Wanderings from the Front Door- 23rd-25th June 2020

 I took the Summer Lane path from Wirksworth over to Carsington Water once again on a hot summer's day, making my way across quiet fields with cattle, to the Hopton end of the big reservoir. The reedbed was quiet, the Warblers perhaps kept down by the hot, close weather. Abundant Meadow Brown butterflies were on the wing. A distant raptor hawked over the woods-it could have been a Hobby, or a Dragonfly-hunting Kestrel, ever a source of confusion, not seen well enough to add the species to my 'lockdown list.' A Little Egret flew by on slow, lazy wings, bright white in the summer sun. Garden Warbler and Chiffchaff sang near Sheepwash, and so many Meadow Browns fluttered among the meadow flowers, the pink and purple orchids.  The roar of jet engines broke the tranquility as a pair of Eurofighter Typhoon jets flew by, low over the hills.

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, taken in 2019, somewhere. 

When I reached the visitors' centre, I found it unexpectedly busy, a striking change from a few weeks ago. A shirtless man walked the foreshore with a can of Stella, and families played beside the shallows. One wonders how many wader nests failed mid season on account of this sudden disturbance, having had its first months to themselves.

Still camera-less, photos are taken from previous adventures. Here is Carsington Water in Summer, in more normal times. 

I made my way back the way I came, hoping to reconnect with the possible 'Hobby' but I failed, though, by the reedbed screen, as the day cooled a Reed Bunting sang. I walked back, as the hay cut was underway in the fields which just yesterday seemed full of spring grass and Dandelions. A large Aeshna spp. dragonfly was hawking over the aftermath, perhaps feeding on the myriad small insects, their world falling apart to the tractor. Of course, the meadow would bloom again, as it has perhaps for hundreds of years, but their seemed a curious finality to it, the beginning of Summer's slow decline. But the air was still warm, and the average thermal maximum  still a month away. 

Birds Seen:Canada Goose+fl, Greylag Goose+fl, Mute Swan, Mallard +fl, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Swift, Magpie +fl, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Great Tit +fl, Swallow, House Martin, Long Tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting.

A Bullfinch at Attenborough in 2018.

Butterflies, Hopton End: Large White (1) Meadow Brown (5) Small Tortoiseshell (3) Red Admiral (2) 

Lane Ends-Wildlife Centre: Small White (1) Large Skipper (2) Small Tortoiseshell (2) Red Admiral (1) Meadow Brown (35)

Wildlife Centre-Visitors' Centre: Speckled Wood (1) Large Skipper (2) Meadow Brown (26) 

A Brimstone was near Lane Ends on the return trip.

A Brimstone in the West Country in 2018

A Breif Stroll to Bolehill, 24th June 2020

On what had been a difficult day for personal reasons, I took a stroll to clear my mind, on a hot summer's afternoon. I walked to Bolehill, across grassland now infested with Meadow Browns. A Sparrowhawk floated by on the warm updrafts. More sadly, a Buzzard trailed unknown debris, perhaps some plastic detritus caught around a talon. 

I played a brief but happy game of stick with someone else's dog, and continued across Bolehill village toward Little Bolehill, where the path drops back towards Wirksworth beside a private house, and the bird life here was characteristically interesting. Mistle Thrush fledgelings argued with a family of Blackbirds, a noisy exchange of staccato notes, and wrens and warblers were busy among the foliage. 

As I returned to Wirksworth I encountered a group of young people enjoying a small barbecue next to the stream, and thought it pleasant to see normality returning, people getting back out into the sunshine. Swallows were darting about, feeding on the aerial plankton, the small flies of summer. 

Back home, taking a few moments in the garden, Swifts wheeled and whistled gleefully overhead. 

I noticed, then, my brussel sprouts. The Large White butterfly caterpillars, who I had immediately welcomed to them, of course, had all gone. Dispersed, to pupate. I shall miss them. 

Birds Seen: Pheasant, Sparrowhawk, buzzard, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Swallow, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Mistle Thrush +fl, Blackbird +fl, Robin, Dunnock,. Chaffinch, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies: Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown (many!) 

