Highlights of today's High Peak RSPB group trip to the Goyt Valley from Errwood Reservoir to Derbyshire Bridge:

Minimum 4 pairs of Pied Flycatcher, 4 male Redstart, Tawny Owl, 1+Cuckoo, 2 Ring Ouzel, Common Sandpiper, Tree Pipit, 6 Curlew, Red Kite, Dipper, 2 Siskin, 3 Stonechat, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Sparrowhawk, Red Grouse, Reed Bunting, many Willow Warbler, 3 Goldcrest, Mandarin Duck.

Midday visit

Derbyshire Bridge-Packhorse Bridge circular walk:

1 Red Kite (Heading North through the valley), 2 Ravens, 1 Dipper and a solitary Skylark.

My first two Pied Flycatchers (both males) seen near Errwood Reservoir yesterday. Also several Tree Pipits  delivering their wonderful song from the tree-tops. Common Sandpiper heard but couldn't locate it.

Errwood Res  - 8.20 am - 10.00am   28.04.19 

At least 6 calling male Pied Flycatchers further up the valley and at least 1 female. 

3 Common Sandpipers on the Errwood res dam wall and 2 further up the valley near the river goyt flowing into the res. 

Cuckoo calling near Errwood Hall  (and possibly another across the valley ).

p.s Missed the Osprey yesterday, but got a call mid afternoon from Ray Scally (who first picked it up flying overhead moments earlier) that one was on Bollinhurst Res a few miles away from the Goyt Valley (Lyme Park - Cheshire)  - obviously a chance it could be the same bird.Views distant and access restricted, but still present when I left near tea time.  

Andy

 

 

 

 

Quick hour with High Peak RSPB group from 8.30-9.30 this morning en route to Middleton Lakes. 

Highlights: 4 Pied Flycatcher,  Redstart, Tree Pipit, Dipper, 2 Common Sandpiper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Curlew, Red Grouse 

Errwood car park - Riverside Walk - Goytclough Quarry - Stakeside - Shooters Clough.

Spotted Flycatchers 4 (possibly 5)
Redstarts 7 (males singing)
Pied Flycatchers Zero (certainly seem to be thin on the ground this year)
Tree Pipit 3
Cuckoo calling (Shooters Clough)
Willow Warblers numerous
Treecreeper

1 Buzzard and 1 Kestrel were the only raptors.

Cheers, John

sat 20th may   Errwood Res & riverside walk area

5.30pm -7.00pm

ditto Adam`s sightings re Spotted Flycatchers (4) and alas comments re Pieds.

I staked out several spots where it has been easy to see Pieds in recent years but none seen or heard tonight

Pair of Mandarin Duck in trees near car park

Pair of Treecreepers gave close views in trees above car park.

Andy

 

 

 

sat 13th may 8.00am

Errrwood res

At least 2 Cuckoo calling in opposite ends of the valley

Redstarts  - at least 3 seen others calling

on road towards Stakeside -

Tree Pipits displaying and gathering nesting material

Female Mandarin- high up a Scots pine tree

At least 1 Spotted Flycatcher near the riverside walk beeches.

Pied Flys calling but hidden in leaf canopy - checking out caterpillars I guess

Andy

 

Sunday 30th April 10am

1 female Crossbill as I was sat on the bench on the river walk. Very unexpected, then I saw that a pair were reported (below) on Friday. Good news.
2 Common Redstarts
2 Tree Pipits

Otherwise pretty quite again, other than Willow Warblers mainly.

Redstart and spotted flycatcher at Errwood Hall car park

My wife was on a sewing course in Poynton, so more in hope than expectation I decided to visit the Goyt Valley.

Weather was varying between drizzle and rain when I parked up at Errwood Hall Car Park, and as it was full I parked at the side of the road and set off towards Derbyshire Bridge.

I was short of year ticks for both flycatchers, redstart, wood warbler and sandpipers. Two hours later I was still short of them and set off back to the car.

Apart from one jay and a nuthatch the only birds vocalising were willow warblers and chaffinch, even the robins were silent.

I arrived back at the car park to see Buxton Mountain Rescue bring a "client" down the hill on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

I decided to try my luck at the north end of the valley and was putting my gear in the boot, when what I thought was a pied wagtail caught my eye.

Closer views with my binoculars confirmed it as a pied flycatcher, with a second in a birch at the side of the reservoir. They were flycatching from the trees on the shore and making their way along the waters edge.

I headed north towards the road bridge so I could get a decent camera shot as they came up, when I heard a bird I didn't recognise calling from a birch copse on the car park side of the road and tried to locate it.

The call started like a willow warbler song and after a couple of notes degenerated into a dry gutteral wheeze, very harsh like the tail end of a goldfinch call.

I never did locate the bird and it could just have been a willow warbler with something in its throat. The search however put me straight onto a spotted flycatcher, catching from the end tree in the copse.

When it spotted me it flew off, so I carried on round to photograph the pieds, but they had gone.

I then scanned the shoreline with my binoculars and found the common sandpiper I needed.

Birding is strange I get soaked and see nothing for 2 hours, then as I am packing up I pick up 3 ticks in 10 minutes.

A further two hours at the north end produced nothing further.

The broadleaf trees here are only just starting to bud, so I think it may be a couple of weeks before the flycatchers settle down to raising a family, and we see the redstarts and wood warblers appear.

I will return on a sunny day in a fortnight.

Lower Goyt Valley -

Sat 15/4/17

Pied Flycatchers (male and female) -

Willow Warblers & Swallows around Fernilee.

