We co-ordinated the 2004 and 2018 surveys of breeding birds, on behalf of partners, to discover how a range of moorland birds are faring over time and whether interventions to benefit them are working. The latest findings will be reported in August 2019.
The Peak District Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) is designated for several species of moorland birds. It is a statutory requirement that the SPA is surveyed regularly to monitor numbers of birds including golden plover, curlew, merlin, twite, dunlin, short-eared owl, red grouse, skylark and meadow pipit. The survey is an excellent opportunity to identify sites where birds breed successfully and the conditions they need.
First taking place in 1990 and again in 2004, the analysis of data from 2018 will help us to understand how factors including land use, management practices and habitat types and condition, can influence bird populations. Comparing the results to the two previous studies will provide an insight into long-term trends. The results will enable us to inform the land-managing community about how they can help.
The latest survey took place during the bird-breeding season from April to June 2018. Specialist surveyors visited each moorland site twice – covering a whopping 500 square kilometres of moorland – to record the presence and behaviour of the birds. To keep disturbance of nesting birds to a minimum, only one person surveyed an area at a time.
The British Trust for Ornithology is analysing the survey data and will publish its report in August 2019.
Found out more about how the breeding bird surveys were developed and who is carrying them out
