Bronte Country 2023
Top WIthens
January
The year of 2023 started well. We had some beautiful sunrises, clear crisp days. The kind of days that offer promises of spring, warmer climes and brighter days. As is the case for many I find winter tough going. The dark, cold, wet days. Not going to lie, they do get me down. I know I talk a lot about how much of a positive impact being out in the fresh air, submersed in nature, has on my mental health and overall well being. It’s never more evident than when I go through periods where I can’t get out. I start to feel my mood drop. I become agitated, unable to concentrate or focus. The most basic of tasks start to feel overwhelming. I become unsociable. I withdraw. So to transition into a sunny January always fills me with hope. And those first two to three weeks of this year certainly did have a sense of spring in the air. Don’t get me wrong we had plenty of rain, especially the first 10 days or so, but the rain showes were interdispered with lots of sunshine which always makes it the more bearable.
Top WIthens
We did have some stunning sunrises at the beginning of the year. I absolutely love this landscape in first light. A slight dusting of frost offering a contrast against the browns and beiges of the sedges and rushes. We also had a little snow. Not massive amounts and within a few days it was all melted. It is amazing a different the landscape looks with snow on the ground. Stark and desolate. I try to imagine what it must have been liked living and working in such remote barren landscapes.
February
We had the first signs of spring across Bronte Country early on in the month. A mixed bag weather wise from stunning sunrises and sunshiny days to gale force winds and a hammering of rain. A noticeable rise in temperature too, my big coat put away for another year.
The Arrival of the Ground Nesting Birds
The oyster catchers arrived mid month. We only have a few pairs that come to Haworth and I do love to see them. The colour of their eyes and beaks are stunning. Storm Otto hit the NE of England around the 17th of February delaying the arrival of the lapwings and curlews this season. I spotted my first curlew just a couple of days after the storm on the 19th Feb with many more curlews and the lapwings arriving a couple of days later on the 21st of Feb. The weather remained pretty turbulent for the rest of the month so whilst I knew my feathered friends were around I didn’t see or hear too much from them as they no doubt hunkered down bracing the elements.
March
March is the month when these moorlands of Haworth and Stanbury truly come alive with the sights and sounds of spring and this year is no exception. The ground nesting birds are all busy pairing up, the male curlews busy with their calling and paragliding displays as they sauntter through the skies. The lapwings with their impressive displays as they dance through the air. There is a cacophony of bird song most mornings. Crows, grouse, wrens, blackbirds, mistle thrush, oyster catchers, lapwings, curlews, to name but a few.
One morning I spotted a V formation of geese flying over Top Withens just as a barn owl was casually sauntering by above my head. Both would have made great photos. Sometimes it’s not about the shots. Sometimes it is just about being present. That same morning I spot something moving across the path in front of me, so quick I almost missed it, most definitely a stoat. And as I sit drinking my coffee I notice something moving on the moors opposite me, a stag with 5 deer. It’s been a while and is always nice to see them. That morning will always stay with me, sitting and watching the comings and goings of the wildlife.
The remainder of the ground nesters also arrive through the month of March. Meadow Pipits, Wheatears, Snipes and Golden Plovers all arriving throughout the course of the month.
April
Spring is well underway
By the time April arrives spring is well underway with the lambs born early on in the month, the landscape changing to vibrant greens as the bilberry starts to come to life. I just love being up on the moors this time of year with the evocative call of the curlews, the lapwings darting here and there, the constant chirping of the skylarks and the mistle thrush sat atop of the trees singing away.
I’ve been spotting quite a lot of hares about throughout the month and wonder why I have never noticed them before.
There are a couple of cows up on the moors, they have been there since well before Christmas of last year. There’s also lots of Cheviots up in the last farmers field before you step out onto the moorlands. These girls are incredibly cute and are not bothered by my presence at all, perhaps they are just used to me being around.
May
The arrival of the chicks
As we transition into May all of the ground nesting birds are busy rearing their chicks. There are plenty of chicks about, goslings, grouse, hen pheasants, lapwings, curlews. It’s such a pleasure to see these small bundles of joy, their parents never too far away keeping an eye on them.
The curlews call is always audible, like an old folks song playing in the background. The lapwings always put a smile on my face as they dart around the skies with their electronic call.
