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 aforementioned ones...
Fowlmere welcomes
rare bird
The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is listed by the RSPB as a high conservation priority, especially in view of the fact that gamekeepers have been known to target this bird, which has a liking for grouse. Thus, its
dietary preferences are threatening its survival in some parts of the UK. It is believed that there are only four
breeding pairs in England. One roosted
at the RSPB nature reserve at Fowlmere in Cambridgeshire between mid-December
last year and early April, but is believed to now have flown north. Reserve warden Doug
Radford said: “We don’t see them every year. This is an exceptional event. We
have never had one roosting for this length of time on the reserve.”
Pic: Wikipedia
Golden
pheasant
There are only 100 breeding pairs of the rare golden
pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) breeding in the country, and the single bird spotted on a shed roof in
Walton sparked fears that it may be an escapee from a private collection. The resident who spotted the bird reported
the sighting to the county and borough councils. “It was there for 4-5 minutes
before flying away in a southerly direction. I’ve contacted
rarebirdlalert.co.uk and the official Staffordshire bird recorder.
“They feel the bird may
have escaped from a private collector since wild pairs are only found in
Norfolk, north Wales and Dorset. I’ve been informed that the borough council
runs Stonefield Park, which has birds of this sort. Have they got a bird
missing?”
However, it turned out that Stonefield Park had
suffered no escapes. The mystery
remains.
Pic: Wikipedia
Illegal
trapping of tawny owl – gamekeeper found guilty
Following a Scottish SPCA investigation, a Kirriemuir gamekeeper has been found guilty of illegally trapping a tawny owl (Strix aluco) in a crow cage, contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The bird suffered an injury to its beak and – as the trap contained no food or water – was extremely thin.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said, "Cage traps are widely
misused, either through poor management or ignorance. The trap which Christie
was responsible for failed to meet the legal requirements of the Scottish
Government's General Licence, which states that traps must bear identifications
tags and be immobilised when not in use.
"Christie pled ignorance to such conditions, which is shocking given he
was an experienced gamekeeper. We welcome the fact that Christie now has a
criminal conviction for this offence. Thankfully the tawny owl received
immediate vet treatment before being rehabilitated at our Wildlife Rescue
Centre and successfully released back into the wild."
The traps are
commonly used to control carrion crows in order to protect livestock and fruit
and vegetable crops. However, like
snaring, these traps are indiscriminate and non-target species are often caught
and injured. Pic: RSPB
Recovered marsh harrier set free
Late last year a farmer found an injured marsh
harrier
(Circus aeruginosus)
that had been left for dead after being shot – x-rays showed gunshot in
each of its wings and one of its legs. A
healing fracture of its left humerus bone showed that it had been shot around
three weeks before being found, so had been scavenging what it could. Despite this bird being left to starve, it
recovered and has now been released back into the wild, despite fears that it
would never be able to fly again.
Retired dale vet, Neville Turner, nursed the bird and once it had built
up its strength it was handed to Pat Kingsnorth, who runs Ark on the Edge
animal sanctuary near the village of Woodland.
Ms
Kingsnorth said: “We kept her in our aviary, where we have barn owls and
kestrels.
“When
she came to us just before Christmas, she was in need of building up her strength,
especially in her wings – but by the time we let her go she was ready for it.”
“She was flying the full length of the aviary
and while it’s sad in a way, it’s wonderful to see her go,” said Ms Kingsnorth.
The
marsh harrier is the largest of the harrier and also one of the most rare. Ms
Kingsnorth said she is appalled that someone had shot one.
She
said: “I think it’s disgusting. A lot of people don’t want birds of prey and
they just want rid of them, whether that’s poisoning them or shooting them.
“I
think it’s a very sad state of affairs. We interfere with nature far too much.”
Pic: www.wildlifeextra.com
Dear friends,
_Harrier.jpg)
New on the Frontiers of Zoology:
The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived in some way by us, so we should have a go at publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. 