Padley Gorge At Last!,Sunday 17th May 2020.

As the title suggests,i have been meaning to visit this lovely valley just inside the Peak District National Park for some time after hearing so many good things about it and also the fact it still held breeding Wood Warblers,a species i had not seen on its breeding grounds for some time it has to be said.
 So we set off bright and early arriving at the roadside parking place in good time before the hordes from Sheffield arrived.
 As we hadn't visited the site before we covered it all in a big loop,walking as far as Grindleford train station and then back along the gorge to where we had parked.The majority of the woodland was ancient Sessile Oak,with some Beech and other species mixed in making for an impressive sight.
 Numbers of species observed were as follows and included 5 singing male Redstart,2 Spotted Flycatcher,4 male Pied Flycatcher and singles of singing male Tree Pipit,Cuckoo and sadly only 1 male Wood Warbler.The latter though was the real target we had come to see and it showed very nicely,albeit overhead for most of the time and it was really great to hear one singing again,a sound i hadn't heard since finding one in the Humber Bridge viewing area at Barton in the early 2000's.
 The gorge is in a stunning part of the 'Dark Peak' and it was really great to be back in one of our favourite parts of the country.

Mrs R.

Wood Ants With A Caterpillar.

Male Wood Warbler.