Bygone birding: migrants in gardens of South Kensington included Wheatears, Siskins and Turtle Doves

    

Below is an extract from R.Bowdler Sharpe’s preface to his book, A Chapter on Birds - Rare British Visitors which was published in 1895 by The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Featured on the front cover is a Red-breasted Flycatcher.

WHEN first I was appointed to the charge of the ornithological  collection in the British Museum, the home of that collection was in Bloomsbury where the opportunities of observing birds in a state of nature are, as everyone will admit, not many. 

Domestic pigeons are numerous, an occasional Starling can be seen, and, in the neighbouring garden in Russell Square, I have seen Blue Tits in winter. 

House Sparrows, of course, abound, and doubtless other birds could occasionally be observed.

One of the most interesting specimens in the British collection is - of all birds - a Kingfisher which was picked up dead in the courtyard of

the old British Museum.

At South Kensington, however, to which the Natural History collections have been removed, quite a respectable assortment of birds visit the gardens attached to the museum  in the Cromwell Road. 

During the migration-time, Pipits, Wheatears, Siskins, Goldfinches and other small birds stop to rest. 

Turtle Doves have been delayed in their southern journey by the gales of autumn, and Kestrels have stayed with us, and, let us hope, have taken toll from the ever-increasing House Sparrows. 

In severe weather, Redwings, Fieldfares and Mistle Thrushes have been plentiful, while Woodpigeons, tits and Blackbirds  may be considered permanent residents, so that, even in the west of London, many species come under our daily observation.

* Note: The Natural History Museum's ornithological collection is now housed in buildings at Tring in Hertfordshire. 

Only a tiny songbird but it helped secure big prices during artwork auction at Yorkshire saleroom

                                                               

Quirky carvings, each  featuring a Wren, sold for above the pre-sale estimate at an auction conducted by Tennants at their saleroom in Leyburn , North Yorkshire. The one of a boot sold for £380, compared with a guide price of £200-£300, while the magazine rack also achieved a hammer price of £380, well above the estimate of £100-£150. The carvings are the work of cabinet maker Bob Hunter of Thirlby in Yorkshire.

   

Too fluffy? Does RSPB need to be more tough-minded and dynamic in how it presents itself to the public?

                                                          

Mark Avery - rap for RSPB

A FORMER conservation director at the RSPB has claimed that the society is "weak" in arguing its cause in Westminster because it markets itself to the public "in such a fluffy manner".

In his June newsletter, Dr Mark Avery says this approach makes it almost impossible "to get the attention of hard-nosed politicians" .

In recent years, the RSPB - along with sister organisations - has mostly been  ineffective in its advocacy activities with the result that legislation designed to protect and enhance wildlife is being eroded.

To the dismay of many, there was particular disappointment when it failed to persuade successive ministers to introduce legislation that would have mandated Swift nestbricks in new housing developments.

 Dr Avery's website is: https://markavery.info/

'A great destroyer of chickens.' Author and illustrator did no favours to the reputation of the Red Kite

  

Coloured engraving of a Red Kite in Albin's book 

VERY few birders will have heard of  Eleazar Albin but, as both writer and artist,  he was one of ornithology's pioneers.

Thought to have been born in Germany in 1680 and to have spent part of his childhood in Jamaica, he then  lived most of his adult life in Piccadilly, Central London.

His chief interest seems to have been in painting studies of spiders and insects, but he was also the author and illustrator - possibly assisted by his daughter, Elizabeth - of A Natural History of Birds which was published in instalments between 1731-38.

The text concentrates mainly on the plumage and anatomy of  his chosen species, but unfortunately his narrative offers no clue to the extent of their distribution.

For instance, in his account of the Red Kite, he offers no clue as to whether persecution was, even in his time, leading to its decline.

However, he probably contributed to their unpopularity by writing: "They are a great destroyer of chickens, ducklings and goslings, being so so bold as to come and take them out of the gardens or courtyards of houses."

