Sadness at death of Martin Hellicar - British birder who battled to save songbirds of Cyprus

 

Martin Hellicar - 'humble, passionate and brilliant'

ALL who knew him have been saddened by the death, aged 56, of birder and campaigner Martin Hellicar.

The former journalist was the director of Bird Life Cyprus and had spent 20 years trying to persuade islanders that it was better to conserve birds than to kill them for sport or as a delicacy for the dinner plate.

Despite enjoying legal protection, birds such as blackcaps, stonechats, thrushes and garden warblers have long been been trapped and killed in their hundreds of thousands by means of mistnets and/or limesticks

The second of six children, Martin was born in Durham to parents who had moved to Cyprus to work as English teachers.

Before joining Bird Life, he studied ecology, first at Lancaster University then at York University before returning to Cyprus where he became chief reporter for the Cyprus Mail.

He was unmarried and had no children but is said to have been devoted to his nephews and nieces.

In a tribute, the chief executive of birdlife International, Martin Harper, said: "Martin was a humble but passionate and brilliant leader. 

"He was generous with his time, knowledge and humour, and he will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him. 

"Tackling the nature and climate emergency feels tougher without him, but he has nurtured so many great conservationists who will continue his work. 

"I am confident that they will realise his ambition to move beyond nature protection to nature restoration."

Martin's death follows a car accident in which he sustained serious injuries.

 

 

Spotlight on this week's rare visitor to Staffordshire - the paddyfield warbler is a tricky bird to identify in the field

Paddyfield warbler - bird of reedbeds in central Asia with a few populations on the west coasts of Bulgaria and Romania

THE appearance in Staffordshire this week of a paddyfield warbler comes almost 100 years since the species was first recorded - on Fair Isle - on September 26, 1925.

It was reported by Rear-Admiral John Stenhouse (1865-1931), a retired surgeon and keen student of bird migration.

Almost a  week later, on October 1, it was shot by George 'Fieldy' Stout (1886-1966) who was a protege of Stenhouse and was with him, plus Jerome Wilson, at the time the bird was found.

An extraordinary capable birder, Stout was  subsequently credited with many notable 'finds' including Britain's first pallid harrier in May, 1931.

                                                                 

'Fieldy' Stout - the man with the gun

Fast forward to on the morning of September 16, 1953, when Britain's second record of this species was detected, also on Fair Isle, in a tired state,  in bracken on the Brae of Resting by R. J. Wightman and  W. Conn.

It was later trapped and examined in the  laboratory by the same duo, plus, among others, Fair Isle observatory director Kenneth Williamson, his wife Esther, Anthea Riddolls, Helga Hitchen,  J. Webb and R. Burn.

Williamson subsequently described the discovery in detail for the journal, British Birds (September 1954.)

"We all found it a distinctive but very puzzling bird," he wrote. "In reporting it to me, Wightman described it as 'a huge, exotic warbler',  and this description seemed very apt. 

"It looked at least as big as a barred warbler  with an equally long tail.

"Its general appearance was pale reddish-brown above and sandy-buff below, and there was a very prominent cream-coloured superciliary stripe. 

"My own first impression was that it must be a great reed warbler, but the clear eye-stripe seemed to rule out this possibility. 

"Rufous warbler was considered, but there was no white in the tail.

"Gray's grasshopper warbler - which has occurred twice in Europe - was another possibility. 

"Quite clearly we had to trap the bird if we were to determine its species."

The first effort, using a portable Heligoland trap laid over the bracken,  failed because, having been driven into it, the bird escaped through the mesh "with ease".

Continued Williamson: "The warbler then took cover in some bracken at the base of a three-foot high peat-bank, and we decided that our best chance of catching it was to stalk it from above the bank with a small-meshed Yeoman net which we planned to drop on top of it. 

"This unorthodox method sufficed, and, when the operation was complete, we were all very surprised to see how small the bird really was!"

By comparing its plumage with the skins of confusion species, the bird's identification as a paddyfield warbler was confirmed.

