On a very cold and wet January day, a hardy group of EKWT volunteers visited the Lower Ure Conservation Trust (LUCT) at Nosterfield. LUCT aims to establish best practice in the provision and maintenance of wet grassland. EKWT are keen to share knowledge about the wetland plants in our fen area in Bardsey Fields and so were delighted to be invited to visit the nursery at Nosterfield. The day was very informative and we are pleased to have made links with another Trust. LUCT will be visiting Bardsey Fields reserve in the spring.
EKWT have put up over 160 bird boxes on our reserves since 2017. These have been funded by Countryside Stewardship capital grants and have been constructed and maintained by our volunteers. The volunteers visit each box through the winter months to clear out any existing nests and record the findings. We are currently collating the results for 2025. In 2024, 54% of the boxes were used, which is our best year since we began the records 8 years ago.
We collect seeds from our reserves in the parish, plant them and grow them in our nursery. Here our volunteers are planting on the wildflower seedlings to prepare them for planting out at a future date.
Leeds Swifts is a group of volunteers working to bring this red listed species back from the brink. Having seen the impact they have made from watching Hamza Yassin’s visit to them, we asked if they could visit East Keswick Wildlife Trust and give our volunteers advice on how to encourage more swifts to nest in our village.
You are most welcome to join us for our winter bird survey. Meet outside St Mary’s Church, Moor Lane, East Keswick on Sunday 22nd February at 10am.
Wear warm clothing!
If you have binoculars, please bring them with you. We’ll stop for a short coffee break but if you wish to continue into the afternoon, please also bring a drink and packed lunch. We will be walking around the village, through the Marsh and then along Moor Lane and down to the river. There’s no need to stay for the whole session, you can join us for as long as you like.
It’s a good year for berries so we should see plenty of Fieldfares and Redwings that have been coming over from Scandinavia.
In 2022 we found an Oak Bush Cricket; our first Orthoptera species that wasn’t a grasshopper. This week, David found two further species in his field… a Long-winged Conehead and a Roesel’s Bush Cricket. Both of these species are not normally seen north of the Humber…. so a good find. It’s likely that one or both of these species could be present in Bardsey Field as “scurryings” have been seen!
Update…. Roesel’s Bush Cricket was seen by a member at Bardsey Fields, 11th July!
We welcomed over 50 people to Bardsey Fields at the beginning of July to see the work that we have been doing, learn about the wildlife there and take part in craft activities. Permitted access is now available through the two gates at the corners of the top field next to the road. A path has been cut between these two gates and then all the way around the top field. We had guided walks around here and were able to explain that in time, our management will result in the top fields developing into wood pasture. This will be characterised by open-grown, often old trees in a grazed environment, creating a rich mosaic of habitats including grassland, fen and scrub. There will be open views across to the fen below. The fen is home to many uncommon plants and butterflies and recently fawns have been seen there and a kingfisher nesting.
Craft activities on the day included willow wishing wands, spiders and felting sheep. Emma demonstrated how to ‘slow the flow’ with guttering and tennis balls. This is because we have broken two pipes under the field into the beck and brought the water to the surface in the field. The water will then filter through a series of dams to slow the flow of water and help prevent flooding downstream in Bardsey and Collingham. Paul had set a moth trap and had a number of interesting species to observe, including elephant hawkmoths.
We have the Dexter cows on site and there will be 2 in Bardsey Fields all summer. The grass is thick and dense and the cows on site are having a real impact on removing this, which will allow wild flowers to bloom in the summer. When you visit, please remember to close the gate behind you so they don’t escape!
The Trustees of East Keswick Wildlife Trust have made the decision not to allow dogs on the site. This is for a number of reasons but primarily: there will be cows in the fields all year round; the resident wildlife such as deer, foxes, badgers and small mammals will be disturbed as well as ground nesting birds such as meadow pipit, willow warbler, chiffchaff, dunnock, blackbird and skylark.
In July a group of Cubs and Squirrels came to visit the Ellikers nature reserve. Melanie explained about the yellow fish campaign and ‘only rain down the drain’. We then had a walk all around the reserve. It was a lovely evening and so there were a number of butterflies to observe, along with the wild flowers.
This year our summer family event is at our new reserve, Bardsey Fields – opposite Bardsey Primary School. The event will run from 11- 2pm, so please bring a picnic. There will be guided walks around the reserve, crafts – including making spiders and willow wands, storytelling and more. It will be great to welcome you to hear our plans for the future of the reserve.