Mammal: Grey Squirrel.

A Meadow Brown, Gratton Dale, 2018

Carsington Water Again 25th June 2020. 

Knowing that Carsington Water, the patch where I get most of my year ticks nowadays, was fully open, drew me back time and again. On the 25th June, another fiercely hot, close, still day, I made my down Summer Lane. Meadow Browns were again very abundant, and there were a few Small Tortoiseshells of the second brood about. The farmer was baling the hay he cut two days before. Higher up, Bullocks grazed contentedly in the sunshine. 

I took the quieter side of the water, and in the woods fringing the reservoir, bands of Tits picked their way through the trees. Yellow flushed Coal Tit fledgelings were among them, and there was a juvenile Goldcrest in the pines. There were relatively few birds on the water. The island near Millfields hosted plenty of Black Headed Gull youngsters, some of which had now taken to the water.  A Ringlet butterfly was my first of the year at the site, an indicator of the advancing season. 

A Ringlet Butterfly, Sometime in the past, for illustrative purposes. Man they are not easy to make look exciting. 

There were still plenty of people about, many of them on the foreshore, and the Millfields car park was a hive of activity, barbecues and party balloons, and it felt somewhat incongruous on my gentle, birdy stroll, so I retraced my steps a little and made my return journey via Kirk Ireton, buying a take-away pint from the Barley Mow to drink on the way home. I walked up Half Moon Lane, where butterflies were still abundant as the hours moved on apace.

Butterflies. Small Tortoiseshells, abounding, at South Walney in Cumbria in 2015

There were plenty of Hirundines on the wing as I passed the small hilltop hamlet on the way, and House Martins nested under the eaves. I returned to Wirksworth in the evening, crossing several fields of cattle with their calves. A Sparrowhawk hunted after passerines in the bushes. 

When I returned home, swifts were once again whistling overhead. 

Birds Seen

Canada Goose +fl, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose +fl, Mute Swan, Mallard +fl, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe+ fl, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Coot +fl, Oystercatcher, Black Headed Gull +NY, fl, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Magpie, Jay, Coal Tit +fl, Blue Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff +fl, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Goldcrest +fl, Wren, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies: Summer Lane Area: Common Blue (1) Small White (1) Large Skipper (2) Small Tortoiseshell (2) Meadow Brown (70) 

NE of Reservoir: Large White (1) Red Admiral (1) Small Tortoiseshell (4) Meadow Brown (4) 

West Side of Reservoir: Speckled Wood (2) Meadow Brown (84) Ringlet (1) Small White (1) Large White (1) Red Admiral (1) Small Tortoiseshell (6) 

Millfields area: Large Skipper (2) Speckled Wood (4) Red Admiral (1) Small Tortoiseshell (1) Meadow Brown (21) 

Carsington to Kirk Ireton (late) Speckled Wood (1) Red Admiral (1) Small Tortoiseshell (5) Meadow Brown (37)

Speckled Wood, for illustrative purposes. 

Wanderings in the Strangest Summer. Tittesworth Reservoir, 21st June 2020

 I accepted Natty's kind offer of a lift up to Severn-Trent's Staffordshire reservoir at Tittesworth, in the shadow of the Roaches, and was surprised to find the site heaving with people and their dogs, running everywhere including the foreshore, putting up the waders, including a small crowd of Oystercatchers, surprised and confused at their previously quiet habitat suddenly robbed from them. 
The woods were relatively quiet, and I escaped the throng as I walked away from the Visitor Centre. The carefully managed Wild Flower meadows were alive with meadow browns and Small Tortoiseshells, flying among the ox-eye daisies and the Orchids, and they were a beautiful sight in the sunshine.

Small Tortoiseshell, photographed in 2015. Diving into the archive to illustrate these as I was still waiting for my new camera. 

