Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve

Picture of a heron at Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve Leeds.

The Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve is just 2 miles from Leeds city centre, but as I discovered on my first and so far only visit there are quite a few birds to be seen there.

There have been 65 different species of bird recorded on this small nature reserve, of these I only saw a few including the heron in the above photo. I have slightly cropped this picture of a heron that I saw on the other side of the river further up than I could get.

There are also amphibians in the ponds in the reserve, these being frogs, toads and newts. The meadows have quite a few wild flowers and are maintained with wildlife in mind. Sixteen varieties of butterfly have been recorded on the site including a few that I saw these being Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell and a Cabbage White.

The Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve is on of more than 80 managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust across the county of Yorkshire.

How to get to Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve:

The Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve is about 9.7 Ha of land and is accessed off Redcote Lane from the A65 Kirkstall Rd. From the A65 Kirkstall Rd turn onto Redcote Lane across the bridge past the Fitness First Gym and the entrance to the reserve is on the right just before the railway bridge.