The RSPB Community

Red kite poisoning a problem across Europe

mark avery — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

An EU red kite Action Plan has been written by the RSPB (on behalf of BirdLife International) with input from raptor experts across the continent.

It fingers poisoning as the main reason for big declines in the populations in Spain, France and Germany. Most European red kites travel down to Spain and Portugal in winter - so poisoning there affects not just the large Spanish population but also the red kites living elsewhere in Europe.

Last week I was in Spain and heard that poisoning is often associated with shooting estates where red-legged partridges are the main quarry species.

Many years ago a group of us travelled to Spain from the UK to help with a winter survey of red kite numbers. I was based in northern Spain, in Zamora, in January, and with a colleague travelled around counting red kites from roads and tracks. It was great fun!

The fortunes of red kites have waxed and waned over the years. About 20 years ago they were listed as globally threatened species as their numbers had declined dramatically, but then they recovered, and now it looks as though their numbers are dropping very sharply again.

Of course, in the UK, thanks to reintroduction projects, red kites are now getting commoner and commoner, and spreading to new areas all the time. The reintroductions into the UK used birds from Spain and Sweden. Maybe we'll be providing red kites to fuel reintroductions to parts of Spain in future? I hope that won't be needed - but it would be fitting if we could repay the favour that Spanish conservationists, and Spanish kites, did us back in the 1980s.

And unfortunately, red kites are still poisoned in the Uk - the Scottish reintroductions have worked less well than the english ones partly because of poisoning - but poisoning is a risk for red kites in Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland. Such activity is totally illegal - but continues - so please sign our bird of prey pledge.

We have a Marine Act! Well, some of us do.

mark avery — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:55:00 GMT

Last week the Marine Bill received Royal Assent and metamorphosed into a Marine Act.

The legislation applies to UK waters and inshore waters around England and Wales so there is further to go with devolved legislation in Northern Ireland and Scotland (Scotland's Marine Bill will be the next to become law and we look forward to celebrating that too). And in England and Wales there is a lot of work still to be done to make sure that the Act is implemented fully and quickly rather than slowly and poorly - so there is more work to do.

The Act is not perfect. But it is much much much better than nothing. And it represents the fulfilment of a promise from the Labour Government. Thank you!

The RSPB has worked particularly closely with three other organisations to lobby for this legislation - the Wildlife Trusts, WWF UK and the Marine Conservation Society.

And RSPB members responded magnificently each time we asked you to sign petitions, write to MPs and lobby Parliament. Thank you too!

The bird Beyoncè

Jane Cleaver — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:00 GMT

Egyptian cotton sheets with a thread count of at least 250; peanut M&M's (green only); white candles; white roses; white cushions; twelve packets of Monster Munch (pickled onion flavour only); 120 bath-sized towels. It reads like a roll call of 'diva' demands; not mine obviously, but a collective issued from the likes of J-Lo, Mariah and Barbara Streisand, all before they or their entourage will even think about getting out of the car.

There's another bird in town that would give even Beyoncè a run for her money when it comes to issuing ultimatums; the black grouse. Needless to say, it's not pickled onion flavoured Monster Munch topping this bird's 'requests' list, instead it takes a suite of requirements to satisfy the plethora of different habitats the species uses to meet it's feeding, lekking, breeding, nesting, chick-rearing and shelter needs. This ranges from heather over 40cm in height for cover and shelter, to the relatively flat, open ground on which the male black grouse congregate to shake a tail feather or two (lek). However, if these demands aren't met, then it's not a 'no-show', a packed venue and a baying crowd you have to worry about, but a further reduction in an already declining, Red List population.

Being 'precious' isn’t an aspect of the black grouse character which has only developed of late: indeed, it's always been this picky. But it hasn't always been this rare; the population could have been classed as relatively abundant in the 18th / early 19th century. However recent years, particularly the 1980's, have magnified this particular attribute as the species’ preferred habitats, such as pre-thicket stage conifer plantations, have become rarer and rarer or degraded throughout the UK. In turn scientists have documented a contraction in range. The population is really up against it as severe weather, increased predation and increasingly human disturbance, all play a role in generating this species’ attached conservation status.

Working in partnership with The Famous Grouse, we hope that with patience and determination we will see real and lasting increases in black grouse numbers as a direct result of this relationship. With 50-pence donated from every bottle of The Black Grouse Whisky sold in the UK, we hope to create ideal black grouse conditions across our four key reserves and say 'Viva la diva!' once again.

Jane Cleaver, RSPB Black Grouse Information Officer

Good news for the Gwent Levels

Andre Farrar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:48:00 GMT

We have been following the progress of the Whitson SSSI public inquiry which, in short, was hearing an appeal into a refusal to give retrospective planning permission for an aerodrome on Upfield Farm on the Gwent Levels in South Wales. We have now heard that the appeal has been refused. The aerodrome is simply an example of unauthorised development. Our primary concern was the possible impact of this developing airfield on the nearby SSSI and more widely across the Gwent Levels and Severn Estuary Special Protection Area. The inspector found clear reasons for refusal without the need to come to a view on the potential impact on the area's wildlife. The inspector's report did make it clear that this unauthorised development was out of keeping with the ancient landscape of the Gwent Levels. All in all, this is an outcome that we welcome. What of the future? The Gwent Level's landscape, history and wildlife make it a fragile and special place, this decision couples with the recent dropping of the M4 relief road should signal a new future for the Levels - one that embraces its qualities and moves away from seeing it as an area ripe for unsustainable development.

It's not deer.. It's FREE

Tim Webb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:32:00 GMT

Cor blimey missus, look at the antlers on that!

