Heavy rain has brought misery to many in Yorkshire. At Nosterfield, paradoxically, it could not have been more welcome.
Water levels have risen almost six feet in the past couple of months and have revitalised the 90 hectares of wet grassland at the reserve.
It is fair to say that over the past eighteen months or so the reserve has not been at its best. Receding water levels due to hot summers and below-average rainfall have impacted on the numbers of breeding waders, winter duck and geese and passage migrants. Bird recording has been at a low level and visitors have voted with their feet. Thank goodness that Lingham, Flask and Kiln Lake and the reedbed at our quarry site have performed better.
That is now changing....and changing fast. Counts over the last week resulted in 618 teal, 298 wigeon, 130 Mallard, 460 lapwing, 606 greylag with an accompanying lesser snow goose, 8 shelduck, 18 curlew, 7 redshank, 5 golden plover and 38 gadwall and 26 Snipe plus 6 Heron. Pintail, scaup and 5 goldeneye have been recorded in recent days and a peregrine is taking advantage of this newly-arrived bounty by putting in occasional appearances along with a red kite.
Proof, if proof was needed, that water levels are on the rise and as a result there is an abundance of seed available for dabbling ducks.
A mile or so from Nosterfield the grass fields of Carrthorpe Mires are flooded and they too are attracting birds in large numbers with estimates of 4000 lapwing and 2000 golden plover. When, or if, those water levels recede there is every chance that many of those birds will move to Nosterfield. So numbers are only expected to increase.
However just as the reserve has burst back into life, the quarry lakes – Kiln and Flask – at our site across the road now have too much water in them! There are no dry or dryish margins and so little or no room for birds to land and feed.
The weather forcecast for the weekend ahead is for more rain so water levels can only be expected to increase. Our hides are getting busy again!
Photo by Gareth Jones