Birdwatch Magazine

We have moved to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-10-06T15:27:00.003Z

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 196 (October 2008): table of contents

2008-10-06T15:12:00.002Z

Features

Stoddart, A. Short-toed Lark and Skylark [How to distinguish between these two variably plumaged birds]
Stoddart, A. Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas [A detailed guide to telling these similar species apart]
Birkhead, T. Myth takes [Early interpretations of the migrations of birds]
Alfrey, P. The pioneers [Are vagrants freaks of nature or do their wanderings have a purpose?]
Hale, W G. Grounds for investigation [Is the Magellanic Snipe of the Falkland Islands a species in its own right?]
Young, S. Focus group [Getting good close-up head shots of birds]
Marvin, N. Mountain anticipation [What links a British explorer, two islands and a nuthatch?]

Better Birding

Garden birds – Feed the Birds Day
Building skills – An ill windFind your own ... Richard’s Pipit
Tip from the top – Keith Betton
Must see – Grey Phalarope
First records – October outsiders
What's on - October events
Optical events - October guide
Birding courses and workshops
October high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds: mainland ‘islands’

Kerr, I. Holy Island, Northumberland
Saunders, D. South-west Gower
Piotrowski, S. Orford Ness, Suffolk
Pullen, D. Tarbat Ness, Highland

News and related items
News digest – Rare birds at risk from registration list cuts; Reserve restoration benefits birds Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: Common Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus opthalmicus; subspecific status: Dunlin Calidris alpina; relationships: woodpeckers Picus, and starlings Sturnus; nomenclature: Himalayan Buzzard Buteo burmanicus]

Tools of the trade
Products: World of Birds 2009 [forthcoming reader holidays, including Japan in February, Syria in April, Texas/Mexico (combined) in April, Azores in October and Guatemala in December]
Brochure watch: Birdseekers 2009 Internet: global resources; newsgroup nuggets; website of the month
Book reviews: 100 Birds to See Before You Die by David Chandler and Dominic Couzens (Carlton Books); Britain’s Best Wildlife: the Top 40 Sights to See by Mike Dilger (Collins); Gardenwatch: Making the Most of Wildlife on Your Doorstep by Sarah Whittley (New Holland); Humans, Nature and Birds: Science Art from Cave Walls to Computer Screens by Darryl Wheye and Donald Kennedy (Yale University Press). Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Atkin, K, and Haywood, P. Audouin’s makes waves in Lincolnshire [Audouin’s Gull Larus audouinii, Lincolnshire, 15-23 August 2008]
Wing, S. Warbler gets the Cape party started ... [Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia, Cape Clear, Co Cork, 24-30 August 2008]
Haslam, B. ... but waterthrush is the headline act [Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis and Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria, Cape Clear, Co Cork, 26-30 August 2008]
Vinicombe, K E. Madness on the high seas [MV Scillonian pelagic, 10 August 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: August 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, August 2008, including photos of Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini, Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, Great Shearwaters Puffinus gravis, Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii, Wryneck Jynx torquilla, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva, Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola, White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus, Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis, Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta, Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera, Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis and Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in August 2008, including photos of Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis in Egypt, Allen’s Gallinule Porphyrio alleni in Spain, Masked Booby Sula dactylatra off the Azores, Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni and Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata in Sweden, and Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis in France.

We have moved to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-08-27T02:34:00.002Z

Birdwatch - issue 195 (September 2008): table of contents

2008-08-27T02:22:00.006Z

Features

Stoddart, A. Garden and Barred Warblers [How to distinguish between these two similar warblers]
Garner, M. Green-winged, Common and Baikal Teal [The key features that help to separate females of these three confusion species]
Alibone, M. All eyes on binoculars [The annual buyers’ guide to more than 250 models of binocular]
Madge, M. State of emergency [A look at the losses and gains among Britain’s birds]
Gardener, A. The original Scilly season [September can be very exciting as an autumn birding destination]
Marven, N. On location – Wotsit all about? [Texas birding in spring]
Young, S. Storm forecast [Photographing Leach’s Storm-petrels]

Better Birding

Find your own ... Wryneck
On the move – Heading for a fall
Tip from the top – Erik Hirschfeld
Must see – Spotted Crake
First records – September stars
What's on - September events
Optical events - September guide
Birding courses and workshops
September high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Parker, T. North Teesside
Bradshaw, C. Isle of Sheppey, Kent
Wormwell, C. Isle of Man
Doolan, J. Kilcummin Head, Co Mayo

News and related items
News digest – birds of prey attacks hit record high; critical finch numbers on the up; puffin population plummets Fraser, M.
ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: Shrike-babblers Pteruthius; Brush-finches Buarremon. New subspecies: Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris. Relationships: Gulf of Guinea kingfishers Alcedo; National lists: Great Britain, Iraq]

Tools of the trade
Product review: Opticron HR 66 GA ED/45 telescope
Brochure watch: Birdfinders 2009
Internet: online osprey journey; notes form the newsgroups; flights of fancy; website of the month
Book reviews: Birds in Colour by Marc Duquet (Christopher Helm); Identifying Birds by Colour by Moss Taylor and Norman Arlott (HarperCollins); The Birds of Gwent by the Gwent Ornithological Society (Christopher Helm); A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia by Charles M Francis (New Holland).

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Hill, B. The young ones [Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis, Somerset Levels throughout July 2008]
Darlaston, M and Langman, M. Shear brilliance [Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan, Berry Head, Devon, 29 July 2008]
Harbard, C. Two-barreds invade in record numbers [Two-barred Crossbills Loxia leucoptera, record numbers from 20 July 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: July 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, July 2008, including photos of Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus, Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus, White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis, Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus rosea, Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera, Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus, Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica, presumed Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma feae.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in July 2008, including photos of American Great Egret Ardea alba egretta in the Azores, Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica and Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri in Norway, Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus in the Netherlands.

Free 36-page report: The state of the UK’s birds 2007, distributed exclusively by Birdwatch

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-07-25T16:11:00.001Z

Birdwatch - issue 194 (August 2008): table of contents

2008-07-25T15:52:00.003Z

Features

Bowman, N. Stranger danger [Photo feature of hunting Spotted Hyena in a flamingo flock] Vinicombe, K. Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs [How to distinguish between these two similar waders]
Baxter, P. Fair trade [The excitements of three years living on Fair Isle]
Callaghan, D. The stone runner [The private life of the Dotterel revealed]
Marven, N. On location – Kentucky in Texas [Searching for American warblers at High Island]
Young, S. Parkland paparazzi [Maximising photographic opportunities in your local park]

Competition
Win a £1,300 holiday for two to The Faroe Islands

Better Birding

Find your own ... Melodious Warbler
All the fun of the Birdfair
Tip from the top – Tony Pym
Must see – Wood Sandpiper
First records – August archive
How to ... identify immature passerines
What's on - August events
Optical events - August guide
Birding courses and workshops
August high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Ahmad, M. North Penwith, Cornwall
Robson, N. Blue House Farm, Essex
Croft, K. Anglesey
Andrews, I. Lothian

News and related items
News digest – penguin populations take a dive; bringing wetlands back to Britain; genetic study shakes evolutionary tree; effects of US border wall on habitats and wildlife
Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: White-eyed Foliage-gleaner Automolus leucophthalmus; Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes. Relationships: Hawk-eagles Spizaetus spp; National lists: Mexico, Uruguay, Oman and United Arab Emirates]

Tools of the trade
Product previews and reviews: all-new Swarovski EL binoculars preview; Opticron Aurora BGA 8x42 review
Internet: Searching matters; best of the blogs; ringing in colour; website of the month
Book and reviews: Where to Watch Birds in Wales by David Saunders and Jon Green (Christopher Helm); European Bird Guide by Peter H Barthel and Paschalis Dougalis (New Holland Books); A Sussex Guide: Sussex Wildlife by David Mortimer (Snake River Press); Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Turton, M. Pacific time on the east coast [Pacific Swift Apus pacificus, Beacon Ponds, East Yorkshire, 22 June 2008]
McEvoy, T. Make mine a double [Pacific A pacificus and Little A affinis Swifts, Spurn East Yorkshire, 26 June 2008]
Rawson, S. Bunting decorates Yorkshire garden [Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala, Whitby, North Yorkshire, 28 May 2008]
Davis, A, and Vinicombe, K. Why Chew’s gull is a Yank [American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, from 8 May 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: June 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, June 2008, including photos of Eastern Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans albistriata, Balearic Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator badius, Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus, Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, Spoonbills Platalea leucorodia, Rose-coloured Starlings Sturnus rosea, Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia, European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, Icterine Warblers Hippolais icterina, Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis, Citrine Wagtails Motacilla citreola and Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in June 2008, including photos of Swinhoe’s Snipe Gallinago megala in Finland, Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva and House Crow Corvus splendens in The Netherlands, Mongolian Finch Rhodopechys mongolicus in Turkey and Namaqua Dove Oena capensis in Greece.

Free 60-page supplement: the Official Programme for Birdfair 2008, distributed exclusively by Birdwatch

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-06-26T19:40:00.002Z

Birdwatch - issue 193 (July 2008): table of contents

2008-06-26T19:30:00.003Z

Features

Howell, P. Buzzard births [A close-up look at the hatching and development of Common Buzzard chicks]
Thomas, M. Black magic Monty’s [A rare British appearance of a dark-morph Montagu’s Harrier, in Bedfordshire]
Stoddart, A. Redshank and Spotted Redshank [How to separate these two similar Tringa waders]
Vinicombe, K. Great and Cory’s Shearwaters [How to distinguish between these two large shearwaters, including Mediterranean and Cape Verde forms of Cory’s]
Mitchell, D. Atlantic High [A look at the Azores in winter]
Thomas, M, Knott, J, and Clare, J. Catching the killers [How bird of prey persecution in the uplands is being tackled] Marven, N. On location – The tallest of the tall [Whooping Cranes in Texas]
Young, S. Adapting to digiscoping [Digiscoping with an SLR camera] Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

Find your own ... Balearic Shearwater
First records – July crackers
Tip from the top – Mark Brazil
Must see – Dipper
BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – The young ones
Feathers - Perfect plumage
What's on - July events
Optical events - July guide
Birding courses and workshops
July high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Hopper, N. Poole Harbour, Dorset
French, P. The Wash, Lincolnshire
Stowe, T. Newport Wetlands, Gwent
Jones, G. Bassenthwaite and St Bees Head, Cumbria

News and related items
News digest – ‘Hoodies’ admitted to list at last [Hooded Merganser accepted by BOURC]; New revision of IUCN Red List; North-south divide between British breeding species; Saving birds

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Togian White-eye Zosterops somadikartai. Species confirmation: Zino’s and Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira and P feae; Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis]

Tools of the trade
Internet: an eye for the ladies; best of los blogs; new on the net.
Book and reviews: The Birds of Essex by Simon Wood (Christopher Helm); Kingfisher’s Fire: a Story of Hope for God’s Earth by Peter Harris (Monarch Books)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Hyndman, T H, and Gee, M. Back on the list! [Citril Finch Serinus citrinella, Fair Isle, Scotland, 6-11 June 2008]
Mayson, S. Warbler confusion [Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata, Westleton Heath, Suffolk, 10 May 2008]
Laurie P. Eagle spotted over Norfolk [Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina, Holt, Norfolk, 9 May 2008]
Parnaby, D. The Whimbrel that wasn’t [Upland Sandpiper, Bartamia longicauda, Loch of Strathbeg RSPB, 6 May 2008]
Draper, A. Lancashire nets a county first [White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis, Heysham NR, Lancashire, 6 May 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: May 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, May 2008, including photos of Whiskered Terns Chlidonias hybrida, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida, Short-toed Larks Calandrella bracydactyla, Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus, Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus, Grey-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava thunbergi, Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica, Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia, Bluethroat Luscinia svecica, Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris and Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in May 2008, including photos of Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus in The Netherlands, Pine Bunting Emberiza leucocephalos in Guernsey, American Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura in Denmark and a hybrid Pied x Collared Flycatcher in Malta.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-05-26T19:27:00.002Z

Birdwatch - issue 192 (June 2008): table of contents

2008-05-26T19:11:00.003Z

Features

Jones, G. Roof-tops for redstarts [Report on the creation of new roof-top habitats for Black Redstarts breeding in Manchester]

Harbard, C. The twilight zone [Tips on finding birds which
are active during the hours between dusk and dawn]

Jones, G. Protecting the Pennine finch [Documentary of the
alarming decline of the English Twite population and measures being taken to
conserve it]

Elsom, S. Bravo Brazil [Highlights of a birding trip into Brazil’s
bird-rich Atlantic rainforest]

Marven, N. On location – On the woodpecker trail
[Woodpeckers, scarce waders and leopards are tracked-down in South Africa’s
Kruger National Park]

Young, S. In the frame – Lighten up and manipulate
[Salvaging underexposed photos]

Better Birding

Find your own … Golden Oriole

Other wildlife – Moth magic

Past rarities – June jewels

Tip from the top – John McLoughlin

Must see – Woodlark

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – Get spotting with Great Spots

What’s on – June events

Optical events – June guide

Birding courses and workshops

From dusk to dawn – special events to find European Nightjars, owls and moths

June high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Parnell, E. The Brecks

Mitchell, D. Durness, Sutherland

Barthorpe, I. Suffolk coast

Drewitt, E. Bristol

Competition

Win £1,000 worth of Hawke binoculars as prizes

Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

News and related items

News digest – proposed Wash barrier condemned; raptor persecution targeted; Malta hunting ban; seabird slaughter

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Potential splits: Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti, Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans, Golden-winged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus socotranus. National lists: Colombia, Papua New Guinea]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Hawke Frontier 8x42 binocular.

Brochure watch: Birdquest 2008-09.

Internet: Image processing software.

Book and CD reviews: The Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside by Steve White, Barry McCarthy and Maurice Jones; Where to Watch Birds in North West England and the Isle of Man (third edition) by Allan Conlin, Dr JP Cullen, Pete Marsh, Tristan Reid, Chris Sharpe, Judith Smith and Stephen Williams; Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by Martin Kenefick, Robin Restall and Floyd Hayes; and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Offord, S. Central Asian invasion! [Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis, Winterton Dunes, Norfolk 20-21 April 2008]

Reid, J [Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus, Fair Isle, 1-2 May 2008]

Bellamy, A. Crake expectations [Little Crake Porzana parva, Exminster Marshes RSPB, Devon, from 9 April 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: April 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, April 2008, including photos of Pallid Swift Apus pallidus, European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis, White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula, Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla, Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans, Pallas’s Warbler, Phylloscopus proregulus, Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla, Ross’s Gull Rhodosterhia rosea, Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra, Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus, Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, White-billed Diver Gavia adamsii, Great Egret Ardea alba, Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola and Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in April 2008, including photos of Two-barred Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides plumbeitarsus on Madeira, Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus in Greece, Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis and Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel in Kuwait and White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus in Sardinia.

Birdwatch - issue 191 (May 2008): table of contents

2008-04-24T18:39:00.003Z

Features

Shorrock, G. Moorland crimestop [Report of a recent success in the ongoing war against bird of prey persecution]
Vinicombe, K. Black Kite [Which features to look out for when identifying this rare raptor]
Grantham, M. Mistaken destinations [More migration mysteries answered in the concluding part of this feature]
Harbard, C. Amazon adventure [A trip to a remote corner of Peru]
Marven, N. On location – Canopy capers [Birding in the Kruger National Park, South Africa]
Young, S. In the frame – Getting white right [Exposure and how to work it out]

Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

Find your own ... Dartford Warbler
Bird names – Splits, lumps and sex changes
Past rarities – May days
Tip from the top – Jim Lawrence
Must see – Kentish Plover
BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – Gold among thistles
What's on - May events
Optical events - May guide
Birding courses and workshops
May high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Williams, J. Orkney
McLoughlin, J. Filey, North Yorkshire
Hobson, P. Hathersage, Peak District, Derbyshire

News and related items

News digest – volunteers needed for new Priolo Atlas; egg thief jailed; finches flock to gardens; help Seawatch SW in Cornwall; petrel comeback; more help for albatrosses
Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Taxonomic revision: Tristan Bunting Nesospiza acunhae. National list: Britain]

Tools of the trade

Product review: RSPB 8.5x42 WPG binocular; BirdVoice.

Internet: swift connections; one man and his blog; research resources.

Book reviews and previews: Birds of Surrey by Jeffrey Wheatley (Surrey Bird Club); Birds of Napa County by Herman Heinzel (Heyday Books); A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Tadao Shimba (Christopher Helm); Cutting Away: the Linocuts of Robert Gillmor (Langford Press); and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Jones M. Blackpool’s star attraction is a gull [Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea Marton Mere, Lancashire, 31 March 2008]

Walker, D. Dunge does Junco double [Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis, Dungeness, Kent 7-9 April 2008]

Astins, D. Wales welcomes American quacker [American Black Duck Anas rubripes, Pembrokeshire, from 16 March 2008

Monthly highlights summary: March 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, March 2008, including photos of Bonaparte’s and Ross’s Gulls Larus philadelphia and Rhodostethia rosea, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck Aythya affinis and A collaris, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus, White-spotted Bluethroats Luscinia svecica cyanecula, Hume’s Warbler Phylloscopus humei, King Eider Somateria spectabilis and Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in March 2008, including photos of Black Scrub Robin Cercotrichas podobe, Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus and Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptylorhynchus in Israel, Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major in Belgium and Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola in the Canary Islands.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-04-24T18:36:00.003Z

Birdwatch - issue 189 (March 2008): table of contents

2008-03-21T10:38:00.002Z

Features

Malpass, M and J. An appetite and a half [Extraordinary photo essay featuring a Goosander battling to eat a Pike]
Harbard, C. Beck from the dead. [The definitive rediscovery of Beck’s Petrel Pseudobulweria becki]
Grantham, M. Regular returns [Everything you wanted to know about spring migration - part one]
Vinicombe, K E. Purple Heron [How to ensure you recognise one when you see it]
Mitchell, D. Protecting the Priolo [A look at the plight of the Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina and how you can help to save it]
Howlett, D. A volunteer abroad [How one man worked as a field volunteer on the Azores Bullfinch project]
Marven, N. On location: watching wood owls [A tale of South African owls and other birds]
Young, S. East is best, not west [How much better England’s east coast is than its west in winter]
Birdwatch Big Day 2008 – how to take part

Reader holiday – Azores 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

Find your own ... White Wagtail
On the move – raptors return
Past rarities – remember these?
Tip from the top – Bill Thompson III
Must see – Pied Flycatcher
BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – How to sex a Dunnock
What's on - April events
Optical events - April guide
Birding courses and workshops
April high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Taylor, D. Christchurch Harbour, Dorset
Archer, P. Waterford, Ireland
Dee Estuary, Cheshire and Flintshire

News and related items

News digest – nine species added to the new British list; Corn Buntings recover; road threat to Socotran wildlife.

Fraser, M. ListCheck - updating the world view of birds. [Relationships: Widowbirds and bishops Euplectes spp. National lists: Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville and São Tomé and Principe; Subspecific status: Dunlin Calidris alpina]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Viewranger mapping tool for smartphones.

Internet: top of the blogs; what’s new on the net; good migrations.

