Thursday, May 09, 2013

Cragg Vale, Withens Clough

Nipped up in the rain this aft', in the folorn hope of finding a whinchat (I didn't and haven't up here for a few years now), however, I did have a female merlin over, heading towards Stoodley Pike and a bonny male stonechat on the wires. 
I was staggered to see the extent of the damage done by recent swaling events on the moors.  All Byron Edge is burnt to a crisp, as is Soyland Moor, to Great Manshed Hill and as far north as Mount Pleasant Cottages.  A large portion of the northern slopes of Rishworth Moor is black too.  I shudder to think of the damage to upland species this must have caused.

Chris

3 comments:

David Sutcliffe said...

Whinchats can be tricky to find in recent years unfortunately but still good to get Stonechat. That area used to be very good for Tree Pipit too!
A very sad do with the moorland fires, strange how it all kicks off at weekend and Bank Holidays!!! At least today's rain will help settle things down a bit for a while we hope.

AndyC said...

I had a few Whinchats around Withens clough last year,...its amazing how quick the moor returns to its natural state and in some cases for the better..

ChrisJB said...

Yep, I've had some good tree pipit experiences up there too. I know what you mean about how the moors recover, however, it's the creatures that must've been burnt to a cinder in this particular episode that really troubled me. Plus one has to consider the loss of opportunities for ground nesters in this breeding season. Cheers for the positive news re' the whinchats. I'll go up again when the weather bucks up.