News: Reserve

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 »

The day was intermittently cloudy but bright, and with a cool breeze, so very comfortable for birding but perhaps more sunshine would have improved numbers, especially of flying insects, and perhaps also raptors. I was greeted on arrival with the distant call of a male cuckoo from the woods behind the Wensum Wetland, and this… 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 »

We have so many brilliant people that come to the reserve, and share their sightings with us. Here is a recent blog from Sue Gale after her visit here: At last!  A beautiful morning for a Pensthorpe count – my first.  Sunny and not too windy.  Cath, Ray and I started out in the carpark… Read more »

As the breeding season is in full force across the Reserve (just listen to all that wonderful birdsong!), the efforts of the Reserve Volunteers and Staff have moved to behind-the-scenes tasks. A concerted effort to clear and re-organize the work-yard as well as filling potholes on the main vehicle tracks may not have been the… Read more »

What a difference a bit of sunshine & warmth can make – not only to ourselves, but for wildlife! The first really warm day of the year coincided with our last real habitat management job of the season – building up islands on Old Squaw Lake. On a warm, sunny day, the team headed out… Read more »

Winter sometimes feels never-ending, however, with a window of time to undertake important habitat management over 700 acres, it can go by all too quickly for the Reserve Team.   February is the time to round off vegetation clearance, in readiness for the main wildlife breeding season. The main focus for the team of staff… Read more »

The photo included here shows the exact moment when one such lucky Curlew takes its first flight of freedom into the perfect natural habitat of the Sandringham estate. Chartered Engineer Rey and Project Manager Kate (pictured centre with the Species Management team) were initially inspired by the Pensthorpe Conservation Trusts work associated with Curlew and… Read more »