Category: Wildwatch
Adventures in the Becks
We have spent a lot of time in and around the becks this year. In a year when we’ve all had to keep our distance from one another, spending hours exploring Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks from the water, as well the overgrown banks, has been a thoroughly rewarding but responsible activity to keep us […]
Wildwatch May 2020
The wildlife of St Nicks buzzed and bloomed in May as always, regardless of human troubles. The regular group of Wildwatch volunteers could not, of course, meet up as usual for their weekly walk around the reserve. But a few of us could enjoy St Nicks during our legally-sanctioned local walks. We recorded what wildlife […]
Wildwatch April 2020
Wildlife at St Nicks has been flourishing this spring. Wildwatch volunteers would normally be meeting every week to record – and enjoy – this. Alas, this is impossible right now. However, several Wildwatchers have been able to visit individually and share their sightings with us all. And of course staff members continue to do essential […]
Wildwatch March 2020
New life sprung forth this March at St Nicks – as always. Despite inevitable difficulties, the Wildwatch team was still able to enjoy some great wildlife sightings. Wildwatch groups met as usual on the Wednesday mornings of the 4th and 11th of March – seventeen of us on the latter date. (What a long time ago this […]
Spotlight on… Tawny Mining Bee and Bee Fly
The Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva) and the Bee Fly (Bombylius major) have a story to tell. The first is a solitary bee while the second is not a bee but a fly impersonating one. Both can be seen on the reserve at St Nicks from April to June. The Bee Fly tries to stay as […]
Keeping connected to nature: even during lockdown
Hard times for us all. So many pressing concerns. Not least of these, for many of us, is the way in which our access to the natural world has suddenly become so constricted. Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder. How true this seems now, regarding not just family and friends, but also […]
Wildwatch February 2020
Headline Early spring blossom brings out the queen bees, while some winter bird visitors depart. Plenty to see under logs, too. Weather February 2020 was officially the UK’s wettest February since records began 160 years ago, but happily every Wildwatch Wednesday at St Nicks in February dawned frosty and sunny. Birds 27 bird […]
Wildwatch January 2020
Highlights Still very few wintering bird visitors or migrants, but lots of invertebrates seen under logs and stones. A surprising number of insects above ground too. First flowers spotted as well as fresh evidence of otter presence. Weather Wednesdays in January were kind to Wildwatchers, with chilly starts, frequent sun and no rain. […]
Spotlight on…how and where do St Nicks butterflies spend the winter?
Visit St Nicholas Fields on a sunny summer day and your heart will surely be lifted by the attractive sight of the butterflies on the reserve. Up to 20 species appear regularly each year, some of them in abundance, others harder to find but worth the search. But come Autumn and the show is almost […]
Wildwatch September – December 2019
Highlights Winter birds disappoint, but many new invertebrates found and nine shieldbug species liven up the reserve. Plus a botanical oddity, plenty of fungi and galls. Weather A mixed bag. The wet Autumn’s heaviest rain fell on non-Wildwatch days. September walks were mainly cloudy following overnight rain. October, November and December brought us a […]