                                    

               From the same book: Kestrel (above) and Sparrowhawk 

                                   

                                   

           

Annual county bird report casts spotlight on importance of Lincolnshire's military airfields to breeding Curlews

                                          

Wayne Gillatt's handsome study of a juvenile Goshawk in a North Lincolnshire woodland graces the front cover of the 2024 Lincolnshire Bird Report which has just been published   

THE importance of  Ministry of Defence airfields  to breeding Curlews is explored in the recently-published 2024 Lincolnshire Bird Report.

A survey conducted by members of the Lincolnshire Bird Club and the RAF Ornithological Society - with support from the BTO and Natural England - put the number of  pairs in six airfields "in the order of  30 pairs".

By way of context, the total population of breeding Curlews in this large lowland county may number no more than 35 pairs.

The advantage of airfields as nesting habitat for ground-nesting birds is that perimeter fencing excludes foxes, dogs and unauthorised human visitors, thereby reducing disturbance.

On the downside, the birds - especially in flight - pose a potential collision risk, so historically they have been culled. 

More recently (as outlined in this new survey), their eggs have been taken from the nest and used in a captive rearing programme known as 'head-starting'.  

Says the survey's author, Phil Espin: "Without some kinds of intervention,  one has to wonder what the Lincolnshire Curlew population will be by 2030."

"One thing this survey shows is that the resilience and persistence of the species in the face of adversity.

"It has hung on here over the last century, and let us help it to continue to do so if we can."

Edited by county recorder Phil  Hyde, the bulk of the Lincolnshire Bird Report consists of a systematic list of the individual species recorded in 2024.

However, there is also space in the 240 pages - plus covers - for other fascinating features  such as one on probable breeding of Firecrests at a site in the north of the county and another on the first Black-faced Bunting to be recorded in the county.

The report can be purchased for £10, plus 2.80 post and packing from Bill Sterling, 5 Carlton Avenue, Healing, N.E. Lincs DN41 7PW.

The mouse that got away! Unusual study of kindly owl expected to fetch bids of £8,000-plus at West End auction

                                                                       

                                          

Entitled Bird of Prey With A Mouse, this unusual gouache-and-pencil painting by Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) is expected to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000  when it goes under the hammer at an auction of Modern British and Irish Art to be held by Bonhams at their saleroom in  New Bond Street, London next Wednesday, June 24.

Starring role for Swift campaigner Hannah Bourne-Taylor in penultimate episode of Jeremy Clarkson farming show

                                                                   

Jeremy Clarkson and Hannah Bourne-Taylor talk birds in a scene from the programme

AUTHOR Hannah Bourne-Taylor, who is best known for her high-profile campaigning for Swifts, has a main role in the penultimate episode of the last series of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon TV.

She helps him to track down - by sound - species such as Garden Warbler and Blackcap whose songs she likens to speeded up versions of Maria Carey.

There is also delight for her when, elsewhere,  she locates both Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer.

During the course of the series, Clarkson has become increasingly fascinated by  birds such that he is keen to encourage them - especially those, such as Skylarks, in decline because of changing farming practices (including those used on his farm).

At one point, Hannah finds herself at loggerheads with the presenter's farm manager, Kaleb Cooper, who is insistent on taking two silage crops per annum - a practice that is thought to be destructive to nesting larks many of whose eggs and chicks fall victim to the heavy duty grass-cutting machinery.

There is also a sequence where Clarkson engages the services of a drone operator with thermal camera in an attempt - unsuccessful - to locate by heat-spot potential nesting site for Skylarks.

The programme is fascinating but requires  a subscription to Amazon Prime  to be viewed on home TVs.

                                        

Delight for Hannah when she spots a Corn Bunting 

                                        

                                        

It should have flown away! Politician found it amusing when his off-the-lead dog killed goose in London park

                                        

Greylag Goose - common species in many parks

IF a senior politician allowed his off-the-lead dog to savage a goose to death, there would today be a public outcry.

But leaf back to April 6, 1996, when just such an incident occurred while Roy Hattersley, deputy leader of the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock, was walking Buster, his German Shepherd-Staffordshire bull terrier  cross, in London's St James Park.

