Walkers are asked to keep dogs on a lead if on access land
Right-to-roam walkers are being urged to keep their dogs under control to avoid upsetting ground-nesting birds in a national park.
The plea came from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which has produced a leaflet to help outdoors enthusiasts identify birds while striking out away from footpaths and bridleways.
The authority pointed out that dogs must be on a short lead on Countryside and Rights of Way open access land during the nesting season, and in some areas dogs can only be taken on rights of way.
The free pocket-sized leaflet shows the main five species of birds, along with descriptions of their appearances, their calls and their favourite habitats. Since 2005 large tracts of the national park have been opened to walkers exercising their right to roam.
The authority’s ranger services manager Alan Hulme said: “This has meant that parts of the national park that were previously no-go areas for visitors – including some used by ground-nesting birds – are now seeing more humans.
“We are trying to highlight the fact that these breeding areas are now vulnerable to disruption by passing walkers and their dogs. It is for this reason that access may be restricted to only using rights of way on some of the moorland areas of the national park.
“Disturbance can mean that adult birds flee the nest, leaving eggs to get cold or, later, leaving newly-born hatchlings exposed to the elements and to predators.”
The leaflet, Ground Nesting Birds – the Big Five in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, gives details about skylarks, lapwings, red grouse, oystercatchers and curlews, as well as advice on ways of minimising contact with them. It is available at national park centres and park information points.
Malcolm Petyt, the authority’s member champion for recreation management, said: “The message is that dogs and birds don’t mix and we hope the leaflet will help people to identify the birds and the places they are likely to be as they raise their chicks over the next few months.”
