The following is a summary of what we saw split into families as i often do when i have seen such variety as at this area.
Birds:
Highlights observed,included at least 4 Spotted Flycatcher,my first records of the year,with one bird showing particularly well near to Cressbrook,watched flycatching and singing in the open,lovely to see.
Other summer migrants included at least 4 singing male Redstart,with only 1 being seen singing on the crown of an Ash tree,4 Garden Warbler,Cuckoo,Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff.
Resident species included a couple of sparring male Dipper along the River Wye,3 Mandarin Duck,and half a dozen Grey Wagtails,including a pair at their nest near Litton Mill also along the river.
We also managed to find a wren nest in an old building we had seen them in on our last visit,with the eggs being tiny and a real privilege to see.
Insects:
Pretty impressive to be fair today,with several nice species seen and one new one for me.
The obvious highlight,was the moth my sister Kirsty found,a lovely Ethmia quadrilella,described as having a local distribution throughout the UK,it's food plant being Comfrey and was a new species for me,a cracking little moth.
Other members of the Lepidoptera family included a couple of Speckled Yellow Moths which were a real surprise,seen along the Monsal Trail near to Cressbrook,2 Pyrausta aurata,Orange Tips,Green-veined White,Brimstone and the best of the bunch from the family of Butterflies,a single Dingy Skipper observed along the path towards Litton Mill,which was nice to see.
The best member of the Diptera family we managed to find were a handfull of the lovely Hoverfly species Portevinia maculata.We found them on their host plant Wild Garlic in Monsal Dale and it was great to see these lovely Hovers again and at a new site for me personally.
Wildflowers:
This family certainly deserve a mention here,with several ancient woodland species occurring.Obvious highlights for myself included Sanicle,Creeping Jenny,Welsh Poppy & Woodruff which were all new species for me,with other highlights including Toothwort,Early-purple Orchids,Bugle,Dog's Mercury,Water Avens,Common Rock Rose,Meadow Saxifrage and Greater Stichwort.All this is without mentioning the fantastic trees which incuded quite a lot of Wych Elm.
This area is a must for anyone interested in our native wildlife and the scenery certainly is a big bonus and i look forward to my next visit.
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| Welsh Poppy,Monsal Dale. |
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| Hoverfly Sp. Portevinia maculata,Monsal Dale. |
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| Woodruff,Monsal Dale. |
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| Pyrausta aurata,Monsal Dale. |
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| Ethmia quadrilella,Monsal Dale. |
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| Early-purple Orchids,Monsal Trail. |
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| Scenery Near To Cressbrook Tunnel. |
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| Scenery Near To Cressbrook Tunnel. |
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| Scenery Near To Cressbrook. |
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| Litton Mill. |
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| Monsal Head Viaduct. |
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| Monsal Head Viaduct. |
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| Monsal Weir,Monsal Dale. |
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| Monsal Dale. |
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