Carr Vale, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Yellowhammer, Richard Smith

Skylark, Amy Lewis
Know before you go
Entry fee
NoParking information
Please use County Council's Peter Fidler car park off Riverside Way.Grazing animals
YesAccess
To reduce disturbance, the reserve is accessible only on the concessionary paths. Full disabled access around all the paths on this reserve and to all three viewing screens. There is no access to the fishing platforms for wheeled vehicles. There are no stiles.
Dogs
Facilities
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all times.Fishing closed season from 16th March to 30th June
Best time to visit
All year round - Summer for sand martins and dragonflies and winter for wintering ducksAbout the reserve
This wetland reserve is a great place for birdwatching. The mixture of open water, marsh, wet and dry grassland, scrub and trees attracts a rich variety of birds throughout the year.
In winter large numbers of wildfowl feed in the wetlands and surrounding grasslands. Large flocks of wigeon graze the banks while teal can be seen preening and feeding on the water's edge. As well as wildfowl, the reserve attracts wintering flocks of finches and buntings, which feed along the field boundaries. A more secretive winter visitor is the water rail, which skulks above the marsh areas. More often heard than seen, it has a distinctive squealing call.
Spring and autumn are important times on the reserve, as many birds are on migration and Carr Vale is an ideal place for them to feed and roost. In September, swallows gather in the marsh, in a roost of between 1-2,000 birds. They usually attract hobbies, birds of prey which are skilled hunters on the wing. In early summer the marsh and scrub are home to a range of breeding birds, including reed and sedge warblers, whitethroat, yellowhammer, moorhen and gadwall.
The grassland provides nesting habitat for the nationally declining skylark. The marker on the map below shows the access point after you have walked through Derbyshire County Council's Peter Fiddler Reserve.
Contact us
Take a look at the latest sightings
Carr Vale Sightings Report by Mark Beevers
Highest count of mute swans of the year
The Avenue Nature Reserves sightings report by Brian Cuttell
3 bullfinches on the feeders
Avenue Coking Works Sighting by Brian Cuttell
Skylarks singing at old Coking Works
Birdholme Pond sightings
Song thrushes bringing in spring at Birdholme Pond
Red kite sighting, Derby
Red kite seen near Toyota factory in Derbyshire
Sightings at Birdholme Marsh
Skylark, signs of spring at Birdholme Marsh
Nearby nature reserves
Download our nature reserve leaflets
Check out the reserve map
Carr Vale reserve map
Play Wild rating
Take extra care.