Padley Gorge

A very wet morning to start our visit to Padley Gorge in the Derbyshire Dales. We arrived at Grindleford Station in the pouring rain, intrepid as ever, we set off for the gorge.

We walked by the station cafe and over the railway bridge. There was a lovely aroma of wild garlic about as we entered the gorge, passing through the narrow stone entrance, to the right, just after crossing the bridge.

Padley Gorge- cobbled pathways.

The rain continued to fall but there was plenty of bird song about as we progressed up and along the cobbled stone pathways. A distant cuckoo could be heard calling, the first for me this year, they are not as common as they used to be. 

A grey wagtail was seen busily collecting stone fly which, despite the rain, were in abundance. A blackbird, song thrush and robin were also seen rummaging through the old leaf litter. It wasn't long before we saw our first spotted flycatcher darting after the stone fly hatch. It looked somewhat bedraggled in the rain. The breast spots are not as distinct when wet, but can still just be seen.

Spotted flycatcher- a very wet individual.

We proceeded up the left hand side of the gorge, over a wooden bridge and up the steep slope to a path along the top. On our way we saw blackcap, bluetit, nuthatch, wren, treecreeper, willow warbler and several more spotted flycatchers. Along the path at the top we saw our first pied flycatcher, it was singing at the entrance to one of the many nest boxes scattered about the woods. We saw several other pied flycatchers but, as ever, only fleeting glimpses.

Pied flycatcher

We followed a path that took us up a very steep incline to the edge of the woodland, adjoining moorland. The effort was worth while as we soon spotted a redstart, sitting still just long enough for a photo. The rain by this time was much more determined so we made our way back to the station cafe for a full English breakfast and a mug of tea. The planned afternoon visit to Burbage Edge was called off for another day.

Redstart

The tally: 17

Blackbird, spotted flycatcher, blackcap, grey wagtail, song thrush, mistle thrush, robin, blue tit, tree creeper, chaffinch, wren, willow warbler, nuthatch, pied flycatcher, wood warbler, woodpigeon and redstart. A distant cuckoo was heard calling too.