Читать книгу The Lune Valley and Howgills. 40 scenic fell, river and woodland walks онлайн

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A hare in Bretherdale (Walk 8)

Above all, birds can be seen wherever you go, and a field guide is an indispensable companion. Beside the river, heron, oystercatcher, sandmartin, goosandar and ducks are all common, but keep a look out as well for the kingfisher. Wander into the wooded tributary valleys to find warblers, flycatchers and woodpeckers, with dippers and wagtails flitting around the streams. Barn owls, too, roam the area, their main food being small mammals such as voles. The moors are important nesting sites for lapwing, curlew and golden plover, and upon the Bowland hills can be found the merlin, Britain’s smallest falcon, and the hen harrier, which the AONB has adopted for its logo. Many species come to the estuary to feed and, dependent upon the tide, you may well see flocks of waders, geese and swans.

Even at the edge of Lancaster, there is plenty of bird life to be seen by the river (Walk 35)

Grazing and agriculture have displaced the flower meadows that would once have spilled across the valley, but hedgerows and an abundance of small natural woodlands in the many deep side-branches mean that the area remains rich in wildflowers. Oak, ash, hazel, alder, holly and hawthorn provide cover for a wide range of flowers, with carpets of snowdrops, ransoms and bluebells as well as many other species being commonly found. Flowers are at their best in spring and early summer, but late summer is the time to appreciate the full glory of the moors, when the heather is in flower. Autumn brings the rich colour of turning leaves, but is also the time when the mysterious world of fungi comes into its own.