Lammergeier: I've been waiting and praying that this freakishly awesome bird got pinned down to one location and a location it was faithful too.
My prayers were answered.
This birds movements have been at best irregular and at worst fleeting and many reports have come from non-birders which simply adds to the birds mystery. Thankfully the bird has stellted down in the south-eastern Peak District and had taken up an old raven nest site as it regular roost.
Although to get here you have to embark on a epic hike up and over the moors, though the peat bogs and down the water filled valleys, this grueling walk took me nearly two hours!
A two hour slog during the fisrt light of the day had its upsides as well as its down. As soon as I started the incline I heard and had a glimpse of a nightjar, always a welcome sight. The sun rise over the rollings moors was stunning, however the down side was the sweating, the breathlessness, the aching legs muscles and the muddy,wet, soddern feet.
But each and every step was well worth the pain, as not only was the bird at its regular roost sight when I arrived and after a long wait watching it poop and preen it eventually decided to leave.
This was equally as breathtaking as the hill climb as the huge bird flew directly towards the onlooking crowd and circled above us before gliding off out of view. Never in my life had I thought I would see a wild Lammergeier in the UK in such a way.
The birds origins still remain somewhat sketchy as it is thought to be the offspring of a reintroduction programme so as a 1st generation bird it is deemed non-tickable by some and the BOU. In any case this is one bird that will stand out in my memories, simply suburb.
