02/04/19 - Work on the NNR

Our dedicated band of volunteers give their time freely each week to help around the NNR, and are no strangers to a bit of habitat management and tree felling, so it was a nice change last week to be planting some instead! Following a successful grant application by the Friends of the Lower Derwent Valley to the Environment Agency, the team made a start planting several hundred Crab Apple trees in the hedges surrounding the reserve. These trees will be a great addition to the landscape surrounding the valley, especially at North Duffield Carrs and Bank Island in a few years’ time, providing plenty of additional food and habitat for a wide range of species including wintering thrushes, finches, small mammals and numerous invertebrates and in turn, increasing the enjoyment of our visitors. The team also managed to spread and sow the wildflower seeds in the meadow next to the NNR base, to add to the diversity and attractiveness of this field, as well as a range of other tasks.

 

Recently our staff and volunteers have also been busy working between Wheldrake Ings and Skipwith Common, with the last of the scrub management work now completed for the breeding season. Over the last couple of months contractors have been clearing birch scrub from the Common for use on horse jumps, and in doing so have provided excellent flight lines and feeding opportunities for heathland species such as Nightjars and Woodlarks, as well as sunny glades and sheltered spots for basking Adders, Grass Snakes and Common Lizards. The diverse structure and varied woodland edge will prove more suitable for moths and other invertebrates, as well as increasing the ground flora. Our team have been helping the site’s owners, Escrick Park Estate, tidy the brash resulting from the work (building hibernacula and brash piles for the reptiles found on the Common), providing cover and micro-habitats for them to move along. Many thanks as always to our team for doing such a great job on the NNR, giving up their free time to help improve the site for both wildlife and people.

The nice weather of last week was not only enjoyed by our staff and volunteers, but also by our local Adder population, with the warm sunshine luring them out of hibernation. Whilst carrying out habitat management work on Skipwith Common NNR, our team checked some of the favoured spots during their lunch break, and were pleased to spot an Adder coiled up among the bracken and heather, along with several Common Lizards and the first Grass Snakes of the year. After a long winter spent in hibernation and months without feeding, Adders need to use the sun's rays to warm up their bodies to build up their energy and strength, and to allow their muscles to work properly. Adders are Britain’s only venomous snake - they subdue their prey (frogs, toads, nestlings and small mammals) using venom, however they are not a threat to people unless disturbed – if you are fortunate enough to come across a sighting of an Adder (or Grass Snake), then please watch from a distance and try not disturb them, thank you.