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Birdwatching walks in the Yorkshire Dales

by Brendan Threlfall

£7.95

The Yorkshire Dales is an enchantingly beautiful area in the heart of northern England. It is a land of limestone pavements and scars, fast-flowing rivers and dramatic waterfalls, lonely heather moors and picturesque villages and valleys. But as well as its wonderful landscapes, the Dales is also a special place for many bird species, and these twin assets are combined in this excellent new book. Each of these well designed walks is set in gorgeous countryside where there is also every chance of seeing some of the birds which abounds in the area. Both novice and experienced birders can enjoy the dippers at Aysgarth, or great spotted woodpeckers in Grass Woods, as well as the rarer black grouse, wood warbler, pied flycatcher and nightjar, to name but a few.

With helpful guide maps, interesting bird and habitat information, travel hints and a bird reference section, Birdwatching walks in the Yorkshire Dales should ensure that walkers of all abilities really can get the best out of this stunning National Park and its rich and varied bird population.

Extensive review in Birdguide:

It’s fair to say that birders don’t head for the Yorkshire Dales with the same anticipation they might have when setting off for Speyside or North Norfolk. The absolutely guaranteed-to-see headline species are, generally speaking, not as drool-inducing as other parts of the UK mainland, even though there is ample compensation to be had in enjoyment of the delectable limestone scenery.

At least, that was my starting point when I picked up this book. I’ve spent a large part of my adult life on the fringes of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and I’ve always thought that the area was under-appreciated by birders. I’ve known where to go to find the best birding there. If I want to see Black Grouse then I know I’m unlikely to find a lek south of Wensleydale. Ring Ouzels can pop up anywhere but I should really get my petrol money back if I fail to find one in Arkengarthdale. Merlins and Goshawks, too, are safe ticks in certain localised areas.

If I have needed guidance to find other birds, then I’ve usually got out John R. Mather’s contribution to the excellent Helm regional guides, Where to Watch Birds in Yorkshire, which deals with the UK’s largest county in a site-by-site format.

But this excellent new addition to the bookshelves of Yorkshire birders extends that concept by turning the sites into well-designed walks for people of all levels of fitness and ability. There are 30 walks in all, ranging from a 2 km stroll to see passage waders at Hellifield Flash, just off the main A65 Skipton-Kendal road, to the more expedition-like 19-km trek around the summit of Ingleborough in search of Dotterel.

I’ve hunted for Dotterel there several times over the last 20 years and never been successful, so I think the way to use this book is to treat it as a walking guide for birders, but never as a birding guide for birders. Chances are you’ll be disappointed if you expect to see some of the birds listed in this book in the same way you expect to see features of historical interest that are the staple landmarks of footpath guides. Birds are not so predictable, thank goodness.

I know many of these walks in the Yorkshire Dales, and can say that the author has certainly picked the best locations. Halton Gill, which lies at the top of Littondale?—?and is about as remote as it gets in the National Park?—?is given the brilliant description of “The Three Wagtails” walk, and it’s one of the few places I know where I can confidently expect to see Yellow Wagtails in spring and summer. Similarly, whenever I think of Strid Woods at Bolton Abbey in springtime I instantly remember the long spinning-coin trills of Wood Warblers. The sound is as much a part of those woods as the rushing noise made by the River Wharfe, so the subtitle for this walk is appropriately “Wood Warblers.”

Most of the other walks in this book have their own keynote species. Grimwith Reservoir is noted for Short-eared Owls; Swaledale around the village of Reeth is a safe bet for Spotted and Pied Flycatchers; and you must consider yourself seriously cursed if you don’t see any Red Kites in the Wharfe Valley between Bolton and Barden Bridges. Likewise, it is impossible to think of Malham Cove in the nesting season without the RSPB’s annual Peregrine Watch.

I suspect that this book is aimed at walkers who have a fairly casual interest in birdwatching. And since it is likely to be taken on walks rather than left at home?—?despite being larger and heavier than your usual footpath guide?—?the inclusion of superb colour photographs showing the 58 species most likely to be encountered will be extremely useful for a lot of readers.

Many Yorkshire and North Lancashire birders who know the Dales will also find this book a real gem. If they want to find Crossbills, then one walk will lead them more or less right to the spot. Likewise, it’ll tell them the best lekking viewpoints, the best places for Nightjars, and even where to find one of the new “star” Dales birds?—?the Little Ringed Plover.

As for that elusive Dotterel…this year I’ll follow the precise route described in Brendan Threlfall’s fine book, only this time with a little more hope in my heart.

Roger Ratcliffe

Binding:

softback

ISBN:

978-1-874181-53-8

Pages:

192

Illustrations:

maps and colour illustrations

Date of Publication:

23 October 2008

Dimensions:

234 × 156 mm