Was Britain's 'first' Yellow Warbler the broken-legged bird picked up near a park in Durham in May 1904?

                                                             

                                                                       

Four of Britain's ten confirmed Yellow Warbler sightings have been on Shetland

 

THE end-of-year reappearance of  the much-twitched American Yellow Warbler in Kent provides an opportunity to reconsider  a 'record' of the same species that was reported to have been found  dead in Durham way back in May 1904.

The location was on Shotley Bridge Road near Axwell Park which is now  a housing estate.

Because the bird had a broken leg, the speculation was that it might have been in flight-collision with an overhead telegraph wire.

A report that appeared in newspapers of March the following year states: "At the last meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club, Mr E. Bidwell exhibited a specimen of the North American Yellow Warbler which was picked up near Axwell Park  in May, 1904. 

"It was seen in the flesh, when when quite recently dead, by Mr John  Walker, a Bladen bird-stuffer, to whom the bird had been taken for preservation by the boy who found it. 

"Considerable doubt was expressed as to whether the bird was a genuine migrant.

"The Hon Walter Rothschild being seemed to think that it had been 'assisted' from its North American home while Mr Howard Saunders was of the opinion that it had escaped from a cage.

"Mr D. Smeth-Smith, however, did not know of any of this species having been brought to this country as a cage bird, and Dr. Sclater saw no reason why the bird should not reach England as an occasional visitor."

The report continues: "On the western prairies farms the boys call it the 'wild canary', and it is said to court the acquaintance of man by frequenting roadside thickets, weed edges, orchards and gardens.

"Mr. W.T. Hornaday, in his American Natural History says: 'The beauty of this bird far surpasses its minstrelsy for it is but an indifferent singer. 

'The fact is, however, that it has so much work to do in catching insects that it little time for music.'

'Mrs, Mabel Osgood Wright adds that it is one of the particular victims which the Cowbird selects to foster its random eggs.

'However, the warbler puts its intelligence effectively to work and sometimes  builds a floor over the unwelcome egg.'"

Either because it was dead and/or for other reasons, this bird has never been officially recognised. Its stuffed corpse was last reported to be held by the Hancock Museum in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

That means the honour of discovering Britain's first 'official' Yellow Warbler falls to H. Wells who made its acquaintance on Bardsey Island off the Welsh Coast  in the most unusual of circumstances - as here  described by George Evans, the observatory warden in his a report that appeared in British Birds journal of November 1965.

"On August 29, 1964, at approximately 15.30 hours GMT, my newly arrived assistant, H. Miles, was conveying his belongings from the boathouse to the observatory on Bardsey Island, Caernarvonshire.

"Halfway between the boathouse and Ty Pellaf, his attention was attracted by a small, bright yellow, warbler-like bird which appeared suddenly and briefly atop a hedgerow at close range. 

"Only very general impressions were obtained, but the sheer vividness of its coloration rendered it quite unlike any species with which he was familiar. 

"In his encumbered state, and lacking binoculars, H.M. made no attempt to pursue it.

"Though puzzled by its identity, he assumed it was probably a variant Willow Warbler.

"Some two hours later a small party of visitors led by R. F. Durman left the observatory to undertake a short spell of mist-netting before the day's light faded

"A net sited in Cristin withy bed was duly erected and the surrounding area driven.

" During this drive R.F.D. observed what was manifestly the same bird seen by H.M. earlier in the day. I was summoned and obtained good, if fleeting, views with comparative ease. 

"My first response was one of incredulity. Though palpably of warbler species, it possessed a vivid coloration quite different from anything I had seen before - the entire head, breast, belly and vent being a pure primrose-yellow. . . ."

It was more than a quarter of a century before the next Yellow Warbler was recorded in Britain - at Helendale, Shetland on November 3-4, 1990.

Subsequent records have been as follows:  

* 1992 (August 24): North Ronaldsay, Orkney

* 2004 (October 2-7): Barra, Outer Hebrides

* 2005 (September 15-17): Garths Ness, Quendale, Shetland

* 2017 (August 21): Culverwell, Portland, Dorset

* 2023 (September 5-11): Ham, Foula Shetland

* 2023 (September 30 - October 3): Kilmoluaig, Loch Bhasapol, Tiree, Argyll

* 2023 (October 12- 2): Hoswick, Shetland

* 2024 (From December 24): New Hythe, Kent

After showing between December 24 and December 27, the Christmas 2024 Kent bird went awol for most, if not, all of December 28-30, then reappeared today.

