Extended application deadline for Caretaker + another job vacancy

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

We have extended the application deadline for a Caretaker post until 12 noon on Thursday 7th June.

We are now also seeking to appoint a Finance & Admin Officer whose role will include book-keeping and general financial management as well as assisting the staff team by providing professional and competent office support. The role is part time, 21 hrs/week, preferably mornings, however the hours of work are flexible and can be discussed with applicants at interview. Salary offered is £18,636 pro rata (actual salary £11,182). The application deadline is 12 noon on Thursday 7th June.

Please see our Jobs page for more details and application forms for both posts or call 01904 411821.

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Wildwatch: 16th May 2012 – Galling Experience?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by St Nicks Wildwatch

Weather: mainly sunny and warm; occasional chill from a light breeze.

Observers: Hannah, Janetta, Linda, Lindsay, Kaye.

On a day like this, with no need for an occasional quick sprint to get warm, a very small area of the reserve could have kept us happy for hours. We made it along the Bund as far as the Kingfisher lookout then back up the main path, but there was so much to find that we could easily have spent our entire session on the first stretch. Waiting for another glimpse of a wren we heard singing; admiring the colour and delicacy of new oak leaves;  hoping for a bumblebee to sit still long enough to count its stripes – there’s just too much to do!

Birds: At this time of year, only the very early birder gets the bird. By 8.45 the serious singing was over, with just a couple of Song Thrushes and the resident Wrens calling for any length of time. In woodland below the Story Circle, we heard our aberrant Chiffchaff again, putting a funny little twiddle into the normal rhythm. On the Bund, a Willow Warbler briefly warbled in a willow before showing itself well, and there was a brief glimpse of Blackcap. However there is still no sign or sound of Whitethroat. Our first record last year was on 4th of May, so it’s getting seriously late. A couple of Swifts put in a brief appearance over the Melrosegate side of the reserve at around 9 a.m. but the only other flyovers were Carrion Crows and an unidentified immature Gull. There again, though, we spent much more time than usual looking downwards. We had one clear view of a male Bullfinch in full sunlight – others were heard calling softly in other locations. Robins, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Dunnocks were scarce, and we failed to find Long-tailed Tits. House Sparrows were about near the Centre. Then there were Magpies, Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves…  Add in a pair of Greenfinches seen in the early session, and we have a grand total of 19 – rather disappointing for a bright May morning.

Mammals:  There was nothing at all to be seen this week, though Linda did find an intriguing little hole on a mossy bank.

Invertebrates: we are still finding lots of 7-Spot Ladybirds, along with the occasional much smaller yellow 22-Spot. The warmth brought out the butterflies: Orange Tip, Large and Small White, Speckled Wood and Brimstone were all flying, together with a couple more Blues that wouldn’t sit still to have their underwings inspected. A dead bee was almost certainly a Buff-tailed Bumblebee; live ones were not positively identified. Linda, inspired by last week’s bug survey, has started looking underneath everything, and thus found us an Ants’ nest in a fallen log, and a Currant Gall below a young oak leaf.

Oak Currant Gall (leaf upper side)

Oak Currant Gall (leaf underside)

This turns out to be a stage in the life-cycle of an Oak Gall Wasp, Neuroterus Quercusbaccarum, which also produces the Spangle Galls we found last autumn. The Spangle Galls, it seems, produce parthenogenetic females (= can reproduce without fertilisation). These lay the eggs that give rise to Currant Galls, from which male and female wasps emerge to reproduce sexually and start off more Spangles. Amazing!

Plants: as predicted, the warmth has brought a sudden rush. Horse Chestnut, Rowan and Dogwood are coming into flower to join the Sycamore, Hawthorn and lingering Bird Cherry. On a warm day like today, there is a fantastic scent of Honeysuckle from a cultivated variety along the main path near the Centre. Most of the late spring flowers listed over the past few weeks can still be found, but now there are Buttercups, Fumitory, Germander Speedwell, Winter-Cress, Wood Avens, Bush Vetch, Herb Robert and at least one other Geranium species. And that only covers half the reserve. We’ll try and get round the rest next week.

Fumitory

Ramsons (Wild Garlic)

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York Rotters at UK Green Film Festival

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin
UK Green Film Festival logo

UK Green Film Festival logo

Catherine Bamford of York Rotters will be speaking at this Saturday’s 4pm showing of Taste the Waste shown as part of the UK Green Film Festival hosted in York by the City Screen cinema. Undoubtedly, home composting will be mentioned at some point but the film is primarily about the enormous mountains of food waste generated throughout Europe and what can be done to stop that.

