Same old problem, so can I make a suggestion? !

Maybe a follow up to the 'Build It And They Will Come'? A sort of 'Now They Are Here, How Can We Help Them?'. This could start with maintaining existing habitat and nesting sites such as trees, hedges, shrubs and other locations. Maybe this in turn could lead to do's and don'ts regarding nests, eggs and fledglings? It might be a step too far and maybe too specific, but a reference to the potential consequences of feeding white bread to goslings and other young waterfowl could be another campaign? A simple short film of people feeding ducks at a local pond which highlights the innocent mistake that so many folk make. The three Canada Geese which suffer from Angel Wing are still at my local pond. Luckily they have an island on which to take refuge, but if we have a hot Summer, the water levels will drop and these Geese cannot fly to another more suitable location. Maybe I have diluted the topic here, but it's something of which I was unaware until I posted photos on the forum last year.

Hello, as a media officer and wildlife advisor I know the frustration so many people feel when they witness hedges being cut in the birds’ breeding season. Each year, wildlife enquiries and the media team work together to get the message out there to leave hedges and trees alone while birds are nesting. We are always looking for new angles to make sure this issue gets the media’s attention, which is not always easy. This year, we used the discovery of a robin’s nest in a motorbike to help get the message across. This is the press release we sent out here.

Thanks Paul and Richard,

@ Richard, Thank you very much for your prompt response;  

I appreciate what you are saying and the fact you have put various press releases out there in the past including this robin who made its nest in the motorbike, but I was thinking more in simple terms with a straight-forward message to get clearly across to the public without including "cute robin stories" or photos highlighting the unusual places birds can build nests as I think that is a distraction to the main purpose of stating it is against the law to disturb nests once the first twig/material is placed down.   People would just see the cute Robin or other endearing photo before they read the rest of the article about hedge trimming, pruning, etc., where nests could be in use and the message would lose its impact.

   My whole point is to somehow get a strong media notice, preferably via TV and national newspapers sometime during early March to say in simple terms:  "please be vigilant if you are cutting hedgerows or shrubbed areas where birds could be nesting as it is against the law, under section..... of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to interfere or disburb a nest once the first twig or materials are placed down , to do so would be committing a criminal offence and subject to possible prosecution "     I think it far more important to get the message across without diverting attention with "cute" photos or stories.  

Well put Hazy, the message needs to be short and to the point so that people will notice it and heed it also.  

At least two hundred yards of hedge have been cut down near our local village and a horrible wire fence erected, farmland of course, each time I pass I shudder and wonder how nobody was able to stop it happening.

Thanks Gaynor,  I really hope the RSPB can get a short and simple message out there on TV/newspapers so people will sit up and take notice of how important this issue is.  Most folk mean no harm to wildlife, they are just not in receipt of the information about birds nesting or the laws regarding such and the fact they should try to get their major pruning and hedgecutting done between September and March and at other times, just be mindful of the presence of any potential nests and avoid the area completely.    

I wonder if it is worth the media team contacting local papers,most seem to have a country or gardening column and many people read their local rag rather than the nationals

Hi Pete,  I think that would be a great idea, anything that sends a simple message and gets to the public will help as at the moment I'm sure if I did a poll of people out on the street 90% would be unaware of the legality issue of disturbing (amended to damaging or destroying and my thanks to Bob Philpott for clearing this up)  nests and no doubt, over 50% would not give birds nests a thought when cutting hedgerows or shrubbery back.   As much as the team state they are putting media notices out there, I don't see them having any significant effect and so often the message sent is being swallowed up with cute photos of birds/wildlife which is softening the impact of the whole point of the article.  

The RSPB missed a golden opportunity last night when they had an appearance on our local North West BBC TV news program talking about wildlife in the garden which just lent itself to a brief mention about birds nesting season and to highlight the importance of vigilance when trimming back ...........and absolutely nothing on the subject was mentioned when we are now at the start of the nesting season.  

I won't hammer on about this any more as I will begin to lose my impact on the subject with yawns of "she's still banging on about it"    LOL      I will leave it there and hand the reins back over to the people who should control them,  I was just trying to steer a more straight-forward route to getting the information out there to the wider general public who still seem very much in the dark on this topic.    Thanks to all the Members for their responses and thoughts, at least I know I am not alone in my concerns.      

Over to you RSPB !

Hazy,  I don't know where you live but the law is different in England / Wales and Scotland.  I totally concur that we should be careful when cutting hedges.  In England / Wales unless the bird is a Schedule 1 species it is only illegal to destroy or damage a nest.  It is not an offence to disturb.   As a result whilst it is appropriate to encourage people to leave hedges (which is what the RSPB does) it would actually be misleading to tell people they are committing offences.

There have been prosecutions for taking hedges away etc but in those it could be shown that nests were present and therefore must have been destroyed.

Unknown said:

 In England / Wales unless the bird is a Schedule 1 species it is only illegal to destroy or damage a nest.

   Many thanks for your reply Bob,  I stand corrected when I used the word "disturb" instead of  "damage or destroy"      you are absolutely right of course,  it is only advisable to avoid disturbing nesting birds and there is no legality issue there.    It is however sad if a bird does get disturbed and then abandons the nest or worse still the eggs or chicks in situ but that should be a different issue.   Thank you for your response which is greatly appreciated.      I will amend my wording !          I still feel more could be done Bob by the RSPB as a lot of nests are destroyed or damaged when cutting back is carried out by folk who just are not aware of the consequences and the Law !  if they destroy/damage that nest.      Many thanks again Bob.