Page 25 - April_2018_Digital_Edition

Features

(Continued from page 24) volunteers along with YWT staff.
Common breeding birds include
summer visitors such as sand martin, As well as routine maintenance work,
swallows and swifts and several the volunteers also monitor the
species of warbler, with common grazing stock - Highland cattle and
tern breeding on the rafts put out for Hebridean sheep, keep the bird
them. Regularly sighted species feeders stocked and look after the
include jack snipe, goldeneye and community orchard.
oystercatcher. There have been 22 The volunteers have recently secured

“The 84 hectare reserve is a Site of Importance

for Nature Conservation (SINC)”

species of damselflies and a grant from the Allerton Park
dragonflies recorded in the main Landscape and Cultural Heritage
lagoons or the small ponds and Fund. A new container store, which
ditches. will be arriving on site shortly,
Mammals are well represented with
roe deer and fox amongst the larger
species and water shrew and harvest
mouse amongst the smaller species.
Otters are seen regularly, quite often
in the middle of the day, particularly
in the East Lagoon.

Management of the nature reserve is
A Typical Task Day - Scrub Clearance
designed to maintain the site's
important habitats of fen, flower-rich
grassland, open water, wet pasture mowing and other maintenance
and ponds by clearing encroaching equipment are among the items the
scrub, mowing and grazing. Major grant is funding.
works are undertaken by contractors,
as funds allow, but day to day The SNR is a wonderful resource to
maintenance is carried out by local have in our area.

To find out more about the reserve visit
http://www.ywt.org.uk/reserves/staveley-nature-reserve

The LINK April 2018 Page 25