Peak District - Bearded Vulture

It felt fairly typical arising to misty cool weather conditions, far removed from the sweltering temperatures experienced down south.  With these temperatures, it felt that in no time the clouds would burn away quickly to reveal a warm and sunny day.  So by midday when the conditions hadn't changed, my hopes started to dwindle.  It was particularly cool out there with a stiff breeze tempering spirits.

By the time the elusive vulture had been sighted, we had climbed up onto a ridge out of view from the ledge in which the Beardie had alighted.

 
It wasn't until around 3pm when we arrived at the Woodhead Reservoir car park to finally see this majestic creature soar unerringly over the ridge south of the Crowden.  It was being constantly harassed by a local Raven, the comparison in size indicating what a beast this bird is.  The weather had improved markedly and turned out to be reasonably warm.

We watched it soar back and forth, disappearing over the ridge and then flying back again.  It rested briefly on an exposed ledge, preening its young feathers. 

Whatever the BOURC decide over the credentials of this bird, it was a thrill to finally see this free-flying vulture in the UK.