Police are warning people that if they remove bird eggs from their nests they could be fined £10,000.

Officers in Castletown this week received reports that youths had attempted to remove swan eggs from nests in the harbour.

It is illegal to remove any wild bird eggs under the Wildlife Act 1990.

The law states: ’Once a wild bird has begun to build a nest, that nest is protected. It is an offence to take or destroy the nest, eggs or young of any wild bird.’

The maximum penalty for offences committed under the Act is a fine of £10,000.

Manx Bird Life managing director Neil Morris told the Courier: ’It’s illegal to disturb them while they’re nesting and to disturb their young. The mute swan doesn’t get that extra level of protection, but it does have the basic level of protection that says you can’t injure or kill them and their eggs can’t be taken and their eggs can’t be destroyed.

’The fine is a large amount of money in order to be a deterrent. We are probably guilty of undervaluing the importance of our wildlife and so having such a large fine helps to focus people on trying to appreciate that wildlife is important and destroying wildlife is a significant offence.’

Mr Morris said that there are between 10 and 20 mute swan pairs in the island, nesting in Castletown regularly. Swans from Iceland and Greenland also travel here to escape harsh winters. There are about 60 whooper swans, which are wild swans from the Arctic.

Swans usually mate for life, so disturbing them by removing their eggs from nests can cause them distress.

Mr Morris said: ’Swans tend to pair for life and therefore the bond between the pair is very strong.

’They do a good job of looking after the young birds up to six months or so after they hatch, which is a lot of energy and time for them and emotionally, they put in a lot raising their young.

’Swans are highly territorial and they will defend their nest, therefore if you have people trying to destroy or take eggs from them it will put the birds under a lot of duress. If the eggs are taken off the nest or if the parents are disturbed so that they don’t sit on the eggs for a long time, the eggs can go cold which can kill the embryos within the eggs, so disturbance can greatly distress the adult birds and prevent eggs from hatching.’

Manx Bird Life said it’s actively involved in educating younger people about the island’s wildlife and hope that they help give younger people a better appreciation into why it’s important to protect bird life.

Mr Morris added: ’It’s disappointing that these incidents occur occasionally.

’We’re working hard to help young people understand the importance of wildlife and to cherish it.’