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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Derbyshire County Birding (2 Viewers)

Lathkill Dale

Hi Mooskibaby
Have had sflies all along Lathkill at one time or another, however the only near bye place that I've seen them this year is Moneyash Valley - the limestone cliffs, moneyash valley northern end (also good for whitethroat and other warblers, redstart,skylark,curlew, wheatear and cuckoo - in spring).
Hope that this helps.
Best
Mick
B :)




I have been to Lathkill Dale a lot, yet i have not visited there recently, every time i go i always more often that not see a Dipper. Which always makes my day. Can you get Spotted Flycatchers there, do you know?
 
Hi Mooskibaby
Have had sflies all along Lathkill at one time or another, however the only near bye place that I've seen them this year is Moneyash Valley - the limestone cliffs, moneyash valley northern end (also good for whitethroat and other warblers, redstart,skylark,curlew, wheatear and cuckoo - in spring).
Hope that this helps.
Best
Mick
B :)

What sort of time is best to see the Cuckoos?
Thanks, for the help Mick.
 
Otters

Do Otters go to harbours though?
Not many, they do visit the harbour at Kyle of Lochalsh though.

The tides for various areas will be the same, high tide at Tobermory will be almost identical to high tide twenty or thirty miles along the coast.

To be honest though; I've not noticed any particular tide preference by Otters i.e. I haven't noticed that that they come ashore more at high tide, just that they're easier to see at high tide as there's less beach, shingle, rock and exposed kelp.

If you are lucky enough to find one be sure to hang around for a while. If you just sit quietly they sometimes come quite close. I had a wild otter come to within thirty feet of me up in Torridon a few years ago. Some of then seem quite bold and when they're in the water and you're on land they seem to know that you're no threat to them.
yet i am thinking that they may not be at the same locations,
Otters in the wild can live up to six or seven years (sometimes more) and they do tend to be quite territorial. The dog Otter that I saw in Torridon a few years ago was well known by the locals in the post office there and it seemed he'd been in that area for a few years.
 
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DGRW,
The LEOs last year, or possibly the year before, were about 4 miles from the site that you located. I only heard one adult call briefly whilst badger watching, but the same person who verified yours went the next night and had several youngsters and both adults. I didnt have chance to return until after they had departed, unfortunately.
Cheers
Will
 
Goyt Valley

Hi Anna and Derbyshire birders
I live in the Goyt Valley near Whaley Bridge. Will keep an eye on this thread and add anything of interest. Best birds in my garden are Crossbill and Grasshopper Warbler but in 15 years not had one House Sparrow or Starling actually in the garden which does bemuse me!
JeffCooper
 
Will -

We were very lucky, we'd already been watching three still slightly downy Tawny's about half a mile away whilst looking for badgers and so the differences between the young Tawnys and the young LEOs were very obvious; dark vertical central facial patches where a Tawny is fairly evenly coloured on the facial disc, longer and slimmer than Tawnys, possibly more grey than brown and of course that very distinctive call.

There were two of the young LEO, still very downy and calling consistently and very characteristically and we watched them for around fifteen minutes on our outward leg and the same again on the way back. We didn't see or hear the adult birds though.

I went back to check on them about a week ago and found them about half a mile from where we first found them, we didn't see them this time due to access problems, we could hear them very clearly though; two or possibly three young birds but still no sign of the adults. The odd thing is that the Tawnys appeared to have moved into the area that the LEO's had previously occupied and visa-versa. I also had some very good views of adult and fully fledged young Tawnys that night.

Is it likely that any of these birds will stay in the area for the winter or will they disperse? I ask because I won't be satisfied until I've seen the adult birds.

Welcome Jeff - Starlings? you can have a few of mine.
 
starlings

Hi DGRW
Don't really want your starlings thanks anyway. Could swap for adult Tawny Owl regular in the garden or Woodcock roding above most evenings
Jeff
 
Hi Richard,

With the water levels at Willington it will be at least another week before it's accessible I reckon.
Drakelow will come under DWT around end of summer I hear. On the DOS forum they say that you can get in on old Drakelow permits until the DWT take over. But just read that the gates are now locked and you need the number to the lock to get in - not sure who you contact to get this (DWT?).
Someone mentioned to me a couple of months back that they will change access anyway after demolishing the power station. Ages since I went down.
John

Having noted the DOS website headline that Drakelow WR is now a DWT site I was keen to experience this location at long last. Several attempts to obtain a permit over the last 5 or so years have been met with reluctance as the “Power Station didn’t want to issue any more”.

Unfortunately, on contacting DWT on Monday they advised that the site would not be open for at least another 3 or 4 months – but anyone with an old permit would continue to be allowed access.

It occurs to me to be slightly bizarre that a permit, which in this case was the consent of a land owner (E-on) for someone else to go onto their land, didn’t automatically become invalid when the ownership of the land by E-on ended.

And, as one thought provokes another; if DWT is now the owner of the land and is allowing some of its members access but not others, could it not be argued that it is operating a two-tier membership system?

Whatever their, or your thoughts on that are, I expect a great many of us will have to remain content, albeit frustrated, to note the frequent tantalising bird reports sent in to the DOS by the privileged few, for some time to come.
 
Hi Anna and Derbyshire birders
I live in the Goyt Valley near Whaley Bridge. Will keep an eye on this thread and add anything of interest. Best birds in my garden are Crossbill and Grasshopper Warbler but in 15 years not had one House Sparrow or Starling actually in the garden which does bemuse me!
JeffCooper

Well done Jeff for attracting a Crossbill and Grasshopper Warbler to your garden. I didn't realise you could get them around here, i though they were just Scottish birds.
 
