Lockdown Walks, A retrospective. 25th April-

Wirksworth - Carsington Trig Point - Middleton - Stoney Wood. 25th April 2020

Today I walked out of Wirksworth along the green part of Summer Lane, through its ancient leafyness and then down through the blooming fields of dandelions. I joined the road to Callow and accessed the Trig point near Carsington. It boasts a good view of the surrounding countryside and Carsington Water itself. The water was clear and calm, and looked cool beneath the blazing summer sky.

A field of Dandelions close to Carsington Water. 

I made my way down to the end of the reservoir, where Reed Warblers sang in the small reed bed, their curious, rhythmic song, perching openly high in the reeds. A long-staying pair of Goldeneye, a beautiful, black, white and bottle green duck, a wintering species in these parts, a tree nester of forest fringed Northern lakes in summer, was a welcome sighting, and in the distance I caught sight of the wintering Great Northern Diver, something of a 'star' species at Carsington with up to three individuals wintering on site pretty much annually. The size of a Goose, thick-set, if a Great Crested Grebe is Bruce Banner the Great Northern Diver is the Incredible Hulk, this bird spends much of its time underwater, hunting fish with a bill like a broadsword, so seeing it at rest on the surface was unusual. 

A Garden Warbler sang in the increasingly verdant trees which fringe the lake. The leaves had really begun to burst, obscuring the water at many points.

Handsome sheep near Middleton Top.

On my return journey I encountered another stunning male Redstart, near Middle Peak Quarry, a species I had not expected to find so abundant within a walk of my home, and a pair of Red Legged Partridges, an introduced game species were visible by the path through the quarry, and represented something of a local 'tick.'

Record shot of Red Legged Partridge in Middle Peak Quarry. 

 

Birds Seen: Canada Goose, Greylag, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Red Legged Partridge, Pheasant, Great Northern Diver, Great Crested Grebe, Buzzard, Coot, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler*, Garden Warbler*, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Redstart, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Bullfinch, Linnet, Chaffinch. 

Butterflies seen: Orange Tip, Brimstone, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Green Veined White, Small White

Wirksworth-High Peak Trail. 26th April. 

On the last day of the sunshine, I took a stroll from Wirksworth up towards the High Peak Trail, aiming for Ramshaw Rocks. I did not get there, but we passed through damp tunnels and encountered a couple more showy male Redstarts in the fields near Middle Peak Quarry, and a Skylark sang near the turning for Carsington. 

Birds Seen: Pheasant, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Swallow, Long Tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Wren, Robin, Redstart, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch. 

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

Wirksworth-Carsington Water-Middleton Top

Natty and I walked, in very changeable weather, across the fields from Summer Lane, to the Trig Point I'd visited a couple of days before, which we now knew was called Hasker Farm, when a dark grey weather front rolled in from the North, the Heavens opening and hastening our descent to Carsington Water.
Here, after the short, sharp shower, we found Reed Buntings singing in the Hopton Reed Beds. There were hundreds of hirundines over the water, and a couple of Swifts, once supposedly called storm swallows for their habit of appearing in front of heavy rain, were among them, our first of the year.  and Moorhen chicks were being fed. We returned via Middleton Top, across fields of cattle, where small Bullocks briefly surrounded us, though we bravely walked on, and upon reaching an invisible line, the Bullocks gave up following.

Countryside with a view of Carsington Water. 

There was a bright sunburst over Middlepeak Quarry, and we enjoyed the sight of a rainbow over Wirksworth. 
Highlight of the day occurred when, drawn by the anxious chatter and alarm calls of Blackbirds and Blue Tits, we discovered Tawny Owl, perched openly in a tree in a tiny roadside copse on the outskirts of town, mobbed frantically by small passerines. In a remarkable encounter, this shy nocturnal predator, so seldom encountered in the daylight, looked us directly in the eye as we stood on a public road.

Tawny Owl. 

Birds Seen: Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Tawny Owl, Swift*, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Swallow, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Wren, Blackbird,Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch.