Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

To feed or not to feed? That is the question currently being asked by some bird lovers. Feeding garden birds brings joy to millions of people across the UK. It can also help support birds when natural food is hard to find. But in recent years, there have been growing concerns about the role bird feeders play in spreading disease. A new evidence review by the RSPB, supported by other organisations including the British Trust for Ornithology, has highlighted the hazards of feeding our garden birds.

Garden messily: the enemy of detritivores is the over-tidy garden. If you remove all the dying vegetation, then that takes away their food. And compost as much as you can. Green bin services are good for getting rid of things like hedge cuttings, especially if it’s privet or leylandii, but if you take all the dead plant material out of your garden you’re starving the decomposers. We have somehow adopted the view that nature needs a helping hand. Most of the time it doesn’t.

Running across Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th April, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Ground Nest Fest includes a variety of events around Settle, Bowland and Wharfedale to celebrate some of Yorkshire’s most iconic birds and the habitats that they need to survive.

Developed in partnership with Aire Rivers Trust, the Yorkshire Derwent Catchment Partnership, and supported by Yorkshire Water, Rivers to Reef is creating a movement across Yorkshire to protect rivers from their source areas in the hills and moorlands down to the North Sea, with a focus on the Rivers Aire and Derwent. Every year, litter, microplastics, agricultural run-off, sewage, and chemicals enter Yorkshire’s rivers and eventually reach the Humber Estuary and the North Sea.

Park Gill Nature Reserve, the Trust’s newest nature reserve, is just a mile from where I live. It is a stunning place with ravines, waterfalls and a meandering beck. On a dull and wet winter’s day, it’s worth noting that in spring and summer, the reserve looks amazing, with so many flowers, birds and butterflies. I was excited to have the opportunity to join the volunteers currently working on the reserve and to hear what their plans are for it.

This inspiring collaboration highlights the vital role our coastal habitats play in supporting unique species and celebrates the natural heritage found along one of the UK’s most treasured shorelines. The short film, designed to be child-friendly and engaging for all ages, showcases the stunning natural habitats stretching from Scarborough to Spurn Point.

We all love to get outside and bask in the warmth, like many of our wild neighbours. Snakes are often thought of as exotic creatures to be admired (or avoided) on holidays in hotter countries, but Britain is home to three native species of snake – two of which you are likely to spot in Yorkshire, grass snakes and adders. The fleeting sight of an adder’s diamond patterned back or a sunbathing grass snake will live long in the memory.

Reading is one of the very best escapes; books represent a place where our imaginations can run wild, where we can take inspiration from the real and the unreal, and where we can learn just how extraordinary our wild world is. This National Year of Reading, our staff have selected some of their favourite wild reads - from long-held childhood favourites to recent books they couldn't put down.

Unfortunately this is not the first incident of its kind to occur on our nature reserves, with several dog attacks on both sheep and seals occurring over the last two years. We are furious to see that despite clear signage indicating sheep were in the field and the lack of public access, extensive communications about the impact of dogs on our nature reserves, and the recent changes made to the law intended to protect livestock, our grazing animals remain at risk from careless owners.

The seabird city of Flamborough Cliffs is at full capacity, with everything from gannets to kittiwakes and our tiny puffins making their voices known! The cliffs from Filey to Bridlington are home to the largest mainland seabird breeding colony in the UK, including 3,000 puffins, and late May is one of the best times of year to visit and enjoy.