Geltsdale RSPB reserve

Last updated

Geltsdale RSPB reserve
Howgill Beck and Stagsike, Geltsdale, Cumbria.jpg
Howgill Beck and Stagsike Cottages (visitor information point for the RSPB reserve) in 2015. Photo by Ian Taylor.
Location Cumbria, England
Coordinates 54°55′09″N2°36′58″W / 54.91929°N 2.61621°W / 54.91929; -2.61621 Coordinates: 54°55′09″N2°36′58″W / 54.91929°N 2.61621°W / 54.91929; -2.61621
OperatorRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds
Website http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/find-a-reserve/reserves-a-z/reserves-by-name/g/geltsdale/index.aspx

Geltsdale RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in Geltsdale, Cumbria, England. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds manages the site for upland birds such as the hen harrier and black grouse.

Contents

The reserve is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called Geltsdale & Glendue Fells. Along with other SSSIs in the North Pennines, it is designated a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive. The reserve is managed within the context of a commercial hill farm.

Birdlife and habitats

The hen harrier is a bird of open habitats such as heather moorland, a type of vegetation which is typical of the reserve. Although such habitats are common in the uplands of England, the bird is scarce, being illegally persecuted as a predator of red grouse. In 2013, hen harriers failed to breed successfully in England for the first time in almost half a century. [1]

The black grouse requires a more varied habitat than the hen harrier and the RSPB has planted many trees at Geltsdale.

Another bird of interest is the curlew, which since 2020 has been supported in this part of northern England by a project funded by the European Union's LIFE programme. [2] Howgill Beck, a stream which runs through the reserve, has "rewiggled" to attract wildlife such as waders. [3]

Facilities

There is a visitor information point. [4]

There is free entry to the reserve. There are four waymarked trails leading from the car park at Howgill: [5]

Recent Hen harrier breeding attempts

In 2016 a hen harrier chick fledged at the reserve. [7] Named Bonny, [8] he was one of only seven such chicks to fledge that year in England. Bonny was satellite tagged as part of a project funded by the European Union's LIFE Programme, "Conserving the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) in northern England and southern and eastern Scotland" (LIFE13 NAT/UK/000258). Information was no longer transmitted from the tag after 14 December 2016 and he is assumed to have died. [1] [9]

In 2021 four chicks fledged from a nest at Geltsdale. The adults had been supported by a feeding programme designed to reduce the distances they had to travel from the nest. [10]

Notes

1. ^ North Pennines AONB
2. ^ Geltsdale & Glendue Fells

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strumpshaw Fen RSPB reserve</span>

Strumpshaw Fen is a nature reserve managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It is situated at Strumpshaw on the River Yare in the English county of Norfolk around 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Norwich. The Buckenham Marshes RSPB reserve borders the reserve to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titchwell Marsh</span> Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Titchwell Marsh is an English nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Located on the north coast of the county of Norfolk, between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, its 171 hectares include reed beds, saltmarshes, a freshwater lagoon and sandy beach, with a small woodland area near the car park. This internationally important reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is also protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hen harrier</span> Species of bird

The hen harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black grouse</span> Species of bird

The black grouse, also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and steppe habitat when breeding, often near wooded areas. They will spend the winter perched in dense forests, feeding almost exclusively on the needles of conifers. The black grouse is one of 2 species of grouse in the genus Lyrurus, the other being the lesser-known Caucasian grouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red grouse</span> Subspecies of bird

The red grouse is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes considered to be a separate species, Lagopus scoticus. It is also known as the moorcock, moorfowl or moorbird. Lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγος), meaning "hare", + pous (πους), "foot", in reference to the feathered feet and toes typical of this cold-adapted genus, and scoticus is "of Scotland".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest of Bowland</span> Upland conservation area in Lancashire, England

The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire. It is a western outlier of the Pennines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorland</span> Type of habitat

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally means uncultivated hill land, but also includes low-lying wetlands. It is closely related to heath, although experts disagree on what precisely distinguishes these types of vegetation. Generally, moor refers to highland and high rainfall zones, whereas heath refers to lowland zones which are more likely to be the result of human activity. Moorland habitats mostly occur in tropical Africa, northern and western Europe, and neotropical South America. Most of the world's moorlands are diverse ecosystems. In the extensive moorlands of the tropics, biodiversity can be extremely high. Moorland also bears a relationship to tundra, appearing as the tundra and the natural tree zone. The boundary between tundra and moorland constantly shifts with climatic change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Pennine Moors</span>

The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately 90 square miles (230 km2) of moorland and reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinton Estate</span>

