Moorlands
| Location: Approximately one
third of the AONB is moorland. Some of the best for bird watching
are around Leighton Reservoir, approximately five miles west of
Masham on the road through Fearby/Healey towards
Lofthouse. Another good site is the moorland
around the village of Greenhow which is three miles west of Pateley
Bridge on the B6265. Finally on Dallowgill
moor, four miles north of Pateley Bridge on the
road to Kirkby Malzeard there are plenty of opportunities to watch
waders displaying during the breeding season.
Many of these areas are covered by the right of access to open
country and can be explored on foot. Please note that they
sensitive to disturbance however. See the 'Open Access' section of this website
for further details.
The AONB's moorlands are of international importance for their
blanket bog and heather moorland communities, and for their
breeding bird populations, including merlin, golden plover, snipe,
curlew, redshank, short-eared owl and peregrine. They form parts of
the North Pennines Special Protection Area. There are records of
Dottrel on the highest moorland plateaux and alongside moorland
gills increasingly rare species like ring ouzel are frequent summer
visitors. Other birds common during the breeding season include
skylark and meadow pipit whose calls, together with those of waders
like snipe, curlew, lapwing and redshank, make a fine spring day in
the AONB unforgettable.
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