Dipper at'Mill

Nice bird in the village today, unusual this far east in Derbyshire, it's a Dipper, of course. Well worth all of that 5 minute walk down to the mill. Looked territorial too, so fingers crossed on that, even if it means a hard time for the regular Grey Wagtails.
Technically a good county bird for Nottinghamshire listers when it flits onto the opposite bank of the Meden.

Also, while a Coal Tit calls outside my window, a couple of good birdy articles in the Independent this week, well, one good, one bad:

Triumph of the Bumbarrel - AKA the Long-tailed Tit

The Sound of Silence - The Cuckoo is Vanishing

Nifty Nesting

It's the breeding season, and every year our local TV news programming features ducks nesting in pubs and robins rearing in red post boxes.
Well, I've found a quirky nidifier of my own.

Travel along a winding farm road and under a disused rail bridge, and you just may find this Grey Wagtail. Running water is some distance away, which only increases the unlikelihood of the nest.

That's the hole under the R. Could these be politically-minded birds? Anarchists even?
I felt uneasy about the location of this nest. The country road gets more traffic than it really deserves, and surely it would only be a matter of time before a terrible tragedy.
That's why it was with more than a small amount of relief I found several days ago that the pair appear to have moved elsewhere.

General update

My fledgling count went reasonably well, although the Song Thrush decided to avoid showing up until after the deadline. In all for my garden, 3 adult Blackbirds and no young, 8 adult House Sparrows and 7 young, 1 adult Robin and no young, 5 adult Starlings and 7 young. Those were the highest numbers of each at any one time.
These national counts always seems to have a southern bias. Blackbirds don't seem to fledge here for another couple of weeks, there are more Sparrows and Starlings later in the summer too. With an entire month of difference between Spring striking the North and South in this country maybe these surveys are missing out on the real numbers.

Anyway, lots of pictures, and one bird I was particularly happy to finally get a snap of...


It's a Grey Wagtail. Only a juvenile but a Grey Wagtail nonetheless. As the name suggests they wag their tails, A LOT, and are always on the move, ants in their pants or something, and are quite shy, hence the difficulty snapping them.
No ants actually, the wagtailing is all about constantly moving in order break up their reflection in the water. The birds feed on invertebrates in the stream and need to see them without their own beak shining back up at them.

Anyway, more of him...


More images from the reservoir...


Meanwhile at the local community country park...

House Martins are just the sweetest of birds, and still nest building, a muddy patch beside the carpark offered a perfect supply of material.

This time of year the orchids are dazzling. These are Common Spotted, yet uncommonly pretty.