Hopes are high, therefore, that it will stay - and be visible - into 2025.

Britain's last male Spoon-billed Sandpiper dies, but battle will go on to save species from global extinction

Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the wild

THE  last Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the conservation breeding programme at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's Slimbridge HQ has died.

Its sad demise was on November 11 - exactly 13 years to the day that it arrived in a batch of 13 chicks as part of a captive breeding project known as headstarting.

The scheme attracted worldwide publicity and enjoyed  widespread global support, not least in Russia where this endangered species breeds and in China where some spend winter on the coastal mudflats.

An apparent consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is that, for political and logistical reasons, it has not been possible in recent years to continue raising chicks in confinement, subsequently to be returned to the wild.

But the organisation, Birds Russia, is continuing to monitor the fortunes of released birds at their breeding grounds  on the coastal tundra in north-eastern Russia.

And good news came, pre-Christmas, from Jodie Clements, conservation breeding officer at Slimbridge.

Said she: "The headstarting project in Chukotka, Russia, is set to resume activity in summer 2025. 

"Equipment and facilities were checked and tested this summer during the annual expedition lead by Birds Russia to monitor the sandpipers and other waders in this location."

"WWT will only be serving an advisory role in any future captive breeding attempts, so will not be receiving SBS eggs for the foreseeable future.

"The Birds Russia team are equipped to conduct the headstarting project in Chukotka, Russia, without WWT staff present. 

"However, we will be very happy to maintain an advisory role where appropriate."

Released birds are marked with coloured leg-rings so they can be tracked throughout their breeding, migrating and wintering locations. 

Monitoring is vital because it offers valuable  insights into how much time is left to save the species from extinction, as well as into helping identify challenges in their various habitats.

In China, there is said to be a moratorium on coastal reclamation in some areas in order to save and protect intertidal wetland ecosystems for waders such as 'spoonies'. 

But, despite education efforts, they are still thought to be vulnerable to hunting and trapping in their main wintering ground, the Gulf of Mottama in Myanmar.

Over the past 13 years, some 236 'spoonie' chicks have been released into the wild from various sources.

The last Slimbridge bird was one of two, both males, that died in November.

The last female, meanwhile, breathed her last in summer 2021.

Following post-mortem and histopathology examinations , the carcasses are all preserved in case of follow-up examination or for research purposes. 

According to Jodie, following examination, none of the carcasses is in a suitable state for use in taxidermy.

*Photographs: WWT, Slimbridge

                                               

Gently does it - a colour ring is attached to a 'spoonie' prior to its release

What am I bid for this study of Kingfishers among water lilies? Who'll start me at £150?

 

Photographs and paintings of Kingfishers seldom capture the electric blue of the species' wings and back, but this study by Raymond Watson (1935-1994) comes close. The painting, which measures  32cm by 44.5cm is expected to fetch between £150 and £200 when it goes under the hammer on January 11 at an auction to be conducted by Tennants at their saleroom in Leyburn, North Yorkshire.                                                  

    

Could ornithologists provide insights into cause of aircraft tragedy that claimed 179 lives on South Korean runway?

Hooded cranes - South Korean wetlands provide important overwintering habitat for the species (photo: Alastair Rae/snowmanradio via Wikimedia Commons)

COULD Hooded Cranes be implicated in the tragic crash in South Korea which claimed the lives of 179 of the 181 passengers and crew who had been on board?

Although it will be many more months before  investigators determine the cause(s) of the tragedy, a collision with birds has been widely reported  as a possible factor.

As has often been the case with aircraft bird strikes all over the world, there seems to have been little attempt to identify what species might have been involved.

A notable historical exception to this was the 'Miracle on the Hudson' incident in 2009 when pilot  Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger succeeded in bringing down an aircraft on  the Hudson River in New York City, with no casualties, following a strike involving Canada Geese.

Are some species particularly prone to collision with aircraft?  If so, could there be a targeted approach to reducing the risk? 

Like many airports all over, the world, Muan International Airport - scene of the latest tragedy - is close to mudflats and wetlands which, at this time of year are full of overwintering  birds.

The airport  sits near three major bird sanctuaries that serve as wintering grounds for migratory birds. A survey  by South Korea’s National Institute of Ecology recorded nearly 19,000 migratory birds of scores of species in these sanctuaries.

