5pm Wednesday to 5pm Thursday 18/19th July 2018
‘Nature Reserves are Not Enough!’ says Chris Packham whose team selected Nosterfield Nature Reserve as one of 50 sites he visited in a ten day period, aimed at highlighting the extent to which nature is under threat by undertaking a ‘bioblitz’. This audit of wildlife will create a bench mark, helping to measure the rise and/or fall of different species over a given time period. The Nosterfield event started with a Bat Walk and Gull Roost Watch on the Wednesday evening. There was a guided walk during the day on Thursday into the heart of the Reserve, which many enjoyed, opening of the moth traps from the previous night, pond dipping and a demonstration of microscopes by Grovers Optics. Another guided walk on the Quarry included the Heritage Lottery Fund and Local Nature Partnership initiative which is allowing LUCT to collect local seed and propagate wetland plants which were growing in the area around 5000 years ago, before mineral extraction was ever dreamt of. The hope is to recreate these Neolithic conditions and attract birds which would have lived hereabouts such as Little Bittern.
The Nosterfield team, headed by Simon and Jill Warwick with an amazing set of volunteers smashed last year’s BioBlitz total with two hours to go. Members of the North & East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre did a sterling job collating the total number of species identified by 5pm at the end of the day as an amazing 816 with some more specimens still to examine and classify. Subtotals: 321 plants, 89 birds, 212 Lepidoptera, 122 other invertebrates, 12 mammals, 3 amphibians and 57 other species. All totals are requested to be in by 10th August nationally, when there will be further publicity about the audit.
Well done to all the team and volunteers and thanks to Chris Packham for his early morning inspirational team talk.
Sue Coldwell