Book and DVD reviews and previews: Birds of Wiltshire by James Ferguson-Lees et al (Wiltshire Ornithological Society); Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 7, edited by P J Higgins, J M Peter and S J Cowling (Oxford University Press); Birdwatching in England (DVD) by Paul Doherty (Bird Images); A Life in Detail by Terance James Bond (Langford Press); Images from Birding by Michael Warren (Langford Press); and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Bastin, N. King Eider is Devon’s first [King Eider Somateria spectabilis Appledore, Devon, from 19 February 2008]
Harbard, C. Winter warblers: a new trend? [Rare Phylloscopus warblers: February 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: February 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, January 2008, including photos of Franklin’s and Mediterranean Gulls Larus pipixcan and L melanocephalus, Bitterns Botaurus stellaris, Firecrests Regulus ignicapillus, dark-breasted Barn Owl Tyto alba guttata, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, Black-bellied Dipper Cinclus cinclus cinclus, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls Larus delawarensis and smithsonianus, Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in January 2008, including photos of Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor in the Canary Islands, Blue-winged Teal Anas discors and Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla in the Azores, Hume’s Warbler Phylloscopus humei in Italy, and Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum in The Netherlands.

Free checklist

Birds of Britain: the Complete Checklist by Dominic Mitchell and Keith Vinicombe. Second edition, fully up to date to March 2008, with nine new species added (all with detailed supporting evidence), plus a further 23 updated accounts for species at variance with the BOU list, and an 18-page tick list (with 12 columns per species). SRP: £3 when sold separately.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-03-21T10:36:00.001Z

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-03-04T14:55:00.002Z

Birdwatch - issue 189 (March 2008): table of contents

2008-03-04T14:43:00.004Z

Features

Vinicombe, K E. Cirl Bunting [How to distinguish this scarce British breeder from Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella]
Vinicombe, K E. Redhead [A close look at the identification pitfalls of this vagrant Aythya duck]
Alibone, M. The third way [Winter in Israel can be every bit as exciting as in spring or autumn]
Marven, N. On location: Ticking tapaculos [One man’s quest to track down this Neotropical family]
Young, S. Teasing out a Goldfinch [A perfect technique for getting this finch to pose for your camera]

Better Birding

Find your own ... Goshawk
How to ... Pish and squeak
On the move – Blasts from the past
Building skills – Shape up your flocks
Tip from the top – Paul French
Must see – Cetti’s Warbler
BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – Take two thrushes
Equipment – Getting it in the neck
What's on - March events
Optical events - March guide
Birding courses and workshops
March high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Charles, D. Killibegs, Co Donegal
Glenn, N. Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire
Taylor, M. Rye Harbour, East Sussex
Winter, S. Bedfordshire

News and related items

News digest – Farmland birds threatened; Malta taken to court; breeding helped by feeding; more Black Grouse in Scotland.

Fraser, M. ListCheck - updating the world view of birds. [Split: Forest Buzzard Buteo trizonatus. Regional and national lists: North America, Bolivia and Uganda]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD binocular.
Brochure watch: Sunbird 2008
Birdwatch reader holiday report: Autumn bonanza [Sweden in September 2007 at Oland and Falsterbo with thousands of migrants]
An audience with Andy Rouse at the NEC Birmingham in March

Internet: Are you a ‘badger’?; ‘Book’ keeping; Know where you’re going
Book reviews and previews: Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 12, edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and David Christie (Lynx Edicions); Antarctica: Exploring a Fragile Eden by Jonathan and Angela Scott (Collins); A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife by Hadoram Shirihai (A&C Black); Where to Watch Mammals in Britain and Ireland by Richard Moores (Christopher Helm); The Garden Bird Year by Roy Beddard (New Holland); and Book shelf – a brief look at some latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Harbard, C. Pembrokeshire’s Pacific returns [Pacific Diver Gavia pacifica, Llys-y-fran Reservoir, Pembrokeshire, from 16 January 2008]

Harbard, C. To tick a tichodrome [Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria, Boulogne, France, from 20 January 2008]

Harbard, C. Sparrow’s golden egg for Cley [White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys, Cley, Norfolk from 3 January 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: January 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, January 2008, including photos of Iceland Gulls Larus glaucoides, Hume’s Warblers Phylloscopus humei, Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus, Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans, Common Crane Grus grus, Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes, Smew Mergellus albellus, Glaucous Gulls Larus hyperboreus, Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes Podiceps auritus and P nigricollis, Pacific Diver Gavia pacifica and American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in January 2008, including photos of Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus in Spain, Pine and Rustic Buntings Emberiza leucocephalos and E rustica in Turkey, Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis and Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata in the Azores, and Brown Booby Sula leucogaster and Sooty and White-eyed Gulls Larus hemprichii and L leucophthalmus in Egypt.

Exclusive reader offer

Petrels Night & Day: A Sound Approach Guide by Magnus Robb, Killian Mullarney & The Sound Approach. Order a copy at the special price of £27.95 by the end of this month

Birdwatch – issue 188 (February 2008): table of contents

2008-01-30T14:11:00.000Z

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Get Involved at Birdwatch – new opportunities for freelance writers and a vacancy for a full-time member of the editorial staff. More details at : www.birdwatch.co.uk

Features

Balmer, D. Boom time for breeders [An inside look at the first Bird Atlas results]
Vinicombe, K E. Snow and Ross’s Geese [The status in North America and Britain and distinguishing features of these two species]
Soar, W. Best of 2007 [A look back at a year that produced five new species for Britain and many other twitchable megas]
Martin, L. On a plain in Spain [Focus on early spring in Extramadura with its wide range of visiting and resident birds]
Marven, N. On location: Jaguars, jacamars and Jabiru [Brazil’s Pantanal wetland and its wealth of birds and other wildlife]
Young, S. Steering towards success [Using cars as mobile hides for bird photography]

Better Birding

Find your own … Glaucous Gull
How to … Keep a county list
On the move – Down memory lane
Tip from the top – Dick Newell
Must see – White-fronted Goose
BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – Blackcaps in winter
Bird coloration – Playing pool
What’s on – February events
Optical events – February guide
Birding courses and workshops
February high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Daw, P. Argyll coast
Bowerman, P. Severnside, Gloucestershire
Ahmed, R. Hetton, Co Durham
McKenzie, D. Crossness, Thamesmead

News and related items

News digest – The law bites back; Polish forest reprieve; scoter not common; and endemics lose rainforest.

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Antiquoia Brish-Finch Atlapes blancae. Relationships: Kites, hawks, eagles and Old World vultures - Accipitridae. National list: Seychelles]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Zeiss DC4 camera eyepiece.

Brochure watch: Bird Holidays 2008

Birdwatch reader break: spring in Syria [pioneering guided tour in search of Northern Bald Ibis, Iraq Babbler, White-eared Bulbul and many other Western Palearctic specialities]
The last albatross adventure – Sula Sgeir, May 2008 [Rare Bird Alert’s final charter to see Scotland’s regular Black-browed Albatross]

Internet: Test your knowledge online; migrant tracks; and out for the count

Birdwatch Book of the Year 2007
The shortlist, highly commended runners-up and winner of this prestigious annual award

Book reviews and previews: Birds and People: Bonds in a Timeless Journey by Nigel collar, Adrian Long, Patricio Robles Gil and Jaime Rojo (Cemex/BirdLife); Finding Birds in Ireland: the Complete Guide by Eric Dempsey and Michael O’Clery (Gill and Macmillan); Birds of the Palearctic: Passerines by Norman Arlott (Collins Field Guide); and Book shelf – a brief look at some latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Fisher, A. Great Blue hope comes alive [Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias, St Mary’s, Scilly, 7 December 2007]
Bending, R & S. Crowning glory for Cley [White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys, Cley, Norfolk, from 3 January 2008]
Hallam, N. Thayer’s ‘scare’ [Unidentified gull Larus spp, Dix Pit, Oxfordshire 4-28 December 2007]
Wilson, M. Lone observer scoops a Sociable [Sociable Plover Vanellus gregarius 21 December 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: December 2007

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, December 2007, including photos of Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis, Siberian Chiffcaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis, Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans, Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis, Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti, Brambling Fringilla montifringilla, Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata, Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia, Ring-billed and Sabine’s Gulls Larus delawarensis and L sabini, Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in December 2007, including photos of Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor and Little Whimbrel Numenius minutus in Kuwait, Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea in France, White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis in Iceland, Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius in Spain and Parrot Crossbill Loxia pytyopsittacus in The Netherlands.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

2008-01-30T14:07:00.000Z

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk!

2007-12-21T22:45:00.001Z

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch – issue 187 (January 2008): table of contents

2007-12-21T22:27:00.000Z

Features

Scriver, J. Living death [A shockingly graphic illustrated account of a Peregrine’s attack on a Common Gull]
Vinicombe, K E. American Herring Gull [The status and identification of this vagrant Nearctic gull in Britain and Ireland]
Wilson, J. Reedlings [Personal recollections of Bearded Tits at Leighton Moss by the reserve’s former warden]
Young, S. Hide-away [How to use a portable hide for photography]

Better Birding

Building skills – Resolute birding
Find your own … Brambling
How to … Point it out
On the move – past experience
Tip from the top – Adrian Pitches
Must see – Purple Sandpiper
Garden Birdwatch – Noteworthy
Event of the month – Big Garden Birdwatch 2008
What’s on – January events
Optical events – January guide
Birding courses and workshops
January high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Mulder, R. Lauwersmeer, The Netherlands
Rose, C. Red Kites in the Chilterns
Jones, G. Wigan Flashes, Lancashire
Morrell, Caerlaverock WWT, Dumfries and Galloway

News and related items

News digest – Cruise ship sinks in Antarctica, latest Rarities Committee report, proposed CAP reforms and White-tailed Eagles in Scotland.
Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Relationships: Owls – Megascops and Otus species. Potential splits: Congolese birds. National list: Britain – addition of Olive-tree Warbler Hippolais olivetorum]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Bushnell Elite e2 8x42 binocular; Tamrac Adventure 7 bag
Brochure watch: Birdwatching Breaks 2008
Internet: updates and new websites, photography online, plus website of the month.
Book reviews and previews: A History of Ornithology by Peter Bircham (HarperCollins); True to Form by David Bennett (Langford Press); Bird: the Definitive Visual Guide by David Burnie (Dorling Kindersley); Eagle Island: a Year on the Isle of Mull by Gordon Buchanan (Beckman Visual Publishing/BBC)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Rogers, A. Goodwick supplies the goods [Pechora Pipit Anthus gustavi, Goodwick Moor, Pembrokeshire,19-23 November 2007]
Rabbitts, B. Mourning has broken - twice [Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura, Carnach, South Uist, Outer Hebrides, 1-7 November 2007]
McGeehan, A. Yank dove touches down at Inishbofin International [Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura, Inishbofin, Co Galway, Ireland, 2-15 November 2007]
McKenzie, D. Record-breakers [Little Auk movement, North Sea, November 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: November 2007

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, November 2007, including photos of Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias (December), probable Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka, probable Desert Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia (curruca) minula, Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus, Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis, Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus, Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti, White’s Thrush Zoothera dauma, Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla, Little Auk Alle alle, probable Gyr Falcon Falco rusticolus, Bonaparte’s Gull Larus philadelphia, Pechora and Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus gustavi and A rubescens, Barrow’s Goldeneye Bucephala islandica and Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in November 2007, including photos of Canvasback Aythya valisineria and Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus in The Netherlands, Killdeer Charadrius vociferus in Spain, Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus in France, Tricoloured Heron Egretta tricolor in Spain and Eyebrowed Thrush Turdus obscurus in Israel.

Exclusive reader offer

Petrels Night & Day: A Sound Approach Guide by Magnus Robb, Killian Mullarney & The Sound Approach. Order a copy at the special price of £27.95

Special Supplement

World of Birds 2008 – 24-page supplement on birding holidays and destinations, with illustrated articles on goose-watching in Britain, Ireland and continental Europe, Kenya’s Rift Valley, the Canadian Arctic and Australia’s Northern Territory.

Birdwatch – issue 186 (December 2007): table of contents

2007-12-05T16:43:00.000Z

Features

Vinicombe, K E. Hybrid ducks [How to untangle Aythya hybrids]
Young, S. Class of 2007 [Account of October 2007 on the Isles of Scilly, including images of Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata, Blyth’s Pipit Anthus godlewski, Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum, Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator and Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata]
Robb, M. Petrels night and day [Sound-recording exploits at colonies of White-faced Storm-petrel Pelagodroma marina, with images including photos and sonograms of this species and Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro]
Young, S. Don’t forget how to focus [Using manual focus in bird photography]
Cocker, M. Working for Africa’s birds [Profile of the African Bird Club]

Better Birding

Find your own … Water Rail
In the field – Going solo, or two’s company?
Garden Birdwatch – Practise on winter diners
Must see – Shore Lark
How to … Choose a place to bird
Birding equipment – Keeping it clean
Tip from the top – Dave Gosney
What’s on – December events
Optical events – December guide
Birding courses and workshops
December high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Pullen, D. The Black Isle, Highland
Wormwell, C. Isle of Man
Donaghy, N. Kenfig, Glamorgan
Scott, B. Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire

Competition

Win Kowa prizes worth over £2,400

Birdwatch Artist of the Year 2007 – a selection of the best entries, in association with the Society of Wildlife Artists and Swarovski Optik

News and related items

News digest – 2007 breeding season; storm is bad new for Bitterns; green light for oil platforms; reprieve for African flamingos Fraser, M.

ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Sincora Antwren Formicivora grantsaui. National list: Britain, including recommendations from the BOURC’s Taxonomic Sub-Committee such as species-level recognition of Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans and American Herring Gull L smithsonianus. Relationships: Barbtails and treerunners Margarornis complex; Starling and mockingbird families Sturnidae and Mimidae]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Nikkor 300mm AF-S VR f2.8 G IF-ED telephoto lens

Brochure watch: Limosa Holidays

Internet: updates and new websites, plus website of the month.

Book reviews and previews: Flight Identification of European Seabirds by Anders Blomdahl, Bertil Breife and Niklas Holmstrom (Christopher Helm); John Kirk Townsend by Barbara and Richard Mearns (Barbara and Richard Mearns); The Lapwing by Michael Shrubb (T & AD Poyser); Watching British Dragonflies by Steve Dudley, Caroline Dudley and Andrew Mackay (Subbuteo); The Bird Songs of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by Andreas Schulze and Karl-Heinz Dingler (Musikverlag Edition Ample)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Spurrell, B. Grosbeak’s late show on St Agnes [Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus, Grinlington Farm, St Agnes, Scilly, 23-29 October 2007]
Moore, I. ‘Squeaker’ calls in Yank warbler [Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata, The Garrison, St Mary’s, Scilly, 9 October 2007]
Shaw, K. Foula - twinned with Siberia [Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope, Foula, Shetland, 5 October 2007]
Lidster, J. Snipe strikes again on Scilly [Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata, Lower Moors, St Mary’s, Scilly, from 11 October 2007]
Baines, R. Easterlies blow in surprise from Asia [Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica, Flamborough, Yorkshire, 3-4 October 2007]
Mullarney, K. Shy Blyth’s joins the Irish list [Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum, Mizen Head, Co Cork, Ireland, 10-11 October 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: October 2007

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, October 2007, including photos of Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla, Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata, Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos, Radde’s Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi, Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens, Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus, Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla, Pine Bunting Emberiza leucocephalos, American Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura and Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in October 2007, including photos of Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor, Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea, Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus, Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor and Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus on the Azores, Goliath Heron Ardea goliath in Egypt, Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach in Denmark, and Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus in The Netherlands.

ISSN 0967-1870

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk!

2007-12-05T16:39:00.000Z

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk!

2007-10-20T10:46:00.000Z

Birdwatch – issue 185 (November 2007): table of contents

2007-10-20T10:40:00.000Z

Features

Balmer, D. Birding by squares [How to get involved in the new Bird Atlas project]
Vinicombe, K E. Yellow-browed and Pallas’s Warblers and Firecrest [How to separate these three ‘sprites’]

Wightman, S. London’s local patch [A look at what the Lee Valley Regional Park offers birders]

Vinicombe, K E. Life on the ocean wave [Account of a pelagic trip from Cornwall through the Bay of Biscay]

Young, S. A hood worth hugging [Bird photography: good coats for cold weather]

Better Birding

Find your own… Little Auk
On the move – with this ring
Bird names – shorthand words for waders
Atlasing – every little helps
Must see – Jack Snipe
How to … feed Wrens
Bird behaviour – gathering moss
Tip from the top – Steve Rooke
What’s on – November eventsOptical events – November guideBirding courses and workshopsNovember tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Parnell, E. North-east Norfolk
Lauder, A. and Shaw, K. Loch Leven, Perth and Kinross
Kelly A G. Rogerstown Estuary, Co Dublin
Ward, M. Lymington, Hampshire

Competition

Win three Minox High Grade binoculars worth over £1,800

News and related items

News digest – Wallasea Island project; Severn barrage proposal; New Caledonian Crow cameras; threat to farm funding.

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New family: Stitchbird (Hihi) Notiomystidae. Subspecific relegation: Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria. Species confirmation: Orchard and Fuertes’ Orioles Icterus spurius and I fuertesi. Subspecific confirmation: Galapagos Dove Zenaida galapagoensis. Regional list: changes to the AOU’s North America list.]

Fundraising

Birdwatch UK Bird race 2007 results

Tools of the trade

Product reviews:

Sigma 300mm f2.8 APO DG HSM telephoto lens

Country Innovation Venture trousers

Paramo Teide and Tacana shirts

Bino-Arm Binocular Stabilising Unit

Brochure watch

Avian Adventures

Book reviews

Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 edited by Eric Hirschfeld
The Shorebird Guide by Michael O’Brien, Richard Crossley and Kevin Karlson (Christopher Helm)
Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe by Hakan Delin and Lars Svensson (Philips)
Arctic Flight; Adventures Amongst Northern Birds by James McCallum (Langford Press)
Gulls of the Americas by Steve N G Howell and Jon Dunn (Houghton Mifflin)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Buxton, P. Buff-bellied boost for rarity islands [Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens), Porth Hellick, Scilly, 25 September 2007]
McLevy A. High jinks as ‘first’ makes swift exit [White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer), Cresswell Pond, Northumberland, 16 September 2007]
Brown Fly in the eye for BOURC [Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica), Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, 3-4 October 2007]
Lauder, A. Foula’s one-day Siberian wonder [Siberian Thrush (Zoothera sibirica), Foula, Shetland, 28 September 2007]
McCanch, N. Wader count nets unexpected booty [Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata), Grove Ferry, Kent, 16 September 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: September 2007

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, September 2007, including photos of Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens), Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis), Citrine Wagtails (Motacilla citreola), Aquatic, Blyth’s Reed and Paddyfield Warblers (Acrocephalaus paludicola, A dumetorum and A agricola), Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus), Moltoni’s Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans moltonii), Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus), Isabelline (Turkestan) Shrike (Lanius isabellinus phoenicuroides), Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata), Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) and Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor).

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in September 2007, including photos of Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens) in France, Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus) in Sweden, Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligata) in The Netherlands, White-throated Robin (Irania gutturalis) in Belgium and Baird’s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) in Denmark.

ISSN 0967-1870

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk!