Among them are  Baikal Teal, Nordmann’s Greenshank, tens of thousands of Great Knot, perhaps a few Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris  and . . . plentiful Hooded Cranes.

By a horrible irony, cranes are cherished in Korea and regarded as symbols of longevity, and concerted conservation efforts have increased numbers of Hooded Cranes from near-extinction to about 12,000 birds worldwide. 

There are 14 regional airports in South Korea. Between them, they recorded 559 bird-strike incidents between 2019 and August this year. Most have occurred during take-off or landing 

Out of these, only 20 were classified as causing damage.

Muan, in South Jeolla Province on Korea's  south-west coast, had 10 strikes - a relatively high ratio in relation to the number of flight arrivals and departures.

Individual birds weighing up to 1kg seldom cause substantial collision damage, but those weighing above 3kg and and of greater dimension are  potentially more problematic, especially if they strike multiple systems or get sucked into engines, damaging blades.

Hooded Cranes  weigh 3.7kg, are 1-metre long and have a wingspan of 1.87-metres.

According to some reports, staff at Muan Airport reported seeing thousands of birds arriving around the airport itself. These would not have been wetland species. Could a flock of Common Starlings had begun to gather?

As at other airports worldwide, Muan International will have bird-deterrent devices installed, but their effectiveness can never be guaranteed.

The aircraft that crash-landed was a Boeing 737-800, one of the world's most flown planes and one said to have a generally good safety record.

Its engineers will be closely involved with the investigation as will be the manufacturer of the two engines, CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and French company Safron, plus airline company Jeju Air, Muan airport staff and other authorities and scientists.

It is not yet known if  input might also be invited from ornithology experts. 

Suncheon Bay, near Muan Airport, is a habitat favoured by many thousands of wetland birds of  hundreds of different species (photo: Jjw via Wikimedia Commons) 

It's not always the bird's plumage that counts - sometime it's the personality that makes it a winner

 

They are not showy birds, so Spotted Flycatchers only attract the attention of particularly observant artists - one being Terence Lambert (born 1951) with this enchanting  gouache study which went under the hammer earlier this month at a sale conducted by Woolley and Wallis at their saleroom in Salisbury, Wiltshire. The pre-sale estimate was that it would fetch between £250 and £350, but it eventually sold for £378 (including the premium paid by the buyer). Definitely a price worth paying. 

Giving Nature a Home? Or are RSPB's nature reserves killing fields for foxes and some other mammal species?

                                                          

Red foxes - not generally welcome on RSPB reserves, especially when birds are nesting

A TOTAL of 4,035 red foxes have been shot on RSPB nature reserves over the past 10 years.

The figure has been revealed by the society's newly-elected board chairman, Sir Andrew Cahn, in open correspondence with its former director of conservation, Dr Mark Avery.   

Writes Sir Andrew: "In certain circumstances and when other methods of non-lethal control have failed, we do sometimes shoot foxes on our reserves. 

"But we only only do this where it will support delivery of a clear conservation objective for a particular species, for example safeguarding nesting Curlews or Cranes."

Foxes, which eat eggs as well as both adult and juvenile birds,  are not the only mammals that have fallen victim to culling on the RSPB's reserves.

Minks, grey squirrels, three species of deer, rabbits - and even vegetation-munching goats - have sometimes been subject to what the wildlife charity calls 'lethal control'.

One one unnamed reserve, 345 moles were targeted in a single year (2022) because they were deemed to pose a  risk in cattle of  Listeriosis - a bacterial infection that can cause paralysis and even death.

Among predatory  bird species that have been killed - either by shooting or by having their nests destroyed - are Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.

Dr Avery does not challenge the RSPB's policy and says it was he who, while in post,  "loosened the reins on predator control on a case-by-case basis".

However, he has urged  the society to be more  "open and transparent" in publishing the figures.

Like emeralds at dusk - artist Jane Tomlinson definitely has a way with starlings in flight

 

What's not to like about the illustrations in artist Jane Tomlinson's 2025 calendar, especially the flying  Starlings which feature for the month of February? As of close of play yesterday, a few calendars were still available at £15 including first-class postage within the UK. Details from: https://janetomlinson.com/ 

How to cross Atlantic with minimum of wing-clapping - did Yellow Warbler take ticket to ride from Gulf of Mexico?