In view of passers-by, Buster - an adoptee from the Brent Animal Centre  - seized a Greylag Goose in its jaws and killed it.

There was not a whisper of anger from anyone.

The incident was noted by police, and Hattersley, who died earlier this week aged 93, was subsequently prosecuted and  fined £75 by magistrates.

But later, he made light of the incident, expressing no regret and blaming the goose for not flying away.

Later, the politician made capital of the episode, referring to it in a book called Buster's Diary which sought to present a light-hearted dog's-eye view of life.

The section reads: "I was not alone in the rhododendrons for long.

"Suddenly a goose appeared.

"Geese are supposed to be frightened by dogs and fly away, but this one barely seemed to notice that I was there.

"It just fluttered its wings a bit and went on pecking the ground.

"Naturally, I was offended so I gave it a nip on the back of the neck.

"It waddled off and I went into my stalking mode, but, when it flopped over the fence between the park and the pond, I lost interest."

Some time later, Hattersley - and Buster - accepted an invitation to open a new police station in the same park.

                                  

The former politician regarded the incident as matter for humour

 

Chris Packham's 'barmy' parakeets documentary hits raucous note with newspaper's TV critic

LAST night's Channel 4 TV documentary, Invasion of The Parakeets,  did not best impress Anita Singh, the arts and entertainments editor of The Daily Telegraph.

What galled the critic was the apparent suggestion by presenter Chris Packham  that those who expressed dislike for the birds might be racist.

In today's edition of the paper, Ms Singh describes the programme as "a barmy documentary which draws a parallel between green parrots and asylum-seekers".

She continues: "Thankfully, the xenophobia argument took up only a small proportion of the documentary.

"Mainly, Packham wanted to provide us with evidence that the species isn't doing great harm either to native bird  populations or to crops."

She adds: "Racism claims aside the programme was quite jolly and even-handed."

Bygone birding: tame Puffin waddled about unmolested by cats and dogs which feared its 'tremendous' bill

                                              

The following is an extract from The Birds of Iona and Mull (1890) by Henry Davenport Graham.

As their mode of nesting differs from the Guillemot’s and Razorbill’s, Puffins are more local in their choice of breeding places. 

Many of the islands, however, provide suitable spots for them. Some, like Staffa, in holes and crannies of the rock.

Others are crowned by banks of soft, unctious soil, grown over with grass and sea-pink, which are honeycombed by burrows of the puffins which have inhabited them for generations and have reared their young within sound of the ceaseless roaring of the surf which ever rolls under the feet of the frightful overhanging crags. 

When intruded upon in these their dangerous haunts, they show little signs of timidity. 

The old birds remain sitting on their eggs, with their grotesque faces and formidable bills protruding from the doors of their holes, prepared to guard their nest and administer a most formidable bite to any intrusive fingers. 

Others continue flying uneasily past the intruders which they do in a very swift and undeviating line of flight, their wings vibrating with insect-like rapidity, their red legs and paws sticking out behind, wide spread in a most ungraceful fashion. 

They sweep past, close along the face of the cliff, within a few feet of the visitors; then, swooping out seaward, they make a circuit, and so pass and repass again and again. 

This they all do in the same direction (with or against the sun), and they never cease all the time you remain, giving the appearance of an aerial Puffin procession. 

They never, however, come actually over the land,so that though any amount may be shot, they all go whirling down the abyss into the ocean beneath where they may be picked up by your comrade in the boat. 

They are certainly the most eatable of their tribe, and, in St Kilda, form an important part of the islander’s sustenance. 

At Lochgilphead, I saw little of the Puffin, though they came early in May in thousands which scattered themselves over Loch Fyne, all disappearing by the end of the month. 

These were only a division of the grand army progressing north. 

At this time, I often observed them, towards evening, fly in small flocks right up Loch Gilp; then, reaching its head, they make a sweep round it and stand out to sea again. 

At this point, Loch Fyne branches out into two arms like the letter Y. 

