Birds, Rocks and Henges

NOSTERFIELD NATURE RESERVE

I went on another RSPB outing today. The weather was agreeable for a change with nearly balmy temperatures, though a bit windy. I didn't even wear my winter coat and at one point during the day only needed my fleece jacket. I caught a ride with Philip, an avid birder who doesn't mind driving and knows the area fairly well.

We went to Nosterfield Nature Reserve, located between Ripon and Masham. The reserve had originally been a sand and gravel quarry. Once the quarrying was done the area was developed into a water habitat to attract birds. The site itself is not very attractive but a handsome little sod-roofed stone observation building had been erected for viewing the birds in inclement weather. In addition to the observation building there are a couple of outdoor hides. We spent all morning at the Reserve then drove about a mile down the road to the Nosterfield Quarry Vistor Centre.

This is an active quarry but all was quiet as it was a Saturday. The Visitor Centre is a square brick building, formerly a power substation, but seemingly created with birders in mind. Inside were all the creature comforts (loo, kettle, tea bags, coffee, powdered milk, sugar) and some extras (lots of brochures of places of interest, plenty of literature about Tarmac -- the company that works the quarry, photos of birds seen in the area, a list of recently sighted birds). It seems that Tarmac, and apparently other companies, are taking great pains to be environmentally-friendly and community-minded with their quarrying sites. We ate our packed lunch at the Visitor Centre, finished off with some freshly brewed tea (but the powdered milk was a bit odd) then were led on a walk around the site by one of Tarmac's employees, Chris Pennock. Chris was incredibly knowledgeable, not only about the quarrying business, but about the surrounding natural habitat, bird behavior and history of the area. We spent the afternoon listening to Chris' entertaining anecdotes, walking the footpaths that have been created by Tarmac and stopping now and then to view birds.

We left Nosterfield Quarry around 3:30 p.m. (I noted with glee that it was still light out. Yes! spring is on the way.) Nosterfield is near Thornborough Henges, aka the Stonehenge of the North. That's somewhat of a misnomer. The henges are not made of stone but are rather modest earthworks. They are actually quite difficult to see when at ground level. An aerial photo would show you that there are three circular henges arranged in a straight line. Some say they are a bit skewed and possibly mimic the position of the stars in Orion's Belt.

There is a bit of a standoff going on between Tarmac and the "Friends of Thornorough Henges". Tarmac wants to quarry near the henges and insist they will not disturb the historical site. The Friends don't believe a word of it. Tarmac complains that they must comply with more stringent regulations than those governing development near Stone Henge. The Friends bemoan the fact that quarrying is even being considered near the Thornborough Henges, "the most important prehistoric site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys."

We were told the henges are all situated on private property, but there are footpaths leading up to them and people walk around them anyhow. Philip and I were interested in taking a look and drove around to a spot near the central henge. It was getting too late to walk over to the henge, so we just looked at it from the road. Basically, all I saw was a piece of land that was a bit taller than the surrounding landscape. I couldn't see any features much less tell that it was in the shape of a circle. Someday I hope to return and get a closer look.

I didn't keep a running list of the bird species we saw, but these are the species I can remember seeing today:
oystercatcher
wigeon
curlew
red shank
pochard
great crested grebe
tufted duck
lapwing
black-headed gull
common gull
snipe
greylag goose
Canada goose
shelduck
mallard
gadwall
goldeneye
pintail
coot
moorhen
pied wagtail
reed bunting
tree sparrow
yellowhammer
robin