Lockdown Walks, a Retrospective.

 20th May 2020

Aiming for Idridgehay. 

On a very hot day, I decided to take a stroll to the South of Wirksworth, in the direction of Idridgehay, following Prathall Lane to its end. As Prathall lane becomes Taylors lane it crosses out of Derbyshire Dales Local Authority area and enters the Amber Valley. Here, curiously, there seems to be a change in the standard of footpaths. Whether this is down to different landowners or local authorities I do not know. Some of the wooded footpaths, winding their way past pheasant release pens, were almost impassable, but Anemones bloomed and Buzzards circled overhead. 

In the searing summer heat I made my way South, toward Idridgehay, picking up the road past the wedding venue at Shottle Hall, and then crossed the main road. A pair of Lapwings off the farmland whooped and tumbled, mobbing a passing Red Kite, perhaps the same bird I had seen a couple of days earlier.

I crossed the main road, and made my way down to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, crossing the tracks by footpath beside a beautifully restored signal box, and continued down to the River Ecclesbourne a little South of Idridgehay. Here, a beautiful pair of Mandarin Duck floated with their fluffy ducklings. Unlike many ducks, male Mandarins do display some parental care. As hole nesters, the bright male can safely incubate without his bright colours giving away the nest location to predators.

Mandarins. Not the ones actually seen on the Ecclesbourne, but some seen in Kent in about 2016, probably. Included for beautifulness. 

 I gave the Mandarin family a little space, as they seemed somewhat nervous,  and continued on my way, by road and by footpath, past a pond where Mayflies danced in the afternoon sun. I reached a field, and was warned by a sign that there was a 'Bull and Cows with Calves' in the field. Now I am not one to take undue risks around Cattle, but a Bull with cows and calves is usually happy to play the contented father, and seldom feels he has anything to prove. This Bull, however, was not 'with' cows and calves. This Bull was some distance from the rest of the herd, apparently shunned by them, unconnected by genetics or familiarity to any of them. This Bull had a lot to prove, and he bellowed aggressively. He trotted towards me, head slightly bowed, he did not charge but his vocalisations and his trot were warning enough. I made it to a bridge on the other side of the field. The Bull stood, and bellowed some more, whether in frustration or satisfaction I do not know. He was not the first confrontational oddity I was to encounter today. As I  continued walking I was met at a style by a lady of late middle age, dressed like someone who might live on a trailer park in an American movie, with a voice like the Queen. 

Our conversation went something like this: 

She: Excuse me, are you from the press? 
Me: From the press? why do you think I am from the press?
She: Are you from the press?
Me: Let's say I am from the press. Is there a story? 
Her husband: Let's see your press card. 
Me: Okay, I am not from the press. Why do you ask?
She: We've had some problems. 
Me: With the press? 
She: Are you from the Council? 
Me: Why would I be from the council? No, I am just out for a walk. (her husband is satisfied with this explanation and wanders off)
She: Where is your car? 
Me: It's at home. I am out for a walk not for a drive. 
She: I own this. I am the owner of everything. 
Me: Do you own that Bull?
She: There was a sign about the Bull. Why would you put yourself at risk from the Bull? 
Me: I was on a public footpath. A designated right of way. If you put the Bull there I did not put myself at risk, you put me at risk. 
She: Are you from the Police? 
Me: What? Do I look like I am from the Police? [I do not look like I am from the Police] Why would I be from the Police? 
She: I own this. I am the owner of everything. 
Me: Yes but why do you keep asking if I am from the legitimate democratic authorities?

I left the eccentric landowner and her eccentric Bull to their own devices, and wondered whether she was concealing some mystery. Her estate is indeed a beautiful, lush place to walk. I have endeavoured to obscure its location and identity, for obvious reasons. 
I continued, the day advancing apace, back to Wirksworth, grabbing a pint on the way from a hole in a pub wall in Kirk Ireton. Near Miller's Green a snuffling in the leaves beside the road alerted me to my first living hedgehog sighting of the year. Once again I arrived back at Wirksworth in darkness. 

