On the twelth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...12 plovers flapping,

 

The golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria) is a wading bird, slightly smaller than a lapwing, which in the summer breeds in the uplands of northern Britain. Moors for the Future Partnership's work to re-vegetate and re-wet the blanket bogs of the South Pennines should have a beneficial impact on this bird, and other waders such as dunlin. Bird surveys at RSPB's Dove Stone estate on the western side of the Peak District have shown that breeding pairs of golden plover present on the site have almost doubled from 59 in 2004 to 110 in 2017, as a result of blanket bog conservation work.

 

11 bags for brashing,

 

 

10 geese migrating,

 

 

9 plants a-pluggin',

 

 

8 Sphagna growing,

 

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints,

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...10 geese migrating,

 

These geese were spotted this autumn migrating over Big Moor on the eastern edge of the Peak District. Pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) migrate to the UK each winter from locations such as Greenland and Iceland. They produce a characteristic high pitched honking, and often travel in large V-shaped 'skeins'.

 

9 plants a-pluggin',

 

 

8 Sphagna growing,

 

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints,

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...9 plants a-pluggin',

 

Moors for the Future Partnership's work to re-vegetate the blanket bogs of the Peak District and South Pennines has involved hand planting hundreds of thousands of 'plug plants'. These are small plants of species including bilberry, crowberry, cross-leaved heath, cloudberry, common cottongrass, hare's tail cottongrass, and Sphagnum mosses.

8 Sphagna growing,

 

7 sites now set up,

 

 

 

6 leaves a-prickling,

 

 

5 red deer!

 

 

4 hare prints, 

 

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...6 leaves a-prickling,

 

The dense, dark green, spiky leaves of Holly (Ilex aquifolium) are strongly associated with Christmas. Its flowers are a great source of food for many pollinating insects, and the leaves are one of the larval food plants of the holly blue butterfly and the holly tortrix moth. The bright red berries are an important source of winter food for birds such as thrushes. Holly is just one of the native British species which are being planted through Moors for the Future Partnership's 'Clough Woodland' project.

 

5 red deer!

 

4 hare prints,

 

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...5 red deer!

 

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) are the largest terrestrial mammals found in Britain. This group consisting of a stag and four female deer, known as hinds, was photographed on the Eastern Moors of the Peak District during the autumn rut. The stag pictured can be seen emitting a loud and low pitched bellowing sound, known as 'bolving'. This call is used to attract hinds, and also to warn off other stags who might be interested in mating with 'his' hinds. 
 

4  hare prints, 

 

3 lizards, 

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee! 

 

 

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...4 hare prints, 

 

Mountain hares (Lepus timidus) have several special adaptations which mean they are able to live in the cold, inclement conditions found high up in hills and mountains. In winter, their fur becomes thicker and turns white - to help camouflage them against snow. They also have shorter ears than brown hares to help minimise loss of body heat, and large feet to help them bound across the surface of snow. In the Peak District we have the only population of mountain hares in England, and we're collecting sightings of them through our Community Science hare survey to help learn how they may be impacted by changes in climate.

3 lizards,

 

 

 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...3 lizards,

 

 

The common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is one of the other target species (along with the adder) in the 'Scales and Warts' survey. This family of three lizards was seen basking on a rock on Big Moor on the eastern side of the Peak District. Common lizards can shed their tail when attacked. Amazingly, the tail can continue to move for some time once detached - distracting the predator and allowing the lizard to make its escape. 
 

2 mating toads,

 

and a bilberry bumblebee!

 

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

...2 mating toads

 

The common toad (Bufo bufo) is one of three target species in the Community Science 'Scales and Warts' survey. Toads can be seen in large numbers in early spring when they return to their ancestral ponds to mate and spawn. This gathering can attract predators like herons and otters who will feast on the abundance of amphibians.

and a bilberry bumblebee!