Coot - first youngsters

These young Coot are probably only a few hours old and it looked like this was their first outing from the nest. I suspect the bird in the lower photo, seeing its reflection for the first time, was thinking "who is that handsome chap?"
Ian Wilson contacted me early in March after I mentioned that I had never seen any young Water Vole and sent me a link to some great shots he had taken last year on the Cromford Canal. I have just seen that he has taken some more shots of young Water Vole that are certainly worth a look and again on Cromford Canal.

Coot - chicks

Badger by trail cam

I purchased a trail cam recently, one of the Bushnell remote camera traps, and have just started to experiment with it. The photo below is of a Badger at a sett near my house taken at 04:20 this morning - according to the camera!
I can certainly see the value of these cameras, particularly for nocturnal wildlife, but it could also be useful in daylight. The image quality is never going to be anything like the standard digital camera. It will also record video but I haven't tried that yet.
The benefits for me are;
1. Prove the presence of wildlife in an area/specific location,
2. Provide information on the timing of movements, with a view to taking standard photos,
3. Provide details on numbers or possibly age or sex of the wildlife in an area,
4. Give some indication of what the wildlife is doing.
Early days yet, but I have a number of holes in the ground and in trees where I would like to identify the occupants.

Badger

Pheasant - display

This is the first time the Pheasant has appeared on the blog which is a bit of a surprise for a species which, in both call and appearance, is so characteristic of both upland and lowland areas. With the lighter evenings I was able to get out for an hour after work, there was even some sunshine. 
The males are at their most obvious at the moment as they advertise for a female.

Pheasant - male

Little Owl - Great Longstone

James has been consumed recently by the need to complete the final year of his zoology degree at Derby University so hasn't had much opportunity to take photographs but he did manage to get out today and came across this Little Owl near Great Longstone.
The Little Owl is widely distributed through the Peak District, more evident in the White Peak than the Dark but easily overlooked.
He has a range of photos - mostly taken locally on his web site: James Butler Photography.

Little Owl (c.James Butler)

First duckling clutch

This is the first duckling clutch I have seen this year. This is a hybrid group from Caudwell's Mill at Rowsley - but still cute!

Hybrid Mallard ducklings

Mandarin Duck display

One of the strangest wildlife sights locally is to see Mandarin Ducks sat high in a tree. This is perfectly normal behaviour for them and is something I see regularly but they are easily overlooked and disturbed and do look decidedly out of place.
This morning I came across 5 males and two females in a loose group in 2 Alder trees by the river at Rowsley. A female was joined by two males. The females stood between the males moving he head and neck vigorously from side to side why the males stood still displaying their plumage. The female appeared make her selection and snapped at one of the males which then flew off leaving the pair together before they both flew off up river together.
Ken reported a male Redstart singing near by and Willow Warbler in the same area on Friday which I've added to the migrant arrivals list.
I caught 2 Water Carpet last night, both pale and dark forms, another Pine Beauty and the usual Quakers.

Manadarin Ducks displaying

Goosander - Peak Village

A pair of Goosander on the River Derwent at Peak Village this afternoon and plenty of Sand Martins now.

Goosander - male and female

Swallows - welcome to Britain!

It was raining heavily when I came across my first Swallows for the year at Rowsley with Ken this morning, Ken had seen them yesterday so I'll put 4th April on the migrant arrivals table.
Roger recorded the first Osprey in the Derwent Valley, that I am aware of, with 1 over Matlock at 10:45 this morning, followed by news that Alan Stewartson had also seen an Osprey just North of Rowsley late afternoon

Swallows and Sand Martins in the rain

Water Vole - up close

Came across a couple of Water Vole this morning and one was fairly obliging.

Water Vole

Brown Hare, first for a while

Not seen much Brown Hare activity recently but I had brief views of this one on Flash Lane this morning.

Brown Hare

Migrant bird arrival and departure dates

I've added a new page, just to the top right of this post, for migrant visitor arrival and departure dates.
I've put in the first arrival dates for the few migrants I have seen so far this year and will update with others as they appear. I've also put in the dates for 2013, departure dates are harder to record but I've done my best.
Once I've had a chat with other local birdwatcher's I'll populate the final column with the earliest and last known arrival dates for migrants in the area.

Oak Nycteoline

Taken in the garden trap last night Oak Nycteoline overwinters as an adult so this one is in pretty good condition. It is the form notata. Generally uncommon in the area but I usually catch one or two each year of this very variable moth. Also first Double-striped Pug of the year.

Oak Nycteoline f. notata

Palmate Newt

Having found a Common Newt in the garden a few days ago I was surprised to come across this Palmate Newt last night, it was sat in an egg box in the moth trap! There is a small hole near the base so presume it has crawled in through it. Would it have been attracted to the UV light or was it looking for the moths?

Palmate Newt

Shoulder Stripe

One of the most attractive of the early Spring geometers, I caught a single example of the Shoulder Stripe last night. Also caught my first Red-green Carpet of the year.

Shoulder Stripe

Engrailed - dark form

The dark form of the Engrailed can be an identification puzzle, the short dark dart marks in the centre of the wing are just discernable and which are a characteristic of the species. I caught three other examples of the typical pale form with this one - which also helps!

Engrailed - dark form