Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley : 26th May 2015

Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley : 26th May 2015

Although I had been to the Goyt Valley the Thursday before, I was still keen to try again for the two species we would normally hope to see there that we did not get on Thursday; Tree Pipit and Redstart. Not only did we fill these missing gaps but we also got another three “year ticks” making a total of five “year ticks” in a few hours.

We were at the car park half war down Errwood Reservoir nice and early so we walked up the hill to see if we could find the Wood Warbler that we had seen the previous Thursday. It is a well watched bird and is constantly singing close to the path so it was easy to find it again. As the other arrived we all ended up at the top of the sloping path behind the car park by the stone wall. I spoke to a chap who was saying that no one had seen a female so it sounded like he might be singing in vain. This person also said that the bird had not appeared last year and he feared that, if he doesn’t find a mate soon he may not return to this spot next year. We will have to see.
By the time everyone in the group had arrived the bird was showing quite well but it was so overcast that the views were not as brilliant as before – in both senses. Not that that mattered too much to a lot of the group because it was a “life tick” for many of them.

Since we were near the top of the hill, we decided to do our normal route in reverse. We turned left at the top of the hill just as my first Cuckoo of the year called; it sounded like it was a long way away, though. We continued on but it was very quiet. There were quite a few other birders but most of them said that it was a bit quiet. It remained that way all the way down the path and then the main road as far as the steps down to the river. We made our way down the steps and down there I heard a Raven fly past. I also thought I heard Goldcrest but I didn’t see any well enough to tick; they were just small fitting objects up the top of the pine trees. We walked back up the main road and although some individuals saw a Spotted Flycatcher or a Pied Flycatcher, the group as a whole had not had any collective quality sightings. Even bird box no 10, which I had been watching a Pied Flycatcher too-ing and fro-ing from last Thursday, was quiet – had the chicks already fledged in the space of a few days ? It would seem so.

Back up at the road we were starting to get a bit downhearted but then suddenly it all changed. A Hobby flashed in front of our eyes but on the far side of the river and up on the hillside. We got the briefest of views before it reached the crest of the hill and swooped down the other side. A brief but spectacular view of a bird that other birders we had met dusing the course of the day had mentioned to us.
Suddenly there was a male Redstart and then people started to get confused about describing the location of the bird. The reason – another bird as well. Eventually we also located a beautiful male perched on a branch at the front of a small tree just above head height and, at the back, a female as well !

More Spotted Flycatchers started to appear and then more Pied Flycatchers. It was hard to decide what to look at – particularly when we located a Tree Pipit at the very top of a tree on the other side of the river. Good scoped views followed for everyone and, even when it flew, as is its wont, it returned to the same tree a little later. Another of the group spotted another “year tick” for most of us – a Siskin !

For a period it was quite hectic and we really had to tear ourselves away in order to have some time to look again at the Wood Warbler and see if we could locate Redstarts in the wall. As we got back to the car park we had a quick look on the water. A Cormorant sat on its buoy and there were Canada Geese and Mallards of course; we didn’t see the Little Ringed Plovers from last week but we did see a Common Sandpiper.

We walked up the side of the wall briefly but didn’t see any more Redstarts. We had a quick listen to the Wood Warbler feeling quite sorry for his apparent efforts in vain. We are all rooting for him !

We headed off to the Cat and Fiddle for lunch then went over to the place where we saw the female Ring Ouzel the week before. It was quite windy and cold but as you walked down the path below road level it became very calm and quite warm – perfect for the birds. We stood there for a little while and we did see quite a few Wheatears but not so many Meadow Pipits. Eventually one of us spotted the female Ring Ouzel and as I was starting to line my scope up on it, I spotted the male nearby. I’m afraid the previously exciting female took second place to the male and we watched him rooting around for ground invertebrates. Eventually, perhaps because he had a good mouthful, he flew up and rose up the face of the scree where we lost him as he disappeared into the big rocks at the top. Interestingly, when the female flew off she disappeared into the heather and gorse.

We waited a while and saw a Red Grouse and a Curlew but nothing much else in the way of birds of prey so we headed back home, extremely happy that we had added Tree Pipit and Redstart to the birds we had seen the previous Thursday. On top of that we had three other “year ticks” making five in total for the day; Cuckoo, Redstart, Tree Pipit, Hobby and Siskin ! It just goes to show that you can walk all morning seeing nothing but then suddenly …

Bird Sightings : Goyt Valley