Peak Malpractice
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Peak Malpractice What’s happening to wildlife in the Peak District National Park? Who’s killing the wildlife of the Peak District National Park? Populations of some protected birds are declining from the woods and moors of the Dark Peak. If this part of the Peak District National Park is a no-go zone for some of Britain’s most cherished wildlife, it reinforces the urgent need for statutory agencies, voluntary groups and landowners to protect wild birds and tackle any criminal activity against wildlife with renewed vigour and determination. 3 What’s happening to wildlife in the Peak District National Park? A walk across the moorlands and The continued declines of some species and a series through the valleys of the Dark Peak of incidents in recent years has led to our call for urgent action. in spring and summer is enriched by the sight and sound of nesting birds: Studies across the UK show many examples where the evocative, bubbling call of curlews, birds of prey, particularly peregrines, golden eagles and hen harriers, fare much worse when they nest on moors the drumming display of snipe, managed for driven grouse-shooting.1,2,3,4 the aerobatics of ravens and the brief dash of the spectacular goshawk. Concerns about the decline of raptors in the Dark Peak prompted the development of the Peak Nestwatch Partnership in 2000 (see box). Much of the Dark Peak is privately-owned moorland managed for driven grouse-shooting. In part, this has shaped the landscape of the Dark Peak. The heather moors have been maintained by management for grouse-shooting, whereas many other moors were heavily grazed or planted with The Peak Nestwatch Partnership trees. These open heather moors are now valuable for ground-nesting birds. Derwentdale in the Derbyshire Peak District has held a small but stable But some species are absent. Others are much population of goshawks for more than rarer than they should be. The suite of wildlife 30 years. Following evidence that the is incomplete and so is a visit to the Dark Peak. Peak Malpractice is published by the RSPB in the success of nesting goshawks had declined belief that this is unacceptable in 2006. from the mid-1990s, the Peak Nestwatch Partnership was formed in 2000. After more than a century of population crash and near-extinction, the recovery of birds of prey (often This partnership comprises Severn Trent known collectively as raptors) in the UK in the last Water, National Trust, the RSPB, Peak three decades is a welcome sign of a more tolerant attitude towards these magnificent birds, combined District National Park Authority, Forestry with enhanced legal protection and a ban on Commission, English Nature, South organochlorine pesticides. Yorkshire and Derbyshire Police and the South Peak Raptor Study Group. Ospreys are now breeding in England and Wales, buzzards are spreading back into lowland farmland The partnership employs a variety of in eastern Britain, and the reintroduction of red kites intelligence and surveillance techniques to England and Scotland has been a great success. on vulnerable nests, and has enabled thousands of people to watch peregrines, However, the recovery has not been uniform, and there are still parts of Britain, particularly goshawks and other upland birds in the the uplands, from which many of these raptors valley, through guided walks, observation are absent. Even worse, detailed monitoring has points and a CCTV nestwatch. revealed that in some parts of the country, birds of prey are declining once again. ’S HA T P The northern moorland area of the Peak District A P National Park is known as the Dark Peak. Sadly H E for birds of prey, it’s very dark indeed. W N I T During the last decade, some species have declined N O dramatically, in marked contrast to other parts of ? G the country. There appears to be a ‘postcode lottery’, with birds nesting in certain areas faring far worse T than others. In the north-eastern part of the Dark H Peak, breeding goshawks have disappeared, and the E E breeding success of several other species is poor. IF WILDL 4 Species of conservation concern in the Dark Peak In spring 2004, the Moors for the Future project* undertook a major survey of moorland birds across 500 km2 in the Peak District National Park, a follow-up to one in the same area in 1990.5 The survey found that numbers of curlews, lapwings, snipe, red grouse and several songbirds associated with the moorland edge and watercourses had increased since 1990. By contrast, A628 numbers of twites, redshanks, meadow pipits and NORTH-EAST MANCHESTER PEAK MOORS ring ouzels had declined. The increases in many of these special upland birds is DERWENTDALE very welcome and illustrates the importance of heather, blanket bog and grassland habitats. It also indicates A57 that, across the Peak moorlands as a whole, there is no