MP says White-tailed Eagles "would become huge threat to lambs" if reintroduced to Cumbria

                                                       

Tim Farron - keen to heed the concerns of farmers 

THE Lib-Dems spokesperson on environmental affairs has spoken out against bringing White-tailed Eagles back to Cumbria where the species was persecuted to breeding extinction many years ago.

Tim Farron, who is MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, says: "There are well-meaning motives behind wanting to reintroduce White-tailed Eagles, but the evidence strongly shows that this would not enhance biodiversity and would become a huge threat to animal welfare and see the loss of lambs.

"The evidence shows that the birds may not target lots of farms, but that for those farms they do target they will return over and over again and decimate flocks.

"Some may say that the Eagles won’t be introduced near to farms, but these animals fly long distances and will, of course, move towards sources of food.

"This is a dangerous, poorly thought out move which is an unnecessary threat to animal welfare and we should stop it."

The MP, who was formerly leader of the Lib-Dems, says he has written to the Lake District National Park Authority raising his concerns about the prospect of reintroduction.

Work by foremost Dutch ornithologist of yesteryear set to go under hammer at November auction

                                                       

In the catalogue, the birds are identified (in French) as Colombe mignone (left) and Pic a barbe noire

A RARE opportunity has come up to buy artwork by notable Dutch ornithologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1848).

Some 20 bird species have been named after him - the best-known to British birders being  a scarce wader, the Temminck's Stint.

His study of two uncertain species - one a dove, the other a woodpecker - make up  Lot 176 at an online sale of Old Master, British & European Pictures which is currently being conducted by South London auction house Roseberys.

The pre-sale guide is that the lot  will fetch a relatively modest price - between £100 and £150.

Also in the sale (Lot 486) is a depiction of four Chinese  Geese by British artist Charles Tunnicliffe (1901-79).

The pre-sale estimate is that the hammer will come down at between £1,500 and £2,000.

Bidding is live until November 12.

Rosberys can be contacted at: +44 (0)20 8761 2522 or  (https://www.roseberys.co.uk/)

                                    

Rev Richard Coles: pop musician, clergyman, broadcaster, novelist and . . . avid birdwatcher

The Rev Richard Coles - personable TV and radio presenter is also a birder 

CELEBRITY clergyman and broadcaster the Rev Richard Coles has come out with a welcome admission.

"I'm an avid birdwatcher," he says in the first episode of Sailing the Shipping Forecast - a four-part series that has been screening this autumn on More4 TV.

Part of the  first episode saw him in the company of Joe Parker, the head warden and bird ringer on Lundy Island, where he had the opportunity to handle a chick of one of his favourite species - the Manx Shearwater.

Not only that but the programme provided the opportunity for both to imitate the calls-notes of this almost mystical bird of the open waves.

Before his media career as a radio and TV presenter took off, the Rev Coles (63) was a multi-instrumentalist  with two hit-making pop groups, Bronski Beat and The Communards. 

He then trained to become a clergyman, subsequently, post-ordination,  serving in parishes in Lincolnshire, Knightsbridge  and Northamptonshire. 

He is now also a best-selling novelist, typically setting his crime thriller  yarns in church settings.

Carefully does it - overseen by Joe Parker, Richard Coles enjoys a close encounter with a Manx Shearwater chick

RSPB names its 2025 rollcall of 'celebrities and influencers' who help raise society's profile

                                        

Michaela Strachan - familiar presenter on TV wildlife shows

THE RSPB has published its annual list of 24 'celebrities and influencers' whom it believes to have done most to champion its cause.

It says the two dozen have "supported our work and helped to raise our profile".

In alphabetical order, they are:

 –Bill Bailey

 –Mya Bambrick

 –Bonner Black

 –Hannah Bourne-Taylor

 –Carl Bovis

 –Henry Day

 –Mike Dilger

 –George Hassall  

 –Aneeshwar Kunchala

 –Sam Lee

 –David Lindo

 –Kate MacRae

 –April Mayne

 –Dara McAnulty

 –David Oakes

 –Sophie Pavelle

 –Tyler Smith

 –Matt Spracklen  

 –Alison Steadman

 –Hannah Stitfall

 –Michaela Strachan

 –Lira Valencia

 –Cooper Wallace 

The tally is three fewer than last year and 12 fewer than in 2023.

