And there is a fair chance that a significant amount of moorland would be given over to forestry if it wasn't maintained for shooting.
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And there is a fair chance that a significant amount of moorland would be given over to forestry if it wasn't maintained for shooting.
What was the natural habitat of grouse before the forests were cleared then - they are indigenous aren't they, and dorsn't heather burning contribute to the erosion of the moors, and what would be so bad about having more trees instead of bare moors, especially luvly deciduous carbon storing woodlands? I'm not having a dig by the way, just wondering.
The heather burning is done to encourage growth - it's the young shoots that grouse eat - dunno where they lived before. Perhaps on heathland which does have heather on it, although obviously not as much as a grouse moor. The moors have been created to encourage loads of grouse to live there; enough to provide a fine few day's shooting, probably far more than would be around naturally.
Nothing wrong with woodland, I love it and wish there was more of it around Yorkshire, which is pretty short on wooded areas really. I used to live down south for a while, Kingley Vale and the New Forest were particular favourites of mine.
I'm not championing the shooter's cause, just explaining why we have such extensive areas of heather moorland.
Oh, and it's anything but 'bare'! As well as red grouse, we've got curlew, skylarks, wheatears, dotterel, lapwing, merlin, and various other bits of wildlife around our way.
And herds of wildebeest, roaming majestically across the moor...
I got the shock of my life when a large bird suddenly appeared on the lawn outside my window about 5ft from me. It was a bird of prey and as I live in a suburb of Blackburn hadn't seen one in my garden before.It looked a bit rattled, so I assume it had been bombarded by other birds to get it away from nests. I've seen magpies bombarding owls before.
Turned out to be a Sparrowhawk - I had time to just check on my laptop as it was plonked there.
After about 40s - a minute off it went.
No, I know , I meant bare as in not covered in trees. Anyway, thanks for that, spent today tramping over the Derwent Watershed. Didn't spot anyway wildebest mind. Spent a good few minutes with a hare about fifty feet away from me at Shelf Stones, thought it hadn't clocked me as the wind was blowing to me but had a good look at me as it loped past. They look a bit sorry for themselves at the mometn, all dappled brown and white between coats!
I believe that nature is a far better custodian of the countryside than humans.Quote:
Originally Posted by plodding bear
You're probably right, Xrunner, but as long as humans are around, we'll be interfering with nature and getting it wrong a lot of the time! hence the deer culls (no natural predators) being over-run with wabbits (bloody french!) and so on...
2 Red kites floating around 6 foot above my head today whilst accompanying my wife in her run round eccup res
Red Deer, 2 eagles , possibly 2 more but could have been Buzzards flying very high. On a run with Shaunetto we saw 20+ Ptarmigans, the most I've seen in one day before, A rare mountain Hare(For these Parts), Curlews, Black Grouse, Plovers. Also saw something I didn't reconise which after searching my books could only have been a Dotterel! Lots of mountain frogs including a rare alpine frog that had shed it's white skin and was in it's traditional muddy green:)
A dipper on the village beck :cool: Best view I've ever had of one of my favourite birds!
2 deer
1 green woodpecker
3 buzzards
2 pheasants
3 rabbits
2 hares
100s of piglets (just big enough to fit in a french stick with their snout and tail hanging out) - god I feel hungry now.
Hey DT, dippers are my fave too! Always cheer me up when I hear, then see, the little beggars skimming along the Wharfe. Dapper little chaps, what?!
I have an ever-changing top five favourite birds list pb, but the dipper is always there. Another big fave will be back soon: the swift :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by plodding bear
Yesterday 3 slow worms on the compost heap (1 adult + 2 teenagers), and "Stumpy" is back under the corrugated sheet. So some have made it through the winter.
Fresh Dippers nest under the little footbridge and an otter spraint as well.
The call of a curlew always works for me, too. And skylarks. Not a fan of herons though, ever since I saw a pair jobbing a moorhen's nest by the canal in Silsden. Yes I know they have to eat, but can't they stick to fish???
