PIONEERING work to save a water-loving bird has been taking place in the Yorkshire Dales in time for National Nest Box Week.
Experts believe that populations of the dipper, a bird that makes its home near fast-flowing rivers and streams, have declined by around a third across Britain over the last 20 years and that populations in Cumbria are falling even more dramatically.
Now a concerned ornithologist and team from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have joined forces to build a number of safe havens for the birds under bridges around Sedbergh.
It is hoped that dippers will eventually breed in the nesting boxes and ledges and help boost the birds' numbers.
For full story and picture see the February 23 edition of The Westmorland Gazette.
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