Birds and animals at Hardcastle Crags

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A woodcock hen with three chicks on the road at Hardcastle Crags

One of my best days at the crags was coming across a Woodcock and three chicks in the road. 

The diverse habitat means many birds an animals thrive in the valley and on the surrounding pasture and moorland.  The more open nature of the woodland ensure that there is plenty of forest margins for butterfly, moths and birds.

I consider myself privileged to have seen the birds and wildlife that I have over the years.

Below: A tree creeper in its nest.

The darker valley bottom coupled with the damp make Hardcastle Crags an excellent site for mushrooms as well.

Below: The Crags is well known for the huge numbers of Northern hairy wood ant nests. These in turn bring the green woodpeckers.

There are deer in the woods but you will need to be around early in the mornings to see them.

The woods and mill buildings are full of bats and swallows nest in the boiler room.

Below: A cuckoo higher up the valley.

Below: A list of wildlife sightings at the crags.

A list of birds that you could see at Hardcastle Crags in Yorkshire:

  • Blackbird
  • Blue Tit
  • Common Redstart
  • Cuckoo
  • Bullfinch
  • Buzzard
  • Chaffinch
  • Coal Tit
  • Woodcock
  • Common Gull
  • Common Kestrel
  • Common Redshank
  • Curlew
  • Dunnock
  • Fieldfare
  • Goldfinch
  • Green Woodpecker
  • Grey Heron
  • Grey Wagtail
  • Great Spotted Woodpecker
  • Greenfinch
  • House Sparrow
  • Jay
  • Kingfisher
  • Lapwing
  • Linnet
  • Magpie
  • Mistle Thrush
  • Moorhen
  • Nuthatch
  • Pied Flycatcher
  • Robin
  • Song Thrush
  • Sparrowhawk
  • Starling
  • Swallow
  • Swift
  • Tree Creeper
  • Tree Sparrow
  • Twite
  • Wren

This is just a small selection of the birds that you could see at Hardcastle Crags.

Below: A woodpecker drumming in Spring. Please excuse the spaniel panting in the background.

The exact species that you see will depend on the time of year and the weather conditions.