Welcome to Derby and to its wildlife. This webpage shows you where to find some of the city’s best wildlife, and highlights a few of its more unusual features. It shows:
- where the best wildlife haunts are
- where to go birdwatching
- how to get involved or find out more.
Wildlife is all around you - in towns and cities as well as the wider countryside. Some of Derby's best wildlife sites are home to a wide range of common species.
The most accessible are shown on the map in the Going wild about Derby leaflet 
1.96mb. You can reach many on foot, bicycle or bus.
Derby is also home to a few rarities found nowhere else in Derbyshire, such as Dark Bush Cricket and Broomrape.
Other unusual species living here include Otter, Badger, Moonwort, Toothwort, Crayfish, Glow Worm, Peregrine Falcon, Sand Martin and over-wintering Chiffchaffs.
Gardens
Watching wildlife in your own garden 
is easy and very rewarding. Hedgehogs, bats, frogs, many species of birds, butterflies and other insects will visit most gardens. The best advice to make your garden nature-friendly is in 'Wildlife Gardening' by Fran Hill. You can buy it from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, 
or borrow a copy from your local library. Derby Museum also has displays and free information leaflets on wildlife gardening.
You may see Foxes at night across Derby, but especially around Littleover, Chellaston and Boulton Moor. Swifts fly high over gardens near Allenton, whilst House Martins and bats like to nest or roost on houses in Mickleover.
Parks and open spaces
Of Derby’s many public open spaces, Allestree Park offers the most to those who love wildlife. Its mature woods, attractive lake and sweeping views deserve a visit at any time of year. Markeaton Park offers a chance to get close to ducks and geese, take the children to the play area, or explore its quieter wooded edges. You can enjoy wildlife in a more remote setting at the ponds and wild open spaces in and around Sinfin Moor Park. The Sanctuary, Bird and Wildlife Reserve, next to Pride Park Stadium, is an ideal bird-watching spot. We don't allow entry, but special viewing platforms help you watch Skylark, Lapwing, Sand Martin and lots of other wildlife from within the Park and Ride car park.
The lakes in our parks are great places to see or feed ducks and gulls. Never over-feed them as rats thrive on the leftovers. The Riverside Gardens in the city centre are ideal for lunch-hour birdwatching. Darley Park and the whole River Derwent corridor offer you a great opportunity to enjoy wildlife all year round.
Derby Museum
You'll learn lots about wildlife in Derby Museum. The Derbyshire Nature Gallery has great displays on local wildlife and geology, plus family discovery areas.
Follow a 'nature trail' of habitat reconstructions from the source of the River Derwent down to the heart of Derby. There are also enquiry services, school activities, a biological records centre, volunteering opportunities, occasional walks and special events. Entry to the Museum on The Strand is free.
Animals and plants
Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Tits are always common visitors to most parks and gardens, but there are more unusual species in Derby, too. Peregrine Falcons now roost and breed on Derby Cathedral Tower, watched by webcameras. You may see the blue flash of a Kingfisher flying along Markeaton Brook or the River Derwent, even in the city centre.
To the south, Sand Martins nest along the riverbank by Pride Park and at The Sanctuary. The riverside paths and The Sanctuary viewing platforms offer the best sites for wildlife-watching. Use binoculars to see Skylark, Whitethroat, Reed 
Bunting, Grey Wagtail, Lapwing and many others. Little Ringed Plover still manage to breed on bare gravels along the lower Derwent, while Hawfinches and Waxwings are unusual winter visitors to both Allestree and Darley Parks.
Mammals aren’t often easy to spot, though you may see Squirrels or Hedgehogs anywhere in the city. Badgers are increasingly being seen on the outskirts, and even Otters have been reported along the River Derwent. Sadly, Water Vole numbers have seriously declined as predatory Mink have spread.
Reptiles are extremely rare in the city, so please report any sightings to Derby Museum. Good grassland is also very rare here, though churchyards and former railway lines can be surprisingly rich in wild flowers, butterflies and other insects. Visit old woods in springtime for their flowers and birds, or watch the smallest patch of unused land develop a wealth of wildlife in just a few years, adding greatly to the 'biodiversity' of our city.
Who cares for our wildlife?
Many organisations care for nature in Derby. The Council looks after parks and open spaces, operates museums, runs a countryside management service, and raises environmental awareness in schools. The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust provides independent information and gives advice on sites of wildlife value. Conservation volunteer groups do practical work on wildlife sites. Campaign groups raise awareness of local environmental issues, while local natural history societies often hold events and activities related to Derby’s wildlife. Many would welcome your involvement. See 'Who can tell me more?'
Trails and leaflets
These free guides are a selection of those available from the Tourist Information Centre in the Market Place, Derby Museum and Art Gallery or each ranger's office. Most of the trails and leaflets listed, can also be viewed on our Walks and Nature Trails webpage. The letters and numbers in bold are references which you'll find on the map in the Going wild about Derby leaflet, 1.96mb showing which part of the city the leaflet relates to.
Trails
| T1 |
Allestree Park Nature Trail |
1.5 miles |
| T2 |
Alvaston Park Tree Trail |
0.5 miles |
| T3 |
Arboretum Tree Trail |
0.6 miles |
| T4 |
Chaddesden Wood Local Nature Reserve |
0.6 miles |
| T5 |
Darley Abbey Park Tree Trail |
0.5 miles |
| T6 |
Derby's Lower Derwent Trail |
2.8 miles |
| T7 |
Derby's Riverside Quarter Trail |
2.2 miles |
| T8 |
Derby's Upper Derwent Trail |
2.8 miles |
| T9 |
West Park Meadows, Spondon |
0.5 miles |
| |
|
|
| W1 |
Allestree Circular Walk |
5.5 miles |
| W2 |
Gt. Northern Circular Walk |
6.8 miles |
| W3 |
Markeaton Circular Walk |
3.7 miles |
| W4 |
Radbourne Circular Walk |
3.7 miles |
| W5 |
Swarkestone Circular Walk |
4.0 miles |
| W6 |
Alvaston Circular Walk |
2.7 miles |
| W7 |
Darley Abbey Circular Walk |
2.2 miles |
| W8 |
Mickleover Circular Walk |
2.2 miles |
For wheelchair access refer to each leaflet. For information on park facilities, contact us on 01332 641558 and ask for our leaflet called 'Derby's Parks'.
If these walks have whetted your appetite, then visit Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District for more ideas.
For local society details visit the Life in Derby Network - Lidnet.
For further information about wildlife in Derby contact
Derby City Council
Derby Museums
and Art Gallery
The Strand
Derby DE1 1BS
Telephone 01332 641912 Minicom 01332 256666 Fax 01332 641910 email museums@derby.gov.uk