Bushy Park in west London is where my partners Gran courted, and rumour has it, may well have conceived my Mother-in-law.. don't anyone tell her I mentioned it else Christmas dinner will be a frosty affair.

Bushy's in Richmond, just a stone's throw geographically speaking from Central London. For me, living in east London, it seems a long way these days, taking at least an hour to get there by train. But it's well worth the visit. It's an amazing park. They have more than 300 red and fallow deer. These are big, BIG mammals. They look powerful but delicate at the same time.

Thankfully it's not rutting season, so the males are happy to watch us, watching them without flexing their muscles and waggling those aforementioned antlers... each antler on a red deer can weigh up to 3 kilograms, that's equal to three bags of sugar. Heavy enough to do serious damage.

I'm in Bushy Park off the Chestnut Walk on Monday but our London Team, ably supported by volunteers, are there all week, waiting to help you discover the deer and other wildlife that live in Bushy Park.. but rest assured, my gran will not be putting in an appearance in the bushes. God rest Mary Brumpton.

Another converted captain...

Kaspar Shimooshii — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:37:00 GMT

By deploying bird scaring lines (tori lines) from trawl vessels, seabirds are prevented from colliding dangerously, and often fatally with the trawl cables. To assess the performance of the tori lines in the Namibian fishery we are carrying out trials onboard commercial vessels and demonstrating their use to the captains and crew.

The skipper, Mr. Hoffmann, was really interested. It was the first time he’d seen tori lines, although he was already aware of our work through our Albatross Task Force workshops. When accompanying me to the aft of the vessel to see my work he noticed how ‘the birds are only flying and foraging on the side where there is food’.

I showed him how the tori line works and he remarked on how they are easier to deploy than he thought and that and they are ‘very much important to reduce the impact rate’. The crew members, especially the boson, were also very interested. They commented that when there is a lot of discard loads of birds used to be close to the back of the boat but when the tori lines are deployed, they have seen a big difference and they think that this is really good work.

I was sharing the room with a fishery observer and the food I ate was really very delicious. All crew members were very friendly and were all very keen to know something that surprised me, almost all of them had the same question: ‘What is the economic importance of these seabirds? Are they edible?’ I explained about seabirds, their biology and conservation and provided reading materials for the crew.
The brochures in Namibia are written in two languages, English and Oshiwambo, so we can distribute them to every crew member and further explain so that they all understand the work of Albatross Task Force in Namibia.

The performance of the tori lines amazed everybody; they all supported the idea of placing tori lines on every trawl vessel to protect seabirds in Namibia. This is another step forward in reducing the accidental mortality of seabirds; by making practical demonstrations like this we can really make a difference on each vessel.

A call to march for the climate

Ruth Davis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:30:00 GMT

Copenhagen or Bust?

Many of you will have heard recent reports that hopes are fading for completion of a new global climate treaty at the UN summit in Copenhagen, starting just 21 days from now. You might even be wondering, why should I bother campaigning on climate, when so many world leaders seem to have given up?

I'd like to give you some reasons to fight – in fact, to shout louder and demand more. I hope these encourage you to join us on December 5th, at one of the climate rallies in London, Glasgow or Belfast – and to lend your voice to ours in the weeks and months ahead, in the continuing battle against dangerous climate change.

Ye cannae change the laws of physics.....

The first and best reason to keep going, is that whilst summits come and go, climate change continues along at just the rate dictated by science – no faster, no slower.

Every week brings new evidence of the gathering pace of that change. Methane is leaking in ever larger quantities from permafrost fields; massive changes to rain-fall patterns are leading to prolonged and devastating droughts; and we are witnessing further dramatic ice-loss at the poles.

In the wake of this, come human misery, and a heightened threat to the wildlife we know and love. There can be few sadder sights than that of whole peoples abandoning their countries forever, knowing that they are lost to the sea; and unseasonably heavy rains deluging our northern cities as people scramble to bolster flood defences.

And yet our politicians tell us they have had no time to address this crisis. We cannot accept this excuse .

Will the real economists please stand up?

It is these same men and women who worked day and night in the midst of the economic crisis, to reconstruct the world’s financial institutions.

The Climate Action Network - the group of NGOs lobbying for a good UN climate deal in December - estimate that something like $200 billion a year of public money will needed by 2020, to address the planetary emergency of climate change. Rich nations say they cannot afford it. And yet in 2008, these same nations mobilised 8.4 trillion dollars, much of it in a matter of days, to underpin the banking system.

Every single one of these leaders knows that tackling climate change is also a real and immediate economic necessity. A recent study by the International Energy Association estimated that every year of delay will cost $500 billion per year.

The case for action is clear; the excuses for inaction are feeble; and the consequences of inaction are morally and economically unacceptable. So who is telling us to wait, and why?

Will Uncle Sam please come to the departure lounge?

The calls for delay began in the United States, where President Obama is struggling to get climate legislation through the Senate before December. Without it, the US President feels constrained in what he can offer the international community - and so he is trying to ‘buy time’. But is it right or rational, that the rest of the world simply shrugs its shoulders and says 'ok'?

In fact, the international community must press harder, to help concentrate the President's mind, and create the political momentum needed for action.

Binding, ambitious and fair.

In the UK, Secretary of State for Climate and Energy, Ed Milliband, has tried recently to redress the balance and show what is still possible and necessary from Copenhagen. In a recent interview, Mr Milliband turned up the pressure on those like Canada's Premier Steven Harper, who are using the calls for delay to argue the case for inaction.

Mr Milliband stressed the need for real numbers on emissions cuts and finance to be agreed in December, and for Heads of Government (including President Obama), to be there to back them up. He also gave the strongest indication yet, that the UK and the EU as whole, will not stand for a final outcome that is 'political' rather than 'legal' in nature. Don't let statements like these be a 'voice in the wilderness'. Civil society should be speaking up, louder than ever before, reinforcing this call to action.

