Cromford Canal, Derbyshire (2 Viewers)

Sunday 19th April, another early start 07:00. As I pull into the car park on the meadows a Hawfinch shaped blob is in the trees by the cattle grid, however it has vanished by the time I get out of the car so I draw a blank on that one.In the area of the car, Chaffinch,Goldfinch,Magpie, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush,Jackdaw, Robin and Wren are all seen or heard.
Moving up to the canal itself, a few Mallard and 3 Tufted Duck are immediately visible and a Pied Wagtail is on the towpath.A brood of 3 Moorhens are on the opposite side and their anxious parents rush along towards them.A Great spotted Woodpecker is drumming and a pair of Great Tits are also here.A Blackcap sings its flutey song, but remains unseen in the scrub,these birds are present in good numbers on the Canal so I hope for more now that spring has arrived.
Towards the first bridge, a Little Grebe is struggling to swallow a Bullhead, but is eventually successful and I flush a Grey Heron from the reeds at the canal edge.
As I approach the garden centre, a Song Thrush sings its repeated phrases and a Chiffchaff competes with its monotonous song. A Willow Warbler becomes the 3rd warbler of the day, with its more pleasing wistful notes.Here the wood is carpeted with Wood Anemone and wild Garlic and a few Bluebells are also in flower.
Further on a Blackcap does a fair impression of a Garden Warbler, and so keeps me searching,but Blackcap it is.Towards High Peak junction a Moorhen is sitting on a nest in the water and barely 2 feet away is a Litle Grebe nest with a single egg.In this area I watch 2 water Voles, these once plentiful creatures are now quite scarce on the canal, probably due to Mink predation.
At HP junction Coal Tit,Blue Tits, Greenfinch,Goldcrest and Long tailed Tit are seen and 2 Swallows have returned to their summering area.A further pair of Tufted Duck are in this area, these ducks breed on the canal in small numbers so hopefully a brood or two will be seen later in the year.Around the aquaduct a couple of small Pike swim in the clear water,and a pair of Nuthatch are in the trees, I watch them at head height,as the tree is rooted far below on the river bank.Three Goosander fly over here, 2 females and a male,before splitting into a pair and a solitary female, which continues to fly round and round.A Raven flies over gronking, and as I move on a male Blackcap sings and is joined by his mate.I stop to watch the handsome pair, their black and russet brown caps respectfully set off their otherwise grey/brown plumage perfectly.In the same area a Chiffchaff is gathering nesting material.
Further on towards Gregory tunnel where Bluebells and Stitchwort are in flower a Pair of Jays reveal their presence and a Kestrel does likewise.
The return journey reveals a Buzzard soaring,Treecreeper,Greylag Goose overhead, and back on the meadows a Dipper is on the river and a pair of Sparrowhawk grapple high overhead.
At some point along the walk I hear a Lesser spotted Woodpecker drumming and calling, but I will not reveal the location of this now rare bird.
Counts for the day are:
24 Moorhen,14 Little Grebe,13 Blackcap,9 Chiffchaff and 2 Willow Warbler.

Cycled along the canal this afternoon,good to see 4 Little Grebe chicks being fed by their attentive parents.Took a few photos along the way which I will try to upload.

Here is a shot of a Little Grebe taken on the canal.

Nice one, Clive. Cracking photo mate.

Thanks Clive for sharing your observations. I have visited that area and have enjoyed reading your bird news. Looking forward to further reports from you over the next few months.

DaveN said:

Nice one, Clive. Cracking photo mate.

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Cheers Dave, even I can take a half decent photo from 10 feet.Will try and resize and upload a few others later.

Clive A said:

Cheers Dave, even I can take a half decent photo from 10 feet.Will try and resize and upload a few others later.

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Don't do yourself an injustice, It was at least 11 feet.

Sandpiper said:

Thanks Clive for sharing your observations. I have visited that area and have enjoyed reading your bird news. Looking forward to further reports from you over the next few months.

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Thanks Sandpiper, glad you enjoyed it.

Quick visit down on the meadows this afternoon, with the dog, yielded a juv. Mistle Thrush, about a dozen House Martins and a pair of Dipper. Also the unusual sight of a pair of Canada Geese on the river, dull I know but another species to the list.

