Vultures and Knots

There can be little doubt about the star bird in the UK at present, Britain's second ever Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture which has taken up residence in the peak district, pulling in admirers from far and wide.

It is a bird of mountainous regions and is one of Europe’s most endangered birds. At the beginning of this century there was a small residual population in the Pyrenees but they had disappeared from their other previous stronghold in the Alps. Dedicated individuals ran a longstanding reintroduction program in the Alps from 1986 to 2015 with over 200 birds released hence re-establishing a viable population. The largest remaining population world-wide is in Ethiopia where there are believed to be some 2,000 birds

The origins of our visitor are unknown. It is unringed and hence wild born presumably from the original Pyrenees birds or the reintroduced Alps population. DNA analysis would probably tie this down but obtaining a specimen could be, to say the least, tricky. 

The bird was original found at its roost on a cliff in an old Ravens nest by a hiker in a fairly difficult location. Hair-raising stories of intrepid birders wading through knee-deep undergrowth and wet  bog in the middle of the night started appearing over last weekend on social media along with some really staggeringly beautiful pictures. While I very much admired this first wave of birders, this soundly altogether too life-threatening an escapade and was not for me. It was subsequently disturbed away from the original roosting bird by individuals getting much to close and became much more elusive as it roomed the hills.

These are truly impressive birds with a wingspan of some 3m. Quite remarkably they exist almost exclusively on a diet of bones, the nutrient being provided by the bone marrow. They sometimes drop the bones from a great height onto rocks to enable easier extraction of the marrow.

It is  in an area which has a truly horrendous record of illegal raptor persecution from gamekeepers determined to create a barren monoculture environment exclusively for the grouse shooting fraternity. A practice that I’m sure future generations will look back on in totally horror and disbelief. One method of killing the raptors is with poisoned bait to which the vulture would be particularly vulnerable. We can only hope and pray that the large amount of publicity around our very rare visitor will dissuade these criminals from another cowardly act.

I haven’t seen my lovely middle daughter, Rachel, who lives near Manchester, since the lockdown so with the easing of restrictions we planned to meet somewhere for a catch-up walk and picnic. When I half-jokingly mentioned we could meet in the peak district and attempt to see the vulture she was very enthusiastic and I needed no further encouragement. So on Thursday we met just after 10:00 in the Fairholmes car park adjacent to the ladybower reservoir. The bird had been reported briefly that morning flying along the ridge above the reservoir. Our plan was to take the path from the reservoir up to Back Tor which would enable a panoramic view of the area the vulture was frequenting. The walk up from the reservoir was arduous at first but levelled out after a mile or so. We then had fantastic views from the ridge across the peak district and down to the reservoirs. It took us about 90 minutes to reach Back Torr where we had a clear panoramic views of the peak district. There were a few other birders and walkers present and we settled down for our picnic in the shelter or some rocks while keeping an eye out for our vulture.

The view back to the reservoir

The climb to Back Tor

The view from the ridge

I was also continuously monitoring RBA for reports and after a couple of hours it was reported some 2 miles north of us. After another 30 minutes there was great excitement and a rush onto the rocks from the birders present and sure enough the vulture was heading from the north in our direction!! It passed a few hundred meters from Back Tor and continued on its leisurely way south. It was a truly impressive sight and although I knew it was massive nothing prepared me for the visual excitement of seeing this awesome bird with its 3 meter wingspan. It was a complete master of the air, not once did it fap its massive wings as it glided past us.  It rose on a thermal did a couple of loops and then dropped down out of sight over the hill. I was so awestruck that I spent most of my time watching it through the bins and only realised I should be taking photos after it had passed us– what a numpty I am!!  We were both absolutely buzzing after our vulture encounter and made our way slowly back to the car park below with that warm glow of mission accomplished!

The (BOU) will almost certainly relegate this bird to schedule D, i.e. introduced non self-sustaining category, another example of their total unscientific random approach. I for one, along with many others, will certainly be adding this spectacular bird to my UK list.

 

Where's Wally!

My only other trip out since my last blog was a failed attempt to see the Caspian Tern at Frampton Marshes RSPB. The bird, which has been present for two weeks or so, has a habit of doing a bunk for long periods, presumably to feed, and my visit unfortunately coincided with one of these excursions. If it stays I will probably try again. Some consolation was obtained from some distant but beautiful summer plumage Curlew Sandpipers and a flock of 10 or so Spoonbills doing there usual thing of sleeping, feeding and then sleeping again. The highlight for me, however, was the Knot flock. Post breeding Knots gather on our shores in vast closely knit flocks. I could not estimate how many were in the flock by the seawall at Frampton but there must have been several thousand. They have the habit, somewhat akin to Flamingos, of suddenly all moving in one direction on the ground then reversing back in a mesmerising dance which appears to the uneducated human eye to serve no discernible purpose whatsoever!

In the garden the spectacular year for soft fruit continues with copious Blueberries, cultivar Blackberries and Raspberries.

Blueberries

The Brassicas are also having a good year with some of the cauliflower plants reaching truly triffid proportions! We have been eating our own summer cabbage for several weeks.

We have a very old eating apple tree, the only remaining member of what was an extensive orchard in times gone by. Last year it did not have a single apple. This year it is absolutely weighted down with fruit.

The late summer hot border is starting to come into its own with Dahlias, Crocosmia and perennial Lobelias in various stages of bloom.

The home grown hanging baskets are also at their finest .

Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!