Seven year survey shows that an under threat bird of prey is thriving on Yorkshire Dales moorland

Between 2016 and 2022, around 90 per cent of Merlin pairs located by the team of observers have bred successfully, producing on average, three fledged young per successful nest.

In the last seven years, the survey monitored 107 nests areas and found 100 pairs bred successfully, and more than 306 young have fledged over that time.

Mr Orchel said the study is also gathering information about the distribution of Merlin nesting areas in order to promote conservation of this red-listed bird of prey on heather-dominated land managed primarily for driven grouse shooting.

He also said data had been recorded with minimal disturbance by team members and has been a key feature of this work, which has also demonstrated the important contribution being made by gamekeepers acting as citizen scientists reporting their merlin observations annually to the BTO.

Mr Orchel added: “I was quite surprised by the success of the nests but put it down to the fact that the ground predators are controlled on every estate. That also protects communities of ground-nesting plovers and curlews and these are precious natural jewels.

"But, problems can arise when you take people on the moor and we have to find a way of educating people on the moors and that is more of a challenge at present. We need a way of interesting young people and involving schools.”

It is known that adult jack Merlins forage widely from their moorland nest sites in pursuit of small open-country birds such as meadow pipits and skylarks which are common in spring and summer throughout the Yorkshire Dales project area.

The RSPB says that territories for Merlins are traditional, and are used repeatedly from year to year by successive generations of birds, though the exact location of the nest does vary.

Most Merlins in the UK nest on the ground with nest concealed in heather. Ground nesting is unique to the UK population - their continental counterparts rarely do so.

The organisation added that since the late 1970s, Merlins have started to nest in trees on edges of conifer plantations, feeding on neighbouring open ground. This change in nest site choice mirrors their continental counterparts.

Eggs are laid between May and early June but in some cases eggs have been known to have been laid towards the end of April. Young birds usually fledge at around a month old.

From the 1950s, Merlins were badly affected by organochlorine pesticides, resulting in an all-time population low by 1960 of about 550 pairs. It was only in the early 1980s that the population showed any signs of recovery.