The Swinton Estate is a large privately owned estate in North Yorkshire, England. It comprises some 20,000 acres (81 km2) of countryside in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, extending 10 miles (16 km) west from the River Ure near Masham. The estate includes Swinton Park, the seat of the Danby family and of the Cunliffe-Lister family, an English country house in Swinton near Masham. It is set in 200 acres (0.81 km2) of parkland, lakes and gardens. The house is a Grade II* listed building, and now operates as the 42-bedroom Swinton Park Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driven grouse shooting</span> Hunting of the red grouse

Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, a field sport of the United Kingdom. The grouse-shooting season extends from 12 August, often called the "Glorious Twelfth", to 10 December each year. Large numbers of grouse are driven to fly over people with shotguns. Driven grouse shooting first appeared around 1850 and became popular in the later Victorian era as a fashionable sport for the wealthy. The expanding rail network allowed relatively easy access into the remote upland areas of Britain for the first time and driven grouse shooting developed in tandem with this by providing shooting in a convenient and reliable form. Large numbers of birds are driven over a fixed position providing a regular supply of fast moving targets without the need to seek out the birds. The development of the breech-loading shotgun was also an essential ingredient in the development of the practice as it allowed more rapid reloading in the field matching the availability of target birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Warren RSPB reserve</span>

North Warren RSPB reserve is a nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Suffolk, England. It lies on the Suffolk coast on the north edge of the town of Aldeburgh and to the south of Thorpeness and includes the Aldringham Walks area of heathland to the north. It is within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. Noted for its populations of Eurasian bittern, European nightjar and other bird species, it covers a range of coastal habitats and is protected with SSSI, SPA conservation status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotherstone Moor</span>

Cotherstone Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district in south-west County Durham, England. It is an extensive area of moorland which extends almost the entire length of Baldersdale, from the confluence of the River Balder with the Tees at Cotherstone. It runs parallel to Bowes Moor SSSI, which lies a short distance to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexhamshire Moors</span>

Hexhamshire Moors is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Wear Valley district of north-west County Durham and the Tynedale district of south-west Northumberland, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorhouse and Cross Fell</span>

Moorhouse and Cross Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Wear Valley district of west County Durham and the Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is contiguous with Upper Teesdale SSSI to the east and Appleby Fells SSSI to the south. The area covered extends roughly from an arc through the villages of Gamblesby, Leadgate and Garrigill southward as far as Milburn in the west and Cow Green Reservoir in the east. It includes the whole of Cross Fell, the summit of which, at 893 metres asl, is the highest point in the Pennines and in England outside the Lake District.

Lune Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Teesdale district of west Durham, England. In the north, where it adjoins the Upper Teesdale and Appleby Fells SSSIs, it extends from Mickle Fell eastward almost as far as Harter Fell, above the hamlet of Thringarth. Its southern limit is marked by the River Balder, upstream from Balderhead Reservoir, where it shares a boundary with Cotherstone Moor SSSI to the south. Grains o' th' Beck Meadows and Close House Mine SSSIs are entirely surrounded by Lune Forest, but do not form part of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geltsdale</span> Human settlement in England

Geltsdale is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Castle Carrock, in the Carlisle district, in the county of Cumbria, England, to the southeast of Castle Carrock village. In 2001 the parish had a population of 6. On 1 April 2003 the parish was abolished and merged with Castle Carrock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allendale Moors</span>

Allendale Moors is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The upland moorland ridge site is listed for its heath, flush and upland grassland which provide a habitat for a nationally important assemblage of moorland breeding birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geltsdale & Glendue Fells</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in England

Geltsdale & Glendue Fells is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the North Pennines, England. The site has an area of 8059 ha, partly in Cumbria and partly in Northumberland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenfield Valley</span> Valley at Saddleworth Moor in the Peak District

Greenfield Valley is a river valley through Saddleworth Moor in England's Peak District National Park. Historically this area of the South Pennines was part of Yorkshire but since 1974 it has been within the eastern edge of the county of Greater Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raptor persecution</span> Abuse of birds of prey

In the United Kingdom, raptor persecution is a crime against wildlife. The offence includes poisoning, shooting, trapping, and nest destruction or disturbance of birds of prey.

References

  1. 1 2 "Welcome to the hen harrier LIFE project". RSPB. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  2. "Curlews Calling". North Pennines AOB.
  3. "Howgill Beck: Straightened stream 're-wiggled' to attract wildlife". January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  4. "Exciting new exhibition to be held at RSPB Geltsdale" (Press release). 2016.
  5. "Geltsdale". NatureConservation.org.uk.
  6. "Bruthwaite Viewpoint". Waymarking.com.
  7. "Geltsdale hen harrier chick takes flight". RSPB News. 2016.
  8. Story (11 September 2016). "Famous hen harrier chick". News and Star . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  9. "Bonny". RSPB.
  10. "Hen harrier success" . Retrieved 12 October 2021.