Most of the avian interest was to be found on the Western side of the Reservoir, where a patchwork landscape of copses and scrub, fringed by fenced off farmland, dominates. A disheveled and unwell-looking Willow Tit adult fed a noisy fledgling. According to the Collins, Willow Tit fledgelings produce loud begging calls, while the near-indistinguishable Marsh Tit is near silent in its youth.  The Willow Tit is a fast declining bird and it was sad to see the adult in such an unfortunate state, showing severe feather loss and the suggestion of avian pox around its face. I hope it survived long enough to see the youngster to independence and the disease was not transmitted between the two of them, as this charming little species needs all the breeding success it can get. 

A beautiful Little Ringed Plover scuttled back and forth beside the water's edge, and Common Terns fished gracefully. The banks were alive with midsummer flowers, foxgloves and Ragged Robin. 
I reconnected with Natalie and we paused a while on the Bridge, and watched a Common Sandpiper probing about in the mud, possibly a returning migrant. A distinctive shape, like an obese torpedo on hummingbird wings, a Kingfisher whirred by, as the Terns continued fishing in the open water.

A Kingfisher photographed in Suffolk in January 2020. 

Birds Seen: Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Black Headed Gull, Common Tern, Swift, Kingfisher, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit + Fl, Willow Tit +Fl, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies: Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Green Veined White, Red Admiral. 

Wandering in the Strangest Summer: Curbar, Froggatt and White Edge via the Longshaw Estate. 20th June 2020

20th June 2020 

I parked up on the bend in the road up to Curbar Edge from Curbar, camera-less sadly following its unfortunate inundation in the storm which had caught me at Bradford Dale, and took the low path, through the trees, passing some lovely fresh Small Tortoiseshells, and blooming Foxgloves. The woods were fairly bird-quiet, so I made my way up onto the moor, with the Heather and Meadow Pipits. There were loads of people up here, making their entertainment in the outdoors, though perhaps this is typical. A smart Whinchat, a charming summer visitor, migrant relative of the Stonechat, perched atop a frond of Bracken.

Photos taken on Curbar Edge in 2018

I spent a few moments in solstice meditation at the Stone Circle, ancient marker of this rather magical place high in the Eastern moors, and also took in the vistas across the valley, as the Swifts wheeled above and below me. I strolled downhill into Hay Wood, which was beautiful and alive with birdsong, and charming wrens. I reached the Longshaw Estate, National Trust land. The National Trust in Derbyshire was sadly mired in controversy a few years ago, when a gamekeeper was seen to place a plastic decoy Hen Harrier, a fiercely persecuted, endangered and magnificent raptor, and wait by it with a gun, until walkers sent him packing and the Trust ended his employer's shooting lease. This incident did not happen here, but on land near the Snake Pass, according to Raptor Persecution UK, but unfortunately some of the Longshaw Estate remains under grouse shooting management.

There remains a rich, wild beauty to Longshaw's moorland fringes, its moorland though well walked is home to some remarkable wildlife. A Hobby, a small migrant falcon about the size of a kestrel, but faster and more agile,  hunted over a blooming moor, its underside boldly streaked, a black mustache on its white cheeks. The sound of aero engines made me look up, as a Harvard trainer flew loudly overhead in formation with a couple of smaller machines and a Nanchang. Further engine sounds a few moments later caused me to look up again, and a Hurricane, iconic fighter of the Battle of Britain, followed the same path through the sky. 

Following my pleasant aviation interlude I continued onto the parkland, where a handsome Cuckoo sat silent, my first sighting of this bird this year. I arrived at the heart of the Trust's visitor operation, a popular temporary cafe in a wooden shed, and enjoyed a local ice cream before continuing my exploration of the parkland, enjoying Nuthatches and Coal Tits busy in the branches. A pond on the estate is a great site to see Mandarin ducks.  

I left the Longshaw Estate and all its people behind, and continued onto the high, undulating expanse of White Edge, part of Big Moor. This was quieter, though a family disconcertingly allowed their dog to run off lead. Curlews bubbled their mournful calls, and small bands of deer grazed peaceably below, and Meadow Pipits sang.  A beautiful Stonechat put on a distraction display beside the path.

