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| The second Rousay stoat seen shortly before it was trapped and killed? |
EARLIER this month, the RSPB and other conservation organisations were jubilant when they trapped what they thought was the only stoat on the Orkney island of Rousay.
But their glee was misplaced - another stoat has subsequently been detected.
This one, too, has been trapped and killed, but conservationists are concerned - very concerned.
They now fear that the island may already be hosting additional stoats - or is at risk of doing so in the future.
The Orkney Native Wildlife Project, of which the RSPB is a partner, has put out this statement:
"It is fortunate that we have removed a second stoat which posed a serious threat to the island’s native species including Curlews, Red-throated Divers, Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owls, plus the Orkney vole, a unique subspecies found nowhere else in the world.
"Now we need to continue apace with the biosecurity monitoring that is needed to ensure that Rousay is completely stoat-free.
"We must remain vigilant before we can confirm that wildlife in Rousay is safe.
"Our trappers and local community volunteers will be keeping the island under intense observation, so that.if any other stoats are seen, we can respond to remove them as quickly and effectively as possible..
The statement continues: "It is not currently clear how either of these stoats arrived on the island.
"They may have swum across the Eynhallow Sound from the Orkney mainland to Rousay.
"The three kilometres is well within the distance of open water stoats have been known to cross.
"It is also possible that somebody chose to break the law, and endanger Rousay's native wildlife and economy by deliberately releasing one or more stoats."
Conservationists hope that DNA testing may help to confirm the stoat's origins.
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| Rufous-tailed Robin as not seen at Flamborough because this bird was photographed in Thailand |
DETERMINED birders are expected to continue wending their way to the Yorkshire Coast this weekend - but perhaps more in hope than expectation.
Their destination will be a well-wooded mini-ravine at South Landing in Flamborough where they will be all eagerness to catch sight (and perhaps photograph) of a super-rare (and even more super-elusive) Rufous-tailed Robin.
The bird, which is unrelated to our larger native Robin, has evidently been blown to Britain from its Russia-to-China autumn migration route.
Up to 1000 enthusiasts - some from overseas - have already made the trip to Flamborough, and maybe less than half that number have actually glimpsed the tiny charmer.
Some have waited hours, even a whole day or longer, only to experience the awful hollowness of missing out - the dreaded 'dip'.
Not only has 'Rufus' proved extremely secretive, mostly feeding out of sight in undergrowth, but the viewing options have been challenging, with one visiting Lincolnshire birder likening the experience to being a spectator on a Football League club terrace of yesteryear.
When the bird has shown, invariably on an exposed mossy log, it has sometimes been out of the sight of those birders located either at the wrong end of the 'terrace’ or at the back of it.
Where snaps have been achieved, they have mostly have been of indifferent quality, one notable exception being the one clicked by former Nottingham quantity surveyor David Carr, now a frontline birder who spends much of his time travelling the country to photograph rare birds.
David was magnanimous enough to post his shot on X with the accompanying comment: "The Rufous-tailed Robin finally gave itself up this afternoon at Flamborough.
"It took me three days to see it but it was worth the effort...."
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| Gotcha! Patience paid off for David when he snapped the well-camouflaged Yorkshire bird |
There have only been four previous records of this species - and one of them was a dead bird picked up on the island of North Ronaldsay in the Orkneys on October 2, 2010.
The others, according to Birding Information Services, were:
* October 23, 2004: Fair Isle, Shetland
* October 14, 2011: Warham Green, Norfolk
* October 6, 2019: Fetlar, Shetlands
Rewind to that 2004 bird which was first spotted by Fair Isle observatory director Mike Wood who then alerted warden Deryk Shaw who subsequently recounted the experience in comprehensive, graphic and enthralling detail in the May 2006 edition of British Birds magazine.
Before the identification was confirmed - the bird first having been netted and ringed - it was first variously theorised by Mike, Deryk and a handful of other birders that it could have been a juvenile Robin, a Veery or a Hermit Thrush.
But when the reality emerged . . . cheers of elation"
Wrote Deryk: "The next few moments will live with all of us forever - a feeling of relief, then stunned shock as the realisation sank in that it really, truly was a Rufous-tailed Robin."
What of this week's Flamborough bird? Today it was showing relatively frequently - more so than on the previous two days.
But a storm has blown in. Will it still be with us for the weekend?
Time will tell. . .
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| How, two decades ago, British Birds journal reported Britain's first record of the species |
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| It was not long before crowds of twitchers arrived |
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| All eyes were on this log - favourite perching point of the vagrant |
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| Grey-head Wagtail - scarce sub-species of Yellow Wagtail |
TWO signed bird paintings by John Cyril Harrison (1898-1985) are due go under the hammer as a single Lot at a sale to be conducted on November 14 by auction house Tennants at their saleroom on Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
One (21.5cm x 13) depicts a Grey-headed Wagtail; the other (21.5cm x 14.5cm) shows two Northern Lapwings
Both are described as being "pencil and water heightened by white".
A prolific artist, Harrison was born in Wiltshire but painted most of his studies during the many years he was living in Norfolk.
The pre-sale estimate is that the hammer will fall at between £200 and £300 on the Lot which is number 1025.
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| Lapwings in familiar wetland habitat |
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| Let the gas flow - the Jackdaw rig (photo:Adura) |
THE chief executive of the RSPB, Beccy Speight, has spoken out against this week's announcement that the Government has approved further extraction of gas from the Jackdaw rig in the North Sea.
Says she: "Drilling in Jackdaw will have no meaningful impact on the UK’s energy security or household bills, whereas expanding fossil fuel extraction of any kind will risk deepening the pressures facing species and habitats across the UK from the growing impacts of climate change.
"Our changing climate is already shifting the spaces birds can live in.
"Many are finding their food supply is no longer available at the right time to feed their chicks.
"Extreme weather, exacerbated by climate change, is also impacting breeding success and survival.
"In a worst-case scenario of high carbon emission levels, some seabird species in the UK, which are particularly vulnerable, are estimated to decline by more than 70per cent by 2050."
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| Beccy Speight - furious with the decision |
Ms Speight goes on to urge the Government not to approve drilling at the much larger Rosebank oil and gas field which is also in the North Sea.
"The Government must not make the same mistake again," she says. "It should not be approving either Jackdaw or Rosebank.
"Instead, its focus must be on rapidly cutting emissions, scaling up clean renewable energy and restoring our peatlands and other carbon-rich habitats that are essential for both climate and nature's recovery."
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| Isabelline Wheatear - scarce autumn visitor to Britain |
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| The Spotted Sandpipers are thought to be the birds third and fourth from left |
GIVEN that the species is seldom seen in Britain, it is curious that Spotted Sandpiper is among the wading species included (Lot 30) in a specialist taxidermy sale to be held at 10.30 am on November 11
At what location and on what date were they detected before they met their demise - presumably by gun or trap?
The catalogue note states:
A late-Victorian cased display of Sandpipers, circa 1880-1900, by C.H. Gowland, Naturalist, "Tadorna,", Barnston, Wirral, a high-quality display of eight various full-mount adult Sandpipers.
Species to include Purple, Spotted, Common, Wood, and Curlew-, all mounted upon soil and grass covered groundwork, set against a watercolour painted backdrop, enclosed within a typical period pine framed three-glass display case, 82cm by 19.5cm by 33cm, data labels visible within the groundwork.
Taxidermist's full paper trade label to verso.
According to Tennants auction house of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, the hammer is expected to fall at between £180 and £280.
