It was a very dull grey and cold morning as we stood on the bridge over-looking the river Derwent at Cromford. Suddenly it felt like spring as a Dipper burst into song and then four birds began staking out their territories and either side of the bridge Dippers were singing. Several Goosander were back on the river and a single Hawfinch put in a very brief appearance before disappearing over distant woodland. Much more snow up in the north as back home it had nearly disappeared. We decided to head back into Derby and spend some time looking […]
The freezing cold temperatures on Saturday 4th February saw hundreds of Fieldfares & Redwings arrive in our gardens and trees around my village. There must have been a consolidated flock of at least three hundred birds and they spent the day frantically feeding on ornamental berries. Trying to get close to them on foot proved very challenging. Overnight we had 3-5 inches of snow and only a few of the invaders had lingered to feed on the remaining ornamental berries in gardens surrounding my house. The local waters were frozen and at Melbourne Pool there were some good photographic […]
Local birding in South Derbyshire. A very dull grey spring morning was brightened up by the courtship dances of the Great Crested Grebe. This pair were really putting on a show at Foremark Reservoir. A pity they were just a little distant for my camera lens. No luck with Lesser Pecker this morning but did manage several Grey Partridge. At least 6 singing Chiffchaff and several singing Yellowhammer. Once common birds locally, Grey Partridge & Yellowhammer are now getting exceedingly difficult to find. The woodlands around Ticknall were also unproductive for Lesser Pecker, another species that is very difficult and very […]