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The Vale of Mowbray (Day Trip)
Tour Code: GBR271A day exploring the Vale of Mowbray, North Yorkshire, in search of the breeding and migrant birdlife that frequent the quarries and wetlands of the area.
£50 (land only)
Highlights
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Summary
The Vale of Mowbray is an area of low-lying land situated between the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east and the Yorkshire Dales to the west, in the County of North Yorkshire. The A1(M) Great North Road passes through the area from the Vale of York to the south to County Durham in the north. Along the A1(M) corridor are numerous quarries where sand and gravel have been extracted for many years. Some quarries are still active whilst others have reverted back to nature. Careful land management helped by the high water table has resulted in some wonderful nature reserves. The seasons vary with the arrival of migrant breeders and the departure of some duck species in Spring; the settled Summer pattern with many breeding species, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies; in the Autumn we see the evidence of birds migrating southwards with the chance of a rarity and the numbers of ducks, geese and swans increasing; whilst in winter the spectacle of many wildfowl and other over-wintering species is always pleasing to see.
During our day we will explore sites around Nosterfield and near Masham. We will start at Nosterfield Nature Reserve which covers 150 acres of wet grassland and open water and is managed by the Lower Ure Conservation Trust (LUCT).
Next we will move to Tarmac’s Nosterfield Quarry which is still working but some of the paths take us to excellent reclaimed land and in particular a reedbed where we might be lucky enough to see the Otters which regularly visit. In recent times Bittern has been intermittently seen here. Other things we might see are Shelduck, Mute Swan, Great Cormorant and again Ducks and Geese. Before our walk we will scan from the viewing screen and use the picnic tables for an early lunch.
Our next port of call will be Marfield Wetlands, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and located adjacent to an SSSI and the River Ure. Enroute we will pass through the market town of Masham where we will stop to use the public toilets and we may have time for an afternoon tea in the market square. Marfield Wetlands is managed by Harrogate and District Naturalist’s Society (NATS) and there are several paths and hides overlooking numerous lakes. Again we could see Ducks, Geese and Swans together with wintering waders such as Curlew and Lapwing. There is also woodland so we can look out for species such as Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Finches and Tits.
Please see 'Detailed Information' below for seasonal species at Nosterfield Nature Reserve and Marfield Wetlands.
Walking will be approximately 5 miles in total on mostly flat gravel paths.
- Many breeding birds in the summer including Avocet, Redshank and Great Crested Grebe
- Autumn migrants passing through such as Little Stint, Ruff and Spotted Redshank
- Wintering waterfowl in bountiful numbers such as Goldeneye, Teal, Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese
Summer
Nosterfield Nature Reserve: many birds breed around the open water including Avocet, Redshank, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe, Gulls and Geese. As we walk around the reserve we may encounter Reed Bunting, Linnet, Reed Warbler and Blackcap. Keeping an eye on the sky can reveal Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. As we pass the Dragonfly pond we may stop to see if there are any dragonflies or damselflies on display, and alongside the paths it is always worth keeping an eye on the path-side vegetation for butterflies and day-flying moths.
Marfield Wetlands: Ducks, Geese and Swans together with waders such as Avocet and Oystercatcher.
Autumn / Winter
Nosterfield Nature Reserve: some of the breeding species such as Avocet move southwards and we start to see a build-up of wintering ducks with good numbers of species such as Goldeneye, Teal, Pochard, Shoveler, Wigeon and Tufted Duck. Migrating waders often stop on their passage south which includes the occasional interesting species such as Little Stint, Ruff and Spotted Redshank. Geese numbers start to swell and species such as Pink-footed, Barnacle and Bean Geese sometimes join the resident Greylag and Canada Geese. Waders wintering in the area can include flocks of Lapwing, Curlew and Golden Plover each numbering into the hundreds. As we walk around the reserve we may encounter a mixed finch flock. Keeping an eye on the sky can reveal Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. As we pass the Dragonfly pond we may stop to see if there are any late dragonflies or damselflies on display (autumn).
Marfield Wetlands: Ducks, Geese and Swans together with wintering waders such as Curlew and Lapwing. There is also woodland so in the winter we can look out for species such as Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Finches and Tits.
