Living Uplands is pleased to have completed a first bird count on a Weardale moorland which is planned to become an annual event. Very welcome is the collaboration with Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) and the participation of a group of Young Volunteers who came briefed on birds they might see and great enthusiasm to be involved.
Thanks too to the local British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) representative who assisted in designing the bird count report sheets, based on its own format and easy for the young volunteers to use.
The bird count was held over two weekends, one in early May and one in early June. The combined data shows healthy populations of Black Grouse, Curlew, Lapwing and Meadow Pipit, along with Stock Dove and some Short-Eared Owls making a late appearance.
It is a promising start.
The cumulative data collected in the years ahead will tell us more about the way in which the upland habitat is able to sustain wild bird populations and better understand the ups and downs in numbers year to year. All of which should improve planning for how best to manage this exceptional landscape in the North Pennines.