Whether you are a member of the RSPB or not, you are warmly invited to attend meetings and activities of our local group. We aim to further the work of the RSPB, increase your enjoyment, knowledge and experience of birds & wildlife and to provide a local focus for birders.
We hope you will enjoy our programme of indoor meetings & field trips, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Beginners and experienced birders and wildlife watchers are all welcome to attend indoor meetings or outdoor trips. Should you need further details regarding the group or any of its activities, please contact the group leader (David Adam 01943 600 914 / 07980 933 412), indoor meetings organiser or field trip organiser for more information.
Volunteers to help the RSPB Skipton Local Group with meetings, activities or fundraising are always welcome.
Indoor Meetings
10th September 2025 – Lesbos and film – A presentation by Pam Boulton
8th October 2025 – The birds and beasts of Sri Lanka – A presentation by Ray Brown
12th November 2025 – Birds of the Yorkshire Dales – A presentation by Ian Court
10th December 2025 – Chairman’s Christmas Special Evening & Quiz – Hosted by David W Adam
14th January 2026 – Bhutan, Land of the Dragon – A presentation by Julian Sykes
11th February 2026 – Around the World In 80 Birds – A presentation byStephen Lovell
11th March 2026 – Swifts and artist’s Demonstration – A presentation by Jonathan Pomroy
8th April 2026 – A Historical, Conservation and Migration Review of Birds of the Lower Derwent Valley – A presentation by Craig Ralston. Followed by AGM.
Indoor Meetings will be held in the Skipton Baptist Church Hall (at the Rectory Lane exit of the Town Hall Car Park) Rectory Lane, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1ER and begin at 7.30pm.
Entrance fees: Adults £4.00, under 21 free. Refreshments are provided at the indoor meetings although donations towards the cost will be gratefully accepted
The Presentations at the Indoor Meetings have been planned and organised by Joyce Varley (01756 749 425 / 07831 373 244).
Alongside the indoor meetings there will be an extensive programme of field trips open to both RSPB members and non-members, catering for the interests of novice and experienced birdwatchers alike.
Field Trip Organiser Jane Beazley (07507 836711) who, with others, will be on hand to guide and assist with bird recognition if necessary. Even if you are a beginner, we are more than happy to do our best to help you.
Outdoor Meetings – Field Trips
Saturday 13th September 2025 – North Cave, Dryham Lane, Brough HU15 2LY Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Free admission
Free car parking Wheelchair accessible
Toilets
Little Butty Bus and small picnic area Mostly level terrain with 4 hides
No dogs.
Likely to see a range of wetland and woodland birds; highlights could be Green Sandpiper, Hobby, Little Owl, Kingfisher, Corn Bunting & Yellow Wagtail.
Meet at the reserve at 9:30. (Approx 1hr 30m & 72 miles from Skipton).
Thursday 9th October 2025 – Leighton Moss, Storrs Lane, Silverdale, Carnforth, LA5 0SW
RSPB (non-members £9 by car or £4.50 by public transport/bike) Free car parking
Wheelchair accessible and wheelchair hire
Toilets
Cafe & picnic tables
Dogs only in car park and along main causeway – no dogs on main reserve.
We will cover the main reserve + Allen and Eric Morecambe hides.
Likely to see a range of wetland and woodland birds; highlights could be Marsh Harrier, Marsh Tit, Egrets, Bearded Tit, Red Deer, Otter.
Meet at the reserve at 9:15. (Approx 1hr 10m & 42 miles from Skipton).
Saturday 15th November 2025 – Pennington Flash, St Helen’s Rd, Leigh, WN7 3PA One of eight local sites that make up Wigan Flashes Free Admission
Large car park – pay and display all day £2.50
Wheelchair accessible
Toilets
Cafe and picnic benches
Dogs allowed
Open water, reed bed, scrub and woodland likely to see a range of wetland birds; highlights could be Willow Tit, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher and maybe an out of the ordinary Gull.
Meet at the reserve at 9:10. (Approx 1hr 10m & 54 miles from Skipton).
