UKC

Do nesting Peregrine's lead to a crag, or section of crag, being banned once the BMC are aware, or are they becoming so well established that climbing is permitted on some popular crags despite their presence?

Peregrines are a Schedule 1 listed species of The Wildlife and Countryside Act.
It's an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb them.

I'd reckon that would mean anyone knowingly climbing near a nest would be breaking the law.

Hi

The simple answer is that all Peregrines and their nest sites in the UK are protected by law - Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and special penalties apply to any disturbance.  In fact all nesting birds and their nests are legally protected from being destroyed (apart from a few named vermin species) but Peregrines and other birds that are listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act  have additional protection.  This means that it is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take a Peregrine. Nests and eggs are also protected and the Act makes it an offence to take, damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is in use or being built or to take or destroy the eggs.

Peregrines are included in the list of species in Schedule 1 of the Act, which means that they are given more protection than other species. In effect, this means that higher penalties can be imposed by the courts. As a Schedule 1 species, Peregrines are also protected from "intentional" or "reckless" disturbance at their nest sites.

BMC negotiates climbing restrictions based on an "evidence based approach"  that's agreed with most conservation and statutory bodies, minimising the extent of the agreed restricted area to an area that's necessary for the birds to successfully fledge. This area can vary from site to site and even by each individual bird, as some are less tolerant than others of disturbance.  "Recklessly" disturbing (note that it does not have to be deliberate or intentional to be a criminal offence), a nesting Peregrine by not adhering to an agreed restriction (or even where there is not an agreed restriction but clear evidence of a nesting bird)  could lead to the climber being prosecuted and potentially subject to unlimited fines and /or six months imprisonment. Disturbance can be any activity that prevents a bird from carrying out its natural or normal behaviour and in particular disturbance that makes the bird fly off the nest, abandon its eggs or prevents it from returning to the nest. Typical signs of disturbance can be the bird flying around in agitated circles, usually close to the nest site, screeching loudly - a sure sign for climbers to move well away! 

Some more info here by my colleague Rob Dyer - https://www.thebmc.co.uk/nesting-birds-advice-for-climbers

Elfyn Jones 

BMC Access & Conservation Officer (Wales)

I view climbing near peregrins a bit like climbing unfrozen turf in that aside, from the ethical considerations, is the sort of mistake a sane person only makes once as its terrifing and dangerous!

Putting aside the schedule 1 protection for a moment. All wild birds (except some game birds) are protected under the 1981 WCA (as Elfyn has mentioned above).

It may be worth noting that in England and Wales a criminal offence is triggered if the birds are “intentionally” disturbed. However in Scotland offences are triggered if “intentional” OR “recklessly”.

I think you probably already know the answer to your question as well as what follows (which partly re-iterates what my BMC Cymru colleague Elfyn has just written): 

In Wales, (although I expect exactly the same principles apply in England too), seasonal restrictions  designed to minimise disturbance to nesting sites are usually agreed between BMC Cymru, landowners and Natural Resources Wales. By climbing during the agreed restricted period, climbers may then risk committing a potential offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, namely 'intentionally disturbing Schedule 1 bird species at or near a nest site'.  

More specifically, it is an offence under section 1(5) of the Act to either intentionally or recklessly disturb any wild bird included in Schedule 1 of the Act while it is building a nest or is in, on, or near a nest containing eggs or young; or to either intentionally or recklessly disturb the dependent young of such a bird. Relevant evidence to prove the offence may include anything tending to rebut claims of accidental presence near to the site. Climbers roped up on a nearby route would probably fail to prove an 'accidental presence'. 

Outside any seasonal restriction dates, the agreed advice is that common sense should be applied if birds are present and appear to be seriously alarmed by the presence of climbers. All climbers should act responsibly and if it is suspected that there are raptors, choughs etc. nesting on any crag, then simply climb elsewhere.  

