Birds of Prey in crisis in the Peak District National Park

WALKERS on the Pennine Way face many tests but among the toughest for those heading north looms on their first day as they ascend high into the Dark Peak.

Desolate, wild and boggy, the peat and gritstone moorland including climbs to Kinder Scout and Bleaklow is spectacular and unforgiving.

Stretching across Derbyshire from the fringes of Sheffield and Greater Manchester towards West Yorkshire, it is home to rare species of plants and animals which thrive on its heather, blanket bog and heathland. But despite its special qualities, walkers will be fortunate if they catch a glimpse of what should be among its highlights.

This spring the spotlight will again be on the fortunes of birds of prey in an area with a long history of conflict between conservationists and grouse moor interests. Some species were eliminated in the 19th century, and although the Dark Peak has been recolonised, numbers of most raptors remain significantly below those in neighbouring districts.

Five years ago following continuing declines and illegal persecution, ambitious targets were set to improve bird numbers in an initiative involving the Peak District National Park, the Moorland Association, National Trust, Natural England and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Work focused in particular on encouraging peregrine falcons, merlin and short-eared owls although it was also expected to assist goshawk and hen harriers.

But the national park admits the results have been “disappointing”. Evidence suggests numbers of short-eared owls and merlin have remained relatively stable but others have declined further. Illegal persecution, disturbance and availability of key prey are among factors cited for the failure to restore populations to levels seen in the previous quarter of a century.

For Mark Thomas, investigations officer for the RSPB, this is a critical year for the success of the initiative. “The Peak District has always been a stronghold since the 1960s and 70s for two iconic species – the peregrine and the goshawk,” he said.

“But in recent years it has become much more difficult to see these birds. Goshawks have almost disappeared from the Dark Peak and peregrines go back to their crags but don’t produce young. It is one of the worst places for bird of prey persecution in the whole of the UK – and the fact it’s in a national park is incredibly shocking.”

He said he had investigated “incident after incident” of persecution there in the last 15 years. Birds have been shot, trapped, poisoned and nests destroyed. In one case, a cage containing a live pigeon was set up to lure goshawks.

“When you compare the Dark Peak, it’s not that different from lots of other upland areas. Away from grouse moors in particular, birds do really well. In Sheffield city centre there are a million things disturbing them but they can tolerate that. What this comes down to is illegal persecution.”

The report found goshawks, which prefer woodland habitats, also declined significantly in the Dark Peak, with only two pairs thought to be in the area compared to six breeding pairs in 2001. A goshawk nest with four well-developed eggs was destroyed in 2012 and two years ago a goshawk was found dead, a likely victim of a spring trap.

Mr Thomas said the birds began a spectacular display of sky dancing in March. “It used to be the place in the UK to see that behaviour. I’ve stood in the Derwent Valley with 50 or 60 other people looking for goshawk but now there are very few,” he said.

He said the initiative would only be seen as achieving something if numbers of breeding peregrines in particular went up on grouse moors. “There’s been five years of co-operation. That’s all well and good but when are we going to see an increase of birds of prey and a decrease in persecution incidents?

“There are fewer peregrines than when we started and that has got to change. They have to be left alone. We are calling for the partners in the group to play their part in ensuring that happens.”

Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association which represents landowners and managers, believed numbers of birds of prey would increase.

She said merlin successfully nested on grouse moors in contrast to their decline on uplands on the outskirts of Sheffield because of good habitats, little disturbance and reduced threat from predators.

There were also two or three pairs of peregrines nesting on grouse moors in the Dark Peak, she said.

“But they do have to turn up to breed and in the last two or three years it just hasn’t happened and you can’t make it happen. For all of these birds of prey we need to find their niches. We have to be pragmatic about what we can deliver.”

She said maintaining grouse moorland was a critical part of what made the area so popular. “It’s a system that has conserved the Peak District National Park and its beautiful heather-clad hills. It’s a fascinating place, it’s very special and unique but it’s not an easy place to survive.

“People delivering on the ground are the most important and we need to ask them for their expertise to get closest to the answers we need. Gamekeepers are trying to protect not just the grouse but waders such as lapwing, curlew and golden plover and they take a great deal of pride in the suite of moorland birds that are there.”

She said the impact of raptors on grouse populations was unclear with different studies indicating a pair of peregrines with four chicks hunted anything from a dozen birds to more than 100.

One idea being discussed involved setting up pigeon lofts to give peregrines an alternative source of food. “The idea is to buffer feed and give the peregrine a different hunting option.”

She claimed there was now more communication between raptor groups and gamekeepers. “We’re not the wildlife police and we absolutely condemn any wildlife crimes. But you have to acknowledge there are conflicts and respect everybody’s point of view to find ways forward,” she said. “Someone might take the law into their own hands but we need to go forward to get to a position so that doesn’t happen.”

The groups involved in the project have agreed to extend its work to the south west Peak and to include goshawk and hen harriers, which have nested in the Dark Peak in the last decade but are under country-wide pressure. The initiative will also work more closely with landowners and gamekeepers to stop illegal persecution, with Derbyshire Police directly involved for the first time.

Rhodri Thomas, ecologist with the national park authority, said when the initiative was launched, it was recognised building numbers of birds would be a long process. “We know that some incidents of persecution have taken place in the past and we need to involve the police in that,” he said.

“We are very encouraged by the links the initiative has built up between the moorland owners and keepers and the bird groups. In the past, there has been a reluctance to let them onto the moors.”

The fortunes of raptors in the area contrasts with those of red kites which have become established in Yorkshire following their release on the Harewood estate, near Leeds, beginning in 1999. Last year, it was estimated 100 pairs successfully bred in the region for the first time.

But Mr Thomas said he did not believe a similar programme was necessary in the Peaks where the conditions were right for birds to colonise the area. “If they are not there at the moment, they are not there for a reason.”

Trying to reverse worrying decline

Mark Thomas, of the RSPB, said in the last 25 years, 69 per cent of convictions for illegal persecution of birds of prey in the UK involved gamekeepers including several successful prosecutions in the Dark Peak.

Peregrines, which are renowned for their speed, returned to the area where crags and cliffs are ideal for nesting after a century-long absence, 50 years ago. But a target of establishing 15 breeding pairs fell well short, with numbers dropping to just four last year.

A report into the initiative said their decline was a “real cause for concern”. It came in contrast to their success in surrounding areas, with one pair breeding on a church in Sheffield in 2012.