Lets be clear, then. Targets, finance, a legally binding outcome, and the timetable for delivering them, are all still at stake in December. But none of them will be won, if we are silent now. Never has the need been greater for people to speak up for urgent government action on climate change.

Doing the hard work at home....

Finally, consider this. In the real world, emissions cuts do not come about simply because nations sign up to an international treaty, binding or not. They happen because of domestic laws and policies, put in place as a result of political pressure - the kind of pressure which UK activists are exerting (for example) to stop new, dirty, coal-fired power stations.

In the UK, concerned citizens must keep up the call for action that delivers on our own ambitious climate targets - targets we fought so hard for when we lobbied for the UK's Climate Change Act. Similarly, the most important step the United States government can take is to cut the excuses, get back home, and legislate. And if that's the message coming loud and clear out of Copenhagen, we will all have done our job.

Ruth Davis, Head of Climate Change Policy at the RSPB

CFE - why can't all farms be like Hope Farm?

mark avery — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:43:00 GMT

The RSPB bought Hope Farm ten years ago. Our aim was to manage a bog-standard arable farm (in Cambridgeshire) as a commercial farm but at the same time to increase its bird numbers. And it has worked!

I'm glad it has worked because it felt as though we were sticking our necks out quite a long way - what if we didn't increase bird numbers? wouldn't we have looked foolish? Well, perhaps, but the results have been very impressive.

Over ten years, most of the bird species used by the government in an index of the ecological health of the countryside have increased in numbers at Hope Farm - and wheat yields have increased too.

But one species has been a complete failure and another has been frustrating. The failure has been the house sparrow - we started with eight pairs around the farmyard but now have only one. This is puzzling as other similar species have done so well. The frustrating species has been the corn bunting - one pair nested on the farm in the second year (and we thought we were made!) but none since. And this is despite the fact that there are corn buntings just down the road from the farm (I often see them on telegraph wires as I drive to or from the farm) and they are frequent winter visitors - it's just that they don't settle down to breed.

Having admitted our disappointment and failure, the list of successes is long. Lapwing, turtle dove, grey partridge and yellow wagtail have all returned to nest on the farm - we started with no grey partridges but in year five we had our first pair and now there are five.

But skylarks, linnets and yellowhammers have increased from 10, 6 and 14 pairs to 44, 33 and 39 pairs respectively. Those are big increases and all have been achieved largely through sensible use of the agri-environment schemes which are available to all farmers in England (and in different forms, in Wales, Northern Irleand and Scotland too). And have been achieved with no predator control (see yesterday's blog).

What has happened at Hope Farm could happen on many other farms across the country if farmers sign up to agri-environment schemes, choose the right management options and get the right advice. The NFU and CLA Campaign for the Farmed Environment (which we support!) is trying to turn lots of farms across the countryside into Hope Farms - and we hope that it works because it isn't that difficult really!

Saltholme's designer garden for wildlife (it's right posh!)

Adrian Thomas — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Here for your Friday delectation I’d like to introduce you to the amazing new garden at our amazing new nature reserve near Middlesborough. I’ve been able to visit it twice during its creation, but best if I hand over to Dave Braithwaite to tell the story cos it's his garden (but they’re my pictures I'll have you know. Adrian ;-)

At Saltholme, we wanted to create a garden that offered our visitors quiet contemplation, a wildlife experience in its own right and that demonstrated the natural succession that plant communities go through.

If that wasn`t enough, we also wanted a garden that was rather more designerly than what immediately comes to mind when someone tells you they have a "wildlife garden". A garden that offered wildlife opportunities whilst still looking the part in the suburbs; something that had broader appeal to the average gardener.

Given these challenges we thought that it would be a good idea to call in an expert: no other than the celebrity gardener Chris Beardshaw.

He designed a fabulous garden that is partially walled with planed and vertically installed railway sleepers. Gabions lead to a bleached larch pergola with seating (right) that gives a view back across the garden space.

At the heart of the garden there is a large pond (left), which is the start of an ecological journey through time.

For me the greatest inspiration is the small stumpery: dead trees (a by-product of the local forestry industry) planted upside down with their roots pointing skyward. They provide drama and sculptural intrigue. But more than this, the inverted root boles fill up with rainwater, micro habitats that are home to specialist communities of microbes and invertebrates.

The garden really works and is a credit to Chris`s design skills. Equally it is credit to the tenacity of the staff who built the garden throughout last winter ... a wet and bleak experience it was too. But the team stuck to the task and we had the beginnings of a fabulous garden in place for the visit by Kate Humble who formally opened the reserve on 6th March.

The garden is still embryonic and we are lucky to have a team of volunteers who look after it and will give it the TLC it needs as it grows to maturity.

Dave Braithwaite
Saltholme Site Manager

Want to see the garden? Check out how to visit here.

Danube Delta Denied Vital Protection

Andre Farrar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:57:00 GMT

We were dismayed this week to hear that the Romanian Senate of Parliament has thrown out a draft law that would have protected the irreplaceable natural environment of the Danube Delta.

The Danube Delta is one of the world’s largest wetlands, with over 100,000 ha of mires, lagoons, reedbeds, dunes and forest – a true wilderness that is home to a fantastic array of wildlife and is contains priority European habitats and hundreds of thousands of birds. To give you a taste of how important this site is:- its designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, a wetland site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive and a proposed Site of Community Importance under the EU Habitats Directive!

The Delta is under threat, however, from uncontrolled tourism developments, road projects, unlicensed hunting and over-fishing. A new law is required to protect the Delta’s natural environment, whilst allowing sustainable economic development to take place.