One runs up 30 miles to Inveraray; the other, a truncated one only of three miles, now terminates at Lochgilphead, but before the pre-historic fall of the sea-level ran through Glen Crinan and joined the Western Ocean. 

Engineering has re-united it by means of the Crinan Canal, but it seems to me that the Puffin’s instinct forbids them to fly across the few intervening miles of dry land, and the attempts of these pioneering parties at discovering a north-west sea passage are futile, and so the great host must turn south again to double the Mull of Kintyre.

I have reared  young Puffins successfully.

One became very tame and attempted to follow me. He was unmolested by cats or dogs when he waddled about, as they had a proper respect for his tremendous bill.

 Before he entirely lost all his down, his appearance was, if possible, more comical, as a tuft adhered to his head like a chancellor’s wig.

Are Ring-necked Parakeets the illegal immigrants of the bird world? Chris Packham investigates

                                                       

Ring-necked parakeets are among Britain's most divisive birds, loved by some for their beauty but  blamed by others for harming native wildlife. In a programme to be screened tomorrow, Monday, on Channel 4 TV Chris Packham  investigates claims that they steal nesting sites and damage crops as he asks whether these newcomers are ecological villains or unfairly targeted outsiders? Here is the Q&A to promote the programme which starts at 8pm

Ring-necked parakeets divide opinion like few other birds. Why do you think people feel so strongly about them?

I think the first thing is that they're highly conspicuous and not a species that you can miss. They're bright green, they scream, and they fly around in daylight in public places. I think then there is a genuine underlying xenophobia in life which makes us fearful of change and new things. So, the arrival of a species like this, or at least the increase in its numbers, is something which triggers people's fear, and that's what we explore. Change, and a fear of change is something which underpins this programme, and so much more of our contemporary life, and I do think it's something that we need to address. If we address that, which is something of a side issue for many people, maybe that will stimulate them to think, 'well, I need to keep an open mind, or at least make sure that I'm very well informed before I come up with views about more immediate impacts within our life'.

What is it about them that captures your imagination?

It is there the fact that they've come here. I'm excited by the fact that we have a species which has come into the UK and has rapidly increased in numbers.

Their numbers have exploded in recent decades. Should this be of concern?

I don't think we should be concerned. We need to look at the science, and what is it about this species and Britain's environment which has facilitated the species' success.

Do we have enough evidence to know what impact parakeets are having on Britain's native birds?

We have growing evidence, and we are working with the scientist Dr. Amy Leedale, who's doing most specific targeted work on that. The evidence that we do have isn't specific to parakeets in particular, and their impact. It's looking at broader data, not that that shouldn't be a means of understanding the basic ideas about what's happening, and equally perhaps it should be an early warning system, but the early warning system shouldn't lead to us jumping to conclusions. It should lead to more scientific research, and that's what we say in our programme. 

Your film features people who are taking action against parakeets. Were you surprised by the strength of feeling they provoke?

Very sadly I wasn't surprised because I see that in our everyday life where people act through fear and ignorance and take extreme action because they are ill-educated or ill-informed and that again is why we've made the programme. We want to draw a line in the sand with this and say, look, this is the situation as it is at the moment, from a from a purely impartial, independent scientific perspective. This is what you should be formulating your opinions on. And was I surprised? No. Was I sick of? Of course I was, because what we're looking at is just wanton acts of vandalism. 

How should we approach the question of controlling a species that many people have come to love? 

It's not just about the biology and the ecology, it is about the cultural impact and the cultural connection that people have with species. An enormous number of people like the grey squirrels in their parks and gardens,  and the foxes, because they are entry-level wildlife for them, that's what they have in their environments, that they don't live in an extraordinarily rich biodiverse environment, and none of us do. Our  research shows  that people have a strong connection to them - they fill their lives which otherwise wouldn't be there.

After making this film, where do you stand on the future of Ring-necked Parakeets in Britain? Should we celebrate them, manage them or simply learn to live alongside them? 

