, on Sunday, was a walk around Padley Gorge and Longshaw Estate, were we recorded Snipe (139), Redstart (140), Cuckoo (141) and Pied Flycatcher (142).

The second trip (Monday 2nd) was to RSPB Frampton Marsh, were we added the following birds: Sedge Warbler (143), Reed Warbler (144), Black-tailed Godwit (145), Ruff (146), Avocet (147), Spotted Redshank (2 breeding plumaged birds - 148), Little Gull (1 1stwinter/1st summer bird - 149), Common Tern (150) and Yellow Wagtail (151).

Spotted Redshank

Yellow Wagtail

Middleton Top - 13th June 2020

Since lockdown eased, Jayne and I have decided to go and visit some places that we've drived past for years, but have never actually stopped at. One such place is Middleton Top, near Wirksworth.

We parked up, and walked along the old railway line in the direction of Parsley Hay. As we walked along, we began to notice a profusion of bees, and it wasn't long before we spotted our first butterfly of the day, a pristine Small Tortoiseshell. In total, at least 12 were seen, possibly more, and were presumably, newly emerged. Along the walk, we also saw one Small Heath, one Small Skipper , 2 Chimney Sweepers (day-flying moth) and three Meadow Brown.

Chimney Sweeper

There were also many hoverflies, including a new species for me, Leucozona lucorum.

Leucozona lucorum

When we got back to the Visitors' Centre, we noticed a small nature reserve called Redhills Quarry, and had a short look around. The first thing Jayne spotted was a family of Redstarts flying around the bushes. In total, we saw 2 fledged family groups and 1 pair feeding young!

Redstart

We also had a couple of Common Blue Butterflies and, what I think is a Potter Wasp, possibly Ancistrocerus scoticus.

Deep Dale - 19th May 2020

Jayne and I had a few hours walking in the Plantlife reserve in Deep Dale on Tuesday. We go most years to see the orchids and Cowslips. This year, due to the lockdown, we were a little late for the flowers, but we did manage to see some of the other specialities of this reserve.

First up was the Green Hairstreak butterflies. We saw 3 whilst on site. We also spotted a new species for us at Deep Dale, the Dingy Skipper. Again, we managed to see three different individuals. Other butterflies seen were: Wall Brown (1), another new species for us here, Orange Tip (2 males) and Large White (1).

Green Hairstreak

Dingy Skipper (and friend!)

Birdwise it was quite quiet, but we did get great views of a female Redstart, and heard Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.

LINACRE LIFER!!!

It was about 20 degrees on Thursday, so I popped down to Linacre in the afternoon for 3 hours to see what was about. In the sun there were lots of butterflies in and around the buddleia in the ringing site, including: Painted Lady (8 - it's been a fantastic year nationwide for this species, and my best ever at Linacre too), Red Admiral (1), Peacock (2), Comma (1), Wall Brown (1), Gatekeeper (1), Common Blue Butterfly (3 males, 1 in the ringing site and 2 on the bank below the top reservoir. A female was also seen in the ringing site on 23rd), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Meadow Brown (1), Speckled Wood (1), Small Copper (1 on the bank below the bottom reservoir) and Large White (2). Other insects seen were: Brown Hawker (2), Volucella inanis (1), Volucella pellucens (1) and many Marmalade and Eristalis hoverflies.

Birdwise it was relatively quiet, except for the Linacre lifer in the shape of a juvenile REDSTART!!

Redstart

This bird was seen flycatching on the boardwalk, with about 3 Chiffchaffs, for about 1 minute, during a short rain shower. Luckily I managed to get this photo before it flitted off into the bushes and disappeared. I only have one other record of this species at Linacre, 2 birds reported in May 2016, so it could be a breeding species, which has been missed, or it could  just be a passage migrant. Only time, and more records will tell. 

Other birds seen were: Mallard (71), Tufted Duck (14), Mandarin Duck (29), Coot (2 adults and no juveniles!!), Moorhen (12; 4 adults and 8 juveniles), Great-crested Grebe (1 adult), Grey Wagtail (1 juvenile), Robin (1 juvenile), Swallow (2), House Martin (6) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (10 dropped in for 5 minutes during the rain).

Summer Migrants arriving

Over the last couple of days I've managed to add 3 new species to the "year list" as this year's summer migrants have been arriving.

The first new species is Pied Flycatcher. My first record of 2019 came yesterday, when I saw 1 male at Barbrook Plantation. This morning I saw another 3 at Padley Gorge (all males), and managed to get a few nice photos. Here are 2 heavily cropped examples.

Pied Flycatcher

Whilst at Padley I also managed to see a couple of male Redstarts (no photos unfortunately). My last stop was RSPB Eastern Moors, where I spotted a male Wheatear by Barbrook Cottage, and this very obliging Meadow Pipit (not a summer migrant or new for the year, but very nice). 