2007-09-28T11:58:00.000Z

Birdwatch – issue 184 (October 2007): table of contents

2007-09-28T11:49:00.000Z

Features

McKenzie, D. Little wonder [A close look at the migration of the world’s smallest gull, the Little Gull]
Vinicombe, K E. Blyth’s Pipit [How to separate Blyth’s Pipit (Anthus godlewskii) from Richard’s and Tawny Pipits (A richardi and A campestris)]

McKenzie, D. Epic journeys [Ten of the world’s most amazing bird migrations revealed]

Mulder, R. Migrant trap [The islands of Heligoland and Düne attract both birders and rarities]

Young, S. It’s an ill wind that blows… [Bird photography: how to take pictures in windy conditions]

Better Birding
How to plan your birding day
On the move – altitudinal migration
Building skills – Habitat hints
Must see – Yellow-browed Warbler
Demystifying migration
Garden birds – food for thought
Tip from the Top – Roger Riddington
How to… point out birds
What’s on – October events
Optical events – October guide
Birding courses and workshops
October tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds
Ahmad, M. Land’s End, Cornwall
McLoughlin, J. Flamborough Head, Yorkshire
Miller, R. Lleyn Peninsula, Gwynedd
Vaughan, H. Rainham Marshes, Greater London/Essex

Reader Holidays

Panama – 11-20/23 October 2008

News and related items
News digest – scoter survey comes up trumps; sparrows pushed out; a step back for farmland birds; outcry over Barbados wader hunt; northern kites on the rise

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Relationships: Thrushes Turdus. National lists: additions to Britain, Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, French Guiana and Bolivia lists.]

Tools of the trade

Product reviews:
Bushnell 8.5x45 and 10.5x45 binoculars

New scopes from Leica and Opticron

Internet birding:
Online migration; sat-nav for birds; website of the month

Brochure review:
Birdseekers 2008 brochure

Book/DVD reviews:
The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula by David R Wells (Christopher Helm)

The Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany by Graeme Gibson (Bloomsbury)

The Goshawk by Robert Kenward (T & A D Poyser)

Global Warning: the Last Chance for Change by Paul Brown (A&C Black)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Laws, T. Sharp-tailed caps bumper wader day [Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), Oare Marshes, Kent, 10-11 August 2007]
Mullarney, K. Red alert as harbour vigil nets bird of the month [Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) Carne, Wexford, Ireland 29-30 August 2007]
Waite, S. Patchworker hits jackpot [Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii) Seaton, Devon, 14 August 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: August 2007

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, August 2007, including photos of Sabine’s Gull (Larus sabini), Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius), Wryneck (Jynx torquilla), Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides), Greenish warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides), Wilson’s Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor), Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius (phaeopus) hudsonicus), Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), European Roller (Coracius garrulus) and Rose-coloured Starling (Sturnus roseus).

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in August 2007, including photos of Wilson’s Storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) in Iceland, Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) in the Netherlands, Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) in Kuwait, Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) in Portugal and Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus) in Denmark.

ISSN 0967-1870

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk!

2007-08-22T08:32:00.000Z

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more.

This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Seeds are the key to healthy farmland wildlife

2007-08-21T22:38:00.000Z

A recent study has concluded that a healthy selection of seed-bearing arable flowers on farmland is the key ingredient necessary to support insects, birds and small mammals.

A five-year study by entomologists from The Game Conservancy Trust has just concluded that arable crops contain a third less insects than needed to sustain declining farmland birds such as Grey Partridges, Yellowhammers and Whitethroats.

Mix together a healthy selection of seed bearing arable flowers such as fat hen, field pansy, black bind weed, knotgrass and chickweed, with a typical selection of ground dwelling insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars and leaf beetles and you have a perfect winter and summer banquet that will boost our declining farmland birds and their offspring.

The study was carried out in conjunction with ADAS and the Central Science Laboratory. As part of the Sustainable Arable Farming for an Improved Environment (SAFFIE) project, the Trust's entomologists studied the impact that weed killers were having on arable flowers, which are an important food source for a range of invertebrates. The aim was to discover whether using lower amounts of herbicide would boost these important arable plants while not affecting the quality of the crop.

Dr John Holland, head of The Game Conservancy Trust's entomology department, said, "Within the crop, arable flowers and seeds are key foods for farmland birds, insects and small mammals all year. But getting the balance right to benefit wildlife is difficult because any approach at reducing chemical controls should not unduly affect the practicalities of farming.

"Our research showed that many fields have higher levels of beneficial arable flowers than pernicious weeds and it is therefore possible to reduce herbicide inputs substantially, particularly where pernicious weeds are not posing a threat.”

Photo: Whitethroat by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

New legislation for non-existent conservation areas

2007-08-21T20:41:00.000Z

New regulations to protect Britain’s seabirds come into force today but the special areas they are meant to protect have not been designated.

The Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations are designed to translate the EU’s Birds and Habitats Directives into UK law and they extend the legal protection for sea birds from inshore waters out to the limit of the UK’s marine jurisdiction, 200 nautical miles offshore and the continental shelf.

The regulations give legal protection to our most important marine wildlife sites – Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for other species and habitats. However, 28 years after the introduction of the Birds Directive, the Government has not identified any sites for offshore SPAs. As a result, the new regulations will do nothing to protect seabirds for years to come.

Andrew Dodd, Head of Site Conservation Policy at the RSPB said, “Among other things, this means the Government must now identify, must designate, a complete network of protected areas for seabirds.

“Government’s estimated timetable for completing this work for birds varies from 2011 to 2017, dependent on resources. Even if this timescale were met, it would mean completion of the UK marine SPA network might take another 10 years - some 36 years after the Birds Directive came into force in the UK.”

Rare condor killed by lead poisoning

2007-08-20T12:54:00.000Z

A rare free-flying California Condor unexpectedly died this week at the Los Angeles Zoo following treatment for dangerously high levels of lead.

Condor #245 was trapped at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge on 29 July 2007 and transported to the LA Zoo for treatment. The first blood test at the zoo indicated that the condor had a 546 ug/l blood lead level more than 10 times the amount to warrant treatment in condors.

To reach blood lead levels of this magnitude the condor must have ingested lead fragments directly. One of the most common sources of lead in condors is the ingestion of lead fragments from the tainted remains of big game shot with lead ammunition.

On 27th August 2007 in Sacramento, the California Fish and Game Commission will convene a special session to consider a ban on lead ammunition for big game hunting in condor habitat areas. The ban would be effective beginning January 2008 and would not threaten hunters’ ability to hunt as non-lead alternative ammunition is widely available.

“It’s clear that lead bullets are poisoning these extremely endangered birds,” said Dr Gary Langham, director of bird conservation, Audubon California. “The sooner the Fish and Game Commission acts, the sooner we can remove this toxic and deadly substance from the condors’ environment. The death of Condor #245 underscores the need for rapid action and the clear and present danger that environmental lead presents.”

Glenn Olson, Executive Director, Audubon California, said: “Lead poisoning is a tremendous threat to these remarkable birds. With only 300 condors in the world, to lose even one bird is a setback for this important conservation program and a severe threat to the entire species. Death by lead poisoning is particularly tragic because it is preventable.”

The California Condor population dwindled to 22 in the mid-1980s but thanks to an aggressive breeding and tracking program the population has grown to nearly 300, with 145 of these flying free. Another bird, Condor #242, is currently undergoing chelation treatment, at the Los Angeles Zoo but is expected to make a full recovery and be released into the Big Sur Wilderness soon.

Harrier remains found near Eagle Owl nest

2007-08-20T07:44:00.000Z

The routine inspection of an Eagle Owl nest site in Lancashire has revealed the remains of three Hen Harriers.

The pair of Eagle Owls that famously nested at Dunslop Bridge in the Trough of Bowland, Lancashire, this year are being blamed for the deaths of local Hen Harriers. The nest site has been closely monitored by local wildlife police and others, including a search of the area around the nest for prey items. The remains of single male, female and juvenile Hen Harriers were retrieved and these indicate that they were predated naturally.

Stuart Burgess, from Natural England which runs a harrier recovery programme said: "Natural England is concerned about the perilously low population of hen harriers in England. Our Hen Harrier Recovery Project is working to have a sustainable population of hen harriers that would not be threatened by predation. Eagle Owls can breed well in captivity and we would ask that people do not release them and make sure they do not escape and this may actually be illegal."

The RSPB states on its website: “Eagle Owls will prey on a wide range of bird and mammals, but little is known about what is eaten by Eagle Owls in this country. This means that their potential impact on the conservation status of native wildlife is unknown. If Eagle Owls were to spread rapidly and affect the conservation status of native wildlife, including species such as Black Grouse and Hen Harrier, that would be of concern.

“We believe that, as part of its non-native species strategy, the government should assess the likely impacts of an increasing population of Eagle Owls and consult interested groups on its recommendations.”

Source: Lancashire Telegraph

Researchers crack egg laying conundrum

2007-08-19T19:35:00.000Z

The egg-laying habits and seemingly altruistic behaviour of fairy-wrens from Australia have finally been explained.

Studies have shown that Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) mothers that have helpers to raise their young lay smaller, less nourishing eggs and they gain from this by living longer and raising more young.

In many animal species, parents caring for their offspring are assisted by so-called ‘helpers'. In this type of cooperative breeding, some adults help others raise young instead of breeding themselves. Females that are assisted by helpers were found to lay smaller eggs with disproportionately smaller yolks, thereby saving energy during egg laying. As a result, they live longer and breed more often than females with no helpers.

The research team, led by the University of Cambridge and biologists from other universities in the UK, South Africa and Australia, published their findings in the magazine Science. Although parents decrease the amount of food they provide to offspring when helpers are present, the additional supply provided by the helpers more than compensates for this reduction. As a result, chicks fed by parents and helpers tend to receive more than those raised without helpers although the offspring who receive additional food do not appear to gain any advantage as a result. Until now scientists had always wondered who gained from this behaviour.

“Helper birds offer mothers a form of child-care”, says Dr Rebecca Kilner from the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology, one of the leaders of the research team that made this discovery. “In this species, mothers effectively steal the child-care from their current brood and spend this energy on producing more young in the future.”

Superb Fairy-wrens sometimes breed as pairs, and sometimes as pairs assisted by between one and four helpers. Helpers are always male and often sons from previous breeding. Females are drab brown in colour, but males moult into a striking blue plumage to breed, hence the species' superlative name. The scientists predict that this phenomenon occurs in other cooperative breeding bird species.

Source: Science magazine

Photo: Male Superb Fairy-wren by Dr Rebecca Kilner

Climate change linked to UK bird declines

2007-08-17T18:37:00.000Z

A new report from UK conservation bodies suggests that many UK wintering bird population declines may be due to climate change.

The State of the UK’s Birds 2006 examines bird population trends, highlights some long-term declines in the populations of many regular winter visitors, including the Greenland and European populations of White-fronted Goose (-63%), Shelduck (-20%), Mallard (-32%), Pochard (-23%), Ringed Plover (-14%), Dunlin (-15%) and Turnstone (-13%).

The precise reasons for the decline of each species vary, but a common theme appears to be climate change. As winters become milder both in the UK and elsewhere, it appears that some birds are not flying as far as the UK to find suitable conditions: this trend has been particularly noted in Northern Ireland with declines of Pochard and Bewick's Swan (-62%).

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, said: “The UK has had both the perfect climate and perfect habitats for these birds, but the evidence is growing that climate change impacts are starting to bite. Sea level rise and warmer winters are reducing their numbers, undermining our importance for birds.”

The report also highlights a doubling of the overall numbers of 39 species of waterfowl spending the winter in the UK in the last three decades. The populations of some species, notably wading birds including the black-tailed godwit and the avocet, have increased markedly since the late 1970s but this is largely as a result of conservation action.

Some rare breeding birds have done well with 357 pairs of Little Egrets and 241 pairs of Mediterranean Gulls in 2004. Since their peak in the 1980s, Golden Oriole numbers have fallen but appear to be stable at about 8-11 pairs since 2001. Repeat surveys of the breeding birds of the South Pennines, Isles of Scilly (seabirds) and Lewis Peatlands also show some fascinating changes.

As well as looking at bird within the UK, the report also focuses on the birds of some UK Overseas Territories. A survey of the breeding birds of the Indian Ocean Territories (Chagos Archipelago) shows huge declines in some seabirds between 1996 and 2006: Audubon’s Shearwater -69%, White-tailed Tropicbird -46%, Masked Booby -67%, Roseate Tern -80%, Bridled Tern -60%, Brown Noddy -78%, Lesser Noddy -91%. These may be simply a shift in breeding distribution as there were massive increase in Brown Booby (+2262%), Lesser (+181%) and Greater (+1267%) Frigatebirds.

The State of the UK’s birds 2006 is produced by a partnership of three NGOs – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) – and the UK Government’s four statutory nature conservation agencies – the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Environment & Heritage Service (Northern Ireland) (EHS), Natural England (NE) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

* A free copy of The State of the UK’s birds 2006 is available with the September issue of Birdwatch – available from newsagents now *

Photo: Ringed Plover by Steve Young (http://www.birdsonfilm.com/)

World's largest bird conservation programme launched

2007-08-16T21:05:00.000Z

The BirdLife Species Champion initiative will be launched officially at this year's British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water (August 19-21). Aimed at saving the world’s 189 Critically Endangered birds species, it is the largest bird conservation programme of its kind and is expected to cost £19 million over five years.

The Bengal Florican, one of the world’s most threatened birds, will be first to benefit from this new conservation approach. With less than 1,000 individual birds remaining, the Bengal Florican has been given just five years before disappearing forever from its stronghold, the floodplain of the Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia. Since being re-discovered in Cambodia in 1999, Bengal Florican numbers have plummeted due to unregulated land conversion for intensive agriculture.

Species like the florican will benefit from the groundbreaking new ‘Species Champion’ approach. ‘Champions’ are being sought for Critically Endangered bird species, to fund identified conservation programmes that will aim to pull each species back from the brink of extinction. The ‘Species Champion’ for Bengal Florican is the British Birdwatching Fair 2007 itself, which will contribute toward conservation works being undertaken by ‘Species Guardians’ working in Cambodia. Three other Critically Endangered birds will also benefit: Belding’s Yellowthroat (Mexico), Djibouti Francolin (Djibouti), Restinga Antwren (Brazil).

“It is a fantastic privilege that Birdfair can act as Species Champion for the Bengal Florican,” said Martin Davies, co-organiser of the British Birdwatching Fair. "Visitors to the fair can take heart in knowing that their contributions will directly help the survival prospects of birds that otherwise would certainly disappear from the planet forever.”

“Critically Endangered birds can be saved from extinction through this innovative approach,” said Dr Mike Rands, Chief Executive of BirdLife International. “We know the priority conservation actions needed for each species – what we need now is the support of companies, organisations or even individuals –Species Champions.”

Photo: Bengal Florican by Allan Michaud

Red Knot population faces extinction

2007-08-14T19:07:00.000Z

A new report reveals a drastic population decline in the Red Knot subspecies Calidris canutus rufa with surveys showing that numbers at its wintering grounds in southern South America have fallen drastically in recent years.

The 2007 Red Knot Assessment Report, prepared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, reveals that the rufa subspecies could become extinct within ten years, if adult survival remains low. The numbers in its wintering area have gone from 51,300 in 2000 to approximately 30,000 in 2004, and now still further to just 17,200 in 2006.

Although the causes of the population crash are not yet fully understood, the dramatic decline is mainly attributed to the low availability of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay, USA, a key stopover site for Red Knot Calidris canutus rufa. Exploitation by the conch and eel fishing industries is a likely cause of the lack of eggs thanks to an elevated harvest of adult crabs for bait. Even if this exploitation ceases immediately, scientists predict it would take years before the horseshoe crab population recovers to its former level.

Of the six Calidris canutus subspecies, rufa travels the longest distance, between breeding areas in the Canadian Artic and wintering areas in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

Recent unexplained Red Knot die-offs have highlighted further the need for research into the variety of threats afflicting the already declining rufa population. In April, more than 1300 dead Red Knot were discovered at two sites in northern Uruguay. Aves Uruguay, in connection with other national and international organisations, is already working in the area to establish the possible causes of the casualties and the role of Uruguay as stopover for the species.

“The death of more than 1,300 Red Knots in Uruguay is of particular concern given the low overall population size,” said Rob Clay, Conservation Manager of BirdLife’s Americas Secretariat. “This number represents over 6% of the [rufa] population, all of which winter in southern South America. The discovery underlines the need to better understand factors which may be affecting the species during migration and on its wintering grounds.”

See Red Knot report here.

Source: BirdLife International

Swedish bird found on cathedral roof

2007-08-13T13:51:00.000Z

A routine clean-up of Derby Cathedral’s roof, has revealed the remains of Swedish-ringed Arctic Tern. The amazing discovery was made among other prey items left by the pair of peregrine falcons that nested on the tower directly above the roof.

Nick Brown, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Education Manager, said: “Finding a wild bird with a ring on its leg is an extremely rare event but to find that the ring was a Swedish one was even more exciting! The inscription read 4392757 Riksmuseum Stockholm.”

Nick thinks that the tern was probably caught about the end of April or early May when a large group of Arctic Terns passed through the Trent Valley.

Nick said: “I contacted the Swedish bird ringing office who told me that this ring was put on the leg of an arctic tern chick on an island off South West Sweden in June 2002. That makes the bird almost five years old. During this time, it will have migrated back and forth to and from the Antarctic five time, a journey of almost 100,000 miles! According to the British Trust for Ornithology, this is only the ninth record of a ringed arctic tern from Sweden in the UK since 1909.”

Head Verger, Tony Grantham, said: “Cleaning the drains and gullies on the roof has suddenly become a much more interesting job for us at the cathedral. The emerging story of the wide range of prey that the peregrines have been catching is fascinating.”

So far the remains of 41 species of bird have been found at the cathedral since recording started in Spring 2005. The list includes five species of duck, eleven of waders, quail, water rail, little grebe, swift and waxwing as well as more common species such as starling, blackbird and magpie.

Reward offered after Borders eagle poisoned

2007-08-13T13:35:00.000Z

A Golden Eagle from the only breeding pair in the Scottish Borders has been found poisoned. A joint investigation by Lothian and Borders Police, RSPB Scotland, the Scottish SPCA and the Scottish Executive searched land and property, and discovered some poisoned bait on a grouse moor in the Borders.

The shocking discovery of this illegally poisoned bird was made on 12 August and the death is especially sickening as the pair raised a chick this year. Although the chick has fledged, and is now semi-independent, it was still being fed by both parents and so there are now significant concerns for its safety.

RSPB Scotland is now offering a reward of £1000 for information with regards to the case, and people should call PC Mark Rafferty on 07785 248 455. Bob Elliot, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland said: "Despite being excellent Golden Eagle country, the Borders has been a real black hole in terms of Golden Eagle breeding in Scotland. Sadly, illegal persecution of birds of prey continues to be a shameful fact of life in parts of Scotland in the 21st century, and unfortunately the evidence shows that there is a correlation between the location of grouse moors and the incidence of raptor poisoning.

“Now, after 9 or 10 years together, the Borders has lost its only breeding pair of golden eagles, and we hope that by offering a reward, a member of the public will help the police to catch the perpetrator and bring them to justice."

