As part of the £750,000 Biodiversity Boost Project, for starters, the wildlife charity has been able in install a brand-new wildlife watching hide at its Hauxley reserve.

The new Skua Hide looks out onto a selection of bird feeders which are popular with a host of feathered visitors, including garden favourites such as blackbirds, robins, and blue tits as well as the less commonly seen reed buntings, goldfinches, greenfinches, and tree sparrows.

Specifically designed to be wheelchair accessible and make wildlife watching available to everybody, the hide has been attracting complimentary visitor feedback.

In addition, visitors to the site may have noticed the addition of new wildlife viewing TV screens in the visitor centre and its café, transmitting live activity in bird boxes around the site, around the pond and on the roof of the centre itself - all thanks to state of the art cameras.

Since their installation, a pair of blue tits have been recorded sizing up one of the boxes for nesting and a pair of tree sparrows have built a nest of moss, twigs, leaves, and feathers. However, first to produce the next generation was a stock dove that recently hatched two chicks in one of the tawny owl boxes.

Elsewhere on the reserve, the wildlife pond’s night vision camera is uncovering what lurks beneath when the lights go out, with footage of newts, diving beetles and water boatman all being active after dark. Both the pond activity and the birds’ antics can be viewed on the big screens.

Looking towards summer, the Biodiversity Boost team is keeping its fingers crossed that its sowing of a wildflower meadow over the winter comes to fruition with a burst of colourful flowers to delight visitors and provide a valuable food source for bees, butterflies, wasps, moths, and other insects.

Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Druridge Bay Landscapes Manager says:

“The whole of Druridge Bay is now starting to awaken after what feels to many like a long, dark winter. So far, the funding from the Species Survival Fund has enabled us to make dozens of improvements around all our reserves along the Bay which will delight wildlife and visitors alike.

“At a time when residents in a number of Mediterranean holiday destinations are not being the friendliest to tourists, we are going above and beyond to enhance the whole visitor experience. There will always be a warm welcome from the Hauxley team, so come and experience it for yourself.”

The Biodiversity Boost project is funded by the Species Survival Fund through a partnership between Defra and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.