Wildlife conservation at Gibside

Three people in red coats hammer tree stakes into the ground. — Ranger volunteers putting in tree stakes at Gibside. | © National Trust Images/Tony Blackett

Our goal is to make Gibside a happy and healthy place for wildlife, plants and people. This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our conservation teams and volunteers.

Around 220-acres of Gibside is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which means it is a protected area that supports rare species of plants, animals and fungi. The Gibside rangers and gardeners, with the support of volunteer groups, are working to maintain and improve habitats for nature, and monitor the species that call Gibside home. We have a variety of habitats and landscape at Gibside. The rangers manage each area differently to support the wildlife and plants that live there.

Much of the woodland at Gibside is classified as ancient woodland, which means we know there has been woodland present there since at least 1600. This results in a unique and particularly biodiverse woodland that supports many important species of microorganisms, fungi, plants and animals. Although areas of the woodland have been felled and replanted, areas of ancient woodland still have complex soil structures and specialist species.

The Gibside Rangers are working to gradually restore the ancient woodland by mimicking natural processes that have been interrupted by human intervention over the years. These include removing non-native invasive species, planting new saplings, and thinning out certain species of tree. They create more diversity in the woodland by coppicing, creating glades and through the ‘veteranisation’ of trees. This involves intentionally ‘damaging’ certain trees to speed up the creation of particular habitats that are currently lacking in the woodland.
Meadows are an important feature of the designed landscape at Gibside and are a rapidly declining habitat. 97% of lowland meadows and pasture have been lost in the UK since 1935, which is devastating for a whole array of plants, insects and mammals. The grassland and meadows at Gibside have been relatively undisturbed for at least 100 years, supporting particular fungi like waxcaps. The meadows have to be cut back each year to keep nutrient levels in the soil low, allowing a diverse range of plants to thrive.

The rangers maintain the meadows at Gibside for nature by cutting them back late in the season. This allows plants to go to seed for animals to eat and allowing insects to go through their full lifecycle. They also use less invasive, more environmentally friendly methods of cutting like scything. The rangers monitor the condition of the lowland meadow by surveying the species that grow there. Species like yellow rattle, orchids, yarrow, red clover, betony, and oxeye daisies are all examples of wild flowers they are looking for.
Ponds are also a declining habitat that support a variety of plants, insects and animals. Dragonflies, damselflies, frogs, toads, newts, water shrews and even otters have been seen to visit the Gibside ponds. Rangers maintain these habitats by removing invasive plant species, keeping areas of the pond open for spawning amphibians and maintaining some tall vegetation for emerging dragonflies and damselflies. They also create certain habitats around the outside of the ponds, like shelters for amphibian and small mammals.

One person in a red fleece and one in a brown coat use big rakes on a flower bed. — Volunteers working in the Walled Garden at Gibside | © Ali Soleimani

Some of our key species

Red kites

Red kites were reintroduced to northeast England in 2004 by the ‘Northern Kites’ project, after over 170 years of these birds being absent from our skies. Between 2004 and 2006, 94 red kites were released in the Derwent Valley area including several at National Trust Gibside. In 2006, three chicks were born, the first red kites to be born in the area in nearly 200 years. We work with Friends of Red Kites, an organisation dedicated to monitoring red kite populations in the North East, to understand how red kites are doing at Gibside. Although there have been successful red kite chicks born at Gibside in the past, they have failed to nest for the last few years. The ranger team are investigating ways that we might encourage them to continue to use the habitat at Gibside, including reducing disturbance around potential nesting sites. Despite red kites being a common sight above Gibside today, the battle is not over to ensure that these birds have a sustainable population.

We work with organisations to monitor other bird populations at Gibside, particularly through surveying nest boxes. A volunteer team do regular bird ringing at Gibside. Bird ringing creates data that allows the British Trust for Ornithology to monitor the movements and lifespan of the UK’s birds. The team recently found a tawny owl that had lived to be over 17 years old, originally ringed at Gibside. This is exceptionally old for a tawny owl in the wild, and tells us that we are providing a great habitat for them.

Newts

Gibside is lucky to be home to all three species of native newt: great crested newts, smooth newts, and palmate newts. Populations of newts are suffering severely from habitat loss, particularly the loss of ponds. Great crested newts prefer clean ponds, so their presence indicates a healthy ecosystem. However, land habitats are also important because newts spend the majority of their life on land, using ponds during spring and early summer only to mate and lay eggs.

The ranger team at Gibside carry out regular surveys to monitor the population. This can be through temporarily trapping the news in bottle traps, catching newts in nets, using torches to search the water at night, and searching for eggs. All survey work is supervised by a ranger with a special licence, as newts are protected under UK law.

Bats

The ruins at Gibside may not be home to people anymore, but they do support a significant population of bats. The Stables supports one of the largest maternity roosts of soprano pipistrelle bats in the North East, and Gibside Hall provides a shelter for brown long-eared bats. Six other species of bat have been recorded at Gibside: common pipistrelles, Daubenton's bats, noctules, Natterer's bats, Brandt's bats and whiskered bats.

In partnership with Northumberland Bat Group, Gibside Rangers regularly survey these bats, including checking the bat boxes we have all around the site. This can also involve using bat detectors, devices which can pick up on the ultrasound calls of bats and convert them into sounds that humans can hear.

Conservation in action

Two people in red coats and waders chest deep in a pond, carrying bottles. — Placing bottle traps in the Octagon Pond. | © National Trust Images/Nick Wilson-Smith

Newt surveys

The ranger team at Gibside carry out regular surveys to monitor the population. Here they are setting up 'bottle traps', to temporarily trap newts in the Octagon Pond.