Stonechat photographed at South Walney in 2015

As I returned to the car, I was surprised to find many young people gathered around, dressed for a night out in alternative stylings, perhaps en route to some Solstice gathering. Were I ten years younger I might have attempted to join them. I hope they had a good night. 

Birds Seen: Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Curlew, Woodpigeon, Cuckoo, Swift, Hobby, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Wren, Nutchatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Whinchat, Stonechat, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch. 

Mammals: Grey Squirrel, Brown Hare, Red Deer. 

Butterflies: Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown. 

Flashback: Curbar Edge, 30th May 2020

Natty and I took a brief drive, the first one since lockdown for a birdy trip together, to Curbar Edge on he Eastern Moors. The sun was high and bright but a gentle breeze cooled the tops. There were many families out enjoying the sun, but possible disturbing the birds somewhat. Meadow Pipits were plentiful and some stonechats a welcome sight, and there was a beautiful red Cardinal Beetle on the heather.

Cardinal Beetle on Curbar Edge. 

Unfortunately we were witness to an unfolding disaster, as a thick column of smoke rose from the moors somewhere to the North of us. A call to the Eastern Moors RSPB warden to alert him, we found his number online thanks to the miracle of mobile technology, confirmed it was on Bamford Moor, near the Derwent reservoirs. Six fire engines, and a helicopter, I learned on the internet, were needed to put it out, with the support of gamekeepers and other land workers.  In these dry summers, keep your barbecues off the moors, people, and don't smoke up there. A fire at this time of year is devastating for bird life, grouse, raptors and stonechats alike nest in the heather, and the frequency of fires in recent summers far exceeds natural levels.

The Bamford Moor Fire from Curbar Edge. 

We strolled sadly back down the low path, through the leafy birch woodland, where Natty's expert ears picked out Yellowhammer and Cuckoo calling.

Birds Seen: Mallard (flew over) Cuckoo (Heard only) Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush (heard only) Robin, Stonechat, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer (heard only) 

Not Birds Seen: Cardinal Beetle, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Heath, Green Veined White. 

Wanderings in the Strangest Summer: Elton to Bradford Dale 17th June 2020

17th June 2020 

I took the short drive to Elton, not to be confused with the same name, once again, and parked near the church, where I was greeted almost immediately by a confiding young Song Thrush.  From here, and in pleasant weather, white cloud above, I crossed the farm fields where a magnificent Hereford Bull nuzzled affectionately with one of his cows. A glance signalled permission to cross, and I did so. I walked through meadows now teaming with Meadow Browns and Small Tortoiseshells, even on this overcast day.

Song Thrush at Elton

Then I crossed some 'improved' fields, ugly dayglo green dairy deserts, little more than lawns, with few butterflies. I waked past enclosed copses fenced in by barbed wire. Barbed wire was a feature only of the improved fields, curiously. I reached a rock-strewn slope and descended through the cattle, and paused to view a small pond, signs advertising it for angling, where coots and tufted ducks swam. The Eastern end of Bradford Dale was heavily managed and well trodden, but there were wild flowers down to the water's edge attended by smart Red Admirals and yet more Small Tortoiseshells.

The Eastern side, where I walked beyond the bridge in Youlgreave, was more wooded in character, though host to Grey Wagtails, swans, and an area of slow, crystal clear water designated for swimming. I walked into the woodland, in decreasing light, as storm clouds gathered. The river had historically been managed for fish, once on a commercial basis, and was divided into concrete pools, each holding a family of Mallards, some with large, near adult size juveniles, others with downy doughball ducklings. The weather was on its way, but still I paused to enjoy a Dipper darting in and out from a nest in some pipework where the river flows under a small arch bridge.

