Forest of Bowland

Forest of Bowland
Home > Our work > Conservation > Projects > Forest of Bowland > Birds of Bowland Project

Birds of Bowland Project

Merlin sitting in grass

The Birds of Bowland Project is run by the RSPB in partnership with United Utilities. It is supported by a number of organisations including Natural England, Ribble Valley Borough Council, Lancashire Rural Futures and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The project involves the whole community, from farmers to schoolchildren, in a celebration of the area's outstanding bird life. Project staff liaise with farmers and landowners, advising on land management and projects that benefit not only Bowland's bird populations, but also local communities, agriculture and tourism.

The project involves the whole community, from farmers to schoolchildren

Pete Wilson, the RSPB's Bowland Project Officer, works on the Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP) - a joint partnership with United Utilities. The project works with farmers and land managers, local authorities and decision makers, government and other conservation organisations to influence how water catchment areas are managed and properly funded to ensure valuable upland habitats are protected in a sustainable way.

Pete is also responsible for organising and supervising the annual monitoring of Bowland's rare breeding species such as hen harrier, merlin, ring ouzel and whinchat. Each spring, this valuable work is supported by a dedicated team of seasonal field workers and volunteers.

Bowland Wader Project

The Bowland Wader Project is part of the wider Birds of Bowland project. It exists to help maintain and increase populations of lapwings, curlews, snipe and redshanks on key sites, raise the profile of the area's national importance for waders, assist with research into assessing their declines in the uplands and help identify recovery methods.

Bowland is also host to the Lapwing Recovery Project, a national project supported by Natural England that is also operating in the North Pennines, Peak District, parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. A combination of staff and volunteers survey over 60 Bowland farms for lapwings, monitoring their breeding success and gathering information regarding habitat quality.

The project aims to better understand how management techniques and government funded environmental schemes are benefiting the birds and how these could be improved. This work is part of Action for Birds in England, a conservation partnership between Natural England and the RSPB.

Getting involved

The Birds of Bowland project hosts guided walks, mainly in the spring to highlight the importance of Bowland in the conservation of rare species such as hen harriers, lapwings and ring ouzels. A variety of farmland, woodland and moorland walks aim to show people the fascinating birds which we have in Bowland and to show what can be done to protect them. Throughout the year the Birds of Bowland staff hold several talks for a wide range of local groups such as Young Farmers Clubs, Women's Institutes and local bird and wildlife societies.

What can I do?

From scrub bashing to guided walks, the RSPB run events all around the UK

Find an event near you

Last modified: 21 April 2008