Species in the Spotlight: Swifts
In the next week or so, my favourite bird returns from spending its winter in Southern Africa, travelling over 14,000 miles on the round...
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Nature & Wildlife at Rivacre
Supporting our local wildlife is at the heart of what we do.
The Reserve is made up of 5 principal habitats: ancient woodland, meadows, close-mown grassland, young plantations, and watercourses, ponds & scrapes. A diverse range of birds, mammals and insects thrive amongst the vast trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.
Most of the familiar British birds such as ducks, tits, finches, thrushes, robins and wrens regularly nest in the area, but other less common species such as the kingfisher, cuckoo and redwing may also be spotted with some patience and luck.
Little, barn and tawny owls are known to nest in some parts of the woodland, as well as buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks. These birds of prey feed primarily on small mammals, but they also eat earthworms, larger insects and other small birds.
Goldfinch - captured by Ady McCabe (2019)
Goldcrest - captured by Simon Jackson (2021)
In terms of mammals, grey squirrels are fairly easy to spot throughout the day, with red foxes, hedgehogs, rabbits and a variety of mice tending to venture out during the quieter hours from dusk till dawn.
The huge number of molehills scattered around the meadows and the golf course are a telltale sign of the large mole population at Rivacre, but you'll probably never see one! You may, however, be lucky enough to spot a vole or a shrew from time to time.
The wildflowers are vital in supporting a variety of important insects such as bees, butterflies and dragonflies during the warmer months, which play a crucial role in pollination as well as providing a food source for birds and bats.
Red Fox - captured by Alf Bailey (2018)
Bird Species List
FoRV are responsible for the monitoring and management of the 75+ bird boxes within the Reserve. Our much appreciated and successful ‘Adopt a Box’ scheme is a great way to contribute to the conservation efforts. To find out more, click here.
We encourage visitors to observe and photograph any interesting plant or animal species that they come across in the nature reserve, which can be shared directly onto our Facebook page or emailed over to us to take a look at.
Some of our favourite wildlife photos captured by visitors to Rivacre Valley LNR are displayed in our gallery and throughout the rest of the website!
Wildlife Blog Posts
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