New reserve team to be recruited in shake-up at showcase Caerlaverock wetland reserve in Scotland

  

Popular with birders - the reserve is on the shores of the Solway Firth and a magnet for overwintering wildfowl

THE Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust says a new reserve team is to be recruited during temporary closure of  its site at Caerlaverock near Dumfries in Scotland.

To the dismay of birders wanting to seek out over-wintering Whooper Swans and other wildfowl, the reserve closed to visitors on December 21.

Says the WWT:  "We are making some changes to how we operate at WWT Caerlaverock to make sure the site thrives in the future.

"We’ll be spending the next few months; recruiting a new reserve team, doing work to the reserve, making improvements and carrying out annual maintenance."

It continues: "We recognise that during this period of change, there has been some disruption to your experiences with us. 

"We have tried our best to remain open and offer you the very best experience during this time, but the reality is, we have not been able to fulfil that.

"As well as making physical changes to our main entrance, we are  restructuring the team at WWT Caerlaverock. 

"We are moving from people working in our shop and cafe to a team focussed on developing the reserve so it’s the best it can be for wildlife and people in the future. 

"In the short term, this means we don’t have the number of people needed to make sure we can offer visitors the experience that they expect.

"We understand - and share - the disappointment that this will cause to everyone who spends time with us at WWT Caerlaverock. 

"And we are particularly sorry to be closing at a time when we know you love to come and experience the wildlife spectacles that winter brings with it.

"We can’t wait to open our doors again so that we can share the superpowers of wetlands with you all."

Needs must! Icy conditions prompt seldom-seen bird to venture forth from its reedbed habitat

So secretive is the Water Rail that the species is seldom seen outside the seclusion of its reedbed habitat. But this week's icy conditions at the country park in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, have prompted this bird to venture into the open in its quest for something to eat. 

RSPB recruiting now for raptor enthusiast to patrol Pennine reserve for Hen Harriers

                                                         

The reserve covers some 5,000 hectares in beautiful countryside near Brampton in Cumbria (photo: RSPB Images)

THE RSPB is seeking to recruit a raptor enthusiast to serve as a Hen Harrier Protection Office on its reserve at Geltsdale in the North Pennines.

The contract is for four-five months this spring and summer on the equivalent of  £24,571 - £26,231 per annum.

Says the job description: "We are looking for someone with raptor experience and the ability to spend long hours alone in remote and difficult upland terrain.  

"The early part of the contract will concentrate on patrolling the reserve to spot harriers returning and setting up breeding territories.  

"If we have nesting harriers the emphasis will be on watching the nest site and possibly being part of a team of staff and volunteers undertaking 24-hour surveillance."

It adds: "This role will involve lone working and working in remote locations. Candidates will need to be able to meet the rigour of the role.

"There will be occasional weekend, early morning and evening working so the officer will need to be flexible."

Essential skills include:

* A proven track record completing work alone and working within a varied team.

* Good birdwatching and identification skills, particularly of raptors.

* Experience of upland working and navigation.

* Full driving licence valid for use in the UK.

The closing date for applications is January 30 with interviews from February 16.

More information from Steve Garnett at steve.garnett@rspb.org.uk

                                    

Good raptor identification skills required for the post

It may not be the grandest bird study by Archibald Thorburn, but auction price may be quite modest

                                                             

Original studies by Archibald  Thorburn (1860-1935) typically cost four-figure sums when they come up for auction. Featuring a Woodpigeon and a Turtle Dove,  a pencil sketch attributed  to the great Scottish artist  is expected to achieve a more modest sale price - between £200 and £300 - when it goes under the hammer at a sale to be conducted on Saturday January 10 by Tennants of Leyburn, North Yorkshire. Also included in Lot 15 is a pencil study, also attributed to Thorburn, of ivy on old timber.

Surviving in the snow but does Ibis now regret its flight from southern Mediterranean to Cleethorpes?

 

It is not often that snow and a Glossy Ibis feature in the same photograph. So spare a thought for this plucky avian visitor from the southern Mediterranean which has spent the first part of winter braving Arctic winds, ice and snow on the saltmarsh in Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire.   

                                                                      

RSPB eager to offload responsibility for maintaining Dorset wetland reserve footpath to volunteers

The RSPB is keen to see formation of a 'Friends of' group to help it to save on staff resources. (Photo: RSPB images)

THE RSPB is keen to part-offload responsibilty for the upkeep of its  Radipole and Lodmoor reserves, near Weymouth in Dorset, to volunteers.

The society has issued a statement in response to complaints from visitors about the deteriorating state of the wetland sites.

It states: "In 2024, we looked at all our nature reserves, including RSPB Radipole and Lodmoor, to identify improvements and efficiencies.

"Our nature reserves, and what we deliver for nature on them, make up the largest proportion of our financial expenditure each year.   

"We recognise that RSPB Radipole and Lodmoor have a special place in the hearts of many, and the RSPB will continue to manage both reserves and they will remain open to the public. 

"However, we need to focus our resources where they can have the most impact. 

"This means that, at Radipole and Lodmoor, we are focusing on maintaining and improving the habitats for wildlife and making some changes to the way we manage both reserves’ visitor infrastructure.   

