Wild at Hull: Hollym Carrs Nature Reserve

Monday, 9 March 2015

Hollym Carrs Nature Reserve

My first visit today to this nature reserve (10 hectares) owned by the South Holderness Countryside Society. We parked at the village of Hollym, just south of Withernsea, and walked on the bridleway for about a mile to the entrance of the reserve. The bridleway is lined by hedgerows, trees and a little pond and a stream amongst a couple of farms and arable fields. A Skylark sung and a pair of Greylags called nervously. I found an old barn owl pellet on the path (later found to contain a bank vole and a field vole).
A large panel showing some flagship species and a map welcomed us by the reserve entrance. Shortly after I spotted the first of three hares we saw speeding away. The reserve was crisscrossed by narrow tracks on the grass. After some wondering of what could be doing them the hoofprints of roe deer revealed the path-maker mystery. A crow rattled and a buzzard flew off. Despite the reserve being surrounded by agricultural land, there are some woods nearby (Weldon's plantation on the background of the top shot), and old hedgerows with the odd lone tree, and it is great to see that Buzzards have colonised much of the Holderness peninsula.
We reached a pond area surrounded by reeds and bullrushes and starting to be overgrown with willow. A Reed Bunting flew to a large willow and we flushed a hare from its form on the grass.
Many trees were planted in the reserve, mainly oak and ash, also with hawthorn, which are now starting to outgrow their tree guards. In due time this will make for a welcome woodland in an area dominated by arable farmland.
A reservoir near the reserve held some Mallard, Teal and Shoveler. A pair of Greylags called noisily, undecided if to flee or not. A small Golden Plover flock flew over the farms.