The bird was subsequently was ringed and released whereupon it flew to the North Haven beach and was not seen again.

A quarter of a century later in in its edition of March 3, 1978, British Birds reported on a bird that had been  present between September 30 and October 15,1974  on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. 

Say the authors, D.S. Flumm and N.A.G. Lord: "At 4pm, DSF located the warbler feeding actively in common reeds at the seaward end of Porth Hellick pool.

"With NAGL, he watched it for two hours in good light at very close quarters." 

The initial impression of the duo was of a very pale, 'washed-out' sedge warbler. 

"The bird's behaviour was extraordinary: it constantly flicked its tail, which was invariably held cocked, the body feathers were rather fluffed out, and the folded wings were always slightly drooped. 

"It spent the entire time flycatching from the tops of the reeds or feeding on the ground, and, on occasion, would 'crash' through the vegetation like an icterine warbler.

"We heard it call 14 times: a very soft, yet affirmative 'check' or 'chac', quieter than the note of a sedge warbler. 

"The possibility of booted warbler was dismissed because the head and general coloration were unlike those of that species."

Because of considerable identification difficulties faced by the 60 to 80 observers - many of whom considered the bird to be a leucistic sedge warbler -  it was deemed that the bird should be trapped and scrutinised in the hand.

Permission to trap the warbler was obtained from the Nature Conservancy Council, and it was successfully mist-netted and retained in the hand for 25 minutes.

Even after this, ID doubts and controversies remained.

The British Birds report notes that it was only after "prolonged study"  that the Rarities Committee decreed the bird to have been a paddyfield warbler - thought to have been be the fourth British record.

Since then, it is understood that up to 130 paddyfield warblers have been recorded in Britain. including birds as far apart as Hartlepool on England’s east coast and Bardsey Island off Wales’ west coast.

The precise location of this week's Staffordshire but visitor is understood to be a private site to which only a few ornithologists have access.

 More details about this bird and how it was identified are expected to emerge in due course. 

* Top photo: paddyfield warbler in India by Shino Jacob Koottanad via Wikimedia Commons.

Newspaper columnist Jeremy Clarkson's potshot at "pontifications of nature enthusiast Chris Packham"

 

Jeremy Clarkson: 'Chris Packham doesn't understand the real world'

TV naturalist and Just Stop Oil supporter Chris Packham has come under fire from outspoken farmer and newspaper columnist Jeremy Clarkson.

Writes Mr Clarkson in today's edition of The Sun: "These days, it's difficult to keep up with the pontifications of nature enthusiast Chris Packham.

"He seems to find everything annoying."

The columnist is particularly scornful about the BBC Springwatch presenter's  recent criticism of Taylor Swift for flying in a private jet, rather than using commercial flights such as BA or Ryanair, on her current world tour.

"What this proves is that Mr Packham  simply doesn't understand the real world.

"Ms Swift  would either have been late for every gig or would have arrived in Copenhagen when she should have been in Vancouver.

"And, if she stopped for every selfie-hunter at airports, she would miss the plane."

Concludes Mr Clarkson: "Packham is reasonably well known among the nation's ramblers and bingo enthusiasts.

"However, he has no knowledge of what it is like to be properly famous - not Packham famous, Clooney or Lewis Hamilton famous.

"I can't imagine that Chris Packham will become a  Formula One world champion.

"But I know he likes music so I hope  one day, he releases an album that propels him to global stardom.

"Because then we'd see how long it'd take him to ask his agent to book  a private jet."  

The naturalist is understood to be considering The Sun man's  music challenge but so far has not responded.

                                      

Famous - but not yet super-famous. Will Chris Packham (centre) release an album?

Is market for bird paintings weakening? Prices achieved at Yorkshire auction were somewhat underwhelming

Something has spooked them - a flock of pintail rise from a pond

 

PERHAPS because he is not well known in Britain, a handsome oil painting  of flushed pintail by Canadian artist Hugh Monahan (1914-1970) failed to hit the highspots when it went under the hammer earlier this month.

