Lucy Murg

Not forgetting a bit of balsam control 🌿😄 Many thanks to all involved for another great few days 👏

Nice to welcome the Defra DDTS & International Conservation teams to the #LDV recently, allowing us to showcase the work we do & how it fits into wider areas across the Defra family. Interesting discussions took place along with a ringing demonstration & exploring the contents of the moth trap 🦋🐦

Our fantastic team & corporate groups have been busy with the seasonal task of balsam ‘bashing’ recently, with previous years efforts already starting to show results (a huge reduction in the dominance of this invasive species) - allowing our native vegetation to recover 🌿 Many thanks to all 👏

The warm weather during the last few days has really helped with hay making throughout the #LDV - it's been a rather slow and spread out hay cutting season so far, which is great news for our wildlife - giving species like Curlew, Quail and Corn Bunting an extra helping hand 🐦

We're delighted to say that work on our new building is progressing well with it really starting to take shape now – great to see the frame of the viewing tower/shelter put together this week - replacing the old viewing platform that has been used by many for the last 20 years!

Roesel's bush-cricket only appeared for the first time relatively recently in the #LDV (within the last few years), but the species is now widespread & common throughout the site & large numbers have been recorded by the team over the last few weeks whilst seed harvesting 🌿🦗

Our team have been busy seed harvesting in the MG4 hay meadows & other fen-type habitats recently to help create similar habitats elsewhere as part of #NatureRecovery, & this year the staggered hay cut has allowed us access more meadows than usual to help fulfil all the requests 🌿

Great day last week welcoming staff from Drax to the #LDV to help out with balsam control on the reserve. Our targeted efforts over the last few years are really starting to have a marked impact now, helping to reduce coverage of this invasive species - many thanks to all 👏👏

Fantastic to be working closely with Britcon, the contractors of our new reserve build, who have now managed to fill up one of our new reedbed areas - looking forward to seeing how this develops over the next few years 🌱

We were pleased to be able to welcome staff from the Defra finance team to the #LDV last week, giving them the opportunity to see what our delivery looks like on the ground and the outcomes of their work, with time also spent helping our team collect wildflower seed from the Ings 🌿

Over the weekend our team made a start with seed harvesting ahead of the hay cuts to follow later this week. Seed harvesting is an important way to help recreate species-rich floodplain meadows elsewhere in the local area & is an important role for NNRs in wider #NatureRecovery 🌿

Pleasing to find two more colonies/patches of Sand Leek whilst working on the reserve last night – seems to be spreading and appearing in new locations every year! Look out for it next to the path on the left 100 m before you approach Tower Hide at Wheldrake Ings 🌿

The chicks ringed in the #LDV have been subsequently resighted on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, Seaforth Nature Reserve in Merseyside, in the breeding colony @rspb.bsky.social Aire Valley and at the wintering grounds off the coast of Senegal by the team at Kartong Bird Observatory 🐦

We're pleased to say that the Common Tern pair on our Wheldrake Ings raft have once again reared three chicks to fledging – bringing the total now reared to over 30 since the rafts were first installed by the Friends of the #LDV in 2017 @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Tune in and listen here to find out more 🙃 www.conservation-careers.com/podcast/crai...

It's that time of year again when Kingfishers start to perch and fish from the rails installed by our team in front of Pool Hide at Wheldrake Ings - always brilliant to see, and hopefully with stable river levels it will have been a productive breeding season so far. Image @duncbye.bsky.social

Last week we carried out our second @btobirds.bsky.social heronry census and counts across the #LDV - a few late heron broods were noted and good numbers of Little Egrets were present, with numbers now going from strength to strength each year. Images @duncbye.bsky.social

Thanks to regular Dee Estuary birder Stephen Hinde for his recent record of #LDV Little Egret 'H4'. This individual was ringed at Wheldrake Ings as a juvenile in 2019, and is still going strong at Tinkers Dell where it has been seen regularly (present there in 6 of the last 7 years).

The dry spring has unfortunately reduced the number of Shoveler breeding in the #LDV (one of its national strongholds) this year, but several broods are now starting to appear, with our records to be sent to the @ukrbbp.bsky.social in due course. Image @duncbye.bsky.social

Nice to see several pairs of Little Grebes appearing with young around the #LDV now, with this one photographed by @duncbye.bsky.social recently on the pool at Wheldrake Ings @yorkbirding.bsky.social

Another one takes to the skies above the #LDV thanks to the amazing work by Jean, as well as Mark and the team at Battle Flatts Vets - no one thought this Buzzard would make it back out into the wild but it certainly did - fantastic job by all 🤩👏🏼

We're pleased to say that work on our new #LDV 'Volunteer, Community and Nature Recovery Science Hub' is progressing well, with the building really starting to take shape now and more rapid progress expected in the coming weeks.

The #LDV hay meadows are really starting to reach their best now – it's always amazing how they differ between fields and between years, with the two photographs below showing different ends of the site – one dominated by Yellow Rattle and the other by Pepper-saxifrage 🌿

As well as giving us a huge helping hand in the meadows, the visiting teams have been able to find out more about the reserve and our work in the #LDV, whilst also enjoying exploring the contents of the moth trap and watching a bird ringing demonstration - many thanks to all involved 😀

It's a very busy time of year for our team at the moment as we try and work our way through the meadows removing Marsh Ragwort ahead of the annual hay cut – and we couldn't have managed it all without the fantastic support recently from the @envagency.bsky.social, HSE and Defra 👏👏👏

Great year for Curlew in the #LDV with another brood found newly hatched this morning and left in peace. This was the 34th brood seen on the reserve this year – fingers crossed now for good fledging success 🐣

Nice to see a Privet Hawk-moth in the moth trap last week at Bank Island – now recorded annually and in increasing numbers (always great to see though). One or two Oblique Carpets (#LDV speciality) have also been recorded this month 🦋

Fantastic effort over the weekend by a Platoon from the Army Foundation College, with two days spent helping the team clear one of the #LDV hay meadows of Marsh Ragwort prior to haymaking. Many thanks to all involved, what was achieved in two days would have taken us weeks 🌿

Last week we were pleased to welcome staff from @draxgroup.bsky.social to the #LDV as part of their corporate volunteering. It's always a pleasure to welcome groups to the reserve, with any help hugely appreciated - this team were helping us with an exciting new project... more to follow later 👀

… before appearing at Havergate Island, near Orford, Suffolk last week on the 31st May. Thanks to Neil Woodford and Mike Marsh for the records and photograph @yorkbirding.bsky.social