Conservation news

Mid Wear wetlands

This project has been running for 3 years and will be continued. The aims and objectives are to:

· survey the Mid Wear for birds and carry out liaison and advocacy work with the farmers and landowners.

· give advice and develop strategies towards the protection and creation of important habitats along the 30km River Wear corridor. A field guide will hopefully be produced.

Survey area
The project runs from the eastern boundary of Buttery SSSI, Croxdale to the western boundary at McNeil Bottoms. It incorporates all the wetland sites including the River Wear with important farmland habitats.

Great Crested Grebes and Kingfishers (© S Fryer)

Sites and Survey workers

Butterby SSSI	Alan Jones
Holywell Hall Marsh	John Olley/Alan Jones
Brancepeth Beck	John Olley/Alan Jones
Page Bank	Micheal Raven
Cobey and Wrights Carr	Micheal Raven
Jubilee Meadows	Micheal Raven/John Olley
Byres Green Hall	John Olley/Alan Jones
Escomb lake	Dave Brown
Beechburn GP	John Olley
Low Barns Reserve	Dave Brown
McNeil Bottoms	John Olley

Site Update with key birds species (Jan 2004)

· Butterby SSSI - Phragmites and woodland Management carried out by English Nature in 1999, an important wet woodland with high invertebrate populations. An important Reed Warbler population along with Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler and Marsh and Willow Tit. Water Rail, Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Sparrow and Woodcock are regular. A Grey Heron colony supports up to 25 pairs which is one of the oldest in the County.

· Holywell Hall Marsh - A new wetland created through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. New hedgerows have been created along with tree planting. An excellent site for waders in the autumn with Black Tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper, Snipe, Common Sandpiper and Ruff seen in 2003. Breeding birds include Grey Partridge, Lapwing, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe and Mallard, Yellow Wagtail. Wildfowl in winter with Stonechat, Tree Sparrow and other passerines are regular.

· Brancepeth Beck - A large area of floodplain, which under flood conditions can provide a large expanse of marsh and pools. A new wetland may develop with the Environment Agency project of flood defence. Under agriculture with set aside, areas of rough grass a small Phragmites Reedbed and ditches provide habitat for Sedge Warbler, Grey Partridge, Reed Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Lapwing. Flooding can bring Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye, and numbers of passage waders and passerines can be high in spring.

· Page Bank - The area is predominantly under mixed farmland with a remnant gravel pit (Page Bank Pond), and reedy ditches. Some very good scrubby areas exist with rough grass and small herb rich meadows. A feeding station with ponds and hedgerow development under the local wildlife group exists at Page Bank East. Typical of these habitats, it is the common farmland birds that can be seen in good numbers, including Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Grey Partridge, Tree Sparrow, tits and finches, plus Grey, Pied and Yellow Wagtails. The pond holds Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Coot, Moorhen and in some years, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Teal may winter or breed.

· Cobey and Wrights Carr - These two sites are again remnant gravel extraction sites, Cobey Carr leased to Willington Angling Club and Wrights Carr grazed by the local farmer. Cobey Carr has seen projects to develop it into a fishery but only on a small scale. The Environment Agency and the DBC with the County Ecologist developed a strategy to protect certain habitats for birds. Cobey Carr is a scrubby open water pit with emergent vegetation mainly Typha, it has grazing around its edges which creates muddy areas for waders. Much of the bird activity surrounds the main water body with Greylag and Canada Geese, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe and Great Crested Grebe. Warblers such as Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler are regular. Snipe, Redshank, Ruff, Greenshank and Green and Common Sandpiper can be seen on passage. Wrights Carr is a smaller site with wet woodland and small ponds, it bounds the River Wear which provides habitat for Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Moorhen, Willow Tit, Green Woodpecker and Grey Partridge. Tree Sparrow boxes have been provided on the Northumbrian Water Sewage Works.

· Jubilee Meadows - Part of the Mineral valleys HLF project, the creation of wetlands and meadows on the north side of the River Wear. When the project is complete, a survey of birds in the area will be targeted. There are already large areas of scrub and woodland planting which attract a good population of warblers and woodland species including Willow Tit. On the river, Kingfisher and hirundines can be seen.

· Byres Green Hall - The landowners of the hall have initiated the stewardship scheme in 2003, the intentions being to create wetland, woodland and wildflower meadows habitats. Education facilities are to be developed with possible hides and bird watching events. Already there are feeding stations with Tree Sparrows, and Kestrel and owl boxes. The land is rough at present but management will increase from 2004. Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail can be seen on the River Wear. Hirundines and farmland birds such as Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow are regular, and several warbler species are common.

· Escomb Lake - The Lake has seen many battles for its protection, 2003 saw a feasibility and research study carried by Durham Wildlife Trust. A community group exists to help manage the site and to carry out research and survey work. It is predominantly an open water site with planting of trees and some emergent vegetation on its banks. The lake is very deep which attracts mainly diving bird species, although it has a very varied bird list. Coot and Moorhen are regular with Little and Great Crested Grebe, Whooper and Mute Swans visit along with geese species, Goosander and the commoner ducks. Waders can include Green and Common Sandpipers and occasionally Little Ringed Plover. Kingfisher and hirundines are common, as are Grey and Pied Wagtail.

· Beechburn GP - A typical gravel pit along the Mid-Wear has now mothballed with successional processes close to a climax situation. Willow, Birch and Alder scrub is the dominant vegetation with Typha reed and open water habitats. Ownership now under Lafarge aggregates a possible nature reserve to be created with the Northumbrian Water site. It attracts a range of wildfowl and waders with Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron and Kingfisher. Hirundines, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Yellow Wagtail are all regular.

· Low Barns Reserve DWT - A very well known site to the Bird Club, under the ownership of Durham Wildlife Trust. Again its history is of gravel extraction and now under certain management regimes. Particularly a reserve of wet woodland, lakes, ponds and meadows with nest boxes and an excellent feeding station. A new wetland has been created with a Phragmites reed bed and wet grassland. Birds can be quite varied with wildfowl and waders to woodland species such as Nuthatch, Marsh Tit, Bullfinch and numerous Warblers. Along the river, Dipper, Common Sandpiper, Kingfisher and Goosander are regular.

· McNeil Bottoms - Gravel extraction is again responsible for this wetland, comprising of a large area of open water with islands and a smaller pond to the east. Vegetation is Alder, Birch and Willow scrub with small areas of Typha reed. It is hoped that in the future, some island management can be agreed with the landowner to help waders and wildfowl breed. Little Grebe, Great Crested and Black-necked Grebe can be seen although the latter is a rare visitor. Hirundines can be common with wildfowl and waders in good numbers on passage. Reed Bunting, Yellow Wagtail and Yellowhammer can be found with Buzzard and Peregrine occasionally also seen.