Peregrines show considerable tolerance to human activity, but will not tolerate human disturbance near the nest or from above. When a peregrine is flying above you, making a ‘kek, kek, kek’ call, then retreat immediately as this is a clear indication that you are causing disturbance. This isn't necessarily the case for other raptor species such as merlin or red kites, both also Schedule 1 birds who are far more intolerant of any human presence anywhere near a nesting site.  Merlin often nest in tandem with peregrines - at least here in Wales. 

In any event it is the climber’s responsibility to check for up to date information before climbing. The BMC’s RAD may provide details of these restrictions (if known), but this is no guarantee. In the absence of any known BMC agreed seasonal restriction, then the potential for committing an offence under the 1981 Act still applies. On this the law is quite clear. Any such offence against peregrines can attract fines of up to £5,000 per offence and/or a custodial sentence of up to 6 months. 

Schedule 1 birds are, generally speaking rare in the British Isles and subjective assertions that 'peregrines are becoming more common' will not be a defence if prosecuted.

This is a very useful summary of research with regards the effect of human disturbance on a number of bird species: http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/strategy/renewables/birdsd.pdf

HTH

Dave

(BMC Cymru Local Access Rep)

Thank you for this. Just to be clear, this was a genuine question and not asked with any suggestion or implication that people should disturb these birds as they seem less rare than they once were.

The reason I asked is that I was at a very popular crag this weekend and was asked by another climber not to climb left of a specific route, as he had seen a Peregrine or Perigrine's at the crag prior to our arrival. We complied, did one climb and went to another crag, leaving perhaps 7 teams, with more arriving, climbing in a fairly narrow area. There is no bird ban on this crag and so I just wondered were we all stood....by the sound of it on very dodgy ground. There was no sign of the birds while we were there.

Regards
Tony

As a non-birder I find peregrines particularly tricky to weigh up. Some crags (eg Malham) have a comparatively small area restricted for the peregrines, which seem quite happy with that. Blue Scar, just over the hill has a ban on the entire crag (which is pretty extensive). Plus, of course, some peregrines actually nest on chimneys and buildings in towns and cities. All you can do it look at the RAD and behave accordingly but I don't think I'll ever understand the awkward little beggars

Sometimes the REALLY "awkward little beggars" are the local RSPB types, who decide their own version of how much space to give the birds. This seems (to the layman)  regularly to be more how much the humans want to throw their weight around, rather than how much space the birds require. A series of incidents at the Roaches comes to mind - also the 12-month ban at Symonds Yat.

In my experience, I know of no local climbers who would ever disturb or interfere with a Peregrine or break any aspects of the law. It is possible to get quite close to them or their nests unless they are aggressively defensive, they are usually not troubled by climbers. However, they are greatly troubled by Crows and Ravens. I think climbers and Peregrines can live in fairly amicable and close harmony. Some of the RSPB lot are too proscriptive about their demarcations. We will have a problem if too many Peregrines take over too many crags. In Borrowdale for example, only a fractional percentage of the hillsides along the valley are actually climbed on - leaving huge swathes and vast areas of non-climbed crags for the birds to inhabit. I think a sense of balance and perspective is required in the application of the law.

DC

Peregrines have very specific requirements of a nest ledge, and won't just move over to another area of cliff just because it's a "non climbed crag" any more than climbers would move there. 

In the mountains very few "new" nest sites are used - the birds always return to a site that has been used in the past, even if it's been deserted for decades. 

One of the reasons peregrines are now comparatively rare in the mountains is that following the persecution and chemical issues of the mid 20th century the empty nest ledges were taken over by ravens and buzzards leaving nowhere for the peregrines to nest when numbers started to return to a "normal" population. The only place that they can discover "new" suitable ledges are on man made structures (with the added advantage of urban pigeon food sources). 

No we won't. Firstly because they won't just take over crags (see abive) but also as we'll just climb in the mid to late summer, autumn and winter and leave the birds alone in their spring breeding season. 

Vermin species? There are no vermin species. The term is not mentioned in the Act and the only people who use that pejorative term are gamekeepers.

and fishermen