We should certainly learn to live alongside them. I think it would be reckless, culturally insensitive, and economically unviable to remove them, so we have to learn to live alongside them. In fact, I think that we should celebrate them for the time being, and if it turns out that at some stage in the future they, the changing population and or its behaviour means that they damage that natural human interest then we would have to learn how to manage them hopefully in a passive way, but if not, then in a humane way. But I think we're far away from that. 

Do you think there's an element of what some have called "ornithological xenophobia" in the way parakeets are portrayed?

I do - I think it's an ugly side to life which we see  in broader society. There's very, very definitely a tendency towards that. 

When we describe species as "native" and "non-native", is there a risk that the conversation becomes more emotional than scientific?

Yes, language is incredibly important. Native and non-native, I think, are perfectly valid terms. So is invasive, so long as we understand what they mean and why we use those terms again in a scientific way, and not in a way which is designed to stir up antipathy and cause divisiveness or fuel hatred  without any proper access to the truth. Language is incredibly important in our culture. That's why it's used so skilfully by those people who do want to generate division, and so on and so forth. We have to be very careful with the way that we use our words.

Do you think the debate around parakeets tells us as much about people as it does about birds? 

Very much so  And I think you can see in our programme. You can see hatred and you can see love and you know it from someone who loves life and all life, everything in the creeps,  stings and slimes. You  know, which side I'm going to fall on, and ultimately when it comes down to the individuals, it's not the squirrels' fault or the parakeets' fault that they're here. We should look at our behaviour, our attitudes and practices, and not focus our ire on a bird which has, against its will, been transported to the UK and established itself here. It simply wants to do what all other life wants to do, which just survive. 

Huge billboard was obstructing nest cavities of Alpine Swifts until public pressure led to its removal

Happily this giant billboard on the side of the Albania  Palace building  in Belgrade has been removed after the the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia - plus residents - pointed out that it was obstructing the openings of cavities used as nesting sites by Alpine Swifts. Citizens reportedly gathered in the centre of Belgrade to celebrate the removal with applause and relief.

                                            

A career spent campaigning for nature - especially Curlews - earns prestigious award for Mary Colwell

Hats off to Mary Colwell for being awarded the MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List! This prestigious accolade results from her many years spent serving nature in numerous different ways but specifically in founding the conservation and campaigning organisation, Curlew Action. Ms Colwell, who is also a nature writer and former producer of wildlife programmes for the BBC, says she is "very honoured and moved" to receive  the award.

Curlews - in need of all the help they can get

 

The cruel and the kind - two sides of human nature as revealed in today's national newspapers

                                                                 

What a contrast! Some people behave badly to birds  and some behind kindly. Reports that appeared today in the pages of The Sun (above) and in  The Daily Telegraph.                                          

Birds were seldom prominent in the art of David Hockney, but two studies in particular stand out for their impact

                                                          

Birds seldom took centre stage in the paintings of acclaimed Bradford-born artist David Hockney, who sadly died this week, but there were notable exceptions - notably in his study of a multi-coloured macaw and a black-and-white of a boy within the egg of a Raven.                                                      

Did cute cover picture of Robins help novelist win 20026 Women's Prize for Fiction?

                                             

Authors and publishers seem to have twigged that it seldom does any harm to have one or more birds depicted on the cover of a book. This week, The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans, won the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction, while in 2014, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  

'It was incomplete' - RSPB explains why feasibility study on Red-backed Shrike was never published

 

 Red-backed Shrikes are common in parts of northern France and the Netherlands but the species forsaken Britain. This handsome adult male was actually snapped in Kosovo. Photo Julian Ruizp via Wikimedia Commons

HAVE conservationists given up on restoring the Red-backed Shrike  as a breeding species to Britain?

Time was when, in summer, the migrant bird was not infrequently to be seen in shrubby, insect-rich habitats in southern England.

If there were plenty of bee-attracting flowers and areas grazed by cattle, so much the better.

But, probably as a result of changing farming practices, shrikes went into decline and, by the 1980s, they were mostly only being seen as migrants on passage.

In July, 2021, the RSPB advertised for someone to conduct a six-month study "to research the feasibility of reintroducing an emblematic, but now largely absent, species".

