In the next blog from the wonderful Lucy Johnson, one of our volunteers, we learn about birdwatching on the ings (riverside wetlands) at St Aidan’s.
For many of us, when we think of our rivers it is fish and invertebrates, or maybe even aquatic plants, that come to mind. For others, they are a magnificent habitat for birds of many species. In this blog from one of our volunteers, Lucy Johnson, we read about birding on the long-disused coal mines at St Aidan’s just a short way below Leeds. St Aidan’s is a 355 hectare (877 acres) nature park located between Leeds and Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. The land was formerly an opencast coal mining area that was flooded in 1988, after the riverbank collapsed.
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, perfect conditions for a birding walk at the beautiful St Aidan’s Nature Park near Leeds. I carefully reloaded my camera with different batteries before setting off…they were also flat. In the absence of my capacity to provide good quality bird pictures, you can drink your fill over at “St Aidan’s Nature Park” on Facebook, where many beautiful shots of the park’s birds, both visitors and residents, are frequently posted. St Aidan’s is a former opencast mining site owned by Leeds City Council and managed by the RSPB. It reopened in 2017 as an RSPB site. There is currently a small footprint of café, information stand and toilets between the car park and Oddball.
I was greeted by Peggy, a smart, vibrant young woman in much demand between the café, RSPB stall and visitors. Peggy is one of 16 permanent staff across St Aidan’s and its sister site, Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve. In addition to the permanent staff, the sites benefit from 230 regular volunteers, who may act as Rangers, perform regular bird surveys, undertake tasks such as creating dead hedges and litter picking. St Aidan’s is designated a park because it is meant to form a space for leisure activities for people as well as the birds. Ranger Jerry who led the talk along with three other volunteers emphasised that all are welcome, from horses to cyclists and runners, and that the birds are accustomed to their presence. The just under 900 acre site also plays a vital role protecting Castleford from flooding. The lakes fill up counter-clockwise, leaving the most precious reedbed habitat for last.
Key Species
The park is important for its role in providing a home for six key species – black neck grebes, black headed gulls, lapwings, bitterns, kestrels, and little owls. Jerry has personally spotted at least eleven raptors in the last two years, including red kite, buzzards, marsh harrier, ring tail hawk, osprey, little owl (who like Oddball), barn owl, tawny owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, and of course peregrine.
What To Wear
I would advise attendees of the walk to wear sturdy, comfortable footwear and to bring binoculars if they have them, although I was perfectly happy watching the birds hover with just the aid of my specs. Jerry shared a wealth of information about the site and was not outmanouevred by any question no matter how varied or specific. His deep familiarity with the site made for a very enjoyable and informative tour, taking in everything from kestrels’ scrying mammals’ urine through ultra-violet vision, to Oddball and Big Bob’s history, to vulpine predators.
The Local Residents Show Off
As for the birds, a kestrel kicked proceedings off by sweeping in dramatically to its exposed nest on Oddball at the top of the site, tearing into lunch. The walk was not an aerobic challenge by any means. We simply meandered along one of the main paths at the park’s perimeter, ending at the reed beds to listen to the bitterns boom, accompanied for the most part by swooping kestrels and lazily hovering buzzards, with the occasional dart of the kestrel, asserting territory to an unwary buzzard. Near the end of the talk a sharp-eyed attendee spotted a peregrine moving swiftly in, and a red kite with its distinctive V tail was also spotted. Unfortunately the little owls which have a fondness for Oddball were elsewhere at the time of the walk. Do take the time to look both above and below Oddball for kestrels and little owls if you visit.
How to “Cheat” at Birdwatching
I would have appreciated a quick rundown of each bird’s characteristics and perhaps a factsheet or two, but it was equally valuable seeing a smaller number of species in the wild and taking a detailed dive into where they spend their time and why. There was a reassuring lack of pretension about the whole affair. Jerry cheerfully admitted to “cheating” by using the excellent Merlin app for identification, and Steph, one of the volunteers, was very democratic in her thoughts about developing as a birdwatcher.
Gordon Denison
Another birdwatcher passionate about making access to the hobby more open was the legendary Gordon Denison of Halifax Birdwatchers Club, who recently passed at the age of 90 after a lifetime spent supporting and encouraging others. Not only a much loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Gordon was a key member of Halifax Birdwatchers Club and took part in many projects over the years. His projects included establishing a trophy for the member who spotted the most species over the year, and creating detailed sighting maps. He particularly enjoyed birdwatching at Fly Flatts Reservoir, his favourite bird was a grey wagtail, and he had a distinctive whistle imitating a curlew to communicate with daughter Jayne, who was also on the walk with her partner Graham.
Throughout the talk I chatted with Jayne and Graham, who had kindly offered to rescue me from West Yorkshire public transport hell (three buses to travel a total of eight miles). Jayne was bright-eyed and warm, carefully clutching a pair of binoculars much older than those round the necks of other attendees. She described her father as “a smart and helpful gentleman to everyone and dedicated to his family.” Gordon had a good sense of humour, although it took him a little while to warm to Graham’s bird jokes. It was a poignant reminder that while life flows on, there are many people who came before us who made our experiences and knowledge possible. If Gordon had been able to atend, he would have been extremely smartly attired, delighted to have the day out with Jayne and Graham and to meet newcomers to birdwatching, who he always encouraged. All in all, a lovely afternoon, and Gordon’s binoculars sighted a few kestrels more.
