Historical and Statistical Data

The images being exhibited on this web page show current occupied Peregrine falcon eyries in 2009 sited on various upland sporting estates throughout Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland.  The object of this pioneering strategy is to present to conservation bodies and the British public as a whole, images of occupied Peregrine nesting sites throughout the current and future breeding seasons in an effort to publicise their rate of success or failure. Images will be updated to show those nesting sites which succeed and nests lost as a direct consequence of natural causes together with human persecution.

Currently throughout the Forest of Bowland protected birds of prey, together with their nesting sites, are considered at general risk from persecution to protect stocks of game birds, in particular the Red Grouse. This web site will be particularly concerned with Peregrine and Hen Harrier, which we feel are the two main raptor species in the area which are known to be at particular risk from persecution. Historically the majority of such nesting failures are the result of direct criminal persecution; so far these activities have received little or no publicity- this situation is about to change.

Initially images are being displayed depicting all Peregrine nesting sites established this spring on the United Utilities estate in the Forest of Bowland, an estimated area of 106 sq kilometres. Whereas other Peregrine nesting sites established on additional sporting estates in the region (a combined area of 694 sq kilometres), will be exhibited in a single group to disguise numbers of occupied nests each estate currently holds.

A small number of nesting sites, although photographed, will not be displayed for security reasons until the end of the breeding season.  Because statistics clearly show raptors are afforded better protection by United Utilities management, this has generally resulted in the success of a majority of nesting attempts on moorlands owned by this company since privatization in 1989. Without doubt United Utilities is regarded as a flag ship estate, providing tangible security for nesting birds of prey throughout their Forest of Bowland holdings.

However despite the best efforts of the company to monitor and protect nesting birds of prey throughout the 106 sq kilometres of heather moorlands they own, in the last few breeding seasons clutches of eggs together with small numbers of unfledged young have been lost from nesting sites. There is also concern that specific Peregrine territories located on the United Utilities estate together with nests established upon other sporting estates in the Forest of Bowland, consistently under perform year on year producing no more than single fledglings despite food availability remaining high within each territory. These nesting sites will be given prominence on this web site.

The majority of the Forest of Bowland’s heather habitat covering 800 Sq kilometres is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and under European legislation a Special Protected Area (SPA). The name forest is a slight misrepresentation, the area comprises moorland habitat with a maximum height of 560 m and is used exclusively for game shooting and to a lesser degree hill sheep farming.

Today the region is segmented into 5 major sporting estates, the largest of these being owned and managed by United Utilities Plc as an important water catchment resource. In two areas leased game shooting also takes place on the estate bringing in a modest revenue to the company.

We have listed an analysis of Peregrine Falcon breeding attempts in the Forest of Bowland for the past 34 years, highlighting a clear pattern of sustained criminal persecution of this species. Information gathered between 1974-2008 from Peregrine sites in Bowland taken as a whole are based upon confirmed data obtained from occupied breeding territories examined by licensed members of the North West Raptor Group. It will never be known how many additional failed breeding attempts were made throughout the survey period.  A number of unrecorded nesting attempts will have succeeded, however we are confident that historically a huge number of unsuccessful Peregrine breeding attempts have not been included in the figures below.

During the last three and a half decades, 320 Peregrine breeding attempts were recorded and 776 eggs counted. The number of broods counted was 159 producing a total of 381 hatched young, a mean brood size per nesting attempt of 2.39.

A total of 113 broods were successful fledging 241 young, a mean brood size of 2.13 per successful nesting attempt.

Taking the number of nesting attempts (320) where eggs were counted and the total  number of fledged young (241), the mean number of young fledged per breeding attempt is 0.75.

Out of the 320 confirmed nesting attempts, 161 clutches of eggs failed to hatch or were removed, a further 48 broods also suffered a similar fate. An additional 32 nests examined contained 50 unfledged chicks, the outcome of which is not known.

Currently the Forest of Bowland is home to between 20-25 pairs of Peregrines, (8 of these pairs are regular ground nesting). England’s core population of 14 pairs of Hen Harriers, approximately 12 pairs of Merlin, together with a small number of Short-eared Owls and England’s only pair of Eagle Owls. In the last decade 3 Peregrine falcons reared in Forest of Bowland territories have been recovered shot.

Despite a great amount of dedication and hard work by an experienced team of unpaid licensed conservation workers beginning in 1974, the only two people brought before the courts by the police backed by estate landowners and their keepers, were two of the most highly respected and dedicated raptor workers from the North West. According to one police officer providing evidence to the court, in his opinion the case was a political prosecution, taken against the two individuals to undermine their credibility. Had the case succeeded, all the statistical records and persecution data recorded by the two conservationists and incorporated in to the statistical data on this web site would have been lost, ordered destroyed by the court. This is why currently conservation measures to preserve our endangered and so called “protected” birds of prey not only in the Forest of Bowland, but throughout our country in general, are being constantly undermined by the politics surrounding these wonderful and exciting birds of prey.

Hen Harriers Statistics Forest of Bowland 2000 – 2008

Just in case anyone has any doubt regarding the way persecution and politics are continuing to inhibit the expansion of a single raptor species, we have listed below productivity data for arguably one of the most persecuted birds in our country, the Hen Harrier. Statistics show that 131 Hen Harriers fledged from nesting sites established on 106 sq kilometres of moorland in the Forest of Bowland owned by United Utilities for the period 2000-2008. In stark contrast, only 24 young fledged  throughout this same nine year period from moorland owned and managed by all the additional regional shooting estates, a combined area of 694 sq kilometres. These are particularly alarming figures which sporting estate landowners together with their gamekeepers would wish to be kept out of the public domain. When reports showcase the success of the Hen Harrier in Lancashire’s Forest of  Bowland, rarely is it ever pointed out this success only applies to those moorlands owned by United Utilities and NOT the additional five estates used for grouse shooting.

Table 1. Breeding performance of the Peregrine Falcon in the Forest of Bowland

1974-2008

Table 2. Fledged Brood Sizes: Forest of Bowland

1974-2008