It is understood an appointment was made and the survey carried out, so why has nothing been published?

When, earlier tis month, the question was put to the RSPB's species recovery team, back came the reply  "There was some research carried out but this was incomplete and the report was not published." 

So is that the end of the  story? Not necessarily so.

In his recently-published book, The Return of The Oystercatcher (Picador, £20),  American birder-investigator Scott Weidensaul describes his visit to the Knepp estate in Sussex where he met Britain's rewilders-in-chief, Charlie and Issy Tree.

He writes: "Buoyed by the success of White Storks, Charlie and Issy have been contemplating other reintroductions.

"One that is high on their list is the Red-backed Shrike which has virtually disappeared from Britain.

"A single male set up a territory for some weeks at Knepp in 2017 but did not stay.

"Given the species' habitat requirements - scrubland and thorn thickets amid diverse grassland full of bumble bees, grasshoppers, beetles and dragonflies  - Knepp would seem to be an ideal habitat, and a feasibility study for the potential reintroduction suggests the estate could support at least 25 pairs.

"But until a proposed Shrike Conservation Landscape programme to create other Knepp-like oases takes off, the reserve remains  an island in a sea of intensive agriculture."

The Wryneck says: Having commissioned and paid for the research, it seems a shame that the RSPB has chosen not to share the findings whether or not they are complete. Even if a reintroduction project were found to be completely unrealistic, it would surely be of interest and value to have insights into a species that the RSPB acknowledges to be 'emblematic'.

It's Green, not Great Spotted! Auction house changes woodpecker identification just hours before sale

Name that species! The bronze artwork

AN auction house re-identified a woodpecker species after being alerted to its mistake by this blog.

Salisbury-based  Woolley and Wallis at first remained insistent that a bronze sculpture by Geffrey Dashwood depicted a Great Spotted Woodpecker rather than a Green Woodpecker as claimed by The Wryneck.

But just hours before the sale on June 2, the firm acknowledged its lapse and changed the ID of Lot 332 to Green Woodpecker which is a scarcer species.

In the event, the  piece - which  measures 19.2cm x 11.2cm x 6.2cm - sold for a handsome £3,810.

This was an excellent result for both auction house and sculptor because the pre-sale guide price was that the hammer would fall at somewhere between £2,000 and £3,000. 

Message from new Scottish Highlands movie: 'even a bad day in nature is better than a good day in the office'

 

Glad to be in the great (and wild) outdoors - Chris (Bart Harder) and Lluis (Carles Pulido)

                                       

ANYONE who enjoys birding in wild landscapes will warm to The North, a film that  is currently  being screened in some UK cinemas before its release in the United States this September.

The star of the film is Nature - particularly the Highland Way and the Cape Wrath Trail in the Scottish Highlands.

The action follows two old pals, Chris and Lluis, on their trek in mostly challenging conditions as they reconnect with one another, not always happily.

But considering the majestically scenic backdrop, it is perhaps surprising that birds seldom feature.

We have to wait for an hour into the movie before the first - a Great Spotted Woodpecker - is heard drumming.

Later to be  heard are, for instance,  Long-tailed  Tit, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow and Redshank, but is not until near the end before we see action in the form of swooping Herring Gulls and Arctic Terns plus, distantly,  a couple of shorebirds, possibly Sanderling, Ringed Plover or Knot.

There are no soaring Golden Eagles - that would be too simplistic for director Bart Schrijver - but perhaps sightings of a few Curlew might not have come amiss.

This is an excellent film which seeks to remind its audience that, as one of the minor characters declares: "There is nothing like a long walk in nature to bring out the truth in you."

Cast and crew take a breather from filming 

Filming in Milnavie at the start of the walk 

The majesty of the Scottish Highlands

Chris tries to catch a glimpse of the drumming woodpecker

Filming on the  beach at Cape Wrath as the action draws to its  close

Bumper grant announced to conserve and protect habitats on vital cross-border migration route

 

White Storks on the move along the African-Eurasian Flyway - photo: BirdLife International

BIRDLIFE International has this week welcomed a £7.5-million grant towards habitat restoration and protection work in Romania, Bulgaria, Iraq, Jordan, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Over three years, the money will be allocated along the migration route known as the African-Eurasian Flyway.

