30/07/18 - Nestle 'tern' up

Last week it was great to welcome back a small but hardworking team from Nestle in York, for two days of corporate volunteering. Working alongside our own volunteers during the two days, the first day (despite the intense heat), the team got stuck into clearing and coppicing willows at Wheldrake Ings - helping to improve the openness and landscape of the site. Ongoing work like this over the last few years has undoubtedly helped some of our key wildlife, and by reducing the number of crow nesting sites and perches, has also helped our local waders to have such a productive year.  
 

After a productive first day of scrub clearance the team then made their way to the pool to ring the brood of Common Tern chicks - great way to end the day. This is the second brood to have hatched this year on the NNR, following on from the first brood, also of three, at North Duffield Carrs. Not only have the chicks been metal ringed with rings from the British Trust for Ornithology, but they have also been fitted with black darvics bearing white numbers. The brood at NDC have now fledged so they could be elsewhere in the county, or perhaps further afield.

The second day was spent helping with improvements to Pool Hide, boarding out the hide ready for the new interpretation material this autumn, to help explain the work being undertaken in the valley to help our local (and not so local) wildlife. The team were also able to see some ringing taking place on site (including the capture of only the second French ringed Sedge Warbler to be found on the reserve), as well as being treated to a flock of 25 Black-tailed Godwits fresh in from Iceland - resting and feeding up on their migration to the wintering area further south. Many thanks to all the team for their sterling efforts which makes such a difference to what we can achieve with our declining resources.