Featured

Anglers Country Park – Saturday 9th December

This coming Saturday, 9th December, we have a field visit to Anglers Country Park. Good for both water and woodland birds —and we normally look at fungi too. And a bite to eat afterwards perhaps or a warming drink? Michele is leading our visit and the forecasted weather is better than this last weekend’s!

We are meeting at 10am in the car park at Anglers Country Park, Haw Park Lane, Wintersett, WF4 2EB. It’s near Ryhill.
Grid reference: SE375153. What 3 words: ///eggplants.stuffing.songbirds.

Parking is now ‘up to two hours at £1’, ‘up to four hours at £2’ and ‘over four hours at £3’. £2 should do it including a visit to the café!

Featured

Meetings and field visits

Peacock in garden

Barnsley Nats brings together people who share an interest in natural history and the wildlife of the Barnsley area. We have a programme of meetings and field visits throughout the year. Monthly indoor meetings take place from October to March at Worsbrough Common Community Centre. Field visits take place on the first Saturday morning of each month and on Wednesday evenings replacing the indoor meetings in the summer. See our programme page for details.

Our next field visit is to Anglers Country Park on Saturday 9 December.
Our next indoor meeting is our Social on Wednesday 20 December.

Featured

Ron Marshall’s ‘A birdwatcher’s year’ on Wednesday 22 November

Ron Marshall gave a brilliant account of his ‘Birdwatcher’s Year’ at the Barnsley Nats meeting on Wednesday 22 November in our new venue at Worsbrough Common Community Centre.
Great images and presentation as always!

For some of his local images have a look at:
www.barnsleynats.org.uk/category/ron-marshalls-images/

Featured

Barnsley Nats talks and other indoor meetings, October to March 2024

Our Barnsley Nats monthly indoor meetings are at 
Worsbrough Common Community Centre (Vera Mawby Centre)
Warren Quarry Lane, off Park Road (A6133), Barnsley. 
Post Code: S70 4ND
What Three Words: ///daring.medium.weds
There’s parking in the Centre Car park and on the Warren Quarry Lane roadside.

The Wednesday evening dates for our talks (at 7pm) are:
Wednesday 25 October 2023: A Carrion Crow in Close-Up by Steve Byers
Wednesday 22 November 2023: A Birdwatcher’s Year by Ron Marshall
Wednesday 21 February 2024: Ancient Woodland Inventory Review by AWIR Project leaders, Nick and David,
Wednesday 20 March 2024: Wildflower Meadows by Chris Tomson.

Our Christmas Social is on Wednesday 20 December 2023 and our AGM on Wednesday 24 January 2024.

Our full programme including field visits can be seen on our programme page, see tabs above or go to: barnsleynats.org.uk/programme/

Royd Moor reservoir – Saturday 11 November 2023

This coming Saturday morning, 11 November, our field visit is a walk around Royd Moor Reservoir. As well as the open water, there are areas of woodland and heath, so lots to see.

We are meeting at 10.00am on Royd Moor Road above Thurlstone. There is parking just off the road where a track leads down to the reservoir. Grid reference SE224041 What3words: ///forest.exhales.depending

Avid photographers will be pleased to hear that the what3words for the reservoir itself is: ///perfectly.snaps.local . Couldn’t be better!

Royd Moor Road is above Thurlstone. You can get to it from Thurlstone itself, but we think the roads are much easier by taking the road from Millhouse Green signposted Royd Moor, off the A628 from Penistone. Once at Royd Moor Hill viewpoint (highest point) go straight on down Royd Moor Road and the car park is on your left.

The paths are ok after all the rain but a little muddy in places so boots, wellingtons or sturdy shoes are advisable, warm clothes are good too!

Wortley Parkland: 14 October 2023

Wortley Hall parkland was the place for our field visit this Saturday morning, 14th October. With a total of 14 members from Barnsley Nats and Friends of Wortley Hall Gardens, the weather was typical for Autumn with blue skies and sunshine with a north westerly wind making to feel cold in the shade, at eight degrees!

