News: conservation

July seems to have whizzed by, with heatwaves & heavy rain all added in. A big focus during the summer months is controlling invasive & dominant plants & our amazing volunteer team, with help from two Corporate Teams, have been hard at work with removal. Himalayan Balsam and Monkey Flower are two invasive species, originally… Read more »

This month we have had scorching sunshine to heavy thunderstorms, more the first than the latter. In this hot weather the insect population is thriving, especially for Aphids and Flies. Swallows are nesting and feeding their chicks on all these flying invertebrates, look in the hides to see their nests, but please be careful not… Read more »

If you go down to the Wildflower Meadow you should see the work of the Reserve volunteers and staff. Over the last few weeks, the team has worked hard replacing two long sections of boardwalk, including supporting timbers and tread boards. The boardwalk is a definite place to visit and the perfect platform to observe… Read more »

From historic use as livestock barriers, to becoming wildlife corridors, hedgerows are important features in the farmed landscape, including here at Pensthorpe, where over three miles of hedgerows criss-cross the site. In the one thousand plus years that hedgerows have been a part of the British countryside, wildlife has utilised them and they have become… Read more »

After 19 years of success, Pensthorpe hands over pioneering breeding and release projects to a dedicated new trust Pensthorpe Conservation Trust (PCT) is marking the end of an era – and the start of a new chapter, as it officially passes on two of its most significant native species conservation programmes to a new site… Read more »

Guinevere the grey crowned crane has recently joined us from Lotherton Hall and has made a fantastic pair with our male Arthur, after his life partner sadly passed away of old age.   Guinevere loves perching, foraging seed heads and showing off to her new mate. You may be able to see her displaying to… Read more »

Volunteers Week is a chance to say thank you to our amazing group of volunteers for their hard work and dedication across the UK. This year, Volunteers Week takes place from 3rd to 9th June 2024 Here at Pensthorpe, we have a flock of volunteers who help to make Pensthorpe the place it is. They… Read more »

We had an exciting summer at Pensthorpe in 2023 . It was very busy for the Avicultural team with 43 curlews released, 94 corncrakes released, 5 greater flamingos hatched, 2 red crowned crane chicks, and over 20 chicks of various species in the wader aviary! It’s been a successful year on the corncrake project with… Read more »

It’s a flurry of activity in the wader aviary at the moment with avocet, shoveler, turtle dove and bearded tit chicks and the ruff displaying with their elegant plumage. Male ruff have large colourful manes of feathers around their necks and shoulders, which provided the inspiration for their name. In the spring male ruff converge… Read more »