This latest decision is a heavy blow for the Danube Delta Administration, supported by SOR (BirdLife Romania), who have tried, and failed, three times since 2006 to harmonise the laws governing the Danube Delta with European legislation. Each time the draft law has been blocked by Government ministries, suspended, or dismissed by the Senate of parliament. The latest attempt by some progressive members of parliament, backed by the Danube Delta Administration and SOR to get a new Danube Delta law began in April this year. The decision to reject it confirms our impression that the Romanian Parliament is more interested in short-term economic gains than the long-term benefits that protection of the Delta would bring.

This also seems to be part of a worrying trend. In October, the European Commission (EC) referred Romania to the European Court of Justice over its failure to designate a full network of Special Protection Areas under the EU Birds Directive. The degradation of other protected sites around Romania by unnecessarily damaging development may become subject to further infringement actions by the European Court.

With this background, its even more important for us to continue to support SOR in its efforts to protect Romania’s wild places and to get a uniform and effective law to fully protect the Danube Delta. Marina Cazacu, Danube Delta Casework Officer at SOR said ''In these dark days for Romania's precious wildlife, its good to know that we are not taking on this battle alone and we have the support of the RSPB and its members'. Marina will continue to keep this blog informed as this important campaign continues.

Ninety days at sea, part 1: my first trip!

Luis Cabezas — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:48:00 GMT

Back in July, we set sail from the port of Coquimbo in Chile with the challenge of studying mitigation measure design and the associated reduction of seabird bycatch. Historically, bycatch has been particularly high on the vessel that I have now joined for the next three months. This has been due, we suspect, to a more automated fishing operation on this large vessel, capable of spending large amounts of time at sea and setting huge numbers of hooks. The vessel is 56m long and can stay at-sea for up to three months!

Personally, this trip is a return to sea for me. After a couple of years away from the ocean waves after I worked on the first evaluation of seabird interactions with the deep sea toothfish fleet in the extreme south of Chile, I’m back. Now I am heading out again as an ATF instructor in the pelagic longline fleet, with more experience as a marine biologist and extra interest in the ecology and biology of seabirds.

Getting back to the current trip, I have already spent 57 days onboard. So far, we have been able to carry out all of the objectives we hoped to achieve. We have been testing two different tori line designs for this fleet, to see which one best protects the sinking hooks from seabirds as we set the fishing gear. By comparing the number of bird attacks we can understand what features of the different designs help dissuade the seabirds from taking baited hooks.

However, one of my preferred tasks onboard is the frequent count of seabirds around the vessel. This helps us understand the assemblage of seabird species that interact with the fishing vessels, principally attracted by the bait and discarded offal. In the Humboldt Current there are many interesting seabirds that are not found anywhere else, so it is a privilege to see them so often!

Dual benefits of A11 agreement.

Andre Farrar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:44:00 GMT

Back on 28 September I promised that you would be amongst the first to know the outcome of our negotiations aimed at getting agreement on how the Highways Agency will safeguard stone curlews as part of their proposal to dual the A11. Here's a link to the web page that tells you some of the background to the case.

Well, the news is very good (and hopefully you will see some of the media coverage).

I’m writing this as colleagues on the other side of the office are crafting the final words that will allow us to withdraw our objection to the Highways Agency’s proposals (though I will have delayed posting this until the ink is dry!)

So, what does all this mean for stone curlews (pictured) currently sunning themselves in North Africa? The Highways Agency has agreed to deliver sufficient mitigation to ensure that the dualling of the A11 has no impact on the stone curlew population of the Brecks. What does ‘deliver sufficient mitigation’ mean? In essence, this will mean bringing a sufficient area of land in the Brecks into exactly the right condition for 11 pairs of stone curlews which will neutralise the predicted impact of the faster, busier and better-illuminated A11. There is good evidence that these goggle-eyed nocturnal birds are badly affected by disturbance – hence the RSPB’s long-term concern with this proposal.

The stone curlews are getting a good deal, but it’s worth considering the wider implications of this result. We simply would not have achieved this outcome without the Birds Directive. The Breckland Special Protection Area is designated for these special birds so that planning and decisions on development proposals have to account for any likely effect – we should expect nothing else for our most important places for wildlife.

Crash!

Caio Azevedo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:15:00 GMT

I’ve just returned from sea, it was a hard trip, but with a lot of positive energy and interesting results! We are currently working on a mitigation experiment that makes every trip a huge challenge. Each time we meet the challenge we are filled with motivation and enthusiasm to keep going and do even better!

On the first night, steaming toward the fishing grounds, the vessel crashed into a reef! I was in the bunk when I heard the sound of crunching metal against rock! I jumped out of my bunk and ran to the deck to find out what had happened. To my surprise, I was the first to arrive so tried to see some sign as to whether the vessel was sinking or not. I realised that we were apparently ok and that if any water was leaking in, it was slow enough to mean that we were in reach of rescue.

The crew tried to find any signs of a hole or damage, but the dark night prevented easily determining this. With nothing found, we continued our journey. The next day, the mechanics informed the skipper that the vessel was gradually filling with water and that the water pump would not be enough to keep us dry. We had the option of returning to land or trying to patch the damaged hull. Two fishermen dived overboard and managed to screw a metal plate to cover the hole, allowing us to continue.

Amazingly, we spent 20 days at-sea in poor weather conditions, with just two calm days during the entire trip. During this time, we set 16 longlines for tuna and swordfish. I was hoping to use the tori-line on all sets, but only managed this on six occasions. This was because the gales and storm force waves caused the vessel to shake violently, breaking the locking system we used to hold the tori line to the side of the boat. With a broken locking system, the tori pole swung freely into the wrong position, ruining our tests.

