24/02/25 - Spring arrival

With temperatures rising over the weekend, it’s a time of change in the Lower Derwent Valley once again. Curlew numbers have jumped from 50 to 160+ over the last week with several pairs back on territory throughout the site - it's always a highlight of the year when the first singing and displaying birds are heard across the Ings.

Breeding Oystercatchers have also returned to the reserve, their arrival having moved forward over the last 40 years from mid-March to mid-January, although most arrive from early to mid-February. The now annual build up of Black-tailed Godwits has also started, with just over 200 at Wheldrake Ings during the last couple of weeks. Other signs of spring include breeding activity in the local heronry, the sudden return of Little Egrets, nest-building Mute Swans, singing Woodlarks on Skipwith Common NNR and the appearance of the first frogs. Whilst there is likely to be some cold and wintry weather still to come, it’s a great time of year to get out and about on the reserve and enjoy the changing seasons.

Thanks to local wildlife photographer Terry Weston for the use of his image.

16/02/25 - February WeBS

At the weekend several of the team carried out the monthly WeBS UK count of the LDV’s waterfowl, as part of the national ‘Wetland Bird Survey’. These surveys have taken place on the NNR since the 1960s, and with the use of standard methodology, allow trends in wildfowl and wader populations to be studied, both at a site level and across the county.

Of the 27,500 birds counted in the Lower Derwent this weekend 20,500 were swans, geese and ducks which included an impressive 1,092 Pintail. This represents the second highest count on record for the LDV following last winter’s record breaking 1,120 in February 2024. From looking at previous years WeBS data, we can see that the ten-year averages for winter peak counts show that numbers were in the range of 54-70 during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, with numbers then increasing to an average of 186 during the 1990s, and more dramatically to 468 during the 2000s. Peak counts during the 2000s passed 600 birds in four winter periods, with the largest count of that decade of 674 in 2007/08, being surpassed by a count of 716 ten years later in the 2017/18 winter period, before two counts of 800+ more recently as well as last year’s peak of 1,120. It’s great to see the value of these long-term monitoring schemes, and to see Pintail, such a stunning and eloquent duck, doing so well here, perhaps as they start to shift their range in response to climate. Many thanks to all of our counters who have helped to contribute to this data set.

03/02/25 - World Wetlands Day

With our World Wetlands Day celebration now over, Shaun is hitting the road again to help spread the Countryside Code message elsewhere, but we’re pleased to say that Saturday was a huge success thanks to Shaun and our fantastic team who were busy all day recruiting new volunteers and running activities including bird ringing, guided walks, nest box/bird feeder construction and owl pellet dissection. 

It was also great to see the local school children in Melbourne getting involved in learning about why wetlands like the #LDV are so important and what we can all do to help protect them. 

Shaun’s arrival in the #LDV last week also coincided with the delivery of our new responsible recreation signs as part of our ongoing trial. Look out for these going up around the reserve over the course of the next few weeks informing visitors of public access areas and viewing facilities, and how we can all do our bit to help look after our special wildlife.