I have had the privilege of sharing the moors with a barn owl most mornings throughout the month. Mesmerising to watch such a graceful bird as it sweeps across the moorland in search of food.
May was a month of new sightings. There is a pair of red legged partridge up on the moors I haven’t seen for a couple of years until this month. The cuckoo arrived early on in the month. I’m forever hopeful that one day I will get a sighting. In all my years of walking these moorlands I don’t think I have ever seen it. I heard a snipe also, another elusive bird that I finally managed to get a photo of which I was super pleased about. And finally for the season’s arrivals I’ve spotted a few swallows darting through the skies. Not many, I think more must be on their way but the first arrivals are here.
The lambs are an absolute joy to watch, little bundles of joy bouncing around. The two cows that have been up on the moors for the past 6 months or so were moved towards the end of May. I will miss them being around. I always stopped to say hello and they loved to pose for a photo.
June
A hot start and a rainy end
The hot weather we were seeing throughout May continued through the first few weeks of June. The moorlands of Bronte Country really start to come alive during June with the bright vibrant green of the bilberry bringing the moors to life, the bracken once again starting to shoot up, it will reach head height in places. Patches of cotton grass swaying in the breeze, a plant that thrives in wet conditions, a good indicator of a healthy moor.
I’ve been spotting a deer out throughout the month and I’ve also had the privilege of spotting a little owl. It’s always a privilege to be able to sit and watch the wildlife going about their business unaware of my presence, a tiny glimpse into their world. One of my favourite things to do is to hunker down with a brew somewhere, in a quiet corner and just be present, in the moment, watching the wildlife going about its business.
As I was out walking this morning listening to the call of the curlews, watching the lapwings darting about, the skylarks filling the air with their song, the drumming of the snipe, the loud shrill of a buzzard circling up above, the sun beaming down on my face, a gentle breeze taking the heat out of the air and that air oh so fresh and clean, I thought to myself, by eck lass it doesn’t get much better than this girl.
In the last week or so of June we had rain. Lots and lots of rain.
July
The ground nesters start to depart
It’s been a busy old month up ont moors this past month with the chicks all grown up and fledged. I’m always filled with a melancholic sadness as our ground nesting visitors start to depart back to their wintering sites.
I absolutely love walking amongst them throughout the spring months, the soulful call of the curlews, the lapwings darting around the skies, the drumming of the snipe as they fly high above, the lonely call of the golden plover high up on the moors.
I’m sure them leaving must be a gradual departure over the course of a few weeks that I don’t really notice until they are all gone. A couple of weeks ago I was out on my usual morning walk and the distinct lack of all of the activity was audible. The silence was so loud. And I remember that feeling of sadness that I always get when I realise they have all departed. I plodded on with a heavy heart. I got to the last field before heading out to the moors and there they were, a curlew, a lapwing and an oyster catcher. Just the one of each. It made me smile. Until next year my feathered friends.
August
Mixed Weather
A mixed bag of weather throughout the month of August from bright sunshine and blue skies to overcast misty mood to full on rain. Nothing like the heatwaves of 2022. Of course life up on the moors continues no matter the weather and with the ground nesters long gone I am left with the grouse and pheasants for company. That said the owls have been very active throughout the month of August as has the kestrel and I will often spot the female kestrel sat on the building of Top Withens surveying her surroundings.
The farmers seem very busy moving cattle and sheep around. Lots of sheep all sheared and looking trim. The lambs are still here though I feel like they will all be gone in a week or so. There has been quite a few calves arrive.
The grasses are at their peak at the moment and really are beautiful when backlit by the sun gently swaying in the wind. The heather is starting to turn, as is the bracken offering some contrast across the landscape with the rustic browns as we start to transition into a new season.
September
A transitioning of the seasons
Well hasn’t there been a noticeable drop in temperature this past week. A transitioning of seasons. Traces of the summer heather and brackens dying back as we transition into autumn. The bilberries losing their vibrancy as the landscape takes on the autumnal rustic browns and burnt orange hues.
The lambs and ewes have now all been separated. The ewes will get to spend a month or so out on the moors, left to their own devices, before the tups arrive again.
Plenty of little calves about and the Stanbury bull is still out with the girls, though it won’t be long until he and the cows are moved back into the barns.