Fresh aims to protect Uists’ wader birds and stimulate local economy

Tourism is reckoned to be worth around £53million a year locally, with plans to grow it to £63million over the next five years. Local wildlife is recognised as one of the key assets for the industry.

The Uists have nesting waders in the form of dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, snipe, lapwing and oystercatcher.

But they have been in decline since the mid-1980s partly due to predation by non-native hedgehogs, introduced in the 1970s.

Efforts to stem the decline have been in progress since 2004. Since 2007 the translocation of hedgehogs trapped by Uist Wader Research (UWR) has been undertaken by Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR), a coalition of animal welfare and wildlife organisations that supports non-lethal control. The coalition comprises British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hessilhead Wildlife Trust, International Animal Rescue and OneKind.

And proposals to mount a fresh drive to help some of Europe’s most important numbers of wader birds were today backed by community leaders in the Outer Hebrides.

Research in 2012–2014 showed that introduced non-native hedgehogs were predating the eggs (and occasionally small chicks) of these birds and that this was having a major impact on hatching success on waders in European Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in South Uist. Wader species continue to show declines in South Uist.

A range of options were presented to the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Board at its meeting in Inverness today. These include removal of hedgehogs; clearing the hedgehogs from areas of European importance for wading birds, or leaving the hedgehogs to breed.

The scheme is backed by RSPB, Storas Uibhist (the community landowner) and the council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES).

“Species such as internationally important, lapwing, dunlin, ringed plover, redshank and snipe are among those most affected. Action is proposed to counter the worrying decline in key wader species in the Uists,” Ian Ross, the SNH chairman, confirmed today.

“Managing invasive non-native species is a high priority in the islands and is recognised in the Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership’s Single Outcome Agreement (SOA). This would represent not only an investment in the natural heritage, but also the character, culture and economic future of the islands.

“The hedgehogs are a non-native invasive species introduced by man in the 1970s and are now having an extremely damaging impact on nest sites, predating on eggs and chicks.

“The Board was asked for its support in principle to develop an EU LIFE funding bid with a view to starting removal work in 2017 if this is successful. We will now develop a detailed project proposal aimed at removal of the introduced hedgehogs.

“We and our partners are committed to removal of the hedgehogs which are trapped safely and humanely, and removed from the Uists to the mainland.”

An option the Board was asked to consider is hedgehog removal from the Uists in two five-year phases at a cost of around £2.9m over five years reducing to around £2.1m over five years for phase two. The 10-year project would aim to see the ultimate removal of all the hedgehogs, giving the wader bird populations a chance to stabilise and recover.

Many of the birds’ nesting areas are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and SPAs comprising an area of around 7000 hectares.

The Board was told that if work on removal of hedgehogs stopped there is a high risk that hedgehog populations will expand particularly into North Uist, and predation on waders will increase.

Angus Campbell, the Comhairle leader, and an SNH board member, said: “There are fragile elements in the Uists – one, the environmental conditions, the second, the economic challenges we face. For me, this is building on the work that has been done already, using the scientific evidence to protect these vulnerable ground-nesting wader species.

“It will also be of benefit to the local economy in addition to making sustainable environmental improvements for the future.”

Paul Walton, head of RSPB Scotland’s species and habitats department, said: “RSPB Scotland commends these renewed efforts from SNH to secure funding to help the breeding waders of Uist. The key message in this challenging work is that everyone should be careful not to release non-native animals into the wild – especially on islands.”

A UHR spokesperson said today: “UHR will continue to contribute a rehabilitation, relocation and live release service to support the efforts to relieve pressure on the important wader populations in the Uists. We are pleased that our efforts to date have supported the translocation of hedgehogs and that the Board has committed to continued live removal, a conclusion that satisfies everyone and is in the best interests of the hedgehogs.”

Nature-based tourism is recognised in the Tourism Outer Hebrides Strategy 2020 – with the internationally important wader populations one of the key attractions for visitors. There is a risk that less visitors will come if there are no wader birds to see.

The Outer Hebrides is one of the most deprived rural areas in Scotland (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009 data). Tourism is a key industry in the Outer Hebrides, with Nature Based Tourism being a key driver in the Tourism Outer Hebrides Strategy 2020.

The spectacle of nesting waders on the machairs takes place in the spring and is an important attraction early in the tourist season. If wader populations continue to decline, there is a risk that the wider tourism product in the Outer Hebrides will be damaged leading to an adverse impact on the local economy.