Short birdwatching visit · Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Stoneycliffe Wood Nature Reserve
- Tier
- Good stop nearby
- Best season
- June–September general visits; winter woodpecker also listed
- Headline birds
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker · Spotted Flycatcher
- Parking
- Use the operator-listed layby on Coxley View.
- Hides
- Not stated by the operator
- Step-free
- The reserve is not accessible to wheelchair users or pushchairs.
Netherton, near Wakefield
Stoneycliffe Wood is a sloping oak-and-birch reserve with a meandering beck and pockets of wet woodland near Netherton. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust identifies spring Chiffchaff, summer Spotted Flycatcher and winter Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, with Treecreeper also described among its woodland birds. Its deadwood and varied tree structure support the insects on which these birds feed. Public and permissive footpaths provide a woodland visit, with several entrances rather than a single visitor-centre circuit. The routes are unsuitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, so use footwear for uneven woodland ground and keep dogs on leads.
Birds and seasons
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker · Headline bird — Winter Source for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
- Spotted Flycatcher · Headline bird — Summer Source for Spotted Flycatcher
- Chiffchaff — Spring Source for Chiffchaff
- Treecreeper — Season not stated Source for Treecreeper
Plan your visit
- Hides and viewpoints
- Not stated by the operator – check before travelling
- Paths
- Public and permissive footpaths cross the wood; cycling is restricted to the bridleway.
- Toilets
- Not stated by the operator – check before travelling
- Parking
- Use the operator-listed layby on Coxley View.
- Dogs
- Dogs must be on leads.
- Access notes
- The reserve is not accessible to wheelchair users or pushchairs.
- Step-free access
- The reserve is not accessible to wheelchair users or pushchairs.
Getting there: Approach from Netherton using the documented Coxley View parking and nearby public footpath entrances, including the route near the Star Inn or Netherton Cemetery. Buses between Wakefield and Huddersfield pass through Netherton. The pin marks the published reserve area, not a newly surveyed entrance.
Sources
Social preview: original typographic artwork by Does Your Duck Quack.
Nearby special trips
- Dearne Valley - Bolton Ings · 13.2 straight-line miles
- Eastern Moors · 25.7 straight-line miles
- Wheldrake Ings Nature Reserve · 31.4 straight-line miles
Continue birding nearby
Nearest full guide: RSPB St Aidan's, 11.0 miles away in a straight line.
- Stocksmoor Common Nature Reserve · 0.6 miles in a straight line
- Stirley Nature Reserve · 8.2 miles in a straight line
- Dearne Valley - Wombwell Ings · 12.0 miles in a straight line