The other films on the weekend bill promise to be just as interesting.  In Transition 2.0 depicts inspiring stories of the Transition movement around the world – ordinary people addressing global issues by taking action locally, such as setting up community energy schemes, growing food or using local currency. The third film of the weekend, Greedy Lying Bastards, shines a critical light on the fossil fuel industry and the ways in which it affects everyone’s lives.

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Wildwatch: 9 May 2012 – Nest Building & Bugs!

Posted on May 10, 2012 by St Nicks Wildwatch
Wren, with nesting material

Wren, with nesting material

Weather: Sunny intervals, light breeze
Observers: Carrie, Hannah, Ian, Janetta, Kaj, Kaye, Linda, Lindsey, Richard

After a discussion with Jonathan, the Volunteer Co-ordinator, about the involvement of the group in more systematic studies of the wildlife, we split into two teams. Some of us went with Richard, to observe and participate in his detailed studies of invertebrates on the site, the rest of us to initially check that Richard’s work would not disturb any breeding birds, and then to do our usual walk round, observing and recording what we saw.

A very friendly and approachable Robin!

A very friendly and approachable Robin

Birds: Before the group assembled, Kaye and Ian independently had a look round the reserve. Kaye went to two locations where we knew that Whitethroats frequented last Spring, but still failed to find any. They really are late this year, although we know that some have been turning up in the York area. Ian spent nearly an hour watching two Wrens carrying nesting material into a low patch of vegetation South-East of the Environment Centre. He also thought that it was likely that both Blackcaps and Long-tailed Tits were nesting in the same area – and possibly a pair of Robins.

Sparrowhawk flying over St Nicks

Sparrowhawk flying over St Nicks

The birdwatching party, having given the OK to Richard’s invertebrates work (no breeding birds in his study area), spent a little time trying in vain to find Kingfishers on Tang Hall Beck. In fact, a few likely species were missing, such as the Willow Warbler (just the one) which has been singing East of the Centre, and, surprisingly, no sightings or sounds of Bullfinches.

Song Thrush, near the Wren nesting site

Song Thrush, near the Wren nesting site

A few people in both groups saw a Sparrowhawk circling over the reserve, climbing steadily. Singing birds noted included Song Thrush, Dunnock, and Greenfinch (call that singing?!). A few Starlings were hawking insects over the reserve. There were only a few sightings of Blue and Great Tits – maybe they are brooding young or sitting on eggs, which would reduce the number of birds out and about.

Plants:  Botany was sadly neglected this week.  However, nobody could fail to notice the continuing Dandelions, Daisies (all over the play area till the mowers came out), Garlic Mustard and White Dead Nettle.  Cowslips and Primroses are lasting well, and more Hawthorn is coming out.  One new find was a single specimen of Ramsons (Wild Garlic).  Near the Story Circle, a Wild Rose, probably Dog Rose, has three or four open flowers, and one Vetch sp had coloured buds. If the warmer weather continues, expect a sudden spurt of early summer flowers.  The rangers are having to undertake path maintenance – if they didn’t regularly scythe a couple of feet on either side, it wouldn’t be long before there were no paths left.  It’s sad to see interesting plants cut back, but in the longer term it improves the habitat by allowing smaller wayside flowers to thrive.

Colours all wrong! Left: pink Bluebells Right: Orange Cowslips

Colours all wrong! Left: pink Bluebells Right: orange Cowslips

Mammals: Just one sighting of Grey Squirrel.

Amphibians:  In the Environment Centre pond, at least fifteen Smooth Newts could be counted at a time.

Insects: Four species of butterfly were identified and recorded: Speckled Wood, Small White, Orange Tip and Brimstone. A “blue” sp. was seen several times, but not well enough to determine whether it was “Common” or “Holly”. Common Carder and Garden Bumblebee were seen

Large Earthworm at one of the invertebrates transect survey sites

Large Earthworm at one of the invertebrates transect survey sites

Other Invertebrates: At least forty species of invertebrate were discovered over the 20m transect! In areas of developed vegetation, with heavy leaf litter and wood detritus, four species of woodlice (incl. 67 individual Common Shiny Woodlice) and two species of millipedes were busy decomposing the detritus. Centipedes, beetles and spiders patrolled the area maintaining the populations of flies, springtails and larvae.
There have, as yet, been no groundbreaking discoveries of rare species but the populations and diversity of the invertebrates are very positive and reflect healthy, developing vegetation and a maturing reserve. There are more unusual species of invertebrate on site; ladybirds, butterflies and others, so if anything is spotted please let us know.

