We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer. Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.45 pm and the meeting will start at 8 pm. You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.
Andy has been photographing wildlife for over 30 years specialising in British subjects, he has had a life long interest in natural history and his subject knowledge will come across in the presentation. His work has been extensively published in books and magazines and is marketed with Nature Picture Library.
The talk “The Natural History of Upper Teesdale” is about a place he has visited on many occasions over a 20 year period. Upper Teesdale is an area of outstanding natural beauty and is primarily upland farms and hay meadows surrounding managed grouse moors, the ancient hay meadows are the best examples in Europe with a rich flora unequalled anywhere in the UK. The talk covers the wildlife of the dale mammals, insects and birds as well as the habitat of the area. Birds including all the upland species of wader as well as several small mountain and moorland birds will be shown several including their nests. Andy covers the management of the land for the purposes of the driven grouse shoot, a contentious area but he will promote the often unpublished benefits of predator control and moorland management on ground nesting birds.