Idle Valley Nature Reserve

 My stepfather and I recently took a trip out to Retford to visit Idle Valley Nature reserve, the biggest Notts Wildlife Trust reserve, larger even than Attenborough. It was a typically blustery September day for 2024, although the rain just about stayed off us for the afternoon. 

After a wrong turn, we arrived at the site with its colourful mural, and, er, sculpture of a beaver made out of drinks cans. For beavers are the big stars here, introduced in the last few years but kept in a corner of the reserve where visitors are only allowed on special occasions. 

Perhaps to be fed to the beavers, I have no idea. 

After a sausage sandwich in the cafe, it was time to head off for a circuit of the large main lake. As ever with these sorts of places, the more interesting the wildlife, the further you have to trek to find it and the harder it is to see, so we just kept to the short path through a farm of chunky black sheep and viking horned cattle, and then around the water. 

There wasn't a huge amount to see out there, just the standard canada geese, swans and mallards with a few tufted duck thrown in, but what there was in large numbers where the lake is skirted by the clean flowing River Idle, by golly were there lots of dragonflies. 

The rulers of the dragonfly clans are the emperors, large neon blue creations with the ability to fly seemingly faster than the eye can see. One minute they would be eyeing you up from a few metres away, then they'd immediately be on the other side of the river as if they'd been teleported. 

Then there are the inquisitive southern hawkers, nearly as large but a bright yellow-green colour. They like to fly up close to you and give you a good going over with their eerie large eyes. The migrant hawkers, a slightly less vivid blue than the emperors are the most numerous big dragonfly species in the area, and the blood red common darters like to pretend to allow you to photograph them before cheekily flying off when you get near enough to get a shot off. 

A new species to me was a delicate, glittering willow emerald damselfly, but these things are like ghosts, you just can't get them in focus. 

Lack of quality photos aside, we had a lovely afternoon, and I'd love to visit again to explore the further reaches of the reserve. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 02.10.24