To celebrate #NationalMammalWeek , our Priority Species of the Month for April is the Natterer's Bat 🦇

Natterer's are one of 9 species of bat that have been recorded in the YDNP. Find out more about bats in the Park here:
yorkshiredales.org.uk/about/wildlife…

📸 Yorkshire Dales Bat Project

Orange-tips are one of our earliest butterflies that has not overwintered as an adult, and may now be seen on the wing.

Report sightings on the Butterfly Conservation Yorkshire website or the iRecord Butterflies App:
yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk/sightings/repo…

The Dry Rigg Quarry Natural Environment fund is available to support any work that enhances the natural environment in any of the qualifying Parishes in and around Upper Ribblesdale.

Find out more and how to apply: yorkshiredales.org.uk/dry-rigg-quarr…

📸 Rachel Brindle

It's #WorldEarthDay 💚 Trees and woodlands can absorb and lock up carbon, provide us with energy, stabilise soils, offer shade and protection, and create havens for wildlife and people - trees are heroes 🌳

How we protect trees and create new woodland 👇

yorkshiredales.org.uk/park-authority…

Have you seen an Adder in the #YorkshireDales ? If so, please let us know! We know little of their status and distribution in the Park due to limited records.

Please send details of any sightings to [email protected]

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

📸 Whitfield Benson

Can you guess which bird our #YorkshireDales #NationalPark Wildlife Officer, Ian is describing? Watch to the end to see the answer. Spoiler alert 🚨 the answer is also in the caption below! 👇

WildlifeDales Friends of the Dales Curlew Action I #WorldCurlewDay #Curlew

Happy #WorldCurlewDay !

16 of the 17 tagged Curlew are now safely back on their breeding grounds in the #YorkshireDales , read more below:

yorkshiredales.org.uk/about/wildlife…

Wishing them all a successful breeding season 🤞

BTO Bolton Castle Curlew Recovery Partnership Curlew Action

On the moors of the #YorkshireDales Bilberry is starting to flower.

Bilberry is a common dwarf shrub of our upland heathlands and is important for many species including Black Grouse, Green Hairstreak butterfly and numerous pollinators. The fruit will have developed by August.

Have you seen tiny burrows like these appearing on sunny spots along footpaths? They are the work of the mining bees, such as this Tawny Mining Bee below.

Mining bees are one of the solitary bee species, which are very important pollinators in our countryside.

We recently asked people what their top 6 priorities should be for organisations working in the National Park, and ‘help nature to recover by creating, restoring and connecting important habitats’ was ranked first. Read more 👇

yorkshiredales.org.uk/survey-nature-…

This is fantastic news 🎉 Great to see that this good work is paying off. Here's hoping for another successful breeding season for these wonderful birds!

Rivers and streams are higher than usual in the
Yorkshire Dales National Park at the moment, so please do remember to #CheckCleanDry your footwear before and after coming into contact with any watercourses, to help protect White-clawed Crayfish.

Find out more:
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d3a921…

Happy International Plant Appreciation Day ☘️🌿🌺

Goldilocks Buttercup, our only woodland buttercup species, is now starting to flower. Much scarcer than the Meadow Buttercup, it is a true specialist of ancient woodlands and has distinctive spidery leaves.

#PlantAppreciationDay

So far April has certainly been living up to its reputation for showers 🌧️

But at least all the rain is helping our new wildlife pond to fill and settle. Here is a moment with the pond, the rain and the ripples for your enjoyment this Friday afternoon💧

This little plant is Moschatel, an ancient woodland indicator, seen recently in Wensleydale.

The small creamy flowers are arranged back-to-back facing out in all directions. This vague resemblance to a clock tower has earned it the alternative name of the Townhall Clock!

A brief weather window for this morning's wader survey in #Wensleydale 🌥️

Plenty of displaying Curlew, and an audience from a handsome Mistle Thrush and some sunny new-born lambs!

Another early grassland flower to look out for this April is the Bulbous Buttercup.

Several species of buttercup are native to the UK and this is one of the earliest to flower. It can be separated from most of the others by the reflexed sepals behind the petals of the flower👇

We’ve had a busy few days delivering training sessions for our Dales Volunteers and the Malham Environmental Group, getting everyone ready for this year's wader surveys.

Now all we need is some good weather! ☔️☀️🤞

This Black Oil Beetle was photographed near Kirkby Lonsdale in April last year.

Oil Beetles are declining species whose lifecycles depend on solitary bees and flower-rich grasslands.

Find out more about these fascinating insects:
buglife.org.uk/projects/oil-b…

📸 Steve Hastie

One of the earliest meadow flowers is now starting to emerge in the #YorkshireDales ; the Cowslip.

Cowslips are related to Primroses but bloom a little later, between April and May, and prefer grassland habitats to woodland. Look out for their nodding yellow flowers this spring!