Derbyshire · 53.05°N

Birds of Heage

What has actually been seen around Heage: 147 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.

Species on record
147 within 5 km
Observation records
11,489 since 2010
Most recorded bird
Woodpigeon
Busiest month
March
Elevation
118 m
Daylight, June / December
16.9 h / 7.6 h

What the records say about Heage

147 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Heage (Derbyshire) since 2010, across 11,489 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Woodpigeon, Blackbird and Robin.

Heage is a garden-bird place: 66% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Robin and Blue Tit make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.

13 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Kestrel. A hawk that hunts feeder birds is among them, so set feeders 2–3 metres from shrubs: close enough for cover, far enough that a cat can't ambush from it.

Records peak in March and are lowest in November — about 7.7 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and winter visitors), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.

Ripley, 4 km to the south-east, has more species on record (158 against 147). Birds logged far more often around Heage than there include Common Merganser.

Daylight runs from 16 h 57 min at midsummer to 7 h 33 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:08 in mid-April and 4:38 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.

Most recorded birds near Heage

#BirdRecords
1WoodpigeonColumba palumbus516
2BlackbirdTurdus merula490
3RobinErithacus rubecula483
4Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus441
5MagpiePica pica398
6Great TitParus major357
7Carrion CrowCorvus corone326
8JackdawColoeus monedula325
9WrenTroglodytes troglodytes324
10MallardAnas platyrhynchos307
11GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis284
12DunnockPrunella modularis271
13Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus260
14SwiftApus apus252
15House SparrowPasser domesticus228
16Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus225
17ChaffinchFringilla coelebs214
18Common BuzzardButeo buteo197
19ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita196
20Canada GooseBranta canadensis187

Records by month

What to put out in Heage

Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.

  • Woodpigeon

    Seed mix

  • Blackbird

    Soaked sultanas · Apples · Mealworms

  • Robin

    Mealworms · Suet pellets · Sunflower hearts

  • Blue Tit

    Sunflower hearts · Peanuts (mesh feeder only) · Suet

  • Great Tit

    Sunflower hearts · Peanuts · Suet

  • Jackdaw

    Suet · Kitchen scraps

Seasonal bird notes for Derbyshire

What's arriving, what to feed and when to clean feeders, written for UK gardens. One email a month at most.

Nearby places

Frequently asked

What birds visit gardens in Heage?

The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Heage are Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Robin, Blue Tit and Magpie, based on 11,489 public records since 2010.

How many bird species have been seen near Heage?

147 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).

When is the best month for birds in Heage?

Observation records peak in March and are lowest in November. Sunrise in late June is around 4:38.

Sources

  1. GBIF occurrence search (birds, class Aves, 2010 onward)
  2. GeoNames gazetteer (place, population, elevation)

Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.