Little Egret at Chatsworth

 Another Little Egret at Chatsworth today, it flew up from the river and landed in a tree, and at least one back at Youlgreave yesterday.

The Little Egret bred in south Derbyshire for the first time at Drakelow in 2018 and it seems likely that they will breed locally before too long. This year I have recorded them in most months of the year from January through to December.

Still around a dozen Mandarin Duck along the river, numbers have continued to fall since a peak of 93 in September. I assume they have moved on to some of the local ponds which they seem to prefer in the winter.

Mandarin Duck