26/10/2025
🌿 Family Freindly Sunday : Staveley Nature Reserve — Autumn Wildlife, Wetland Texture & Quiet Grit
Today’s walk took me through the reclaimed wetlands of Staveley Nature Reserve, a 79-hectare site once used for gravel extraction, now restored and managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Since 2002, it’s become a haven for birds, wildflowers, fungi, and quiet walking routes stitched with lakes, reedbeds, and grazing pasture.
🦢 Wildlife & Waterfowl:
- Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) — gliding and preening
- Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) — yellow eye, dark plumage
- Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) — shoreline presence
- Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) — leaf scatter
- Chicken — likely Rhode Island Red or ISA Brown
🐴 Livestock:
- Chestnut Horse — possibly Welsh Cob or New Forest Pony
- Dark-Coated Horse — likely Friesian or Dales Pony
- Highland Cow — long reddish coat, curved horns
🍄 Fungi & Plant Interactions:
- Hypholoma fasciculare or Coprinellus micaceus — dense brown clusters
- Robin’s Pincushion Gall — red hairy gall on wild rose
🌸 Flora:
- Cattails, Purple Loosestrife, Meadowsweet, Marsh Marigold
- Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Knapweed, Oxeye Daisy
- Blackthorn — heavy with sloe berries
- Reeds & Rushes — lining the lagoons
🧭 Terrain:
Flat, easy-access paths loop around East and West Lagoons. Grazing sheep and cattle help manage the land. Over 230 plant species and 200+ bird species have been recorded here.
📸 Scenic Steps 2025©
