Rare marsh harriers take up residence at nature reserve near Ripon£250,000 awarded to restore habitat at Nosterfield Nature Reserve

A conservation trust which runs Nosterfield Nature Reserve has been awarded £250,000 to help restore threatened natural habitats.

The 150-acre nature reserve is situated between the Rivers Ure and Swale at West Tanfield, between Ripon and Masham.

It is regarded as North Yorkshire’s premier wetland grassland. However, rare remnant areas of fen and magnesian limestone are in urgent need of attention.

The National Lottery’s Heritage Fund grant will enable Lower Ure Conservation Trust to tackle this by employing three staff and embarking on a project to restore natural habitats at Nosterfield,

The scheme will also improve other areas along the Ure.

Nosterfield Nature Reserve near Ripon.

Nosterfield is regarded as North Yorkshire’s premier wetland grassland.

Simon Warwick, director of the trust, said it was the biggest grant it had ever received. He added:

“Our animals, plants and invertebrate life have been poorly served by us humans in recent years.  We are one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe.

“In our small way, let’s hope this is the start of a fightback in this part of North Yorkshire. We are extremely grateful to the National Lottery players to have received this support.”

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The habitat restoration work will focus on wetland and magnesian limestone, including working alongside English Heritage on the neighbouring neolithic monument, Thornborough Henges.

There will be opportunities for local people to get involved through community planting days, which will be held in autumn 2024 and 2025. 

Work at Nosterfield will include includes a range of priority habitats which will be restored, conserved and re-created as part of the project.

Lapwing are among the species that will benefit. Pic: Whitfield Benson

Species such as Bittern, Lapwing, Reed Bunting, Dingy Skipper and Tubular Water-dropwort will benefit from these habitat improvements.

The project, which starts on Monday (July 10) and will last for two-and-a-half years, also aims to connect people with nature by creating a community engagement officer role.

Emma Higgs, project officer at Nosterfield, said:

“One of the most exciting things about the project for me is getting more people involved in securing a future for our wildlife.

“We have some great volunteers  but with more work to be done now  we need more and better trained ones.

“We will be able to employ three new people and one of those roles will be to encourage school children to become involved.”

Simon Warwick and Emma Higgs. Pic: Frank Dwyer

Bird flu kills 70 birds at nature reserve near Ripon

More than 70 birds have died at a nature reserve near Ripon after an outbreak of bird flu.

The outbreak has affected a colony of breeding black-headed gulls at Nosterfield Nature Reserve.

Staff and volunteers have been forced to wear specially designed PPE suits, hats and gloves to collect the corpses from the 60-hectare site.

Visitors have been warned that they could see distressing scenes with more birds likely to die from the disease in the coming weeks.

Simon Warwick, director of the Lower Ure Conservation Trust which runs Nosterfield, said: 

“The gullery is in front of the main hide at Nosterfield and is usually a hive of activity in spring, with noisy adults feeding lots of hungry young.

“The disease is affecting many adult birds so you can imagine that what is happening at the moment is traumatic to say the least.

“But we are powerless to stop the spread of bird flu. Our biggest fear is the virus spreading to breeding lapwing and curlew, two species for which Nosterfield is famous.”

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The disease has killed black-headed gulls at several wetland sites across Yorkshire.

More than 1,000 gulls have died across the county so far, with the number expected to rise.

Visitors have been told under no circumstances to go near a dead or dying bird at the reserve. Dogs should also be kept on short leads during visits.

Mr Warwick added:

“Away from the main hide there is so much to see at Nosterfield at the moment, so our advice certainly to people with young children is come along but stay away from the main hide.”

Green shoots: a haven for birds and nature near Ripon

Simon Warwick was instrumental in turning a working gravel quarry near Ripon into Nosterfield Nature Reserve in 1997.

Almost 25 years later it has become a nationally recognised haven for birds and nature.

He said:

“We fought hard to for things to develop naturally.”

The Sharow resident has had a lifelong passion for wildlife and nature. When the Stray Ferret came to visit on a cold and blustery day in early May, he doesn’t stop smiling when he describes the bittern, arctic tern, lapwing and other species of bird that have recently been spotted there.

Whilst the covid pandemic has put restrictions on all of our lives, nature has carried on regardless, and at Nosterfield it has thrived.

Simon described the reserve as like a “motorway service station” for birds who will stop in the lake whilst they migrate.

Top birder

The reserve has become a place of discovery for birdwatchers.

At one of its purpose-built bird hides, we were greeted by one of the reserve’s ‘top birders’ Martin. He beamed when he tells us he has just spotted a turnstone, which is the 150th different species of bird so far this year.

Another milestone was when the avocet, which is the distinctive symbol of the RSPB, first began breeding on the lake.

Simon said:

“It was very exciting. We were there when she lifted off the nest and the chick appeared. A cheer went up in the bird hide.”

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Breaking new ground

The reserve is not only a haven for birds, volunteers also grow plants that used to grow in wetlands in the Ure Valley but were made extinct due to farming and drainage techniques.

These include slender sledge, tower mustard and great fen sedge.

Pan and Laurie bring expertise and passion to the project after retiring from running a horticulture business.

Volunteers Pan and Laurie

Pan said:

“These plants want to be here again. Being able to bring them back is the buzz we all enjoy.

“It’s not being done anywhere else. We are breaking new ground.”

“You can really make a difference. It’s very satisfying to introduce plants that have been lost.”

The holy grail

In 2006 Simon was awarded an MBE for services to nature conservation in North Yorkshire. It’s not always been plain sailing, however, and in the early days, he received abuse from local residents who opposed the creation of the reserve.

Nosterfield is run by the charity, Lower Ure Conservation Trust, which recently appointed environment specialist Emma Higgs to work on its projects after receiving £132,000 from the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

With its future secure for future generations of birdwatchers, and birds, Simon said the “holy grail” would be to see a visit from the majestic crane.

The huge wetland bird died out in Britain in around 1600. They were absent until a pair turned up in the Norfolk Broads in 1979.

“A crane would be the holy grail. It captures the essence and soundscape of the neolithic era.”

Ripon nature reserve gets £132,000 government boost

The Lower Ure Conservation Trust has received a £132,800 government grant to enhance the wildlife of the Nosterfield Nature Reserve.

The 250-acre nature reserve at Nosterfield is in the Swale/Ure Washlands near to Ripon and Masham.

In a survey conducted two years ago more than 1,100 species of animals, birds, insects and plants were recorded on the former quarry in a single 24-hour period. The trust says this makes it one of the most wildlife-rich areas of the country.

Sand and gravel were produced from a former quarry until the late 1980s. It was designated a reserve in 2001.

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The money comes from the government’s £40m Green Recovery Challenge Fund, announced yesterday.

The LUCT’s director Simon Warwick said it will “significantly increase” the scale of the trust’s work and help protect the nature reserve’s wildlife.

Mr Warwick said:

“We know that many of the wetland habitats that existed in North Yorkshire two and three hundred years ago are now very rare. Many of the meadows and mires that existed in abundance have been obliterated.

“Land has been drained and dug up.  We are recreating some of those habits here at Nosterfield and this grant will help to significantly increase the scale of our work.”