Back canal side again this morning,May 2nd.
I start at Cromford meadows,where Jackdaws are strutting confidently amongst the sheep,Magpie,Wood Pigeon,Greenfinch,Great Tit,Robin,Pied Wagtail and Pheasant are also in evidence.
Moving onto the canal itself 2 of the 3 young Moorhens, from my last visit, are still around but has the 3rd perished? Goldfinch and Chaffinch sing here and a few Mallards are on the water.A Mistle Thrush sings from a tree top, I hope this doesn't mean rain as the country name of Stormcock indicates.
Blue Tits,Carrion Crow,Song Thrush and Bullfinch all reveal themselves around the area and a Jackdaw flies over with what looks ominously like a young chick in its bill, nature can be cruel.
Further on around the garden centre warblers make themselves known, as first Blackcap and then Chiffchaff sing, a Coal Tit is in a small area of conifers here too.This area is alive with Wrens, as they belt out their powerful song from both sides of the canal..
By the marble works I check the large rock in the river, as this often holds Goosander, but only a pair of Tufted Duck are present today. A pair of Canada Geese fly noisily along the river, and another Bullfinch gives out its feeble whistle.
At High Peak Junction, a Swallow is perched in a Silver Birch, its sleek frame offering a contrast to the Wood Pigeon in the next tree.A Willow Warbler is present here, though this warbler is greatly outnumbered on the canal by its lookalike Chiffchaff.All along the canal here Little Grebes are sitting on nests, and another pair is hurriedly building as though time is against them.Towards the aquaduct the 4 young Grebes from my last trip are still fine, and their doting parents are diving for food constantly.On the aquaduct a Nuthatch calls and a Goldcrest is singing its "Sicily, Sicily, Sicily" notes.
By the bridge over the railway a Great spotted Woodpecker is drumming, here work is ongoing to repair the cast iron trough that carries the canal over the railway line.Further on a pair of Jays are again here, and pair of Chaffinches are clearly not happy with their presence.Two more broods of Little Grebe are between here and Gregory tunnel, though it is hard to count them as they sit under their parents.
I retrace my steps and somehow must have missed a brood of 8 Mallards, that are at the waters edge with their mother.Back by the aquaduct I think I can hear a distant Pied Flycatcher, but cannot be sure.I am sure however when I reach High Peak Junction, and spot the singing bird in trees towards the sewage works, one of my favourite birds and annual on the canal,its " ching,ching,ching" song rings out.
On the way back a Water Vole puts in an appearance, and back down by the river Long tailed Tits, Treecreeper and a female Goosander are all seen.Another brood of Mallard are on the river, though only 2 youngsters remain.
Back on the meadows a Siskin flies over calling, and a Dipper flies under the road bridge.Here I scan the sky for raptors, and pick up a Kestrel towards the village and a soaring Buzzard in the opposite direction.

Little Grebes22, Moorhen 21.

A few pictures from todays walk:
Moorhen, Blackcap,Little Grebe young,High Peak junction and the bridge over the river Derwent, Cromford.

Some good photos there, Clive. Nice to see some Little Grebe young and a Pied Fly down there.

Cheers Dave,pretty sure I heard a Pied Fly by the aquaduct, sure it couldn't be the same bird at HPJ my hearing aint that good, so probably 2 birds.

Popped down by the river this morning, and picked up a couple of new birds. A Lesser Whitethroat was rattling away in scrub near the railway line,and large numbers of Swifts were over the river,also a Cormorant flying over the meadows.The usual Dippers and Grey Wagtail were also seen. A Mistle Thrush was busy defending itself, and probable young,mobbing first a male Sparrowhawk and then a Jay, makes you realise how hard it is for them to raise a brood.A tree with large holes in, holds a couple of pairs of nesting Jackdaws, and young could be heard calling from within.

Just nipped on the canal on the bike,very busy on there because of the glorious weather.Good numbers of broods of Mallard,Moorhen and Little Grebe, including 4 freshly hatched tiny "humbugs" being tended by their parents.
Blackbird, Great Tit and Blue Tit also feeding young.

Couple of photos from todays visit.
Little Grebe young and a pair af Mallards enjoying the sunshine.

Spurred on by the early morning sunshine, I decided to cycle down to the canal again today.I wanted to try and count the broods of water birds, and ended up cycling all the way to Ambergate where the canal ends for a section.
Results were:
14 Broods of Mallard, although the largest of these was only 6 Ducklings.(1x6,2x5,3x3,7x2 and 1x1)
5 Broods of Little Grebe (3X4 and 2x2)
6 Broods of Moorhen (1x4,3x2 and 1x1)
I almost certainly missed a few broods amongst the reeds, overhanging trees etc. and some birds were still sitting on nests.
The section beyond Whatstandwell is not one I visit very often, though it did turn up a couple of Garden Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat.
Nice also to see a couple of young Water Voles.
A few pictures showing some of the new arrivals,Moorhens, Little Grebe with parent and Mallard.

