Choughs might currently no longer have a home on the Solway coast, but our Species on the Edge officers are working hard so that one day, they might return. We might be gone by then, but if Jack and Liam can leave a legacy of choughs in Galloway, what a legacy that would be!
By Jack Barton, Species on the Edge Project Officer for the Solway Coast, RSPB Scotland
Red-billed Choughs, charismatic members of the crow family, were once widespread across the coasts of the British Isles. This included in Dumfries and Galloway where, according to Gray (1871), “bold and precipitous rocks fronting the sea were at one time inhabited by considerable number of these birds.” Locations mentioned include Burrow Head, The Mull of Galloway and around Portpatrick. Chough are very often associated with the coast, preferring to nest in the shelter of caves and crevices, so the locations would have made ideal strongholds. However, even in 1871 Gray noted that “in many places once distinguished for red-legged crows [Chough], it has of late years become very scarce.”
Ultimately, Chough disappeared completely from many parts of the UK throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The main reason for decline in Chough populations was a decline in grazing pressure as pastures were lost on coastal cliffs. Chough feed by probing in the soil and dung with their beak for invertebrates, so the loss of coastal farming systems meant that foraging successfully was more challenging. Chough were also historically persecuted, falling victim to the gun and traps set for other animals. As Chough became ever rarer, Victorian collectors became interested in stuffed birds or a clutch of eggs for their collection.
In Dumfries and Galloway, Chough were pretty much absent for most of the 20th century. However, in the late 1980s a pair returned to a nest site near Monreith, and Chough bred here most years until around 2005, fledging several young in this period. Despite this, the population never expanded, with young birds thought to join flocks on the nearby Isle of Man, where Chough populations are doing well. Since then, there have been occasional sightings of Chough in the region, but as far as we know no successful breeding attempts.
Through Species on the Edge, the RSPB are exploring the possibility that Chough may return to Galloway in the future. Chough is a priority species for the RSPB – a species that needs a little bit of extra input to ensure its conservation status is good. In Scotland Chough are particularly vulnerable as the small population of around 50 pairs is restricted to the Islands of Islay, Colonsay and Oronsay. Whilst it is unlikely that Chough will return to breed in Dumfries and Galloway during the lifespan of Species on the Edge, work has started to assess the extent of the remaining suitable habitat and work with landowners to identify areas for improvement with the hope that this may inform further work to bring back Chough in the future.
The project so far has included work on two key farms in Wigtownshire near where Chough have previously bred. As Chough are so reliant on soil invertebrates, we worked with an expert from SRUC to assess the populations of Cranefly larvae in the soil. Leatherjackets remain in the top 2-3 cm of soil all the time when in the larval stage, making them easy pickings for foraging Chough. The study involved taking 250 small core samples from the fields, which were then taken back to the lab for analysis where the larvae were extracted and counted. Soil compaction was also measured, as Chough find it easier to forage in looser soil. The results of the survey will go on to inform management recommendations that we will be working with landowners to produce. The wider coastal landscape in Dumfries and Galloway is being surveyed for habitat suitability, with field use and potential nesting habitat being mapped Furthermore, Species on the Edge has provided funding to construct Chough nesting boxes and platforms, which will provide safe places for Chough to nest in the future.
