Little Ringed Plover - (Source, Steve Leo Evans, Flickr)

Darren Shepherd of Nethercliffe Road, is a keen ornithologist, and has left this fascinating comment on the ecology page, which deserves greater prominence.

“I would like to add a few more birds to the list of those seen in the Park. The rarest of the bunch, in the past few years, has been the successful breeding of Little Ringed Plover on the building site.”  This is a wading bird, that likes gravel pits and river shingle beds.  “Another wading bird that I suspect has bred in the area is the Oystercatcher” a bird that is regularly found on the coast but has started to move inland.  “Another regular bird is the Redshank“, which likes damp habitats such as salt marshes and flood meadows.  The sightings of these birds would link in perfectly with the fact that the lower slope of Clapper Brow and Great Brow have many natural springs, and the land is quite boggy – the Kel of Kelcliffe, means spring.  When Crompton Parkinsons were in residence they controlled this water flow as best they could, but over the years nature has reasserted itself. Continue reading →