Public urged to take extra care to safeguard wildlife
Those who take part in outdoor activities in the West Coast’s forests are being urged to think about how their hobby could negatively impact wildlife and the environment.
The call comes from Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) which has launched a campaign, Protect Scotland’s Wildlife and published the results of research, to coincide with the start of the main bird breeding and nesting season.
FLS’s campaign aims to raise awareness of the unintended consequences - even harm that can be caused to wildlife and the environment by people participating in activities in Scotland’s forests and wild places, without taking sufficient care.
The FLS research asked people in Scotland what hobbies and activities they take part in, how often they visit and how aware they are of the potential for their activity to disturb wildlife.
People surveyed were asked if they participate in activities ranging from dog walking, hill walking and water sports (kayak, canoe, paddle boarding, wild swimming) to mountain biking, wild camping, wildlife photography and angling. The survey found that:
▍ nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) of Scots surveyed visit one of Scotland’s national forests or a destination managed by FLS to take part in one of these activities
▍ nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) of those 1,004 surveyed, admitted they are not aware of the breeding and nesting seasons of birds and other wildlife in the areas they visit
▍ and only 69 per cent “leave FLS forests and destinations as they found them” despite widespread awareness of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
▍ around four in 10 (38 per cent) said they do not stick to designated paths and tracks
▍ just over two in five (41 per cent) hadn’t considered the impact of lighting fires
▍ nearly half (46 per cent) do not think about how much noise they are making so that they do not disturb wildlife nor how close they get to wildlife when taking photos (49 per cent).
▍ Almost four in 10 people (36 per cent) have witnessed or taken part in behaviour that, looking back on it, might have been harmful to wildlife.
Increasingly people are seeking out places that are “off the beaten track” thanks in part to social media influencers, not realising that their hobby can disturb wildlife in the area they visit.
For example, birds that nest at the edges of lochs can be easily disturbed by those enjoying water sports, while birds that nest in the treetops can be driven off nests by activity on the ground that is too close by.
Even collecting deadwood off the forest floor for a small campfire can disturb delicate environments and ecosystems.
Colin Edwards, national environment manager at FLS, said: “Enjoy yourself in Scotland’s forests and wild places but please be mindful of how your actions impact on birds, animals and sensitive habitats.
“Help us to protect what we’ve got before it’s gone and always follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code - ‘leave no trace’, take responsibility and don’t linger if wildlife is disturbed by your presence.
“None of us set out to deliberately cause harm but sometimes it can be thoughtless behaviour that can cause problems that then ripple out.”
Some of the examples that FLS has come across are:
▍ Several instances of ospreys – both chicks and adults - in the Trossachs becoming tangled in cut fishing lines. This has been the suspected cause of nest failure in some cases. One case on Loch Awe and another in Lorn involved an entangled chick that had also wound its nest-mates into the fabric of the nest and all would have died without FLS intervention.
▍ Disturbance caused to forest raptors such as buzzard, sparrow hawk, red kite and goshawk from an extensive network of unofficial bike tracks through Achray Forest in areas of mature, thinned conifers.
▍ There is a similar scenario in Dunardry Forest near Lochgilphead where a track passes immediately below an osprey nest tree.
▍ Disturbance of water bird nests at Loch Shiel and long standing issues with kayakers, despite floating signs, booms, etcetera to create no paddle zones.
▍ Pollution of the environment and potentially also watercourses: photographic evidence from Affric where campervan users have poured chemical toilet contents over roadside verges.
▍ Accidental grass fire under an osprey nest at Loch Awe caused by wild campers (arriving by canoe/kayak): the birds failed and the nest has never been used since.
▍ Unofficial, constructed bird hides have appeared in various forests.
▍ A nest close to Loch Rusky has frequently attracted photographers to get too close. And an osprey nest next to the public road on Loch Awe had the same issues: cars stopping and taking photos caused disturbance.