News

MOORLAND BIRDS BREEDING ON THE MOORS

22nd March, 2004

The Moorland Association today warned walkers, cyclists and horse riders to be particularly careful when out on the moors, and to keep their dogs under close control, and preferably on a lead, at all times from now until the end of July. Rare ground nesting birds are now breeding and are easily disturbed.

Heather moorland provides a refuge for some of Britain’s rarest and declining ground nesting birds, such as curlew, lapwing, merlin, golden plover, redshank, snipe and dunlin. Moorland birds are very vulnerable to disturbance from humans and dogs, as well as predators such as crows, foxes, stoats and weasels.

The work of gamekeepers helps to protect the birds, but visitors can help too. All visitors are urged to minimise disturbance by sticking to rights of way, paths and roads and by keeping their dogs on short leads during the nesting and lambing season - 1st March – 31st July. Dogs can frighten parent birds off their nests long enough to chill the eggs and kill the chicks inside. Hatched chicks can also be scattered and unable to return to the parent for protection from predators and the cold.

Said Simon Bostock, Chairman of the Moorland Association: “Next Spring, ‘Open Access’ will be a reality and 80% of new ‘Open Access’ land will be moorland. Because research shows that golden plovers, curlew and lapwing are up to five times more common as breeding birds on grouse moors than on equivalent moors not managed for grouse – we must all do our bit to protect them. It is critical that visitors with dogs understand that the new rules will give owners of grouse moors the authority to exclude dogs for up to five years from ‘Open Access’ land in order to protect ground-nesting birds.” Contd/2



Chicks About/2


There are several species of wading bird that spend the winter in coastal and low-lying farm land and then return to Britain’s moorland to nest in the Spring. As lowland arable farms have changed through intensified agricultural practice, they have lost their appeal as breeding sites leaving well managed heather moorland as an increasingly important breeding ground for birds species.


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Notes to editors

It is the Moorland Association’s aim to halt the loss of heather moorland and secure its future. 75% of the World’s heather moorland is found in Britain and, due to its scarcity and the rare wildlife it supports, over 60% of heather moorland is now designated as either Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and/or Special areas of Conservation (SAC).

Six of the moorland breeding birds are on the Red List of Europe’s most threatened birds and a further seven are on the Amber List, with a breeding season from March to July. In total there are 17 birds that rely on open, undisturbed moorland for breeding plus a further 35 species which rely on the moorland fringe habitat.