St Nicks

Highlights Record number of hoverflies (including 4 new to St Nicks); scarce summer bird visitor returns (and two stunning juvenile water birds); the magnificent big yellow “L”! Weather Temperatures ranged from 14C to 19C. Some sun (especially on the 3rd and 10th). We stayed dry! Birds On the 3rd, A Whitethroat sang all morning near […]

It’s Volunteer Week! In honour of our fantastic volunteers Maria Gill our wonderful Volunteer Coordinator has put together a few blogs. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks to find out what volunteering at St Nicks is really like and what they get up to. Now the Volunteer Coordinator, I started my St […]

The month of June heralds the emergence of Skipper butterflies at St Nicks, bringing a welcome gleam of gold on flower heads, especially in the grassy areas. Of the eight British skipper species Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris and Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus can always be found on the reserve in summer, while a further two […]

Highlights New bumblebee and hoverfly species for St Nicks brighten up a cold month.. bird breeding season underway.. possible new breeding species? .. herbaceous flowers peak mid-April Weather Generally a cool month, around 14 – 15C, but dipping down to a chilly 6 – 7C on the 26th. Some sunshine, breezy at times – but […]

Our Volunteer Coordinator Maria summaries April at Derwenthorpe as well as explaining just what was involved in the Hedgehog day at St Nicks, how you can help the hedgehogs and what we hope to see in May… We had an interesting month at Derwenthorpe, changing the usual format of the sessions for a couple of […]

This blog has been written by the leader of our Creative Writing course, Emma Mckenzie. The creative writing course is one of the ways our Ecotherapy project may help those suffering from mental ill health. Ecotherapy recognises that being in green spaces and connecting to nature can be good for our mental health and wellbeing. […]

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is arguably St Nicks’ most colourful bird – although Bullfinch is a close contender! These black, white, brown, yellow and red (yes, count the colours!) finches are present at St Nicks all year round, and they breed on the reserve. They are widespread resident breeding birds throughout most of the UK and […]

Here Sam Taylor, our Recycling Coordinator (and driving force behind the challenge), discusses the highs and lows of the first month of Zero Plastic Fantastic with the team. Living plastic free, even if the only plastics you are realistically cutting out are “single use”, is hard. I don’t think any of us had expected or […]

March saw not only the arrival of spring but the beginning of our regular Wildwatch sessions at Derwenthorpe. Although the sessions will be led by myself for the most part, I would like to say a huge thank you to our Nature Reserve Manager, Jonathan Dent, who has done all the hard work to get […]

Highlights The flowers that bloom in the spring (tra-la!).. the year’s first butterflies appear, and the Harlequinade begins.. mewing in the air and creeping in the garden! Weather Temperatures started to creep up during the month, starting with a cool 4C on the 1st and reaching 11C later on subsequent Wildwatch Wednesdays. There were some […]