20/07/23 - Garganey

The Lower Derwent Valley NNR is one of the key sites in the UK for this species as well as being a great site for visitors to have the opportunity to see them early in the season. 

Garganey are Britian’s only migratory summer visitor duck species, wintering in southern Africa before heading northwards to breed, with perhaps 100-300 pairs in Britain most years. There have been several individuals present on the reserve this year, with Bank Island being a great place to see them (up to four drakes and three ducks on occasions over the last couple of months). We know at least one pair have bred with a single brood of nine hatching off and eight young successfully fledging, with two ringed. Several other ducklings have been caught here over the years (as well as the occasional adult male), and from our ringing studies we know these young birds often disperse quickly south into France after fledging, however, we would expect the odd sighting of one or two until mid-September when the last few birds can often be found lurking amongst the building autumn Teal flocks.

02/07/23 - LRP breeding success

Little Ringed Plovers are now annual visitors to the Lower Derwent Valley NNR and surrounding areas, having first nested in the UK in 1938. Numbers have since increased to around 1000 pairs throughout the country, with birds often favouring gravel pits, waste ground and reservoirs. Although this species does sporadically nest on the Ings, their favoured choice of more artificial and unnatural habitats means they are more often encountered in the wider area and often at sites where they are at risk to disturbance or trampling. 

Earlier this year a pair began nesting on a part flooded and part harvested turf field, however, working with Escrick Park Estate, Rolawn and local birders, we were able to delay the planned operations with the pair going on to successfully raise and fledge three young. A month later we were informed of another pair nesting in a working sand and gravel quarry, fortunately, thanks to local birders and understanding site managers, this pair were also given the space to nest and rear three young successfully. Working in partnership in this way and delivering successful outcomes is incredibly rewarding, so many thanks to those involved for helping to make it happen. 

04/06/23 - Squacco Heron

Last week we had a rather special and rare visitor to the Lower Derwent Valley NNR in the form of a Squacco Heron. Squacco Herons are small brown herons, weighing in at just 270-390g (compared with 1020-2073g for a Grey Heron), and are smaller than our now regularly encountered Little Egrets. They are stunning looking birds with a mix of peach, buff and cinnamon coloured plumage, with white wings when seen in flight and long black-edged plumes on their head.

Squacco Herons are usually found breeding in wetlands in southern Europe and western, eastern and southern Africa, with them being a rare visitor to the UK with less than 300 national records, and an even scarcer visitor to Yorkshire with little more than a dozen county occurrences. This individual is presumably the same bird seen last week at Filey Dams and in the Upper Derwent Catchment around Potter Brompton, before it headed further downstream along the River Derwent. After a couple of hours at Bank Island the bird then relocated to North Duffield Carrs where it is still present today. This is the first record of this species for the reserve and has drawn a steady crowd of admirers - thanks to eagle-eyed #LDV volunteer Mal Richardson for spotting it, and to local patch birder Duncan Bye for the image below.

02/05/23 - Whimbrel to Senegal

Recently we received a report of one of our #LDV colour-ringed Whimbrel in Senegal - photographed there (image below) on the 4th February – this individual (white ‘28’), was originally ringed at the Wheldrake Ings roost last year on the 2nd May. This is our fourth Whimbrel to Senegal, with two to Mauritania, two to Guinea Bissau & one to Guinea. We’ve also had two on breeding grounds in Iceland & one breeding in Sweden, with passage birds seen in France & Spain.

Since receiving the record above, and our Whimbrel returning on spring passage, we are delighted to say that ‘white 28’ is now back on the reserve – great to know it has completed the first section of its journey before continuing on to Iceland.

Each year during mid-April, we look forward to the arrival of Whimbrel at the nationally important spring passage site at Wheldrake Ings – these birds use the reserve for a few weeks as a place to rest and feed during migration to their breeding grounds in Iceland, Sweden and Finland. Numbers often peak around 100+ at the end of April and the first few days in May, with the peak count occurring around the 1st/2nd May each year, with numbers quickly tailing off thereafter. We have been busy radio-tracking a recently tagged individual, with details of its movements to follow.

10/04/23 - Common Cranes

Common Cranes were lost as a breeding species in the UK around 400 years ago, before a population became established in the Norfolk Broads in the 1970’s. Slowly the population has since increased, thanks to conservation management/habitat creation, coupled with a reintroduction scheme on the Somerset Levels, which has seen the population increase (record 64 pairs in 2020) – and a total UK population of 200 individuals. 

 

Thanks to the increase in the UK population, we have also seen an increase in the #LDV in the number of birds seen on the reserve. March, April and early May is a great period to encounter these majestic birds, with a group of five seen over Wheldrake Ings on the 2nd followed by four over Thorganby on the 12th.

Image: Duncan Bye 02/04/23