Padley Birdy Blogger Bash

Had a great blogger bird bash weekend, despite the awful weather on both days.

I was going to set off and spend the Saturday in the Peak, if the weather had been OK, but with it being cold and damp I dropped hubby at the station for his working week entertaining the Polish contingent again and went back home. I set off after lunch and texted Pete to see what he was up to. He was at Padley but walking back to the car. We met and had a nice pot of tea in the NT tearoom at Longshaw, then went to our respective hotels.

After a quick wash and brush up, I drove to the Fox House to meet and pick up Cherrypie and we then drove to the Yorkshire Bridge Inn to dine with Pete. Had a lovely meal and chatted about this and that. Felt as if we’d known CP for ages.

The next morning I awoke to find it drizzling, but the forecast said it was going to clear. What utter rubbish! It was cold and grey all day. Undeterred, Pete, The Birdman, Cherrypie, Anna, John and myself met at the lay-by at Padley and went in search of some birds.

Down in the wood we managed to find the Pied Flycatchers, but also spotted a Treecreeper or several, and heard Redstarts. Other woodland birds were also present – Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Goldcrest. I think The Birdman has the official list.

We then wandered over to see the Ravens. Unfortunately, even if they had been daft enough to be flying around in the fog, we wouldn’t have seen them. A bonus on the walk up was a Cuckoo, which we had been hearing as we walked, flying across in the mist. Year tick number 115.

Abandoned the ridge and headed for the Rising Sun in Bamford for lunch. Well, as there was lamb shank on the menu, I had to have it. There was some discussion as to the score. I was hesitant in giving it a 10 because, as Pete said, you never know if you’re going to get better elsewhere. So it had a very deserving 9.

After lunch John decided to leave, as he had quite a way to go, and the rest of us stupidly decided to go up to Burbage to see if we could spot any Ring Ouzels. Part way up the hill, and needing fog lights on due to terrible visibility, we realised that it would be foolish to head over the moors in that weather. Should really have gone back to Padley on lower ground for the Dipper.

So, we decided we would say our farewells and all headed homeward. My photos did not come out very well due to low light in the wood, so this was my best effort, but from left to right is: Pete (with Anna’s dog Summer), Anna, John (with Max), and The Birdman hiding behind Cherrypie.