Wednesday 30 January 2019

BTO LIKELY TO ANNOUNCE ITS NEW PRESIDENT FOLLOWING MARCH BOARD MEETING

A SUCCESSOR to Chris Packham as president of the BTO will probably be announced in March.

After completing his five years in the post, Chris decided, with the agreement of the BTO, that it would be best not to seek another term because of pressure of his broadcasting and other commitments.

Because the presidency is an ambassadorial role rather than a trusteeship/directorship, it is subject to selection and appointment by the BTO board rather than election at the annual meeting.

The BTO says it already has a shortlist of potential candidates, though there is nothing to prevent members submitting further names for consideration.

Says the trust:"Assuming the board takes a decision in March, an announcement will follow shortly afterwards."

Tuesday 22 January 2019

NEXT CHIEF EXECUTIVE NEEDS TO HELP THE RSPB TO BECOME A 'MORE FOCUSED' ORGANISATION



       EARLY FEBRUARY DEADLINE SET FOR APPLICANTS
 
The Lodge - the RSPB's HQ where the new chief executive will be based
A CLOSING date of February 11 has been set for applications seeking to become next chief executive of the RSPB.

The UK's largest nature conservation charity is on the hunt for  a successor Mike Clarke who has decided to step down in autumn.


Mike Clarke - stepping down

The job description states:  "We are currently seeking to appoint an outstanding and distinctive leader for the post.

"The RSPB is a complex organisation with over 1.2-million members, an annual income of circa £140-million, more than 2,000 employees and around 12,000 volunteers.

"Reporting to the RSPB council of trustees, the successful candidate will be responsible for bringing vision, inspiration and leadership.

"He or she will have the energy and capacity to drive the organisation forward at a crucial time and will help RSPB not only to become more focused and innovative but also to inspire and encourage others to act.

"The successive candidate needs to be a compelling ambassador for RSPB and the natural world and will also play a key role in the existing partnership with BirdLife International.

"This role offers a unique opportunity for an individual with genuine passion to make a positive difference for the natural world.

"He or she will demonstrate significant experience in strategically leading and managing in complex organisations.

"Significant change management experience is required as well as an ability to engage and motivate people and key stakeholders.

"Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential in order to advocate and represent the organisation to a wide range of audiences.

"Inspiring, visionary and engaging, with sound commercial judgement, Mike Clarke's successor will need to forge collaborative and transparent working relationships.

"Perhaps most importantly, he or she will have values that align with those of the RSPB."

The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 11 February, 2019.

This role location is Sandy, Bedfordshire and the salary is decribed as "competitive and commensurate with the seniority of the appointment".

The RSPB has engaged a recruitment agent, Perrett Laver, to process applications.

The contact is:Clara Nelson Strachan at O20 7340 6204 or clara.nelsonstrachan@perrettlaver.co
 
It is not yet known what Mike Clarke's future career plans might be or if he will retain any involvement with the RSPB

Thursday 17 January 2019

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN: BRITAIN'S FIRST BIRDWATCHER PRIME MINISTER

 
EVERYONE knows about Neville Chamberlain.

He is the slightly-built man standing at an aerodrome, simultaneously waving a piece of paper in his hand and proclaiming something about peace in our time.

That is the image most people have of Chamberlain - surely one of the most ill-regarded prime ministers of the past 100 years.

Ever since 1939, his apparent readiness to 'appease' the territorial aggression of Hitler has been roundly condemned as spineless and shameful.

The extent to which that unkind perspective is justified is entirely another matter.In any case, a single episode in his political career should not be allowed to obliterate all other considerations of Chamberlain - a decent, shy and misunderstood man who, in his 71 years, made an enormous contribution across a wide spectrum of human activity.

Before entering politics, he was a sisal farmer in The Bahamas, then a successful businessman at an engineering works in his native Birmingham.

Less well known is that he was also a skilful angler, entomologist . . . and birdwatcher.

He kept diligent records of the birds (including red-backed shrike and hawfinch) he saw both  in and around his home city, during his time as a pupil at Rugby School and on holidays, both home and overseas.
       
                             Bahaman oriole - discovered by the future Prime Minister                           

 In the Bahamas, he is credited with finding a new species, the Bahaman oriole.

Even as Prime Minister, he found time to ‘escape’ from 10 Downing Street in order to track the species (including scaup and common sandpiper) in nearby St James’ Park.
           
Blackcap - Chamberlain's favourite bird
 His favourite bird was the blackcap

He learnt the craft of taxidermy, and some of the birds he stuffed while in The Bahamas are held at the Natural History Museum's collection at Tring in Hertfordshire.

This study - now available (price 0.99)  as an ebook via Amazon/ Kindle - explores the life and enthusiasms of a most extraordinary man.

*Photo of Bahaman oriole: Mxmerce via Wikimedia Commons 

Wednesday 16 January 2019

CHRIS PACKHAM STEPS DOWN AS BTO PRESIDENT



THE BTO has confirmed that broadcaster and author Chris Packham has stepped down as its president after five years in the post.

In a statement, it says: “We have both agreed that the time had come for us to seek a new president.

“Demands on Chris' time have increased significantly over the last couple of years, and we both feel it is important that BTO has a president who can devote sufficient time to the organisation.