Among those no longer on the list - for reasons unknown -  are actor Samuel West, TV gardener Monty Don and business entrepreneur Deborah Meaden of BBC-TV's Dragons' Den fame.   

Two-hour twitch: Filey Brigg, Yorkshire Coast

Filey Brigg - often a refuge for tired migrant passserines and a good vantage point for marine species

   

Date: October 26, 2025

Time: 10 am - 12.15 pm

Weather: Bright but overcast with north-westerly breeze

Target species: Siberian Rubythroat

Star species seen: Snow Bunting

Other species seen included: 

* Kestrel

* Sparrowhawk

* Common Scoter

* Guillemot

* Robin

* Jackdaw

* Chaffinch

* Oystercatcher

This striking Snow bunting, one of three, was a highlight of the twitch

Feral Pigeon or Rock Dove - or a bit of both? 

The seaside town of Filey provides the backdrop for this hunting Kestrel

 

This lone Guillemot was the only auk family member to be seen

A visiting group from Grimsby RSPB managed to detect a faraway  Great Northern Diver

Superb paintings of Godwits, Eagles, Stonechats - and a Fulmar - likely to spark keen bidding at November sale

Black-tailed Godwits - but who can identify the overhead tern species?

STUNNING bird art by John Cyril Harrison (1898-1985), Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) and others is expected to attract lively bidding when Yorkshire-based auction house Tennants hosts a sale of British, European and Sporting Art at its saleroom in Leyburn on November 15. 

The pre-sale guide prices for the three Harrison paintings  - Black-tailed Godwit, White-tailed Eagles and Fulmar - are in the range of £200-£600.

Meanwhile, the  hammer is expected to fall at between £300 and £500 on Thorburn's study of Stonechats and a Ringed Plover. 

More info at: Tennants Auctioneers

                                                                       

A scene in Scotland? No - take a look look at the creatures in the  distance 

Seldom depicted in paintings - Harrison's study of a  Fulmar

What prompted Thorburn to include a Ringed Plover alongside Stonechats?

Memo to twitchers: 'We can't see every bird, nor do we have any right do so'

Jon Dunn - Shetlands-based writer, photographer and tour guide

FRONTLINE ornithologist Jon Dunn has reminded fellow-birders against becoming "obsessively" addicted to tick-hunting - or in believing "fervid conspiracy theories".

In a surprisingly punchy section of his regular column in online publication Rare Bird Alert Weekly, he writes: "One of these days, even the most obsessive outliers of our tribe will surely realise we cannot see every bird - nor do we have any right to do so. 

"Some birds will simply be the ones that got away."

Jon's comments have come in the wake of  Shetland woman Hazel Ulyat's October 16 photograph in her garden of a Great Crested Flycatcher - the first time the American species has been recorded in Britain.

Some twitchers speculated that the record had been 'suppressed' - ie kept secret - but  Jon does not buy the theory of anything untoward.

He explains what happened thus: "A photo of a Great Crested Flycatcher was sent to former Fair Isle Bird Observatory warden and long-term Shetland resident birder Paul Harvey.

"Once he had recovered from the initial shock, he was able to confirm the bird had been seen on mainland Shetland and that the sighting was not a hoax. 

"The breaking news also came with confirmation that the bird had been looked for, and, alas, there had been no further sign of it to be seen."

He continues: "Birders being birders, the rumour mill span into overdrive online, fruitlessly and pointlessly. 

"More often than not, despite the more fervid conspiracy theories, there is nothing sinister going on behind the scenes.

"In this instance, someone found a very rare bird recently in their garden in Shetland. The first of its kind to be recorded in the Western Palearctic. 

"They invited a friend to come and see it, and the rest, as they say, is history."

                                         

Today' edition of Rare Bird Alert Weekly

                                             

* Jon is author of The Glitter in The Green - an authoritative and acclaimed study of hummingbirds