PC Mark Rafferty, wildlife crime officer with Lothian and Borders police said:
"Despite the efforts of myself and other Wildlife Crime Officers and our partners, the illegal and indiscriminate use of poisons is still alive and well in the Borders area. I'd ask for the public and particularly the gamekeeping community to come forward with information on this or any illegal wildlife crime"

Photo: PC Mark Rafferty with the poisoned eagle (RSPB)

Changes to the BOU Records Committee

2007-08-12T11:13:00.000Z

Several changes to the membership of British Ornithologist’s Union Records Committee are taking place this summer.

Secretary, Tim Melling, has retired after eight years in post and will remain on the Committee for two more years as an ordinary member. Long-standing Committee member Andrew Harrop now takes over as Secretary. Andrew has been an active birdwatcher for more than 35 years and has particular interests in identification and distribution. He has written many papers and is co-author of the forthcoming new avifauna of Leicestershire and Rutland.

Ian Lewington retires from the Committee after his ten-year term and is being replaced by Andy Brown, Principal Ornithologist at the newly-formed Natural England. Andy has published a number of scientific papers and is co-author of Birds in England.

Steve Dudley, BOU spokesman, commented “Those being appointed to BOURC understand the demanding nature of the position. It requires highly skilled and motivated individuals who dedicate much of their spare time to assessing records of national importance in the Committee’s maintenance of The British List.

“The BOU is very grateful to Tim Melling for his eight-year stint as Committee Secretary and is pleased to retain him for two further years, and to Ian Lewington whose critical artist’s eye, energy and enthusiasm will be missed.”

Mercury may be killing Ivory Gulls

2007-08-11T12:22:00.000Z

Latest research has highlighted mercury poisoning as a possible cause for Ivory Gull declines. Surveys in the Canadian Arctic during the early 1980s counted about 2,400 birds, while a survey done from 2002 to 2006 by the Canadian Wildlife Service only found several hundred birds - a drop of 80 per cent.

Evidence is building to link mercury levels with these huge declines. Birgit Braune, a research scientist with Environment Canada who studies toxic chemicals in Arctic wildlife, has examined Ivory Gull eggs from Seymour Island, a tiny island just north of Bathurst Island, in 1976, 1987, and 2004. She ran tests for persistent pollutants, such as PCBs and DDT, and also for mercury.

She found that some gull eggs contained high levels of mercury, enough to prevent some other bird species from reproducing normally. Just how these high mercury levels may affect Ivory Gulls is unknown, as are the origins of mercury in the high Arctic. But as Ivory Gulls are scavengers, and are high on the food chain, chemicals such as mercury, regardless of the source, will tend to accumulate in their tissues.

Ivory Gulls are also threatened by the retreat of ocean pack ice. They depend entirely on edges of sea ice to find food and the ice also acts as a natural barrier, keeping the Ivory Gulls safe at their inland breeding sites. Their safely isolated outcrops of barren rock, if no longer surrounded by ice and snow, are unable to keep predators such as Arctic foxes away.

In 2006, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) designated the Ivory Gull as near threatened, and Canada listed the bird as a species of special concern under its Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Photo: Ivory Gull by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Big increase in birding across the pond

2007-08-10T22:31:00.000Z

Latest statistics about the popularity of birding in the US show that it has grown significantly in the last 10 years.

Figures from the Forest Service's National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) have been released and once again they show an upward trend in the numbers of people watching birds in the US. The latest NSRE results for 2004-2006 estimates that bird watching involves 81.4 million participants. This includes anyone who looks at birds while outdoors, rather than people who actively go out birding. The survey also assessed the actual number of days spent birding during a year which stands at an incredible 8.2 billion! In 1994-95 the figures were 54.4 million participants and 4.8 billion annual birding days.

More information about NSRE can be found here

EU Birds Directive a clear success

2007-08-09T21:04:00.000Z

Many of Europe’s most threatened bird species have been helped by the EU Birds Directive, according to a BirdLife International analysis published in the renowned journal Science.

The groundbreaking paper shows that the Birds Directive has clearly helped those species considered to be most at risk, partly through the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

Eurasian Spoonbill, White-tailed Eagle and Spanish Imperial Eagle are prominent examples of this success: without the Birds Directive and the efforts of governments and conservationists to implement it on the ground, these birds would now face a much bleaker future.

Many of Britain's rarest birds have increased by between 50% and 75% thanks to Europe-wide conservation measures, including Bittern, Dartford Warbler and Red Kite.

The research also shows that the populations of threatened birds not only fared better, on average, than other bird species in the European Union, but also that the same species perform better within the EU than in European countries outside it.

Dr Paul Donald, the paper’s senior author from the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) said: “For over 25 years, the Birds Directive has helped provide proper protection for those bird species facing the greatest threats. Today we can reveal that this protection has apparently worked.”

The Birds Directive was adopted in 1979 and is now binding law for all EU countries, it requires special conservation measures for a number of listed species. BirdLife hopes this evidence will now boost efforts of governments to comply with the Birds Directive, especially in the new Member States of the EU.

BirdLife warns that insufficient designation and protection of sites, lack of funding for site management and unsustainable agriculture all could reverse the successes of the Birds Directive, perpetuating dramatic declines in Europe’s wildlife. In June, the European Commission started legal action against many Member States after failing to designate enough protected areas for birds. In recent months, Poland has also faced Europe-wide criticism for the construction of an expressway through the pristine Rospuda Valley, a very important site protected under the Birds Directive.

See abstract here

Source: BirdLife International

Photo: Bittern, one of the species helped in Britain, by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Harriers threatened by airport development

2007-08-09T14:07:00.000Z

Young Marsh Harriers, just fledged at an RSPB reserve in Kent, are under threat from a proposed local airport expansion.

The three young birds are about six weeks old, and are the first to have nested on the Society’s Dungeness reserve in south-east Kent, where staff are hoping a second nest will also be successful.

Tiny Lydd Airport, next to the reserve, has applied for a longer runway and new terminal, hoping to attract two million passengers a year by 2015. The RSPB is concerned that if this expansion is allowed, it could block improvements designed to increase bird numbers and help other wildlife in the area.

Bob Gomes, Reserve Manager, said: “More flights and larger aircraft would cause huge disturbance to birds already on the reserve, especially to flocks of Lapwing and Golden Plover in winter. Airport expansion could not come at a worse time for Dungeness. It has long been an invaluable site for wintering, breeding and migrating birds and it would be a bitter blow if expansion hampered management on the reserve and action to combat climate change.”

The news comes just days after Heathrow Airport was forced to restrict its High Court injunction against a climate change camp near the London site next week. The RSPB believes airport expansion at places like Lydd should be curbed to cut the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.

Transport Officer Melanie Edmunds said: “The government should rethink its approach to airport expansion because its predict and provide policy is undermining attempts to tackle climate change. Ministers must accept that huge emissions cuts are essential and include an 80 per cent emissions reduction target in its forthcoming climate change bill.”

Photo: Male Marsh Harrier by David Tipling (RSPB Images)

Timor-Leste declares first national park

2007-08-08T20:50:00.000Z

After just five years as an independent nation, Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) has declared its first national park, a move which will protect a number of threatened species found nowhere else on Earth.

The declaration has been applauded by BirdLife International, one of a number of organisations involved in the site designation process. “This is an incredibly forward-thinking decision, made all the more spectacular by the fact that this is such a young nation,” said Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife’s Chief Executive. “We wholeheartedly congratulate the Timor-Leste government on this declaration, and their commitment to conservation in line with sustaining the livelihoods and heritage of local people.”

Timor-Leste became independent in 2002 and despite rich deposits of oil and gas it remains one of the world’s poorest nations.

The newly designated Nino Konis Santana National Park – at over 123,600 hectares – links together three of the island’s 16 BirdLife-designated Important Bird Areas: Lore; Monte Paitchau and Lake Iralalara; and Jaco Island.

The National Park will also include over 55,600 hectares of the ‘Coral Triangle’, a marine area with the greatest biodiversity of coral and reef fish in the world.

The National Park includes 25 bird species restricted to Timor and neighbouring islands, and also the Critically Endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea, whose populations have been devastated worldwide by unsustainable exploitation for trade. In addition the national park is home to the endemic Timor Green-pigeon Treron psittaceus, listed as Endangered due from loss of monsoon-forest habitat on Timor island.

BirdLife has worked with the Timor-Leste government (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, MAFF) since shortly after the country’s formal independence. Site designation work began with a programme of biological surveys, resulting in the identification of the country’s Important Bird Areasc(soon to be published in book form).

In doing this BirdLife joined forces with the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), whose participation allowed the programme to be widened towards establishment of a new national protected areas network. Additional support to the programme was provided by Australian Volunteers International.

“This approach will ensure equity of benefits to local communities, protection and management of unique biodiversity, conservation of watersheds and recognition of traditional ownership, use and continued residence for local communities,” said a statement from the Timor Leste government on the Park’s declaration.

The National Park is named in honour of Nino Konis Santana, national hero and former Commander of FALANTIL (Forças Armadas da Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste), the armed wing of the resistance movement in the struggle for independence who was born in the village of Tutuala within the National Park.

Photo: Yellow-crested Cockatoo by Rosemary Low (courtesy of BirdLife International)

Shearwater dive-bombs its way into records books

2007-08-08T20:42:00.000Z

Rare birds have been discovered in all kinds of strange circumstances, but few can match the bizarre story of the latest addition to the North American list.

On the nights of 1 and 2 August, workers repairing railway lines at Del Mar, California, were dive-bombed by a bird which had flown in from the ocean, and which was presumably attracted to the headlamps they were wearing on their helmets. It was taken into care by Project Wildlife staff, and later taken to the San Diego Natural History Museum for identification.

No one could possibly have predicted that the bird would go on to cause such a stir. But Phil Unitt, the Collection Manager at the museum’s Department of Birds and Mammals, made an historic discovery when he realised it was a Newell’s Shearwater – a bird not only new to California, but also to mainland North America and the eastern Pacific region.

Newell’s Shearwater, which breeds in Hawaii, is actually a well-defined subspecies of Townsend’s Shearwater, and a possible future split. The California bird was extensively photographed in the hand and fully documented, and the record has already apparently been submitted to the records committees.

The California bird currently survives in captivity, and plans are reportedly being made for its release, perhaps after having it returned to Hawaii on an aircraft.

For the full story and photos, click here.

Source: Seabird-News

Birdwatch – issue 182 (August 2007): abbreviated table of contents

2007-08-08T05:40:00.000Z

ISSN 0967-1870

Features

Vinicombe, K E. Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) [Identification of this gull in a challenging plumage, with particular reference to Lesser Black-backed Gull (L fuscus) and Herring Gull (L argentatus)]

Vinicombe, K E. Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla and C mauri) [How to separate these two ‘peeps’ from each other in autumn, as well as from Little Stint (Calidris minuta)]

Vinicombe, K E. Another Wilson’s? [A close look at a putative Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) on Scilly this spring]

Cole, S. The south-eastern frontier [Birding in Kuwait]

Harbard, C. Birding the continental crossroads [Profile of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia]

Jameson, C. Musings: Mixed blessings [Thoughts about Italy’s birds and bees]

Young, S. Doing a digital makeover [Bird photography: how to get a good shot of a distant subject]

Better Birding

How to … bird in the wind

Places to go – head north to Scotland

British Bidwatching Fair

Must see – Red-necked Grebe

Other wildlife – National Moth Night

Tip from the Top – Paul Doherty

What’s on – August events
Optical events – August guide
Birding courses and workshops
High tide tables for August for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

Barthorpe, I. Minsmere, Suffolk

Saunders, D. Skomer, Pembrokeshire

O’Clery, M. Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry

Gibson, Stuart. Isle of Mull, Argyll

Reader Holidays

Panama: 11-20/23 October 2008

Competition

Win Pentax binoculars and cameras worth over £2,000

News and related items

News digest – Floods hit bird reserves; Woodlark increase; Harrier success; Lesser Flamingos threatened; Peak raptors persecuted

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [National Lists: Additions to Britain, Nicaragua, Guyana and Ecuador. Potential split: Madeiran Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma castro). Species relegation: Quailfinches (Ortygospiza).]

Tools of the trade

Product reviews: Steiner 8x44 and 10x44 binoculars

Volunteer for bird surveys in Asia

Give-away binoculars from JJ Vickers and Sons

Internet birding: Fact-finding online; Bumbling online; Website of the month

Book reviews:
Atlas of Bird Migration edited by Jonathan Elphick (Natural History Museum, London)

Wildlife of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda by David Hosking and Martin Withers (Collins)

Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World by Eugene M McCarthy (Oxford UP)

Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by Pierre Delforge (A&C Black)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Phizacklea, T. Crowds converge on Walney’s whimbrel [Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius (phaeopus) hudsonicus), Walney, Cumbria, from 14 June 2007] with photos

McKenzie, D. From the Southern Ocean to Somerset [Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos), Brean, Somerset, 29-30 June 2007] with exclusive photos

Monthly highlights summary: June 2007

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, June 2007, including photos of Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis), Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris), Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus), Booted Warbler (Hippolais caligata), White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida), White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans), Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina), River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis), Blyth’s Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum), Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus) and Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola).

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in June 2007, including photos of the region's fifth-ever Black-capped Petrel (Pterodraoma hasitata) near the Azores, Yellow-nosed Albtaross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos) in Norway, the first Radde’s Accentor (Prunella ocularis) for Kuwait, Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) in Belgium, and Green Heron (Butorides virescens) in The Netherlands.

PLUS: 52-page Official Programme for Birdfair 2007, distributed exclusively with Birdwatch August 2007

Further urban development threatens House Sparrows

2007-08-07T21:43:00.000Z

Continued loss of urban green space could be very bad news for

Britain

’s House Sparrows, a species which has already undergone steep declines. That it the conclusion of new research undertaken in 1,200 different areas across the country, according to the British Trust for Ornithology.

One of the key revelations was that when traditional suburban housing starts being replaced with continuous development (that is, new buildings without gardens), House Sparrow density falls rapidly. For example, when an area of flats exceeds that of houses with gardens, the House Sparrow density drops to a very low level and sparrows will probably disappear from the locale.

Even a relatively small loss of private gardens has large effects on sparrow abundance, and continued loss of private gardens within urban landscapes could have serious consequences for the House Sparrow population. Gardens are likely to be important foraging habitats and also provide the habitat structure, in particular low bushes, favoured by sparrows.

Allotments were also key habitats, holding some of the highest sparrow densities. The evidence suggested that this habitat is more important for feeding than for breeding. Allotments may provide good foraging opportunities due to the diversity of the habitat, not just in the sense of what is cultivated but also more generally, with abandoned allotments likely to provide rich sources of both invertebrates and weed seeds.

Allotments and residential areas with gardens are likely to be under pressure due to increased demand for housing, specifically from infilling of green space within urban areas – for example, gardens of large private houses and Victorian terraces sold off for building flats, and local authorities selling allotments and other amenity green space for property development.

The BTO’s Dr Dan Chamberlain commented: “These results suggest that how we plan our urban housing could be crucial for the fortunes of species such as the House Sparrow. Given that it is planned that three million homes should be built in Britain by 2020, it would seem imperative that biodiversity considerations are included in the planning process. Provision of adequate green space is a key priority; it can enhance biodiversity within new developments and improve the quality of life of the residents – whether they are people or sparrows."

More than 1,000 volunteers walked the streets of British towns and villages to count chirping House Sparrows as part of the BTO's special survey of the species. They were asked to walk along pavements within built up areas and to visit parks and allotments. They counted and mapped all of the sparrows that they saw and heard, with particular attention being paid to chirping male sparrows, declaring ownership of territories.

Photo: male House Sparrow by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Court threat halts destruction of Polish wilderness

2007-08-07T09:01:00.000Z

The threat of legal action has forced the Polish government to halt work on a controversial highway that would irreparably damage one of Europe’s most pristine wildlife sites.

Construction workers were due to resume work this month on the Via Baltica highway through the ancient Rospuda Valley, but have been ordered to stop by Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski under pressure from the European Commission.

The Commission asked the European Court of Justice to issue a temporary injunction preventing work in the valley, forcing the Polish government to back down before the court hears the case.

The Rospuda Valley, close to the Lithuanian border in north-east Poland, hosts a treasure trove of wildlife, including Lynx, Otter, Wolf and more than 20 rare or threatened bird species – all within 750 metres of the route the Polish government wants the road to take.

Dr Helen Byron, International Officer at the RSPB, said: “It is impossible to stress just how precious the Rospuda Valley is. Species that are already gone or just hanging on in the UK are thriving in the valley.

“There is an alternative to the Rospuda Valley route which should now be considered because it would cause far less environmental damage but still by-pass the towns currently blighted by heavy traffic.

“If the valley is eventually bulldozed, a devastating precedent will be set. Other irreplaceable sites threatened by the Via Baltica will be in the firing line while other countries that increasingly see protected sites as obstacles to development will be encouraged to test Europe’s legal resolve in the same way.”

Land has already been cleared either side of the Rospuda Valley, a jewel in the crown of Europe’s protected sites. White-tailed and Lesser Spotted Eagles soar above its wetlands, which attract Otters, Beavers and Common Cranes, while its primeval forests – woodlands that have barely been touched – host Black Grouse, Wild Boar and the shy and elusive Lynx.

Elk and Beavers are common in the valley, where 20 orchid species are found. Dr Byron said: “It would be difficult to find a better site for wildlife in Europe, yet Poland was hours away from felling trees in the Rospuda and sticking two fingers up at European law.”

The 277-mile Via Baltica will run from Warsaw to Helsinki, passing through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

An environmental assessment for the Polish section of the road is still underway but the government had pushed ahead with the Rospuda Valley route because it took traffic away from the town of Augustow, which is south of the valley. The shorter alternative would do that too and could be funded by the EU, unlike the Valley proposal.

The terrain of the valley means a 500-metre viaduct would be built on stilts planted in concrete sunk deep into rare and unspoilt peat bogs in the Rospuda River flood plain.

The Rospuda Valley is part of the EU’s network of sites called Natura 2000 and has been legally protected since Poland joined the EU in 2004. The halting of work will allow the Polish government to explain its plans to the European Commission.

Izabela Flor, Director of the Polish Bird Protection Society, OTOP, said: “This case has developed into a real test case for the enforcement of European legislation in Poland. Poland receives significant funding from the EU, and must fulfil its duties as a member state to protect its unique European natural heritage.”

Photo: Poland's ancient forests are home to Pygmy Owl and many other species (Steve Young/www.birdsonfilm.com)

English Osprey makes it to Norway

2007-08-06T10:48:00.000Z

An Osprey reared at Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria, in 2004 has been located … in Norway. This is the first time that any positive news has surfaced regarding any of the young fledged from the Lake District.

Bjørn Einrem photographed an Osprey not far from his home in western Norway this summer, but on closer inspection of the image he realised that the bird was bearing a green colour-ring, inscribed ‘5S’. Some ornithological detective work later led Bjørn to Pete Davies of the Lake District Osprey Project.

The bird, Green 5S, is just one of 10 Ospreys to have fledged from the same Lake District nest site, but rather then return to England, having spent the winter in West Africa, it ended up in the Røgaland region of Norway.

