I arrived early at North Cave Wetlands on a beautifully crisp and bright March afternoon, the perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the sights and sounds that make the place what it is. A large group of ever quarrelsome black-headed gulls wheeled away over Village Lake, the closest area of open water to the reserve entrance. Further out a group of Pochard drifted in and out of sleep. An avocet - an important breeding bird on the reserve - piped its fluting call as it came into land. The wetlands - which are just off the eastern end of the M62 in East Yorkshire - are just 15 minutes from where I live and have become something of a home from home for me since I moved into the area in 2022.

Stephen arrived to a chorus of greetings from people gathered at the justifiably popular Little Butty Bus, which keeps so many reserve visitors sustained and refreshed all year round, and a much-needed hot cup of tea. Where my association with North Cave Wetlands is much more recent, Stephen’s involvement goes back far longer -he was instrumental in the wetlands becoming a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve in the first place. A Yorkshireman through and through, we share early schooling in Hampshire, a lifelong passion for birdwatching and even early birdwatching locations.

For Stephen, birding has been mixed in with the demands of work and raising a family, as well as other diversions such as climbing, sailing and travel. His story is rich with memories - hitchhiking and birding around the USA and along the way - even finding time to work in an Alaskan silver mine. A lifetime of birding adventures and travel which has included many organised birding tours has allowed him to build up a hugely impressive “life list” of just over 5,000 bird species, all faithfully and proudly recorded in his birding diary. 

Once returned to Yorkshire, North Cave Wetlands was very much on Stephen’s local birdwatching patch. The site had been quarried for sand and gravel since the 1970s, but by the end of the 1990s it was no longer considered economically viable. Rather alarmingly for the local community, including Stephen and fellow birders like Gary Dayes, the site owner decided that it might be an idea to turn the old workings into Humberside’s next waste disposal site. Considering what an important site the wetlands has become - not just for wildlife but as a natural flood defence for the local area, this hardly bears thinking about. 

Thanks in good part to the efforts of the likes of Stephen, Gary and the local Parish Council, the waste site planning application was rejected – and from it came a memorable phone call. Stephen recalls being contacted by Mike Juggins of Humberside Aggregates, who stated something along the lines of, “Seeing as you and your friends birdwatch around my quarry, you’d better buy it, hadn’t you?” 

The plan to restore the site for nature was an exciting one. Stephen approached Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to gauge their interest, and in November 2000 the original quarry of 97 acres of North Cave Wetlands was added to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s list of nature reserves. He became a vital part of the working group needed to address the challenges associated with transforming what was essentially an industrial site into a nature reserve fit for wildlife and for visitors alike, tackling issues from drainage and water level control – supported by environmental consultant and major Potteric Carr supporter Roger Mitchell – to habitat diversification and planting. As well as improving the site for wildlife, it was felt by the working group that North Cave Wetlands should offer good access for families and for those with mobility issues, and this remains very much the same to this day.   

With a huge amount of landscaping and engineering works, North Cave Wetlands nature reserve has continued to expand and develop, greatly supported by the local community. Even in my relatively brief time visiting, new paths, viewing points and hides have been added, and the reserve has expanded westwards with the addition of two large areas of open water and shingle banks. The range of habitats has diversified, and the list of birds, invertebrates and plants continues to grow. Last year, bitterns bred at the reserve for the first time and otters are now seen regularly, and both of these alongside the reserve’s extraordinary wealth of wildlife attract visitors from far and wide. On our way out, we bumped into Gary; given the company, discussion inevitably turned to times past - and to birds seen - including the one and only record of a purple sandpiper (a pretty amazing sighting of a bird much more likely to be seen on the coast at places like Bridlington) that Stephen found way back in 1994. 

Although rightfully very proud of his close involvement in the nature and nurture of North Cave Wetlands nature reserve, Stephen was much more interested in emphasising the commitment of the very many other people – from reserve manager Tony Martin and assistant Paul Wray to the dedicated group of volunteers – who do so much of the practical conservation work and who monitor and record the wildlife. The Trust’s strong working relationship with Humberside Aggregates and now Breedon Group is also testament to the way industry and wildlife can work together; at North Cave Wetlands the sights and sounds of nature are offset against a background of clangs and clatters as mechanical diggers work, slowly excavating future extensions to the reserve.

Stephen has himself documented the early history of the reserve; writing back in 2004 he noted “For North Cave Wetlands the future is truly bright”. How right he was then and how relevant those words still seem today.

If you feel inspired to volunteer please visit the volunteering section of our website here to find out how you can get involved.