Spring & Early Summer Evening Walks
With the clocks moving forward and evenings getting lighter and warmer now seems like the perfect time to roll out our 2023 program of evening group walks – including, for the first time, a couple of Nightjar watching evenings!
All of the walks have a maximum group size of six people (bookings are on a first come, first served basis), cost £20 per person and will normally last around 3 hours. Exact meeting times and places will be confirmed to all bookers but the walks will typically start approximately 1 hour/90 minutes before sunset.
If you would like to do one of the walks but the date doesn’t suit you please get in touch as I will normally have availability on other evenings to run a private guided walk.
Saturday 13th May – Hares, Owls & Bats
Join me for a gentle, accessible evening stroll on my local patch. We’ll start the evening tracking down the local bird species that call this area home and as the evening draws on we’ll watch the antics of the local Brown Hares as well as looking out for Hobby which hunt in the area to well after sunset. As the sun goes down we’ll seek out the three resident species of Owl (Barn Owl, Little Owl & Tawny Owl), before, detector and thermal scope in hand, we turn our attention to finding the different species of bat that use the area (I have recorded Noctule, Common & Soprano Pipistrelles, Brown Long Eared and Daubentons here).
Saturday 20th May – Water Voles and Bats on the Cromford Canal
A lovely easy sunset wander along the Cromford Canal will hopefully be rewarded with the ‘plop’ of a Water Vole heading out across the water to graze the bankside vegetation. The canal is a stronghold for this endangered mammal but these shy creatures are highly crepuscular and an evening visit after most of the walkers have left is the perfect time to find them. As the sun sets we’ll use a bat detector and thermal scope to help us find and get great views of the Bat species that hunt near the insect rich waters with Common & Soprano Pipistrelles and hunting Noctules recorded on our recent walks.
Saturday 10th June & Saturday 24th June – Nightjar Watching Evenings (*NEW FOR 2023*)
Join me for an exciting evening adventure as we go looking for one of the UK’s most fascinating bird species – the Nightjar! This cryptically coloured migrant returns to the UK in May and spends its days sat perfectly camouflaged on the floor of its heathland or clear-fell home before coming alive after sunset where its strange mechanical churring song, delivered from a perch, is often clearly audible. We’ll hope to get views of this nocturnal specialist as it hunts for its favourite moth prey, their flight often betrayed by the white wing patches particularly on clear moonlit night. Its not just Nightjars we’ll be hoping to see as we’ll look for other nocturnal species such as roding (displaying) Woodcock, owls and bats whilst we wait.
Sunday 18th June – Bats in the City!
An easy stroll along the Derwent in Derby looking for its crepuscular urban species. Starting near the Cathedral, where we’ll check in on the breeding Peregrines, we’ll then head upriver through the wonderful Darley Park as far as the Darley Abbey Mills looking for the bird species that call the park home as well as keeping our eye on the water for such brilliant species as Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail and Goosander along with Swifts and Hirundines feeding over the water. Our return walk will see us concentrate on the Bat species that feed and roost in the area and, with the help of our trusty bat detector and thermal scope, we may find up to five species with Noctule, Common & Soprano Pipistrelle, Whiskered/Brandts and Daubentons all recorded previously.