“The BTO has benefited enormously from Chris' tenure as president and we wish him well for the future. “

There has been no statement, as yet, from Chris Packham nor any word from the BTO about a potential successor.

MP CAROLINE LUCAS CALLS FOR BAN ON USE OF LEAD IN AMMUNITION



                                                                        


GREEN Party MP Caroline Lucas (pictured) has called for a ban on lead being used in gunshot and bullets because of potential health risks to humans (for instance in shot game), animals and birds.

She has tabled an Early Day Motion for debate by fellow MPs.

It states:

That this House notes that even low levels of lead are toxic to humans and other animals and that in the UK, lead was banned from use in petrol, paint and water pipes decades ago, with most other uses strictly controlled; further notes that lead ammunition (gunshot and bullets) remains a glaring and largely unregulated exception; expresses concern that at least 5000 tonnes of lead ammunition is deposited into the UK environment annually, accumulating a toxic legacy and causing suffering and death to large numbers of birds; is alarmed that in England, even the limited restrictions from 1999 banning certain uses of lead gunshot are largely ignored; is deeply concerned that an estimated 50,000 - 100,000 wildfowl die of lead poisoning each winter in the UK; firmly believes that individuals, NGOs and statutory agencies that manage land must ensure that any shooting that takes place on their land uses non-toxic ammunition; and calls on the Government to put the UK on the front foot by introducing a ban on the sale, possession and use of all lead ammunition across the UK.

The motion has also been signed by fellow MPs Alex Cunningham, Dr Lisa Cameron(SNP), Alex Sobel (Lab), Roger Godsiff (Lab), and Kelvin Hopkins (Ind).

In addition, the following MPs have agreed to support it: Mike Gapes (Lab),Ronnie Campbell (Lab) and Chris Stephens (SNP).

Friday 11 January 2019

BIRD MIGRATION UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT



 
Pictured (from left): Phil Espin (LBC), Prof Ian Newton, Andy Sims (LBC) and Nick Tribe (LNU)

THE mysteries of bird migration came under the spotlight at a fascinating presentation at Saturday's (January 5) annual joint meeting of the Lincolnshire Bird Club and the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union.

Guest speaker at the Whisby education centre, near Lincoln, was one of the world's leading ornithologists, Prof Ian Newton, who has researched and written extensively on the subject.

In his authoritative and entertaining address, lasting just over hour, Prof Newton showed that, even as some puzzles are being solved, other are emerging.

Depending on factors such as food abundance and climate change, migration patterns seem to be changing (at least partially) in many species - both big (such as lesser black-backed gulls) and small (such as chiffchaffs).

                                         
Chiffchaff - increasing numbers are now spending winter in Britain
Prof Newton chronicled the progress of research - ranging from the early breakthrough with ringing to ongoing developments with satellite tracking.

He acknowledged the work of German scientist Peter Berthold who, by studying sample
blackcaps in captivity, was able to identify and measure their restlessness during the migration season - the extent of relentlessness depending on whether the birds had been trapped in Sweden (high) or The Canaries (low).

Also intriguing was the speaker's account of the work done using modified radar (acquired from the disintegrating Soviet Union) to plot the enormous movements of many species of landbirds over Israel. 
These included as many as 36,000 lesser spotted eagles (pretty well the whole of the global population) within just six hours.

The pioneer of migration studies, however, was David Lack who, while monitoring aircraft movements during the 1939-45 war advised RAF colleagues that the specks that occasionally occurred on screen were bird - not angels! 

Later, Prof Newton's focus fell on the importance to migrating birds of exploiting a following wind as an aid to their journeys and how certain species, such as Manx shearwaters, will even extend their journey by hundreds of miles to take advantage of wind direction. Saving energy seems to be the prevailing requirement.

Selection of favourable wind direction may be a key factor, but birds also have to take into account risks such as thinner oxygen and loss of body heat in air than can become seven degree cooler with each additional metre of altitude.

Prior to migration, most birds build up their fat levels - with sedge warblers, for instance, doubling in size. "When being ringed, they feel like little balls of soft fat," he said.

The same applies to migratory geese, and colour ringing experiments have shown that tubbier birds - denoted by drooping bellies - enjoy greater success than their slimmer counterparts when they reach their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

Other topics covered by Prof Newton included the heights at which birds migrate - many of them beyond the scope of human vision.

Prof Newton is an expert on raptors (he has written a whole book on the sparrowhawk) and had an interesting observation to make about ospreys, noting that migration casualties - usually over the sea and the Sahara - chiefly consisted of immature birds that had "not yet  learned the ropes" of the likely hazards they would encounter.

The migration behaviour of gyr falcons is also fascinating. It seems they follow iceflows south, sometimes perching on icebergs to track their seabird prey. But then in spring they fly north and, for six weeks, probably feed exclusively on the only prey available to them - rock ptarmigans.
  
Do birds ever sleep even as they migrate?

Possibly yes. How otherwise could a bar-tailed godwit fly, without pause, for no fewer than 228 hours? It seems they can operate, as it were, on just half a brain.

Prof Newton, who lives in the south of the county, is currently researching a new book on upland birds. He is also considering a request to update one of his earlier books on migration to take in the most relevant recent research.

Following a question-and-answer session with the audience, which numbered about 60, he was thanked by LBC chairman Phil Espin for his most absorbing talk and for his "massive contribution" to ornithology.