What are we protecting?
Otters, Kingfishers, roe deer, badgers, hares, rabbits, heron, mallard and mandarin ducks, barn owls, tawny owls, little owls, Woodpeckers – 80 species of bird and 30 different kinds of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
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Otters: Back from the brink of extinction
A favourite early morning pastime is watching the Otters from the banks of the River Nidd. After a dramatic reduction of this much loved creature in the 1950s-1970s due mainly to the pesticides draining into rivers, we now have more fish and a healthy population of these delightful creatures.
Roe Deer :Our most common native deer.
Can be seen all year round in the Nidd Gorge Country Park area, they grown to about 60-75cm (shoulder height) and are brownish in colour (greyer in winter, turning more red in the summer months), they have short antlers, no tail and easily identified by their white rump. They are often seen in groups during the winter, but you often find solitary deer in summer. The young are born in May or June, and will leave young hiding in the long grass or in an arable crop during the day. If you have a dog, please make sure it is always under control, as most injuries and deaths are caused by them running from dogs.
Badgers : The UK’s biggest land predator
Badgers feed on small mammals, the eggs of ground nesting birds, earthworms, fruit, roots and bulbs. Cubs are born early in the year, but stay underground in the sett, emerging in April or May. They are as common as foxes, but because they tend to be nocturnal are seen less often.
Red Fox :
Feeds on small mammals, birds, frogs, earthworms, carrion, as well as berries and fruit. Has an average life span of only 2-3 years.
Rabbit :
The Nidd Gorge rabbits can trace their ancestry back to the Normans, who introduced them to this country. Well-known as prolific breeders, the females produce a litter of between 3-7 young every month during the breeding season. They eat grasses, cereal, roots and tree bark, and are prey for foxes, buzzards and stoats.
Brown Hare : Protected – Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.
Introduced, even earlier, by the Romans (or maybe before this), the golden brown hare is larger than the rabbit and is easily identified by its long black tipped ears and longer legs.
Bats : A visit to the Nidd Gorge at dusk can provide a ‘bat fest’
Daubenton’s Bat – A small to medium size bat with a fluffy brownish fur, a silver grey underbelly and a pink face. They are sometimes called the ‘Water Bat’. There roost underneath the Viaduct and can be seen flying low over the river foraging for insects over the surface of the water, picking them up with it’s feet and tail. (Protected species).
Common Pipistrelle – Our smallest and most common bat. It is so small, it can fit into a matchbox! Despite its size, it can easily eat 3,000 insects a night – look for it flitting across the fields as it chases its prey. (Protected species)
Whiskered Bat – Small and shaggy furred, they feed along hedgerows and woodland edge. (protected species)
If you’re at all interested in fungi, this is the place to come — 91 different species have been identified in the gorge, including puffballs, cup fungi, jelly and bracket fungi.
