Despite the recent snowy weather Spring is officially here and the birds at both RSPB St Aidan’s and RSPB Fairburn Ings are thinking about nesting. Our great crested grebes are busy displaying, and the skylarks are already singing overhead.
You may have noticed the appearance of signs around our sites asking you to ‘please keep your dogs on leads’. We put these up at this time of year to remind those walking dogs of the damage that dogs (and people) can cause to the wildlife on our sites.
When asked where birds build their nest most children will tell you that they build them in trees but over half of England’s most threatened breeding species nest on or near to the ground.
Both St Aidan’s and Fairburn Ings are important breeding sites for many of these birds including skylark, lapwing, black-headed, grey partridge, and meadow pipits.
Allowing a dog to run wild or walking off paths can take you into the areas where these birds are nesting.
A skylark’s egg can be as small as a 5p piece. 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. When the eggs hatch, the chicks are well camouflaged but extremely vulnerable. When scared, a chick’s instinct is to stay quiet and avoid detection, and when separated from their parents they can very quickly get cold and are at more risk from predators.
By keeping dogs on a short lead, sticking to paths, and watching your step and you can give rare ground nesting birds the best chance of survival and help to keep chicks safe.
Skylark image Dave Ward
Im really pleased to see you send this update out - Though Many of those who dont leash their dogs are not RSPB members so your Rangers need to be out there spreading the word, educating and making sure we put our birds and fabulous Aire Valley wildlife FIRST. Most of them get one crack at breeding each year and it can be ruined by one selfish or careless dog owner. Thank you to all the dog owners who know that a dog needs to be on a lead in a nature reserve and act accordingly.