                                                              

Unorthodox migration route - New Hythe's Yellow Warbler savours life among English catkins

'MIGRATION'  across the Atlantic may have proved relatively leisurely for the American Yellow Warbler that has, for much of  this week, proved a magnet in New Hythe Kent, to a thousand twitchers or more.

A plausible theory is that the journey was probably accomplished on board a tanker crossing from North America to Britain.

If this is the case, the bird would most likely have landed on deck somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico - an expansive body of water habitually crossed by many New World warbler species as they migrate from breeding grounds in North America to warmer wintering climes in South America.

In autumn last year, there was an unprecedented  'fall' of such warblers on the Welsh Coast, most of them fairly near the port of Milford Haven.

'Fall' is a misnomer because, far from dropping from the sky in an exhausted state, they will almost certainly have made most, if not all, of the  Atlantic crossing on board ship, then flown off when the vessel arrived at its destination.

New Hythe is on the other side of Britain from Milford Haven but just 23 miles from the port of  Isle of Kent on Kent's Hoo peninsula.

On December 20, it was this port which welcomed the tanker, Gaslog Winchester, with its cargo of liquefied natural gas after its 14-day journey from Freeport on the Gulf of Mexico's Texan coast.

Also on board the 297-metre x 47-metre vessel would, most probably,  have been the Yellow Warbler which would have found sufficient insect prey to keep its body and soul together in readiness, when the time arrived,  to continue its journey south.

Having flown from the ship, the warbler's  resumed journey - this time by beat of its wings - will  have taken it to New Hythe where it has spent since Christmas Eve refuelling high in the branches of alder alongside a sewage treatment works to the delight of its myriad admirers.

Assuming it survives, the likelihood now is that this jewel of a bird will continue south possible as far as the English Channel and beyond.

For anyone who has not been fortunate enough to glimpse its Christmas habitat, there is still hope. It could turn up anywhere - in hedgerow, thicket, woodland, any leafy place where winter insects flourish. 

After all, needles can sometime be found in haystacks . . . 

And one other word of encouragement. Between now and January 4, three other tankers from the United States are due at the Isle of Grain.

Each will be carrying a cargo of liquefied natural gas and who knows what else?

RSPB admits reserve-wide cutbacks likely to 'have impact on staffing and volunteering' across reserves network

                                                                

The RSPB's HQ - The Lodge in Sandy, Bedfordshire, where management have been thrashing out how to cut costs 

IT could be a worrying start to the New Year for scores of staff and volunteers at the RSPB's 200-plus reserves.

Because costs are outpacing income, the society is exploring ways of mothballing or offloading some reserves and ceasing retailing of books, optical equipment, gifts and birdfood at others.

But it is also seeking to trim bills by cutting back the  hours worked by wardens and staff.

It is feared that, for some employees, reduction in pay will force them out of the jobs they love.

A consultation exercise has been ongoing since earlier this year, and it was thought more detail would be provided either at the annual meeting in October or in the December edition of its quarterly magazine.

But either the management has not reached any decisions or it is preferring to exclude members from the information loop for fear of generating publicity which it fears might be harmful to its reputation.

However, a single sentence in the December magazine is perhaps an indication of what, to a greater or lesser extent, will happen in 2025. 

It reads: "Proposed changes are likely to have an impact on staffing and volunteering across our nature reserve network."

Fingers crossed Kent's vagrant Yellow Warbler fares better than the famous Bardsey Island bird of 1965

                                             

Kent's Yellow Warbler has been very active and finding plenty of sustenance high in the alder trees

HERE'S hoping that the Yellow Warbler that has turned up in Kent over the festive holiday does not suffer the same fate as the first British record of the same species.

After it was trapped late on the day it was found - on Bardsey Island off the Welsh coast on August 29, 1964 - a decision was made that it should be kept in confinement overnight pending confirmation of  its identity.

At first, it was thought that the bird might have been a variant willow warbler, and perusal of the  only available reference, L. A. Hausman's Field Book of Eastern Birds (1946), was not helpful.

Alas, while being scrutinised  the next morning, it died in the hand.

Although a subsequent write-up in the November 1965 edition of British Birds journal showed not even a hint of remorse or contrition from observatory staff, there is surely more than even chance that it was human contact which tipped an already fragile bird over the edge.

The British Birds report, which  was written by the Bardsey warden, George Evans is certainly thorough, not least because he had obtained a detailed post mortem from Dr P. M Driver which provided valuable information about the bird's condition.