Day Trip Location
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Alan Miller
Alan originates from County Durham but has lived in North Yorkshire for over 50 years where he is a regular around the county's varied birding sites. He retired from the police service in 2003 having served for over 30 years including a 2-year spell as the Force Wildlife Liaison Officer and the last 7 planning, organising and running events. Since then he has been able to concentrate full-time on wildlife, conservation and travelling. Alan considers himself lucky that watching wildlife, especially birding, is a hobby enjoyed by all his family so holidays usually include a wildlife theme. Binoculars are a constant companion and Alan often takes his telescope, a bat detector, a butterfly net and even a moth trap with him. Travelling has taken Alan to a wide variety of destinations including Europe, North America, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Australasia. Alan has been involved in bird survey work for over 20 years and more lately in butterfly and dragonfly surveys He is a member of a number of organisations including the RSPB, BTO and Butterfly Conservation. He is also a founding committee member of his local RSPB Group. Alan especially enjoys seeing birds, animals, insects and other wildlife in their natural environment and tries to incorporate his wide interest in all forms of wildlife into the trips he leads.
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We are delighted to offer a series of Naturetrek Day Trips which visit a wonderful selection of reserves and habitats across the UK, each guided by one of our expert naturalist tour leaders, many of whom are leading our Day Trips on their own ‘local patch’! Meeting at around 9am, and exploring largely on foot until around 5pm (though note that specific Day Trip timings do vary slightly by location and season), these trips are designed to spend a full day out in the fresh air, in search of a wide range of special British wildlife.
Whether you would like to explore a new area in the company of a local, expert naturalist tour leader, try a guided wildlife day out for the very first time, or perhaps you simply wish to spend the day learning more about your own local wildlife, you will find yourself most welcome on one of our Naturetrek Day Trips. We also offer days out specifically aimed at beginner birders and amateur wildlife photographers, and some trips even extend after sunset to allow us to take you on a guided tour of the night skies above. Whatever the trip focus – be it birds, botany, fungi, photography, butterflies, dragonflies, geology or a mix of just about everything – your leader will take you to the very best places to search for wildlife, and will share their knowledge generously along the way.
Our Day Trips have been fully risk assessed, and all activities are carried out in line with UK government and industry Covid-19 guidance. Most Day Trips from 17th May 2021 onwards will have a maximum number of 7 people, with a handful, such as cruises with a slightly higher number. We have also been certified as 'Good to Go'; the domestic tourism industry standard mark for Covid-19 protocols. Your safety is paramount, and we will be complying fully with UK government guidance throughout all of our Day Trips.
How to Book
The price for all our standard Naturetrek Day Trips is £50 per person and payment is by debit card only. You can book online, or you are very welcome to book over the phone by calling us on 01962 733051. Some Day Trips operate seasonally, and we are continuing to add additional departure dates for our fully booked Day Trips, so if you would like to be added to our wait list for any of these trips please just email info@naturetrek.co.uk or register your interest via the tour page.
Joining Instructions for Day Trips
If you, or someone that you have been in close contact with, has displayed symptoms of Covid-19 in the 14 days prior to the Day Trip, or if you receive an alert from NHS Track and Trace, you MUST NOT JOIN the Day Trip. Please let us know in the Naturetrek office as soon as possible and we will be happy to refund you in full.
- Upon booking we will email you with a designated meeting point and confirmed timings, along with contact details for your tour leader.
- During some Day Trips we will each use our own vehicle to move the short distances in between sites (group transport is not provided).
- Please do not bring your dog, or other pets, as they may disturb the wildlife!
- Please bring your own lunch.
- Please bring plenty of water, snacks, hand sanitiser, tissues, your own face covering (this will not be compulsory whilst we are out in the fresh air and wide open spaces throughout during the day but may be required to enter toilets, visitor centres, etc.) along with anything else that you might need for the day. You will need to be able to carry everything yourself. Suitable footwear (walking shoes or walking boots) will be essential, along with sensible layers and waterproofs plus sun hat and sun cream or woolly hat and gloves etc., depending on the weather forecast.
- Wherever possible, we will try to arrange comfort breaks during the day. On some of our more remote Day Trips this isn’t always possible, and on those occasions you will need to be prepared for the odd ‘bush stop’! If this is likely, we will alert you in the joining instructions beforehand. Please be stringent with hygiene when using public facilities.
