St Nicks Wildwatch blog post, 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

With the recent panic buying and reports of food waste increasing I asked what impact the members of Zero Waste York (ZWY) thought the current situation we all find ourselves living in would have on the zero waste movement. We appreciate that this is a tough time, but in the spirit of pulling together I’d […]

We had planned a Ta(l)king Action workshop on wildlife gardening for 21st March 2020 but, sadly, had to cancel it due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a substitute, here are some tips shared by several of the would-be participants. We hope you find them useful and look forward to hearing about your efforts to make […]

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 […]

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 […]

You may have heard people discuss the 3 Rs or the 5 Rs. The 3 Rs are typically Reduce, Reuse, Recycle whilst the 5 Rs are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery and Rot. Each of these things refers to the waste hierarchy. The waste hierarchy is a list of processes to tackle waste, starting with the […]

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.   […]

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 […]