Says BirdLife International's chief executive, Martin Harper: "This grant is a major milestone in our efforts to unite and strengthen conservation across borders.

"Working with our 80 partners on the African-Eurasian Flyway route, we are keen to ensure that an ecologically coherent network of sites is protected, managed and restored to make sure that birds can fly free from harm. 

" We will do this by mobilising finance, restoring critical habitats and ensuring new infrastructure is safe for nature."

 We are incredibly grateful to ERF for supporting our ambition of a world where migratory bird populations are thriving, connecting and inspiring people across countries and continents."

 

The monies are coming from an organisation known as the Ecological Restoration Fund.

RSPB announces two Scottish island acquisitions to expand its portfolio of 200-plus reserves

                                 

The RSPB today announced that it had acquired two seabird-rich islands off the East Coast of Scotland. Bass Rock (above)  is famous for its huge colony of nesting Gannets, while Craigleith Island (below) is where thousands of Puffins breed each year. The society has not disclosed how much it paid for the two islands but is has thanked the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, plus various individual donors, for their contributions. The vendor of both islands is Sir Hugh Dalrymple. Pictures: RSPB.

                                                              

How to encourage Western Reef Herons to roost in North Wales - plant plenty of coconut trees!

                                                    

Western Reef Heron - this slate-grey morph example was snapped in Bahrain by Charles J. Sharp - photo via Wikimedia Commons 

IT is not quite clear whether it is  Simon Hugheston-Roberts or Lewi Burgess who takes the honours for having detected Britain's first Western Reef Heron at the weekend.

Some might fancifully describe  the moment as  the ornithological equivalent of being the first man on Mars.

The bird was firstly seen feeding in  Foryd Bay, Caernarfonshire, then in nearby Caernarfon in the shadow of the castle.

Since then it has been watched by hundreds of twitchers whose arrival has brought a boost to the local tourist industry including hotels, guesthouses, pubs and restaurants. 

With no historic British ornithological literature to provide context, description and perspective, where better to turn to than an article in the 1987 edition of the  journal of the Bombay Natural History Society whose authors focus on the bird's habitats in Western India?

The authors write: "The Pithalpur colony located in an agricultural farm  was the biggest colony in this area. 

"The farm comprised of a farm house, couple of barns and a crop field and had about 250 coconut trees  planted on its border. 

"The farmer told us that they first nested in the farm in 1978, and since then they have been nesting every year. 

"During one of our visits in winter we found that many reef herons were roosting on the same coconut trees. 

"Because of the birds’ nesting and roosting activities, there was considerable loss of flowers and young coconuts. 

"The coconuts were also damaged by the birds’ excreta dropping on them.

"We saw that the birds’ excreta had dripped down the surface of most of the coconut fruits. 

"The farm owner estimated that he lost about 50 per cent of his coconut crop every year because of the herons.

"Despite the heavy loss of income, the farmer and his family tolerated the birds and did not molest them in any way. 

"The herons and their broods on top of the tall coconut trees were almost free from predation."

The sharp-eyed authors, R.M. Naik and B.M. Parasharya, continue:  "At another location,  New Port,  we found the biggest concentration of the nesting Reef Herons

"The port area is fenced  and human entry to it is severely restricted. 

"The area includes docks, warehouses, administrative and office buildings but no residential quarters. 

"The birds nested on Mangroves, Peepul, Peeper, Tamarind, Casuarina, Mesquites  and Portia trees growing on the roadsides close to  buildings 

"Although most of the herons' nests were low and the port area was buzzing with activities during certain hours, the herons remained apparently undisturbed.

"The birds would readily come down from the nesting tree to the ground to pick up nest material. 

"They were actively protected by the dock workers and no one would dare to molest them. 