I took the footpath through some wetlands, across a camp site, abandoned for the time being, past a field of inquisitive bullocks, who walked in step with me on the other side of a fence, and reached a narrow road near one of a couple of places in the UK called Robin Hood's Stride. Here the heavens opened, and I found a memorial bench overhung with branches, I wish I could remember to whom it was dedicated, but to their family I am grateful, as from this bench I watched fork lightning split the sky, as the downpour drew on. Hares darted at the sound of thunder like gunfire, and cattle bellowed in their frustration, and gathered together around the loudest. Birdwatching was out of the window, butterfly spotting a laughable dream

When the rain alleviated a little, I made my way back to Elton. When it had stopped, I shivered. To my surprise, on my way back to Elton, I saw a Barn Owl, floating ghostly over the fields. Perhaps the rain had been so heavy mice and voles had been flooded out of their holes. It dived into the grass, stayed down a moment, and then was up again and flying. I reached for my camera, but found its viewfinder and LCD display frosted by condensation. 

I made my way back to my car, shivering, disassembled the camera, hopelessly it transpired, a victim of the deluge, on the passenger seat to dry. As I drove, another storm rolled into the green valleys.

Grey Wagtail

Butterflies Seen: Elton-Bradford Dale: Small Copper 1, Red Admiral 1, Small Tortoiseshell 6, Meadow Brown 29. 

Bradford-Alport: Small Tortoiseshell 8, Meadow Brown 1. 

Bradford Dale East: Red Admiral 1, Common Blue 1, Small Tortoiseshell 5, Meadow Brown 3.

Bradford Dale West (inclement weather) Green Veined White 1, Small Tortoiseshell 2.

Birds Seen: Greylag Goose,Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Woodpigeon, Barn Owl, Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Kestrel, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Wren, Treecreeper, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Redstart, Dipper (visiting nest) House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch. 

Lockdown Walks-A Retrospective. 13th - 16th June 2020

 13th June 2020

Stoney Wood and the paths between the High Peak Trail and Carsington Water. 

I took a stroll out of the front door this time, up through Stoney Wood, where the butterfly munching Spotted Flycatcher was up and about, and a Kestrel hovered. I made my way along the left hand path through the disused quarries, the one with the tunnel and the barbed wire, and through the scarred and uneven landscape. 

I crossed the road into the sheep field, and took the path down through the fields.  

I ate my lunch in a field overlooking some cattle, where a stunning male Redstart darted between the wind-bent Hawthorns. A Matriarchal looking cow made confrontational noises at me. I must confess after the Bull incident, I was a little averse to mixing with her, so I kept out of her way. 

Many of the thistles in these fields had been sprayed, bent over and yellowing, even as Butterflies tried to feed on the blossoms. However there was a glorious patch of Scabious and Meadowsweet, attended by beautiful Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Small Tortoiseshell on Scabious. 

Stoney Wood Birds: Kestrel, Jackdaw, Wren, Spotted Flycatcher

Stoney Wood Butterflies: Common Blue (1) Small Heath (1) 

Stoney Wood-High Peak Trail Butterflies Meadow Brown (6) Speckled Wood (1) Small Tortoiseshell (9) Red Admiral (2) Small Copper (1)

Speckled Wood Butterfly. Only as I add the photo to the blog do I notice it has no antennae. Odd. 

High Peak Trail-Hopton Environs Butterflies: Meadow Brown (3) Red Admiral (1) Small Tortoiseshell (7) Common Blue (1) Small Heath (1) Large Skipper (1) 

Birds: Pheasant, Buzzard, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Kestrel, Magpie, Jackdaw, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Whitethroat, Mistle Thrush, Redstart, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch.

Skylark

14th June 2020

Carsington Water

I hitched a lift to Carsington Water with Lizzie and Natalie, and arrived in the Visitor's Centre car park. It was sunny, humid and disconcertingly populous. Inevitably visitors had invaded the foreshore and their dogs were in the water. The tranquility of lockdown, for the birds were at an end, and Oystercatchers circled, and alarm called constantly as witless humanity trampled what had been their quiet nest site. 

I walked across the Dam Wall, around to Millfields, on the far side of the lake, As soon as I had cleared the car park, the place seemed deserted. A Lesser Stag Beetle was a lovely sighting. The Black Headed Gull Colony appeared to be having a good year, with several young birds on the water, and Great Crested Grebes attended their growing 'humbugs.' Juvenile Blackcaps were out and about too, in the hedges. Willow, Blue and Long-Tailed Tits had begun moving with their broods in their small family groups typical for the later part of the summer.

