North Duffield Carrs
A lesser known nature reserve in the Lower Derwent Valley, North Yorkshire
I first heard about North Duffield Carrs when I was talking to another birdwatcher in a hide somewhere (I don’t remember where). I was telling him how I would love to see whooper swans, and he told me to try North Duffield Carrs.
It’s not that I hadn’t seen whooper swans before. I had actually seen them several times - but in summer in Iceland. For some reason I hadn’t seen them in Yorkshire, where many come to spend the winter. I was always hearing reports of them, but for me they seemed to be elusive.
After doing a bit of research, Matt and I went to check out North Duffield Carrs, and we did indeed see some whooper swans as the photo below from that first trip shows.
North Duffield Carrs is located in the Lower Derwent Valley, which also contains two of my other favourite reserves (Wheldrake Ings and Skipwith Common). It falls just within the boundary of North Yorkshire, between the villages of North Duffield and Bubwith.
Like nearby Wheldrake Ings it consists of meadows adjacent to the River Derwent which flood in winter, creating vast wetlands. These attract all manner of migrating and wintering wildfowl, and are a beautiful sight on a sunny winter day.
The reserve has a small car park and a good linear trail that leads to two excellent hides. The view from the hides can be spectacular.
The trail is usually dry enough not to need wellies, though we did visit on one occasion when the latter part of the trail was completely flooded and the second hide was inaccessible.
Of course not all winter days are sunny like in the photos above. Contrary to what my photos may imply, North Yorkshire winters are frequently grey, wet and windy. And with all that water this area is very prone to fog.
Numerous species of ducks, geese, waders and raptors are regularly seen at North Duffield Carrs, including some less common species and rare migrants.
With the wetlands being so large the wildfowl are often quite distant, and a scope would be useful if you want to spot rarities. And a long camera lens if you want to photograph the more distant birds.
It isn’t just the flooded meadows that are interesting. The hedgerows and fields around the reserve are alive with flocks of finches, tits, starlings and winter thrushes, like the fieldfares in the photo below.
I have only visited North Duffield Carrs in autumn and winter. The photo below was taken on a trip in autumn, when the meadows were just starting to flood.
However, I intend to put that right and visit this coming summer.
A new meadow has been added to the reserve which has been seeded with wild flowers. These should attract bees, butterflies and other insects, and their seeds will provide extra food for the small birds mentioned above. A viewing screen has been installed to prevent disturbance.
I am so glad we sought out North Duffield Carrs. The trail is short and thus it is a great place to visit if you only have a couple of hours or so free. Or if you have some spare time after visiting nearby Wheldrake Ings.
I have since seen whooper swans in many sites in Yorkshire (Fairburn Ings, St. Aidan’s, Tophill Low, Wheldrake Ings), but North Duffield Carrs is still the place I associate with them most.
Practical Information
The car park is easily missed. If you travel east along the A163 from the A19, you pass through North Duffield village. There is then a treeless stretch of road, until you see a single lone tree on your left, just before the River Derwent. The small carpark is on the left just before you reach the tree. If you reach the river you have gone too far.
There is a linear trail and two bird hides.
There are no toilets or other facilities.
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Beautiful! Yorkshire is such a lovely county. Wonderful photos of the Whooper swans. I was fortunate to see a pair on a remote loch on Skye last year - so ethereal.
Thanks for your adventures in wetlands around the reservoir