Scottish farmers asked to adopt wader-friendly management

Scotland has a significant proportion of Europe’s wader populations. Numbers are thought to have fallen due to changes in vegetation structure through over- or under-grazing, loss of wetland, changes in the climate and an increase in predators.

The RSPB said while controlling the climate was impossible, adopting wader-friendly farming could help reverse the decline with little or no financial impact on margins.

Walking fields the day before any planned operations to identify any nests and then marking them with bamboo cane or a prominent stone before cutting grass or other operations will avoid damaging nests, it said.

Aberdeenshire farmer John Moir said he had also changed his management to help boost wader numbers. “Shutting fields from grazing for a few weeks and retaining wet features has not really impacted my business interests.

“Spring cropping, which is part of our system, also appears to be important for nesting waders. Most of the breeding waders can be seen in areas where there is a mix of these habitats next to each other.”

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