Lesser Stag Beetle. 

The weather was punctuated by frequent bouts of heavy rain. A man sheltered his dog under his jacket as his shirt sleeves got soaked. Love. 

I walked through the mature woodland, on the less explored side of the reservoir, and saw a field vole pootling about on the path, as if without a care in the world, perhaps a youngster naive to the risk of predation it faced out in the open. 

I waited at Sheepwash for my lift home and watched the Pipistrelles zipping about among the trees, a larger bat or two among them, perhaps Noctules, and a Tawny Owl called in the descending gloom. Rain began to fall. 

Mammals: Pipistrelle, Noctule (?) Rabbit, Field Vole, Grey Squirrel

Butterflies: Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown. 

Other Invertebrates: Oedemira nobilis, Lesser Stag Beetle, Black Soldier Beetle, and too many biting Horseflies. 

Birds: Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Tawney Owl, Swift, Kestrel, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Willow Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Wren, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting. 

16th June 2020

Cromford Canal via Bolehill

On a sunny afternoon  I walked up to Bolehill, via the fields behind the Railway station. A dead Bullfinch on the footpath was a sad sight, the body apparently undamaged, perfect. Perhaps a cat kill, or a window collision casualty. On a happier note, the Siskins were back again, the first time I had seen these charming little arboreal finches, green and yellow and streaky. The flock appeared to include fledgelings, suggesting local breeders. To a Southerner, seeing these finches in summer still feels exotically Northern. There was a juvenile Goldfinch in among them. 

I marched up past the Trig point, and nodded at a few walkers, before I wandered down to the High Peak Trail, under an amenable sky of bright white cloud. I joined a path down the grassy, open slopes, enjoying glorious views of Cromford and the Heights beyond. There were confiding Meadow Pipits posing on the rocks, often overlooked but such smart little passerines up close, and Small Heath butterflies fluttered in the grass. I reached Intake Lane, and joined the canal at its head in Cromford. Geese and their goslings hung around outside what, in a normal summer, would be busy food outlets. I followed the towpath, now in sunshine, passing a few fine Cardinal Beetles, and a shoal of small Perch, boldly striped. I reached the High Peak junction, and here a shoal of Roach, pretty, silver fish, very common in such waterways, hung in the crystal clear water.

Meadow Pipit

On the river Derwent, from the bridge behind the sewerage farm, I paused to watch a beautiful family of Grey Wagtails, three fledged juveniles and two adults. These beautiful wagtails, which are often associated with running water like the Derwent, are somewhat badly named. Though they have a deep, smart grey back, their undersides are bright yellow in the male, who also in the breeding season has a deep black bib, and lemon yellow in the female. They are not to be confused with yellow wagtail, the charming running dandelions associated with short grazed grassland.  As I watched these birds, another passerine appeared among them, a small, stocky brown bird with a white belly, bobbing on a rock, before dipping into the fast flowing water, pausing with its head submerged, before briefly disappearing from view in the current, popping up again on another rock. A Dipper! Dippers are the only passerine in Britain to regularly hunt for food, usually small invertebrates, underwater. As I watched the dipper through my binoculars, a flash of blue darted through my vision.  A Kingfisher! I watched it fly off downriver, a stripe of electric blue between whirring wings. Three remarkable and charismatic species of fast flowing water, viewed from this one spot in just a few seconds. 

I caught my breath and walked up a little further along the canal, hoping to see some of these birds again from the aqueduct. The dipper alone was visible, and I watched it busily feeding for a short while. I spoke briefly with a gentleman from Ambergate, sharing our sightings, and he recalled a time when the canal was wildly overgrown, largely abandoned by industry and not yet rediscovered by recreation, and hosted impressive Pike, a species no longer regularly seen there. 

The walk beside the canal revealed few new bird species and I did not see the Kingfisher again, so I made my way back over the fields as the sun went down. When I returned home, Natalie informed me that a tremendous rainstorm had fallen. Only a couple of miles away, on the other side of the hill, it had passed me my entirely as I enjoyed riverside avian splendour.