I'm sure there must be otters on the Wharfe, I know there's some on the Aire near Bingley, but it's years since I saw one in the wild. Now that would be a real tick on the 'Wildlife to See' list!
there used to be some near grassington- malham. I'm not sure if they are still about.Quote:
Originally Posted by plodding bear
I saw one high on a Scottish pass in a burn. It was just so amazing to see it so high in the hills. watched it for 30 minutes or so, took lots of pics but lost the camera. :(
Heard a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker calling this eve, a pretty scarce bird nowadays
Watched two deers running free across Ogden golf course,.then spotted a heron in the stream at the bottom of the course just below the calderdale way, both within a couple of minutes.
I've come across them several times now in Leeds, sometimes in quite unexpected areas as well. They seem to be doing ok round my way. I'm not complaining, there's something nice about the drumming of a woodpecker that always makes me smileQuote:
Originally Posted by Masham Man
I keep hearing a woodpecker in the local woods but can never spot the little chap:thunbdown:
Maybe it's a Woodpecker ghost?
Remember when my lad was younger he saw a bird pecking on some flags. He said 'Is that a Stonepecker Daddy?'
Are you sure RF its a Lesser-Spotted. The greater spotted is the one that does all the drumming they are pretty wide spread and common. Do you know your PECKERSQuote:
Originally Posted by Rob Furness
Aye, greater spotted is about the size of a blackbird, with a red arse and a bit of red on the back of the head. Lisser one doesn't have a red arse, and the crown of the head is red. Quieter drumming, up near the top of a tree, too.
Red Dear, Red Squirrels, grey seals, an Otter and a fish leaping out of the water in an attempt to evade the Otter, Mountain Hare, Black Grouse, many many Ptarmigan. A remarkably timid Lapwing, and an Eagle that flew across the road just 20-40 meters in front of my car near Loch Glasgornach just moments after it had grabbed some unlucky and now ex small furry creature. Similar experience in Fife with some low flying Swans heading to Loch Leven
Yep, I know. The Lesser is a diddly little thing that taps rather than drums (shouldn't have used that word really should I ). I've seen them 3 times (twice in the same place, but on different days) and have also seen the Greater spotted ones banging away early on a morning in the woods. The first time I saw a lesser spotted it was right in front of me as I was stood at the top of a steep bank and the tree it was in was growing at the base of the bank so it was only 6 foot away in my eyeline. I watched the little thing hop around from branch to branch tapping quietly and feeding. Lovely experience, they're very pretty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Masham Man
Big adder - Linacre woods - chesterfield! (hope it was an adder not an escaped something else)
You lucky thing!!! I'm envious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shaunaneto
A stonepecker? That's lovely. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevefoster
Heard a couple of cuckoos this morning, and seen a few male wheatears up on Rombalds Moor. Buzzard over Kingsdale yesterday.
Several hare spotted on last night's club run from Bradley
Saw 2 fox cubs on the fields near my house on my early morning run today. Lovely to see them. I see foxes all the time but this is the first time I've seen cubs in their natural environment.
I bet that was nice, Rob. I see roe deer occasionally, but not much really in the way of mammals apart from the odd stoat. I'll have to start running through the woods or summat, vary the environment a bit.
How on earth did that get into my lounge???
Is that a hornet?
Off for a trot round the woods this evening, saw a woodpecker of some black and white variety in there last night, and numerous 'things' moving about in the undergrowth. Hopefully I'll see something nice tonight...
Lots of Ring Ouzel back in the Lakes.
Their simple 3-note song echoing plaintively round the top of Dungeon Ghyll on Thursday evening and a few in the head of the valley on the way off Robinson today
Spotted a baby Adder this morning at Curbar Edge, really nice only 5 -6 inches long and pencil thin. Got home and emailed my friend in Scotland who spotted these much bigger pair. file:///C:/Users/Zafar%20Ali/Pictures/Adders.htm
Sandpiper, dipper and kingfisher on the Ure.
Just a few roe deer on my woodland run yesterday evening, and a treecreeper. Talking to a farmer who pointed me in the general direction of some badgers, which would be great. I live in hope, but at least it will encourage my hilly woodland running!
That link is a link to your hard drive ZafQuote:
Originally Posted by Zaf
1 fox cub n 1 roe deer this morn