Lammergeier - Derbyshire

 This individual Lammergeier (or Bearded Vulture) arrived in the UK at the end of June and soon took up residence in the Peak District.  There is a Birdguides article with more details at Tracking down the Peak District Lammergeier

I have seen Lammergeiers in the Pyrenees previously but never one in the UK, not that there have been many and those not regarded as truly wild.  However is is clearly a bird that is tempting to a lot of birders as there was a constant stream of people with binoculars, telescopes and cameras making their way to the best viewing point.

When I arrived I met a local birder walking his dog who said "you should have been here 20 minutes ago"! He apparently had the bird directly overhead but had flown off.  So a slightly worrying start but I walked along one of the tracks that led up the valley eyes peeled.  I realised that I had followed the wrong path so started to cut over to where I could see a group of birders.  A short time later I looked up and there it was, soaring fairly high above my head and then landing on a crag above where one of the groups of birders were stood.  It's huge wing span was impressive! This was apparently a well known roost site.

I soon reached the group of birders and set up the telescope on the bird.  Unfortunately it had a few bits of foliage in front of it's face but other than that is was a great view.  The bird was looking around and at one point seemed to sleep.  I tried a few places to try and get a better view but none improved it much.  I stayed about an hour partly hoping it might fly again but it remained on the crag.  At one point a Ring Ouzel was sat on a twig in front of the Lammergeier but is barely blinked!

On the way back I passed several birders making their way up to where the bird was.  It is certainly a big attraction for a lot of birders.

An impressive bird in flight! 
Unfortunately no time to adjust the camera settings, so just a silhouette.

The bird partly hidden on the crag.

The bird was clearly keeping an eye on the birders that were gathered on the path.

Fantastic scenery near Crowden.  The vast area is no doubt attractive to Lammageiers!