These photos are an excellent example of the variety of birds that are seen and living on our moors that are managed for Grouse shooting. Charlie one of the gamekeepers on Bransdale estate invited his friend and photographer Jonathan McGee to bring his camera and have a walk around the moor with him while he was checking his traps (for stoats). The variety of birds captured in just the 1 hour while they were out is brilliant, just imagine if they’d been walking on the moor all day!
The following photos show 8 different bird species and they can be split into 3 categories.
Red Status (Highest Conservation Priority) :
Lapwing and chicks
Curlew
Amber Status (Species with unfavourable Conservation status) :
Snipe Meadow Pipit
Greylag Geese Oyster Catcher (great photo taken through a gap in the wall)
Green Status (species that occur regularly) :
Wheater Golden Plover (breeding pair)
