Latest news with #DurhamWildlifeTrust
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Low Barns reserve photo exhibition captures nature's beauty
Foxes, flowers and birds in flight are among the subjects set to star in a nature reserve's photography of the Low Barns Photography Group are preparing for their third annual exhibition at the Durham Wildlife Trust site near Bishop will be free with the display open at Low Barns between 10:00 BST and 16:00 from 23 to 28 August. Here are some of the images which were taken across the North East, Cumbria and beyond. Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Venomous snakes spotted in North East as wildlife experts issue warnings
Nature lovers and wildlife watchers in County Durham are being treated to an increasingly rare and exciting spectacle—sightings of the adder, Britain's only native venomous snake. While their presence may raise a few eyebrows, experts stress that these shy and reclusive reptiles are more misunderstood. Adder Activity on the Rise As summer ushers in warmer days, adders emerge from hibernation to bask in the sun—a behaviour that has led to a flurry of sightings across County Durham and the wider North East. These sightings have captivated photographers, dog walkers, and hikers alike, providing a unique opportunity to observe one of Britain's most elusive creatures. Confirmed Sighting Locations Include: Rookhope, Weardale – Captured on camera by Jake Lawson on May 1 Fatfield, Gateshead – Reported by Robert Wells near a fishing pond Derwent Reservoir, near Consett – Photographed basking in heather by Christopher Bennett Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve – Regularly seen by Durham Wildlife Trust volunteer Malcolm Wilkinson Pine Woods, Frosterley – One dog was bitten during a walk with its family Hamsterley Forest – Another dog, Dora the dachshund, was bitten on a trail in late April These sightings, both thrilling and sobering, are evidence that adder populations are surviving in County Durham's heathlands, moorlands, and forest edges—habitats essential to their lifecycle. What You Should Know About Adders Size: 50–80 cm in length Appearance: Greyish or brown with a distinct zig-zag pattern along the back and red eyes Variations: Melanistic (black) adders also occur, particularly in upland areas Venom and Risk Though venomous, adders are non-aggressive and pose very little danger to humans. Bites typically occur only when a snake is stepped on or picked up. Symptoms of a bite: Pain, swelling, and in rare cases nausea or dizziness Risk groups: Small children, the elderly, or people with health issues are more vulnerable Treatment: Seek immediate medical help. Most bites are not life-threatening, but prompt care is essential Adder and Pet Safety Recent reports of dogs being bitten in Frosterley and Hamsterley Forest have prompted fresh calls for vigilance. Advice for Walkers and Dog Owners: Stick to clear paths and avoid walking through long grass or undergrowth Keep dogs on leads in known adder habitats during spring and summer Never try to touch or handle a snake If your dog is bitten: Keep them calm and as still as possible Contact your vet immediately Avoid touching the bite or applying pressure If safe, try to remember or photograph the snake for identification Protected but Vulnerable Adders are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and are listed as a priority species under the UK's Biodiversity Framework. Despite this, they remain vulnerable to habitat loss, persecution, and misinformation. Malcolm Wilkinson, a wildlife photographer and volunteer with the Durham Wildlife Trust, has spent years tracking and photographing adders. Read more: Nearly 200 objections to plan for hundreds of new homes in North East town Person taken to hospital after air ambulance lands at County Durham incident Newton Aycliffe woman admits £30,000 council tax and benefit fraud over six years What happens next with Hayden Hackney after Middlesbrough accept Ipswich offer Darlington hair salon forced to pay another former staff member thousands He describes them as 'incredibly shy', adding: 'If disturbed, they slither away quickly. They want nothing to do with us—just a quiet place to warm up and hunt.' His work in preserving moorland and woodland habitats is part of a broader conservation effort aimed at educating the public and encouraging respect for these often-maligned reptiles.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cows move to Hetton-le-Hole's Elemore Park to aid biodiversity
Cows are set to move into a park to help increase the biodiversity of some of its Hereford cows will be placed in a fenced off area at Elemore Country Park in Hetton-le-Hole, south of Sunderland, next animals, which will be brought in from a farm, will live in the park for six months, Durham Wildlife Trust official Anne Gladwin said."Over the last year we've been putting in fencing, putting in troughs for grazing… and so this is the next step," she explained. She said the trust, along with Sunderland City Council, had been trying to figure out the best way to manage the habitat of the park which was converted from a former golf course at an old colliery in are adept at grazing tough, faster growing vegetation, said Ms Gladwin."You want to graze down the standing vegetation to allow the slower growing, more sensitive plants to grow," she said."Also, with their hooves and the way they kind of tear up the grass, they actually create bare patches in the soil... so that seeds in the soil can germinate." This leads to a mix in the vegetation which would otherwise not occur as grasslands can easily become dominated by one particular species, she said. Such variety can support a wider range of public will still be able to walk through the part of the park where the cows live, but Ms Gladwin advised people to keep their dogs on on the outcome of the trial, more cows could be introduced to the park in future. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
23-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
How a Teesdale scientist hopes her art will help save birds