Green 5S was believed to have been a female at the time of ringing and this view has been strengthened by the fact she ended up well outside her natal range; males are thought to be more prone to site fidelity than females. Pete Davies commented: “This is very exciting news and we are delighted to know that one of the young Ospreys reared in the Lake District has made it to adulthood and returned to northern Europe. We are obviously a bit disappointed that Green 5S didn’t come back to the Lake District but hopefully it’s only a matter of time before one of the other chicks returns to its birthplace. After all, birds don’t recognise international borders and the main thing is that an English born Osprey has helped increase the European population of these beautiful and fascinating birds.”

It was back in 2001 that a single pair of Ospreys recolonised the Lake District. These were thought to be ‘overspill’ from the Scottish population, where numbers have increased and the species’ range has expanded since a pair returned to nest in the Highlands back in the 1950s. The irony of it is that the first birds to recolonise Scotland in the 1950s were probably of Scandinavian stock.

The Lake District Osprey Project Partnership provides viewing facilities close to Keswick, where the general public can enjoy excellent views of breeding Ospreys. The project itself is a partnership between The Forestry Commission, the RSPB and The Lake District National Park Authority.

Photo: Osprey by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Countryside boon for birds to be set-aside

2007-08-06T10:31:00.000Z

Uncropped farmland has proved a major boon for many birds, including numerous declining species, but it could soon be cultivated for food and fuel instead.

The EU is about to abandon its 1992 ‘set-aside’ requirement, where a portion of a farm’s land had to be left fallow to reduce grain mountains. Farmers will retain their set-aside fee and the RSPB is proposing that the wildlife benefits of set-aside be reproduced by creating smaller, managed areas of fallow land. Discussions will now determine whether farmland birds in England are helped in other ways when set-aside disappears.

Gareth Morgan, Head of Agriculture Policy at the RSPB, said: “This is a crucial time for farmland birds, especially species in decline. Many of them have benefited from set-aside because of the plants and insects it has come to harbour.

“Set-aside is now an anomaly but it should not be abandoned without replacement measures put in place first. Annual set-aside payments to English farmers exceed £100 million and this could be put to better use.

“Most effective would be better funding for the green farming schemes the government is already running. But that can’t happen before next year at the earliest and we need some way of bridging the gap now to stop bird numbers plummeting back down again.”

The RSPB is proposing that strips of land next to hedges or watercourses be left uncropped, or that farmers leave whole fields uncultivated as part of their crop rotation. These areas would be much smaller than current set-aside requirements but be managed specifically for wildlife.

Gareth Morgan said: “In the long term, more money is essential if more farmers are to join green farming schemes. That is the only way the government will achieve its 2020 target for raising farmland bird numbers.

“This hasty plan to abolish set-aside is a salutary reminder that the environment should be at the heart of next year’s review of the Common Agricultural Policy, not an afterthought.”

Photo: Skylark by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Penduline Tits opt for sex over childcare

2007-08-02T16:23:00.000Z

About one out of every three clutches of Penduline Tits eggs are abandoned by both parents as each goes in search of further sexual conquests, a study recently published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology has revealed. Both sexes are thought to be capable of mating with up to seven partners during the course of the breeding season, and chick-rearing duties vary greatly from clutch to clutch.

The study ascertained that during the breeding season more than 50 per cent of all clutches are attended by females, with the male caring for up to a fifth, and the rest being abandoned in favour of sexual contacts outside the pair bond. Male Penduline Tits often leave the nest site prior to completion of egg-laying prompted by a percentage of females abandoning the clutch altogether.

Dr Tamas Szėkely of the University of Bath, who has been working with colleagues from Eötvös University in Hungary and the University of Groningen in The Netherlands, commented: “If you are a Penduline Tit, your perfect partner is one that is happy to stay at home and look after the kids, while you go off and find a new partner. But while this is great for you, for your partner it is not so good. They end up having to stick around and rear the kids, which means they miss out on the opportunity to have more chicks themselves. It also increases the risk of being taken by predators while incubating the eggs or feeding the young.”

The breeding biology of Penduline Tits is somewhat unique, as Dr Szėkely explained: “… in one in three cases, both males and females are willing to abandon the nest, even though the clutch will perish as a result ... we have shown that over the course of the breeding season desertion enables the parents to produce a greater number of offspring, improving their reproductive success over those more willing to stay at home. Interestingly, however, the sexes play the same strategy; whatever is good for the male is harmful for his female, and vice versa … neither the males nor females are saints.”

Clutch and brood care vary greatly within bird species but as far as can be ascertained the situation with Penduline Tits is highly unusual. “Our findings reveal an intensive conflict between males and females over care that has affected the behavioural evolution of this species,” said Dr Szėkely.

The research undertaken was supported with grants from the Hungarian Scientific Foundation, The Royal Society, Natural Environment Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Partridge plan aims to restore numbers to countryside

2007-07-31T21:16:00.000Z

The Game Conservancy Trust has launched a five-point plan to help save the Grey Partridge, a once far more widely encountered species throughout Britain than at present.

In what has been the wettest summer since records began in 1914, Grey Partridges are suffering. The species has already undergone an enormous 86 per cent decline in its numbers over the past 30 years and is currently on the brink of disappearing from many areas in Britain.

Dr Nick Sotherton, Head of Research with the trust, commented: "The wet summer has been a total wash-out for young partridge chicks struggling for survival, and urgent conservation action needs to be taken by all those with a responsibility for managing the British countryside."

A number of factors have contributed to the dramatic decline in the Grey Partridge population, including the introduction of pesticides and herbicides into modern-day farming practices (resulting in a loss of important food for young partridges), as well as habitat loss.

The trust also claims that predation is a significant factor in the decline of Grey Partridges, citing the fact that the number of gamekeepers providing ‘safe areas’ has fallen by 50 per cent over the last 30 years. Some of the trust’s studies have shed light on the importance of predator maintainence, and in a six-year experiment on Salisbury Plain the control of predators increased Grey Partridge spring breeding numbers by 35 per cent per annum, resulting in increased numbers in August of 75 per cent each year.

Dr Sotherton stated: “Without the right sort of habitat, partridges and their young have nowhere to hide and are therefore extremely vulnerable to predation. Many predators are opportunistic, and as a result an entire family can be knocked out in one go. However, predator control needs to be selective and only carried out when necessary.”

At one point there were in excess of one million Grey Partridges in the British countryside, but by the beginning of the 1990s this figure had plummeted to 145,000. Today the trust estimates that this figure has halved again, leading to the new five-point plan which identifies the following key actions:

Create habitat – partridges require cover for nesting and brood rearing, as well as food and shelter. Land managers and farmers can benefit fiscally under the Government’s Entry Level Scheme (ELS) and Higher Level Scheme for habitat creation for Grey Partridge, as well as other farmland bird species.
Carry out predator control – ground-nesting partridges are vulnerable to a wide range of predators, and large losses can occur when hens are on the nest.
Provide additional food during lean winter months by installing suitable feeders in strategic areas.
Keep counting – to encourage participation in trust’s Grey Partridge Count Scheme, the largest monitoring scheme in Europe and already demonstrating a 40 per cent increase in Grey Partridge numbers on sympathetically managed land.
Be selective with sprays – 30-year research into the impact of insecticides has established there are devastating effects on chicks which are dependent on insect food just after the hatching stage.

But according to Nick Sotherton, it’s not all doom and gloom for Grey Partridges: “We now have more than 1,000 people counting partridges across the country. In addition, they are making an astonishing recovery on our Grey Partridge Recovery Project on farmland near Royston in Hertfordshire. Since the introduction of habitat management, predator control and feeding, there has been an extraordinary six-fold increase in Grey Partridges. But a lot more needs to be done to reverse the national decline. We hope this message today will act as the catalyst that will inspire more people to get involved in saving this delightful gamebird.”

For a copy of The Game Conservancy Trust’s free fact sheets spelling out how to restore wild Grey Partridge numbers, please contact: Louise Shervington at the trust on 01425 651002 or via email: lshervington@gct.org.uk.

Photo: Grey Partridge by Laurie Campbell

Uncertain future for Highlands and their wildlife

2007-07-31T20:59:00.000Z

Scotland

’s uplands are to become the focus of a major new debate between land managers, policy makers and the general public, with the aim of producing a long-term managerial vision of their future, according to RSPB Scotland.

The organisation is pushing to plan a way forward for the management and use of Scotland’s mountains, hills, glens and moorland and their function in the modern world, given the current thinking on climate change, agricultural policies and the requirements of local communities.

The RSPB has just released a report spelling out the challenges faced, along with some possible solutions, in an effort to bolster the debate and help form policy on the future of Scottish uplands. Two recent inquiries into such areas have already been set up – The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Inquiry into the Future of Scotland’s Hills and Islands, and the Crofting Inquiry, led by Mark Shucksmith.

Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland, explained: “The time is right to open the debate on the future of our uplands and the landscapes, wildlife and communities that depend on them. Our uplands are a huge national resource; they underpin much of our tourism, sustain local jobs and provide public benefits for those who spend leisure time in them. They also play a crucial role in the natural processes of the land, which we rely on, storing both water and carbon.

“RSPB Scotland has some ideas about the future it would like to see for the uplands, but we recognise that no-one has all the answers. We want a national debate and would urge everyone with an interest in the uplands to take part, so that future public policy supports sustainable land management that maintains jobs and enriches wildlife habitats.”

The document in question, The Uplands – Time to Change?, highlights several areas of concern:

Large swathes of the uplands are in sub-optimum condition and deteriorating, despite the fact that areas are protected as SSSIs or National Scenic Areas.
Important habitat such as upland hay meadows and wildlife such as Black Grouse are facing long-term problems in certain areas.
Much drinking water comes from uplands but can suffer pollution problems, while the lessened ability of upland soil structures to retain water will increase the risk and magnitude of flooding.
Hill farming income is falling while the average age of farmers is increasing. Livestock, primarily cattle, are being removed from our uplands at an accelerating rate, with, potentially, serious environmental, economic and social consequences.

Furthermore, the report goes on to highlight the challenges faced by upland areas in the face of climate change which include the loss of wetlands and the increased likelihood of moorland and forest fires. Species of economic importance, such as Red Grouse, may well have to retreat to higher altitudes due to habitat loss/change due to climatic changes.

Stuart Housden commented: “Our report lists some serious challenges now and in the immediate future, but there are also opportunities … Managed properly, our upland soils can store huge amounts of carbon, soaking up thousands of tonnes a year which would otherwise contribute to global warming.”

He added: “We have to give proper recognition to the services our uplands provide and proper reward to those that manage the land in a way that delivers them. Finding common ground and a shared vision will give the people and wildlife in our uplands a future.”

As well as land owners, farmers and grouse moor managers, the general public can have their say in the debate on the future of Britain’s uplands – comments and suggestions can be emailed direct to uplands@rspb.org.uk.

Photo: European Golden Plover by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Cormorants flush for success

2007-07-24T10:04:00.000Z

Researchers at the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham have discovered that Cormorants' underwater vision is no better than that of humans. Instead, they have found that the birds flush out prey by disturbing it, rather than pursuing it at speed.

Until now it has been a mystery as to how Cormorants are able to catch fish regardless of whether the water is crystal clear or murky. Professor Graham Martin and his team from the University's Centre for Ornithology have found that Cormorants are the underwater equivalent of herons, taking prey only at short range and by stealth, flushing fish out from hiding places and grabbing them with a rapid lunge of the neck.

Professor Martin explained: “Cormorants are often seen as mysterious birds with a vicious beak. They are disliked by anglers, while in China and Japan they are cherished pets, trained to catch fish for the pot. We thought that Cormorants were the underwater equivalent of eagles or hawks, seeing prey at a distance and hunting it down at high speed, but that would require excellent vision. Now we see them as something quite different – highly manoeuvrable, wily birds with lightning reactions, capable of grabbing something at short range as it tries to escape.”

An extra trick that Cormorants have developed to help them with their efficient feeding is their ability to move their eyes and see between their beaks. Professor Martin continued “Not many birds can see what they are holding in their mouth – most birds see just beyond their beak tip, much as we see just beyond our nose. Cormorants, however, can swing their eyes forward to see what they are holding. This may be an essential part of their success, since they may often grab something barely seen as it tries to escape when flushed out. Cormorants will need to bring it to the surface to check it out before swallowing.

“We are full of admiration for these birds and the way that natural selection has led to their poor underwater vision being complemented by their artful fishing technique.”

Photo: Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

BOU rejects first Nearctic wader records and sets up 'historical' list category

2007-07-20T17:20:00.000Z

The BOU Record Committee’s (BOURC) 35th Report has recently been published and includes the following changes to the British List: rejection of first British records of Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri and Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius; addition of Long-billed Murrelet Brachyramphus perdix and Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata fucata to Category A; removal of the White-headed Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava leucocephala.

A new category is to be set-up, Category F, which will include species known to have occurred in Britain before 1800 (before the period for Category B species). As this will go well back into pre-history, and include fossil records, a new sub-committee has been set up and this will assess the evidence and publish a history of occurrences. The period covered will be from c700,000BP to 1800AD.

A new table of British bird names can be found on the BOU website, that lists not only the BOU’s accepted English names, but also those of the International Ornithological Congree, together with scientific names. An interesting addition is the English and scientific names that were used in 1923 List of British Birds, published by the BOU. The changes are substantial, not least the removal of a lot of hyphens!!

The full report can viewed online here

Red Kites released in Ireland

2007-07-20T10:01:00.000Z

For the first time in 200 years, Red Kites are flying over Co Wicklow in Ireland as a project to reintroduce them to their former range begins.

The Wicklow Red Kite Project is using young kites from the successful Welsh breeding population and 30 of them have been released at a secret location in the Wicklow hills. A total of 120 kites will be set free over the next five years.

Damian Clarke, project manager, said "In future years these beautiful birds will become another tourist attraction in the Garden of Ireland, as they have done in Wales."

Study highlights ways to save farmland birds

2007-07-20T08:16:00.000Z

The declines of farmland bird species like Skylarks, Yellow Wagtails and Yellowhammers can be reversed by following six techniques aimed at encouraging wildlife, according to a new report published by SAFFIE – Sustainable Arable Farming For and Improved Environment.

The report, based on a five-year study by the 21 farming, envinronment and research groups that form SAFFIE, goes on to say that the suggested measures can all be implemented without harming farmer’s profits but only if appropriate support is provided by government.

By leaving small patches of bare ground, for Skylarks, and planting strips of grasses and wild flowers at field edges, populations of birds can be dramatically increased more than three fold. Using selective herbicides can remove fast-growing grasses and allow beneficial plants to thrive. A combination of the various techniques would help the widest range of species.

Graham Wynne, RSPB Chief Executive, said: "The recommendations SAFFIE is making could make an enormous contribution to helping farmland species recover their numbers and making rural businesses more sustainable. We very much hope the government and Natural England will take these proposals on board."

A summary of the report can be downloaded here.

Photo: Yellowhammer by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Partridge recovery conference

2007-07-19T07:34:00.000Z

A major conference aimed at spearheading the recovery of Grey Partridge populations in Britain is taking place in Cambridge later this year.

‘Back from the Brink’ is organised by the Game Conservancy Trust whose Grey Partridge Recovery Project, based on farmland at Royston in Hertfordshire, has succeeded in reversing the national trend of decline. The conference will share the results from the project which has resulted in numbers growing from 20 to 184 pairs in just four years! It will look at the history of the partidge’s decline and focus on issues like habitat management, food and predator control.

The recent history of the Grey Partridge in Britain is one of dramatic decline with a startling 86 per cent fall in population over the last 30 years, with modern agricultural practices playing a large part. Where farmers have adopted the Trust’s management recommendations there have been substantial increases in partridge numbers.

Dr Nick Sotherton, the Trust's director of research, said, “We hope that this national conference, which is the first conservation event of its kind, will act as a catalyst for a wider recovery in grey partridge numbers across the country. Let's put science into action and restore this iconic bird."

'Back from the Brink' is a one-day conference that takes place on Friday 5 October 2007 at the Wellcome Trust in Cambridge. For further details email: partridgeconference@gct.org.uk or go to http://www.gct.org/

Photo: Grey Partridge by Laurie Campbell

Hobby webcam goes live

2007-07-18T13:07:00.000Z

A new webcam is beaming live images from a Hobby’s nest deep in the New Forest.

Two eggs were laid in the nest and the first chick hatched out on 10 July. Both chicks are now being fed by the parents and should be viewable in the nest for the next four weeks. The webcam is a collaboration between the RSPB, Forestry Commission and the New Forest National Park Authority.

The images are viewable on the RSPB website and also at the Forestry Commission’s New Forest Reptile Centre near Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

Mixed fortunes for Britain’s seabirds

2007-07-18T12:12:00.000Z

Reports from Scotland and Wales indicate that the seabird breeding season is having mixed success.

In Scotland, the RSPB’s coastal seabird reserves are having another poor breeding season with many colonies nearly deserted. Orkney, as well as parts of Shetland and north-west Scotland have had a disastrous year, while on the east coast, colonies at Fowlsheugh and Troup Head have fared better, with the Mull of Galloway in the south also doing quite well.

The species affected vary, with Common Terns seeming to have done consistently badly around Scotland, with Kittiwakes holding on in the south and east, while Guillemots have once again been hit hard.

Norman Ratcliffe, seabird ecologist with RSPB Scotland, said: “Some cliffs which should be packed with birds are just about bare, as adult birds abandon the nest once their breeding attempt has failed. This is all linked to food availability, which can be disrupted for a number of reasons. We're fairly certain that on the east coast, rising sea temperatures are leading to plankton regime shifts, which in turn affects fish like sandeels - a major food source for seabirds.”

In Wales a full seabird count has taken place on the RSPB’s Ramsey Island, revealing extremely healthy populations. Fulmars and Shags have all increased in numbers since the last full survey was undertaken in 2002, while populations of Guillemots and Razorbills remain stable. The most significant increase has occurred among the island's small colony of Manx Shearwaters, which have more than doubled in numbers.

Photo: Common Tern by Steve Young (www.birdsonfilm.com)

Bioenergy crops could fuel bird declines

2007-07-17T23:55:00.000Z

A new report, prepared by leading UK environmental groups, highlights the dangers that uncontrolled planting of crops for bioenergy could bring.

Bioenergy in the UK warns that crops such as willow, oil-seed rape and miscanthus (elephant grass), grown for energy generation, could be sown as monocultures providing little sustenance for wildlife. Without proper management, the cultivation of crops for fuel, electricity and heat could actually cause further declines in farmland wildlife.

The environmental groups, including RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, National Trust, and CPRE, are calling for:

A UK-wide assessment of bioenergy’s potential and drawbacks
Certification of all bioenergy schemes to ensure producers prove cuts to greenhouse gas emissions
Planning policies that guard against unsuitable bioenergy developments and changes in land use.

Abi Bunker, Agriculture Policy Officer at the RSPB, said: “This report should serve as a wake-up call to government. Instead of jumping on the bioenergy bandwagon and regretting the damage later, the UK should be developing the bioenergy sector with care, avoiding damage to wildlife and making sure that emissions really are reduced.”

