Wildlife
Scalby Beck is a haven for wildlife and includes a large variety of animal and bird species
Bird Watching
There are a wide variety of bird species to observe including:
Honey Buzzard; Common Cranes; Crossbills; Garden Warbler; Tree Pipet; Bulfinch; Sedge Warbler; Reed Warbler; Barn owl; Kingfisher; Cuckoo; Wood Warbler; Heron; Nightjars; Pied Flycatcher; Goshawks; Common Rosefinch; Lesser Yellowlegs; Eurasian Wigeon.
Wild animals
Scalby Beck, and its surrounding area is home to a wide range of animals including deer, badgers, foxes and otters
The best time to watch out for wildlife is at sunrise but sunset can also be good. It is a good place for wildlife photography. As always though patience is of the essence and a sound knowledge of animal behaviour will increase the possibility of a sighting.
Ecology
Scalby Beck is the only sea trout and salmon spawning waterway between the River Esk at Whitby and the Humber Estuary. Sea trout reach the spawning grounds via two fish passes. In common with just about every other waterway American signal crayfish are prevalent. Amongst other things they eat fish eggs and are in turn eaten by larger fish. Otters have been recorded on the beck, too as have attacks on sea trout by them. The lower reaches of the beck have been designated a site of importance for nature conservation.
