Bruce is a long-standing partner in Working for Waders and has followed the fortunes of waders in west Angus for, dare I say, a few decades now, firstly as a trainee gamekeeper (and latterly as an estate manager) and now as specialist land-use consultant and facilitator of the Working for Waders West Angus Wader Project…
Read MoreWe know that waders are doing badly because they’re unable to rear enough chicks each year. That much is understood from a number of scientific studies, and it points to the fact that predation and disturbance during the breeding season are key drivers of decline.
Read MoreWaders really are incredible. Of course, I may be biased: you don’t get involved with Working for Waders (WfW) unless you are passionate about these birds, but I do find them endlessly intriguing. As a group they have a diverse array of lifestyles, including a variety of breeding systems (more on this in another blog), and are found in open habitats all round the world…
Read MoreThere are lots of simple narratives about the decline of wading birds. Some people blame farmers or foresters - other people blame badgers or ramblers who walk their dogs off leads during the breeding season…
Read MoreIt is that exciting time of year again when the waders have (mostly) returned to their breeding grounds and are displaying and hopefully producing their first clutches. I hope that those of you lucky enough to see this increasingly rare sight are enjoying it…
Read MoreIn Strathbraan and Glenshee once the evenings start to draw out, if you know where to look you can find Curlew amidst neat rows of saplings, beaks probing exposed moundings, still gamely trying to breed at sites which have been given over to tree planting. At Tarras Valley…
Read MoreWe always look ahead to exciting signs of coming spring. Several people have been in touch with the project over the last fortnight to let us know that oystercatchers have already arrived on their territories on the River Tweed, and big groups of lapwings have started to appear on the hills in the south of Scotland…
Read MoreWorking for Waders was well represented at the European Curlew Fieldworker’s Conference in King’s Lynn last weekend. Bruce Cooper and Patrick Laurie were in attendance for the three day event which saw a hundred curlew conservationists coming together from across…
Read MoreThe last few weeks have been busy at Working for Waders. Having welcomed a number of project proposals from various partners across Scotland, it was hard to narrow down a list of applicants to match the budget allocated for spending. Each proposal offered
Read MoreWoodland expansion is an important driver of wader decline in many parts of the UK. As governments push to plant more trees in a bid to tackle the impact of climate change, wader habitats are being squeezed and fragmented by new forests across large areas of marginal farmland.
Read MoreIt’s been a busy few weeks for the Working for Waders nest camera project. This is the third year we’ve been running cameras to monitor wader breeding productivity across Scotland, and the results have so far helped us to build a really useful picture of the threats and challenges which face…
Read MoreAs part of a project on wader conservation clusters, we’ve been working on Skye over the last few weeks. It’s really important to understand how farmers and crofters can work together to protect wading birds, and “clusters” are a great way to deliver change across an entire landscape.
Read MoreWe’ve just updated our “The Story So Far” document which charts our progress over the last 12 months, including a range of work across a variety of projects including farmer clusters, research and nest camera work….
Read MoreWhile lots of good work for waders is delivered through agri-environment schemes in Scotland, there’s room to improve this funding mechanism. Some of the options available under AECS (agri-environment and Climate Scheme) attempt to impose a one-size-fits-all approach across…
Read MoreLooking ahead into a new year, this has been a very busy time for Working for Waders. Various project partners were involved in meetings right through the Christmas break to ensure that all our plans are in place for the spring…
Read MoreDuring the course of 2022’s wader breeding season, we’ve been running a Nest Camera Project to monitor wader nests and learn more about the challenges facing wading birds in Scotland. This project was established in 2021, but it was considerably enlarged…
Read MoreA team from Working for Waders recently headed into Lanarkshire to meet the Clyde Valley Wader Group near Crawfordjohn. This group of farmers has blazed a trail for wader conservation…
Read MoreA group from the Working for Waders facilitation team travelled to Grantown-on-Spey last week to learn more about the work of the Strathspey Waders and Wetlands Initiative (SWWI). The meeting was hosted by RSPB Scotland and the Cairngorms National Park Authority…
Read MoreThe Working for Waders nest camera project is in full swing, with almost eighty cameras currently running on wader nests across Scotland. We’re working with a range of project partners to make this happen, and participants vary from from big organisations like RSPB and GWCT…
Read MoreIt’s World Curlew Day, so we caught up with Prof Russell Wynn, Manager of the English Curlew Recovery Partnership to find out more about the day and how the birds are doing south of the border
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