Bugs
and birds  |
Hardcastle Crags is one of the best wildlife spots
in the Pennines for nature watching during the winter months. The locals call
the area 'little Switzerland' due to its Alpine style terrain. | | Geology and a
wealth of wildlife from birds to bugs. |
The whole
area is densely wooded especially the steep valley sides, with the landscape being
characterised by deep rocky ravines, falling streams and wooded areas.
Halfway
up the valley are the 'Crags' which are impressive stacks of millstone grit, a
'must see' for geology lovers. Ant army  Hardcastle
Crags is well known as the home of the Northern Hairy Wood Ant which lives in
huge anthills with nests as large as six feet tall.
Experts believe that
they could be 400 ant nests on the hillside, that's an average of half a million
inhabitants in each nest or 200 million individual ants! The nests extend
a couple of feet below ground with an extensive labyrinth of tunnels tended by
female ants. Late winter is a great time to see the ant colony at work because,
when the weather is right, they start to emerge from their hibernation. As
the winter sun breaks through, the ants start to make their first forays out to
make repairs to the outside of the nest.
The ants change their jobs as
they age with the young ones working in the internal chambers tending eggs whist
the older ants become foragers. It's hard to spot the hairy bits of the
ants with the naked eye unless you have a good telescope or magnifying glass. Under
a microscope the ants have hairy eyebrows, a feature which distinguishes them
from their southern Wood Ant cousins. These ants are highly defensive and
their primary weapon is pungent Formic Acid which they use to repel attackers. Some
birds such as Jays and Green Woodpeckers have, however, turned this to their advantage,
landing on the ants' nests and using the acid as a cleansing agent to get rid
of parasites. Winter woodland Late
winter is when some woodland plants start showing their faces again at Hardcastle
Crags. Amongst the species are Ramsoms or Wild Garlic, a common woodland
species - if you crunch the leaves and smell them, you can sniff the whiff of
garlic. In the Spring this plant has small white flowers and it extends
across the woodland floor, making it easy to spot. Also look out for the
woodland's 500 species of mosses and lichens - you may want to take along a field
guide to identify them. Bird song  During
the early morning the whole valley around Hardcastle Crags comes alive with the
sound of bird song.
February is a particularly good month to hear native
bird song because it's at this time of the year that British birds are at their
loudest. With no leaves on the trees and no summer migrants, your chances
of matching the bird to the song are excellent. Listen for the sound of
Great Tits, Blue Tits, Goldcrests, Robins, Blackbirds, and Thrushes - all typical
British woodland species. One of the best and most beautiful locations for
bird song is Gibson Mill, which sits in the valley, and dates back to the early
Industrial Revolution. Just look at the area around its bird feeder which
boasts a multitude of vocal talent including Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Bullfinches,
Great Tits, and Coal Tits. | 
