RSPB hopes twitchers will keep giant vulture safe in ‘danger zone’

A HUGE European vulture “is like a turkey spending Christmas at a butcher’s shop” after it settled in the heart of grouse-shooting country, conservation groups have warned.

But the RSPB and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said the hundreds of enthusiasts who have flocked to a remote moor in the Peak District to see the bearded vulture are the visitor’s best protection against “raptor persecution”.

Scores of people have trekked on to the wild uplands between Sheffield and Ladybower Reservoir to see the vulture, which has a wing span of up to nine feet and has been seen in the UK only once before.

Dozens more were expected to venture on to the moor at the weekend hoping to get a glimpse of the bird.

The RSPB said its database of deliberate bird of prey killings shows the vulture is roosting in an area with the worst record in the UK.

The charity’s head of investigations, Mark Thomas, said: “National parks should be safe havens for birds of prey, as well as places for people to enjoy nature.

“For this magnificent bird to have turned up in such a dangerous location, a month before the start of the grouse-shooting season, is like a turkey spending Christmas at a butcher’s shop. But we hope this number of watchful eyes on the bird will ensure its safety.”

The bearded vulture on Howden Moor is thought to range up to 370 miles a day and is believed to fly possibly as far as the Lake District.

It is thought to have flown over the Channel at the end of June from central Europe, where there are only between 600 and 1,000 pairs in an area stretching from Spain to Russia.