Some Good News on Birds of Prey in Northern England

A MerlinDendroica cerulea / Foter / CC BY

While walking in the uplands of Northern England I like to keep my eyes open for birds of prey. And not only when walking. Recently while driving in the Eden Valley I  spotted a large buzzard hovering and then sweeping away over the fields to the left. It was splendid to watch, and I stopped for a while to admire it.

I'm not an expert on birds and am very far from being a "twitcher". I don't even own a pair of binoculars apart from one that came as a free gift with a membership (was it the National Trust?) a year or two ago. Having said that I do like to hear of rare species of birds being spotted, and of dwindling bird populations reviving. From time to time I've commented on various blogs about eagle owls, ospreys and red kites.

Today, though, it was good to read some good news about a much smaller bird of prey, the merlin.

"Britain's smallest birds of prey are flying in to nest on Yorkshire grouse moors which have helped stave off their downfall. A new study commissioned by the Moorland Association has found dramatic gains in merlin populations on globally recognised heather moorland managed by gamekeepers for wild red grouse like those found in the Dales, Nidderdale and the North York Moors."
See the full story at the Yorkshire Post

This incident reminded me that I still have some work to do on a site I started on last year but never finished. It's called "Birds in Books". Checking back on it I find that I did publish it but did not finish adding all the pages that I intended. There is, though, a splendid book from the RSPB on British birds of prey. Take a look.
Another raptor article: Ospreys in the Kielder Forest