The scorching temperatures have been brilliant for butterflies and make the meadows look even more astounding! If you take a wander out to the valley view point you'll pass an incredible diversity of wildflowers and invertebrates while this years woodpecker chicks dart out to the feeders belting out their metallic calls! Here's a pick of our top sightings this week:

Large Skipper - These little copper coloured…

Although our star bird species have now fledged their nests there is still a great deal to see here at Coombes Valley.  Our meadows are teeming with life from chirping crickets, buzzing insects, amazing moths, beautiful butterflies and a mass of wonderful wildflowers including common spotted and greater butterfly orchids.  What could be better than taking a stroll in this fascinating place on a glorious summers day.

 Common…

Over the coming weeks, you might hear talk about the 'Big Wild Sleep Out' - this will be a nationwide event over the weekend of 9th-11th of August where the RSPB is encouraging people across the country to spend a night under the stars.

This is the first major event marking the launch of our 'Giving Nature A Home' campaign, and I'm proud to say that Coombes Valley is one of the many reserves that will be welcoming…

Although the main breeding season of summer is over for several of our birds, Coombes Valley is all but quiet right now!  The area around the visitor centre and bird feeders has become a hive of activity, as fledglings of all shapes and sizes compete to see who can shout the loudest. 

A charming sight which has become a daily occurence is the presence of a pair of Great Spotted woodpeckers and their chicks on the birdfeeder…

Better!

That describes one of our key aims at Coombes Valley. We're working very hard to create better habitats for the diverse life that is abundant on and around our nature reserve.

One of the ways we do this through the summer months is 'bracken bashing'. This week a team of willing volunteers spent a day on the reserve doing that very activity. It's a great activity to take part in if you have any pent up frustrations…

Thanks to all the experts and members of the public who attended our BioBlitz last Sunday, our sightings this week make a long list! On the launch day of the new Giving Nature A Home campaign, it's great to see just how much nature we provide habitat for here at Coombes! To hear more about the new campaign and the call to action it represents, have a read of Martin Harper's brilliant blog:

http://www.rspb.org…

Last week we were graced with some weather that reminded us that it is in fact Summer, this made it a great time to view the huge variety of wild flowers around Coombes. The warmer weather also stirred some invertebrates into life that really emphasises the diversity of life that we have here in this magical woodland. This is our top 10 sightings this week:

1. Large Red Damselfly - I (Simon) spotted this beautiful insect…

With only six days to go to the first ever Coombes Valley BioBlitz, I’ve been thinking.  What are we trying to achieve?  It will of course be a fun day where public and experts come together and record species at Coombes, but when people leave, will they understand what it was all about? 

Bluebells image by Lizzie Ingram

That’s the biggest challenge.  With the recent release of the State of Nature report…

Here, in no particular order, are our top 10 sightings at Coombes Valley this week!

1. Redstart

2. Pied flycatcher

3. Spotted flycatcher

4. Bluebells

5. Bugle

6. Germander speedwell

7. Crab-apple in flower

8. Speckled wood butterfly

9. Poplar hawkmoth

10. Ladybird

Redstart- One obliging pair has taken up residence in a tree stump visible from the path, to the right as you start up towards Buzzard Bank from…

The warm and sunny weather over the bank holiday weekend was extremely welcome after a very wet week. This was the perfect time to get out and do our weekly butterfly transect as part of the UK butterfly monitoring scheme. The harsh winter has pushed back the emergence of butterflies all accross the country, and given the disheartening statistics on butterfly populations in the recently published state of nature report…

If I asked you how many things you think about every day – you may have between 20,000 and 50,000 thoughts!

What we need to know is how we put nature in your top 10 thoughts?  

What we need to know is what would make you want to do something with nature or to make a difference to nature?

And so, my next thought , of my 50,000 or so today is .........

If we made a pie chart to represent the different things that…

This week I was faced with a familiar problem – what to do with my midweek day off when everyone else on site is working?   The problem was solved for me though, when Holly and Simon suggested that I come with them on the morning’s target bird survey.  Despite the slight downside of a 7:00am start, I soon forgot about being tired when we began our walk down into the valley, and our lovely and talented warden…

Here at Coombes it's all fingers to the grindstone as we prepare for some exciting events planned over the summer.  Over the May half term we have our magical woodland activity trail for families, which enables them to explore this great place and get creative using the natural materials the woodland provides.

