As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... about out of place birds, rare vagrants and basically all things feathery and Fortean.Because we live in strange times, there are more and more bird stories that come her way, so she has now moved onto the main CFZ bloggo with a new column with the same name as her afore-mentioned ones....
A co-operative battle to save wild birds
An important study is being undertaken by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) – the leading research charity - and Co-operative Farms, which is part of The Co-operative Group and is Britain’s largest farmer. The results of this study could mean that farmers will be paid to feed their starving farmland birds in the future with supplementary feeding during the winter lean months.
Peter Thompson, Farmland Biodiversity Advisor with the GWCT said, “We believe that it is vital for the recovery of farmland birds that supplementary feeding either through pheasant hoppers or spreading grain on the ground is included as an option under Stewardship schemes and Government is largely in agreement. However, before this happens they want us to clarify a number of points in order to maximise the success of this option.”
The two organisations have designed a range of feeding trials involving three Co-operative farms, plus some other farms across the country including the GWCT’s Allerton Project research farm in Leicestershire at Loddington. It was there that it was shown that farmland bird numbers were two and a half times higher when additional grain was provided through pheasant feed hoppers that when none was supplied.
You can read more at: http://www.gwct.org.uk/about_us/news/3463.asp
Illegal trade of endangered wildlife – man is jailed
Greg Turner, 32, of Astwood Close, Potton, in Bedfordshire has been jailed for eight months after pleading guilty to 13 offences involving stuffed birds of prey found at his home. The collection included a red kite, marsh harrier and peregrine falcon. He also admitted to selling a goshawk, a kestrel, five barn owls, three tawny owls, a little owl and a hawk owl.
One of the offences concerned items in his possession for use associated with fraud – he was copying official documents and had used these forgeries to sell well over 100 specimens to buyers as far as the USA and Canada, as well as in the UK and Europe.
Alan Roberts of the NWCU said: "This conviction reflects Turner's blatant flouting of regulations set in place to protect some of our most vulnerable birds for his own gain.
"Bird of prey persecution is one of the UK wildlife crime priorities and this will send the message that such behaviour will be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly."
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16988741
Wind farms in path of rare harriers
Published on Sunday 12 February 2012 17:02
Plans to construct two wind farms in Stanhoe and Syderstone, Norfolk have come under attack after it has been discovered that rare species of birds have been found close to the sites. Stone curlews, Montagu harriers and marsh harriers are three that have been named, as well as flocks of pink-footed geese that are attracted to the area.
The stone curlew has just 347 breeding pairs in the UK and the area in question has somewhere between 11 to 14 pairs. Great Britain has a breeding population of 15 pairs of Montagu harriers, with 3 to 6 females recorded in the north Norfolk over a period of 5 years, and there are around 85 marsh harriers in Norfolk, with 404 breeding pairs in the UK.
The inquiry will resume on Monday and is expected to last until Wednesday, February 22.
http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/environment/wind_farms_in_path_of_rare_harriers_1_3511327
Sussex visitor
Thursday, February 16, 2012
It was reported that a couple in Three Bridges, Sussex have spotted fieldfares in their garden. This bird is native to Scandinavia and is a member of the thrush family, and is also a rare visitor to our shores.
Mr Tombs said: "It is a rare visitor as it lives in northern Europe.
"They only come here at this time of year. We've got these lovely red berries at our house and they come here to eat them. We've seen them come in threes and fours and have a feast."
http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/Rare-bird-spotted/story-15243023-detail/story.html
North Lincolnshire plays host to Dendrocopos minor
Read the following blog and see amazing pictures of this rare visitor to north Lincolnshire, the lesser spotted woodpecker. This bird is the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers resident in Britain. It is mainly limited to the south, the highest density being in south-east England. They do not breed in Scotland or on islands such as the Isle of Wight, but are found in the Channel Islands. They are absent from Ireland. They live off insects and can be found in open woods, copses, parkland, gardens and orchards, although it does tend to frequent the tops of trees looking for larvae, spiders and wood-boring insects.
http://pewit.blogspot.com/2012/02/mega-rare-bird-dendrocopos-minor.html
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/lesserspottedwoodpecker/index.aspx
Images courtesy Wikipedia
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