Virtual bird observatory goes online

2007-07-17T23:30:00.000Z

The New Jersey Audubon Society has launched its new virtual website BirdCapeMay.org (www.birdcapemay.org) bringing Cape May Bird Observatory to the world.

The website contains a wealth of articles covering field identification, fieldcraft, book reviews and a photo quiz, as well as a column from renowned US birder, and director of the observatory, Pete Dunne. A birding weather forecast comes from Paul Lehman, covering weather systems and migration patterns across the US with updates using ‘real time’ simulated maps.

The photo gallery contains eight categories covering the four seasons, rarities and scenes from Cape May to provide visual insight into both the place and its birds. Bird news features strongly with daily sightings posted together with information about rarities and vagrants. A calendar lets you see what is possible in the months ahead, full of historical detail, and there is a full diary of programmes and events on offer year round.

The website aims to help every kind of visitor from a birder planning a trip from England who needs some essential tools, to one sipping tea in a café in San Francisco who doesn't even need to be here to enjoy Cape May year-round.

"There are few birding locations that are better known than Cape May, New Jersey, and its fame is not accidental” says Pete Dunne, CMBO Director. “Birders everywhere celebrate its migratory fallouts, species diversity and great migratory concentrations. This website is designed to bring the Cape May birding experience to you, right now, in a way that is as engaging, informative, and as friendly as birding Cape May in person."

Napoli wreck still a threat

2007-07-17T09:12:00.000Z

Oil from the wreck of the MSC Napoli, off the coast of Devon, is still affecting seabirds. Sixteen oiled birds have been found in the last few days and there have been reports of more.

The vessel is being broken up by the Maritime Coastguard Agency after attempts to refloat the wreck were abandoned. The whole process could take up to a year and there will be a risk of residual oil leaking out.

Both oil and birds have been found washed up on Branscombe Beach, near Sidmouth, in Devon where the wreck has been an offshore feature since the ship beached there in January.

Sian Rees, a maritime conservation officer with the Devon Wildlife Trust, said: "We were aware that if the ship broke up there was a certain amount of oil in the hold and in the pipes which would be released. These birds have been the unfortunate victims of this incident."

Crane raised by bantam mum

2007-07-16T18:28:00.000Z

A surprise hatching has delighted conservationists at the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre in Norfolk.

Two Sandhill Crane eggs, laid by an immature female, were brooded by a broody bantam, although the Centre thought they would be infertile. The little foster mother incubated for 28 days and miraculously one of the eggs hatched. The young crane has thrived and is now many times larger than its ‘parent’.

The Pensthorpe Conservation Centre, which opened in May, features a purpose built Cranery, housing the largest collection of Cranes in the UK, including eight of the world’s 15 species. The Great Crane Project was launched last August by the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, the RSPB, the WWT and Jordans Cereals, who are working collaboratively to establish new populations of Common Crane in Britain.

There is public access to some of the facilities that are directly involved in raising birds for release as part of this programme. Pensthorpe is on the A1067, one mile from Fakenham, and is open all year round.

Sandhill Cranes breed in eastern Russia and North America and are one of the world’s more numerous species. There are records of wild birds in the UK, on Fair Isle in 1981 and on Shetland in 1991, while elsewhere in the Western Palearctic there was one in Ireland in 1905 and another was on the Faroe Islands in 1980.

Photo: Young Sandhill Crane and bantam 'mother' by Mike Powles

Beware wild birds spreading avian flu, farmers warned

2007-07-16T15:16:00.000Z

Britain’s farmers are being warned to be on the look out for signs of avian flu as this autumn’s migration season begins.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggests that birds moving from Europe through the Czech Republic, Germany and France, where there have been recent outbreaks of avian flu, will pose the greatest threat.

While it is not known which wild birds, if any, are spreading the virus both Black-headed Gulls returning from the Baltic Sea and Mallards from Germany and the Czech Republic have been highlighted as possible carriers.

Defra recently announced a ban on all international pigeon racing as a precaution against spreading the disease.

Hornbill discovery prompts protection call

2007-07-16T11:37:00.000Z

The discovery of the first nest of Wreathed Hornbills Aceros undulatus in Malaysia has fuelled calls to protect the Temengor Forest Reserve, a hotspot for hornbills.

A team from the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) made the discovery when a male was seen feeding berries to its mate, sealed up inside a nest-hole. The Temengor region is not formally protected and logging still takes place there, while in the neighbouring area of Belum an area was set aside earlier this year as a State Park.

The Belum-Temengor complex is the only place where all ten species of of Malaysian hornbills can be found together. “These hornbills are known to migrate long distances in search of fruiting resources and therefore require large contiguous areas of forest to survive,” said Yeap Chin Aik, Head of Conservation at MNS. “This discovery gives hope that the globally threatened Plain-pouched Hornbill, a close relative of the Wreathed Hornbill, may perhaps be nesting in Belum-Temengor too.”

Japanese Crested Ibis to return

2007-07-16T09:30:00.000Z

Japan’s rarest bird, the iconic Japanese Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) or Toki, is set to make a comeback, thanks to a sustained effort by conservationists.

The ibis became extinct in Japan 26 years ago when the last pair vanished on Sado Island. In 1998 the China donated a pair to Japan for a breeding programme, aimed at eventual reintroduction. The Ibis Conservation Centre, on Sado Island, now has 107 birds and the first steps for their release are being taken.

Not only must the birds be prepared for a life in the wild, but sufficient suitable habitat must be made available for them. To help with this, the Japanese Government is offering rice farmers subsidies if they fill their rice paddies with water in winter or turn fields fallow, to provide feeding grounds for the ibises.

Five birds, three males and two females, born last year, are being housed in special acclimatisation cages that will help prepare them for a life of freedom. Techniques used to successfully reintroduce Oriental White Storks to the wild are being used. Ten more chicks, born this year, will also be trained and 10 birds will finally be released next autumn. The Centre aims for 60 ibises to be established in the wild by 2015.

Dramatic Woodlark spread could be limited

2007-07-16T00:03:00.001Z

The good news, that Woodlark numbers in the UK have risen dramatically, is tempered by the fear that suitable habitat might not be available in the future.

The latest survey of Woodlarks, the first for 10 years, shows an increase in numbers by 89 per cent, with an estimated 3,083 breeding pairs in England and one pair in Wales. Improved lowland heathland habitat, and better management of forestry plantations have all helped bring about this increase.

While lowland heaths and forestry plantations still form the Woodlark's stronghold, many pairs can now be found breeding on farmland, where they favour set-aside land. However, changes to support for farmers, dictated by Europe, could mean the loss of set-aside and this could limit the spread of Woodlarks unless they have alternatives, according to the RSPB.

Simon Wotton, research biologist at the RSPB, said: “About 21 per cent of the birds we surveyed were on farmland and other grassland habitats, of which about 7 per cent was set-aside. It seems Woodlarks are moving on to this land from nearby heaths and from forest plantations.”

Sue Armstrong-Brown, the RSPB’s head of countryside conservation, said: “Birds like the Woodlark are trying hard to adapt to the new ways of managing the countryside and we must not sabotage their recovery. We must increase our efforts to restore and manage lowland heaths to create suitable conditions for the Woodlark and also ensure that the management of forestry plantations provides suitable breeding habitat.”

Greg Conway, Research Ecologist at the BTO, who organised the survey said:"It is marvellous to see that the breeding population has almost doubled since 1997 and the range has increased considerably, with large leaps to the west and north. This survey would not have been possible without the support of hundreds of birdwatchers, to whom we are all extremely grateful".

The Woodlark survey was carried out by the BTO, RSPB, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.

Photo: Woodlark by Chris Gomersall (RSPB Images)

Mega seawatch begins

2007-07-14T21:32:00.000Z

A three-month vigil, off the coast of Cornwall, aims to help Europe’s most endangered seabird, the Balearic Shearwater.

The SeaWatch SW survey begins tomorrow (15 July), starting at 5.30am at Gwennap Head, Porthgwarra, Cornwall. Continuous watches will run daily until 15 October, staffed by a team of experienced observers. Records will be kept of all migratory seabirds and other marine wildlife that pass by.

The coordinator of the project, Russell Wynn will man the watchpoint for the first 16 days and then hand over to Ken Shaw. As well as seabird experts, there will also be shark observers to watch for Basking Sharks, Ocean Sunfish and other marine animals. All visitors are welcome!

Daily highlights of sightings will be passed on to Birdguides and detailed daily logs, with photos and video, will be posted on the project website.

SeaWatch SW would also like to receive records of any sightings of Balearic Shearwater from anywhere in the UK during 2007 - please send these to Birdguides.

The Seawatch SW project is supported by a number of major conservation and scientific organisations, including the National Oceanography Centre - Southampton, the RSPB, and the Marine Conservation Society.

Photo: Balearic Shearwater by Tom Brereton (Marinelife)

Birthday marks wetland bird boom

2007-07-13T14:35:00.000Z

As it celebrates its tenth birthday, Otmoor RSPB reserve in Oxfordshire is being hailed as a conservation success, according to the RSPB.

In that time, the site has been transformed from 1,000 acres of farmland on the Upper Thames Tributaries into one of the most important wetlands in England where wading bird numbers are booming in defiance of a long-term national decline.

The traditional grazing marsh recreated at Otmoor, near Beckley, is now home to around 90 pairs of breeding waders, including Lapwing, Redshank, Curlew and five pairs of Snipe – more than half the population in central England.

The reserve has now become the core of a wider area of wader habitat, with RSPB staff offering help and advice to surrounding landowners in the Otmoor Basin and financial support from Natural England’s environmental stewardship scheme. Well over 200 pairs of wading birds now breed in the area.

Graham Wynne, RSPB Chief Executive, said: “The achievements at Otmoor are truly inspiring. Through this major restoration project, we have saved the wading bird population in this part of England and proved that we can reverse the habitat losses that centuries of wetland drainage have inflicted on our wildlife.”

The project has been made possible thanks to more than £2.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund; £450,000 from the Landfill Communities Fund through WREN, Viridor Credits, TOE, Thames Water and SITA Trust. There has also been invaluable support from the Environment Agency, Rural Development Services/DEFRA, Cherwell District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, charitable trusts, RSPB members and local volunteers.

Photo: Snipe by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Sweet success for Welsh honeys

2007-07-13T13:12:00.000Z

The Wales Raptor Study Group, Forestry Commission Wales, and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, are celebrating breeding success for a Honey Buzzard pair at an undisclosed site in south Wales.

The ‘Honey-buzzards – Raptors of the Forest’ project has, over the last three years, shed light on many aspects of Honey Buzzard breeding behaviour and allowed many thousands of visitors to Afan Forest Park to learn about the project and the bird itself.

Recorded video footage of the family at the nest-site can be viewed at the Afan Forest Park visitor centre allowing visitors to watch the young being fed at the nest and, with any luck, mature over the coming weeks before eventually taking their first flights. Updated still images and latest news can be seen at www.forestry.gov.uk/wales for those who cannot get to the visitor centre.

Forestry Commission Wales Conservation Manager, Chris Tucker, explained, “This year, for the first time, we have seen the whole nest building, egg laying and now hatching processes, so we’ve learned even more about their habits. We need to be secretive about the location of the nest as Honey Buzzards are a prime target for egg collectors and could be unintentionally disturbed by over-enthusiastic birdwatchers.”

‘Honey-buzzards – Raptors of the Forest’ is open to visitors at Afan Forest Park visitor centre until the end of August and, apart from a small fee to use the car park (payable at the visitor centre), entry is free to all. The Afan Forest Park visitor centre is on the A4107 at Port Talbot, six miles from junction 40 of the M4.

Photo: Honey Buzzard in flight by Dominic Mitchell

Dead parrot no joke to birders

2007-07-13T12:18:00.000Z

The ultimate in suppression has angered Australian birders as a real-life dead parrot discovery was kept quiet.

Last September an Australian park ranger Diamantina National Park, Queensland discovered the headless corpse of a bird he could not immediately identify. The yellow-bellied bird appeared to have flown into a nearby barbed-wire fence and it was eventually passed to experts at the Queensland Museum to identify.

Imagine their amazement when they realised it was a juvenile Night Parrot, a small, drab, budgerigar-like bird that has fascinated scientists and frustrated birders for more than a century. Once relatively common in central Australia in the 19th century, its numbers mysteriously declined, and it was declared extinct by some experts as long ago as 1915.

In 1979, a team from the South Australian Museum saw a several birds in Southern Australia and in 1990, a dead specimen was discovered by a roadside in south-western Queensland. Seven separate sightings were made in 1992 and 1993, a short distance north of where this bird was found but confirmation of these sightings the following year was not successful.

The finding of this new specimen should have been a cause for international celebration, immediate investigation and a concerted search for live birds but the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the parks, apparently decided to suppress news of the find.

Now, after months of apparent inactivity and claims that authorities feared an unsupervised influx of excited birders from all over the world, a nationwide coalition of experts and enthusiasts has been set up to look for more birds. The National Night Parrot Network, which includes the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, is a part research sharing group, part rapid response team, ready to climb into a four-wheel-drive or an aircraft and head into the desert on reports of a sighting.

Mike Weston, research and conservation manager at Birds Australia, says the "incredible secrecy" prevented a concerted inquiry that might have yielded clues to the birds' habits. "The way it was handled was most disappointing" he added.

An Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman rejected allegations of secrecy. Staff, she said, had surveyed the area where the bird was found without success.

'Operation Eagle' recovers rare Middle Eastern raptors

2007-07-13T11:46:00.000Z

Israel Nature and Parks Authority and paratroopers from the Israel Defense Forces carried out an unusual rescue mission recently in the city of Hebron, south of Jerusalem.

Soldiers from the IDF, together with a ranger from INPA, raided a shop in Hebron and recovered two Golden Eagles, both in good condition. The birds were taken to the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem where it will be decided whether to release them back into the wild or whether they will have to spend the rest of their lives in captivity.

The population of many raptors in the region have been suffering the depredations of wildlife rustlers and traders. The Judean Desert is one of the last big refuges for birds of prey in Israel with populations of large eagles (Golden and Bonelli's) as well as a large concentration of vultures. Most of the birds that are trapped or stolen from nests are taken for sale in the territories or smuggled to the Gulf states, where there is considerable demand for many of these birds.

It is estimated that in the past there were nearly 50 nesting pairs of Golden Eagles in the desert areas of Israel and the territories. During the past two decades their number has decreased by 50 percent, and the species is in grave danger of vanishing altogether.

Spring bird protection in Southern Italy is successful

2007-07-13T10:56:00.000Z

Bird protection efforts in Southern Italy have have met with their greatest success this spring, according to the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS).

Some 100 Italian volunteers took part in 3 bird protection camps run by Italian organisations LAC, WWF and LIPU in Lazio and Campania. The operations covered the complete time window of the passage of the late migrant song birds, a period of six weeks from mid-April to the end of May, and were conducted in close cooperation with the forest and regional police.

The results were:

183 fall traps, 1 bow trap, 2 nets and 4 electronic decoy devices (not a single one on Ischia!) located and removed
only 9 poachers caught red-handed
five shotguns, 360 rounds of ammunition and two wire snares for wild boar confiscated.

Alexander Heyd of CABS, said “Even the most optimistic of us would never have believed that matters could turn out like this. There were no Whinchat traps set in the terraced gardens on Ischia, no shots were fired at migrating Turtle Doves from the cliffs of the Island of Procida and no nets blocked the passage of the Wheatear in the Ponza macchia.”

Detailed information on the operations (at present only in German) can be found at http://www.komitee.de/.

Lifeline for marine wildlife?

2007-07-13T10:41:00.000Z

The future of the UK’s marine wildlife hangs in the balance as Gordon Brown made a half-hearted commitment to introducing a draft marine bill in his legislative programme, according to the RSPB.

Reacting to Gordon Brown’s statement, Martin Harper, head of the RSPB’s sustainable development department, said: “Increasing protection for marine wildlife has been an outstanding commitment for this government over the last decade. We are disappointed, therefore, that the Prime Minister remains to be fully convinced of this need.”

The UK’s coastline is home to 18 exclusively marine species of seabird, including Puffin, Gannet, Kittiwake and Guillemot. The Great Skua, Manx Shearwater, Gannet and Shag have their most important populations in the world in the UK.

The RSPB will continue to campaign for a Marine Bill to be introduced in the 2007/2008 parliamentary session that includes: designated marine conservation zones; a new system for planning at sea; improved licensing of activities at sea; and sustainable in-shore fishing management. MPs are being asked to pledge their support for a Marine Bill by signing a new cross-party Early Day Motion (1833).

Photo: Puffin by Chris Harbard

Bird of prey killings hit peak

2007-07-13T10:17:00.000Z

Goshawks are still a major victim of bird of prey persecution in the Peak District, according to new findings from the RSPB.

Its latest report on bird of prey persecution in Derbyshire – Peak Malpractice Update 2007 - highlights a catalogue of wildlife crime incidents from this region. One incident, which was reported to Derbyshire Constabulary, involved the use of a dead squirrel, placed below an active Goshawk nest within the Upper Derwent Valley, Derbyshire.

Squirrels are a frequent prey item for Goshawks, leaving investigators in little doubt that this magnificent bird of prey was the intended victim. This view is reinforced by the fact that the bait was placed on a pile of teased-out twine, which experts believe would have entangled any victim’s talons.

Ian West, the RSPB’s head of investigations, said: “The nature of the trap and its position clearly indicate this was designed to kill the breeding Goshawks at this location. Any bird unlucky enough to get trapped would have suffered a lingering death, unable to find food or fly.”

Among other horrifying incidents last year: a female Peregrine was found dead after being shot on two separate occasions; laboratory tests showed that a Raven had been poisoned; and Goshawk chicks disappeared from a traditional nest site after the tree was climbed by someone using climbing irons.

The RSPB is calling for the illegal killing of birds of prey to stop and is asking the public to show their support by signing an on-line pledge. Visit: www.rspb.org.uk/birdsofprey for further information.

Photo: Goshawk from www.wildphoto.no

Chernobyl radiations affects brightly coloured birds most

2007-07-12T20:47:00.000Z

Studies on birds breeding in the forests around the Chernobyl nuclear plant have found that brightly coloured birds are among the species most adversely affected by the high levels of radiation.

Dr Anders Møller of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and Professor Timothy Mousseau of the University of South Carolina examined 1,570 birds from 57 different species. They found that populations of certain groups of birds, those whose red, yellow and orange plumage is based on carotenoids, those that laid the biggest eggs, and those that migrated or dispersed the furthest, declined more than other species.

Most interestingly these results have been linked to the role of antioxidants, those chemicals that help protect living organisms from the damaging effects of free radicals. Certain activities use up large amounts of antioxidants. These include producing carotenoid-based pigments for feathers, migrating long distances and laying large eggs. Møller and Mousseau hypothesized that birds with fewer antioxidants would be most adversely affected by exposure to radiation.

Among the brightly coloured species most affected were Golden Orioles, Blackbirds and Blue Tits, while drab species like Tree Pipits, Coal Tits and Chaffinches were much less affected. Long distance migrants that were most affected included Quails, Golden Orioles, Hoopoes, Blackbirds and Robins, while non-migrant or short-dispersing species like Great Tits, Coal Tits and Song Thrushes were much less affected.

