The heather moor is one of the last strongholds of ground-nesting birds. Listen for curlew in spring, look for golden plover on the high plateau and lapwing in the in-bye fields. Merlin, Britain's smallest falcon, hunts over the heather. Red grouse are everywhere. Adders bask on sunny banks in spring and are best admired from a distance.
In the dales and woods
Roe deer, badgers and, in the Esk Valley, otters on the river. Dippers bob on the stones of every beck. The old oak woods of Dovedale Griff and the Bridestones hold pied flycatchers and wood warblers in summer.
On the coast
Grey seals haul out below Ravenscar all year and pup in autumn. Kittiwakes, fulmars and cormorants nest on the cliffs. Porpoises and, increasingly, dolphins and minke whales pass Whitby in late summer; boat trips run from the harbour.
Where to go
- The Moors Centre at Danby has a bird hide and wildlife garden
- Sutton Bank has a bird feeding station outside the centre
- Cropton Forest and Dalby Forest for nightjars on summer evenings
- Ravenscar for the seals, from the cliff path only
