What to See

Family Picnic – tomorrow!

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The weather is looking promising for the weekend and the Conservation Group are looking forward to welcoming you to our fun family event on Sunday 17th!

What’s on?
11:00 – Moths! See what we caught the previous night, before we release them.
11:30 & 2:00 – Hand scythe demonstrations – how we cut crops by hand before machinery.
1:30 – Guided Flower Walk around the Reserve.
2:30 – Children’s storytime (2 stories)

Plus:
Guided bird watching in the hides
Facepainting
Pond dipping
Kite making
Painting and drawing area

Organised by the volunteers of the village Conservation Group, this event is part of our Flowers in the Vale project, an initiative to encourage more local people to appreciate, enjoy and engage with our fantastic local nature resource.

Come and support us this Sunday, 11 till 3 !

Don’t forget the Woodland Hide

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With the Nature Reserve and particularly the bird sanctuary becoming more popular, the Alex West hide in particular can be busy at times. The Committee are aware that sometimes visitors can be a little put off by large numbers of other people and equipment in there. A poster has been put up in the hide to encourage visitors to share the best positions at busy times.

But, don’t forget the Woodland hide. The outlook does not get as much light as the Alex West hide and therefore it is less popular with photographers, yet it offers close-up views of many birds found at the Alex West hide (Kingfishers apart).

Here’s a list of recent sightings from the Woodland hide, situated to the left of the playing field gate:

Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Blue tit
Great tit
Marsh tit
Long tailed tit
Female black cap
Blackbird
Robin
Dunnock
Moorhen
Greater spotted woodpecker
Stock dove
Wood pigeon
Yellow hammer
Jay
Chiffchaff
Tree sparrow
Nuthatch
Grey squirrel
Pheasant

The (not so common) Common Crane

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There was excitement amonst lucky villagers in early May who spotted a Common Crane flying over the village early one evening. It is very unusual to see one this far north and the first time one has been observed from the village.  Here’ s what the RSPB says:

‘The crane is a huge, graceful, mainly grey bird with long legs, a long neck and drooping, curved tail feathers. Small numbers pass through Britain in spring and autumn, and there is a tiny breeding population in eastern England. Numbers in Europe have declined over the last 300 years because of disturbance, shooting and drainage.’

Although we didn’t get any great photos, here’s a video to give you an idea what all the excitement was about:

 

Sparrowhawk!

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Recent visitors to the bird hides in the Reserve might have been treated to a glimpse of this impressive predator, skimming and dodging obstacles at low level, ferociously chasing its prey at high speed.

The agile Sparrowhawk is a handsome bird with distinctive barring across its front and long, thin yellow legs. It is an expert in short fast low level flying over short distances and like other birds of prey will also soar looking for targets. It feeds on smaller birds, mice, frogs and insects.

sparrowhawk-juvenile

With thanks to Bill Cowing for capturing these photos of both an adult Sparrowhawk (above  and juvenile Sparrowhawk (below) in the Reserve during March 2016.

sparrowhawk-juvenile1

Spring is Here…

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The next few weeks are a great time to take a walk around the Reserve, which is stirring into life after winter slumber. The trees are coming into leaf, crocuses and snowdrops are already present with lots more early spring flowers to follow.

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The rough ground churned up by machinery used for installing the new fencing will soon settle and grass over again.

The pond is coming to life and there are pockets of interesting fungi to be found. The birds are very busy and there are lots of sounds to take in on stroll around the Reserve.  If you walk through regularly, now is the time to take it slow and observe the sights and sounds of Spring!

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Clay Figures Appearing in the Reserve

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Sixty children from Crawcrook Emmaville Primary School visited the Clara Vale Nature Reserve on Wednesday 10 February to explore the environment and learn more about textures and colour.

The children visited the bird hide in small groups and saw many birds including a Kingfisher and Heron. In the grassland and woods they spotted spring flowers, catkins and sticky buds.

If you see trees decorated  with clay faces, these were made in the Village Hall during the childrens’ visit. Have a walk through the Reserve and see if you can spot them, along with the other signs of spring!

 

 

catkins

RSPB Big Birdwatch Results

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Thanks to everyone who took part in our 1 hour Birdwatch on 31st January, we’ve submitted our results for the Clara Vale Reserve to the RSPB.

We recorded a total of 19 species from both hides:

Blue Tit
Robin
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Coal tit
Yellowhammer
Tree sparrow
Bullfinch
Nuthatch
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Great tit
Dunnock
Moorhen
Long tail tit
Magpie
Woodpigeon
Wren
Kingfisher
Treecreeper

birdwatch

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

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This annual national event takes place on the weekend of 30th/31st January as people all over the British Isles take part in observing and recording nature for one hour. The RSPB collate the results to provide a snapshot of UK nature.

We will be logging the birds at both hides in the Reserve on Sunday 31st January between 10 and 11am. There will be at least one birdwatching CVCG member on hand at each hide to help with identification, so do come along at 9.45am for a quick run through on how the survey works – you might be surprised at what you see!

You can find out more about this year’s event on the RSPB website.