The countdown to our open day is well and truly underway as we go against the clock making sure everything is 

Active management is vital to provide wildlife with optimal habitat. Here at Coombes we primarily manage our woodland for bird species in decline due to deterioration nationally of woodland habitat. But other habitat types also need active management, and one I’m particularly interested in is our pond.

The large pond down in the valley becomes shallower every year, as leaves and sediment build up at its bottom…

Although we at Coombes Valley like looking beyond birds to the rest of this wonderful woodland ecosystem, we thought you’d like to hear about this morning’s bird highlight- out surveying target bird species, we saw our first tree pipit of the year!

He was perched at the top of a hawthorn right in the centre of a sunny Clough Meadow, singing his little heart out! We got a great view of his characteristic…

You don't need to be an expert to enjoy the magical atmosphere created by the dawn chorus at Coombes Valley, and we want everyone to experience it, so come along as early as you like!  BBC Radio 4's 'The Living World' team have visited us bright and early this week in honour of International Dawn Chorus Day on May 5th.  BBC Presenter Trai Anfield has kindly penned today's blog for us, so over to Trai to describe…

Over the last week the staff and visitors at Coombes Valley have been bringing back reports of a couple of our target species, Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts! Along with a whole host of other migrant species that have traveled a great distance to take of advantage of the haven that is Coombes!

Pied flycatcher male (left) and Redstart male (right)

Myself and Holly spotted our first male Pied flycatcher just across the…

If you were to walk through Coombes or Churnet valleys today you might notice that everything is getting a little bit greener. The Hazel and Hawthhorn are beginning to show their leaves and shoots of grass are sprouting along the path.  Along with this greenery, there are splashes of colour that really stand out - the Willow trees by the pond have turned a furry yellow as their catkins unfurl, and primroses are popping up…

I have been growing ever more curious about the occasional deer sightings on the reserve. We know that we have three species moving around and through Coombes and Churnet valleys, but it's very rarely that they're actually seen.

The carpet of snow deposited in recent weeks gave me new insight into their movements though. I then had a pretty good idea of where to put my camera trap. Eventually I managed to capture…

Tim contributes regular blogs for us as part of his DofE Bronze award. Here's his latest report from his visit on Sunday 14^th April.

My mum and I ventured out on what was a very unpredictable day.

The weather was mixed, sunshine and showers which were changing all the time although the temperature is now what it should be, 13 degrees.

Today it was very windy as well, so the birdlife was limited. The Robin though…

The nights are still cold, but the days are getting (marginally!) warmer, as well as longer. These higher temperatures mean that our invertebrate friends are beginning to stir from their winter slumber.  For instance, Mark, Lizzie and I have all been very excited to have seen or heard bumble bees in the past few days!

Ichneumon sarcitorius - a parasitic wasp (Photo by Simon Gray)

If things weren't exciting enough…

A returning friend, Heather, has penned this guest blog for us. She spent a few days in the area and brought the sun along with her!

A visit back to Coombes and Churnet nature reserves is full of guarantees.  Certain are the warm smiles and welcome cups of tea.  Guaranteed is a peaceful immersion in nature and a reminder of the natural beauty so close to Leek.  Assured are the fantastic valley views which always amaze…

As the solstice passed it made me think; what actually is Spring? Are the seasons just an arbitrary way to divide up the year? Do they have meaning apart from when defined by seasonal events and alterations in our physical environment?

Technically, this is spring. Yet it still seems like winter; not only because of the inclement weather, but also the delay in phenological events. These are events in nature that occur…

During the chilly Easter that we're experiencing, the dawn chorus that we've been delighted with has been relatively subdued. It's not only the lack of song that's been noticable; when the snow started falling and the winds picked up, a bird wasn't seen on the feeders for a good few days.  
The weather may have slowed the progress of Spring, but the snow is handy as it helps identify telltale signs of…