Meadow Pipit

Year List update:

138 – Pied Flycatcher

139 – Redstart

140 – Wheatear

Year List Update

As always the "year list" has continued to grow over the last week. Number 141, the Garden Warbler was added on Sunday 6th when I was lucky enough to find a singing male in the ringing site at Linacre. A very productive trip to the National Trust's Padley Gorge and nearby Barbrook Valley last Monday added numbers 142 - 146, whilst my first confirmed sighting of Swift came later in the week. The final bird, a stunning Short-eared Owl, was seen today.

Year List update:
141 – Garden Warbler
142 – Pied Flycatcher
143 – Redstart
144 – Cuckoo
145 – Whinchat
146 - Stonechat
147 - Swift
148 - Short-eared Owl

Year List update

I was looking through the blog yesterday, when I realised I'd not updated the Year List since the start of May. Since then, I've added another 8 species to the list, including one (Lesser Whitethroat) that I've not had a for a few years. This species was seen (briefly), and heard singing at Holmebrook Valley Country Park in Chesterfield on 7th May. After seeing this bird I picked Luke up, and travelled to Barlow where we had great views of a Little Owl.

Little Owl

We then drove up to Padley Gorge where we recorded Pied Flycatcher (2 singing males), Redstart (1 singing male), Cuckoo (1 calling male) and Tree Pipit (2 singing males at nearby Barbrook Plantation).

The final "tick" came at the weekend, when a male Whitethroat was recorded singing in the ringing area of Linacre. Hopefully, we'll be able to confirm breeding of this species here again this year.

Year List update:

146 – Swift (first seen in Chesterfield on 5th May)

147 – Lesser Whitethroat

148 – Little Owl

149 – Pied Flycatcher

150 – Redstart

151 – Cuckoo

152 – Tree Pipit

153 - Whitethroat

Linacre WeBS and a New Species

I was down at Linacre on Saturday to carry out a guided walk as part of the Chesterfield Walking Festival. 19 people took part in the walk, and we saw 33 species of bird in just over 3 hours. Whilst there I also logged the number of water birds for this month's WeBS walk. Results were: Mallard (26, including 2 broods of duckling, 12 and 4), Coot (6 adults), Moorhen (6; 4 adults and 2 chicks), Grey Wagtail (1 on the middle reservoir), Mandarin Duck (7 males), Great-crested Grebe (5 birds; 2 pairs, including 1 pair on a nest on the top reservoir, 1 pair on the middle reservoir and 1 bird on the bottom reservoir), Little Grebe (1 breeding plumaged bird on the bottom reservoir), Tufted Duck (12 adults) and the Shag (now into its 7th month!!).

Mallard and 12 ducklings

One of the first species we saw at the start of the walk was this Mistle Thrush. As you can see, it was collecting food by the bottom car park, and then flying to an unseen nest in the woods. A great record.

Mistle Thrush with food

The final record, and unfortunately not one that I made, was a report of 2 Redstarts at Linacre on Saturday. The report was on the Derbyshire Ornithological Society's website, but no further details were given. It would be great to catch up with this species at Linacre!

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

Linacre Birds and Nestboxes- an update

This morning I went down to Linacre to have a first check of the nestboxes, following reports from around the country and from Stewart at The Avenue, that eggs had been laid in the boxes there.

I walked around all the "tit boxes" (87 in total), and found evidence of nests being built in 30, which is quite good for a first visit. Most of the nests were just beginning, with a few being lined, but without any eggs. Just 1 box contained 2 eggs, which were the first of the season. They were uncovered and cold, which means the adult was still laying her clutch. A pair of Blue Tits were seen nearby, so I guess they could be Blue Tit eggs. I'll wait to confirm that on further visits. These eggs are a full month earlier than last year(!), but then we had a very late spring then. Looking back at my notes, the first eggs in 2012 and 2011 were all recorded on or around the 14th April, so it seems that we're spot on this year. I'll check again in about a week, when hopefully there'll be a few more active nests and some more eggs.

First eggs of 2014

 

Other evidence of breeding activity around the site today included the usual resident woodland birds in good voice (tits, Chaffinch, Wren etc...) several singing Chiffchaffs (4), Blackcaps (3) and the first Willow Warblers of the year (3). The Coot nest found last week was still being incubated, as were the 2 Great-crested Grebe nests, and a new Moorhen nest was also found (first of the year). Unfortunately none of these nests are accessible to monitor for the BTO's Nest Record Scheme, unlike the boxes that will all be followed and reported as the season progresses. Last, but not least, was a brood of 8 Mallard ducklings seen on the middle reservoir. They were very young, most likely just a day or so old. Again, this is very early, as the first brood last year wasn't seen until 6th June!

 

After Linacre I popped across to Barbrook Plantation to see if I could catch up with a Redstart that had been recorded, a few days ago. I dropped lucky and got good views after just a few minutes.

 

Year List update:

116 - Swallow

117 - Willow Warbler



118 - Redstart

Whilst checking the boxes I also noted 5 species of bee, 2 species of hoverfly, 6  species of butterfly and a new fly species! Details to come.

