The book opens by outlining the history of the uplands and the people who have managed them through history. Although they cover 30% of our land they provide less than 1% of our food, yet by contrast the uplands collect around 70% of our drinking water and store huge amounts of carbon. It is often forgotten that many of these uplands were once covered in forests that were cleared over several thousands of years. While this removal created the upland habitats that we see today, it has come at a price, with soil erosion reducing the densities of birds that the land can support, and little has been done to maintain and enhance soil fertility in these areas.
However a habitat has been created over time that a total of 21 bird species now rely on totally – breeding nowhere else. In fact a further 28 species from other habitats make use of it too. Four chapters look at these birds in groups – the pure upland birds, the lowland breeding waders, and the birds of native woodlands and conifer plantations. Much of what we know about each species from recent research is condensed into an easily readable and concise text – something that Newton is a master at creating.
Other chapters explore the major influences that impact on the vegetation of the uplands, including both large and small herbivores. While sheep numbers have doubled in the last half century, cattle numbers have declined. The result has been the loss of heather moorland while large areas of peat bog have been drained to improve conditions for these animals. In the same period Red Deer densities on open land in Scotland have increased by 60%. Once again this comes at a cost to birds with damage caused to priority habitats. Deer that were once restricted to the open land are now moving into the forests as well.
By comparison the management of moorland for grouse shooting has maintained an important habitat for birds. Managed grouse moors cover less than 20% of the uplands, with about half of these being in Scotland and England – and none in Wales. But despite this they account for much of the recent political debate about the uplands. So for many people the chapter looking at the impact of grouse moor management will be of particular interest. This looks back to the 1850s when mostly the sport was for friends and family of the owner, to the development of more commercial 'driven shooting', with artificial densities of up to several hundred grouse per square kilometre. Newton discusses the challenges that grouse moor management presents from the illegal destruction of birds of prey and the draining and burning of peat bogs. He concludes that arguments in favour of driven grouse shooting become less tenable as management intensifies and the environmental impacts become more. But the bottom line is that there is no alternative habitat for most ground-nesting bird species if the moors disappear. If these moors are not managed for grouse then potentially they will be converted into forest – indeed the Forestry Commission has raised its overall planting target to achieve 21% of Scotland's land area under forest by 2032.
Another chapter looks at the potential opportunity for the uplands if rewilding becomes a profitable option for landowners. By letting wildlife develop with minimum intervention rewilding could be an option for Government support, and far cheaper than supporting unprofitable hill farming. It can also support more people than farming through the development of wildlife tourism. However to achieve such a goal needs great vision and courage from those in Government.
Ian Newton’s closing remarks summarise the situation in stark terms – the uplands of Britain “provide some striking examples of human land abuse.” None of the main land uses in the uplands pay for themselves - farming, forestry and energy generation are all heavily subsidised by the Government, while grouse moors are funded by wealthy landowners. He wants to find a way that allows modern grouse management to benefit both grouse shooting and raptor conservation. He concedes that failure to find a solution will either lead to further illegal killing of raptors or Government licensing of the sport to punish law-breakers – something that both the Labour Party and Scottish Nationalist Party currently support.
The parallel that I see between this book and Farming and Birds, is that in both the uplands and farmland there are some landowners who are committed conservationists and there are others who are ruthless business people for whom success can only be measured by profit. My optimism is worn down when I meet with the latter, and the realist in me says that this battle can only be resolved through Government intervention.
This is an excellent book, written in an engaging style that allows you to delve in and out with ease. It is well illustrated throughout and despite its size it is a delight to read.
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Keith Betton
An important habitat for birds under threat
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 14, 2020
