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Nature
Latest news, advice and opinion concerning nature and wildlife on UK moorland.
Jun 7, 20241 min read
Osprey chicks hatch at Bolton Estate
The Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group and Bolton Estate report that the Osprey at Bolton have had a successful hatching. When the Osprey...
May 30, 20242 min read
Record high for curlew on Wensleydale Estate
The Bolton Estate in Wensleydale is celebrating a record number of nesting Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) this year, with an...
May 15, 20241 min read
Predation from all directions
The following letter from Stephen Ramsden was published in Farmers Guardian this week. 14 May 2024 Predation from all directions The...
May 10, 20242 min read
Curlew Celebrations on the Moors
A series of events have taken place in the uplands celebrating the curlew, to coincide with World Curlew Day on 21 April. In the North...
Apr 22, 20242 min read
World Curlew Day celebrations on North York Moors
The Moorland Association supported celebrations to mark World Curlew Day this weekend in the North York Moors, with internationally...
Apr 11, 20244 min read
Drones could help cut cost of peatland restoration
A pioneering research project is testing whether drones could cut the cost of peatland restoration in Yorkshire. Swinton Estate, a member...
Apr 3, 20242 min read
We know how to protect our much-loved ground-nesting birds – just let us get on with it!
What does ‘boosting biodiversity’ actually mean? The question is important because it underpins government policy, funding, regulation...
Mar 20, 20241 min read
Time to thank those who have protected some of the rarest habitat on the planet
The following letter from Andrew Gilruth was sent to the Telegraph in response to an article calling for grouse shooting and farming to...
Mar 19, 20241 min read
Private landowners make better Conservationists
In response to the excellent article by Matt Ridley in the current issue of The Spectator, the following letter was sent to the magazine...
Feb 5, 20242 min read
Hidden treasures of moorland in the winter
The moors of Yorkshire are known and loved for their abundance of heather in the summer, but there are a wealth of other natural species...
Oct 9, 20233 min read
North Pennines a stronghold for Britain's smallest bird of prey, the merlin
The North Pennines support a nationally significant population of merlin and the long-term trend is stable, bucking the trend of decline...
Jun 22, 20232 min read
Birds of prey at record high on North York Moors estate
Bird of prey sightings on a North York Moors estate have risen to record levels. Spaunton Estate, which carries out detailed species...
May 12, 20233 min read
Largest ever curlew conservation project begins in Yorkshire Dales
The largest translocation of curlew eggs ever undertaken begins next week, with 120 eggs due to be transported from the Yorkshire Dales...
Apr 21, 20232 min read
Curlew four times as likely to fledge chicks successfully on a grouse moor
World Curlew Day – is an opportunity to celebrate the much-loved curlew. The Moorland Association welcomes new research which shows that...
Feb 17, 20233 min read
Peak District farmers join forces for conservation
A group of hill farmers has created a pioneering environmental cooperative to protect against the effects of climate change and boost...
Feb 15, 20233 min read
Peatland restoration success story praised by Defra
A huge peatland restoration project at Howesyke Farm in the Yorkshire Dales has been praised as an example of how to achieve...
Sep 8, 20222 min read
Gamekeepers work in partnership with bird experts for merlin conservation
The Moorland Association is highlighting game keepers’ year-round conservation efforts for a wide variety of moorland species. Now the...
Jun 9, 20225 min read
Trio of conservation awards for Moorland Association estates
Three Moorland Association estates – Swinton, Egton and Coverhead – have won prestigious ‘Life on Land’ awards for their conservation...
Jun 6, 20222 min read
Three in a row for birds of prey at Spaunton
Spaunton Estate in the North York Moors has revealed its third consecutive year of increased bird of prey sightings. Spaunton is renowned...
May 3, 20222 min read
BBC’s Walking with Paul Merson filmed at Spaunton Estate
<p>The BBC Series Walking With… has been filmed at Spaunton Estate in the North York Moors, with football legend Paul Merson exploring the beauty of the scenery and talking candidly about his life and career as a much-loved Arsenal, Middlesbrough and England player. George Winn-Darley, owner of Spaunton Estate, said: “The scenery and wildlife of […]</p>
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