Thursday 11th December 2025 – Golden Acre Park, Adel Dam & Breary Marsh, Otley Rd, Bramhope, Leeds LS16 8BQ
Free admission
Car parking – fees introduced Feb 2025, Wheelchair accessible. Motorised scooters available and must be pre-booked (0113 535 2502).
Toilets
Cafe
Dogs allowed, but not in the Adel Dam NR
Likely to see parkland and woodland birds; highlights likely to see are Kingfisher, Woodpeckers (fingers crossed for the rare Lesser Spotted), Red Kite, Treecreeper, winter Thrushes.
Meet at the reserve at 9:05. (Approx 34mins & 21 miles from Skipton).
Thursday 15th January 2026 – Fountains Abbey & Nosterfield
We will head to West Gate car park HG4 3DZ first and hope to see Hawfinch in the yew behind the Abbey (cross fingers for decent light). Approx 42mins & 28 miles + 20 mins & 11 miles (each way)
Then we head to Nosterfield NR, West Tanfield, Ripon, DL8 2QX
Lower Ure Conservation Trust
Free admission
Free car parking
Main reserve is wheelchair accessible
One toilet at Tarmac Quarry – options here after viewing Hawfinch would be to drop into Ripon Morrisons HG4 2RU or likely we will head to the Quarry site DL8 2QZ and view this area + Kiln and Flask lakes; take lunch and then go to the main reserve.
No cafe so packed lunch is a must.
Open water, grassland and reedbed; highlights likely to see are Green Woodpecker, Golden Plover, Ruff, Egrets, Barn & Little Owl.
Meet at Fountains Abby Car park at 9:00. (Approx approx 50 mins & 28 miles from Skipton).
Saturday 14th February 2026 – Rodley Nature Reserve, Moss Bridge Rd, Rodley, Leeds LS13 1HP
Free admission
Free car park (disabled parking adjacent to visitors centre) Toilets
Cafe providing hot drinks and cakes
No dogs
Wet grassland so we will see a range of wildfowl; highlights likely are Snipe, Water Rail, Oystercatcher & Roe Deer.
This is a small reserve so we will take our time – you never know what might appear. It is possible that this date maybe chosen for Rodley’s annual bird box build event; so participants would be offered an alternative date of Wednesday 18th Feb or Saturday 21st Feb instead.
Meet at the reserve at 8:50. (Approx 50mins & 21 miles from Skipton).
Saturday 14th March 2026 – Fairburn Ings & St Aidens
RSPB (non members £4.00) Car Parking
Toilets
Cafe & picnic area Wheelchair accessible
Dog allowed
We will meet at Lin Dike car park, Newton Lane, Castleford WF10 2AA and do a circular walk up to the viewing screens taking in Lin Dike and Hickson’s Flash. Here we might see Willow Tit, Greater Spotted and Green Woodpecker, Spoonbill plus other wildfowl, waders, swans and geese.
We will then move on to St Aidens LS26 8AL – this is a large site and we will decide on the day the route(s) we might take. Wet grassland, open water and reedbed so we will see lots of wildfowl & gulls; highlights might be Bittern, Cetti’s Warbler, Little Owl, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, & Grebes.
This day will be flexible based on participants and how long the group lingers to allow for the most at any one site.
Meet at the reserve at 9:10. (Approx 1hr 10mins & 34 miles from Skipton).
All trips will meet at the designated reserve car park based on travel leaving the Skipton area at 08:00 (December will be 08:30).
Jane Beazley will endeavour to offer and arrange lifts. Travel arrangements and lifts will be organised at either the previous indoor meeting or by way of the field trip WhatsApp group; alternatively please contact Jane Beazley on 07507836711.
A small contribution is suggested of 10p per mile if you are travelling in someone else’s car.
Please bring appropriate clothing & footwear and a picnic lunch. Optics, if you have them, will be useful. Dependant on participating numbers we hope to spend the day as a group sharing knowledge and helping any newcomers with identification. Pace will be slow and mindful of everyone.
Bird sightings will be recorded and made available to the group. We look forward to seeing you so please come along!