We did a circuit of the gardens, admired the ancient oak tree and the fossilized tree stump, and found most of the fungi on the grass lawns.

This site appears locally important for fungi and deserves further visits.

Field Visit to Whitwell Moor

Whitwell Moor, near Stocksbridge, is an area of former Grouse Moorland with heather and grassland areas and a beech plantation at its southern end. Eleven of us, led by Doug Brown and Chris Tomson, visited Whitwell Moor on the morning of Tuesday 3rd October. We gathered in the rain at the western end of Long Lane.


There’s a plantation at one end of the moor, and owing to the weather we first went there, finding Russula, Bolete, and Amanita species. Porcelain fungi being one of the prize species.

As the weather improved we headed towards the open moorland around the trig point where the terrain is acid grassland. We thought that this area might be good for waxcap species but we found other species.

The party then headed back along the ridge, looking at an ancient stone wall a site that made millstones in the plantation.

The moor is part of the Broomhead Estate and is no longer managed for grouse shooting. We were keen to have to see any changes due to the natural progression of the moor since management was withdrawn.


The moor was no longer a mosaic of new and old heather. Scrub and some trees had taken hold; Birch and Bracken were spreading. Rewilding?

Finally better weather brought out butterflies including Red Admiral.


Well worth visiting again!


Bat watching Elsecar Reservoir September 20th

Our next field visit takes place on the evening of Wednesday, 20th September. We will be watching bats on Elsecar reservoir and nearby. We will bring some bat detectors! Leader Doug Brown.

Meet at the car park at 6.45 pm on Wentworth Road near Elsecar Heritage Centre and opposite Elsecar Park. Grid Ref SK 38449976. What 3 words: ///aunts.wanted.cuddled. Nearby post code: S74 8EP

Seckar Woods 6 September

Some of us joined the Plant Gall Society at Seckar Woods on Wednesday.

For over 300 years Seckar Wood was part of the Wentworth estate until it was purchased by renowned local photographer Warner Gothard in 1923 and later left in his will ‘for the people of Wakefield and Barnsley’. Seckar Wood has ponds and some heathland as well as ancient woodland. It is a SSSI and Local Nature Reserve, managed by Wakefield Council.

Rabbit Ings Saturday 9th September

On Saturday 9th September, our field visit is to Rabbit Ings, near Royston; meeting at 10:00 am in the car park off Lund Hill Lane S71 4BB
What3words: ///extreme.seemingly.grid. Grid reference: SE375117

Rabbit Ings is a country park located on the former colliery yard and spoil heap of the Monkton Colliery and then the Royston Drift Mine, which closed in 1989. The renovated 64-hectare site, situated near Royston, has a range of habitats including grassland, woodland, ponds and wetland areas. It can be a hotspot for dragonflies. Leader Michele Winder.

Counting Glowworms 23 August 2023

Doug Brown, one of our members, goes out on a regular basis to do a glowworm count on a transect of the TPT near Thurgoland. This Wednesday night, for our planned field visit, several other Barnsley Nats members went along too. We had a count of around 70 glowworms a-glowing; quite difficult to see but an impressive number these days.

Doug also set up a moth trap at the side of the trail for while we are counting the glowworms. And the following morning we assembled at Doug and Jill’s to see the moths collected on the TPT.

So a good conclusion to our summer field visits.

Mothing at Carlton Marsh –28 July

Some Barnsley Nats members joined Cliff Gorman and Harry Beaumont at Carlton Marsh Nature Reserve for an evening—getting on to a night– mothing.

Cliff Gorman reported: Last nights moth session with Harry Beaumont, members of our group and Barnsley Naturalists, produced 32 species of macro moths. They included Coronet, Poplar Hawk, Elephant Hawk, Bordered Pug, Fen Wainscot, Iron, Pale, Swallow and Pale Swallow Prominents.