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| Geoffrey Dashwood's attractive bronze sculpture of a Green Woodpecker is expected to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000 when it goes under the hammer at an auction to be conducted by auction house Woolley and Wallis at their saleroom in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on June 2. It measures 19.2cm x 11.2cm x 6.2cm. In the printed catalogue, it has been wrongly identified as a Great Spotted Woodpecker. |
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| Snipe - a declining marshland species |
VALUABLE information about the migration of Snipe is being revealed by ongoing research.
In March this year, seven birds were tagged - one in Fife and six in Cornwall with a view to establishing where they breed.
Data from the GPS tags suggests that two of the birds have remained in situ, but the latest whereabouts of the other five records have been at sites in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Germany.
Bleddyn Thomas, who captured the birds and tagged them at both sites, comments: "It is not possible yet to say with certainty whether these are where our tagged Snipe will breed, as they could continue to travel further.
"Nevertheless, the differences in the directions taken by these individuals highlights the geographic variation in the breeding locations of the UK's overwintering snipe.
"We will now wait and see where they remain over summer."
According to the Game and Wildlife Cnservation Trust, which is undertaking the research, the tags being used are some of the smallest available for bird migration studies and weigh only two grammes, but when the leg harnesses and foam bases are added to the tags, the weight increases to three grammes.
It is a requirement that the weight of the tag should not be over three per cent of the body weight of the bird to ensure that the tag does not impede its natural behaviour.
Once a familiar sight in our wetlands, breeding numbers of Snipe have notably declined across the UK lowlands and in many parts of Europe, and this has affected the British wintering population.
Historical changes in land use have been the main driver of the decline, with wet meadows being drained and wetland habitats being lost or degraded.
Climate change may also be affecting breeding and migration patterns.
Researchers hope that the study will indicate how best to support conservation of the species.
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| Tagged and ready for release - one of the Snipe |
Entitled Le Voleur (The Thief), Belgian artist Rene Magritte (1898-1967) painted this oil-on-canvas study of a Golden Eagle shortly before his death. When it goes under the hammer at a sale in New York on May 19, auction house Sotheby's expect bids upwards of 2.8-million US dollars.
Oil contamination threat to Crab-plover (photo: Peter Wachtershauser via Wikimedia Commons)
WETLAND birds have been put at risk by an apparent oil slick off Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
These include Crab-plover, Socotra Cormorant, Persian Shearwater and at least four species of Tern - Bridled, Lesser Crested, White-cheeked and Swift.
Kharg Island is where Iran's main oil terminal is located.
Given the other priorities in this part of the Persian Gulf, it seems unlikely that the welfare of any stricken birds will be high on the agenda - or even on it at all.
Bid of up to £300 - maybe more - are expected when the Lots above and below go up for auction later this month. Each contains several titles which are likely to be of interest to book-reading birders. The sale, which also includes several antiquarian ornithological titles, is being conducted by auction house Dominic Winter at their saleroom in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Wednesday May 13.
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| The Gannet was able to waddle from the saltmarsh to a footpath where it would have been vulnerable to off-the-lead dogs had not Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue come to its aid |
THERE are hopes of a full recovery for a Gannet that made a crash-landing near the leisure centre in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, yesterday morning.
Gannets, which breed on cliffs in Yorkshire and elsewhere around the British coast, are marine birds which find lifting off from dry land a challenge.
One fanciful theory is that it mistook the leisure centre for a cliff, then, confusing it for sea, landed on shallow saltmarsh water during high tide and became stranded when the water receded.
After its discovery, the team at the National Coastwatch Institution look-out cabin maintained a watching brief until Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue could come to the bird's aid.
CWR takes up the story thus: "Gannets are among the UK’s largest seabirds.
"When they are not plunge-diving into the sea at speeds of up to 60mph, they are usually found nesting and resting along steep cliff edges.
"If they land on flat beaches like Cleethorpes - or are washed ashore after rough seas - they can struggle to become airborne again.
"We suspect this bird was attempting to continue its journey north towards the cliffs further up the coast."
The statement continues: "Ads a high-risk species on a high-risk coastline for avian influenza, this bird underwent three separate assessments before entering rescue: the first at the scene before collection, the second outside the rescue centre and the third within our isolation bay.
"We are pleased to report that, aside from a fairly typical ectoparasite burden and being slightly underweight, the bird is in good overall health.
"Our fantastic veterinary partners at Eastfields have since carried out a full health-check and given the all-clear for rehabilitation to continue.
"A huge thank you to local photographer Rob for providing clear images that allowed us to assess the bird safely from a distance, and to Cleethorpes Coastwatch for their monitoring and observations throughout."
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| Cliff-like? Cleethorpes Leisure Centre sits next to saltmarsh |
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| Making progress - there are hopes that the bird will soon be fit enough for release (photo: Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue) |
