A new bird watching facility at one of York’s most important nature reserves was due to be opened by The Lord Mayor of York today.

Coun Sue Galloway will be pulling on her Wellingtons to visit the Lower Derwent Valley wetlands area to see the new reserve base which allows visitors to observe the site’s varied birdlife.

She said: “The Lower Derwent Valley is York’s natural equivalent of York Minster and an internationally important and much-loved asset of which we are very proud.

“We are committed to playing our part on the world stage by looking after its future and on behalf of the city of York I send our good wishes to colleagues through the world with whom we share a common responsibility.”

The reserve, near the village of Sutton-upon-Derwent, is run by Natural England and is a haven for birds which visit the UK from as far away as Russia and the West African coast.

For more details, log on to naturalengland.org.uk