Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIG 53 . Adult chough feeding the two surviving young in 1991, the first successful Gower brood since the late nine-
teenth century. (Harold Grenfell)
Between 2000 and 2001 two pairs of choughs bred at Mewslade and Pennard and in 2002 a third pair
nested at Pennard. Two different birds have attempted to breed at Bacon Hole, but although feeding at the
nest site has been recorded no fledglings have been seen to leave the nest. The result of all this activity
was seven birds fledged. At the last count there were fourteen choughs in Gower. They continue to nest
in holes in the cliff and are therefore well protected from normal disturbance and predators. The Gower
cliffs are a popular climbing area, however, and this activity could disturb the birds (Fig. 54). Climbing
aroundYellowWall,andmorerecentlytheareaaroundBaconHole,isthereforerestricted.Therestriction
on Yellow Wall runs from 1 March to 15 August, and this long exclusion period is to allow time for a
pair of birds to have a second attempt at breeding if the first fails. In the years when a successful brood
is produced early the birds have usually left the nest by mid-June and climbing would not disturb them.
The National Trust, who own the majority of the climbable Gower coastline, the Countryside Council for
Wales and the British Mountaineering Council meet twice a year to discuss areas where climbing might
disturb nesting birds or damage rare plants.
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