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Caretaker job vacancy + runner up prize

Posted on May 3, 2012 by admin

Caretaker Job Vacancy
We are now seeking to appoint to the post of Caretaker, based at York Environment Centre on Rawdon Avenue. The role of Caretaker will include day to day maintenance of all fixtures and fittings within the centre and grounds, liaison with contractors, utility suppliers, fire and security companies and acting as principal key holder for out of hours access to the building by groups, contractors and emergency services.
For more details and application form, please see our Job Vacancies page. Application deadline is 9am on Monday 21st May 2012 .

Runner-up prize towards a new recycling vehicle
We were pleased to be nominated by our insurance brokers J Illingworth for the Aviva Broker Community Fund 2012. Sadly, we didn’t win the main prize among the stiff UK-wide competition but we did get a £1,000 runner-up prize. We will be putting the money towards a new recycling vehicle. We need to raise a further £30k to purchase one so if you would like to help us do that, please get in touch.

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Wildwatch: 2 May 2012 – Blackcaps 4, Kingfishers 0!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by St Nicks Wildwatch

Weather: Sunny intervals, light, cool breeze, warmer through morning
Observers: Carrie, Ian, Linda, Lindsay, Kaj, Kaye

Tang Hall "River" in flood: 27 April 2012

Tang Hall "River" in flood: 27 April 2012

Nice to feel the sun on our faces! Despite the heavy rain and flooding over the past week, the reserve has dried out nicely. Last Friday, Tang Hall Beck was about 50 feet wide and even the culvert was completely covered. Osbaldwick Beck, then, was impassable on the right-hand bank (from the Environment Centre), and Tang Hall Beck was completely unapproachable.

Today, however, everything seemed to have settled down back to normal, and the Wildwatch Group was able to go about its business unimpeded by water levels. Initially, we split into two parties – Linda and Kaj to go on what proved to be an epic search for Kingfishers, and the rest of the group going on a prolonged watch near the Dragon Stones to look for warblers.. and anything else which happened by. Later, Ian and Carrie joined the Kingfisher patrol, whilst Lindsay and Kaye went down to Osbaldwick Beck to see how Richard, a new recruit to St Nicks, was faring with with his invertebrate study.

Willow Warbler - near the Environment Centre

Willow Warbler - near the Environment Centre

Birds: As usual, Ian and Kaye did a swift canter around the reserve before the Group assembled, to see “what was about”. Ian notched up about 20 species in 45 minutes, to which Kaye added Swallow and Long-tailed Tit. The rest of the Group soon caught up with most of these sightings! The “Warbler Watch” team struggled hard to actually see the Blackcaps they could hear, but eventually had good views of a female, with a male singing nearby. A Willow Warbler also started to call from the top of a nearby tree. Chiffchaffs were heard in about three parts of the reserve, but were not positively seen.

Blackcap (male) by Tang Hall Beck

Blackcap (male) by Tang Hall Beck

Meanwhile, down at the side of Tang Hall Beck, Linda and Kaj, joined later by Carrie and Ian, put in a massive hour and three quarters stint, trying to find Kingfishers – but sadly without success. It’s possible that, with the recent flood conditions, the birds had relocated down to the River Ouse, where the relative clarity of the water might have made the fishing a little easier. On the plus side, the four of them had good sightings of both male and female Blackcap in the same tree, a potential breeding record. Typically, as the photo above shows, the birds were hard to pin down, with their habit of hiding behind the smallest leaf!

Overall, the Group recorded about four potential Blackcap territories, two or three Chiffchaff territories and probably two Willow Warbler territories. But still no sign of Whitethroats!

Wren seen today

Wren seen today

The rest of the birds.. most of the Group saw a Sparrowhawk drifting overhead. Other “fly-bys” included Herring Gull (1 adult, 1 immature), 4 Greylag Geese and a single Starling. Down at Osbaldwick Beck, Richard, together with Kaye and Lindsay, saw a Wren apparently taking food to a recently fledged juvenile. Was that our first “chick tick” on the reserve this year?

Completing our total of 26 bird species today were Goldfinch, Blackbird (singing nicely all over the reserve), Great and Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Greenfinch, Robin, Dunnock, Pheasant, Bullfinch, House Sparrow, Mallard (2 on Osbaldwick Beck and a lone male on Tang Hall Beck), and Collared Dove. Oh, and let’s not forget.. Wood Pigeon!

Mammals: Just a single Grey Squirrel.

