Goyt Valley and Cat and Fiddle : 21 May 2015

Goyt Valley and Cat and Fiddle : 21 May 2015

Tuesday outing for the birding group was scheduled for the Goyt Valley but was changed to Pennington because of poor weather. I was keen that this particular venue should not disappear off the schedule if the following Tuesday’s weather was also poor so we decided to go on the Thursday. The weather that day was a little more promising and, indeed, it did not rain until the moment we were about to leave. This just gave us an excuse to have lunch at the Cat and Fiddle and discuss our successes including a “life tick”.

We started off at the middle Erwood car park and walked along the road looking for our usual targets here, Redstarts and Spotted and Pied Flycatcher. We stopped for a look at the reservoir first but apart from lots of Canada Geese, some Mallards and a single Cormorant there wasn’t much to see. As we approached the are where the nestboxes start (and where we saw the Woodcock family last year) I saw a retreating bird that looked as it it might have been a Pied Flycatcher but, in general, birds were a bit hard to find although you could hear them clearly enough.

Our first bird was a Grey Wagtail walking around the edge of the reservoir; our first warbler was a Willow Warbler showing quite well but Redstarts were elusive. Some groups of people we spoke to said they had seen several and were surprised we hadn’t seen any. Other groups hadn’t seen any either and were not so surprised. Such is the luck of birding.

As we came to a bit of a gap in the trees we could see a hovering Kestrel and right at the back some Ravens tumbling in the wind. There were also a few Buzzards seen in the course of the day. Eventually the Pied Flycatchers came into view and we got very good scoped views of a particular male perched high on a tree singing loudly. After the first, the rest were easier.

We took the path that runs down to the river and in the woods we saw Wren and Nuthatch as well as the usual birds. Someone we ran into had just seen Goldcrets and others had seen Tree Pipits but we did not see either species on our walk. I did think I could hear Goldcrests but couldn’t pin them down.

As we rose up the steep path again we could hear Curlews. We walked back along the road looking for Tree Pipits with no luck and then took the path that runs up the hill that eventually comes to the place above the car park. We had seen Redstarts here before but none today. We got very nice views of two Spotted Flycatchers on a branch right in front of us and they remained there for a little while giving us a chance to examine them. We also got a Jay in the trees to our left.

We had been told by a chap right at the start of our walk that he had heard a Wood Warbler but in all honesty I could not remember the song of the Wood Warbler so I got our my mp3 player and had a listen. Perhaps it was with this song fresh in my memory that as we turned the corner to descend to the car park I heard the distinctive call I had been listening to. There could be no doubt that it was a Wood Warbler. Never having seen one I was oh so keen to find this bird – a “life tick” for us and we were not to be disappointed as it eventually flew out into a branch and started singing. We probably spend ten or fifteen minutes looking at this bird, losing it and finding it again. Really we could have stayed there for longer but we thought that we would give the Redstarts another go.

We descended to the car park and crossed over the road. We walked along the same road again but to no avail. We did see another Grey Wagtail and a Pied Flycatcher but it started to rain rather threateningly so we headed back to the car. As I got to the car a chap pointed out to me a pair of Little Ringed Plovers walking along the edge of the estuary. We drove along the road pitying the walkers getting a bit of a drenching while we were in the comfort of cover but the rain stopped fairly quickly.

As we drove over to the Cat and Fiddle we saw more Buzzards, a low-flying Curlew and a Lapwing. We had lunch at the Cat and Fiddle which is much improved in that you can actually get a pint of real beer and some basic pub food. This may not seem much but it was a lot better than our last visit the previous year.

Like last year, we decided that after lunch we would head for the spot where we saw the Ring Ouzels last year which is close to the pub. A quick look on the moor before we got in the car revealed a pair of Red Grouse. We parked at the little lay-by and walked along the path and it wasn’t long before we could see lots of Wheatear and Meadow Pipits. One Pipit in particular gave me food for thought; it seemed very dark and I had only seen this much darkness in a Pipit with Rock Pipits. I had a look in one of the guides and it said that while cthe coast is the natural habitat of Rock Pipits, they can sometimes be seen in rocky inland areas where there are steep slopes and water. Well that certainly described where we were but I just couldn’t be certain.

A little bit of scouring they grass and scree revealed a single female Ring Ouzel but that very easily vanished behing tussocks ot into a little valley out of sight. Still, we got fairly good views of her before she was lost to sight. More Ravens appeared but there was no sign of Hen Harrier, a bird we had been keeping an eye out for all day. Over on the grass behind the scree was another Red Grouse.

Time was getting on and we decided to head back home. We very very glad that we had made the decision to go to the Goyt valley and whereas we missed out of Redstarts and Tree Pipits, we did get at least five “year ticks” and a single “life tick”. We thought that we would be quite happy to come back in a few days time, if the birding group decides to go to the Goyt Valley on the 26th, and try for the birds we missed.

Bird Sightings : Goyt Valley and Cat and Fiddle