I realise it may seem like something simple to fix, but I assure you that every procedure on a small vessel in rough seas is always much more complicated and dangerous than it appears! I had assistance from the crew to try to fix the pole but we were defeated! Indeed, even on reaching the calm waters of the port, it took four men with strong arms to replace the broken davit.

From the six sets we managed before the breakage, we suffered complicated entanglements between the gear and the tori line! This is where our good relations with the captain and crew are so important, they know what we are trying to achieve and give us huge support and understanding.

It is important though, for our research, to really test new designs in the most difficult conditions as what we eventually recommend will have to stand up to harsh environments every day. These results are crucial for our understanding of how we can continue to improve mitigation measures that save seabirds.

I’m really glad to be here sharing another adventure with you about how we work at sea saving albatrosses. All the best!

CFE again

mark avery — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:20:00 GMT

Charlie Brooks (we've crossed swords with him before - see blogs of 17 and 24 July) wrote a wickedly wrong-thinking article in the Daily Telegraph at the weekend suggesting that the Campaign for the Farmed Environment was doomed to failure unless predator control was part of the solution. This is just nonsense and, worryingly, might undermine the effectiveness of the NFU's and CLA's efforts.

Now there is no doubt that sometimes killing predators can aid the recovery of threatened species - we carry out predator control (ie we kill them!) on a small proportion of our 200+ nature reserves - mostly of foxes and crows. But for us it isn't where we start - it's a measure of last resort rather than of our first resort. But that's our choice just as it is the choice of other land managers to do more widespread predator control. Of course, if you are looking to shoot pheasants or partridges then each fox that is around is reducing the number of birds you can kill in the autumn so shooting estates generally carry out massive levels of predator control of foxes, stoats, weasels, magpies and crows. And that is entirely legal.

Mr Brooks's article has provoked some correspondence in the letters page of the paper including a letter from the RSPB.

Our success at Hope Farm shows what can be done - farmland bird numbers have increased very dramatically over a 10-year period because we have made the right relatively small tweeks to the farming practices - without predator control - and these measures have allowed impressive increases in bird numbers. Maybe they could have been even greater if we had spent money on predator control - but our results show how unnecessary that spend would have been. I'll bring you up to date with this year's bird numbers at Hope Farm tomorrow.

Oran flies south

david sexton — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Our male white-tailed eagle chick from Mull this year, Oran, has made a dramatic flight south. He had seemed settled and has spent the last few weeks just across the water from here on Loch Sunart; then he came home for a while but has now headed down to the island of Jura. We are hearing more reports lately of young eagles on nearby Islay perhaps attracted by the thousands of wintering geese. Maybe this is where Oran is headed next. Our colleagues at Loch Gruinart reserve will be watching out for him and we'll see what the next set of data tells us. Meanwhile our female chick Venus has drifted over a mountain ridge or two and was last recorded at Loch Frisa, home to the Eagle Hide. If you're lucky and planning to visit us soon you may catch a glimpse of her. The Eagle Hide is still open and feel free to call 01680 812 556 to arrange a trip. We can be flexible with the days and times to suit you. Today both Frisa and Skye were on view. Again both perched in larches very close to the hide and were watching below into the burns for brown trout. They looked magnificent in the weak winter sunshine. I wonder where Heather has gone to now? Next time we'll give you an update on where last year's chicks from Loch Frisa are doing as they enter their second winter. Mara and Breagha have both been on the move lately...

Meanwhile, the long awaited feature on Blue Peter will be aired next week. The team tell us that it will be shown next Tuesday 24 November on BBC One at 4.35pm. If you haven't seen Blue Peter for a while, give yourself a treat, re-live your childhood, settle back with a cup of tea and enjoy. Better still tell any nieces, nephews or grandchildren to tune in. I will be wearing my Blue Peter badge wih pride.

Finally, Allan Mee who manages the white-tailed eagle reintroduction project for the Golden Eagle Trust in Ireland sent me a quote I'd like to share with you. It's from a book on the legends and stories by Native Americans. It was written by a wise man called Lame Deer of the Brule Sioux Nation. They knew how to live with eagles; they respected them. Perhaps some lessons to be learned? I'll leave that for you to decide. As Walter Cronkite used to say - 'that's the way it is.'

Until next time...

Dave Sexton RSPB Mull Officer

"So we are descended from the eagle. We are an eagle nation. That is good, something to be proud of, because the eagle is the wisest of birds. He is the Great Spirit's messenger; he is a great warrior. That is why we always wore the eagle plume and still wear it"

Sunny days

John Day — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:42:00 GMT

The weather currently being so mild, there’s been lots of interest on the forums of late about what insects are on still the wing. While in a local garden at the weekend, I was intrigued to see anything from a dozen or so flies running around one area of the trunk of a sycamore all morning. The trunk was in full sunlight and they seemed quite intent on basking and searching all the tiny cracks and fissures of the bark. I can only guess they may have been looking for sugars. It just goes to show providing areas that can warm up quickly, especially in spring and autumn can be important to wildlife. In this case, it was the trunk of the tree, but areas of bare earth, dead wood or anything else that will rapidly absorb heat will be of benefit.

In the same garden Brimstone butterfly and Common darter were also seen.

Those following my recent blogs will know I’ve been busy preparing to run a training course for green space managers. The outcome is more landscape supervisors now have a better understanding about the importance of their urban green space for people and wildlife and why particular features such as long grass and dead wood are especially valuable. I’m now busy planning more courses for next year and spreading the word.

CFE - a nice evening with farmers

mark avery — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:16:00 GMT

I spent Monday evening with a group of c25 local farmers. It was fun.