What a difference a week makes! The lane at Willington now passable, with boots.
3 Snipe, Greenshank and family party of Lesser Whitethroat the most noteworthy. Sand Martins gathering on fencing wires.

John
 
Hi all,

I'm just started out in bird photography and I'm currently looking for places in north derbyshire. Any recomendations?

Captured these at Carsington at the weekend (Sheepwash Hide I think)
 

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Willington Gravel Pit is now completely accessible again even without wellington boots. Had a very nice couple of hours there last night between 07:30 and 09:30 pm.

Seemed to catch everyone coming in for the night with Common Sandpipper and Oystercatcher appearing just before 09:00pm and a large flock of Canada Geese arriving in two main groups between 09:00pm and 09:30pm.

Last night was notable for the complete absence of Swifts and very few other hirondelles in the air despite the presence of huge numbers of gnats and other flying insects.

Last Night at Willington:

Black Headed Gull 25
Blackbird 4
Blue Tit 2
Bullfinch 2
Carrion Crow 5
Chaffinch 3
Chiffchaff 1
Collared Dove 2
Common Sandpiper 4
Common Tern 11
Coot 10+
Cormorant 6
Dunnock 2
Feral Pidgeon 6
Goldfinch 4
Great Crested Grebe 10+
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Great Tit 5
Canada Goose 50+
Greenfinch 7
Grey Heron 5
House Sparrow 10+
Lapwing 25+
Little Grebe 2
Long Tailed Tit 5
Magpie 5
Mallard 30+
Moorhen 6
Mute Swan 1
Oystercatcher 3
Reed Bunting 2
Reed Warbler 6
Robin 1
Sand Martin 6
Skylark 1
Song Thrush 3
Starling 20+
Swallow 7
Woodpidgeon 6
Wren 1
 
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Hey DGRW,

Was that you (with I presume your son) I spoke to on the lane? Timing sounds right. Can add the following to your list:

Green woodpecker 1
Kingfisher 1
House Martins 30ish (early evening)
Sand Martins 20ish (again more early evening)
Whitethroat 3

The majority of hirundines I saw were seen when walking in from the lane Willington side of the Al works, up to just past the Sand Martin nesting site. Quite a few House Martins appeared to be sand bathing.

John
 
Well done Jeff for attracting a Crossbill and Grasshopper Warbler to your garden. I didn't realise you could get them around here, i though they were just Scottish birds.

Anna,

Crossbill breeds thinly in the northern pine forests in Derbys... The Derwent Dams can be a place to see them, but be warned they can be very elusive and numbers and breeding vary from year to year in Derbys. They have turned up at Carsington occasionally too!
Grasshopper Warbler breeds thinly in Derbyshire as well I've seen/heard birds at several sites over the years ranging from Foremark res in the south to the moors in the north. Not sure where to really recommend as I used to rely on birds at Carsi but they no longer breed on site at the moment.

On another tack, interestingly we were asked to help with an young Swift that had fallen down a chimney the other day, everyone (ie the RSPCA etc) apparantly had said just leave it or put it down. The lady had said no, so contacted us to see if we knew anywhere that would take it. There is not a wildlife hospital in Derbys but we found one in Notts at Kirkby in Ashfield, Cedar Wildlife Hospital, run by a lovely lady who said she would take it. She has raised Swifts to flying before so I hope it makes it, it was almost there anyway! They were also looking after loads of Fox Cubs, abandoned ducklings, Tawny Owls etc! On a sadder note, she also as an adorable fox who cannot be released back to the wild because he has brain damage after being used as a football by a gang of youths... how anyone can be so cruel I really don't know!

I really must get some birding in Derbys done, only had one quick trip to Anglesey for Black Stork so far this month nothing in the county.

Cheers
 
Hello John, yes that was me, nice to meet you. No doubt we'll bump into each other again down there.

The six Sand Martins that I saw in the air were also down near to the Al works but I didn't notice any on the ground.

I didn't see any House Martins.

I thought I heard a Green Woodpecker very briefly but not with enough certainty to record it.

I didn't see any Blackcap down there last night which is a little unusual and I missed the Whitethroat.

The Common Sandpipers flew in from the right front of the furthest viewing platform at around nine o clock and off to the left rear towards the mudbank at the rear of the area that's still under construction, first a single bird, then two together and a few minutes later another single bird.

The Oystercatchers anounced their arrival in the usual noisy manner and there really was no missing the rabble of Canada Geese as they arrived and sent all of the heron, mallard and Black Headed Gulls into the air.

The Kingfisher would have been a nice "spot" for my lad. He was quite happy watching the Herons though.

Anyway, very nice to have met you John, even if it was only briefly and to be able to put a face to the name.

PS: did I say Hirondelles? I must have been thinking of yachting.
 
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The Kingfisher is usually on the far pit viewed from the furthest viewing platform. In fact on Sunday it flew within 10 feet of me on that platform.

Interestingly I saw two of the Sand Martins going to nest holes when I passed at around 7.10, looking as if they were feeding young (2nd brood?).

I think the Common Sands spend most time up on the new workings - well the old bit of them. You can get to them by walking up the canal for about a mile. There's a small bridge over the canal and you can climb over the gate to view a lot of the working. Had 6 Common Sands up there a couple of weeks ago.

Look forward to seeing you again.

John
 
Mid evening walk around Willington yesterday.

At least 8 Snipe + 1 Common Sand.
Usual Green Woodpecker and Great Spot.
Kingfisher on furthest pit.
3 Common Terns.

Loads of hirundines, with 2 pairs of Sand Martins still taking food to nest holes. Swallows were landing in the tops of trees to feed, strange sight.

John
 

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