OLD MOOR SPOTLIGHT 2025-04-12
It’s been yet another week of Spring migration movement here in South Yorkshire’s Dearne Valley. Birds have been coming in and out with alarming regularity and, thanks to the school holidays and the glorious weather, so have our visitors. We’ve been incredibly busy at RSPB Old Moor with many first-timers coming to see us. That can only be a good thing as they will hopefully return, maybe even when school is back in session so that they can get more of an appreciation of the nature reserve and our work on it.
The star species of the week has probably been a pair of BLACK-NECKED GREBE who decided they liked a spot of water immediately outside our Wader Scrape Hide. They are stunning birds, well worth looking out for. Many people saw them as well as our MEDITERRANEAN GULL, CASPIAN GULL, WATER RAIL, BITTERN, MARSH HARRIER, KINGFISHER and COMMON SANDPIPER. It’s also been great to welcome back the hirundines - HOUSE MARTIN, SAND MARTIN and SWALLOW. The return of these birds is a sure sign that Winter is well behind us and Summer is on the way. Further afield around the Valley, EGYPTIAN GEESE, GARGANEY and SPOTTED REDSHANK have all been sighted.
If you come down to Old Moor, will you see everything in this report? Probably not. Many of these birds will be passing through, but who knows what will have replaced them? This really is a wonderful time of year to head out with your head up - especially as most trees have still to get their full foliage and you can actually see birds that hide in them!
On our usual final note, there are several upcoming events at RSPB Old Moor, all of which I’ve detailed in the last few ‘Spotlights’. To see the complete list, click the link below.
https://events.rspb.org.uk/oldmoor
See my weekly RSPB Old Moor blog at "View From the Shed". I usually wear a big hat.