North York Moors wildfire hits merlin nesting sites
Britain's smallest falcon, the merlin, is making its way back to the coastal pastures and salt marshes where it willl spend the winter joined by other merlins from Iceland.
It is a beautiful bird, the male, only slightly larger than a blackbird, with slate blue upperparts and streaky red below. The female is slightly larger dark brown above and paler below,
For the next few weeks the merlin shares the skies with its close relative the hobby, a summer visitor which is feeding up now in preparation for a long journey to Africa.
Both feed on small birds but while the hobby dashes through the sky in pursuit of a young house martin or dragonfly, the merlin twists and turns sharply as it charades a pipit, goldfinch or linnet.
Merlins spend the summer on the grouse moors, nesting on the ground among deep heather beds.
In this they differ from Scandinavian merlinds which nest in trees, old crows' nests or rocky crags.
British merlins are most particular about their nest sites, returning to these year after year, which is why they are highly vulnerable to fires such as the one on Langdale Moor, North Yorkshire.
THe moor is one of four designated Special Protection Aeas with stands of heather at least ten years old left for the merlins. to nest in.
These have been destroyed in the fire and the merlin's strong attachment to these sites will be a barrier to adapting to such drastic changes in habitat.
The merlin is already Red listed as a bird of maximum conservation concern and rising temperatures caused by climate change will continue to pose a threat. Some predictions show the merlin disappearing from much of the UK by the end of the century apart from a small population in the Scottish Highlands.
The last week has seen a remarkable influx of Glossy ibis into the British Isles with flocks of 60 plus in some places and much smaller numbers in Yorkshire. Such arrivals of birds from southern Europe are a strong indication of global warming .- other species now breeding here include spoonbills and cattle egrets.
A scheme to reintroduce corncrakes to the Lower Derwent Valley nature reserve is well underway with 62 chicks already released and another 13 in the coming weeks. They are released in broods/clutches and hopefully the results, singing male corncrakes in the valley or elsewhere in yorkshire will be heard next spring.