Still time for a Chat (or two)
Following a lovely, restful (if slightly soggy) week in South West Scotland it was great to get back into the Peaks again and lead my first guided walk of the Autumn proper.
A client from London was keen to visit the Eastern Moors and see the wild Red Deer that call this part of the county home. It’s certainly a great time to visit this area as the Deer are showing well and a couple of big Stags have been seen as the Rutting season just begins to get underway.
With the weather set fair (though a little cool) we decided on an evening walk as the Deer can often be closer at this time of day and this popular location is also quieter than during the day. We were not to be disappointed!
A large group of hinds and younger males
We got some great, close up views of Red Deer hinds and their youngsters from earlier in the year as well as a couple of younger Stags as they were leaving the Moorland plateau to graze the lusher vegetation in a wet flush just below White Edge. We eventually located the bigger Stags out on the Moor and got some really good scope views. The fact that there was three decent sized beasts grazing quite close together along with their distance from the hinds was testament to the fact that the rut has yet to start in earnest!
Scoping out the Stags on Big Moor
But for me it was the birds that were the stars of the show and one family in particular – the Chats! The Chat family includes that perennial garden favourite, the Robin, but up here on the Eastern Moors two other members of the family are found. The large expanses of Bracken below White Edge is perfect habitat for the migratory Whinchat and the resident Stonechat. Earlier in the year I was pleased to be able to watch a recently fledged family of Whinchats in this very area and during our walk we were treated to great views of two young birds, though whether these were remaining members of the family or migrant birds stopped on their way South is hard to say. Even more prevalent were the Stonechats and we encountered several of these perched on the Bracken and Hawthorns. These hardy little birds (they can spend the whole winter on the Moor if the weather is not too severe) were present in many plumage types from still scraggy juvs and moulting birds to gorgeous adult males with their jet black head, white collar and orange chest and belly. An absolute delight!
Walking the sandy paths along the edge of the moor we encountered a pristine female/juvenile Northern Wheatear (a relative of the Chats) in front of us. This incredibly confiding bird allowed us to get within a couple of metres before running off up the path in front of us, it even allowed us close enough to watch it bathe and drink from a small pool. Eventually the bird took flight away from us showing the pure white rump that gives it its name – Wheatear being a corruption of white arse (the most common view of this species as it flies away!).
A fantastic evening walk and with the rut lasting well into October I look forward to leading a few more outings at this special time of day and there is still time for you to catch up with those brilliant Chats.