I can't remember turning down an invitation to talk to a group of farmers (unless I am already engaged in some way) as I always find these meetings good-humoured and stimulating - I always come away with some new ideas. And I always find that there are some people in the audience who say that their view of the RSPB changed as a result of meeting me (hopefully for the better!).

There was a great example of this on Monday. A farmer gave a vote of thanks for my presentation (it was much more a discussion than a lecture actually) and said he'd left home without looking to see who was speaking. When he was fingered to say a few words at the end he said OK and asked who was speaking. When he heard it was a guy from the RSPB he said 'expletive!'. But he said that he'd actually enjoyed the hour and a half and felt much warmer to the RSPB as a result - well that was worth doing then! And the meal was very welcome too.

And I got this in an email from the meeting organiser: 'I am sure from talking to several people , their attitudes towards the RSPB were changed during the evening, and as you said it is now up to us to make sure we deliver the goods.' and '...in the mean time keep up the good work.'.

So, that was a very nice evening with farmers and an evening with very nice farmers!

For those farmers who would like to see what the RSPB advises on helping farmland birds then follow this link www.rspb.org.uk/farming It would be great to get feedback from farmers on whether this stuff is the right information or whether we have pitched it wrongly. And Sooty - what do you think as a retired dairy farmer?

The park after dark

Siobhan Dignan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:56:00 GMT

BARN OWL ON THE LAWN, NOT IN THE DARK!

What’s afoot in the Park after dusk has fallen, you’ve drawn the curtains and are curled up on the sofa watching Corrie? As much life and death drama as your fave soap!

As daylight fades, hundreds of crows are settling down to roost for the night in the tallest trees. The best place to see them is from the Belvoir Park Car Park or watch the mature trees beside Moorlands Meadows. One nice thing about these short days is that you don’t have to sit up until all hours to count crows. 5pm will do nicely.

Meanwhile, smaller hedgerow birds make a beeline for the ivy wrapped round virtually every tree in the Park. The ivy is just starting to fruit, so it provides vital food and cover in one go. At dusk, birds such as tits go flying into the glossy leaves at high speed in a headlong rush for the good spots. Tucked up for the night, the tits are safe from daytime predators such as the sparrow hawk who take small birds on the wing.

Once it’s fully dark, the owls have the run of the place. Both long-eared and short-eared owls are known to live near the Lagan, but the Park team are particularly keen to get confirmed sightings.

Other nighttime predators include foxes, badgers and otters. Darkness suits otters as they operate by feel rather than sight. Their whiskers function like a cat’s, feeling vibrations in the water.

Compared to some places, our after dark wildlife can seem pretty tame. A friend who lives in rural Pennsylvania has to bring her bird feeders in every night. If not, they’re attacked and destroyed by bears!

Speaking of sightings: We need your eyes! The Park’s Wildlife Monitoring Project depends on sightings from hawk-eyed regular visitors. Eight species have been targeted for confirmed sightings, including four birds: the jay, barn owl, long tailed tit and kingfisher. Forms are now available at the Lock Keepers Cottage with identification details, pictures of these species, and a place to note what you saw, when you saw it and where. The forms will shortly be available in downloadable format from www.laganvalley.co.uk

And finally – there are still a few places for the Roost Ramble on December 5, a guided walk through ‘crow country’ led by a Lagan Valley Park ranger. Call 90491930 to book.

DAVID WITH A BARN OWL - DAVID HELPS TO CO WRITE THIS BLOG AND IS A LAGAN VALLEY RANGER

Lekking for love...

Jane Cleaver — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:26:00 GMT

Courtship is undoubtedly a tricky business for all parties involved. A punch to the arm might have said 'I like you' when you were ten, but when you cross the threshold into adulthood, this kind of action is rarely viewed warmly. Similarly, if a would-be suitor's attempts at courting would likely result in the violation of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, then seldom will this engender the feeling of having met 'Mr(s) Right', or signify full blown romance to follow. Quite the opposite in fact.

Interestingly, the same cannot be said for the male black grouse whose own particular 'brand' of courtship, known as 'lekking', would merit ornithological ASBO (the feathered version) after ornithological ASBO. So vocal are the males' hoarse, bubbling cries, that they can be heard from up to two miles away. So intense are the battles, that like rutting deer, the grouse duel to near exhaustion. A tiring business considering that lekking takes place all year round, with a peak between March and May when there are more ladies on the scene.

To an observer, battles take the form of a 'dance-off'; the choreography an exotic blend of Hawaiian hula, Caribbean-inspired salsa and a waltz or two worthy of 'Strictly'. Indeed, the spectacle was ranked as one of nature's top 40 events in a recent poll by wildlife experts. With this in mind, I found myself visiting the Coed Llandegla Forest in Wales one May morning.

So there I was at 5am (these birds are committed to courtship), wavering between consciousness and a lack of sleep induced haze as I took part in the guided half hour walk to the lek site. The early morning was filled with birdsong, the air thick with the smell of pine. In the distance a white blob came into view. It was a bird's backside... part of the distinctive ensemble of a lekking black grouse; be still my beating binoculars!

With a ringside purpose-built hide, we were now less than 500m from the action and using my binoculars I was able to count six males (blackcocks) performing on the lek. Now whereas in our society in a nightclub, it's normally the females you expect to see dancing round their handbags as the males litter the periphery; in the grouse world, it's the blackcocks battling for centre stage. The competition is fierce as the dominant individuals seek to conquer and maintain the highly sought-after central positions within the lek. The plethora of stances and poses showcased is enough to rival a Parisian catwalk show. Stooped over like little aeroplanes ready for the take-off, they simultaneously dive-bomb the competitors whilst paying due attention to any admiring female (Grey hen) on the scene. Bottoms are brandished in the air, chests are puffed out and air sacs inflated.

