Birds of prey numbers in Peak District are taking off
THE Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative has reported “encouraging breeding successes” for several bird of prey species in moorland areas of the Peak District.
It is the result of collaboration between landowners, gamekeepers and raptor workers during Covid-19.
The group’s report brings together data on nesting within the Dark Peak and South-west Peak – the moorland of the Peak District National Park.
Peregrine falcons had their best year in a decade, with all six known nesting attempts being successful, resulting in a record 14 fledged young.
This was the first year, since the Initiative began in 2011, that all known nesting attempts have successfully fledged young.
Goshawks, which breed in woodlands on the moorland edge, also had a successful season, with seven of nine known nests successfully fledging a total of 16-17 young, surpassing last year’s 12 young from eight nests. The past two years have seen a welcome increase in the number of goshawks.
Both species peaked in the area in the 1990s and the Initiative has set a goal of restoring populations to former levels. But other species continue to give cause for concern.
Merlin, a small falcon near the southern edge of its range on the Peak moors, declined from 37 pairs in the 1990s to a stable population of 18-24 pairs throughout the 2010s. During 2019 there was a further drop to a low of 14 pairs, so a slight recovery to 16 pairs in 2020 was welcome.
Merlin that do breed are remarkably successful, with more than 50 young fledged in 2020 suggesting that, for unknown reasons, young birds are failing to return to their Peak District breeding grounds.
Short-eared owls remain difficult to monitor. Nevertheless, populations appear to have been consistently lower throughout the 10 years of the Initiative compared with the 1990s. But 2020 appears to have been poor for voles, with no confirmed breeding records of short-eared owls.
Police confirmed six illegal incidents involving birds of prey in the study area in 2020. This involved four shooting incidents (three buzzards and a shorteared owl), and two poisonings – one involving a peregrine and a further incident involving a peregrine and a buzzard at the same location.
In addition, an egg collector was arrested and convicted, following an alert to the police by local gamekeepers in the northern Peak District.
The Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative (BoPI) was set up in 2011 and is a collaboration of the Moorland Association, Peak District National Park Authority, Natural England, National Trust, National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and local police forces. It is supported by local raptor groups and land managers.
Sarah Fowler, chief executive of the Peak District National Park said: “Despite the clear challenges the pandemic presented in 2020, we have seen encouraging breeding success this year for upland species such as peregrine and goshawk.
“The increase in and range of bird of prey persecution incidents recorded is an unwelcome trend, and any act of wildlife crime remains one too
many.”