Whisby Moor is a small moor situated close to the A46 road, west of

North Hykeham North Hykeham is a town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district, in the county of Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. ...

, in the

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln, England, Lincoln. Its cou ...

district of Lincolnshire, England.

Geography

Whisby Moor is situated geographically south-west from Lincoln city centre, with the village of Whisby less than to the north-west. The Nottingham-Lincoln Line runs through the Moor. The southern part of the Moor, including th
Natural World Centre
is in the parish of Thorpe on the Hill.

Whisby Nature Park

Former sand and gravel pits have been filled and turned into mesotrophic lakes, surrounded by wet willow scrub and now form part of Whisby Nature Park. The nature reserve was established in 1985. The park opened in 1989 on either side of the Nottingham to Lincoln railway line. It was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2002. The park has breeds of

Shetland cattle The Shetland, known natively in the Scots language as Shetland kye is a small, hardy Scottish breed of cattle from the Shetland Islands to the north of mainland Scotland. The cattle are normally black and white in colour but there are small ...

and is home to a variety of bird species including wigeon,

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is ofte ...

, tufted duck,

pochard Pochard is a common name used for several species of diving ducks: *Four species in the genus ''Aythya'': ** Common pochard, ''Aythya ferina'' ** Baer's pochard, ''Aythya baeri'' ** Ferruginous pochard, ''Aythya nyroca'' ** Madagascar pochard, '' ...

and goldeneye,

great crested grebes The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in ...

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

and kingfisher, which can be observed from several bird hides. Whisby holds a substantial population of nightingales, which have become synonymous with the reserve. The park is also home to the Hazel Pot Beetle, a

leaf beetle The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

of the Cryptocephalinae subfamily; it was released into the park in November 2000. Plants include ''

Dactylorhiza praetermissa ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'', the southern marsh orchid or leopard marsh orchid, is a commonly occurring species of European orchid. Description ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'' grows to tall, with leaves generally unspotted. The flowers, appe ...

'', ''

Trifolium arvense ''Trifolium arvense'', commonly known as the hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone, ...

'' and a bicolour form of ''

Cytisus scoparius ''Cytisus scoparius'' ( syn. ''Sarothamnus scoparius''), the common broom or Scotch broom, is a deciduous leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom; this name is also used for othe ...

''. A visitor centre has been established at Whisby nature reserve, known as the Natural World Centre and is run on behalf of North Kesteven District Council. The nature reserve hosts training courses, talks and events for children. Many unusual animals and plants are found in Whisby. For example, in 2018 large numbers of bird watchers were attracted to the reserve to see a melanistic blue tit. Not all parts of the nature reserve are open to the public and some areas are grazed by cattle and sheep to promote the growth of smaller plants. In 2017 The Guardian included Whisby Nature Park in a list of five of the best birdwatching sites in the UK, particularly as a place to hear nightingales.The Guardian - Five of the UK's Best Birdwatching Sites
Retrieved 24 April 2019.

References

External links

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

Natural World Centre

Doddington and Whisby Parish Council

Hazel Pot Beetle in May 2002

Beetle in November 2000

Audio clips

Hazel Pot Beetle on the ''Today'' programme
{{coord, 53, 11, N, 0, 37, W, display=title, region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Local Nature Reserves in Lincolnshire Parks and open spaces in Lincolnshire