"This will include the removal of a set of platforms at Radipole this winter because they have reached the end of their safe working life. 

"While key paths will be maintained, we will no longer be maintaining all the paths and sightlines ourselves in order to save on the significant staff and volunteer time needed to cut back the vegetation.

"However we are looking at how we might support our volunteers or a local “Friends of” group who can take on responsibility for some path maintenance. " 

The statement continues: "We have also invested in the sites over the last 12 months, including replacing the visitor footbridge at Radipole, installing a new water control structure at Lodmoor, carrying out channel clearance at Radipole, reed cutting at both reserves as well as exploring the feasibility of restoring Radipole Lake. 

"Encouragingly, our 2024 full reserve survey recorded record numbers of Cettis Warblers (the second highest for any RSPB reserve) and Bearded Tits across both reserves. 

“We are not scaling back or limiting our ambition to fight for nature and wildlife. 

"Our nature reserves are fundamental to who we are and what we do. 

"Our long-term aim is simply to focus on what we do best and where we can do this most effectively, and we are continuing to grow the area of land that we manage and conserve for nature year on year."  

Once there were six types of Redpoll but now, following species amalgamation, there is just one

Study of Mealy Redpolls in John Gould's The Birds of Great Britain (1873)

THE 2024 announcement by the International Ornithological Committee that there should only be one Redpoll species meant that two previously recognised separate species were to be lost from the British List.

In recent times, comprehensive bird field guides often referrred to:

* Arctic Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni, including two subspecies: 'Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll' A h hornemanni and 'Coues's Arctic Redpoll' A h exilipes;

* Common Redpoll Acanthis flammea, including three subspecies: 'Mealy Redpoll' A f flammea, 'Icelandic Redpoll' A f islandica and 'Greenland Redpoll' A f rostrata;

* Lesser Redpoll Acanthis cabaret.

However, the IOC decided to lump them together on the basis of genetic analysis which indicated that Redpolls "are almost completely undifferentiated except for a single chromosomal inversion that does not prevent interbreeding". 

Turn back the page of ornithology to 1912 when four frontline ornithologists - Ernst Hartert, Francis Jourdain,Norman Ticehurst and H.F. Witherby - differentiated between no fewer than six Redpoll species in their publication, A Handlist of British Birds: 

MEALY REDPOLL (Carduelis linaria linaria)

Distribution in British Isles: irregular autumn- winter visitor along whole east coast Great Britain;  more common East Scotland and North-east England. Occasionally arrives in great  numbers, as in 1829, 1847, 1855, 1861, 1863, 1873, 1885, 1897, 1910. More rarely recorded spring. Elsewhere in Great Britain rare winter-straggler, as it is in Ireland, where it appears chiefly in western islands.

GREENLAND REDPOLL (Carduelis linaria rostrata)

Distribution in British Isles:  Rare vagrant:

* Barra (0uter. Hebrides):

* One, Oct. 8, 1896 

* One, Nov. 10, 1898 

One, Oct. 13, 1900;

* Two, Sept., 1901. 

Fair Isle:

* A number in Sept and Oct, 1905

* Small party Sept. 21, 1907.

* Shetlands:

* Several Oct. and Nov., 1907.

It is said to nest in Orkneys, but rare at any time in Ireland. 

Flocks are said to arrive on the Yorkshire coast in October, and it becomes more generally common on the East Coast in winter.

HOLBOLL'S REDPOLL (Carduelis linaria holboelli)

Distribution in British Isles: Vagrant:

* One, Aston Clinton (Bucks.), Dec. 14, 1895 

* Flock in Yorks, 1881 

 * A number, Fair Isle autumn 1910. 

* Two Shetlands, Oct. 28, 1910. 

* One Isle of May (Forth) Oct. 23, 1910. 

* A number Lothians, Oct., 1910. 

* One Cambridge, Dec. 12, 1910. 

LESSER REDPOLL (Carduelis linaria cabaret)

Distribution in England and Wales: Resident. Breeds most counties, but locally and especially so in southern England and Wales, and very sparingly in South-west England, while in extreme South-west it is rare even in autumn and winter when it becomes more generally distributed elsewhere. Scotland: Resident. More generally distributed in wooded districts than in England, but uncommon in NMorth-west, and appears not to breed in Caithness. Breeds sparingly in Inner Hebrides and has nested on Barra (Outer Hebrides).

HORNEMANN'S REDPOLL (Carduelis hornemannii hornemanni)

Distribution in Great Britain: Very rare vagrant. Specimens from Spurn (Yorks.), Oct., 1883, and Oct., 1893, have been assigned to this form. Also

* One near Whitburn (Durham), April 24

* Five Fair Isle, Sept. and Oct., 1905

* One Unst (Shetlands), Oct., 1905

COUES'S REDPOLL (Carduelis hornemanni exilipes)

Distribution in Great Britain: A very rare vagrant. A specimen assigned to this form occurred at Easington (Yorks.) in winter 1893-4, two others at Skeffling (Yorks.) on Dec. 30, 1898, and one on Fair Isle in autumn 1900. 

However, did the birders of the day sort them all out?!