Give birds more space in Lancashire this spring and summer

Spring is now on our Lancashire doorsteps and the Easter break offers a great opportunity for people to get outside with family and friends (both two-legged and four) to enjoy the countryside.

The UK’s largest wildlife charity, the RSPB, encourages everyone to explore their nearest greenspaces this Easter, connection to nature is vital for both our physical health and our mental wellbeing. But conservationists from the charity are appealing for the public’s help to protect vulnerable birds that nest on the ground between March and September.

You can help by giving birds more space this spring and summer by following this guidance:

Top 3 Tips to protect birds that nest on the ground on sand and shingle across the county please -

If birds nesting on the ground in places such as Carnforth Slag Tips are disturbed, they may abandon their nest, eggs and chicks. To help protect them this spring and summer, please:

1. Keep to marked paths

• By keeping to designated pathways you will help to protect Oystercatchers and Ringed Plovers, nesting on the ground in this area.

  

2. Keep dogs under close control

• Keeping dogs under close control on marked pathways will help keep Oystercatchers and Ringed Ploverstheir nests, eggs and chicks safe in this area.  

  

3. Give birds plenty of space

• If you do see birds on a nest or chicks running about, keep a minimum distance of 100m away to help to protect them

Away from dry land, paddlers and swimmers can also help protect vulnerable species.

Dr Conor Pharaoh-John, RSPB’s Recreational Disturbance Programme Manager explains:

“Being on the water offers a fantastic chance to experience wildlife from a unique perspective. Our waterways are lifelines for many species, so it’s important to think about how our presence might affect them. By keeping a steady, predictable course, and limiting viewing to just a few minutes, swimmers and paddlers can help ensure birds and wildlife aren’t disturbed or disrupted from feeding, breeding or caring for their young.”

Over half of England’s most threatened breeding birds nest on or near to the ground, including Curlew, Little Tern, Nightjar, Stone-curlew, and Lapwing. Many of these species are on the red list of conservation concern, as their population numbers are already struggling due to factors such as changes to roosting and breeding sites, lack of food and the impacts of climate change.

These species nest across a range of different landscapes such as scrub, grassland, woodland, moorland, heathland, and beaches. Even some of our more common birds, seen in both our gardens and the wider countryside, also build their nests low down. Birds such as Robins, Wrens and Dunnocks all favour building their nests low in hedges, Ivy, and other shrubs.

Dr Conor Pharaoh-John, describes:

“The closer the bird’s nest is to the ground the more at risk it is to accidental disturbance mainly from people, who will likely be unaware the nest is there, and dogs freely roaming off lead.

“Exploring the countryside with our dogs is a great activity to get us out of the house and connecting to our local greenspaces. However, whilst we mean no harm to wildlife, people and dogs appear as potential predators to a bird, especially those nesting on the ground.”

Adult birds will leave their nest if they feel threatened, until the perceived danger has gone. Even in this brief time of parents being away from the nest, eggs can quickly cool down and chicks will be unprotected. This temporary abandonment, especially if it happens repeatedly with increased visitors to the countryside throughout the spring and summer, could prevent eggs from hatching due to their low temperature. And small chicks may die because of cold, starvation, or an actual animal predator seizing the opportunity to take them.

As birds nesting on the ground are at higher risk from predators; the nests and eggs they contain are often extremely well camouflaged, making them very hard to see and avoid.

By following the RSPB’s top tips we can all play our part in keeping our ground nesting birds safe this year so that they can successfully raise and fledge the next generation of offspring, every chick really does count.

Mike Shurmer, Head of Species for RSPB England, said:

“A Skylark egg can be as small as the width of a 5p piece. And when those eggs hatch, chicks will stay camouflaged in their nest until they’re ready to fledge. However, the chicks of other ground-nesting species like Oystercatcher, Curlew and Ringed Plover are very independent on hatching and will quickly start running around outside the nest. Their markings still make them highly camouflaged, but they’re much more likely to be closer to people and dogs than expected.”

Due to their incredible camouflage, it can be difficult and sometimes almost impossible to see a parent bird and its nest, there are often no obvious signs that birds are nesting nearby or that an adult bird has moved away from their eggs or chicks.  If you notice any of the following behaviours, it could be a clue:

1. Parent birds in distress – alarm calling and potentially swooping low-down/dive-bombing or flying quickly back and forth across your path.
2. Birds with nesting material or food in their beaks - they may dive into a particular patch of scrub, grass or a shrub and not come out, again suggesting they may be visiting their nest.
3. Deception – birds such as Lapwings and Ringed Plovers may pretend to limp or have a broken wing, dragging it on the ground if they sense danger is near. This is an attempt to distract the perceived threat off the scent by distracting them away from their eggs and chicks.

Ground nesting birds under threat in North Lancashire

Though not owned by the RSPB, Carnforth Marsh Slag Tips attract breeding Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers which nest on the shingle/gravel there.  There is a dog walking exclusion here during the breeding season (March-September) and signage at the site to support this.

Challan Hall sustains are population of nesting Woodcock, deeply hidden and nestled away amongst leaf litter.  There is a concessionary path through the woodland here that should be avoided by dog walkers during the breeding season to limit disturbance to these elusive and highly camouflaged birds whilst at their most vulnerable.

Find out more at: Protecting Ground Nesting Birds: What You Can Do to Help