Darley Dale in Derbyshire

Doesn't that title have a nice ring to it?  It's almost as nice as the journey through the rolling Derbyshire dales to get to this small village near Bakewell.  The last time I was anywhere near here was in December 2016 to see the Dusky Thrush at Beeley, and as I went off in search of Hawfinches today I remembered how much I enjoyed myself that day too.

I was quite amazed that my satnav was able to take me straight to St. Helen's Church where over twenty  Hawfinches have been seen regularly since late December.  With so many birds around it seemed an opportunity not to be missed, especially when I'd had such a bad experience at Broomhill Flash in the Dearne Valley (near Old Moor RSPB) and Worsbrough looking for far fewer birds.  I did see the regular female Hawfinch at Broomhill but only very briefly there was no chance of a photo.

So today the prospects were good, however it didn't quite turn out that way.  Yes, there were at least twelve birds about and some said they'd counted twenty-two.  But they were very mobile and mainly feeding in the shadows.  The birds would feed for a while and then disappear for a much longer while, returning just three times whilst I was there.

About twelve photographers were present during the day all trying to get some shots like me.  In general they were a very pleasant and well-behaved bunch and I enjoyed chatting with many of them during the long lulls in activity.  Many of them had been before and were just trying to get better shots of these very shy and elusive birds.  For a few, the Hawfinch was a lifer for them.

However one photographer really got on my nerves as he stomped about the church grounds and graves mumbling to himself or giving us all a running commentary abut what he was thinking and often shouting out loudly to someone else.  He didn't seem to have any respect for the other photographers who were all keeping quiet and none at all for the hallowed grounds of the church either.  I later found out that this guy is well-known, particularly around Derbyshire and is so thick-skinned there's no point in telling him about his behaviour, which for me was totally unacceptable and the kind of thing that give all photographers a bad name. Rant over.

So what can you do whilst you're waiting for the main event? Well take some photos of other birds of course.  It really was the 'Day of the Finches' here, with Greenfinches being the most numerous birds about and Hawfinches being a close second and a few Chaffinches. There were also lots of Goldcrests, Nuthatches and Robins in the church grounds as well as a single Song Thrush.  And all the time there was the constant racket of a rookery high up in some nearby trees, with lots of nest building activity beginning.

At the end of the day I had a nice long talk with freelance sports photographer Steve Bond (he also shoots wildlife, music and fashion) about photography and other stuff.  Steve had arrived quite late in the day as he just decided to pop in whilst en route to giving a talk to a photographic club in Chapel-en-le-Frith. He gave me some nice tips for photographing Bitterns at Minsmere which I aim to do later this year.

My last photograph of the day was of this Rook trying to be a living gargoyle. Well, there was nothing else to do as the Hawfinches never returned today whilst I was there.