Winter is harder on the chickens at River View. The water jug freezes and so do the pellets. Worms hide deep in the soil and on the worst days, our hens don't bother leaving the hut at all. Luckily a couple of our young guests who visited at Easter gave them some comfort. Two young people gave them extra corn at least once a day and picked them up for a few cuddles. Thanks boys! BACK TO BLOG #Winter #Birds #AtRiverView

The problem with bird watching is that you cannot always see them. Last Saturday The Wild Watch taught us to use our ears instead, with a range of different sound-based activities for children. A violin played us the tunes of owls, wood pigeons, doves , cuckoos and warblers, and we drew the pattern of the notes. We sang our own versions of birdsong in a choir and then took what we had learned into the outside world. A soundscape opened up for us whilst sitting in the churchy

Scar House was striking when we set out yesterday. We were a long thin line of children and adults of varying walking speeds, accompanying dogs and at at least one toddler bike. It was an amazing day to be in Upper Nidderdale. Without the family factor this would be a straightforward walk along flat ground and a clearly marked path, but we were here on a sponsored walk for school and things were a little more chaotic on our day out. Going was slow as children scattered in the

If you have ever wondered what 96 meters of unplanted hedgerow looks like, now is your chance to find out. 22 Elders, 10 Honeysuckle, 10 Crabapples and numerous Blackthorn and Hawthorn lined up against the barn this month ready make edible wildlife homes. It's all part of the plan to increase the numbers of birds and insects at River View Pateley. It has the added benefit of providing raw materials for jam, jelly, cordial, wine and perhaps even gin (though I doubt we'll be br

"There are loads of blackbirds!" cried the five year old when we stepped out into the BIG Garden Birdwatch at River View Pateley this weekend. Pointless to explain these were the silhouettes of doves rooks and gulls against the winter afternoon light, just as it was pointless to explain to an eight year old that the mess of twigs the river had caught was not a nest. We looked in vain on the crib sheet for a water bird with black and white plumage that we caught in the middle

We accidentally feed grouse and pheasants every time we put grass seed out on the lawn. (By my calculations, there is an attrition rate of a

Half of Pateley have been watching this brood of ducks since the little ones hatched in March. Great conversations for dog walkers and rambl