Mon 17/4/17

2 Oystercatchers on dam wall - Fernilee res

2 Treecreepers passing food to each other

1 Woodcock near Fernilee reservoir car parking area.

1 Mandarin  

Dipper on river goyt

No sign of Redstart yet ...maybe Errwood..!?

Andy

 

 

 

 

Out yesterday evening looking for pied flycatchers, before the dusk woodcock parade.

No pied seen but one spotted fly unexpectedly found up by the quarry. Is this unusual or are they occasionally seen here?

One wood warbler seen down from the river walk path.

In the pines at dusk a continual stream of woodcock, but hard to tell if it was just half a dozen or two dozen.

Evening topped off by a lifer for me.

-- Edited by Andy Voisey on Monday 4th of July 2016 08:41:59 PM

sat 4th june  - lower goyt valley

Cuckoo calling from woodland between fernilee and taxal

Pied flycatchers calling along the lower goyt valley - good to see 2 pairs successfully returning with food parcels to nest sites

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 24th May 5.00am to 8.00am

Cuckoos were the order of the day, being heard at Pym's Chair, Errwood Hall, Errwood reservoir and seen singing along The Street.
Male and female Redstarts seen near Errwood car park, and another singing behind Errwood Hall.
Two Spotted Flycatchers at Errwood Hall.
A Wonderful cacophony of bird song throughout the whole valley.

Monday 16th May 7.30pm

Errwood area:

2 Spotted Flycatchers
1 Common Redstart (male)
3 Song Thrush fledglings being fed
2 Mistle Thrush

Yesterday 13 May.  8.30 to 12.30 am. Parked in Errwood Car park and walked on long the road away from the reservoir. (the one way road).  Located several Pied Flycatchers and Common Redstarts. The Redstarts were very active. Over on the moor were Curlew and a Red Grouse was heard. Returned to the car park and heard a close Green Woodpecker to the left of the road by the wall but could not locate it.  On the open area between the car park and the gate leading to the ruined hall were a couple of superb Tree Pipts and a Spotted Flycatcher was in the bushes to the right.  Sit on the bench in the open area and wait!  Two Common Sandpipers were on the  edge of the reservoir by the car park.  There were several singping Willow Warblers but only one Chiffchaff.  Several of the more common species were also seen. 

There were no Cuckoo heard.  A great mornings birding in warm sunshine and I managed some nice photos as well!

 

Visited the area today for the first time. Arrived at 10.45 and walked up from Errwood Car Park to the ruins, beyond to where the trees thin out and then looped back to the car park via the ruins again. Then had a moorland walk via Stakeside, essentially following the track two thirds the way to the Cat & Fiddle before retracing my route. Back at the car park at 14.00 hrs. Amongst others :-

Cuckoo (1-2)
Tree Pipit (1)
Redstart (2)
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Blackcap (1)
Kestrel (1)
Curlew (1)
Meadow Pipit
Skylark (2)

No Flycatchers showing for me today, possibly because of the strong wind keeping flies well hidden. I stood and waited by the streams several times without luck. Obviously, the birds are around and the habitat is 'bang on,' possibly just one of those days. Early on, there was a Cuckoo calling on the moors, beyond the trees at Stakeside, whilst just before 2pm it/another was calling up beyond the eastern side of the reservoir, ie. well across the valley. Possibly two birds but more likely the same one moving around. The moors were fairly quiet and mirroring the bird sightings up there, just one Green Hairstreak butterfly was seen.

Y

7th may 10-2.30pm

erwood res/erwood car park/big wood.

5 pied flycatcher, male & female & 3 males.
6 redstart, male & female & 4 males.
2 spotted flycatcher
8+ tree pipit
4 common sandpiper
no sight or sound of any cuckoos & again just like last year no sight or sound of any blackcaps
2 great spotted woodpecker
1 nuthatch
2 treecreeper
3 grey wagtail
lots of willow warblers all around
1 kestrel
1 buzzard
2 tufted duck
curlew & red grouse on the moors.

Excellent morning in the valley. Willow Warblers everywhere, plus Chiffchaff, Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush. 3 Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover on the side of the reservoir. Tree Pipit and Redstart up the track where the Wood Warbler was last year.

Phil

 

Quick visit tonight.
1 male Common Redstart in the woodland above Errwood reservoir car park.
Plenty of Willow Warblers around

-- Edited by Adam Jones on Monday 18th of April 2016 10:24:53 PM

2 Stonechat near Derbyshire Bridge on south facing slope, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. (sat aft)
Andy

Singing Wood Warbler behind Errwood Hall car park - bird was ringed on its right leg.

Also Pied Flycatcher here and loads of Midges :(

Two visits to the valley yesterday and today.
Yesterday 1000 to 1200 primarily to photograph wood warbler.
Walk from Errwood car park up round the hall and back to the reservoir.
Many goldcrest in the wood.
One photogenic wood warbler just before the hall woods and very vocal.
2 redstart and one pied flycatcher up at the hall and one redstart by the resevoir.
We then walked up the road to Goytsclough Quarry and found two pied flycatchers feeding young half way up the road.
We were told there were owls about early morning, which prompted todays visit.

today 0430 to 0930
No owls seen or heard.
Family of redstarts at the hall with 3 or 4 fledglings
Wood warbler near Errwood car park.
Wood warbler on road to quarry.
Pied flycatchers being very accommodating and posing for photos. The male came in so close I was unable to focus on him.
Fields up at Derbyshire Bridge car park full of curlew, about 12 seen, one perched on fencepost about 5 metres away.
Very light coloured buzzard quartering the fields above the car park and kestrel hunting.

An enjoyable 2 visits with some good photographs plus a tip from the warden on where the owls are.