It sold for £280 which was below the pre-sale estimate of £300-£500.

Other bird paintings also reached lower than guide prices at the sale conducted by Tennants of Leyburn in  Yorkshire.

An exception was an exquisite, understated study of a mistle thrush by living artist Raymond Ching (born 1939).

This sold for £300 - more than double the estimate of £80-£120.

Raymond Ching's enchanting line drawing of a mistle thrush

George Edward Lodge (1860-1954):  Ptarmigan (sold for £550)

                                      Roland Green (1896-1972): Grouse over moorland: £170

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (1901-1979): Barn owl: £1,900

RSPB chief executive 'honoured' that nature-enthusiast King Charles has agreed to be society's patron

                                            

King Charles - often outspoken nature and wildlife enthusiast

RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight has welcomed the decision of King Charles to be patron of the society.

Says she:  "We are honoured and delighted that the King will continue the legacy of the late Queen in her support for the RSPB.

"He is a consistent, active and inspiring champion for action on nature and climate.

"We are looking forward to the support of His Majesty in promoting the need to protect and restore both our wildlife and wild spaces."    

The King's decision follows a review of Royal patronages conducted by the Royal Household after His Majesty’s accession to the throne. 

Although not a birder, the King shares the same interest in wildlife as both his late parents, particularly Prince Philip.

In 2008, as Prince of Wales, he visited Indonesia as part of a trip arranged by the RSPB to meet people from indigenous communities and understand the issues faced by them alongside the pressures on wildlife living in one of the world’s most threatened and important rainforests. 

During his trip, he was accompanied by the RSPB’s chief executive at the time, Sir Graham Wynne.

The King will also continue as Patron of The Wildlife Trusts, a role he has held since 1977. 

The late Queen was Patron of 492 organisations at the time of her death. a total 376 are due to be retained by the King or other members of the Royal Family.

                                            

Leaf back to 2008 when Charles visited Indonesia on a trip organised by by RSPB's chief executive at the time, Sir Graham Wynne, with whom he is talking.  

                                          

The 2025 edition of Birdwatcher's Yearbook could be the last unless prospective new publisher steps forward

Will next year's edition be the last?

IT looks like the end of the road could loom for The Birdwatcher's Yearbook.

Since the Yearbook was first published in 1981, it has become a one-stop shop for up-to-date, and verified, information for birdwatchers of all levels of interest.

Its publisher for the past decade has been Neil Gartshore, of Calluna Books which has recently relocated from Dorset to Morpeth in Northumberland.

However, he has resolved to call it a day after publication of the 2025 edition.

Says Neil: "I have taken the decision that this will be my 10th, and last, Yearbook. 

"If a new owner can be found, then the publication will continue.

"If not, then this will be the last edition and the series will be brought to a close. 

"I would like to thank everyone who has responded to a request for information over the years."

Neil can be contacted at enquiries@callunabooks.co.uk 

www.callunabooks.co.uk

                                                  

Current edition of the much-respected publication

I'm a songbird - get me outta here! How much stress did BTO-trapped blackcap endure at Global Birdfair?

A bird in the hand - in this case, a blackcap which must have experienced unimaginable stress 

                                                         

AS in previous years, a 'highlight' of Global Birdfair was the BTO's  programme of bird-ringing demonstrations.

These always attract plenty of curious visitors over the three days.

But is what goes on right? Is it ethical?

The songbirds were being trapped out of sight, then ringed and retained for a few minutes to provide photo-opportunities for the public.

Unsurprisingly, event attendees seemed fascinated, but what about the stars of the show - the birds?

The stress on those small helpless creatures must have been immense. 

Earlier, as they fluttered and flailed in mist-net traps, waiting to be ringed and retrieved, some may have been subject to scrutiny, if not attack, by passing predators.

So it was at the corresponding event two years ago when a sparrowhawk itself ended up being caught in netting as it swooped for a finch.

The raptor then had the indignity of being incarcerated, temporarily, in an empty Pringles tube as its vital statistics were taken prior to ringing. 

