I’m treated to a final wild treat before I also set off on my adventure. Just as I reach the front of the balcony, a dragonfly zips past almost too quickly to see, an impressively graceful flash of bright azure blue. I’m sure that were I to hover longer I would spot even more wild delights – but that will have to wait until lunchtime, and the call of the café’s chip butty…. 

To find out more about Potteric Carr Visitor Centre, including our summer opening hours, visit our reserve page here.  

The sparrow picks its way gracefully along the wooden decking significantly more interested in the dropped crumbs from my scone than it is in the stunning view beyond the balcony. Sunlight glints on the reed-fringed lake, and the gentle sound of their swaying provides a soothing backdrop to the chirping birds, plaintive honking from floating waders, and the hum of the Visitor Centre café I am sat in. 

Everyone loves a hidden gem, including sparrows, and Potteric Carr nature reserve – despite being minutes from Doncaster’s Lakeside and the B&Q – is definitely a hidden gem. Nestled between the LNER railway line and the M18, the reserve is a sprawling wetland paradise of reedy pools, open wildflower meadows and leafy woodland criss-crossed with hours of accessible walking paths. 

It is also practically exploding with wildlife. Potteric Carr boats an impressive set of wild statistics – over 230 species of birds, 28 species of butterfly and 21 species of dragonfly have been recorded, alongside regularly-seen stoats, grass snakes, roe deer and a colourful array of wildflowers and fungi. Later, I will head out on an adventure along some of the reserve’s paths; the thing about nature reserves is that you don’t always know what you’re going to spot, and so the faintest flash of a warbler overhead or a dragonfly zipping past in hot pursuit of its prey is both rewarding and exciting. 

For the moment, though, I am quite enjoying the opportunity to wildlife-spot from the comfort of my chair on the reserve’s outdoor balcony. My tea is hot and perfectly-brewed, I’ve spotted the chip butty on the menu and already made a note for lunch, and two duck-like birds are having a loud argument on the lake that I’m quite invested in. The more I watch, the more I spot. Potteric Carr is well-known for its bird life, and it isn’t long before a grey heron – long-necked, dinosaur-like with its beady eyes and sharp beak – swoops majestically from one side of the pool to the other, disappearing with a single wingbeat in amongst the reeds. A few minutes later, there is a sudden silence before a sparrowhawk zooms past – lower than expected, entirely unselfconscious in its single-minded search for a mid-morning snack. 

There is plenty for younger wild enthusiasts too. Being a wetland site, Potteric Carr is largely on the level with wide, surfaced tracks perfect for pushchairs and mobility aids, and I am passed by more than one family armed with Explorer Backpacks from the centre already off in search of kingfishers and the reserve’s grazing cows. They don’t make it far – just down the steps from the balcony there are a few butterflies fluttering about in the sun, and I hear a shriek of excitement a little further away as one of the young naturalists spots what turns out to be a hummingbird hawkmoth. 

To find out more about Potteric Carr Visitor Centre, including our summer opening hours.

Visit our reserve page here