A P Møller and T A Mousseau (2007). Determinants of interspecific variation in population declines of birds from exposure to radiation at Chernobyl. Journal of Applied Ecology, published online at www.blackwellpublishing.com/jpe.

Photo: Great Tit at Chernobyl by Tim Mousseau

Flamingos’ home threatened by soda plant

2007-07-12T20:02:00.001Z

The summer home of half a million flamingos in Tanzania is under threat from industrial development.

Lake Natron supports more than 500,000 Lesser Flamingos in summer, which amounts to 75 per cent of the world’s breeding population. The lake has been the birds’ only nesting site in East Africa for the last 45 years. Listed by the international Ramsar Wetland Convention and designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, it is one of only five breeding sites for lesser flamingos in the world.

The lake is threatened by the construction of a huge soda ash plant, which will require the installation of heavy machinery to pump water, as well as a new coal-run power station and housing for more than 1,000 workers. The plant will pump salty water from the lake for the production and export of sodium carbonate or washing soda and the developers may also introduce a hybrid shrimp to the lake to increase its salinity.

Dr Chris Magin, the RSPB’s International Officer for Africa, said: “The chances of Lesser Flamingos continuing to breed at Lake Natron in the face of such mayhem are next to zero. This development will leave these birds facing extinction in East Africa and should be stopped in its tracks and sunk in water so deep it can never be revived.”

Consultants for Lake Natron Resources Limited, are hosting a workshop to make public only part of its report on the environmental impact of the salt ash proposals. Conservationists in Africa and the UK are determined to influence the environmental report before it goes to the Tanzanian government but many have been barred from the workshop including the Lake Natron Consultative Group, which represents a number of environmental organisations.

Climate bill call as floods hit people and birds

2007-07-09T15:52:00.001Z

The Government’s draft climate change bill must address the way we adapt to our changing weather if we are to protect people and wildlife from future floods, says the RSPB. Climate change means that devastating summer floods like those that hit parts of England in recent weeks are likely to become more common.

The society is calling for a large-scale programme of wetland creation and river restoration to help reduce the impact of floods on people and wildlife. Ruth Davis, the RSPB’s head of climate change policy, said: “People in vulnerable communities, together with wildlife, will be hit worst by climate change. They will bear the brunt of more frequent and violent storms, such as those that have hit the UK this summer.

“The RSPB is asking that the draft climate change bill includes much stronger requirements on the Government to ensure we adapt sensibly to the impacts of climate change, precisely because of events like this.

She added: “We need sensible planning laws that do not allow buildings on floodplains, when there is no guarantee they can ever be insured or protected adequately in the future.

“In addition, we must invest public funds in restoring the natural function of rivers and their catchments so they store more water and slow the development of floods.”

This summer’s floods have had a disastrous effect on England’s wading birds – just a year after they were hit by drought in the South-East. In the last two weeks many nests and young have been washed away by flood waters, which have inundated RSPB reserves from East Anglia north through the Midlands and into Yorkshire.

The worst affected reserves are all low-lying wet meadows, which rely on winter flooding and were once common in the landscape. However decades of intensive drainage and flood defence have seen massive losses of habitat and dramatic declines in breeding wading bird numbers. When floods hit the few remaining suitable sites in spring and summer, breeding birds and their young have nowhere to go.

As many as half of the remaining Common Snipe in England’s lowlands could have lost their nests after the Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire disappeared under water up to two metres deep. At Sandwell Valley in the West Midlands, all but two of the reserve’s 13 Northern Lapwing chicks have been lost, while at Old Moor in Yorkshire waders were again hit hard as water levels on the site rose three metres in 12 hours.

The rising waters washed out 13 snipe, 10 lapwing and seven Redshank nests. Even Tree Sparrow nests were lost, despite being more than six feet off the ground.

Photo: juvenile Redshank by Steve Young

Endangered Bruijn's Brush-turkey photographed for first time in the wild

2007-07-08T18:11:00.000Z

Birdwatchers on a Papua Expeditions (PE) exploratory bird tour to Mount Danai on the Indonesian island of Waigeo have taken the first photographs in the wild of the endemic Bruijn's Brush-turkey Aepypodius bruijnii, a unique species of megapode which remained entirely unknown in the living world for more than 120 years between its formal description from trade skins in 1880 and its field discovery by PE resident birder Iwein Mauro on nearby Mount Nok in May 2002.

In early April 2007 Iwein Mauro and fellow PE resident birder Zeth Wonggor, along with British birdwatcher Charles Davies, watched a fine adult male brush-turkey persistently displaying from atop its nest mound just four metres away from their hide in ridge-top cloud-forest on Mount Danai. The group also repeatedly watched a soliciting female visiting the mound while the male was away.

African forest wilderness to be cleared for cane plantations

2007-07-07T06:52:00.000Z

A precious forest that is home to nearly one third of Uganda’s bird life is set to be given away and cleared for one of the country’s most uneconomical crops.

The Ugandan government wants to change the law to allow Mabira Forest Reserve to be carved up and a quarter of it used for sugar cane production by huge firms, notably the Mehta Group, which has close ties to politicians within and outside the country. The forest was supposed to be protected in return for $US 360 million of World Bank money to fund construction of a hydroelectric dam on the River Nile close to Lake Victoria.

Conservationists fear that agreement will be flouted and that Mabira will be all but destroyed by the planned give-away – or ‘de-gazettement’ - after November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda, when the country will no longer be in the world’s gaze. They believe the move would breach the Ugandan constitution.

Dr Chris Magin, the RSPB’s International Officer for Africa, said: “Slicing up Mabira would be an environmental disaster and makes no economic sense at all. Sugar production in Uganda is hugely inefficient and has to be heavily subsidised to be competitive.

“Sugar yields would be much higher if farming techniques were improved and if the object was to increase sugar production, that is what the government should do.”

The 75,000-acre (30,000-hectare) Mabira forms the eastern part of the Guinea Congo Forest in central Africa. It is classified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, boasting almost 300 bird species including the globally threatened Nahan's Francolin.

Of those birds, 75 species are found only in the Guinea Congo Forest. Many of the 200 tree species and nine primate species in Mabira are also rare.

“For birdwatchers and other eco-tourists, it is a famous site,” Dr Magin said. “It would be a tragedy if so much of it was lost to this short-sighted venture.”

“Mabira is a biodiversity heaven and conserving it is a much better option than growing sugar cane,” said Achilles Byaruhanga, Executive Director of NatureUganda.

“If a quarter of Mabira is chopped down the effect on the remaining forest will be far-reaching, reducing the range of species, causing encroachment, erosion and siltation, and reducing its capacity to provide services. There will be less water in our rivers, less rain, less carbon stored and fewer tourists.”

The RSPB and BirdLife International are urging people to lobby their governments to ask Uganda to safeguard Mabira. Hazell Shokellu Thompson, Head of BirdLife’s Africa Division, said: “For the Ugandan government and the Mehta Group to continue with a venture that is so very costly in terms of biodiversity loss and economic stability is wholly deplorable.”

“Uganda ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1993 and has a fairly good track record in upholding that treaty. The government has an obligation to continue to adhere to the agreement in the same way that many other African and world nations are doing and we are confident that once all the facts have been reviewed, the Ugandan government will do the right thing for the Ugandan people and stop the give-away.”

If the Mabira give-away goes ahead, conservationists fear it will put other protected forests at risk. Dr Magin said: “Mabira is only one of a number of give-aways proposed. If the government is successful in weakening the law the loss of Mabira could set a very worrying precedent.”

TV fundraising effort to benefit albatrosses and other wildlife

2007-07-05T21:23:00.000Z

The campaign to save the world's albatrosses from extinction will receive another boost this Friday, 6 July, when BBC TV's Saving Planet Earth series reaches its conclusion with a televised fundraising spectacular. The plight of albatrosses, whose numbers are being badly depleted by longline fishing, was the subject of one of the programmes in the series.

A star-studded event featuring David Attenborough, updates on the animals and music by Avril Lavigne, Manic Street Preachers and Katherine Jenkins will be screened on Friday evening at 7 pm and 8.30 pm on BBC1.

Financial support for the conservation causes featured in the series is being channelled through the BBC Wildlife Fund, a grant-giving charity registered with the Charity Commission. The fund was set up to distribute money raised by donations to help support projects protecting the world’s endangered wildlife and habitats.

Once the total amount raised from appeals is known, the BBC says the fund will work with a wide range of wildlife charities to assess how and where the money can make the most difference.

To watch the BBC programme on albatrosses online click here, and then click on the 'Watch again' link.

Echo Parakeet saved from fate of the Dodo in Mauritius

2007-07-04T21:43:00.000Z

A species whose numbers once dwindled to just eight known individuals, including only two females, has been removed from the critical list thanks to a conservation effort spearheaded by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

The Echo Parakeet is one of nine native bird species remaining on Mauritius, but its numbers have been severely impacted by deforestation and invasive species. Just a few years ago it was considered the rarest parrot on the planet, but now 320 of these birds fly freely in the Mauritian forests, resulting the species being downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

Invasive species had been the biggest factor in the bird’s decline. Introduced plants such as the guava have spread rapidly across Mauritius, preventing the growth of native trees on which the birds depend for food. Animals such as the Black Rat have raided nests and competed with the birds for native fruits.

Durrell and its partner organisation the Mauritian Wildlife Fund combated these threats by restoring areas of its natural habitat, removing invasive species, planting native trees and providing feeding stations. They received extensive support from The World Parrot Trust, Chester Zoo and the International Vet Group.

Techniques which the charities used to successfully increase numbers of two other critically endangered birds, Pink Pigeon and Mauritius Kestrel, were adapted. To ensure a high survival rate in the face of natural food shortages, Durrell removed all but one hatchling from the parakeets’ nests for hand-rearing. This reduced the burden on the parent birds and prevented infant mortality.

Dr Carl Jones MBE, a Durrell scientist who has spent 20 years fighting to save the birdlife of Mauritius, said: “There is a high natural wastage in birds so our intervention ensured the survival of a far greater number of hatchlings. This is the first time a species has ever gone from being such a rarity to being down-listed in such a short time. It is a major success for all the charities who have been working together on this project.”

Mauritius is famed for a bird tale with a less happy ending - the extinction of the Dodo. This large, flightless endemic pigeon relative was exterminated in the latter half of the 17th century, within 80 years of the islands being settled. Knowledge of its habits and affinities are somewhat patchy, but the remains of one recently found in a cave beneath bamboo and tea plantations may offer the best chance yet to learn about the extinct flightless bird.

The discovery was made earlier this month in the Mauritian highlands, but the location was kept secret until the recovery of the skeleton, nicknamed ‘Fred’, was completed on Friday. Four men guarded the site overnight.

Julian Hume, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum, told Reuters that the remains were likely to yield excellent DNA and other vital clues, because they were found intact, in isolation, and in a cave.

Photo: Echo Parakeet by Sarah Seymour (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust)

Taiwan dam project threatens Fairy Pitta stronghold

2007-07-04T16:37:00.000Z

Fairy Pitta, one of Asia’s most charismatic and eye-catching birds, may be in trouble if the construction of a major dam in Taiwan is given the go-ahead. The project would threaten 422 ha of forest with flooding, affecting a significant proportion of the region’s Fairy Pitta breeding habitat, and in an area that supports some the greatest breeding density currently known.

Taiwan’s Yunlin County has proposed the Hushan Dam in an Important Bird Area (IBA) known as the Huban-Hushan. The area supports Fairy Pitta and a further five species only found in Taiwan, and the dam is the latest in a line of putative threats facing the region’s birds, according to BirdLife International.

The area is of international importance for many threatened bird species including Fairy Pitta, but also Swinhoe’s Pheasant, Taiwan Partridge and Maroon Oriole. Deforestation across much of the pitta’s range in China and Japan has resulted in declines and serious concern for its prospects.

BirdLife Chief Executive Dr Mike Rands commented: “It is a fact that the forests within the Huban-Hushan IBA, where the dam has been planned, support the largest breeding population of Fairy Pitta anywhere in the world ... this makes the protection of this habitat a global issue, about which we express great concern.”

Threats faced by the region in the past have included gravel extraction, a problem successfully campaigned against in 2000 by Birdlife International and other agencies. Currently, the organisation is calling for more appropriate alternatives to the dam proposal.

Dr Peter Schei, chair of BirdLife’s Council, wrote to Taiwanese authorities asking that they “respond positively to this appeal and consider alternatives to the current project in order to avoid the destruction of an area of habitat so critical to a species with such a threatened and fragile future”.

Fairy Pitta is listed as ‘vulnerable’ by BirdLife International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with regulations applying under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

EU targets Cyprus over failure to protect birds

2007-07-03T15:55:00.000Z

The European Commission has opened infringement procedures against Cyprus – and almost all other new Member States – for insufficient implementation of EU bird protection law, according to BirdLife Cyprus. It has decided to take a strong stance against Cyprus’s failure to protect key habitats for priority bird species and against last month's controversial decision to allow spring shooting for the first time in 14 years.

The Commission today sent a first warning letter to Cyprus for not complying with the hunting provisions of the Birds Directive. Cyprus breached EU law by allowing spring hunting of Turtle Doves on 6 and 9 May. Like Malta , which has already received a warning on this issue, Cyprus risks being taken to the European Court if it does not now ban spring hunting once and for all.

The official excuse that Turtle Doves were being shot in May for causing “serious damage to cereal crops” is not upheld by analyses of the doves' diet (composed almost entirely of the seeds of cereal field weeds) and is very unlikely to impress the Commission.

Nicosia also received a similar ‘Letter of Formal Notice’ from the Commission (representing step one in the opening of a legal infringement procedure) over the failure to designate sufficient Natura 2000 areas for birds in Cyprus . Only seven of the 16 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) identified by BirdLife Cyprus have so far been designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs), as required under the Birds Directive.

All SPAs should have been designated upon accession in May 2004 and the inventory of IBAs – representing the best available evidence on priority bird habitats on the island – should have been adopted as the basis for SPA designation. IBAs such as the Oroklini and Paralimni lakes, Akamas and Diarizos have not been turned into SPAs, leaving priority species such as Black-winged Stilts, Spur-winged Plovers, Long-legged Buzzards and Rollers unprotected.

“Cyprus must now ensure the ill-advised decision to allow spring shooting last month was a complete one-off, never to be repeated, otherwise we will face being taken to the European Court by the Commission,” said BirdLife Cyprus Manager Martin Hellicar. “The Interior Ministry must now also move swiftly to designate all of our key bird habitats as SPAs, a long overdue action, especially when one considers the imminent threats to many sites from poorly planned developments,” he added .

Cyprus is not the only EU Member State in hot water over bird protection. The Commission today also decided to take Germany and Poland to the European Court of Justice because of insufficient designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) as required by the Birds Directive. It was also decided to send first warning letters on the same issue to eight more countries that joined the EU in 2004.This means that apart from Estonia now all the new member states from the 2004 round are in legal trouble on bird protection.

Konstantin Kreiser, EU Policy Manager at BirdLife International in Brussels, states: “We welcome the legal actions announced today as a significant step forward, but regret that so many governments need to be forced to turn their nice words into action. We hope the affected member states will now speed up their efforts to comply with EU legislation and honour their own commitments to ensure Europe stays on track to reach the 2010 biodiversity target.”

Photo: Turtle Dove by Steve Young

US border security plan "will harm Texan wildlife"

2007-07-03T09:42:00.000Z

A 10ft-high security wall which could extend for up to 700 miles along the Texan border with Mexico will cut directly through some of the US’s most important wildlife sites with possibly disastrous consequences.

The area around the Rio Grande, which marks the border between the two countries, is the northern limit for many tropical bird species, including Green Kingfisher, Brown Jay, White-collared Seedeater and Altamira Oriole. It is also home to the last population of Ocelots in the US, with fewer than 100 animals remaining. Habitat at world-famous sites like Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary and Bentsen-Rio State Park could be seriously disrupted, with a knock-on effect on nature tourism which is worth up to US $150 million to the area every year.

The wall is the initiative of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, which believes it will deter illegal immigration. However, residents and local officials in the Rio Grande Valley are united in opposition to the plan, and point out that similar schemes elsewhere have failed – like the 14 miles of California wall, under which 46 tunnels have been found. They also point out that the region’s economy depends on trade and good relations with neighbouring Mexico.

Ironically, another US government department, the Fish and Wildlife Service, has been working with agencies in Mexico to restore corridors of habitat that would allow for movement of wildlife between the two countries. That movement might be stopped by a wall, say its critics, and in the case of Ocelots it could compromise the animals' ability to breed successfully or establish new territories.

“The fence is going to interrupt the environment for a lot of species,” said Ken Kaemmerer, Curator of Mammals for the Dallas Zoo and leader of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for Ocelots.

Speaking on the wider implications of the plan, Steve Ahlenius, McAllen Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, explained: “Virtually to a person, people who actually live along the border and deal with Mexico every day are vehemently opposed to the wall for many reasons. Very few people here believe a wall will work to keep out illegal immigrants … if they build a 10-ft wall, someone will just build an 11-ft ladder. There are better ways.”

Read more in The Dallas Morning News …

Photo: Green Kingfisher at Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary, Texas, by Dominic Mitchell

Greater protection urged for threatened marine wildlife

2007-07-03T05:19:00.000Z

In a direct appeal to Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, the RSPB is urging the new Prime Minister to ensure that the first Queen’s Speech of his premiership includes protection for the

’s marine wildlife.

A recent analysis has shown that UK seas regularly support 18 species of fish, mammal, bird or reptile that are considered at risk of global extinction. This compares with only three such endangered species on land or freshwater: two species of bat and a non-breeding migrant warbler.

The UK’s coastline is home to 18 exclusively coastal species of seabird, including Puffin, Gannet, Kittiwake and Guillemot. In addition, Great Skua, Manx Shearwater, Gannet and Shag have their most important populations in the world in the UK. Within the European Union, nine species of exclusively coastal seabird also have their most important breeding populations around our shores: Fulmar, Leach’s Storm-petrel, Arctic Skua, Great Black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Puffin, Razorbill, Guillemot and Black Guillemot.

Currently, the protection of sites and species on land is not mirrored in the marine environment, says the RSPB, leaving species and habitats vulnerable to many threats, including over-harvesting and habitat destruction. The society and other conservation agencies are calling for new legislation to protect the UK’s seas and their wildlife.

RSPB Conservation Director Dr Mark Avery said: “The UK government has a very poor track record on designating marine wildlife sites. Under European law, it has only protected three marine sites of importance to birds; this paltry figure puts us behind many other European countries.

“We trust that Gordon Brown will honour his party’s manifesto commitment to provide a marine bill before the next election. His commitment to marine protection will be an early test of his environmental credentials.”

The vulnerability of marine wildlife is highlighted by the fact that UK waters once would have supported regular populations of even more species. The Great Auk became extinct in the UK in 1840, four years before its global extinction. Dr Avery added: “History reminds us that without proper protection marine species are vulnerable to extinction. How many more species do we need to lose before other threatened marine wildlife receives protection?”

Photo: Razorbills by Steve Young

Endangered Kirtland's Warbler confirmed breeding in Wisconsin for first time

2007-07-03T05:11:00.000Z

Wisconsin’s first confirmed nesting of the Federally Endangered Kirtland’s Warbler has taken place this year. Singing males have previously been observed in appropriate Jack Pine habitat in the state, but this is the first confirmation of nesting away from the species’ only known breeding areas in neighbouring Michigan.

