A bird that just five years ago seemed to have disappeared from land around a Saddleworth reservoir has now returned.
For several years, no ring ouzels have been spotted breeding at Dove Stone. But this spring and summer, delighted conservationists found two pairs nesting on the edges between Chew Valley and Raven Stone. Jon Bird, (nice name), one of the wardens working at Dove Stone, said: 'Ring ouzels are fantastic. Sometimes called mountain blackbirds, they like heather for nesting in, grassland with lots of worms to feed their hungry chicks, and berries to eat in late summer.
'Now the two pairs at Dove Stone have finished nesting, there's a chance to see them gorging on bilberries and rowan berries as they feed up in preparation for their amazing migration journey to North Africa, where they will spend the winter,' he added.
We are working with United Utilities to make Dove Stone an even better place for people, water and wildlife.
'Today, we carefully manage sheep grazing to encourage more heather and bilberry. Together with new woodlands, particularly with a range of berry-bearing trees, Dove Stone is once more a home fit for ring ouzels,' Ed added.
Ring ouzels look a lot like blackbirds, but have a white crescent across the chest and are slightly bigger.
Ed Lawrance, wildlife warden for United Utilities, said: 'Sadly, ring ouzel numbers have fallen alarmingly in Britain in the past two decades.
'Historically, the Dove Stone edges were the summer home of an important population. There were as many as nine pairs here in the early 1990s. We hope that work we have been doing in the last few years to restore the cloughs and moorlands above Dove Stone will encourage numbers to grow once again.'
Ring Ouzel
