Covering approximately 35,000 acres, the Chatsworth Estate includes farmland, meadows, woodlands, waterways, and moorlands, as well as hamlets and small villages like Edensor, Pilsley, and Beeley. 

These diverse environments are home to a wide variety of insect, bird, and mammal species, all of which play vital roles in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. 

Bees and butterflies are essential pollinators, ensuring the reproduction of plants that provide food and shelter for many species. They also help decompose organic matter, contributing to nutrient cycling in the soil. Birds, with their capacity to spread seeds, promote the growth of plants and trees while also controlling insect and rodent populations, preventing overpopulation of certain species. Mammals, including both predators and herbivores, help regulate food chains and facilitate plant dispersion through their movements and behaviours. 

Together, these creatures create a dynamic web of interactions that supports biodiversity, enhances soil health, and sustains the flow of energy through ecosystems.

Chatsworth House Trust, in collaboration with The Devonshire Group, is working to document and better understand the species that live or utilise the estate to help improve existing environments and create new ones where these species can thrive.

By enhancing nature, we can strengthen the ecosystem and the natural resources it provides, which ultimately benefits humanity.

Over the past 12 months, the team have installed small boxes fitted with microphones in a variety of locations across the estate. The boxes can record sounds up to 500 metres away and, after a period of time, are collected and the recordings run through software that identifies the different bird and bat species making the sounds picked up on the recordings. 

The boxes were in situ over spring and summer, and autumn and winter, providing the team with a benchmark for resident and migratory species in each location. They could also identify the sites rich in different species, and chart the prevalence of any birds and bats listed as being of UK conservation concern.

Above: The wren, small but very loud with a rich, throaty song. The wren was most frequently recorded on our monitoring boxes across the estate in spring and summer 2024.

We have identified sound from a wide variety of birds, many native to the UK, such as; chaffinch, wren, robin, blackbird, blue tit, siskin, stonechat, treecreeper, meadow pipit, jackdaw, crow, pheasant, and greater spotted woodpecker. You can also hear migratory or partially migratory birds, such as the redstart and willow warbler, and species on the Bird Conservation 'Red List', including the linnet and the cuckoo.

Earlier this year, the boxes were reinstalled across the estate, ready to create comparable recordings. 

Above: A robin, widely recognised and named as the UK's best-loved bird, is the most common visitor to the Chatsworth Estate over autumn and winter.

Take a listen to some of the audio clips below which were captured by our bioacoustic recorders. How many different species can you recognise? Isn't it remarkable how different nature can sound depending on your environment!

Caught on camera

We also utilise footage captured on a trail camera located on East Moor above Stand Wood, monitored by the Peak District National Park Authority. Over the last few years we've spotted Reed Bunting, Curlews (and Curlew chicks), Short-eared owls (and chicks), Kestrels and Buzzards. 

You can view some of the clips below. 

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The Dawn Chorus

The sound you can hear below was recorded across the Chatsworth Estate at 6.10am on International Dawn Chorus Day 2024, using nine bioacoustic recorders in different locations. 

The Dawn Chorus refers to the collective singing of birds at the break of dawn during the spring and early summer months. Birds sing at dawn for several reasons: establishing territory, attracting mates, and communicating with others in their flock. The chorus can be loud and diverse, featuring a wide variety of bird species. It often creates an uplifting atmosphere, providing a lovely way to start the day. 

This year's event is on Sunday 4 May. You can join a local walk or gathering with like-minded nature lovers via The Wildlife Trust's website.

Until then, why not sit back, press play, and be transported to Chatsworth...

Main image: A Blackcap, known as the 'northern nightingale' due to its pleasant fluting song. It is mainly a migratory bird visiting the UK over the summer from Germany and north-eastern Europe, but milder UK winters mean many are choosing to remain here all year round.