reason why good habitat management cannot lead SHEFFIELD DARK PEAK to increases in populations of raptors and their prey, including ground-nesting waders and songbirds. Across all the moors of the Peak District, the survey found that peregrines, merlins, short-eared owls and A623 ravens were more abundant, but that goshawk sightings GOYT had fallen by over 30%. More detailed studies by Peak BUXTON A537 raptor fieldworkers, licensed by English Nature, reveal a more accurate picture. Although not covering precisely A6 the same land as Moors for the Future, their data provide a more accurate trend in populations and breeding success A53 WHITE PEAK of some of the rarest birds in Derwentdale and the north-east moors. Licensed field workers have monitored all the raptor SOUTH WEST A515 PEAK and raven nesting areas every year; the disappearance is real and not a reflection of reduced effort or of their visits. LEEK The nesting habitat for all these species is still suitable and there is abundant prey. Illegal theft of chicks and eggs for falconry or by egg-collectors could account for some of the poor productivity, but these crimes have reduced dramatically across the UK in the last decade. We believe this has been helped by the increased use of birds’ DNA in investigations and the introduction of custodial sentences for wildlife offences. *Moors for the Future is a partnership of English Nature, National Trust, the Peak District National Park Authority, United Utilities, Severn Trent Water, Yorkshire Water, Sheffield City Council, Peak Park Moorland Owners and Tenants Association, Defra, Country Land and Business Association and the National Farmers’ Union, supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Curlew numbers have increased The Peak District is one of the most in the Peak Park since 1990 highly-protected areas in Europe 5 Illegal killing of wildlife in the north-east Peak The RSPB’s Species Protection Database is a unique Buxton Magistrates’ Court was satisfied related to the collation of incidents and crimes committed against illegal persecution of nine peregrines, two goshawks, protected wild birds. These include the destruction two ravens and a sparrowhawk in a four month period of birds, their eggs and nests. It is the only database in Derwentdale in early 2002. However, since the precise of its kind in the UK and is registered with the Home method of destruction could not be established, Office under the Data Protection Act 1998. he concluded that any conviction would be unsafe. The database cannot fully measure the number The District Judge found Mr Cripps guilty of recklessly of incidents against birds in the UK – those recorded disturbing the goshawk and destroying its eggs. represent only the tip of the iceberg. On appeal at Derby Crown Court the judge upheld the original verdict, concluding that even if Mr Cripps We present just three illustrative examples of incidents had not climbed the tree himself, he was certainly from the Dark Peak that we believe indicate birds of present at the time, that it was under his orchestration prey were deliberately targeted. and using his climbing spikes. Gamekeeper convicted for Moorland pigeon lure goshawk nest destruction In January 2005, a pigeon lure was found in use on In January 2004, Reg Cripps, a gamekeeper from open moorland in the north-east Peak, with a Land Derwentdale, was convicted of recklessly disturbing Rover parked nearby. Arable farmers use these a goshawk and destroying its eggs. He was sentenced lures (model pigeons on a rotating frame) to entice to a three-month imprisonment, suspended. pigeons so they can be shot under a Defra General Licence that permits authorised persons to destroy The conviction followed an incident in April 2002 woodpigeons and feral pigeons to prevent serious when members of the South Peak Raptor Group damage to crops or for public health and safety heard a goshawk alarm-calling and saw Mr Cripps reasons. However, there is no reason why pigeons and another gamekeeper emerging from Forestry should be lured for shooting on a heather moor, Commission woodland close to an active nest. where they would not cause serious agricultural With the RSPB, the nest was checked under a damage nor pose a health and safety risk. licence from English Nature and the female found to be incubating. However, when the nest was However, responding to the moving model pigeons, checked again a few days later, the tree had been goshawks and peregrines are attracted to such climbed and the nest and eggs had been destroyed. lures, where they can be vulnerable to shooting. Derbyshire Police searched the addresses of both gamekeepers and found climbing irons and a game- keeping diary at the home of Mr Cripps. The diary contained coded entries that the District Judge at ’S HA T P A P H E W N I T N O Incidents confirmed in the north-east Peak during 1998-2005.