Choughs

[Matt_IOM]

Does anyone know what specific rules apply to Choughs and their nest sites? I was out for a walk last night and managed to get a couple of shots of a Chough which I had seen flying back and forth overhead whilst I was walking along the path. A little further on it began to get quite noisy and was obviously annoyed at my presence. It then entered a small hole on a ruined Church and then there was the noise of a lot of young Choughs and you could clearly see the nest inside the hole.

The area is used by a lot of walkers, some with dogs off the leash, and wondered if there was any rules specific to Chough's nest sites, given their pretty rare status? Is there any risk that the presence of man could cause the birds to leave the nest? It was obvious that Mr/Mrs Chough really didn't want me there and I re-routed my walk!

Best wishes,
Matt.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Matt_IOM

Does anyone know what specific rules apply to Choughs and their nest sites? I was out for a walk last night and managed to get a couple of shots of a Chough which I had seen flying back and forth overhead whilst I was walking along the path. A little further on it began to get quite noisy and was obviously annoyed at my presence. It then entered a small hole on a ruined Church and then there was the noise of a lot of young Choughs and you could clearly see the nest inside the hole.

The area is used by a lot of walkers, some with dogs off the leash, and wondered if there was any rules specific to Chough's nest sites, given their pretty rare status? Is there any risk that the presence of man could cause the birds to leave the nest? It was obvious that Mr/Mrs Chough really didn't want me there and I re-routed my walk!

Best wishes,
Matt.

Choughs are Schedule 1 and Schedule 4 birds that receive extra protection by the law and it is an offence to intentionally disturb them at their nest sites. You will probably need a licence to photograph them at their nest site/s. Check out the RSPB or BTO webpages.

Cheers,

Adam

[Matt_IOM]

I thought that would be the case. As soon as I realised that there was a nest, like I say I moved away from the area in question.

What I will do is speak to the local Wildlife Trust to see if there is anything they need to do. The area is well used by lots of ramblers & people with dogs as I mentioned, however thankfully the place where the nest is would be pretty inaccessible to anyone who wanted to cause harm/interference (including dogs off leads).

Best wishes,
Matt.