Birds Seen: Mandarin Duck, Pheasant, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Buzzard, Lapwing, Curlew, Black Headed Gull, Tawny Owl (H) Swift, Kestrel, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Long-Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch. 

Mammals Seen: Rabbit, Grey Squirrel, Pipistrelle, Hedgehog. 

Butterflies: Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Large (Cabbage) White, Green Veined White. 

Lockdown Walks, a Retrospective.

 6th May 2020

I took a brief afternoon stroll in Stoney Wood, the little local greenspace in a disused quarry I have visited many times, for an informal bird and butterfly survey. Here I witnessed predation, nature, in all its shocking glory. 

The prey, fast, agile, and undeniably beautifully marked, was flying at treetop height, and clearly very aware of the danger it was in, jinked and turned aerobatically, in a desperate attempt to escape the snapping mandibles. The predator, faster, but not as agile, hung briefly in mid air, before locking on again with its sharp vision, darted and snapped again, and missed again. They prey had almost reached cover, but changed direction, and this loss of speed afforded the predator another chance, and this time, with an audible snap, the sharp bill found its mark. The Spotted Flycatcher returned to its perch in the scrub with the Peacock Butterfly flapping desperately in its tight grip. The bird struck the insect against a branch several times, until the manic struggling ceased. Then it shook its head violently, and the four jewelled wings of the butterfly fluttered to the ground like falling leaves, and the bird devoured the body, a small, sad morsel but of course a substantial meal to the tiny bird. 

Peacock Butterfly. Not the one in this story but one in Cambridgeshire in August.

This horror aside, the weather was still glorious and there were plenty of butterflies on the wing, including several Dingy Skipper, and Robins, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers, insect killers all, sang melodiously to the summer sky. 

Birds Seen: Black Headed Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Swift, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher*, Dunnock, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies: Orange Tip, Peacock (alive and dead) Green Veined White, Dingy Skipper. 

Orange Tip Butterfly near Kirk Ireton.

8th May 2020

 Wirksworth to Carsington via Kirk Ireton

I strolled along footpaths from Summer Lane, where the housing on the Southern fringe of Wirksworth gives way to farmland. I crossed the open fields and climbed up to half moon lane, which was quiet and offered beautiful views over the Ecclesbourne Valley. The roadside vegetation was well grown and butterfly infested. A Sparrowhawk soared as racing pigeons took their daily exercise from someone's loft. Swallows and Martins wheeled above a farmyard. I arrived in Kirk Ireton, and was surprised to find the human population out and about, celebrating VE day in the streets, a dose of normality, but still a surprise. 

After a couple of wrong turns, I think I had been aiming for the Trig Point called The Mountain, I found myself unexpectedly stood beside Carsington Water, not far from the Millfields car park. A beautiful Garden Warbler sang on the Hawthorn, and the Black Headed Gull colony was typically noisy. A few Lapwings and a single Redshank waded in the shallows. A pair of feral Barnacle Geese were on the gull colony island and one appeared to be incubating.  Long Tailed Tits foraged in the shrubs, gathing beakfulls of insects for their waiting chicks.

Long Tailed Tit at Carsington Water. 

I returned via Kirk Ireton once again, through sunny fields full of butterflies and horses, and filled my empty water bottle with takeaway beers from the pub there. I sat in a field on the way back and raised a glass to the men and women of 1945.

Garden Warbler at Carsington Water

Returning in near darkness I saw hares close to where the footpath crosses the Alderwasley Hall School site. The vegetation here was a sad sight, the farmer appeared to have sprayed herbicide on nearly everything, and wildflowers and nettles alike drooped forlornly. I crossed the Ecclesbourne Brook and returned to Wirksworth through Miller's Green. A pond, signposted as a fishery, beside the road reminded me how I was still discovering this town, I had not known it existed. 

Birds Seen: Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Redshank, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Swift, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, House Martin, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch. 

Butterflies seen: Green Veined White, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock. 

Mammals Seen: Rabbit, Brown Hare.