Plants & Flowers: there was little time to look for plants this week, though we are starting to add taken-for-granted items like Groundsel and Hairy Bitter-Cress to the official list. This week’s new flowers are Red Campion, near the Melrosegate entrance, and a Broom variety near the Dragon Stones.  Sycamore, Apple and Bird Cherry are still in flower and easy to find in several locations, as are Garlic Mustard, White Dead-Nettle and Cowslips.

Speckled Wood butterfly - on the 'Butterfly Path' last Friday

Speckled Wood butterfly - on the 'Butterfly Path' last Friday

Butterflies: Several Orange-Tips were seen around the reserve. Other butterflies recorded were Brimstone, Speckled Wood, one of the Blues (Common or Holly?) and a White, possibly Large White.

Other Insects: Richard’s survey turned up a variety of invertebrates ranging from woodlice to parasitic wasps, and including a fine Centipede and a probable Speckled Wood caterpillar that he potted up to show us. 7-Spot Ladybirds were everywhere, and two 22-Spot Ladybirds (little yellow ones) were also seen.

Wildwatch in action! Left: looking for Blackcaps Right: looking for Kingfishers

Wildwatch in action! Left: looking for Blackcaps Right: looking for Kingfishers

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Wildwatch: 25th April 2012 – It might have been a Blackcap

Posted on April 27, 2012 by St Nicks Wildwatch

Weather: Overcast, turning to rain. Strengthening wind. Chilly.

Observers: Janetta, Lindsay, Philip, Vicky, Kaye

The forecast rain luckily held off until the end of the morning. Tang Hall Beck, which was almost at flood level on Saturday, had dropped considerably but was still higher than usual and running fast between very muddy banks. The paths remain remarkably good. The wet spell seems to have intensified the spring growth spurt, and  from now till early autumn our plant reports will concentrate on things that have recently come into flower or fruit, with reminders of other flowering species when space permits. We apologise for the continued lack of photos – we hope to resume normal service when Ian and Kaj return.

Birds: A real virtuoso of a Song Thrush is singing regularly from tall trees around the Centre, but can be difficult to see. Not that anything but singing Robins and the ever-present Wood Pigeons were making life particularly easy. Even Magpies were harder than usual to find and watching from more sheltered positions, as was a single Carrion Crow. Blue Tits were the most active species, seen across a range of locations, as often as not in pairs. Blackbirds, Wrens and Chiffchaffs were all seen but more often heard. Two Long-Tailed Tits were flitting around Tang Hall Beck, and it may well have been the same birds that gave us a longer and closer view on the beckside path. A pair of Dunnocks skittered round a bush before disappearing underneath it. After finding just one Greenfinch and Great Tit, we were starting to despair of Bullfinch until two males on the Bund drew attention to themselves by engaging in a brief and fairly restrained skirmish. A big disappointment was a warbler carrying nest material – initial impression was that it was our first female Blackcap of the year, but we couldn’t get a good enough view to confirm.  (Ivana reports seeing one from the cycle track earlier in the week, so at least we know they’ve arrived.) A Pheasant was heard but not seen, and flyover Herring Gull, Starling and Mallard completed a rather disappointing list of 18.

Mammals: we saw just one Grey Squirrel and a distant Rabbit.

Amphibians: we didn’t have time for a pond watch, but a school group doing pond-dipping confirmed that Newts are still present, and that a few Tadpoles have survived.

Invertebrates: Seven-spot Ladybirds were all over the place, along with the occasional Two-spot and a couple of tentatively identified Harlequins. While checking them out, we came across a single Green Shield Bug. A few Bumblebees were foraging regardless of the weather, including a Tree Bumblebee and a probable White-tailed Bumblebee.

Plants:  With early trees like Hawthorn more or less in full leaf, most of the later varieties well past bud-burst, and increasing numbers of herbaceous plants putting up shoots, the impression of greenness intensifies. One or two of the aforementioned Hawthorns are already opening blossom.  Sycamore, Bird Cherry and several Apple trees are in full flower. On the ground, the highlights were Fritillaries planted last season by Bearing Fruit volunteers, and a clump of White Comfrey found near the Beck.  The Cowslips, including a couple of red specimens, continue to draw the eye at the end of the meadow and are being recorded in a number of other locations. A less welcome spectacle is in preparation – the first emerging shoots of Indian Balsam.  We dutifully pulled up a few. It looks so very like its garden relation Busy Lizzie while it’s young…  Additions to the season’s list include Ribwort Plantain, Salad Burnet and Ivy-leaved Speedwell.

