I retired from teaching in December 2009 after a career that spanned 34 years.  However I had a cunning plan…. Catch up on jobs, pick up old hobbies, catch up with friends, have a project, enjoy days out, volunteer and learn something new (photography!).

The plan to volunteer led me to Fairburn Ings for a chat and before I knew it I was signed up and in uniform!  I love it, and have now been volunteering for 7 years…

Evidence of spoonbill breeding at Fairburn Ings – a first for Yorkshire and a first for an RSPB reserve.

This rare bird, usually found in southern and eastern Europe, has hatched chicks for the first time in Northern England, at Fairburn!

Spoonbill on the Moat by Andy Francis

Spoonbills had not nested regularly in the UK since the 1700s, however recent years have seen them slowly expanding their range north…

Our warden intern Andy is fantastic with birdsong, here he discusses a bit of the science behind the song:

I have no doubt that the meliflous warblings of our finer song birds share mathematical relationships with the palette of tones in our own music.  Our appreciation of music probably evolved as a means of empathising with the tones found in speech, psychologists refer to this as “prosidy”. These signal our emotional…

Our Schools on Reserves season is now in full swing and everything is going really well. The hard work put in with training over the winter months has really paid off as the programmes are being delivered smoothly with plenty of attention being paid to learning objectives and of course having fun!  Feedback has been very positive and it seems everyone (including teachers) have enjoyed their days on reserve with us.  We…