Will Skylarks, Yellow Wagtails and Spotted Flycatchers be casualties of Duchy of Cornwall's Kent housing ambition?

Yellow Wagtail - vulnerable

IT remains to be seen how the birdlife on farmland owned by Prince William will be affected by a forthcoming housing development south of  Faversham in Kent.

At a meeting this week, Swale Borough Council planners approved the first phase of a scheme that will ultimately lead to some 2,500 homes being built on a 323-acre site.

The land is part of the Duchy of Cornwall whose management has pledged to enhance biodiversity - for instance, by creating ponds and planting trees and wildflower meadows.

However, it acknowledge that the project may create  pressure for nesting Skylarks, Yellow Wagtails, Spotted Flycatchers and Yellowhammers - birds that may well vacate the site either during construction or soon thereafter.

Therefore, the Duchy states that "mitigating" habitat will be created at another site, though no details have been provided.

The most recent breeding bird survey, conducted in 2023, revealed the presence of no fewer than 42 species including the following nine that are of Red-listed status: 

*Herring Gull

* Skylark

* Starling

* Mistle Thrush

* Spotted Flycatcher

* House Sparrow

* Yellow Wagtail

* Linnet

* Yellowhammer) 

and 11 species that are of Amber-listed status:

* Stock Dove

* Woodpigeon

* Snipe 

* Black-headed Gull

* Lesser Black-backed Gull

* Kestrel

* Whitethroat

* Wren

* Song Thrush

* Dunnock 

* Meadow Pipit 

Nearby, two other notable species - Cuckoo and Little Owl - were also recorded.

Meanwhile, in winter, four daytime surveys - conducted between November 25, 2022 and February 5, 2023 - recorded the continued presence of some of the summer residents, such as Skylarks and Mistle Thrushes, plus  Fieldfares, Redwings, Tawny Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker

And two winter night-time surveys identified  flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers.

In commentary accompanying the survey data, the Duchy of Cornwall notes: "Recreational disturbance arising from new residents, such as dogs off leads, and increased predation rates from domestic cats is  likely to extend beyond the application site boundary.  

"In the latter case, there is evidence cats have a home range of approximately 300 to 400 metres."

It is understood that the Duchy has agreed to locate "between 100 and 200 bat boxes" on the development, but whether there will also be Swiftbricks is uncertain. 

It is not known when work will start on the project.

Farmland earmarked for the housing estate

Above and below: Green and leafy - artist's impressions of how the completed site might look 

 

                                                                       

 

Former RSPB president will help draw up shortlist of creatures for possible depiction on next British banknotes

Miranda Krestovnikoff enjoyed three terms (nine years) - as RSPB president

FORMER RSPB president and broadcaster Miranda Krestovnikoff will have a say in what wild creatures are to be featured on the next series of British banknotes.

She has agreed to join a panel of nature enthusiasts who will draw up a shortlist of species that will then be put out to a Bank of England consultaton with the public.

Among birds, Robin and Puffin are likely to be favourites for inclusion.

The other panellists are:

* Katy Bell: Senior conservation officer at Ulster Wildlife, managing species conservation projects across Northern Ireland. Katy holds a BSc Hons in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh and a Masters in Ecology and Conservation Biology from Queen's University Belfast. Katy has worked in various research, ecology and conservation roles for universities and environmental NGOs.

* Gordon Buchanan MBE: Wildlife filmmaker and author who has worked on numerous BBC documentaries.

* Steve Ormerod: Professor in the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, specialising in freshwater ecology. Steve holds a PhD in river ecology and is also deputy chairman of Natural Resources Wales and a member of the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 

* Nadeem Perera: TV  presenter, author and cultural strategist working at the intersection of nature and identity. He is the founder of Hero Hyena, a culture-led creative studio exploring wildlife through contemporary storytelling. He is co-founder of Flock Together, a birdwatching collective encouraging greater participation in nature among underrepresented communities.

* Dawn Scott: Executive Dean of the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences at Nottingham Trent University. Dawn is a Professor of Mammal Ecology and Conservation. She holds a PhD from the University of Durham and has  as a council member for The Mammal Society.

It is not known when the public consulation might take place, nor when the new wildlife banknotes will come into circulatin

The current series of banknotes features portraits of Winston Churchill (£5), Jane Austen (£10), JMW Turner (£20) and Alan Turing (£50).

