Birding Group Visit to Goyt Valley 12th June 2012
Our morning outing today was to the Goyt Valley which is located between Macclesfield and Buxton in the Peak District National Park. The valley is close to the Cheshire and Derbyshire county border. The River Goyt that flows through the valley rises high on Axe Edge Moor near the Cat and Fiddle Public House and flows north through Taxal, Whaley Bridge and New Mills before joining with the River Tame near Stockport to form the River Mersey. We went to the part that is know as the Upper Goyt Valley which is close to the source of the River Goyt. There are two main reservoirs in the valley, Fernilee and Errwood , both provide drinking water to Stockport and its surrounding areas. As usual we parked at the southernmost of the car parks opposite the Errwood Reservoir and crossed the road to the reservoir side.
The first bird we spotted was a Willow Warbler calling from a short tree right in front of us. However, in general, there seemed to be very few birds about which was surprising considering that it was the first dry day in ages. Presumably we should have been there earlier because although there were few birds about when we were there there were some quality sightings if not much in the way of quantity.