Dr Driver wrote: "This bird had no observable signs of disease or parasitic infection, and seemed generally to be in good condition. 

"There was, however, no sign of the usual fat deposits found in fall migrants which suggests that it had recently exhausted its food stores. 

"There was no obvious sign of muscle wastage. 

"There was no sign of any food remains in the gut, though this is to be expected in a small passerine after a night's rest from feeding."

As with all passerine vagrants to British shores, the possibility of  ship-assistance can never be discounted.

In the rest of his British Birds report, George Evans wrote: "If the bird's first point of landfall was Bardsey, its weight on arrival would tend to suggest that perhaps it did not cross without some form of assistance and that it succeeded in obtaining meagre sustenance en route. 

"It is very doubtful if it was on the island before the day on which it was first seen and caught. 

"Furthermore, an examination of the Daily Weather Report covering the week prior to August 29 does not show weather situations likely to permit a bird of this size optimum conditions for drifting non-stop from America."

Since 1965, there are believed to have been nine other British records, but this week's bird - discovered  by Glenn Honey close to a stream at the south end of Ham Hill sewage treatment works in New Hythe, Kent,  on Christmas Eve - is only the second for England (the other having been at Culverwell on the Isle of Portland in Dorset in August 2017).

Between Tuesday and Thursday, it was both showing well and calling frequently to the delight of hundreds of twitchers, many of whom had, at their own risk, forsaken festive holiday  family responsibilities for a chance to see such a rare and beautiful jewel hopping about in the bare branches of alder trees.

How come a migratory bird whose  range in the Americas stretches from Alaska to Peru  finds itself in Kent? Doubtless a question that will prompt plentiful speculation in the days and weeks to come.    

                                                                 

Twitchers celebrated the discovery with super-birder and author Gary Bagnell among those who contributed to the X platform

Plate depicting Yellow Warblers (top two birds) in Warblers of North America (1917) by Frank Chapman

RSPB launches quest for research officer to be based at Bempton Cliffs on Yorkshire Coast

Entrance to the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs

LATEST vacancy posted by the RSPB is for a seabird research officer to be based at its reserve at Bempton Cliffs, near Bridlington, on the Yorkshire Coast.

It is only a seven-month position, starting on March 31 next year but is obviously a great opportunity for lovers of Gannets, Guillemots, Puffins, Kittiwakes, Razorbills  . . .and more Gannets.

The job description states: "You will  play a key role in co-ordinating seabird monitoring  as well as supporting, training and leading a team of monitoring volunteers and a full-time seasonal residential volunteer. 

"You will be responsible for the line management of the residential volunteer which includes training him or her in the appropriate monitoring techniques.

"Previous relevant fieldwork experience is essential, as is data analysis, report writing and ability and willingness to work with and lead volunteers as well as engaging with, and presenting to, the general public. 

"Long hours outdoors in all weathers will be required."

It continues: "The cliff tops here are often described as bracing, so if you enjoy windswept cliffs and stunning coastal scenery, this is definitely the place for you. 

"Shared accommodation is provided within our residential volunteer premises (RSPB rental rates apply) which is situated in Bempton village, one mile from the reserve.

"In addition to your core role, you will also assist the reserve warden with tasks such as a Kittiwake Retrapping Adults for Survival project and the reserves Tree Sparrow Nest Record Scheme

"There will also be the opportunity to be involved with bird ringing and assisting in public ringing demonstrations. 

"For the right candidate there is a lot to be involved in and makes for a fantastic summer filled with seabirds and more."

Pay is the pro-rata equivalent of between £26,379 and  £28,319 per annum, and the closing date for applications is January 31,  2025.

 For further information the contact is david.aitken@rspb.org.uk 

Bempton Cliffs Gannet enjoying the view

Compliments of the festive season to our readers and supporters from all at The Wryneck

                                          

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers 

Birds through an opera-glass! Was Florence Merriam the first female urban birder in the United States?

