Today marks the start of the first ever Wader Week (6-12 May) and to celebrate, we asked NatureScot Ornithologist and Chair of the Working for Waders partnership, Dave Parish to tell us about it in today’s guest blog.
Welcome to the very first Working for Waders Wader Week! Between now and Sunday, we will share with you some fascinating facts about these wonderful birds, we’ll discuss some of the reasons behind their current declines and also some of the many success stories showing how we can help them.
We hope too that you will share your wader stories and experiences with us – we’d love to hear them. Are you lucky enough to still have birds breeding near you? Which species is your favourite? Are there any particular problems they face in your part of the country? Have you seen any odd behaviour (look out for our post later on the unusual places oystercatchers nest)? And if you have any photos you are willing to share, please post them.
Waders are starting to breed at this time of year so there is lots of nesting activity out there: if you want to take pictures of nests please remember to be quick, don’t get closer than you have to and be extremely careful. Try to leave no trace of your presence. Remember, breeding birds are protected by law for good reason. If the adults are away for too long, eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predation and exposure to the weather.
Amongst the many topics that we will be touching on this week will be the problems waders encounter in a changing landscape and in the face of increasing numbers of predators, and some of the challenges that land managers come up against when trying to help waders. We’ll describe some of the projects underway where practitioners have made a real difference and turned around the fortunes of their local birds, and describe some of the simple ways you can get involved, whether you are a land manager or just a wader enthusiast.
Throughout the week, if you have any comments or questions, please get in touch. You can respond directly to any of our online posts, or contact us on the Working for Waders website. We hope that Wader Week will become a regular feature in our calendars, so if you have any suggestions for stories we can include in future, or any projects (no matter how small) you would like to share and that perhaps we could visit, please let us know.
Working for Waders is a collaborative project aiming to reverse the decline of wading birds in Scotland. Partners include farmers, crofters and gamekeepers working alongside, and with support from, RSPB Scotland, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Scottish Forestry and NatureScot.
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