Trust credits mink control scheme for rise in grebes

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said great crested grebes "have long been one of the most popular bird species" at Attenborough Nature Reserve

A conservation programme aiming to control non-native mink has helped to boost the numbers of the great crested grebe, a wildlife trust has claimed.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said efforts to reduce the mink population had benefitted the birds at Attenborough Nature Reserve.

The avian residents are famous for their preening and mating displays, but decreases in the numbers of chicks fledging was thought to have been impacted by predation by mink, the trust said.

Since the trust started mink trapping in January 2024, just under 30 minks have been removed from the reserve.

The trust said - while it was "hard to estimate" specific numbers - it had "been a delight to see more great crested grebe chicks this year".

American mink first started breeding in the wild in the 1950s, having escaped from commercial fur farms

The trust said its initiative to control mink numbers had been carried out in Attenborough, the wider Erewash valley and other river catchments across the county as part of its Water Vole Recovery Project, which is funded through Natural England's species recovery programme.

Long-time volunteer Phil Carter wants to hear from other observers on how grebes and other species are faring.

He said: "Mink have been having a negative impact on great crested grebes and other species at Attenborough for a number of years and it's been a delight to see more great crested grebe chicks this year."

The trust said staff had also observed lapwing chicks on an island they had not previously been record. This, the charity says, is "more evidence" that the reduction in mink numbers may be having a positive impact on the birds.

Water Vole Recovery Project manager Gary Cragg added: "Whilst we only have anecdotal observations that the mink control measures maybe having a positive impact, we're heartened that it does seem that great crested grebes have had a better year this year.

"Efforts to remove mink from the local ecosystem will undoubtedly benefit a range of species and we hope that birds such as great crested grebe will stand a much better chance of breeding success in the years to come."