SUSTAINABILITY

FEATURES
Attempting to save
the Dartmoor ring ouzel
pressure, where the sitting female is
more likely to flush regularly and often
noisily from the nest, drawing the
attention of predators.
One of the few Dartmoor ring ouzels © Nick Baker
The ring ouzel, known as the upland
blackbird, has experienced steep
national declines over recent decades
and is a high conservation priority. Since
2010, the RSPB, supported by a range of
organisations (Devon Birds, Dartmoor
National Park Authority, Natural
England, MOD and SITA Trust) has
monitored a population on Dartmoor,
at the southern edge of the species’
range. Studies have found that
Dartmoor’s ring ouzels have declined to
a perilously low level, with just seven
pairs recorded in 2013 and 2014. The
birds have been observed abandoning
historic nesting areas and becoming
increasingly concentrated in the north
west of the moor. A 2014 study
concluded that the moorland owned
by the MOD is now the most important
area of Dartmoor for this species.
western gorse, and relatively
inaccessible to humans and predators,
with nests well concealed in
vegetation. Such areas also provided
safety for vulnerable fledglings,
enabling adults to feed them under
cover. By contrast, nest sites that lacked
this vegetation cover tended to have
higher failure rates.
It was also established that nest
success on Dartmoor ranges between
1.5–4.2 fledged chicks per pair, with
predation the main cause of nest
failures. Where regularly used paths
follow close to nest sites, for example
along water courses or at popular tors,
human disturbance adds to this
The conservation strategy for ring
ouzels on Dartmoor is therefore to
increase vegetation cover at potential
nest sites to tr y and increase breeding
success. Interested par ties have held
discussions identif ying where shrub
cover could be increased. Land
owned by the MOD includes both
prime habitat and areas where
vegetation cover could be increased
and so has formed the first trial site for
habitat management.
In November 2014, an MOD training
exercise delivered fencing materials for
local contractors to install two
temporary fences, to exclude wintering
livestock for five years. The fencing was
funded by NE, RSPB and DB. It is hoped
that these carefully sited grazing
exclosures will increase vegetation
height and density. The effectiveness
of these exclosures will be monitored
over the five years and with a view to
establish similar management
elsewhere on Dartmoor.
Helen Booker
Senior Conservation Offcer
RSPB
While other external factors such as
climate change, migration or wintering
conditions, may also be influencing the
decline of Dartmoor’s ring ouzels,
these factors are out of our control and
therefore the RSPB has focussed on
possible issues at breeding sites.
The recent study importantly revealed
that sites with greater breeding success
were on very steep slopes, clad in
deep, mature heather and bilberry, or
Special delivery of fencing courtesy of the MOD © Fiona Freshney
14
Sanctuary 44 • 2015