On the 26th, my family made the painful journey up to the Peak District, Derbyshire to see my new cousin who had been born earlier in the year. It was great to be visiting them again, and it's always a lovely place to stay, tucked away in a wild area near Buxton.
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
After the 26th rained heavily, all day, the 27th dawned miserable and cloudy, with gloomy skies. Nonetheless, after a breakfast of great pancakes I went out for a walk with one of my cousins, uncles and their 2 chows. Obviously, while walking in the muddy, wet areas I had a chance to do a bit of birding, though it was so horrible outside. A family of Kestrel - numbering 8! - and a Chiffchaff was enough. We also had a look for the Tawny Owls they told me about, that bred there in the summer.
I was stopped by something I was hoping to see when walking back; preparing for the long journey to South/West Africa, was a Spotted Flycatcher. It was an unmistakable silhouette at the top of a distant tree, as it did it's 'trademark' behaviour of swooping down, catching an insect, then returning to the same/similar perch in one, elegant motion.
Once we'd returned home and had a short break, my parents wanted to go for a quick walk and I wasn't going to say no. So after a quick walk around the village, with a few Nuthatch and a single Yellow Wagtail the best, we headed back to somewhere that had caught my eye. It was a cliff-face, like a quarry, that looked like a promising spot for birds. As soon as I walked into the area I was pleased to find a large group of birds feeding high up the quarry.
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| Chaffinch |
First I spotted 2 Chaffinch with a late nest on the cliffs, with at least one f Bullfinch also there - then a Willow Warbler feeding with a Chiffchaff, and finally several Spotted Flycatcher working their way across the top of the trees.
To cut a long story short, I spent about 30 minutes watching them until they disappeared through the trees. I followed them and found 2 fields, arranged in a meadow with several trees in them.
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| Spot the Flycatcher |
I was then delighted to get some brilliant views of the Flycatchers, as they fed continuously in a ditch. Though I tried to keep my distance it was hard to get bad views, as they came so close at time, even within 10m! Also seen briefly were 8 Chiffchaff, that darted in and out of the ditch and grass, often landing on the dry stone walls. Another bird caught my eye - a female Redstart that came into view, feeding with the flock of birds, before going AWOL.
Incredibly, I counted up to 14 Spotted Flycatchers, giving me a cracking time as I followed them and watched them. The only frustration was a possible Pied among them, that was a brief view only. I'm not entirely sure I've seen one in the UK, as I have a claim in my book of one in Wales 2012...
If I'm honest, it was such awful light that the pictures I tried to take were woeful, so I quickly resorted to 15 minutes enjoying the moment with binoculars, as I'm unlikely to have 14 Spotted Flycatchers, 8 Chiffchaff and a f Redstart in one area again for a long time!
I have to say, for a non-birding trip, it was a pleasant surprise to say the least!
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Spotted Flycatcher and Chaffinch |
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| Spotted Flycatcher with food |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Chiffchaff - had some interesting variation in its nape and coverts, which almost looked blue at times! |
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| More variation seen between the Chiffchaff - this one almost seemed Willow Warbler like in appearance, with a longer supercilium but the tertials were shorter, with dark legs. However, I can't say I'm sure for certain! |
Thanks for reading :)
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