After displaying and mating with the female, the male black grouse do what the Aussie's term a 'pash and dash', the Americans a 'hump and dump' and we Brits, perhaps a one-night affair. Call it what you want, for the lucky few that manage to breed with an elusive hen, the extent of paternal care shown by the male black grouse starts and ends here (no judgement).

That this wee bird is only one of three British bird species to exhibit this lekking behaviour made the entire spectacle even more memorable for me and underlies just one of the many reasons why we're doing all this work in partnership with The Famous Grouse to help save this magnificent rare breed.

Jane Cleaver, RSPB Black Grouse Information Officer

November Rain

Greg Morgan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Like the rest of the country we are currently riding out the storms here on Ramsey. We have had over 2 inches of rain in two days and the ground is saturated. With more rain forecast for this week we could see some flooding of the fields. Winds have been a feature too. Gusts of 70mph recorded at Milford Haven on Friday night. Nothing exceptional for these parts at this time of year but you still need to be on your guard and make sure everything is tied down!

This weather has meant that work on the volunteers bungalow roof has had to be put on hold. Derek, our shepherd, island supplies man and roofer extraordinaire has been busy with his right hand man, Dai Bach, stripping the old, leaking roof off and fitting a brand new one. They just got the last sheets on before the first storm came! Just the concreting and facias to do once it calms down again. Its a good job Derek and Dai are flexible!

Derek brought our rams over on 11th. Three handsome Charollais rams were put straight to work with our 200 Welsh mountain ewes. We were very pleased with this cross last year so are trying it again. While we were at it we wormed all of this years lambs before turning them out again. There is so much grass here at the moment that it is a job to know when to sell them. We need to keep the grazing down for the choughs so it looks like they will be spending the winter with us. Our trainee sheepdogs, Dewi and Sweep (Derek's new pup) were given their first real farm job to do on this one and both came through with flying colours!

This week I saw my first sea eagle....

Claire Smith — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:33:00 GMT

....from the Irish release! Following up on some sightings over the last couple of months I radio-tracked over the 'Lecht' in the Grampians on Sunday morning and as well as searching for my Scottish birds also checked for some of Allan's missing Irish birds and was really excited to pick up the beep of a 2008 male, tag 'H' it took me another 10 minutes before I spotted him soaring high above the ski centre. This bird was last identified near Braco in the summer but there had been sightings of a bird with Irish wing tags (white on the right wing and the year colour - red for 2008 - on the left) near the Lecht recently. The eagle is likely to be roosting in the lower-altitude wooded valleys, but was enjoying the thermals when I found it. Another 2008, Irish bird (tag L) is currently on Islay after spening much of the summer near Durness. You can follow the satellite-tagged Irish birds at: www.goldeneagle.ie/

Ralf is still showing well at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg and it is hard to find a birdwatcher in the Aberdeen area who hasn't been to see him now! He seems to be attempting to catch geese most days but often settles for a duck or some carrion instead. You can follow the link below to a fantastic clip of him on YouTube. Despite all of his hunting efforts he doesn't appear to have moved the locations of the goose roosts, often appearing after the geese have left their roost site for the day.

http://www.youtube.com/user/kijip#p/a/0/sS_NpmIjJUA

Of our 2009 birds, most are still mixing with 2008 birds around the Tay estuary, with one male near Killiecrankie.

I've been lucky to be involved in a couple of different events in the last couple of weeks. Firstly ,a re-introduction conference for 14-18 year olds run by Edinburgh Zoo which was well attended by schools in the area. Secondly third year illustration students from the Duncan of Jordanstone Art School in Dundee are working on interpretative designs for the project and you can see their finished works in the exhibition below:

The Perth museum 'Return of the Natives' exhibition featuring sea eagles and our project DVD finishes on the 15th December.

Squirrels ate my solar lights

Tim Webb — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:43:00 GMT

My jays have been busy burying acorns in our garden.

It's said that jays remember the location of evey nut they bury. They're smart, but not normally thought of as tame birds. If you wander through St James's Park of a morning you'll often see a man waiting for someone to spot him. Once he knows he's got an audience, he whistles and along come a couple of jays to sit on his hand to be fed. Is it learned behaviour or driven by need? All I can say is that they've trained that man well.

So, back to our garden. It's knee deep in leaves. Do rake your fallen leaves into a pile in a quiet corner where they won't get blown around. That mound will become a sanctuary for bugs, toads and slimy things, keen to find somewhere cosy to spend winter. Eventually that pile of leaves will become a fantastic mulch, helping create moist, yummy soil.

I've been so busy of late that I hadn't noticed my string of solar-powered fairy lights weren't working. Further investigation this weekend revealed the cable had been chewed in half. It wasn't me. My children swear blind they didn't do it. So that leaves my band of resident grey squirrels. I've given up trying to get rid of them and now just enjoy their antics, with the occassional swear word directed their way when they excavate newly planted pots.

Every creature has its role and place in the natural web and fulfils those roles with gusto, whether it's a predator snatching a tasty treat (including, sadly on occassions, threatened species) or a nest-building wasp chewing layers off my garden shed. The natural world is an anarchaic riot of sound, movement and colour, creating its own splendid balance when left to its own devices. All too often our lifestyles disrupt that balance.

Just when you think you've got it sussed, along comes something that slaps you in the face. Last year a couple of serins turned up at our Rainham Marsh nature reserve on the banks of the Thames at Purfleet. Wow, we all went. This year we shrieked like ten year olds in a sweet shop hearing that another couple of serin have returned to the same spot! Serin are yellowy-green European birds; finches. They don't normally come here, especially in winter, but we've been predicting that with climate change, they'll extend their range across the English Channel. Last winter they stayed at Rainham to see in the New Year, so you've probably got time to go and see them. Our visitor centre has a shop too, so you can do some Christmas shopping away from high street crowds.