Actors Adrian Edmonson and Samuel West signed up to star in light-hearted TV show about birding

Actors Adrian Edmonson (left) and Samuel West are the hosts of a pilot three-episode series to be known as Sam and Ade Go Birding which will be screened on the TV channel, 5,  at dates to be confirmed. Viewers will see the pair travel to West Cornwall in search of Cornish Choughs, waders and transatlantic visitors blown hundreds of miles off course; to North Norfolk, to watch Brent and Pink-footed Geese; and  to the Somerset Levels, where they stake out Kingfishers, Egrets and  Bitterns. The producers hope the light-hearted format of the show will replicate the success of a similar series called Gone Fishing, starring Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, that has been screened over several seasons on BBC TV.

The scarecrow effect? Breeding Curlews are unnerved by the proximity of windfarms, says journal report

Curlews, seen here on a flooded Lincolnshire golf course, are relatively widespread and common in winter but their breeding numbers in Britain and other parts of Europe have seen many decades of decline 

TO what extent - if any - are Curlews at risk from windfarms, both onshore and offshore?

This is one of the questions explored by an authority on the species, Mary Colwell, in a report published in this month's edition of British Birds journal.

"For breeding Curlews, the principal impact of upland windfarms is displacement rather than collision,"she writes. "Birds avoid onshore turbines, access tracks and associated disturbance, reducing the area of otherwise suitable nesting and foraging habitat."

There seems to be a 500-metre rule, with data suggesting that, within this range, breeding density is between 15 and 53 per cent lower than on non-windfarm habitat.

The author continues: "For inland-breeding Curlews, collision risk with turbines is generally considered low compared with the effects of displacement from nesting or feeding areas."

But many of the Curlews that are seen on fields and estuary mudflats in autumn and winter are migrants from Scandinavia, particularly Finland, so how are they disadvantaged by the hundreds of turbines dotted about the North Sea?

                                                               

Mary Colwell is director of Curlew Action and chairperson of  Curlew Recovery Partnership England

"Offshore tracking and migration studies indicate that Curlews may alter flight paths and thus experience limited collision risk during migration," writes Ms Colwell.

What other threats undermine the future, as a breeding species, of Curlews which have been in decline since as far back as the 1950s?

The expansion of silage production, facilitated by fertilisers and technological improvements to cutting machinery,  is described as "particularly damaging" because multiple cuts during a season overlap with the nesting and chick-rearing period not just of Curlews but also other ground-nesting species such as Lapwings and Skylarks.

Forestry and woodland expansion are also an issue because trees are now often being grown on land which formerly accommodated ground-nesting birds such as Curlews.

Despite the challenges, the author is cautiously optimistic about the future because of ongoing initiatives such as 'headstarting' which aims to relocate eggs and chicks  from unsafe habitats to those where they might flourish.

Ends the author: "Ultimately, the future of the Curlew reflects wider choices about land use and biodiversity."  

The current edition of British Birds

* Mary Colwell's books include Curlew Moon and Beak, Tooth and Claw

How strange! Report from Spain of Great Crested Grebes catching and devouring Chiffchaffs

Great Crested Grebe on the prowl - though not, in this case, for Chiffchaffs

IT is difficult to think of any circumstances in which a waterbird, such as a Great Crested Grebe, might kill and eat a Chiffchaff or, indeed, any passerine. 

But Ornithomedia, the authoritative French language website for birders, has reported  a couple of such incidents - both last month on  the Las Cañas lagoon in Navarra, Spain.

It states: "While these passerines (known on the Continent as Swift Warblers) were hunting small insects on the surface of the water, the grebes approached discreetly, caught them with their beaks, drowned them and then swallowed them with difficulty. Two other capture attempts ended in failure."

The normal diet of Great Crested Grebes consists of small fish, larvae, crustaceans, molluscs, amphibians and water vegetation, so these occurrences are remarkable though it should be noted that there is understood to be one British record of a grebe taking and devouring a Sand Martin.

We mustn't be beastly to vultures or wasps - they are among humankind's very best friends

                                          

Vultures are among the creatures that feature in the latest wildlife book from Bloomsbury.  In it, Author Jo Wimpenny (below) challenges common perceptions of 'good' species and sets the record straight about those we label 'pests', 'scavengers' and 'predators'. She insists some villainised species may benefit humanity and are more sentient than is generally believed. From wasps that provide free 'pest' control and snakes whose venom may cure cancer to the deep social bonds of crocodiles, this book calls on us  to rethink our most misunderstood beasts.                                        

King Charles watercolour of mountain scene in Cairngorms sells for well above pre-auction guide price

                                        

A 2002 painting by Prince Charles - now King Charles III - has sold for more than double the highest  pre-sale estimate. Auction house Tennants of Leyburn in North Yorkshire set a pre-sale guide price of between £500 and £700, but bidding had reached £1,400 before the hammer fell. The study, measuring 32.5cm by 38 cm of Ben Avon, near Braemar, is not an original but one of 20 limited edition prints. The identity of the buyer has not been revealed.