Conservationists have discovered endangered dunlin chicks thriving in restored peatlands of the Cumbrian Pennines, offering hope for one of the UK’s rarest birds. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) used drones for the first time to survey remote boggy areas, funded by Natural England.
The team found chicks in eight of 14 locations surveyed, with the High Helbeck estate showing particular success. Estate managers have created 79 hectares of peatland restoration and 25 new wader scrapes—shallow pools where birds feed. A video showed chicks feeding in a newly created bog pool.
Kath Milnes, Natural England’s higher officer in Cumbria, said: “This fantastic work across the Cumbrian Pennines clearly demonstrates how investing in nature delivers multiple benefits for everyone. By working with landowners and conservation partners to restore and re-wet peatlands, we’re creating the right conditions for species like dunlin to thrive.”
Dunlins have declined by at least 20% globally since the early 2000s and are now red-listed in the UK, meaning they are critically endangered. The species migrates from west Africa to breed in Cumbrian heather moorlands, but drained and burned landscapes for farming and grouse shooting have degraded their habitat.
Joint landowner Nicolete Blackett-Ord said: “It has been extremely rewarding to take part in this project. We’ve learned such a lot about this threatened species’ distribution and habitat needs. To confirm breeding at High Helbeck is particularly special because we have worked with the RSPB and partners for several years, improving habitat, to enable wading birds to thrive.”
