16/05/26 - Corncrake arrival

Regular followers of our page will be aware of our Corncrake reintroduction project which started last summer, in an attempt to bring back a self-sustaining population of Corncrakes to the Lower Derwent Valley - the hope is that boosting the small numbers that turn up here almost annually will be the first stage in securing an English breeding population. This project has been made possible thanks to our partners including Carstairs Countryside Trust and Deepdale Conservation Trust in Norfolk, as well as the hard work of our volunteer team, who had only weeks to build the pens last spring before the first chicks arrived. 

In addition to a wild pair present on site during the summer of 2025, a total of 74 chicks were released across the LDV NNR, having been reared in pre-release pens from 12 days old in order to fix on the night sky and to ‘set’ the Lower Derwent Valley as ‘home’. Our post-release monitoring work using various tracking tags showed the birds to survive well and behave naturally in the Ings meadows, and departing and migrating out of the country in line with what would be expected from wild Scottish bred Corncrakes. 

Following their migration to the wintering grounds in the Congo in Africa, we have been waiting with bated breath for their return, although with a low survival rate, we were expecting to see perhaps only four or five singing males return in the first year. However, we are delighted to say that so far we have recorded three, or possibly four returning males (all heard singing recently) – although in the coming weeks they are likely to become more vocal and easier to record – if you're fortunate enough to come across a singing male whilst visiting the site, please do get in touch to let us know – thank you. 

10/05/26 - White Carr Meadow

Recently, Natural England were gifted an area of land off the Pocklington Canal near Coates Lock (north of Bielby) from the estate of the late Mr Blackburn. This includes two old traditional meadows (one of which is SSSI and presently has a tremendous number of Cowslips), a fen meadow, reedbed areas and an old orchard – all surrounded by thick traditional hedgerows. This area of land will now be managed by Natural England and the Friends of the Lower Derwent Valley, as well as Carstairs Countryside Trust, who have a small parcel of land next door. This starts to form another block of land managed for nature conservation further east of the main block (Melbourne and Thornton Ings), and will form part of the extended NNR planned for later this year 🍾🤩

Before the start of the breeding season our team were hard at work starting to clear up the garden and orchard – making space to try and recover the old varieties of apple trees, as well as starting to fence off the site whilst enhancing the boundary hedgerows. Most of the trees appear to be still alive having started to blossom recently which is encouraging, and we look forward to watching as it develops further, with our fantastic team ready and willing to lend a hand. This site has largely been abandoned for over 30 years, so there’s a lot of sensitive work to do – but being just off the canal towpath it is hoped that we can create a site for visitors to enjoy, with our partners at Canal and Rivers Trust and the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society – watch this space 👀😁 

24/04/26 - Wild bird crop

Three years ago, the Friends of the Lower Derwent Valley purchased an 11-acre arable field behind the hides at North Duffield Carrs, now called ‘New Meadow’ – turning half into a species-rich hay meadow and the other half into a wild bird crop, bordered by mixed hedgerows and fruit trees. The present wild bird crop has been down for two years now, and over that time has attracted large flocks of wintering finches, including Goldfinch and Linnet in good numbers, with smaller numbers of Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Brambling and up to 30 Corn Buntings. Over the last week we have resown this crop by rotavating the land and then sowing and harrowing the seed, which comprises species like linseed, sunflower, millet, quinoa, radish, mustard and cereals, which will provide a variety of food and cover throughout the winter months. 

The Friends have been able to carry out this work thanks to a kind donation from https://www.fawcett-maltsters.co.uk/ – a malting company working with us to help the Corn Bunting or ‘fat bird of the barley’ as it is otherwise known. We are also very grateful for other private donations received – all helping to fund this vital work, and in doing so helping our bird populations, but also adding to the enjoyment of visitors to the site – please do let us know which species you see in this area when visiting.

20/04/26 - Heronry visit

Last week our ringing team, assisted by expert tree climbers, visited the local heronry in order to colour-ring a sample of Grey Heron chicks. This heronry has been monitored since 1977 by Natural England and the Lower Derwent Valley team as part of the BTO’s annual heronry census, where an early nest count in April is followed by a second visit in early June. A total of 219 chicks have been ringed in the heronry over the years, with over 100 fitted with individual identifiable yellow numbered colour-rings. 

From the data collected during this time, it has shown that soon after fledging the young birds tend to disperse north into North Yorkshire, Cleveland and Northumberland, although one individual headed south into Derbyshire. In most years, the young leave the heronry and go straight onto Wheldrake Ings to feed before dispersing – so please keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks (the first large broods will be fledging in the coming days), and please leave any records of colour-ringed birds in the hide log books provided, or send us the details via our social media accounts, thank you.

More details and ringing recoveries/maps can be found in the new Birds of the Lower Derwent Valley book - to order yourself a copy please contact Lucy.Murgatroyd@naturalengland.org.uk

14/04/26 - Return of the Cuckoo

Spring brings many wildlife delights and things to look out for, but one of the most anticipated sounds must be the call of a returning Cuckoo, usually around mid-April. 

Although numbers of this iconic summer visitor have sadly fallen in many parts of the UK (thought in part to be linked to the changes of abundance and distribution of prey), numbers in the Lower Derwent Valley are holding up. The new ‘Birds of the LDV’ lists one on the 2nd April 1995 as the earliest to have been recorded, followed by others on the 6th and 9th April 1996, 10th April 2000 and 12th April 2014. However, the main influx still occurs in late April and early May. 

The first calling birds were heard at Wheldrake Ings last week on the 10th April (making them the joint fourth earliest to have been recorded). Another individual then appeared this week at Melbourne on the 14th, with more expected to follow in the coming days, so please do let us know if you’re fortunate enough to hear one. The section of the Pocklington Canal in Melbourne is a particularly favoured haunt, along with the pool at Wheldrake Ings, with both areas being a good place to listen out for the distinctive ‘Cuckoo’ call of the male, and the less frequently heard ‘bubbling’ call of the female.