Purple patch for the moors

Spaunton Moor is thriving and accessible to all, thanks to the conservation efforts of George Winn Darley and his team

- Joe Dimbleby

George Winn Darley owns and manages Spaunton Moor in the North York Moors National Park, where grouse management has preserved rare habitat and wildlife for generations.

The moor is a must-visit for birdwatchers with red-listed ring ouzels among the many attractions. They arrive from Africa in April and nest along the old railway line, which runs through the estate. Senior keeper George Thompson says: ‘We count them every year and the chap who does it has found up to 16 breeding pairs in close proximity. Incredibly, he can tell which part of the moors the birds are from by their song. Bransdale ouzels have a different call to those from Rosedale.’

Winn Darley is constantly looking for ways to improve habitat and encourage wildlife. He recently undertook a project with the National Park Authority to plant stands of rowan trees so the ring ouzels can stock up on the rich berries before their migration south. As ground nesting birds, they are vulnerable to predation, so the predator control carried out by keepers Anthony Orr and Tom Wilkinson is key to their survival. So too is the management of the heather and other moorland plants. Since Winn Darley took on the estate in 1986, 2,500 acres of bracken have been cleared and swathes of old rank heather rejuvenated through a programme of managed burning.

Current heather burning technique is very different to how it was in the 1970s when it fell to one man to carry out about 50 large fires per year. These days the keepering team aims for 500 smaller burns of ½–1 acre within the permitted burning season, from October to April. There are many advantages to burning smaller areas including much more varied habitat for grouse and a host of other wildlife.