Country diary: A masterclass in biding your time | Ed Douglas

Padley Gorge, Derbyshire: In among the fresh lime-green oak leaves is a spotted flycatcher. I watch for movement, but there is none – yetEven midweek, warm spring weather brings crowds to the top of Padley Gorge. Sheffielders bask on patches of grass beside the peaty trickle of Burbage Brook. The ice‑cream van on the road above does brisk trade. Kids shriek as they splash in the water. The lack of rain has brought out fire notices: “No barbecues”; and, in a sign of the ti