Due to the sensitive nature of the discovery, on private land, the exact site has not been disclosed. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been working with the landowner, the Plum Creek Timber Company, about management and monitoring of the warblers in central Wisconsin.

Click here for more on Kirtland's Warbler on the State of Michigan web page, and see this USFWS press release on the Wisconsin nesting record.

Source: Birding Community E-bulletin, July 2007

Authorities investigate raptor poisoning in Yorkshire

2007-07-02T16:22:00.000Z

The RSPCA is working with the RSPB, Police and DEFRA to investigate the poisoning of a Peregrine Falcon in Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire, a species that is specially protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The bird was found by a local farmer, panting and unable to stand up, both early symptoms of poisoning. A local volunteer from the charity Raptor Rescue rushed to the scene, but the bird died shortly afterwards.

Jean Thorpe from Raptor Rescue explained: “I managed to get it home but there was no hope for it. It became very tense and stiff before the end. Poisoning causes huge amounts of suffering.” A post-mortem found the bird to be in a good condition, with no injuries, prompting the RSPCA to urge DEFRA to send off samples for testing.

The Government’s Central Science Laboratory has now confirmed that the bird had eaten something doused with carbofuran, an agricultural pesticide banned in the UK since 2001. RSPCA inspector Geoffrey Edmond said: “This is of grave concern. Birds of prey are meat eaters, which means this poison had to have been deliberately placed on a target animal of some kind. This bird should not have died, and to die in this way was excruciating.

“This pesticide was banned for a reason, and to use it is an offence which can result in an unlimited fine. Causing the death of a Schedule 1 protected bird could result in a prison sentence of up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5,000.”

The RSPCA is concerned this may not be the only bird to have been affected. Anyone who knows anything should call 0870 5555 999.

Farmer wins wildlife award for lapwing conservation

2007-07-02T16:05:00.000Z

Northern Lapwings are swooping and tumbling above fields in Norfolk following a farmer’s decision to put the birds before his profits, making Steve Mumford the RSPB’s Lapwing Champion for 2007. His award will be presented at a reception at the Royal Show this evening.

Steve manages Lower Farm, Narborough, for farmer Chris Knights, who once had more of the rare Stone-curlew on his land than he did lapwings. That startling fact sparked five years of work to revive the latter’s fortunes.

Mr Mumford and his team of 15 started managing the farm’s grasslands to provide nesting and feeding sites for Northern Lapwings and all decisions on cropping are now based on the birds rather than the economics.

Whole fields have been left fallow because they have attracted too many nesting lapwings for farm work not to harm them – one field this year had 27 pairs - and three fields have been taken out of production permanently and are now covered with grass and wetland areas - the conditions needed by the birds.

Longer vegetation around arable fields at 400-acre Lower Farm means there is plenty of food for both adults and young birds; chemicals are used sparingly and nest sites marked and avoided. Steve said: “Birds and other wildlife are top of the agenda for Chris and his enthusiasm for birds has carried everyone else along.”

As a result of all the work, lapwing numbers have jumped from 30 pairs in 2002 to 54 pairs this year.

“We’ve also had two Stone-curlew pairs at Lower Farm for the first time and many of my farm workers are avid birdwatchers now,” Steve added. “We plough around nests of any ground-nesting bird we find. It’s an approach that runs through the business.

“Chris and his son Paul have always wanted to help wildlife. When it was fashionable to rip out hedges, make big fields or make big heaths they wouldn’t do it. We aren’t influenced by fashion or fads, or government incentives, so we are really delighted to have won the RSPB’s award.

Andy Cotton, Agriculture Adviser for the RSPB, said: “Steve has engendered a culture amongst his 15 farm workers where the birds come first. Lapwings are now breeding very successfully on the farm and some of them are moving into new areas as their numbers grow.

“Lower Farm is a first-class example of how an arable farm, with top-grade productive soils and high-value crops, can operate in a commercial environment but also benefit wildlife at the same time.”

Photo: Steve Young

Turtle Dove numbers fall by almost two-thirds in 12 years

2007-07-02T09:32:00.000Z

A report published today reveals that the number of the Turtle Doves in Britain has plummeted by 61 per cent in just 12 years.

The Breeding Bird Survey – a partnership between the BTO, RSPB and JNCC – has shown that the Turtle Dove has disappeared from many parts of England, including the north and the south-west, and has also become increasingly hard to find in its arable stronghold of East Anglia.

Turtle Dove is one of many long-distance migrants whose numbers returning to Britain each spring are decreasing. It is believed that the decline could be linked to factors on migration – such as illegal hunting around the Mediterranean – or to conditions on African wintering grounds. Equally, changes in agricultural practice, leading to a reduction in the quantity of weed seeds – a principal food source – have been cited for the decline.

However, the population of another farmland bird has improved in the last 12 years, with Reed Bunting increasing by 39 per cent since 1994 – a marked turnaround from the situation 30 years ago, when a steep decline began which saw its numbers more than halve in the decade up to the mid 1980s.

There are hopes that the relatively recent increase in the extent of funding available to farmers for wildlife-friendly agriculture may have benefited Reed Buntings. A principal cause for the species’ decline has been the lack of weed seeds in fields – a principal food source for many farmland birds.

Encouraged by the modest rise in the UK population, the RSPB is hoping that farmers attending today’s Royal Show will be looking at wildlife-friendly farming schemes as a way of ensuring a more secure future for farmland birds and providing an additional source of farm income.

First UK Yellow-nosed Albatross released at Brean Down, Somerset, 30 June 2007

2007-07-01T14:16:00.000Z

News of a sub-adult Yellow-nosed Albatross that was taken into care at Brean, Somerset, on 29 June and released from Brean Down at 4 pm on 30 June has taken Britain's birders by surprise - none even heard about the extraordinary occurrence until after the bird's rescuers had let it go.

The huge seabird apparently flew into a garden at Brean on Friday 29th and was unable to get airborne again. The householders picked it up and, thinking it was a Fulmar, took it to the local animal rescue centre. It was in care overnight, but on inspection seemed healthy so its release was organised for the afternoon at Brean Down.

During its brief residence in the country this first for Britain was not seen by any birders. It was correctly identified subsequently by local ornithologists who studied the photos. The record follows the sighting of another sub-adult Yellow-nosed Albatross in Norwegian waters on the afternoon of 28 June, the timings meaning that two different birds were surely involved.

Swift answers needed for declining visitor

2007-06-29T11:05:00.000Z

Common Swifts are familiar birds in many European cities, breeding close to man under the roofs or in cracks in the walls of buildings, bridges and other constructions. However, they are also disappearing from many cities, and the possible reasons for this are the decreasing availability of flying insects (their staple food) or the gradual improvement of buildings, which prevents swifts from gaining access to suitable nesting places.

BirdLife International and the RSPB would therefore like birders to contribute to a survey of Common Swifts in the capitals of the 27 Member States of the EU. The collected data will be used for media release, drawing the attention of the public to the conservation issues around common and familiar birds and the quality of our living environment.

The survey needs participating birders to do the following:

• Undertake a one-hour survey of Common Swift (Apus apus) – and no other swift species – in the centre of your capital city.

• Counts should be undertaken in relatively warm conditions with only modest breeze, and preferably between the hours of 18:00 and 22:00.

• Observers should watch for a one-hour period and count the approximate number of swifts in parties they see flying over the city. They should count the birds seen and make a note of the number. Swifts in small parties can be counted individually, but for birds in larger parties it may be easier to count in groups of five, or 10, to come up with your best estimate.

• Observers also need to provide with the maximum total number of swifts they record in one of four categories: (1) 0, (2) 1-10, (3) 11-100, (4) 101-1000.

• Zero counts are extremely valuable, so please send these in too!

• We ask that the survey is carried out on one evening between 25th June and 9th July • Please feel free to repeat the survey on several evenings, if you wish to do so, and send us the maximum counts for each date. • You need to provide: a) Date of the count, b) City name, and c) Maximum number of common swift seen in a simple table (see Annex). Anyone who wishes to take part or who needs more details should respond by email to: Darren.Moorcroft@rspb.org.uk.

Photo: Mark Thomas (RSPB)

Thriving Bald Eagle 'no longer endangered'

2007-06-28T21:10:00.000Z

The Bald Eagle, the national symbol of the USA which was once almost wiped out by hunters and DDT poisoning, has not only survived but is thriving.

The Interior Department is removing the majestic bird from the protection of the Endangered Species Act, capping a four-decade struggle for recovery. US government biologists have counted almost 10,000 pairs of Bald Eagles, including at least one pair in each of 48 contiguous states, giving assurance that the bird's survival is no longer in jeopardy.

The species’ population hit rock-bottom in 1963 when only 417 mating pairs could be documented in the 48 states and its future survival as a species was in doubt.

There were once believed to be as many as a half million Bald Eagles in North America, pre-dating the arrival of settlers from Europe. The Continental Congress put the bird onto the country's official seal in 1782, although Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey and called the eagle a “bird of bad moral character”.

The Interior Department has been mulling over what to do about the bald eagle for eight years since government biologists in 1999 concluded its recovery had been a success. Earlier this year, a federal court directed it to make a decision on the bird's status by this Friday, acting in a lawsuit by a Minnesota man who complained the government's delays kept him from developing seven acres that included an eagle's nest.

Source: Guardian Unlimited

Rare antbird rediscovered and photographed in Colombia

2007-06-28T20:51:00.000Z

The rare Recurve-billed Bushbird has recently been rediscovered by scientists in Colombia after a 40-year absence.

Clytoctantes alixii had not been observed between 1965 and 2004, due to its limited range and remote habitats. It was seen recently in Venezuela and in a region of north-eastern Colombia, where it was photographed.

Researchers found the bird in a 250-acre (101-hectare) reserve next to the Torcoroma Holy Sanctuary near the Colombian town of Ocaña, where in 1709 locals claimed they saw the image of the Virgin Mary in a tree root. The forests of the sanctuary have been protected by Catholic Church authorities in the centuries ever since.

Read more and photo ...

Trawling identified as major new threat to albatross conservation

2007-06-28T16:10:00.000Z

An estimated 100,000 albatrosses die annually in the longline fishing industry, but recent research has highlighted that large numbers of albatrosses are also dying in trawl fisheries. In one recent study, 12,000 albatrosses are estimated to have died in the South African trawl fishery in one year.

As new threats for albatrosses emerge – heightening their risk of extinction – the RSPB, in conjunction with BirdLife International, is aiming to spend up to £2 million over the next five years, doubling the capacity of its Albatross Task Force programme.

Currently, the Albatross Task Force employs seven full-time personnel: three in South Africa; two in Brazil; and two in Chile. The RSPB hopes to expand the work of the task force in other albatross hot-spots, especially those along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America.

Dr Euan Dunn, Head of Marine Policy at the RSPB, said: “Operating in some of the world’s most dangerous environments, seven task force members are already working with the fishing industry in the southern hemisphere preventing the deaths of albatrosses and other seabirds. Extending the programme will enable us to double the number of task force instructors and reach several new countries.”

The work of the Albatross Task Force can be seen on BBC1 at 7 pm on Thursday 28 June, as Carol Thatcher investigates the plight of albatrosses as part of the BBC’s Saving Planet Earth series.

Dr Dunn is hugely encouraged by the difference the Albatross Task Force is making to the future of these iconic seabirds. He said: “Fishing practices pose by far the greatest threats to the survival of albatrosses. These birds are dying at sea right now and they need our help urgently. Putting task force members on as many vessels as possible today will help prevent these birds’ deaths tomorrow.”

Albatross Task Force members crucially advise fishing crews on the simple and cost-effective ways to avoid catching albatrosses that steal bait from the longline hooks. Measures such as weighting the lines, so they sink more quickly, or attaching streamer (bird-scaring) lines to the stern of the vessels have proved highly effective.

In the trawl fisheries, research has shown that albatrosses, and other seabirds, can become entangled and drowned in fishing gear. A vital part of the Albatross Task Force will be to encourage crews to use effective mitigation measures, such as bird-scaring lines.

* The work of the Albatross Task Force features in a special article in the July issue of Birdwatch, on sale now in all good newsagents.

Photo: Peter Exley (www.rspb-images.com)

New study reveals importance of moorland to snipe

2007-06-27T12:44:00.000Z

A new study by the Game Conservancy Trust, to be published in the July edition of Bird Study, highlights the threat that land drainage can have on wading birds, particularly Common Snipe.

This species has declined by about 62 per cent over the past 20 years in lowland Britain due to the loss or deterioration of wetland habitat. As a consequence, it is now designated an Amber List species.

To understand whether snipe are fairing better in upland areas, the Trust's study investigated both habitat use and the food preferences of breeding Common Snipe on moorland in northern England. This scientific study is part of the Trust's long-term Upland Predation Experiment, which is investigating the effects of predation on breeding populations of upland waders, such as European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing and Curlew.

On lowland wet grassland, the snipe's breeding season is determined by the duration for which the soil remains soft enough for the birds to probe for food such as earthworms and tipulid larvae (crane fly or mosquito larvae).

However, since the 1940s the serious population decline in lowland areas has been driven by the loss of this soft wet grassland habitat through increased land drainage aimed at creating more arable land, as well as increased livestock grazing.

On Britain's moorland, however, the study revealed that densities of snipe were comparable to those in the best lowland habitats in England and Wales. Moorland is clearly an important habitat for the British snipe population, notably because it is far more extensive than the remaining suitable lowland habitats. The availability of suitable wetland feeding areas on moorland appears to be the main factor determining breeding densities.

But between 1980 and 1990 the number of sheep in the uplands more than doubled, resulting in a shift from heather-dominated habitats to heather/grass mosaics in many areas. Although this might have made some moors marginally more attractive to breeding snipe, it is likely to have resulted in increased trampling rates of snipe nests – one of the major factors that caused snipe to decline in lowland wet grasslands. In addition, the agricultural improvement of pasture fields adjoining moorland is detrimental to most breeding waders, including snipe, and improved grass held the lowest snipe densities within the study sites.

Dr Andrew Hoodless, who carried out this research on The Game Conservancy Trust's study sites at Otterburn in Northumberland, said: "Because of its specialist feeding requirements, snipe are very susceptible to habitat change. Given the poor status of breeding snipe in lowland Britain and the emerging evidence of declines on upland marginal grassland, we need to ensure that any future upland habitat management practices are beneficial to snipe and do not result in further deterioration of their important moorland habitats."

Photo: Common Snipe by Alexis de le Serre

Secret wintering grounds of Europe's rarest migrant songbird discovered

2007-06-26T21:34:00.001Z

After five years of searching, an expedition team has finally located the wintering grounds of the Aquatic Warbler in Senegal. The species is Europe’s most endangered migratory songbird, and its whereabouts in the winter months have long remained a mystery.

Co-ordinated by Birdlife International’s Aquatic Warbler Conservation Team (AWCT), the RSPB and the French organisation Bretagne Vivante, the search party located significant numbers of Aquatic Warblers in a region of some 100 sq kms within the boundaries of the Djoudj National Park, an important bird area in the north-west of the country.

Feathers from Aquatic Warblers trapped in Europe were analysed to help refine the search area. Aware that the feathers would have grown on the wintering grounds in Africa, the research team looked for isotope patterns and then compared the results with isotope maps of West Africa.

The results from this analysis showed that the birds were wintering at sites just south of the Sahara, and a closer look at the sparse African records, alongside computer modelling of possible suitable climatic conditions, led the researchers to likely areas along the Senegal River.

AWCT Chairman Martin Flade commented: “Thankfully, substantial parts of the bird’s wintering range fall within protected areas, with the Djoudj National Park alone possibly holding up to a third of the world population.”

Aquatic Warblers breed as far west in Europe as Poland and Hungary, but the population is declining and knowledge of the species in its winter range, as well as on the breeding grounds, is crucial to its conservation. Interestingly, it occurs regularly in small numbers in south-west England and Brittany on migration in autumn to its wintering areas, but not in spring, suggesting a different route back to Europe.

Photo: Steve Young.

Fossil remains of giant penguin found in Peru

2007-06-26T07:48:00.000Z

The remains of a giant penguin which preferred the tropics to the southern oceans have been discovered by a team of scientists, according to the BBC. The fossilised bones of the bird, which lived some 36 million years ago, were discovered in Peru.

About 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, the penguin would have looked quite different from its modern-day cousins. It had a long, protracted skull and what its discoverers are describing as a grossly elongated beak that was spear-like in appearance.

The Icadyptes salasi penguin would dwarf all extant penguin, and would have stood head and shoulders even over the two largest species, Emperor and King Penguins.

Its well-preserved skeleton was discovered on the southern coast of Peru along with the remains of as many as four other previously undiscovered penguin species, all of which appear to have preferred the tropics over colder climes.

Concern over swift numbers prompts nationwide survey

2007-06-26T05:20:00.000Z

Fears that one of summer’s more familiar sights and sounds could be becoming scarcer have prompted calls for help from the public in a new nationwide survey. The RSPB believes that Common Swifts could be declining in numbers and is asking for details of birds nesting in homes or neighbourhoods across the country.

Since the earliest human occupation of Britain, swifts have been living alongside man: first in caves; then on castles and churches; and finally in our homes. Concern over their fortunes is being linked to the possibility that renovation and development of older buildings may be evicting the species from some locations in which it formerly thrived.

The RSPB’s Darren Moorcroft said: “There is some evidence that the Swift has declined across the UK, but we really need people’s help to understand more about where this bird still occurs.”

The online questionnaire will ask people to state whether swifts are nesting on properties or whether people have heard swift ‘screaming parties’ around their properties. To take part in the survey click here.

Photo: Steve Young

Arson suspected in Welsh nature reserve fire

2007-06-25T14:09:00.000Z

Wardens for the Countryside Council for Wales are assessing the damage caused to a nature reserve at Cadair Idris, after a recent fire decimated important wildlife habitats. Following a visit by a wildlife crime officer, there are fears that the fire was started deliberately.

Nearly 30 hectares of prime wildlife habitats have been lost as a result of the fire at Tan y Gader, a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the north side of Cadair Idris. CCW is appealing for any information on the incident.

Paul Williams, CCW’s Senior Reserve Manager at Cadair Idris, said: “It will take many years for the area to recover – a generation of young trees were killed and the heathland ruined. This will inevitably have an impact on birds in the area – Merlin, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat and Skylark, for example.”

Any activities that may have an impact on a Site of Special Scientific Interest must be discussed with CCW before being carried out. Deliberately damaging an SSSI is a criminal offence.

Heather burning can take place between 1 October and 15 April in the uplands, and between 1 November and 31 March in the lowlands. But any burning on a SSSI must be discussed with CCW in advance.

Paul Williams added: “Through discussion and co-operation many activities, including heather burning, can be managed in a way that avoids damaging SSSIs. A constructive way ahead can usually be found if projects are discussed with us in advance.”

A leaflet giving practical advice on how heather burning should be managed, and outlining what the law says on the matter, is available from Mike McCabe at the Countryside Council for Wales on 0845 1306229.