I'm delighted to host a blog from Amanda Miller, the Conservation Manager for Northern England setting out why we’ve invested nearly 40 years, helping nature in Bowland. It's a place that we've featured in this blog before here's one from 2012
1980 was the year that saw Robin Cousins win gold in figure skating at the Winter Olympics; Ronald Regan become president of the United States and Pink Floyd release Another Brick in the Wall. It was also the year that the RSPB’s focus on the Forest of Bowland intensified in the wake of a well publicised grim discovery of a destroyed hen harrier nest.
We started work there in 1981 and we’ve been there ever since. My first introduction to this area was in 2007 when my colleague, Andrew Gouldstone, took me on a tour as part of my introduction to the RSPB. Spotting on a dipper on a lovely stream was a memorable moment.
The Forest of Bowland an attractive landscape and vital area for wildlife. Photo credit rspb
Situated between the South Pennines and the Lake District, this small rugged piece of Lancashire is enormously important for nature, not just dippers! It is has extensive areas of precious peatland and moorland, which are home to a variety of birds of prey and farmland on the moorland edges where waders such as curlews and lapwings return every year to nest. The patchwork of habitats in Bowland are also home to many insects and butterflies such as small pearl-bordered fritillary and large heath.
In spring the bubbling calls of curlews is part of the soundtrack of Bowland's hills. Photo credit rspb
Since 1993, Bowland has been legally recognised as one of Europe’s most precious wildlife sites because of its internationally important populations of breeding hen harriers, merlins and lesser black backed gulls for which Bowland is home to one of Europe’s most important nesting colonies.
Lesser black-backed gull are familiar on the coast but their conservation status is worsening - the nesting colony is one of the reasons Bowland is internationally recognised for its wildlife importance. Photo John Markham rspb-images.com
Back in the early 1980s it was obvious Bowland was very important for the sheer number of waders subsequent surveys a decade later revealed all was not well as numbers were in decline – especially on the fields that fringe the moorland – the ‘in bye’ land that was their stronghold.
This paved the way for our Bowland Wader Project, which involved an RSPB adviser building strong relationships with farmers across the area and providing tailored advice to over 130 farms to adopt measures that would provide the best nesting conditions for waders. In the case of more than half of these farms, we helped farmers enter wildlife friendly farming schemes that rewarded them financially for their efforts
It is the hen harriers that have remained the central issue in Bowland These moorland birds of prey began breeding in Bowland in 1968 and we’ve been monitoring and protecting them since 1981. As these birds have been brought to the brink of extinction in England by ongoing illegal persecution, Bowland – or more specifically the United Utilities Bowland Estate – has served as a vital foothold for the species. Between 2002 and 2015, of the 177 hen harrier nests in England, over half of them - 96 - have been on this single estate.
Hen harriers hatched in the Forest of Bowland face an uncertain future - these youngsters were photographed on a nest monitoring visit undertaken under licence. Photo credit rspb.
I was lucky enough to be part of Skydancer, a community engagement and nest protection project run between 2012 and 2015. This project aimed to celebrate the hen harriers of Bowland and their moorland home. The project was such a success the team won the National Lottery Award for Best Education Project, which we were presented by Chris Packham on Friday night prime time TV.
Our work with United Utilities goes beyond birds of prey. We have also helped to develop and deliver their Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP). This involved restoring blanket bog, creating new native oak woods, as well as implementing nature friendly land management measures in place across an area the size of more than 10,000 football pitches. While this work was primarily aimed at improving water quality, this work also provided a host of benefits for wildlife and carbon stewardship.
We are in Bowland for the long haul and despite some tough challenges I strongly believe we can build on our success of the past 37 years and can play our own small role in making this natural Lancashire gem achieve its full potential; a place which throngs with tumbling lapwings and bubbling curlews, and where high above the moor, skydancing hen harriers vie for space with hunting peregrines (peregrines, as well, have come under increasing pressure and now struggle to find a safe home in and around the Forest of Bowland)
Over the next few months some of Amanda's colleagues will be blogging about their work in Bowland and how we will help make it an even better place for nature.