A Kingfisher. Photo taken at Lakenheath Fen, Cambridgeshire, in January. 

Birds Seen: Canada Goose +fl, Mallard, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Moorhen, Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Kingfisher, Kestrel, Jay, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Sand Martin, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Linnet, Siskin. 

Fishes: Perch, Roach. 

Wanderings in the Strangest Summer, a Retrospective. Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore

11th June 2020

With lockdown coming to an end, but my weekdays still luxuriously free, Natty and I celebrated our Anniversary with a drive out to the Lincolnshire coast, our longest away trip since March. We deliberately chose a grey day to avoid any crowds, though, as the weather deteriorated, we realised we may have chosen a little too well. 
Under a grey sky we walked from the car park down the main path toward the 360 hide, which remained closed, before pressing on toward the sea wall. Despite the cold winds, a Sedge Warbler put on a distraction display, posing on the wire fence, a response to a predator, distracting attention from the fledgelings in the reeds.

Sedge Warbler

In a creek on our right, a Spoonbill, crowned by its breeding plumes, pale yellow horseshoe marking emblazoned on its chest, emerged, and walked close to us, unperturbed by our presence. A stunning bird, once considered a real rarity, Spoonbills have begun to colonise Britain in recent years, but to see one so close and in its breeding finery was still a great privilege. A Little Ringed Plover, surprisingly well camouflaged against the mud, almost disappeared when it turned its back to us. It probed in the mud with its short bill, before flying off into the grassy marsh, the lack of a wing bar confirming its identity. 

Spoonbill

On the pool to the left of us were many Avocets with their chicks, big headed and gangly legged. Some took shelter beneath the wings of their parents, creating the impression of a six-legged bird, while the other parent was up mobbing a passing Gull. 
From the sea wall we watched displaying Redshanks, dropping on stiff downcurved wings, and calling eerily. Avocet parents mobbed us a little, flying close and noisily, and we made our way by as quickly as we could, to avoid creating any more disturbance or exposing the chicks to opportunistic and more confiding corvids and gulls. Perhaps reduced foot traffic during the lockdown period had allowed them to nest closer to the sea wall than they would otherwise have. 
The hedges are noted for their passerine avifauna, and I was looking forward to squinting into bushes for little brown birds, when it began to rain. Indeed, the heavens opened and all the birds were driven into deep cover. There was still plenty of birdsong, Natty's musician's ears identified 12 singing Yellowhammer, though I only heard three. The rain drove us onward to the sheltered stretch of public footpath, where the seeing was easier, and at least our binoculars could stay dry. A pair of Turtle Doves flew by, and damp, bedraggled hares stood hunched in neighboring fields. 
Beaten by the rain, Natty and I retreated to the motor, and then to Boston, where we picked up a fish and chip supper and headed to Freiston Shore. 

Birds Seen: Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Cormorant, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Tern, Woodpigeon, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, Swift, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Starling, Blackbird, Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting.

Freiston Shore

We ate our chips in the car as the rain beat down on the roof, then took a brief walk down the path. past fledgeling blackbirds, baffled by what must have been their first encounter with heavy rain. A robin sang beautifully, but was wise enough not to expose itself to the harsh conditions. The hirundines were busy, hunting insects low over the water. Mist and rain limited our visibility, so we struggled to make out any waders a reasonable distance away. 
Freiston is in many ways a smaller version of Frampton, with freshwater lagoons and saltmarsh, but it does boast a clear view of the sea, something I had dearly missed over the past few months. 

Birds Seen: Mute Swan, Mallard, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Black Headed Gull, Common Tern, Carrion Crow, Swallow, House Martin, Wren, Blackbird, Robin (H)   

Wanderings in the Strangest Summer- A retrospective.

