Protecting Breeding Birds
Reports
It is that time of year again when I encourage people to try to avoid disturbing our nesting birds, particularly ground nesting birds which are particularly vulnerable to disturbance by humans and dogs.
One of our special breeding birds is the Red-breasted Merganser. In the UK it is one of the country’s rarest breeding birds. It is a species with fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs in the UK. Their numbers, trends and distribution, are maintained in a secure archive to support conservation and research for these species by the national Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) which was established in 1972. According to the British Trust for Ornithology’s Wetland Bird Survey, Arran is a site of national importance for Red-breasted Merganser. It is a bird seen around the coast all year. Last year there were 457 reports from 114 locations. Their gregarious courtship display in spring and early summer is a delight to see. Courting males salute females with head held high and then they curtsy to the females by tipping up and putting their rear in the air with bill pointing to the sky. While I get plenty of records of courtship, I get few records of successful breeding. Last year I received two reports of female Red-breasted Merganser with their young. After the breeding season groups of over fifty moulting birds are not unheard of, but there are few young among them.
It is not only the rare breeding birds that require protection, but birds that are “common” round our shores also require protection. Birds like Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and Common Gull that all nest by our shores are vulnerable to disturbance. A person who had lived all their life on Arran said to me that the first time that she had seen young gulls hatch on her local shore was during COVID restrictions. The absence of human disturbance seemed to have enabled the birds to raise their young. This motivated her to try to help protect her local nesting shore birds.
This year I am delighted to see a number of initiatives by residents to try to help protect nesting shore birds. People in these coastal areas with the support of landowners and local organisations like the Arran Access Trust, the Arran Natural History Society, Arran Dogs, Arran Geopark, COAST, Visit Arran and local improvement committees are asking dog owners to keep their dogs under control particularly in the bird breeding season. Notices encouraging this are on display in areas where there are likely to be ground breeding birds. This is in line with the legislation in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. These notices are a genuine attempt to protect our wildlife while giving appropriate access for humans. Hopefully everyone who loves Arran will support these initiatives and help ensure that the shores on Arran retain its wildlife because without it Arran will be a poorer place.
Please remember that under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is being built or used. Take particular care on our shores and beaches and please keep your dogs on a lead at this time. They are a danger to all our ground nesting birds.
