Did you know that the North Yorkshire Moors is a true wildlife-lover’s dream?! From migrating moorland birds to magnificent minke whales, there’s a whole host of fascinating wildlife ready and waiting to be discovered…
Spectacular Sea Creatures in the North Yorkshire Moors
Many people aren’t aware of the vast species of whales, porpoise and dolphins that reside on the North Yorkshire coast. From June-November each year, dolphins and whales feed upon North Sea mackerel and herring, making for a truly spectacular sight. Common and grey seal colonies often reside beneath the cliffs along the coast – common seal pups can be seen in June and July, whilst grey seal pups thrive in November time.
The cliffs near Flamborough and Filey are home to the largest mainland seabird colony in Britain, with thousands of gannets, puffins, kittiwakes and razorbills nesting at the Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Cliff nature reserves during breeding season (April – August).
Woodland Wildlife in the North Yorkshire Moors
Did you know that the North Yorkshire Moors boasts more woodland than the New Forest?! Our woodlands are teeming with a fascinating array of flora and fauna. Discover primrose, bluebells, yellow archangel, cow-wheat, violets and wood anemone; and deer, badgers, foxes, stoats, weasels, shrews and wood mice.
Our favourite woodlands for observing wildlife include:
- Dalby Forest
- Garbutt Wood Nature Reserve
- May Beck
- Forge Valley Woods National Nature Reserve
- Newbridge Park
- Mulgrave Woods
- Guisborough Forest
- Wykeham Forest
- Broxa Forest
- Little Beck Wood Nature Reserve
If bird watching is more your cup of tea, head on over to the permanent Raptor Viewpoint in Wykeham Forest to witness hundreds of merlin, goshawks, common buzzards, honey buzzards, red kite, peregrine and sparrowhawks. There are also some fantastic bird hides at Scaling Dam Reservoir, Howsham Mill, Danby Lodge National Park Centre and the Sutton Bank National Park Centre.
Marvellous Moorland Flora & Fauna in the North Yorkshire Moors
The National Park’s moorland is dominated by heather, which flowers in late summertime. The moorland provides an invaluable habitat for many rare species, including merlin and golden plover birds, and sundrew and cranberry plants. Many other heathland plants can be found, including crowberry, wavy hair grass, sphagnum moss, common cotton grass and bog asphodel.
The slopes of the moorland are often covered in bracken, which attracts whincat (bird) and chickweed wintergreen (plant). Juniper, dwarf cornel, cloudberry, and bog rosemary plants can all be found in the uplands; as well as red grouse, short-eared owls, snipes, and skylarks.
June Wildlife Highlights in the North Yorkshire Moors
Summer is finally here, and the main breeding season has well and truly begun in the North Yorkshire Moors. Our wildlife highlights for visiting in June include:
- Spot our 21 orchid species including the common spotted orchid, pyramidal orchid, spotted-orchid, bee orchid and butterfly orchid – great place for this are the Wharram Quarry reserve and Hutton le Hole.
- Watch for nursing common seal mothers and their pups along the North Yorkshire Moors coastline.
- Visit Marine Drive in Scarborough to catch a glimpse of the famous peregrine falcons that nest on the cliffs each year.
- Take a stroll along the banks of the river Derwent, Rye, Dove and Esk to try and spot the otters – visitors to Nunnington Hall have had success spotting otters in the past.
- Discover our special road verges which will be teeming with meadow cranesbill, ox-eye daisy, field scabious, yarrow, common knapweed, and meadow vetchling.
- Visit the wonderful wildflower meadows at Rievaulx Terrace, the Yorkshire Arboretum or Little Beck Wood Nature Reserve.
- Head to Broxa or Wykeham Forest for a glimpse of the notorious nightjar.
July Wildlife Highlights in the North Yorkshire Moors
At the peak of summer, huge oak, ashes, and beech trees are in full leaf, providing all-important habitats to hundreds of insects and birds. Our wildlife highlights for visiting in July include:
- Look out for cotton-grass growing on the moor tops in wet, boggy areas – Blakey Ridge is a good place to start.
- Discover a fine example of an ancient Sessile Oak wood at Bridestones, Crosscliff and Blakey Topping.
- Admire the gnarled trunks of ancient veteran trees at Duncombe Park National Nature Reserve.
- The rich scent of lavender will now be filling the air at the county’s lavender farms – we highly recommend visiting Wolds Way Lavender if you’re interested.
- Take a stroll around the Goathland Tarn and admire the Common and Southern Hawkers, and Emerald, Common Blue and Large Red damselflies.
- See if you can spot a kingfisher dashing across the water at Guisborough Forest.
- For butterfly walks, visit Caukleys Bank near Nunnington to see ringlets, commas, meadow browns, common blues, small tortoiseshells, small pearl-bordered fritillarys, large heaths and dark green fritillarys.
August Wildlife Highlights in the North Yorkshire Moors
Inhale the scents of summer in the North Yorkshire Moors. In August, our moorlands burst into a beautiful purple haze as the heather flowers. Our wildlife highlights for visiting in August include:
- Take a trip to Fylingdales Moor to discover a wide array of merlin, otters, water voles, butterflies, moths, adders, and orchids; and of course, the magnificent purple heather.
- Bilberries will be making an appearance on the moorland, which can be picked and cooked to make bilberry tarts – delicious!
- See if you can spot the day-flying moths and butterflies feeding on the nectar-rich flowers on the moorland heather.
- Porpoise, dolphins, and seals can all be spotted along the North Yorkshire coastline, especially from the tops of the cliffs. You may even get a glimpse of the Great Skua and Arctic Skua as they migrate back to Africa for the winter.
There are many wildlife events happening in the North Yorkshire Moors throughout the year