 2nd June 2020

I parked the car in Elton, a small village just off the road to Bakewell, and took a wander along the still quiet country roads to Gratton Dale, a dry, narrow dale, host to a lot of scrub as well as wildflower rich, limestone grassy banks. There was a huge abundance of butterflies, Common Blues chasing off anything in sight. The Common Blues combined with the activity brought on by warm conditions made photographing butterflies very challenging. Among the butterflies chased off by the territorial blues was a scruffy Green Hairstreak, a species coming to the end of its season. There were plenty of very fresh Brown Argus on the wing too, possibly the univoltine (single brooded) race which occurs round here. A Tawny Owl hooted in the daytime, which seemed unusual. The blackbirds were going crazy, mobbing something unseen. A pair of Redstarts were provisioning their young.

Brown Argus

Common Blue

A couple of years ago Gratton Dale had hosted hundreds of Dark Green Fritillaries, I had visited them in late June, an abundance of big orange butterflies, but this time I only encountered a single individual. Perhaps their numbers will swell towards the summer Solstice. There were still a few early season species about, in Brimstone and Orange Tip as well as Green Hairstreak. The beetle Oedemira nobilis was seen in good numbers in all their green jewel brilliance, both sexes, thick-thighed male and female, feasting on the large daisies. Abundant Large Skipper butterflies were my first of the year of this common species. 

Dark Green Fritillary

Oedemira nobilis (male)

Oedemira nobilis (female)

Long Dale was quieter, and lacked the wild kaleidoscope of butterflies, though a Skylark sang overhead. A small copper was pretty but camera shy, and there were plenty of Small Heaths. Long Dale is a National Nature Reserve and kept close grazed, genrally regarded as very well managed, buit I felt it perhaps a little overgrazed, and it lacked the diversity of habitat and the lush verdance of Gratton Dale.  Day flying moths were about, including a Wood Tiger, an arctid with beautiful cream and brown forewings and yellow dappled hindwings, and Forester moths, I'd not like to guess a species, fat and metallic green, were abundant.

Small Heath

Wood Tiger

I climbed the footpath North out of Long Dale over the farmland, and a pair of Linnet watched me attentively as I passed, from a perch atop the Gorse. I avoided a field full of cattle and took in the views. A narrow path among the white Cow Parsley led me down to a road, which I crossed, entering a treecreeper infested patch of woodland. This led me along a stone path to the infant River Bradford. I elected not to try to walk Bradford Dale too, on grounds of time, and took the footpath back toward Gratton village and Elton. Near Gratton I saw a stunning Brown Hare in the grass, and in the grounds of a dairy, numerous Small Tortoiseshells defended a patch of nettles.

Large Skipper

Gratton Village was gloriously wildlife rich, surprisingly so, with an attractive pair of reed buntings, apparently breeding beside a small stream. Chirping House Sparrows were around the houses, and House Martins nested under the eaves. A beautiful Wall butterfly was an unexpected pleasure to see in this pretty stream side hamlet.

Wall

I made my way across more fields back into Elton, to head home, having enjoyed a beautiful, butterfly rich stroll in the glorious June weather. 

Gratton Dale Birds Seen: Buzzard, Tawny Owl, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackbird, Redstart, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies: Large Skipper (10) Green Veined White (6) Dark Green Fritillary (2) Common Blue (25) Dingy Skipper (6) Brimstone (4) Brown Argus (5) Orange Tip (1) Green Hairstreak (3) Speckled Wood (2) Small Heath (3) 

Other invertebrates of note: Oedemira nobilis, Aeshna juncea

Mammals: Grey Squirrel

Green Hairstreak

Long Dale Birds: Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Linnet. 

Butterflies Green Hairstreak (1) Dingy Skipper (1) Small Heath (19) Small Copper (1) Large Skipper (1) Large White (2)

Others: Forester Moth, Wood Tiger. 

Elton and Gratton Environs Birds: Pheasant, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Kestrel, Magpie (+fl) Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow (+Fl) House Martin, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Wren, Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Redstart, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting. 

Butterflies: Green Veined White (5) Orange Tip (3) Small Tortoiseshell (9) Wall (1) 

Mammals: Brown Hare, Rabbit, Grey Squirrel.