If this isn't convincing you of the power, majesty and brilliance of wildlife, come and join our Speed Dating with Nature event. It starts Friday and runs through to Sunday 29 November in Richmond's Bushy Park. We'll be looking at the UK's biggest mammals, red deer; as well as fallow deer, sika deer and maybe even some muntjac deer. Red deer are big, more than three times the weight of your average (male) Londoner, with antlers that can do serious damage. There'll be lots of other resident critters to view and we'll be doing our best to point them all out. Just don't expect fairy light illumination.

Introducing our LTV... and some news on the chicks...

Alice Macmillan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Right then, this weeks data is in - this week thanks to our LTV (that's Long Term Vol if you were wondering).

Rothes is still in the area around Varela in Guinea Bissau. She's had a flight out over the sea but is seemingly keeping to a pretty localised area. Mallachie is also not showing any inclination to move to a new area - the area around Jarreng Tenda and Ba Faraba Island in The Gambia is good enough for her.

Below is the first post from our LTV Douglas - we decided we couldn't let him be outside all the time...

Hi all,

I’m the current long term volunteer at RSPB Abernethy NNR and will be helping out in this wonderful Highland location until April 2010, which I’m sure will come around all too soon.

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know about some of the work undertaken and the wildlife on offer throughout the winter season on the reserve.

Since starting my placement on October 7^th,as well as black and red grouse I have been lucky enough to see three male and several hen Capercallies, these magnificent birds are a target species for conservation on the reserve and indeed throughout Scotland.

So far, my work has included heather burning, wetland construction, deadwood creation, deer fence maintenance and salmon counting on the river Nethy (note from Alice as one of you asked about this - we do this by walking downstream and counting the fish, not by electrofishing), all done under the expert guidance of the enthusiastic team up here.

As my experience increases, the team have given me more responsibility for individual tasks and I would like to relate a magical experience I had on the hills just the other day. I had been asked to assess repair work needed on a section of deer fence high on a hillside and as I approached the top, a Golden Eagle rose no more than 30 feet in front of me! Now I have seen these birds before but usually just a speck in the sky, this was a mature bird and I was close enough to see the golden brown nape feathers and powerful talons and beak. I did manage a picture on my point and press camera but the one in my memory bank will stay with me forever, truly a magnificent bird.

There have been great flocks of fieldfares and redwing feeding on the rowan and hawthorn berries in the area, fattening up for what I am sure will be a very cold few months ahead.

It’s another day in the hills for me tomorrow, this time with the wardens, and I am sure I will be seeing and doing things that will appear in my forthcoming writings. Cheers for now… Douglas

Pretty in pink

Adrian Thomas — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Back where I come from in the Midlands, there’s a place on the Malvern Hills with the delightful name of Happy Valley where each autumn Ring Ouzels turn up on their migration. They’re heading south to the Atlas Mountains in northern Africa, but they do like to stop off and feed up for a few days. The valley’s attraction is a number of Rowan trees, Sorbus aucuparia, where they can gobble the red berries to their hearts’ content.

Given that we’re coming into the best time of year for planting trees, Rowan is certainly a great option for the wildlife gardener to think about, although I can’t promise you Ring Ouzels if you do plant one!

But while I love the plain old native, I’m ever keen to suss out the more exotic trees that wildlife gardeners might like to try, so it was good to see Sorbus vilmorinii 'in action' last weekend (right). It’s a small tree from China, only growing to 6 metres (20 feet) max, so is ideal for smaller gardens. It has white heads of flowers in spring and nice autumn foliage as well, but the big attraction is again the berries, which are an unexpected and delicate pink. Taking advantage of them last Saturday were Chaffinches, but I suspect that the thrushes will happily take them too.

Or maybe you have a Sorbus you’d like to recommend?

Not stupid...

Paula Baker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:44:00 GMT

Hi everyone,

Firstly, I want to apologise for leaving the blog so long. I'm hoping we can get back to our weekly entries again soon, especially as we have an additional two members of staff to assist us over the winter months!

It has continued to be a great month for otters, with visitors and volunteers seeing them almost every day on either the Barr Loch of outside the Aird Meadow hide! Definitely worth coming along to have a look before the water starts to get much frostier. They are still being seen in the middle of the day as well, so worth popping down any time you have a few spare minutes. Also, more regular sighting of hen harriers and lots of winter migrants around. Find out more by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/lochwinnoch and going to 'recent sightings'.

You may be wondering about the title of todays blog. This is in aid of the film show that we are having on Tuesday 24th November (7.30pm - 9.00pm). Some of you may have already read about this, but if not, we are holding an exclusive showing of the critically acclaimed climate change blockbuster 'The Age of Stupid'. We have managed to get hold of a licence to show this in the visitor centre for one night only and I have been told it is very inspirational and would like to invite as many people as possible to come along and watch it.

For those who are not familiar with the film itself, it is directed by Franny Armstrong (who also directed McLibel) who has become famous recently not because of her film making, but because Boris Johnson (Mayor of London) recently rescued her from an attempted mugging! It stars Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off, The Usual Suspects) as a man living in the year 2055 on a now devastated planet, looking back at archive footage from 2008 and wondering, why didn't we do something when we had the chance?

So, why not come along and find out more? Watch the film and see what you think. It may not change your life but perhaps it will be the first step to helping change the lives of others and protecting our planet at the same time. I personally can't wait to see it and prove that I'm 'not stupid'.

For more information and to book tickets for the showing, please contact us on 01505 842663 or email lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk. Tickets cost £4 and most be booked in advance.