Florence Merriam - pioneering American ornithologist

Although now almost unknown outside North America, Florence Merriam (1863-1948) was a pioneer of amateur ornithology in her homeland. Despite suffering poor health, she was an enthusiastic field naturalist who kept notebooks of her encounters with birds - their plumage, their behaviour, their sounds. At college, she persuaded her fellow-students not just to join her on nature walks but also to cease wearing hats adorned with feathers from exotic birds slaughtered in their millions for the taxidermy industry. Unlike her male colleagues, she deplored the use of guns to  kill birds prior to the identification of corpses in the hand. Instead, many years before the roll-out of binoculars as we know them today, she was an early advocate of  opera-glasses as an aide for watching and identifying birds. Below is the introduction to her book, Birds Through An Opera-Glass, published in 1890 and now acknowledged as one of the first field guides to American birds.

WHEREVER there are people, there are birds.

It makes comparatively little difference where you live if you are  in earnest about getting acquainted with your feathered neighbours. 

Even in a Chicago backyard, 57 kinds of birds have been seen in a year, and, in a yard in Portland, Connecticut, 91 species have been recorded. 

At least 26 kinds are known to nest in the city of Washington, while in the parks and cemeteries of San Francisco in winter, I have found 22 kinds.

Further afield, 76 are recorded for Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and 142  for Central Park, New York.

There are especial advantages in beginning to study birds in the cities, for, by going to the museums, you can compare the bird skins with the birds you have seen in the field. 

Moreover, you can get an idea of the grouping of the different families which will help you materially in placing the live bird when you meet him at home.

If you do not live in the city, shrubby village dooryards, the trees of village streets, orchards, roadside fences, overgrown pastures, and the borders of brooks and rivers are among the best places to look for birds.

When going to watch birds, provided with opera-glass and notebook, and dressed in inconspicuous colours, proceed to some good birdy place - the bushy bank of a stream or an old juniper pasture - and sit down in the undergrowth or against a concealing tree-trunk with your back to the sun, to look and listen in silence. 

You will be able to trace most songs to their singers by finding which tree the song comes from, and then watching for movement, as birds are rarely motionless long at a time when singing. 

It will be a help if, besides writing a careful description of both bird and song, you draw a rough diagram of the bird’s markings, and put down the actual notes of his song as nearly as may be.

If you have time for only a walk through the woods, go as quietly as possible and stop often, listening to catch the notes which your footsteps have drowned. 

Timid birds may often be attracted by answering their calls, for it is very reassuring to be addressed in one’s native tongue!

Birds’ habits differ in different localities, and, as this book was written in the East, many birds are spoken of as common which western readers will find rare or wanting, but nearly the same families of birds are found in all parts of the United States, so that, if not able to name your bird exactly, at least you will be able to tell who his relatives are.

Boys who are interested in watching the coming of the birds from the south in spring, and their return from the north in the fall, can get blank migration schedules by applying to the Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington DC, while teachers and others who want material for bird work can get, free on application, the publications of the Biological Survey which show how the food of birds affects the farm and garden.

Much additional information can be obtained from the secretaries of the State Audubon Societies, and their official organ,  Bird-Lore.

Photography is coming to hold an important place in nature work as its notes cannot be questioned, and the student who goes afield armed with opera-glass and camera will not only add more to our knowledge than he who goes armed with a gun but will gain for himself a fund of enthusiasm and a lasting store of pleasant memories. 

For more than all the statistics is the sanity and serenity of spirit that comes when we step aside from the turmoil of the world to hold quiet converse with Nature.

We are so in the habit of focusing our spyglasses on our human neighbours that it seems an easy matter to label them and their affairs, but when it comes to birds  - alas, not only are there legions of kinds, but, to our bewildered fancy,  they look and sing and act exactly alike. 

Yet though our task seems hopeless at the outset, before we recognize the conjurer a new world of interest and beauty has opened before us.

The best way is the simplest. 

Begin with the commonest birds, and train your ears and eyes by pigeon-holing every bird you see and every song you hear.

Classify, roughly at first,  the finer distinctions will easily be made later. 

Suppose, for instance, you are in the fields on a spring morning.

Standing still a moment, you hear what sounds like a confusion of songs. 

You think you can never tell one from another, but by listening carefully you at once notice a difference. 

Some are true songs, with a definite melody - and tune (if one may use that word) - like the song of several of the sparrows, with three  high notes and a run down the scale. 

Others are only monotonous trills, always the same two notes, varying only in length and intensity, such as that of the chipping bird, who makes one’s ears fairly ache as he sits in the sun and trills to himself like a complacent prima donna. 

Then there is always plenty of gossiping going on, chippering and chattering that does not rise to the dignity of song, though it adds to the general jumble of sounds.

