Waders and grouse moors in the Peak District

Key finding

• Golden plover and dunlin are more likely to be found on keepered land than unkeepered land in the Peak District.

The moorlands of the Peak District National Park are designated as a Special Protection Area owing to their national and international importance mainly for waders. This designation is at least partially due to the results of a 1990 survey of upland breeding birds undertaken by English Nature. In 2004, the Moors for the Future Project (a partnership project aimed at restoring large parts of some of the Peak District moors) conducted the first full repeat of the 1990 survey and published a report of the findings in the spring of 2005. Moors for the Future and English Nature have kindly allowed us access to this information to compare breeding birds in relation to the management of moorland for grouse, collected through the Mapping Countrysports Project (see Review of 2003, page 40-41).

The 2004 survey covered 39 species of breeding birds, more than the 1990 survey, which covered 27 species. The data analysed here are based on one-kilometre squares across the area and, in the case of the 2004 data set, are restricted to those species where over 15 individuals were counted in the survey. Using one-kilometre squares allowed us to compare not only the number of birds on and off grouse moors, but also to examine both the 'range' of each species and the retention or loss of range between 1990 and 2004.

The area managed as grouse moor covered more of the 2004 range of dunlin and golden plover than would be expected by chance alone, whereas the area not managed as grouse moor covered more of the 2004 range of cuckoo, reed bunting, stonechat, tree pipit and wheatear (see Figure 1). Comparison of the 1990 survey data with that collected in 2004 showed no significant differences in the retention or loss of bird species, but there were significant differences in the extension of the range of some species. Areas managed as grouse moors showed an extension in the range of golden plover, whereas areas not managed for grouse showed an extension in the range of reed bunting and wheatear. The densities of red grouse and meadow pipit were significantly higher in kilometre squares managed for grouse.

Figure 1. Percentage of grouse moor and of other moorland that had breeding pairs of different birds in 2004. Significant differences are shown by asterisks.

Grouse moor
Other moorland
Significant difference P < 0.05	*
Significant difference P < 0.01	**
Significant difference P < 0.001	***

The analysis reported here does not take habitat into account. We, along with Moors for the Future, are currently undertaking further analysis that will do so.