11th June.
Cycled down to the canal this afternoon, in lovely sunshine.Starting around the wharf area, around 40 Mallards are here, many of the males now going into eclipse plumage.Several Moorhens and a couple of well grown young show themselves along with Jackdaw,Pied Wagtail, Magpie and Goldfinches.
Further on beyond Lawn Bridge, Little Grebes start to appear, 1 pair is busy building a nest for a second brood. Blackcap, Chiffchaff,Song Thrush,Treecreeper and Chaffinch are all singing between here and high Peak junction as is a Goldcrest.
The area beyond HPJ,is alive with damselflies, both Large Red and Azure,also at least 3 Four spotted Chasers are whizzing about over the water.A pair of Great Tits are feeding young and Wren,Robin,Mistle Thrush, Blackbird and Wood Pigeon are all in song and Swallows hunt insects over the canal.
Beyond the aquaduct a couple are photographing something, which turns out to be a large Grass Snake, 2-3 feet in length, we watch as it swims along the far bank into the undergrowth.Here Blue Tits are present and a Bullfinch is calling.
On past Whatstandwell, where Crows and Rooks are heard, and at the tiny sewage treatment plant a Grey Wagtail competes with a Blackbird and a Magpie for food. A Dunnock is singing its song in the same area, and further on a Garden Warbler is again present,here also a pair of Moorhens have 5 tiny newly hatched chicks.A male Bullfinch stops at the canal side to drink in this area.Towards Ambergate I note a pair of Broad bodied Chaser dragonflies.
Retracing my steps to Gregory tunnel, I take to the woods but they reveal little other than a screaching Jay a family of Great Tits and some churring Long tailed Tits along with the usual Robins and Blackbirds.
On a clearing on higher ground a few Swifts are present and a Kestrel is hovering against the blue sky.Here also a Small Copper butterfly avoids my efforts to photograph it successfully.
Back on the canal I look again for Grass Snakes, but only a Banded Demoiselle is present and unfortunately it has been trained by the Small Copper in the art of photo avoidance.
Homewards now, and by the river a few House Martins and a single Greenfinch are seen.
Totals of Moorhen are 40 (including 15 young) and Little Grebe 28 (including 15 young).
A few photos from today,
Juv. Moorhen,Azure Damselflies (I think!), Large Red Damselfly,Four spotted Chaser and Moorhen with young.

went down there yesterday afternoon, fairly quiet, started off with a very good number of jackdaws at the start of the canal, plenty of mallards, a few pairs of moorhen with young, it was great to see so many Little grebes, they have done incredibly well by the look of things, i actually forgot to count how many young there were, but i would say there were at least 12, also there was one pair that appeared to be sitting on a fresh egg whilst the young were feeding very well, a good 50 or so goldfinch in a flock. 5 great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatch, good number of wrens robins etc, swallows swifts and martins were in a mixed flock of about 100, didnt here chiffchaffs until later on as it cooled a little, with 6 birds sining in different locals, at high peak junction the pair of tufted ducks were there.

As a none bird note, also saw plenty of young pikes, more so than i have done before, plus the orchids at highpeak junction end were a lovely sight.
Damselflies were very numerous, a few banded agreons

Michael

michael23 said:

went down there yesterday afternoon, fairly quiet, started off with a very good number of jackdaws at the start of the canal, plenty of mallards, a few pairs of moorhen with young, it was great to see so many Little grebes, they have done incredibly well by the look of things, i actually forgot to count how many young there were, but i would say there were at least 12, also there was one pair that appeared to be sitting on a fresh egg whilst the young were feeding very well, a good 50 or so goldfinch in a flock. 5 great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatch, good number of wrens robins etc, swallows swifts and martins were in a mixed flock of about 100, didnt here chiffchaffs until later on as it cooled a little, with 6 birds sining in different locals, at high peak junction the pair of tufted ducks were there.

As a none bird note, also saw plenty of young pikes, more so than i have done before, plus the orchids at highpeak junction end were a lovely sight.
Damselflies were very numerous, a few banded agreons

Michael

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Glad you saw the Tufties Michael, I haven't seen them for a while, hope they manage to raise a few young.Must try and get a few photos of the Orchids.On the fishy side, I have seen a couple of Tench at Ambergate the last couple of trips. Did you see any Water Voles?As you say the Little Grebes have done well, amazing how much earlier they breed down there than at Carsington, where I have not seen a single brood yet.