Rare bird flies from Siberia to Cumbria - then perishes in the claws of a cat

                                                             

Siberian Rubythroat - this bird was photographed in Thailand (photo: JJ Harrison/ Wikimedia Commons)

 A SIBERIAN Rubythroat killed by a cat in Cumbria could achieve posterity by having its corpse stuffed, mounted and displayed in the nature collection at the Tullie House museum in Carlisle.

This is the plan for the bird that was caught and killed in a garden in Brampton earlier this week.

The feline apparently brought the vagrant bird into a house via a catflap in the door, depositing it on a mat before leaving in pursuit of more prey, avian or otherwise.

The pet's owner contacted the RSPB who put her on to Cumbria's county bird recorder who now has the bird safely and hygienically stored in his freezer pending contact with a willing taxidermist.

The unfortunate incident will revive calls for cat-owners to attach bell collars to their pets to alert potential prey.

It is understood the dead bird was seriously underweight and thus unlikely to have survived even if it had evaded the claws of the cat. 

Are birds of prey gobbling up chicks of scarce breeding waders? The RSPB is keen to investigate

    

The RSPB's wetland reserve at Otmoor in Oxfordshire (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

TO what extent, if any, is the breeding success of waders diminished by raptor predation or disturbance?

 The RSPB hopes to find the answers to this and others questions during a  project that is due to run between between January next year and March 2009.

The focus of the research will be at the society's reserves at Otmoor in Oxfordshire and Nene in Cambridgeshire where it is keen  to boost the breeding fortunes of species such as Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit.

But before it can start, it needs to recruit someone to take charge, so it is offering a salary of between £40,381 - £43,113 for just such an individual.

Says the job description: "We are seeking an experienced  ecologist to explore potential solutions  to wader population declines. 

"The project will use the ATLAS tracking systems to follow wader chicks and adult raptors simultaneously on reserves.

"The data will examine:

*Wader and raptor interactions and space-use across reserves 

* Wader chick survival and causes of mortality, including comparing areas with and without predator exclusion fencing

* Raptor diet and the use of diversionary feeding stations"

It continues: "The successful candidate will have a demonstrable record of:

* Designing and conducting field-based ecological research

* Managing and analysing very large datasets using modern statistical methods

* Publishing papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

"Relevant experience of operating automated tracking systems and/or drones is also desirable.

The role will include:

* Management of field staff

* Securing licences and permission

* Managing large datasets

* Ensuring external reporting deadlines are met,

"This role will be home-based with a flexible location, although the preferred location is central/eastern England to facilitate regular visits to RSPB’s reserves at Otmoor and the Nene  

" Occasional travel will be needed within the UK to support related fieldwork and attend meetings, and these trips will require occasional overnight stays away from home.

"Having a current British Trust for Ornithology bird ringing permit with endorsements to capture, ring and fit tags to wader chicks and/or adult raptors would be an advantage." 

The deadline for applications is midnight on December 10.

More information is available from Malcolm Burgess at:  malcolm.burgess@rspb.org.uk

Huge difference in prices paid at auction for two little-known watercolours by Archibald Thorburn

Two little-known watercolours by Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) went under the hammer at a sale conducted yesterday by London auction house Roseberys. The Mallard alighting fetched £4,461 while the Herring Gull on sand sold for £367. 

Signs are it could be a bumper 'irruption' winter in Britain for visiting Bohemian Waxwings

                                                 

Winter 2026-27 is shaping up to be a bumper season for Bohemian Waxwings. By mid-November, there have already been 800-plus UK birds, especially in eastern counties. Below is an extract of what Howard Saunders wrote in his Illustrated Manual of British Birds (1889).

For upwards of two centuries this beautiful bird has been known to visit our islands at irregular intervals, and sometimes in considerable numbers  as in the winters of

* 1686

* 1830-31

* 1834-35

* 1849-50

* 1866-67

* 1872-3

As might be expected in the case of an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, the visits of the Waxwing have been more frequent in the northern and eastern portions of Great Britain than on the western side, and do not appear to have extended to the Outer Hebrides; while to Ireland they have been few and far between. 

In England it has been recorded in almost every county, including the south and the extreme south-west; and, on the spring migration, in Norfolk up to the first week in May.

Its visits depend on the severity of the weather on the Continent, but it does not follow that the same winter should be rigorous in the British Islands.    

                                       

Trio of Waxwings that have been present this week at Tetney Lock, near Grimsby, in Lincolnshire 

                               

                                  

Study of Eider Duck by celebrated wildlife artist Charles Tunnicliffe sells for £787 at London auction earlier today

               

A hammer price of £787 was achieved for this study of Eider Ducks by Charles Tunnicliffe (1901-1979) when it went under the hammer this afternoon at a sale conducted by London auction house Rosberys. It measures approximately 22.2 x 13.5cm. Bidding took it to the higher end of the pre-sale guide price of £600-£800. 

Captivating study by Prince Louis (aged just 12) of Kingfisher features in this week's Country Life magazine

 

   

There have been plaudits aplenty for this colour drawing of a Kingfisher by 12-year-old Prince Louis that is included in this week's special edition of Country Life magazine that has been edited by his father, Prince William. The publicity generated by the picture, issued by Kensington Palace, and by the project overall can only be beneficial to birds and birding as well as to the magazine. Below are more pictures from this week's special  Royal edition.  

                                        

                                                          

RSPB offers 'exciting opportunity' to 'control' crows, foxes and mink on newest Northern Ireland reserve

                                    

Curlew - one of the ground-nesting waders that the RSPB is keen to safeguard

IT looks like curtains for many if not all of the corvids that live on the RSPB's laatestland acquisition  in Northern Ireland - the 60-hectare Inishcreenry Nature Reserve.

The charity is recruiting for a predatory control officer whose job will be to repel or shoot crow family birds, foxes, mink and any other vertebrates that threaten breeding waders.

Describing this is an 'exciting opportunity', the RSPB says:  "We are looking an individual who will lead on predator control and thus take an active role in ensuring we reach our targets for the reserve's ground-nesting waders such as Curlew.

Inishcreenry supports a range of habitats, including grasslands, wetland habitats and wet woodland. 

The role of the appointee will be to: 

* Plan and undertake  a seasonal programme of appropriate predator control to enable management plan targets for the protection of ground nesting waders to be reached

* Operate all predator control activities within RSPB permission and procedures to ensure compliance with legal requirements including the legal compliance and safe operation of firearms

* Maintain all site infrastructure relating to predator control across the site to ensure management plan targets to be reached and investment in infrastructure to be protected

* Act as the predator control expert for Inishcreenry by sharing knowledge and advice to a range of audiences, both internal and external, and to share best practice and manage reputational risk

* Advocate RSPB’s policy on vertebrate control and the benefits to wildlife to both internal and external audiences to increase support for and understanding of the for these measures

* Keep detailed records and write regular reports to site/area/country and national staff as required by RSPB monitoring and reporting procedure for sites undertaking vertebrate control

It also states that the successful candidate must have knowledge in the installation and management of predator-proof fences and hold the  appropriate fire arms licences for control of fox, mink and corvids - plus the ability  to shoot a fox at a range of 100 metres.

This is a part-time, seasonal role with 30 hours a week to be worked between January and July 2027.

The role will include working outside normal office hours, including nights.

The salary is the equivalent of  £27,579 - £29,445 per annum

Applications close at midnight on November 30, and more information is available from:  Nancy.Reed@rspb.org.uk.