NEW RESEARCH PROJECT WILL MEASURE IMPACT OF RODENT POISON ON KESTRELS

                                                                       

Are kestrels, such as this bird, succumbing to rodenticides? 

ALARM bells are sounding over a continuing decline in the British population of kestrels.

It is thought that poison laid to kill rats and mice could be a significant contributor to the decrease.

Rodents are principal diet of kestrels and, if the birds, too, ingest the poison, they are at risk either of perishing or of breeding failure.

Owls, eagles, buzzards, harriers and other raptors are also vulnerable to rodenticides, often used on farmland and game-shoooting moorland.

Poisons are also widely used by commercial contractors  on assignment for local authorities and for businesses such as food factories, restaurants and hotels.

But, in the first instance, a new RSPB pilot project will focus on the extent, if any, to which the kestrel is a victim.

Earlier this week the charity began recruiting for  "an enthusiastic and experienced" fieldworker to spend May and June of this year as a research assistant to a PhD student.

Kestrels are said to be a "high priority bird species in the UK following declines of around 35 per cent over the last 30 years, and it is hoped this project will "contribute to efforts to understand the causes of decline".

The fieldwork will be carried out at kestrel breeding sites around Poole in Dorset.

Says the job description: "You will work with other team members surveying and trapping small mammals, monitoring kestrel nests and collecting samples. 

"You will need to maintain good relations across the team and with the landowners."

The RSPB is understood to be collaboration with  the University of York, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Health & Safety Executive and  Bournemouth University.

The recruit, who will be paid the equivalent of £21,622.00 - £23,987.00 per annum, will need to have a head for heights.

For further information, contact Malcolm Burgess (principal conservation scientist) at:  Malcolm.Burgess@rspb.org.uk.

The deadline for applications is April 8.

                                      

Looking for a tasty mouse - a kestrel hovers over rough grassland