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A new exciting venture for St Nicks and other charities

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin
Sue (a member of St Nicks recycling team) & her partner Alfred turning worn-out bike tyres and inner tubes into belts, key rings, bags..

Sue (a member of St Nicks recycling team) & her partner Alfred turning worn-out bike tyres and inner tubes into belts, key rings, bags..

We’re delighted to share the news of York’s first social enterprise collective shop which we have a stake in. The We Are Your Emporium opened on Monday 2 April at 89 Micklegate, York. The first collaborative shop of its kind, showcases local, fairtrade and environmentally friendly products from local social enterprises. It has a shop front, an art gallery with drop-in chair massages available and a hot-desk office space in the back room, with a backyard for showing off the plants and furniture produced by Brunswick Organic Nurseries and York Disabled Workers Co-operative.  There will be other groups providing their wares to sell too.

We are offering cards and recycled crafts from St Nicks – made by a member of the recycling team Sue, who is also setting up her own recycled crafts business.

The shop will also be providing a supportive environment for work experience opportunities for people with learning difficulties, disabilities and recovering from mental health issues. Check it out – 80 Micklegate, open Monday to Saturday: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm.

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York Open Studios success

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin
The Open Studios artists hosted by St Nicks

The Open Studios artists hosted by St Nicks: Belinda Noda & Kalindi Kankali - the Freewheeling project (pictured at the front from the left); Sam Lawrence & Maggi Stratford - Venus Viola's Three Minute Muffins

The York Open Studios events hosted by St Nicks over the last two weekends of March were a great success. The art, performances and wheel decorating workshops attracted over 250 people and lots of happy smiles. Some of the artwork is still on display and we hope to work with the artists (pictured) again in the future. If you’ve missed it all, see our picture gallery for some photos. If you did come and see it, please let us know what you thought. The visitors we managed to speak to all enjoyed it and it was great to see lots of new faces! A big thank you goes to all the artists, their helpers and St Nicks volunteers who made it happen.

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Wildwatch: 18th April 2012 – Rain stops play

Posted on April 19, 2012 by St Nicks Wildwatch

Weather: wet, cool, light breeze.

Observers: Linda, Lindsay, Richard, Kaye

Plans for an in-depth area bird watch followed by a bug study had to be postponed because of increasingly heavy rain. Richard checked out his proposed transect and a couple of alternative sites, but found that even the woodlice had gone too deep into shelter for us to get valid results, and we were less than enthusiastic about wetter still to find slugs. Two of us went ahead with a more routine monitoring walk, but saw much less of anything than usual. On the plus side, we had a useful planning session as we dried off by the stove.

Birds: The usual Wood Pigeons were either loafing glumly as close to tree trunks as they could get, or taking off with an unhelpful clatter. Blackbirds were mostly scuttling in leaf litter, but the odd one sang defiantly, along with Chiffchaffs, Wrens, Blue and Great Tits, a couple of Robins and a  Song Thrush. We eventually saw all the songsters except Chiffchaff, but have to admit not trying very hard for this one, because it wasn’t much fun standing with binoculars pointed upwards. We found Bullfinches in a couple of locations, and just one Long-tailed Tit. A lone Starling flew over, as did a group of four Mallards, at least three of them males. Linda and Richard saw what was almost certainly the first Willow Warbler of the season – this would be about three weeks earlier than last year, and makes it all the more puzzling that we still haven’t found a Blackcap. A total of 13 species must be an all-time low, but is based on little more than forty-five minutes’ rather cursory observation.

Mammals: a Brown Rat was the only sighting.

Plants: The cool weather has extended the flowering period of Coltsfoot and Lesser Celandine, though along with Daisy and Dandelion they were shut up tight against the rain. Coltsfoot leaves, from which the plant gets its name, can be found alongside the last flowers. Gorse, White Dead-Nettles and Cowslips are probably the most conspicuous, and it was nice to find clumps of Cowslips around the Dragon Stones as well as alongside the meadow. There is a bit more Apple blossom but with such bad weather for pollinators, it’s just as well that it seems to have slowed down. It remains to be seen whether the now fading Blackthorn had enough time to set fruit. The first Garlic Mustard (Jack-by-the-hedge) is opening, and we found a fine clump of Yellow Archangel off the path south of the culvert.  This may of course be another garden escape – the leaf markings on a small sample were inconclusive. Ground Ivy was a lucky find: its deep blue flowers are easy to miss among the growing pathside vegetation. A second clump of Marsh Marigolds (Kingcups) has opened in the pond.

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