- We ask you to respect minimum social distancing AT ALL TIMES (currently 2m where possible between households at the time of writing, but could be updated at any time). To help ensure this, we ask group members and tour leaders not to share optics, field guides or any other equipment.
- Finally, please do share your photos and favourite wildlife sightings with us … we love seeing them! Tweet @naturetrektours, Instagram @naturetrek_wildlife_holidays or find us on facebook.com/naturetrekwildlifeholidays
Tailormade Day Trips
Should the dates we offer not suit you, or should you wish to have a private, tailored Day Trip, we will be delighted to arrange this for you. Please just call Georgie Head on 01962 733051, or fill out our quick enquiry form and we will get back to you. For inspiration for a Tailormade UK break, please see our Tailormade UK holidays.
Reviews:
'The Naturetrek £50 days out have been a lifesaver this year. What better way than to spend a day in the open with four other like minded people in the company of a brilliant guide who can tell you all about the geology, flors and fauna of the area. I’ve been on three of these days with more booked for the future. The days are full, meeting at 9.00am and not finishing until 5.00pm, maybe slightly earlier in the darker winter months, with about 45 minutes for our picnic lunch but never have I ever looked at my watch and wished the time would pass more quickly. Quite the opposite in fact, the time passed so quickly I was amazed when we found ourselves back at the car park. Value for money? Yes, definitely. Thank you Naturetrek.'
VB – The Naze and Walton Backwaters (Essex)
‘The Upper Teesdale Day Trip was brilliant and Andy Bunten was an exceptional guide. So very knowledgeable and an expert spotter, but equally important he had great communication skills so that no-one felt remotely patronised or afraid to ask the most basic of questions. The organisation of the day was impeccably planned too. This was my first Naturetrek outing but I have friends who regularly use you and have spoken of your trips in glowing terms. So I will certainly look at your website and I will hope to travel with you at some point in the future.’
KS – Teesdale
‘We had a lovely day on Monday; Matt was terrific - particularly with us being beginners at bird watching! The other attendees were very interesting and one in particular was extremely knowledgeable. So we learned a lot - just got to remember it now! We are looking at the other day trips available to see if we can do another one.’
Ashdown Forest
‘I wanted to write to thank you for organising your new Day Trips. It’s an excellent idea and something to give hope to many people, who are keen to get out and about, and to experience the beauty of nature closer to home. Our trip to the Ashdown Forest on Friday was excellent. The weather was kind to us, a lovely sunny, English summer day, but it was our guide, Matt Eade, who made it special. Quite how Matt managed to arrange Goshawk, two Honey-buzzards, Hobby, Treecreeper, and a whole host of other species was remarkable.
Spotted Flycatcher is the personal favourite of my husband Simon – and Matt knew where to find two of them. Simon was over the moon!
It was a top day. Matt was informative, very knowledgeable, engaging, encouraging, always happy to help, provide insights and share his knowledge and experiences. He paced the walk just right, thoughtful about short breaks where needed. I worked for 8 years as a Tour Director around Europe and I know how exceptionally hard it can be to keep everyone happy!’
Ashdown Forest
‘The trip exceeded our already high expectations. Andy Bunten was kind, humorous, thoughtful and his knowledge of the wildlife truly exceptional. It was a real pleasure and privilege to be in his company.’
KE – Teesdale
‘So nice to be on a Naturetrek trip again and had a thoroughly enjoyable day with Russ and our other companions. Everyone just got on even though we had not met before. Looking forward to our next day trip!’
LD – Smardale
‘We had a great day, thank you. Matthew Capper was an excellent guide, giving us a wealth of information about the ecology, conservation and social history of the area as well as the wildlife, and having an amazing ability to detect birdlife out of nowhere. The Lammergeier before we'd even left the meeting point was of course spectacular, but it was Matthew's commitment to searching for the birds and Mountain Hares which impressed me even more. We also appreciated his patience and good humour, and his determination to make sure that all 5 of us got to see everything. These day trips are a brilliant idea. We are really looking forward to our next Naturetrek Day in a couple of weeks.’
AB – Peak District
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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
Enquire
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