As a scientist, Sara Cox realises the dangers her beloved birds face. As an artist she wants to help everyone else understand too. Sara stops walking and points excitedly over the drystone wall into the field strutting among the scattered sheep, is a lapwing, the literal icon of the North Pennines having been immortalised in the area's logo. "They are brilliant," Sara says, a smile across her face as she watches the small bird peck between long blades of 58-year-old lifts one hand up behind her head and waggles her gloved fingers over the top of her homemade woolly hat."They have these feathers protruding from their head, they always remind me of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti and her crown." It is a few days into spring and the lapwings have returned to Teesdale, the Durham dale Sara, her husband and two children have called home for more than 20 the sun is out it is a bitingly cold day in the fields above Low Force, one of the waterfalls that bejewels the River down the track Sara finds a speckled brown feather, pocketing it for closer inspection back at the wooden desk in her 275-year-old stone-floored is out for one of her regular walks for inspiration, making sketches and mental notes to help her with her speciality is wire birds, intricate life-size sculptures weaved from spools of metal strands that attempt to capture the vitality of the creatures Sara loves so has made kingfishers and ravens, wrens and curlews, with some of her sculptures installed on a nature trail around Durham Wildlife Trust's reserve at Low Barns near Bishop Auckland. "It's about drawing attention to certain birds," she says, adding: "A lot of the birds I've made have been endangered or are on the red list."They're really cool little things."I'm very conscious the birds that come up here are diminishing in number. The environmental impact of what we do on birds is pretty horrendous."So anything I can do that makes people feel emotion or interest when they look at a sculpture is good for the environment."Sara is as adept at explaining the anatomy of the birds and geology of the local rocks as she is at just marvelling at the beauty of the area and its has science degrees from Aberystwyth, Sheffield and Durham, including one in zoology for which she studied sparrows for her dissertation. She is also a qualified teacher. But she also has a lifelong love of art and passion for creating things, engendered by her grandparents and reinforced by her engineer father and a mother who, among other things, is an accomplished potter."They were all good with their hands," Sara says"I grew up seeing my parents make stuff, seeing people create."Everybody can make, everybody is creative."Back at her cottage in Mickleton, Sara fiddles with a strip of wire as she talks, twisting and reforming it as she eulogises over its malleability."If it's not the right shape, you can bend it back again," she says."It's about using your imagination and problem solving."Which is where science and art make perfect bedfellows, she school in Sutton Coldfield, Sara was encouraged to follow scientific pursuits rather than artistic ones, a distinct separation made between the two disciplines."I think that's a mistake," she says, adding her later forays into artistic pursuits such as felt-making and now wire modelling are some of the ongoing "tiny rebellions" against her earlier enforced segregation. Scientists and artists both notice things, but while scientists measure, artists interpret, Sara relies on science to produce her art, be it physics to make structures, anatomy to understand the birds or just general "problem solving"."I'm bringing science into my sculptures all the time. It's quite a privilege to be able to take something, study it and then try and make it out nothing."You could build a raven from a million different materials so artists are playing to see what they can use, which is what material scientists do too."So scientists need artist and artists need science and the two shouldn't be separated." There are no blueprints, each of her sculptures is based on meticulous research and a lot of trial and starts with the feet and works her way up, taking about six weeks to complete a has made two ravens, which she has named Huginn and Muninn after the Norse god Odin's own corvid recently spent a few weeks in London as part of the Royal Society of British Artists annual exhibition."It was an absolute treat to go down and they displayed him beautifully," Sara says."He was just checking everybody out and looking at all the people going past. I think he will have some stories to tell."People said to me can you bear to let him go and I was thinking 'yeah, absolutely', because that's the point of making these things."I want people to think about birds so it's no good if they're sitting here with me. "I want other people to be thinking about all these amazing birds that we've got in this country. "So I've just got to keep on making, there's so many to do." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
BBC News
16-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Durham coastline clean-up cash for volunteers
Support for volunteers who help keep County Durham's coast clean is set to continue with funding from the local 2021, 5,175 bags of rubbish have been collected from the Heritage coastline which spans from Seaham Hall beach to Crimdon is due to the work of volunteers from schools and businesses as well as individuals and community groups, with their efforts organised by a beach care County Council has now awarded £94,000 so the post can continue for the next three years. Councillor Mark Wilkes, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: "We're so grateful to everyone for their efforts."Everyone who has volunteered their time is helping to protect this special environment." Emily Routledge, head of development and communications at Durham Wildlife Trust, said: "We want to ensure everyone is able to enjoy our coastline for generations to come. "To do that we need to raise awareness of how important this landscape is and make sure that we rally residents to take charge of their own environment by helping to keep it clean. "We look forward to this work continuing over the next few years." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
