NADDLE FOREST
Take a fresh look at a changing landscape
This management expansion of the Haweswater reserve for the RSPB has certainly given the area something to think about, with rewilding, new stocking numbers and a potential for returning species of birds and mammals as well.
WHERE TO WATCH
1 After parking on the side of the minor road to Haweswater, you are surrounded by trees and you can start looking for tit flocks moving through in winter, with the chance of Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Long-tailed Tit. Check the fields as you walk up towards Naddle Farm with the chance of deer like Roe and Red feeding in the clear areas.
2 Naddle Farm is now rented from United Utilities by the RSPB, and 3,000 sheep have been reduced to 300, with
Belted Galloway cattle added for grazing some of the meadows. The classic birds around the farm are Pied Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Mistle Thrush. A short circular walk can be done from here dropping back to the road through mixed woodland. You can pay to use a private hide where a maximum of nine Red Squirrels have been counted.
3 A track takes you higher up the Naddle Valley, with a mixture of trees including some amazing oaks and alder. New planting is adding to areas of Hawthorn, where you should look out for Whinchats and Tree Pipits in summer. An amazing 60 pairs of Pied Flycatchers are found, mainly in natural holes around the forest, with around 50 pairs of Redstarts to listen out for singing from the tops of the trees.
4 As the track disappears you are left in open moorland with a mixture of heather, rushes and open ground. There are a mixture of raptors hunting such as Buzzard, Merlin, Sparrowhawk and Goshawk. White-tailed Eagles have passed through the area from the Isle of Wight reintroduction and Hen Harriers can winter up here. There is a public track which drops back down to the road.
5 Walking back via the road, you can have stunning views across the water and to the far hills. Woodland follows you most of the way back to your car. Listen out for species you may have missed like Green Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher and a mixture of finches, especially Lesser Redpoll. The water itself is very deep here and a winter flock of gulls can have up to 2,000 Common Gulls with a handful of Herring Gulls. Common Scoter have dropped in on migration.