October, 2009

We received this update from Ben Mitchell, assistant warden at the RSPB Mersehead reserve..      

"We now have a staggering 12,210 Barnacle geese (this is the second highest count ever and rising!) and a whopping 2,200 Pink-footed geese (highest EVER count!) Due to the good coverage that the barnacle geese are receiving on Autumnwatch (live feeds from Caerlaverock WWT reserve just across the Nith from us) you might be asked where people can go to see these fantastic birds and as you can see there is only one answer-Mersehead! Incidentally I believe their latest count was a mere 7000-pah!" :)

For further details and contact information please visit the Mersehead pages on the main website! 

To witness the goose spectacle for yourself, you can attend a Goosey Gander walk at Mersehead. These are running each Thursday until 29 October from 11am - 1pm. The walks are free but booking is essential. For more information call 01387 780 579.

Winter arrivals
The past few days have seen droves of redwings and fieldfares moving into the country for the winter months, generating a few calls reporting "loads of thrushes eating the fruit off my trees!". The winter migrant starlings have also started to arrive. These will join with our resident breeding birds and form huge roosting flocks. Large numbers of geese will spend the winter in the UK so watch out for the V shaped skeins heading south.

Are you still here?

We've still had calls from concerned folk that swallows have remained near the nest long after the rest of the family have gone! It is normal to still sight swallows in October, although the vast majority have now gone. Late broods still need to build up strength before commencing their southerly movement. It will perhaps be a tricky journey one they'll inevitably attempt to take though.. We have also received some great photos of wheatears, which are now on their way out through the UK to Africa. These birds breed mainly in upland areas but can be seen in many places en route to their wintering sites.

More than 100 rare birds have been found dead in Malta by conservationists. The 137 protected birds, including marsh harriers and herons, were found on a rubbish heap in an operation involving 40 autumn migration birdwatchers from BirdLife Malta, which is an international partner of the RSPB on the islands.
Millions of migratory birds are ruthlessly slaughtered on their way to their breeding grounds in Europe. More than 100 species are being illegally killed.
Malta is one of the very worst offenders. The island is an important resting place for birds migrating over the Mediterranean, but during spring and autumn, hunters blast birds out of the skies in incredible numbers.

If we get calls from people who want to tell the Maltese what to do with their illegal bird killing, our International department is wanting to target the Maltese prime minister.

Lawrence Gonzi
Prime Minister of Malta
Office of the Prime Minister
Auberge de Castille,
Valletta VLT1061
Malta

BirdLife Malta welcomes overseas members. Your donation will help support BirdLife Malta, the island's wild bird conservation body, so they can monitor the situation, pass evidence to law enforcement agencies, and teach future generations to cherish the island's wild birds.

See Birdlife Malta website for updates and other information. http://www.birdlifemalta.org/

Sadly, not just the leaves are falling –
We have taken numerous calls from the public with concerns about tree cutting work happening in different localities. Trees give the main structure to a garden and attract a wide range of wildlife. Trees provide wildlife with shelter, food and nesting sites. Therefore, RSPB recommend felling should only ever be done if deemed essential or on the grounds of public health and safety.

The breeding season has now come too a close (although pigeons and doves may still have young in nests!). If the trees are void of active nests and there are no tree preservation orders (TPOs) served by the Local Authority, then legally felling work can proceed with the landowners consent.

IDs
One caller who thought they had lost their mind wanted to report seeing an amazing gathering of up to 50+ (that’s what she said!) red kites over the M40 motorway in Oxfordshire. Sizable groups occur at good feeding areas and the Oxfordshire/Bucks borders are a known stronghold through the RSPB reintroduction program since 1989.

Several calls have come in relating to bumper numbers of goldfinch flocks visiting garden feeders. In contrast, other concerned callers continue to report a sudden disappearance of the birds, poor goldfinches can’t please everyone!

This year appears to be a good “influx” year for Hummingbird hawk-moths, “no madam their not actual hummingbirds!” They are a sub-tropical immigrant species that do sometimes occur in the UK in large numbers. The larvae feed on sticky goose grass (gallium) and adults are often seen during autumn.

A distressed sounding caller described a very large pelican like bird in Essex, photographic identification later confirmed it to be a Maribu stork!

A man rang the office at the Forsinard reserve having sighted a very large bird with a backpack and an aerial sticking out from the pack.  This was in the mountains up here in the north west, near Tongue. It flew quite close to his car, being mobbed by crows or ravens [probably ravens]. After some investigation on my part, I discovered that the backpack was probably a satellite tag, rather than a radio tag (the latter have a smaller pack which tends to get preened into the feathers) and as the bird was not seen to have any wing tags, it was less than three years old (wing tagging is now illegal and no birds have been wing tagged since 2007. There has been tagging of both golden eagles and sea eagles, but as many more golden eagles have been tagged, that's probably what this bird was, and it's likely to have come from Mull.

Autumn Migration
A few inland callers have come across worn out manx shearwaters, which have become misguided and ended up following estuaries deeper inland. When this occurs it is refereed to as a “wreck”. Ideally, the birds will need to be feed and returned to the coast.

Keep your eyes pealed for the insurgence of Redwing and Fieldfare; they have been recorded in multiple sites according to reputable birdwatch websites but were still awaiting the flurry of calls. Watch the weather and wait for easterlies!