31/01/16 - Buzzard release

Once again Jean has been doing more of her fantastic work, appearing at the NNR base bright and early last Monday morning with a fine looking Common Buzzard ready to be off. The unfortunate bird had somehow managed to end up in one of the tanks at Elvington Water Treatment works, on the northern edge of the reserve. Fortunately it was spotted by a concerned worker who could see the state of distress the bird was in, with it being too wet and cold to take off he immediately took it to Battle Flatts Vets at Stamford Bridge. On arrival Mark, the vet, dried and warmed the bird before it arrived at Jean’s for some of her expert TLC. Having not fed for a number of days Jean kept it warm and helped build up its strength, with the aim of releasing it back into the wild as soon as possible. Pleasingly the bird fared well and was soon ready to go, per the golden rule of rehab, it was released back in Elvington - fantastic to see it take off and soar above us before drifting off over the nearby woodland. Many thanks to everyone involved in the rescue, care and release of this individual.

Several days after the release of Jean's bird, local wildlife photographer Terry Weston sent us this fantastic image of a bird he photographed on the reserve, at a site fairly nearby, in Kexby. 

Common Buzzards have shown a dramatic population increase in the area (following a large range expansion in the UK) over the last 20 years or so. Buzzard sightings were a real ‘red letter day’ for local birdwatchers in the valley in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, with only 5-10 sightings a year during this period. This number of sightings are now regularly reported on a daily basis and an estimated 12-15 pairs bred throughout the area in 2015.