These onlookers do not look entirely convinced that the wellbeing of the bird is being treated as priority

                                      

The Wryneck says: As the BTO surely knows full well, the welfare of the bird should always take priority. That is the first rule of ornithological research. Yet it seems to go  out of the window when it comes to ringing. Any scientific knowledge garnered from what went on at the BTO event at Global Birdfair over the weekend will have been somewhere been negligible and non-existent. What went on may have provided an entertaining peep show for observers, but it was a source of suffering for the birds. 

Finding an unexpected bird on your local patch is 'more exciting' than twitching a rarity, insists Urban Birder

                                          

David Lindo - whinchats in London

CONTRARY to what many believe, there is much more to urban birdlife than feral pigeons.

That was the message loud and clear from David Lindo in his lively talk at Global Birdfair 2024.

"Up to 85 per cent of the 620 species on the British list have been watched in towns or cities," declared David, also known as the Urban Birder. "London alone has recorded more than 320 of them.

There are now 200 pairs of peregrine falcons breeding on tall building in various parts of London

Though now resident in the Extremadura region in Spain, David grew up in Wembley, North London, where he once saw a redstart in the back garden!

"His local 'patch' for many years was the 183-acre area of undeveloped land known as Wormwood Scrubs (also home to a prison where he once gave a talk).

The array of Scrubs birds, especially during migration when many drop groundwards to feed, constantly reminded him of the golden lesson of birding that "anything can  turn up anywhere at any time.

Among his favourite spring and autumn sightings have been ring ouzels and whinchats - on one occasion, 22 of the latter on a single day.

                                                   

Ring ouzel - regular migratory visitor to London

A staunch advocate of patch birding, David insisted that  the delight  of finding an unusual or unfamiliar birds (not necessarily a rarity) on one's  doorstep surpassed  that of twitching some vagrant species in Shetland.

"It's more exciting and more satisfying," he enthused. "You've found it - it's your bird on your chosen patch."

That said, he confessed that he could not resist dashing to Hyde Park when word reached him back in January 2013 that a pair of bearded tits had turned up in a miniscule area of reedbed.

"Bearded tits aren't really tits at all," he said. "That's a false name  - they are more closely related to larks."

Later, David wrote about the unusual occurrence under the heading: "I saw a pair of fake tits in Hyde Park Park.

"Nothing I've written before or since has ever been so well read!"

Other star moments of his urban birding career have included an incident while  walking in Notting Hill when he noticed a commotion as dozens of carrion crows took  to the sky.

"Overhead was a honey buzzard," he recalled. "That was a bit special, and it's why I always urge birders to look up."

David has written two books about his birding activities in town and city - Tales from Concrete Jungles and How to Be an Urban Birder.

His latest book, Fly - A Child's Guide to Birds and How to Spot Them, illustrated by Sara Boccaccini, has been long-listed for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation.

                                             

David's most recent book has been nominated for a prestigious prize

                                               

 

Fabulous art always a feature at Global Birdfair - and 2024 was no exception

 

Global Birdfair offers a great opportunity for artists, sculptors and wood carvers to showcase their talents.  Here are just a few of them and their works.

Hey, big spender! Why not treat yourself to a new camera, 'scope and 'noccies? And don't forget the tripod!

 

The optics marquee at Global Birdfair is always a magnet for birders. All the big names such as Canon, Nikon Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss - plus many more - are represented. The big questions are : do I need it, will I use it and, crucially, can I afford it?

Shorebirds in the spotlight at Global Birdfair thanks to Rick and Elis Simpson of Wader Quest charity

 

Rick and Elis at their Glbal Birdfair stand

IT was good to see Wader Quest duo Rick and Elis Simpson in good form at Global Birdfair.

Their charity campaigns vigorously to highlight the threats posed by most, if not all, shorebirds from habitat loss, climate change, predation and much else.

