02/09/20 - White-tailed Eagle

We've just found out, rather belatedly, that a White-tailed Eagle passed through the Lower Derwent Valley NNR during the summer. With its presence going undetected, we would have been none the wiser had it not been for the satellite tracker that it was wearing - this individual was one of the birds re-introduced last summer on the Isle of Wight. After roaming around the local area over there last autumn, this bird, along with another individual, headed north and spent several weeks around the North York Moors, before heading south down the River Derwent, reaching Ellerton by 4pm on the 19th July. It appeared to have roosted locally, before heading off south the following morning at 10am, passing to the east of Doncaster an hour later. By 1pm it had flown 60 miles and was skirting around the east side of Newark-upon-Trent in Nottinghamshire, before roosting at Belvoir Castle in north-east Leicestershire that evening. It then continued southwards and is now currently in Norfolk. This follows two sightings in late March of an un-tagged, presumed continental bird which was seen by a handful of observers in the LDV. Thanks to Clive Featherstone for the use of his image (WTE and Common Buzzard) – taken in Doncaster in March.

During lockdown Jean Thorpe of Ryedale Rehabilitation was been busy continuing her great work as usual – caring for raptors as well as all sorts of injured or orphaned wildlife, and victims of wildlife crime - successfully releasing many back into the wild. As well as the usual crèche of Mallard ducklings that have been released onto the reserves ditch network, we were lucky enough to enjoy releasing a Long-eared Owl earlier in the summer, and on another occasion, a Spotted Flycatcher into a local brood to be reared by ‘foster parents’. Jean also brought in a recently fledged Buzzard to release over the Ings meadow, where there are plenty of young Buzzards and Kestrels exploiting the easy hunting on the Ings with the hay cut exposing plenty of earthworks and frogs as well as small mammals. To help Jean with her work, LDV NNR volunteer, Friends of the LDV trustee and member of the Calderdale Raptor Group, Nick Carter, presented Jean (albeit distantly) with a cheque from the raptor group to support her amazing work - well done Jean and many thanks for all that you do.