The Peak's missing birds of prey | | Peregrine Falcon - king of the skies |
Falcons are the toughest, meanest, hardest birds anywhere on the planet. These are THE birds of prey - a sort of Vinny Jones of the skies.
And the biggest ones will snack on virtually anything. Amongst the many marvellous looking birds of prey in Derbyshire is the Goshawk, weighing in at a two and with a wingspan of a metre and a half.
The forest is its manor and the birds live off the fat of the land.
So you'd reckon these birds would have absolutely nothing to fear. Not only do they rule the roost, they're protected by the law. But the RSPB say in certain areas these birds are taking a hiding - from humans. Killing protected birds In a new report the RSPB says that birds of prey are being killed for sport. The RSPB says that frequently in similar breeding grounds to Peregrine Falcons, there are locations in the Peak where no young have been raised since 2000. The RSPB claims that in other sections of the Peak District, the number of chicks raised is half that of other areas in Britain
Mark Thomas, a bird specialist, has been investigating. We join him on the hunt for an elusive pair of Goshawks in the Peak District.
"A lot of people call them 'the phantom of the forest' because it's this incredibly powerful muscular bird that can fly at incredible speeds and dash through the canopies they can eat virtually anything."
But according to the RSPB, in certain parts of the Peak District, these birds of prey have become the prey themselves. Mark Avery says that since about 1999 numbers of Goshawks in particular, have plummeted. "They were doing fine here - in fact the Peak District was a great place to see them," he says. "There are still some here but their numbers have declined in some parts of the Peak District and they've just almost disappeared from some of those places. "And that's not something we've ever seen before in any part of the country - there's something very odd going on here."
Game shooting?
What the RSPB are alleging is quite simple - that people are deliberately killing birds of prey.
A RSPB says, "Most of the people who've been prosecuted successfully, most of them have been closely associated with game shooting. "And I'm not saying they're all at it, but that's where I'd look first."
The RSPB reckon its another bird that can explain this trend - the Red Grouse. People pay thousands of pounds for the privilege of shooting them.
Birds of prey eat grouse so fewer grouse means a worse day for the shooter.
We spoke to a gamekeeper, who isn't based in the Peak District, but he confirmed that keepers were being pushed to 'deal' with birds of prey. He didn't want to be identified and we've recreated his comments: "I got to the stage where I was basically told that if I'd done it, I might be able to keep my job. "But I've never done it - I just refused to do it and after that, well, things started to get nasty, you know.
"One day we were out and a Golden Eagle was flying about, and he went beserk at me. "He said how embarrassing it was to have all his friends up from London shooting grouse and there was this Golden Eagle flying about. "He was suggesting keepers weren't doing their job - it was just vermin as far as he was concerned. "I was told Otters, Badgers, Deer - just get rid of them and don't worry about the legal issues because they could afford the best legal help money can buy." Bird paradise?
Back in the forest with Mark Thomas, there's still no sign of the Goshawks, but there's evidence of something more sinister.
After a 500 feet climb up from the nearest footpath, we find a bird of prey site which looks like it's been tampered with. It's difficult to see how anybody could've stumbled across these birds in an isolated location by accident.
A Goshawk was nesting in the tree, but we saw a deep gouge - evidence that someone had climbed up and disturbed the nest.
A mark in the tree trunk bore a close resemblance to climbing spikes belonging to a local keeper, Reg Cripps.
There was enough other evidence for a successful prosecution.
No evidence?
So how many people involved in country sports are really willing to break the law and are turn both barrels on protected birds? We were keen to speak to someone who regularly deals with shooters, keepers and landowners. Tim Baines from the Countryside Alliance responds to the allegation that Goshawks are reducing in certain parts of the Peak District and that people involved in country sports are to blame: "Well I don't know where these figures are coming from. "I've certainly seen nothing to suggest it, and the last survey suggested that all raptors were doing better than ever in the Peak District. "And this sort of constant insinuation that people in country sports are involved... there's really very little evidence for it."
So what could be the explanation for the fact that there aren't so many Goshawks around? Could it be the result of disease, for example? Mark Thomas has his own views: "Where populations of birds are disappearing or they're vanishing, where neighbouring populations are fine - those are the mysteries - and that indicates really quite strongly persecution."
Persecution will lead to prosecution say the RSPB - expect a hefty fine and even time in jail if you're caught killing a bird of prey. Links relating to this story:The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites | 
Inside Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire: Monday March 6, 2006
