11/04/20 - The return of the Cuckoo

We hope that all of our visitors and followers are keeping safe during this unprecedented time, and that everyone is following the government advice on self-isolation and hand washing – like this Brown Hare at North Duffield Carrs – captured on camera by local wildlife photographer Stuart Campbell. Prior to the lockdown, we had been seeing a lot of hare activity around the site, with animals moving back onto the Ings now that the extensive winter flooding is starting to recede - each year during the floods, species like hares, deer, voles and shrews are forced up onto the higher and drier ground surrounding the reserve. This is one of the reasons why we need to view the Lower Derwent Valley NNR as much more than the internationally important designated Ings, and to also consider the wider landscape, including adjacent farmland and the network of other green spaces, local villages and verges. If the recent virus outbreak has taught us anything, it’s how much we value and need access to the natural environment for our own mental health and well-being, which is why we try to work with as many people as possible each year to conserve the valley for the wildlife that call it home, and for the people who love to visit it.

Last week we also had the first Cuckoo of the year calling one early morning at Church Bridge, Melbourne – a sound which we look forward to hearing each spring. Spring brings with it many wildlife delights and things to look out for, but one of the sounds most looked forward to has to be the call of a Cuckoo, usually first occurring in mid-April. Although numbers of this iconic summer visitor have fallen in many parts of the UK, (thought in part to be linked to the changes of abundance and distribution of their prey), numbers in the Lower Derwent Valley are still doing well. Whilst not as common as they once were, people in and around the villages of the area can still look forward to hearing their first returning birds – and we’re asking for your help in logging their return. Last year the first Cuckoo was heard at Melbourne on the 10^th, followed by several individuals on the 19^th at Elvington, Wheldrake and Skipwith, with the main arrival coming from the 24^th onwards. Please do let us know when you hear your first calling birds – and many thanks to local wildlife photographer Mark Hughes for the image below, taken in the Lower Derwent Valley NNR in Melbourne.