When I’m not at work I seem to be on holiday recently. This time we spent 9 nights up near Matlock camping (@ Packhorse Farm, Tansley).

This gave me able opportunity for early morning walks (to get my son out of earshot of the other campers who may disagree with 6am wakeup calls), a visit to Beeley Moor and also visits to Carr Vale and Pools Brook CP.

First round the campsite: the fields were good for lapwings, and I also had good views of lots of linnet (a few 1st winter tried to fool me into thinking they might be twite but I resisted), Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, a hawking Hobby, a large flock of Mistle Thrush (100 easily), a posing Wheatear is cracking plumage, and, most interesting, a probable (almost definite) Goshawk hounded out of a tree by several corvids.

A walk round Chatsworth with non-birding friends also delivered, a Spotted Flycatcher still nesting and posing very well for photos. My friends hadn’t seen one before and enjoyed watching it feed from a nearby branch, and watching it return to the nest every now and then.

Carr Vale was a cracking site, I’ll definitely be back. I had a walk round the north side of the reserve (named after some bloke whose name escapes me) which had great paths for the buggy and plenty of dragonflies and damselflies, which I photographed later (check out flickr) when George had gone to sleep. At Carr Vale itself a local birder helped me find Little Owl and 2 Little Ringed Plover using his scope during George’s biscuit break, but the Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler and 3 Little Egret (and usual common birds) were easier to spot on my way round.

Pools Brook CP was a bit of a disappointment, great for the kids to play and feed the geese, but little to offer in the way of birding.

Beeley Moor had a Hobby (again Mummy was at work so I was birding in between reading George stories in the car) and Linnet but little else in the short time I was there.

On getting home I found, like last year, two Hawkmoth Caterpillars on my Rosebay Willowherb – monsters at least as big as my finger!