Temptation eventually got the better of me and I arranged with Colin to go to Derbyshire to see the Bearded Vulture. I had held off for a long time because of the distance and the rather erratic nature of the bird. When it first appeared it roosted high in the Derwent Valley, requiring a long hike to see it prior to leaving the roost and then, if you were lucky you might get close views. Otherwise it was a case of staking out a suitable vantage point and hoping it might appear. Earlier in the month it disappeared for a while, but eventually was rebound roosting to the north of Derwent around Crowden and Woodhead reservoirs.
The views on the Saturday sounded particularly good and it was seen on and off all day in the sunshine, so we departed at 0330 and arrived at the Woodhead dam around 0645. Unfortunately the last stretch of the journey was in poor visibility, and gusting winds-not quite what we were expecting from the forecast. Part of the problem I think was that the reservoir was fairly high up in the Pennines, and the valley ran east-west acting as a funnel for the easterly wind. I didn't plan on this and only at the last minute did I decide to take a fleece, but I had forgotten my hat.
There were a few other cars parked up, most had come for the Vulture which was last seen on the rocks south of the dam. Unfortunately no rocks were visible for a long time, and there were few birds around while we waited. One or two singing Willow Warblers, a couple of Swallows over the water and a family of Chaffinch. By mid morning I was rather damp and cold, but at least coffee was only a few yards away. Some of the guys decided to head over to the valley in Crowden particularly as it seemed to be a bit warmer and brighter there, and we swapped phone numbers just in case. Eventually the mist/cloud started to disperse and visibility improved sufficiently to scan the hillside. Overnight campers pointed out the crag where the Vulture had perched the previous evening, but it was became clear that the bird wasn't present. There was no news from Crowden either. A couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel were the only raptors around, and there were also several parties of Swift going through.
Around 1pm news reached us that it was on Dowstone rocks about a mile eastwards, and a fast walk got us there (where rather annoyingly it was a lot warmer and brighter). It appeared to be sitting on the rock, shuffling around now and again with some wing stretching and preening. Being around half a mile distant, scope views were adequate, but the slight haze still present caused issues with photography, which in this case meant shooting through the scope with and adaptor and the Z7.
This needed a lot of work and turned out to be the best of the bunch. Facing away, the dar head above contrasts with the back feathers, and below the wings are stretched slightly.
We eventually departed around 2pm, rather later than anticipated and the planned extra sites we were hoping to go to basically went out of the window. What I hadn't anticipated was the vast number of visitors to the area. Every car park, lay-by and verge seemed to be full up and it was clear it wouldn't be possible to avoid crowds even assuming we could actually get anywhere.
We came home via Strines moor an area we have visited many times in the past. A stop off at one usual spot failed to produce Red Grouse, Whinchat or Wheatear, the other usual stops were full of cars, and a quick exploration of part of Bradfield Dale was rather quiet, though the bridleway leading up to a farm produced a few Dark Green Fritillaries. Looks like it could be a good Dipper site and there was also potential for Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts as well.
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