CONSERVATIONISTS in the Elan Valley have this week been highlighting the work they are doing to protect rare species of birds who call the region home.

The Elan Rare Birds project is a scheme designed to help rare species like the golden plover, curlew, merlin, ring ouzel, whinchat and skylark flourish in the Elan Valley and Cambrian Mountains range, working to improve habitats and making interventions to help improve the breeding success of these rare birds.

The project comes under the umbrella of the Elan Links: People, Nature & Water Landscape Partnership Heritage Lottery project, which is designed to generate beneficial outcomes for people, communities and heritage.

The Elan Valley area is a traditional stronghold for upland breeding birds such as the ones mentioned above. However, changing practices in how the land has been managed has contributed to the decline in rare birds in the area. These species are dependent on a variety of different plant communities, or vegetation mosaics, and the project aims to change how the region is managed.

“Under the ‘Elan Rare Birds’ project, we are working to improve key habitat areas and making other interventions to help improve the breeding success of these rare birds,” said a statement on the Elan Links Facebook page.

“Not only do we have the opportunity to reinvigorate traditional farming practises, there is the chance to mitigate the threat of further changes and future threats to species such as climate change.”

This week the organisation has so far been highlighting the golden plover, curlew, merlin and ring ouzel, and the work being carried out locally.

“Curlew nest on the ground in a scrape lined with dry grass,” Elan Links said in further posts about each bird.

“Like other waders, they favour ground where there is good visibility surrounding the nesting site. They particularly favour areas with a mix of vegetation heights and where there is vegetation typical of damp habitats, such as sedges and rush.

“In the past, agricultural intensification on upland farmland may have contributed to the curlews’ decline and has reduced the availability of habitats.

“To help protect curlew some of the actions taken over the last three years include: an increase in cattle grazing, controlling dominant species such as rushes and Molinia, (purple moor grass) muckspreading and stock exclusion at certain times of the year.

“Another bird species Elan Links are working to protect is the golden plover. Like the curlew, golden plover nest on upland pastures. It spends the winter predominantly in lowland areas, but returns to its upland breeding areas in February, and usually stays until July.

“The Welsh population of golden plover has declined over the last 30 years. Only 70–90 pairs now remain and nearly half of these breed on the extensive moorland of the Elenydd in the Cambrian Mountains.

“Like the curlew, the golden plover likes a mix of vegetation heights. Typical golden plover breeding habitat is flat, open moorland with a mosaic of short heath (heather, bilberry and crowberry), blanket bog and wet flushes with adjacent short grassland and pasture. This provides a mix of habitats with areas of longer vegetation for the chicks to hide from predators and shorter vegetation where they can feed. Elan Links are working to restore these habitats to the Elan area.”

Moving on to the ring ouzels, a post read: “The ring ouzels are migrants, wintering in the Mediterranean and North Africa before returning to the UK in the spring and summer.

“The UK population is thought to have decreased by about 60 per cent between 1990 and 1999. Possible causes of this decline include afforestation on upland areas, changes in stocking management and grazing regimes, and grassland improvement.

“Actions that Elan Links have and will take to encourage ring ouzels include: planting of scattered rowan and hawthorn on moorland and ffrydd, bracken management, muck spreading on pastures to improve invertebrate populations and cattle and pony grazing.

“The final bird species that we focus on under the Elan Rare Birds project is merlin. The merlin is the UK’s smallest bird of prey and can be seen hunting for small birds, small mammals and even insects.

“Populations of merlin were once very low. They are slowly recovering, but it is still a ‘red list’ species due to its low numbers.”