Rick's varied working life in the past has included spells as a firefighter, a gardener, a security guard, an estate agent, an articulated lorry driver and a birding tours guide  in Brazil.

Now based in the UK with  Brazilian-born Elis, also a keen birder, Rick's  love of waders was initially sparked by his childhood encounter with a picture of a lapwing that so fascinated him that he decided it was a bird he had to see.

Much later, the focus of his fascination fell on another magical but much rarer species - the spoon-billed sandpiper of which the global population may now be fewer than 100 pairs.

Back in 2012, this was the top target species when Rick and decided to sell up and travel the world, seeking both to see as many shorebirds species as possible and to fund-raise for conservation of this varied and delightful group of birds.

That experience-packed trip is the subject of an absorbing book, A Quest for Waders, which recounts the highs and lows of their travels.

                                                   

Briskly written and bursting with amusing anecdotes and fascinating wader information, plus scores of superb illustrations, it makes for a compelling read.

Indeed, it as much a page-turner as any detective thriller.

Rick’s passion for his mission radiates from every page, no more so than when he and Elis share their thrilling first encounter with 'spoonies' in Thailand.

But evidently the couple were almost equally thrilled with their first meetings with many more species including, in California, a motionless mountain plover which Rick (who has a suspicious mind) at first thought was a scam - a stuffed rarity nailed to the ground.

Taking up the story, he writes: "Fortunately for us, the bird both breathed and moved - indeed, it turned out there were several of them scattered liberally around the area.

"Hardly  able to believe our luck, we watched gleefully as these busy birds tripped back and forth across the ground in short bursts." 

A Quest for Waders is now on sale, price £15, plus p&p, via the Wader Quest website, www.waderquest.net, with every penny of proceeds going to support wader conservation initiatives all over the world.

Spelling it out - waders need every bit of help they can get

Young birders show the way forward in lively panel discussion at Global Birdfair

 

All smiles from the panel - from left, Harry, Mya, George, Jack and chairman Ajay

ONE of the most interesting (and upbeat) events at Global Birdfair was a Friday-morning panel discussion where four young birders described how they came to the hobby and how they regularly contribute to the media, both mainstream and social.

Between them, they variously post on social media, broadcast  on BBC TV's Springwatch and BBC Radio 4's Tweet of The Week, blog and write for publications such as The Guardian and Bird Watching magazine.

The quartet comprised Jack Baddams, George Hassall, Mya Bambrick and Harry Day, and the session was  chaired by Ajay Tegala (who is a bit older).

Birders often speak of a 'spark incident' which ignites the passion for birding, but these four apparently had no such a moment - developing a random interest very early in their lives and allowing it, with encouragement from parents, to develop and take wing.

George, also an expert gardener, paid tribute to his father who introduced him to the wildlife on the Pennines outside Manchester where he grew up.

Asked if he had felt nervous when broadcasting live with the likes of Chris Packham, he replied; "Let's just say I needed a relaxing pint of Tennants afterwards!"

Jack, a birder since he was toddler, revealed that, in recent times, he had sometimes received flak on social media after posting videos of birds being ringed (despite his tender years, he is also a qualified ringer).

"I've been called all sorts of stuff which I can't repeat here," he said ruefully.

Mya was introduced by the chairman as a "TikTok sensation" because of her  prolific output on social media - she is also a 'veteran' of both YouTube and X (formerly known as Twitter).

What is it like to be presenting  on the other side of a  camera? "Being yourself is a skill," was her astute response.  

The 21-year-old, a student at Bournemouth University, lamented the paucity of female role models in birding, and expressed the hope that she could become one herself as she grew older.     

Aged only 11, Harry Day must be the surely youngest ever panellist in the long history of Birdfair.

Asked to describe, why he enjoyed birdwatching, he prompted chuckles from the audience when he replied: "It helps me to relax after a hard day's work at school."     

Global Birdfair 2024 - more pictures from the great Rutland extravaganza for birders from far and wide

So much to see, so much to talk about! More pictures from Global Birdfair 2024 - surely the most important social event in the birding calendar.