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Enjoying the countys

colourful spring chorus!
Springtime sees thousands of migrant birds arrive in our county to feed and to breed. James Butler picks out the stars and James and Alistair Hood capture them on camera.

The Red Grouse is commonplace on Derbyshires moorlands.

Derbyshires mix of evergreen and deiciduous woodland is the favourite habitat of the great spotted woodpecker.

PRING HAS finally arrived, and the cold clutch of winter is at last a distant memory. The first signs of the summer sun breathe life into Derbyshires woodlands, carpeting their floors in vast seas of
Below: Derbyshire is home to a range of birds of prey, including the impressive kestrel.

bluebells and giving wake to slumbering trees. My favourite part of spring however, has to be the dawn chorus; a cacophony of Britains most beautiful songbirds which climaxes at this time of year. This wonderful spectacle is not without reason though; the birds use their songs as a means of out competing their neighbours for the best females. Winter migrants such as thrushes, waxwings and bramblings may be leaving for colder climes but the prospect of food brings many migrants to the UK during springtime including wheatears, swallows, ring ouzels, pied fly-catchers, sedge warblers, arctic terns,

This nuthatch has his lunch on the go in a Derbyshire wood!

nightjars and ospreys all passing through on their way to their breeding grounds further north. Other birds wintering elsewhere in the UK such as short-eared owls, curlews and the humble meadow pipit choose

Derbyshire as a place to raise their young over the spring and summer. The meadow pipit is a much overlooked summer resident found on Derbyshire moorland. In the winter time, some travel as far as Spain to escape our often cruel winters, but return to the same patch of heather year in, year out. They
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are most obvious in spring when the males parachute display is a visible and audible to many a hilltop walker. A bird well known for its song and very much entwined with British culture is the robin. These striking little birds are best seen at this time of year, often singing from the top branches in parks and gardens. Robins are very territorial, especially during spring, and will ruthlessly guard any territory they preside over. Their breeding season begins in March and a pair will tend to lay between four and six eggs with incubation lasting for about 13 days. The young are much more drab than the adults, lacking the striking red breast which, of course, provides the youngster with camouflage as the red breast is not needed until later life. Early May is a great time to look out for them as upon leaving the nest they will still seek food from their parents. Many species of small song bird will have young at this time of year as the summer provides large numbers of insects to prepare them for the winter. Swallows are synonymous with summer in the UK. Stunning little birds with glossy blue and black backs, a bright red throat and ornate V-shaped tails, they are brilliantly aerodynamic, spending almost all their lives on the wing. Swallows migrate all the way up from South Africa, crossing the Sahara Desert on a 200-mile a day journey before ending up in Britain. These agile birds can be found all across Derbyshire, they are especially numerous around bodies of water which provide large numbers of insects for them to feast upon. Their breeding has now started, with the swallows tending to favour farm buildings - and the almost never-ending supply we have of those here in
A scare but beautiful summer breeder in the county . the short-eared owl.

You dont have to travel far to have a great wildlife encounter

The brambling is another species to spend the winter in Derbyshire.

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A colourful addition to the Derbyshire summer thats the goldfinch.

There is no better time than now to venture out of your front door and enjoy the great variety of bird life Derbyshire has to offer.
Derbyshire makes the county the ideal summer residence! The arctic tern is often thought of as a coastal bird - but they too can be seen over large bodies of water in Derbyshire at this time of year as they cross England as part of their annual migration. This migration is the longest undertaken by any bird in the world, beginning in Antarctica and ending on British coasts. They are almost completely white with a black cap on their head. They are very agile fliers and brilliant birds to watch. It is also worth keeping an eye out for sandwich, little, black and common terns, all of which can be seen around Derbyshire at this time of year, especially around our larger reservoirs.
The colourful jay you might even be lucky enough to see one in your back garden this spring!

The sedge warbler one of the summer migrants passing through Derbyshire on their way north.

The unmistakable swallow simply loves Derbyshires many farm buildings!

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The waxwing one of our winter visitors now leaving us for colder climes.

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There is no better time than now to venture out of your front door and enjoy the great variety of bird life Derbyshire has to offer. You dont have to travel far to have a great wildlife encounter, as beautiful species such as goldfinches and jays can sometimes be seen in back gardens. Derbyshires stunning moorland is home to species such as red grouse and curlew while, lower down, the mixture of coniferous and deciduous woodland provides great habitat for numerous species of woodpecker and a whole host of tits and finches, as well as birds of prey such as the goshawk. So get out there and enjoy!
They may winter in sunny Spain but the meadow pipits return to the same patch of Debyshire heather every summer!

Right: Large numbers of arctic terns all the way from Antarctica can be spotted around our reservoirs at this time of year Left: Minus the redbreast for now is a young robin.

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