Our Wildlife

Doe Park provides a unique habitat to support a diverse range of plants, birds, trees and animals. Our ancient woodland is a designated site of special scientific interest and home to 400 year old oaks, rare invertebrates and teems with birdlife.

Our nest box programme has seen increase in breeding pairs of Pied Flycatchers, a summer visitor on the amber list of declining birds, along with Redstart, Nuthatch, Blue Tit and Great Tit. Fledglings are ringed and nests monitored through the British Trust for Ornithology, and information collected contributes to a national database. On summer days you may be fortunate enough to hear a Cuckoo, Woodpeckers drumming and the call of Barn Owl, Little Owl and Tawny in the autumn evenings.

Our farmland meadows and pastures provide a valuable breeding site for ground nesting birds such as the Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatcher. The North Pennines is one of the few areas the endangered Curlew is common site and sound in the spring and summer.

Our ongoing programme of hedge planting with native species such as Holly, Hawthorn, Rowan and Hornbeam creates wildlife corridors allowing safe movement between habitats whilst providing food, shelter and nesting sites.