#moors

Day 2879, 2 May 2026

On the edge of the Lake District National Park

"The British equivalent of the Audubon Society has just announced that what was already England’s largest bird reserve will be increased by 33% after a recent land purchase.

Described as a place that “swarms” with life, the Geltsdale Reserve in the North Pennines range of Cumbria, northern England, will now cover 13,590 acres of moorland, meadows, blanket bog, and woodland.

Owned and operated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Geltsdale is one of the last places in Britain where one can see the hen harrier in its natural habitat. Birds of every description and conservation status inhabit the reserve, and it’s also a UNESCO Geopark for its unique geological formations.

“This is going to be a reserve on a different scale from many of our other sites in England,” said Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive.

For birdwatchers reading, Geltsdale abounds in black grouse, redshank, nightjar, snipe, whinchat, curlews, ospreys, short-eared owls, and lapwings, dispersed across a vertical rise of 650 meters from an achingly green valley bottom up stately moorland and pasture at an elevation similar to the lower-peaks of the Appalachian range.

“Geltsdale is now the biggest in England,” said Speight. “And that size makes such a difference. When you walk through the reserve during breeding season, it is incredible. The place just swarms with birdlife.”...

Additionally, a lot of age-old practices such as heather burning and moorland draining have been halted to ensure the area can get back to its absolute natural best."