Wild sightings at Sherwood

Spring has almost sprung! We'll kick off with my favourite UK songster, my personal icon of spring, the woodlark! Woodlark  (Lullula arborea) are only found at select sites around the UK as they are very particular and need the perfect habitat in which to breed in; Budby seems to tick all their boxes as the reserve is definitely the Nottinghamshire strong hold! 💪 They put on dazzling territory displays high up in the sky, often flying round in circles and they do this whilst singing, now that's multi-tasking! Once they land on the ground they become invisible and blend in incredibly well with the heather and sandy soil. Be wildlife wise Woodlark, and many other ground-nesting birds, are particularly susceptible to disturbance by people. When walking on Budby South Forest, please always stick to the paths, and keep dogs on leads between March 1 and August 31.  We ask *all* our visitors to take heed of any signs and stick to the managed paths as much as possible at this sensitive time of year. The birds (and other wildlife) need space to rest, feed and nest. This is often on the ground for heathland species, so they are very easily disturbed, which means them wasting valuable energy fleeing instead of breeding. The NNR is one of only a few places in the county these birds have, so their needs are put before our recreational ones. Keep and eye on the sky but for now please listen to and enjoy this short clip of a singing woodlark on Budby this week.