National Trust makes plea to dog owners as spring is sprung on moorlands

Our moorlands will soon be alive with the symphony of skylarks and the bubbling note of curlew. Birds of prey like merlin hover above as late spring edges towards early summer and new life emerges from bracken, gorse, and highland grass.

The nesting season for British birds begins in April and lasts until July amplifying birdsong and adding to our joy on countryside walks. Greater Manchester is surrounded by moors, which provide cover for species like the stunning golden plover, lapwings, and the handsome wheatear to thrive.

The winchat, meadow pipit, and locally, twite - known as the Pennine linnet - also breed on the moors. But as well as natural predators they face another danger - us and our dogs.

Now The National Trust in Marsden on the border of Greater Manchester and Yorkshire is asking dog owners and walkers to keep to the paths and ensure dogs are on a short lead until July 31st for the sake of moorland birds.

The moors around Marsden provide the perfect breeding ground for some of the nation’s rarer birds such as golden plovers, whose summer dress is a remarkable spotted hood and cloak of gold and black with a white border. Curlews and merlins also breed there. These three and others build their nests of grass or a slight hollow in the ground in heather or grass, rather than in trees, making them extremely vulnerable to damage.

Although their nests are cleverly camouflaged so as not to attract the attention of predators, this also means that people can be unaware of the impact they may have on these birds. Dog owners may think their animals are under close control, but dogs may run through a nest without their owner’s knowledge.

Just the presence of dogs off-lead is enough to scare birds away and prevent them