Nesting Season Is Here - Report Activity That Puts Our Birds At Risk

Operation Easter - the national enforcement campaign to protect our nesting wild birds - is underway.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is also supporting the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) in urging the public to report suspicious activity around bird nests.

The taking of wild bird eggs is a serious crime yet it remains an illicit hobby for some determined individuals.

Whole clutches of eggs can be taken from some of the UK’s rarest birds and stored in secret collections.

New risks to wild birds have also emerged in recent years with criminals taking eggs or chicks from bird of prey nests and trading them illegally across the world.

Detective Inspector Mark Harrison from the UK NWCU said:

“Thankfully, egg collecting as a hobby has declined over recent years due to effective law enforcement and a change in attitude.

“Operation Easter is one of the NWCU’s longest standing operations for the protection of wild birds and at this crucial time of year when the birds are breeding we need to ensure that we are alive to the risks and ready to respond.

"This year we will also be elevating Operation Owl with the support of key partners to ask the public to be our eyes and ears across the country to increase reporting of suspected incidents and intelligence.”

Nesting will be in full swing in April so please contact the police if you see anyone acting suspiciously around nesting birds.

If you have any information on egg thieves, or those who disturb rare nesting birds without a license, you should contact police by dialling 101, reporting via www.hampshire.police.uk or via DISC quoting 'Operation Easter' and ask for it to be passed to the Country Watch Team.

Get a description/photo and vehicle registration if safe to do so. 

Dial 999 if a crime is in progress.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org