Yet this should be ignored  and only the loud songs listened for.

When the trill and the elaborate song are once contrasted, other distinctions are easily made. 

The ear then catches the quality of songs.

On the right, the plaintive note of the Meadowlark is heard, while out of the grass at the left comes the rollicking song of the Bobolink.

Having begun sorting sounds, you naturally group sights, and so find yourself 'parcelling out' the birds by size and colour. 

As the Robin is a well-known bird, he serves as a convenient unit of measure - an ornithological foot. 

If you call anything from a Hummingbird to a Robin small, and from a Robin to a crow large, you have a practical division line of use in getting your bearings. 

And the moment you give heed to colours, the birds will no longer look alike. 

To simplify matters, the Bluebird, the Oriole with his orange and black coat, the Scarlet Tanager with his flaming plumage, and all the other bright birds can be classed together; while the sparrows, flycatchers, thrushes, and vireos may be thought of as the dull birds!

When the crudest part of the work is done, and your eye and ear naturally seize differences of size, colour, and sound, the interesting part begins. 

You soon learn to associate the birds with fixed localities, and once knowing their favourite haunts, quickly find other clues to their ways of life.

By going among the birds, watching them closely, comparing them carefully, and writing down, while in the field, all the characteristics of every new bird seen - its locality, size, colour, details of marking, song, food, flight, eggs, nest and habits - you will come easily and naturally to know the birds that are living about you. 

The first law of field work is exact observation, but not only are you more likely to observe accurately if what you see is put in black and white, but you will find it much easier to identify the birds from your notes than from memory.

With these hints in mind, go to look for your 'friends'. 

Carry a pocket note-book, and above all, take an opera or field glass with you. 

Its rapid adjustment may be troublesome at first, but it should be the 'inseparable article' of a careful observer. 

If you begin work in spring, do not start out before seven o’clock in the morning, because the 'confusion of the matins' is discouraging - there is too much to see and hear. 

But go as soon as possible after breakfast, for the birds grow quiet and fly to the woods for their nooning earlier and earlier as the weather gets warmer.

You will not have to go far to find your first bird.

                                         

BTO's spring 2025 conference in Manchester will seek to shed light on downward spiral of the Nightingale

                                                           

Manchester's splendid Midland Hotel

BOOKING are now being taken for the next BTO members' conference which is due to be held in Manchester on March 1 next year.

Trust volunteers as well as staff will be speaking on a range of subjects including:

* Unravelling the decline of Nightingales 

* Acoustic monitoring of birds and other wildlife

* The value of protected areas for birds and  butterflies

* BTO Youth

*Raptor monitoring 

There will a range of stalls showcasing the work of the BTO and plenty of time to meet members.

The venue is the Alexandra Suite in the Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester, and the event will last from registration at 9am or soon thereafter to 6.30pm.

Tickets cost £50 for the day, with a buffet lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

As part of the BTO 's commitment to young people, a limited number of tickets for under 25s will be priced at £10 - refundable on attendance.

Booking closes on Friday February 7  at 12 noon.

More details at: info@bto-enews.org

* Photo of Midland Hotel: Tim Green (Bradford) via Wikimedia Commons 

Elevation to peerage offers route back into frontline politics for former Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey

 

House of Lords ahoy! Thérèse Coffey 

A POLITICAL comeback beckons for former Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey - this time with  a seat in the House of Lords

The 53-year-old has been nominated to become a peer by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, an ally since they worked together in the last government.

Despite holding the Environment portfolio, Dr Coffey was not much appreciated  in the birding world because her understanding of matters related to nature and wildlife seemed flimsy.

She was vehemently opposed to a project that might have seen White-tailed Eagles restored to Suffolk, and, after being lobbied by farmers, she also spoke out against the proposals for the reintroduction of apex predator species such as lynx and wolves.

Ornithologist-author Stephen Moss described her as "the worst Environment Secretary ever (and that takes some doing!)".

In a social media post, he wrote: "Good riddance Thérèse Coffey - you were utterly useless."

Along with Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove, Dr Coffey was also featured in the controversial RSPB  'Liars' poster for which the charity's chief executive, Beccy Speight, later apologised.

Once she is in the Lords, it is not known if Ms Badenoch will offer her a role on the Opposition Front Bench.

Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Thérèse Coffey - the controversial RSPB poster 

Enough is enough - dismay over animal cruelty video prompts Chris Packham to step down as RSPCA president

                                          

Chris Packham - dismayed by abattoir video

CELEBRITY naturalist Chris Packham has today stepped down from his honorary post as president of the RSPCA.

He revealed his decision on social media with the following brief statement: "It is with enormous sadness that I have resigned from my role as president of the RSPCA . 

"I would like to register my respect and admiration for all the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to protect animals from cruelty. 

"Thank you."

Later, it emerged that his action was most likely prompted by emerging video footage from the campaign group, Animal Rising, which reportedly shows farm animals being treated cruelly in premises which the RSPCA has previously approved as meeting welfare standards.

Interviewed by the BBC's  Radio 4 programme,  the Springwatch presenter said: "This year there have been quite serious transgressions on some of the farms the RSPCA  'assures' - most recently and most disturbingly at some abattoirs."

The RSPCA has not responded to the broadcaster's resignation, but says Animal Rising's claims are being investigated.

In a parallel development, former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has resigned as vice-president, citing similar concerns.

It is not known how and when the RSPCA intends to fill these two prestigious but unpaid positions.

Chris Packham is also a vice-president of the RSPB and a director of the pressure group, Wild Justice.

Premier League champions ‘score’ again - but this time for creating training ground wildlife habitat

Habitat for bees and pollinating insects - wildflower meadow at club's training ground 

THERE has been another honour for Manchester City FC - but this time unconnected with football.

It has won an ecology project of the year award from the Institute of Groundsmanship for creating wildlife habitat.

On the perimeter of its academy training ground, the Premier League title holders are steadily improving biodiversity by planting trees and even installing breeding boxes for insects such as solitary bees.

The ground sits on 80 acres reclaimed land used previously as a chemical treatment works.

The venture is part of a three-year plan which also aims to raise awareness  of local ecology in the local community, hopefully including  footballers.

The club academy's landscape contract manager, Daniel Lewis, comments: "What we are achieving here shows what  can be done to align first class footballing facilities with ecology and biodiversity."

Equally upbeat is the academy's head gardener, Daniel Cranmer, who provides more detail thus: 

"We have introduced wildflower meadows, with lots of high nectar pollinating plants.

"We have a clear understanding of what we want to do and developing manageable projects with our small landscape team. 

"We have shown what can be achieved with little investment, but still produce such dramatic changes for the good of the environment.

"We have had to think and re-assessthe way we do our maintenance and have encompassed new programmes which have required the team to be open-minded, willing to learn and go the extra mile. 

"Full credit is due to team members Paul Silk, Dalton Eckersall, Pavel Furda, Karl Horne, Dominic Knower, Ben Williams, and Martin Neighbour."

The academy works closely with the company, idverde, a leading provider of grounds maintenance services and landscape creation projects.

The groundstaff team at the Manchester City academy with their award 

1982 study of Rock Buntings - rarely seen in Britain - attracted plenty of interest at Salisbury art auction

Rock Buntings - the preferred habitat is dry mountainous area

                                                                      

WHAT prompted artist Mary Fedden OBE to choose Rock Buntings for this expressive painting she completed in 1982?

Bristol-born Fedden, who died aged 96  in 2012, was not especially noted as a bird artist.

Nor was 1982 one of the handful of years in which the species has been recorded in Britain.

So there must have been some other factor which brought Rock Buntings - a partially migratory inhabitant of Asia and Central Europe  - to her attention.

The question is prompted by the fact that this delightful study, measuring  22.4cm x 16.7cm,  went under the  hammer at the Woolley and Wallis art auction in Salisbury earlier this month.

Including the buyer's premium, it sold for £5,040, which was in line with the pre-sale estimate of £4,000 and £6,000.

A close friend of former TV news presenter Anna Ford, Fedden had a varied art career which included stage designs for Saddlers Wells and murals for the World War Two effort and then  for Charing Cross Hospital.

For most of her married life she lived on the banks of the River Thames in London where she shared a flat with Julian Trevelyan, also an artist. He died in 1988.

The first British records of Rock Buntings were the two netted by birdcatchers, in late October 1902, near Shoreham in Sussex, with another that was seen at Faversham, Kent, in mid-February 1905.

Subsequent records include birds seen in Pembrokeshire (August 1958), Spurn (February-March 1965), Bardsey (June, 1967) and Bolton Abbey (May 2011).                                                                         

Mary Fedden - a long and colourful life