Let's finish the week with some good news
Birds of prey at record high on North York Moors estate - The Moorland Association
Bird of prey sightings on a North York Moors estate have risen to record levels.
Spaunton Estate, which carries out detailed species survey work, has reported an increase of 201 per cent in bird of prey sightings over five years from 711 in 2018 to 2,144 in 2022.
There were notable successes for many of our most loved birds of prey, including Merlin, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel, underlining a clear positive trend. Buzzard are the most numerous species, with 862 recorded last year.
George Winn Darley, owner of Spaunton Estate, said: “The significant increase in birds of prey at Spaunton mirrors the soaring numbers across Yorkshire and indeed the north of England. Visitors love seeing them in the skies above and we are delighted that even exceptionally rare birds such as Hen Harrier and Osprey are now seen. Indeed, the number of Hen Harriers is at its highest for a century in England. The efforts made by gamekeepers, landowners and partner organisations have worked wonders for many of these rare species, despite the increasing number of visitors who come to enjoy the moors. This is an absolute conservation success story.”
Kestrel numbers have continued their trend of recovery from around 150 sightings in 2018 to 567 sightings in 2022 (a 285 per cent increase). Kestrel are breeding successfully in several locations on the estate each year.
Red Kite have shown a consistent increase from only two sightings five years ago; to 11 in 2019; to 50 in 2020; to 84 in 2021 and 179 in the last year. They are now well established and breeding nearby.
The UK’s smallest bird of prey, the Merlin, remains nationally very rare but sightings have increased from 29 to 98 over the past five years at Spaunton (an increase of 237 per cent).
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Posted On: 23/06/2023