08/04/21 - Sand Martins

We are pleased to be able to say that our first Sand Martins have returned to the Lower Derwent Valley NNR after their long spring migration. Wintering largely in the Sahel area of Africa, Sand Martins are one of the first summer migrants to appear from mid-March, and are highly gregarious, breeding in colonies where they excavate tunnels in sandy banks. Sadly, natural nesting colonies in riverbanks are prone to summer flooding, however, with thanks to your support via log sales, cards and calendar purchases, and kind donations, the Friends of the Lower Derwent Valley have installed several Sand Martin nesting ‘hotels’ on the reserve over the last few years.

These, like the one at Bank Island pictured below (images from a previous year), will provide additional nesting locations and will also be less prone to be flooded out and safe from predators. Over the last couple of years this ‘hotel’ has proved popular with returning adults, and has resulted in over 140 chicks successfully fledging. We’ll be filling them with sand this week with the hope that this year’s cohort will soon move in, and then we'll turn our attentions to repairing the bank at Wheldrake Ings which became damaged during the winter floods.

25/03/21 - Migrating Scoters

Over the last week there has been a nocturnal movement of Common Scoters through the Lower Derwent Valley NNR, with late March/early April being the prime time to find the odd passage Scoter on the Ings as they move across country.

This flurry of records is thanks to noc-mig, which really took off last year when everyone was largely confined to their gardens, resulting in many local birdwatchers taking the opportunity to record nocturnal movements via sound recording, with many reporting a widespread movement of these largely sea-ducks moving in early April, no doubt being easier to hear than previously with reduced background noise resulting from the first complete lockdown. At least a couple of hundred birds were involved in the movement last year – compared to the one or two recorded annually over recent years (site records). It’s also not unusual for one to end up in Jean’s care – over the last few years we’ve had the privilege of handling a few of these lost or exhausted maritime ducks, after being been found in gardens or other unusual locations. After a night or two with Jean, they have all been safely released into the North Sea. 

It is thought that these flocks involve birds that had wintered in the Irish Sea, before moving inland over the Mersey and Wirral area, and onward across the Peak District to the Humber and Vale of York, then over to the North Sea off the Yorkshire Coast. Please do let us know if you venture out into your gardens after dark, and what you hear. The best times for Common Scoter (https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Melanitta-nigra) appear  to be between 2000hrs and 2230 hrs.

18/03/21 - Pintail on the increase

Recently, several of the team carried out the monthly WeBS count of the LDV’s waterfowl, as part of the national ‘Wetland Bird Survey’. These surveys have taken place on the reserve here since the 1960’s, 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 25,500 birds counted in the Lower Derwent, it included a record breaking 871 Pintail - breaking the previous record of 823 set in January this year. Looking at previous years WeBS data, we can see that the ten year averages for winter peak counts, showed that numbers were typically in the range of 54-70 during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Numbers then increased to an average of 186 during the 1990’s, and more dramatically to 468 during the 2000’s. Peak counts during the 2000’s 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 these two counts of 800+ more recently. It’s great to see the value of these long-term monitoring schemes, and to see Pintail, such a beautiful and eloquent duck (shown well below in the feather detail photographs), doing so well here. Many thanks to all our counters who have helped contribute to this data set over the years.

01/03/21 - Egyptian Goose to the Netherlands

Introduced to Britain in the later part of the 17^th Century, Egyptian Geese are a relatively recent colonist of the Lower Derwent Valley NNR, following the first record here in 1979. Further records occurred in May 1990 and March 1991, with the species then recorded annually since 2001. It has since gone on to become established as a breeding species, with up to five pairs present in recent years - largely confined to several farm ponds in the East Cottingwith and Melbourne area. 

Although Egyptian Geese appear largely sedentary in the UK, making only relatively short journeys, little is known about the movements of the species across the country. We have only ringed four in the area, including a brood of three at East Cottingwith in October 2019. 

With so few individuals ringed on the reserve, we were incredibly surprised to receive a ringing recovery of one of the three goslings, that had been found in Den Hoorn, Texel, The Netherlands, 328 km south east of the LDV, in January 2021 - the first such movement of the species outside of the UK and the longest movement on record.

08/02/21 - LDV NNR extension

As part of the World Wetlands Day celebrations last week, we were pleased to announce that Natural England has declared a further 22 parcels of land in the Lower Derwent Valley, as National Nature Reserve - increasing the NNR by almost one third from 466 hectares to 602 ha. This includes a total of 47.20 ha managed by Natural England and 96.30 ha managed by Carstairs Countryside Trust. This further safeguards the ownership and management of key areas for their special wildlife, from flower filled hay meadows, breeding waders and waterfowl, to the vast flocks of wintering swans, ducks, geese and wading birds that use the reserve each year. It also helps provide areas of quiet sanctuary against the effects of disturbance and increasing pressure, whilst allowing greater engagement, appreciation and appropriate access at other areas around the reserve. 

World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on the 2^nd February, with the aim of raising global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and the planet. The day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2^nd February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and is the reason the LDV is now a Ramsar site. The day celebrates all the benefits wetlands bring – from biodiversity, flood storage and reduction, food and jobs, clean water and access to health environments for recreation. 

Following on from this exciting news, we are also delighted to inform our followers that The Friends of the LDV have also been successful in purchasing another parcel of hay meadow at Ellerton Ings, which follows an initial purchase of land at North Duffield Carrs last January, and brings the total now owned and managed by The Friends, to just over 11 acres. We are grateful to everybody who has supported The Friends in being able to make this a reality – whether it’s been via buying our cards, calendars or supporting our log sales, or by requesting walks and talks, fundraising and through kind individual donations. Although these parcels of land are now in conservation ownership for perpetuity, The Friends are now looking to build their land acquisition reserves back up, in order to respond quickly to any further opportunities. If you would like to contribute then please follow the link below to their Go Fund Me page in order to help with future acquisitions, thank you - Fundraiser by Lower Derwent Valley NNR : The Lower Derwent Valley NNR.