17/02/26 - Skipwith Common NNR

Whilst the Lower Derwent Valley is currently doing a fantastic job of being a floodplain, our amazing volunteers have been hard at work on the slightly drier ground of Skipwith Common NNR. Armed with bowsaws, loppers and plenty of enthusiasm, they’ve been busy cutting back young birch and pine saplings to keep the heathland areas open and thriving. This work is being undertaken to make sure the site is in favourable condition for some of the key species that can be found on the Common such as Woodlarks, Adders, Lizards, Marsh Gentians and Round-leaved Sundew, not forgetting the Nightjar, who flies all the way from Africa to spend the summer on the heath! 🌍🐦

So far, we’ve worked our way through several hectares, and we couldn’t have achieved this without our ever-growing volunteer crew, as well as the brilliant staff from WSP/FPRC Ecology and the Natural England north-east team, who swapped their desks for fresh air and made a huge difference with us at the end of last year 🌳🌲

Since the turn of this year, our hardy crew of volunteers have continued this work, with only a little bit left to finish now before the breeding season commences next month, and our attentions turn back to the Lower Derwent Valley – when (hopefully) the floodwater will have receded, and we may be busy carrying out flood damage repairs 🪚🪓🪛

10/02/26 - Forge Valley Woods NNR

Over the last couple of months our team have been splitting their time between the Lower Derwent Valley and Forge Valley Woods NNR, where we’ve been teaming up with Raincliffe Woods Community Enterprise and Butterfly Conservation volunteers to help manage this special woodland 🌲🌳

Our team, who are not shy of a challenge, have been hard at work (and in all weathers) clearing fallen trees from public rights of way and tackling storm-damaged trees so that the boardwalk can be replaced with a safer and better surface for visitors to enjoy, and whilst one section of the boardwalk does remain closed for now, the northern part of the reserve is still open, with the planned work expected to be completed by the summer 🌞😎🥾

During this time we’ve also been busy working alongside the river, opening up glades and re-coppicing bankside trees to let more light in, which will lead to more spring flowers, and provide a much-needed boost for butterflies, moths and bees, and when the coppice regrows, it will then create perfect nesting spots for birds and hiding places for mammals like wood mice and field voles 🐦🐞🦋🐌🐝

More recently we've also been opening up the quarry faces for their geological interest and valuable invertebrate habitat, and strimming the calcareous grassland pockets which will hopefully help species like rock rose flourish. A full litter-pick has also been carried out at both quarries and along the roadside, making the site nicer and safer for wildlife and visitors alike - nice to also see spurge laurel and wild garlic, and the first snowdrops of the year 🌿☘️ 🌷🪻🌺

Huge thank you as always to our fantastic team for their efforts recently, without whom, we simply would not be able to achieve even a fraction of our work load. If you'd like to join our team and are interested in helping out on your local NNRs, please contact Lucy.Murgatroyd@naturalengland.org.uk for more details 📩

07/02/26 - White-fronted Geese arrival

This winter, especially over the last few days, there has been a considerable arrival of White-fronted Geese into the UK, including the Lower Derwent Valley – the first 20 were found on the reserve on Thursday, with numbers then increasing to around 400 on Friday and further to between 500-600 on Saturday. The arrival of these birds is likely to be due to a cold-weather movement, with them jumping across the North Sea from the Netherlands and Low Countries to escape the harsh weather. 

White-fronted Geese are most easily distinguished from other geese by the white flash on their forehead and around the bill, dark stripes on their belly and orange legs. These ‘pink-billed’ birds belong to the ‘Russian’ breeding population in tundra regions, and with Britain being on the western most fringe of their wintering range, numbers can vary greatly depending on how bad the winter weather is in any given year. 

Numbers wintering in the UK have averaged 2,000 in recent years (well short of the numbers present in previous decades) due to many birds now ‘short-stopping’ as climate change makes wintering in mainland Europe more attractive. The new ‘Birds of the LDV’ book reveals a similar scale of influx in February 1993 when numbers finally reached 830 later in the month (presently the record count for the site). Whilst visiting the reserve please do let us know if you come across any, and if you'd like to find out more about the species that visit the NNRs, there's still time to pre-order yourself a copy of our new book, just send an email to Lucy.Murgatroyd@naturalengland.org.uk