Another Ringing Tick

Following quick on the heels of last week's Redstart chicks, I was back at the DWT's Ladybower Woods reserve on Friday to catch up with the Pied Flycatcher chicks that were too small to ring last weekend.

Oak woodland at Ladybower Wood

This time around there was one box of  pulli that were ready, so together with Ray, my trainer and Stewart, I got to ring my 43rd species of bird and my 5th new species of the year.

Here are the brood before ringing and one of the 6 individuals I was lucky enough to ring.

Pied Flycatchers

 

Pied Flycatcher pullus

 

Ladybower Wood SSSI

Spent a couple of hours out at the DWT's Ladybower Wood reserve with Stewart from the ringing group to check a few boxes and ring my first Redstart pulli. He had 1 box  with 4 chicks in it and we ringed 2 each. Thanks Stewart!

Redstart pulli

 

We checked a few other boxes and ringed some Blue and Great Tits, but the 4 boxes with Pied Flycatcher chicks and eggs weren't ready, so they'll have to wait for another day.

 

Pied Flycatcher chicks

 

Pied Flycatcher eggs

 

As well as these birds we also managed to record several other species including 2 "year ticks", namely Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit. Cuckoos were calling all morning and Stewart managed a quick glimpse of one as I dragged myself up the hill!!

 

Year List:

142 - Wood Warbler

143 - Tree Pipit

Little Owl ringed

It was a little too windy to set the nets this morning, so instead we had a lay in and met up at Linacre at 9.30am with the intention of checking the progress of the Little Owl and Mandarin nests. In the end it turned out to be a very good decision with a new ringing tick for me (thanks everyone!) and good news on the Mandarins.

First up the ringing tick. We went across to the Little Owl nest and managed to ring the female bird.

Little Owl

 

We also noticed that she had 2 eggs in the nest, so we updated the record card for the BTO's Nest Record Scheme. According to my superb nest recording book (see here), the average clutch size is between 3-5 eggs, so she may well lay at least 1 more egg.  Owls usually start incubating as soon as they lay their first egg, and the young hatch asynchronously. The youngest chick can then become food for the older chick/s if other food is scarce. Hopefully this won't happen with this nest, but we'll leave her now and, if all goes to plan, i.e. the weather stays good and the nest isn't predated, we'll go back and ring the chick/s later in the year.

 

After ringing the Little Owl, we went across to the Mandarin nests and were very pleased to see that both boxes contained incubating females. Again, more information for the Nest Record Scheme.

 

Mandarin Duck

 

One last sighting from Linacre was the male Whitethroat, that I found on Thursday. He was still on site singing and displaying beautifully. Hopefully he'll attract a mate soon.

 

In the afternoon I went out to Chatsworth with Jayne. We had a lovely walk from the Carlton Lees car park and saw 3 Redstarts, including 2 males, which were fighting over a female bird. Whilst there we also recorded the first Garden Warbler of the year, a Treecreeper, a singing Willow Warbler, several Swallows, a pair of Pied Wagtails, Chaffinches, Goldfinch and lots of chirruping House Sparrows.

Year List update:
121 - Garden Warbler

Linacre nests at last and summer migrants

Today started with a walk around Linacre to check the tit boxes. After a complete blank back on the 13th I was hoping for something, anything, and thankfully I wasn't completely disappointed. No eggs or birds were found in the boxes, but at least there were 14 nests being built. They ranged from a few pieces of moss up to a nests lined with feathers, so hopefully there should be some eggs this year and some records for the BTO's Nest Record Scheme.

1 of the most advance nests

 

Also found in one of the boxes was a Brown Long-eared Bat. It was in the same box as previously (see here), and, as can be seen on the picture, there was small mite on it as well.

 

Brown Long-eared Bat

 

As well as checking the nest boxes I also walked all around the valley today and managed a couple of new species for the year; House Martin (6 over the middle reservoir) and Swift (1 over the middle reservoir). The Swift was my earliest ever record since recording began in 2006. 30ish Swallows were also present today, along with at least 3 singing Blackcaps, 4 singing Chiffchaffs and 7 singing Willow Warblers! An adult male Pied Wagtail was on the top reservoir. Another first for me was a record of Toad, with 4 dead on the boardwalk. They all looked as if they had been eaten, presumably by Carrion Crows?

Whilst walking around I met Jackie,one of the rangers and a volunteer, Antony, who told me they had recorded some Common Lizards around the top reservoir this year and Grass Snakes around Spire View, so there's 2 new species for my records. Something else for me to look for!!

One final report from Linacre as this bumblebee, which I think is a White-tailed Bumblebee, seen here feeding on a Willow.

White-tailed Bumblebee

After lunch I had a walk up to Barbrook Plantation with Jayne, where we spotted a nice male Wheatear and a stunning male Redstart. 2 more year ticks.

Dodgy photo!

 

Singing Redstart

 

Year List update:
115 – Red Grouse (1 last week on Burbage Moor)
116 – House Martin
117 – Swift
118 – Wheatear
119 - Redstart

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