Plea for paddleboarders and kayakers to steer clear of endangered birds
A plea is being made to watersport lovers to help save one of Scotland's most endangered birds.
Paddleboarders and kayakers are being asked to steer clear of a popular loch which is also a haven for Slavonian grebes.
Their numbers have declined sharply in recent years.
Loch Ruthven attracts fishers, swimmers, paddleboarders and kayakers. The protected Site of Special Scientific Interest is also a magnet for one of the colourful grebes.
In Scotland, the species only breeds within 30 miles of Inverness but numbers at Loch Ruthven have dipped from ten pairs in 2019 to just three pairs last year.
Half the UK's breeding population of Slavonian grebe nests on Loch Ruthven and increased human activity has caused concern.
Steph Elliott of RSPB Scotland, said: 'One thing that we do know is happening is that there's an increase in recreational activity taking place on Slovenian Grebe lochs and that causes disturbance to the birds.
'It prevents them getting to their nests. It might keep birds from their nests so they can't incubate their eggs properly and, also, they're a bird that's quite vulnerable to disturbance, so they don't like the presence of people.
'What we're asking folks to do is to just not go out onto the water where the birds are really easily disturbed.
'We would rather folks came here to Loch Ruthven to see the grebes than go to other sites that are vulnerable to disturbance because we've got a birdwatching hide here and we can help people see them safely without disturbing them.'
The catastrophic decline in grebe numbers has prompted the charity, working in collaboration with Highland Council, to launch a public consultation on restricting public use of the water.
Local councillor and Green Party group leader Chris Ballance said: 'The decline of birdlife across Scotland is deeply worrying, particularly the rarer birds like this.
'It's really important that we keep the biodiversity, that we keep as wide a range of species as possible in Scotland, and that means sometimes protecting our natural spaces so that people don't disturb them at key points in the breeding seeason.'
The consultation runs until mid May.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
UK's oldest white-tailed eagle dies aged 32
"Sadly, that day has come and I feel like I've lost a friend.' Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The UK's oldest wild white-tailed eagle has died in Scotland at the age of 32, RSPB Scotland has announced. The eagle, a female named Frisa, hatched on Mull in 1992 and paired up with her long-term mate Skye in 1997. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The pair raised their first chick on the island in 1998, and went on to raise a total of 25 chicks in their 28 years of partnership. Frisa was known to "millions" thanks to appearances in a number of BBC programmes over the last two decades, beginning with the very first episode of Springwatch in 2005. Her death was announced on the latest episode of the programme on June 2 . Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad RSPB ambassador Dave Sexton , who spent 21 of his 36-year RSPB career working with white-tailed eagles on Mull, described Frisa as "a very special bird who had touched the hearts of millions who saw her both on TV and in the wild". He added: "As Frisa got on in years, I dreaded the day I would visit her territory and find her gone. "Sadly, that day has come and I feel like I've lost a friend. "But what a wonderful life she had with her mate Skye . Together they raised 25 chicks, many of which are now breeding far and wide across Scotland . Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "She was a true icon for white-tailed eagles and she'll always hold a special place in my heart." RSPB Scotland said Frisa has not been seen since last year, leading experts to believe she has died either of natural causes, or following an altercation with another eagle. Skye has also been spotted with another younger female eagle on Mull, which further suggests that Frisa has passed away as white-tailed eagles mate for life. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At 31 years of age, Skye now takes on the mantle as the UK's oldest wild white-tailed eagle. Frisa's mother Blondie successfully raised the very first white-tailed eagle to fledge in Scotland following the reintroduction of the species in 1975. The species previously became extinct in the UK in 1918 when the last known native wild bird was shot in Shetland . A reintroduction project on the Isle of Rum using chicks donated from Norway has since seen the species re-establish a self-sustaining population in Scotland .
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Fairer elections and the threat of Reform UK
George Monbiot captures the betrayal and despair felt by millions of Labour voters who thought they were voting for change at the last general election (How we can smash Britain's two-party system for good at the next election, 27 May).Less than a year later they have found themselves with a government pursuing much the same cruel austerity policies as the Conservative one it replaced. And he's right that Keir Starmer's cynical descent into inflammatory Powellite rhetoric is a gift to Nigel Farage. Most voters want nothing to do with the politics of fear and division, but the UK's antiquated and unrepresentative electoral system fails to reflect the wishes of the progressive left and centre-left majority. A hung parliament is now a very real possibility after the next election. This would indeed be a huge opportunity to scrap the first-past-the-post system that has blighted British politics for so long. As two Green MPs who overturned massive majorities to win our seats, we know it's possible for progressives to win against all the odds – and to change the electoral system, we will have to. The Green party has long championed electoral reform. As candidates for the party's leadership, our aim is to be heading a much larger group of Green MPs in parliament, giving us the leverage and negotiating power to actually achieve such transformational Chowns MPGreen party, North HerefordshireAdrian Ramsay MPGreen party, Waveney Valley George Monbiot is right to challenge the shortcomings of our electoral system. However, all electoral systems are flawed and in a democracy no individual decides what sort of government gets elected afterwards. Across Europe, where proportional representation prevails, the traditional parties of power are being replaced – not by a rainbow coalition of progressives, but by the seemingly inexorable rise of the hard right. In Scotland, the SNP-Green coalition broke down. In the UK, when the Liberal Democrats held the balance of power, they sided with the Conservatives in inflicting ideological austerity. When we had a referendum between engagement with Europe or isolation, the majority voted for the latter. The failure of our mainstream parties is that they have lost the ability to engage with ordinary people. Politics is the difficult task of leading the agenda while responding to the hopes and fears of wider society and all the ambiguities and compromises that are needed to do so. The government's shift in language from restraint to support for those most in need might be the beginning of something better – we can but BrownIlkley, West Yorkshire George Monbiot is spot-on in his analysis of the dysfunctions of our electoral system. One glaring danger he doesn't mention, however, can be seen in the steep rise of the Reform UK vote. We used to hear as one of the justifications of the current system that it prevented extreme parties from gaining a significant representation. Never mind that this revealed an arrogantly undemocratic mindset, the evidence now is that the distortions of the system may precipitate precisely the opposite outcome. Given the fragmentation of votes, it is entirely possible that, with fewer than 30% of the ballot, Reform could achieve an absolute majority in parliament at the next general election. That undemocratic disaster, quite apart from the other democratic imperatives George identifies, should be ringing alarm bells for urgent SmithGlasgow Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Highland 20mph speed limit made permanent
Highland councillors have agreed to keep 20mph speed limits at 127 locations across its were lowered from 30mph in 2023 as part of a trial designed to improve voted in favour of keeping the scheme by 10 votes to decision equates to hundreds of miles of road. Highland Council has the longest road network in the UK with more than 4,200 miles (6,759km) of roads. The locations include roads in Inverness, Nairn, Wick and council said data showed the trial resulted in an average speed reduction of about 3mph for those driving at 28mph or councillor Ruraidh Stewart argued the trial had not proven effective, and part-time 20mph limits outside schools were economy and infrastructure committee chairman and SNP councillor, Ken Gowans, said the scheme could save lives.