"The dock workers had even nursed a large number of herons that were stunned by shock and cold during the cyclone which hit Saurashtra in November 1982. 

"Occasional predation of the herons' eggs and chicks by the domestic cat and the House Crow occurred.

"White Ibis was a serious competitor of the herons for the nesting sites. 

"The ibis came into breeding condition later than the herons and occupied the heron nests after ejecting the nest contents. 

"The ibis, however, preferred to nest on top of the tall trees, so that the heron nests built lower in the same trees, and also those on short trees, were not affected. 

"Another reason for the success of the New Port colony is that the nesting birds had rich and extensive feeding grounds available close to the colony. 

"During the low tide, the mudflats, except the channel dredged for an approach of ships to dock, became exposed almost up to the horizon, and birds avidly fed on the mudskippers and other fish from the mudflats and tidal pools."

But back to the star visitor to Wales. 

It will be a while before the record is confirmed by the various  authorities pending which time there is always a chance that some spoilsport will deem the Western Reef Heron to be a sub-species of the Little Egret with which it sometimes hybridises.

How The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported the momentous event

                                  

Caernarfon Harbour and Castle - photo A.J. Marshall via Wikimedia Commons

Delightful painting of water-feeding birds sells for more than double pre-sale estimate at Salisbury auction

                                                  

Seaby's study was one of star Lots in Salisbury auction

THIS unframed watercolour-on-linen, said to be of two Water Pipits, sold for more than double the highest estimate at an auction held earlier this month by Salisbury-based Woolley and Wallis.

Including the buyer's premium, the price achieved was £610 compared with a pre-sale estimate of £200 and £300.

The artist was Allen William Seaby (1867-1953), best known as an ornithological painter and printmaker who was also professor of fine art at the University of Reading.

It was he, too, who provided the illustrations for two Ladybird books - British Birds and Their Nests (1953) and A Second Book of British Birds and Their Nests (1954).

Seaby was the grandfather of another wildlife illustrator who became even more celebrated - Robert Gillmor.

Flamingoes and other wildlife under threat from Albanian tourism development backed by country's premier

Residents in Albania  have taken to the streets of the capital, Tirana, to protest against a  £1.2-billion luxury tourism development that  will destroy precious wildlife habitat including the Narta Lagoon area on the western coast which is home to Flamingoes and well over a hundred other bird species, many of them rare. Foreign investors, including President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, are understood to be involved with the venture which also has the backing of Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama. 

*Photo: PPNEA (The Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania)

Swifts pay the price as catalogue of oversights leads to demolition of buildings where they once nested

                                         

Regent House - home to nesting Swifts

DID  negligence by naturalists contribute to the  demise of a Swift colony in Surrey?

It has emerged that wildlife organisations failed to raise the  alert  on Swift welfare ahead of  the demolition of buildings which have long provided a home for some 20 pairs of  nesting Swifts 

Surrey Wildlife Trust and Natural England were both consulted about the proposal to redevelop the site, Regent House  - which is on the approach road  Dorking Railway Station - but neither raised any concerns.

As part of an ecological appraisal, two site surveys were carried out by consultants acting for the developers.

But these were carried out on February 17 and September 28 when the birds would have been in Africa.

The consultants acknowledged that the buildings earmarked for demolition may have been summer home to Swifts, but maintained that mitigation could be provided by installing on the proposed  replacement building a single nest box between three and four metres from the ground.

It is understood that Surrey Police wildlife unit and Mole Valley District Council are now investigating to establish what went wrong and whether there has been any breach of legislation.                                

It's not as if there had been no warning. Signage was displayed prominently in advance of the works 

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Artist's impresson of how the  site might be redeveloped to provide 126  flats -  but there is no planning condition requiring the installation of Swift bricks

The Wryneck says: This is casebook example of how the welfare of wildlife - in this instance Swifts - is compromised regularly by deficiencies in the planning system. The consultants  carried out the surveys in  the wrong seasons and gave duff advice on Swifts' nesting requirements. Natural England and Surrey Wildlife Trust seem both to have been asleep at the wheel. And, particularly at such a prominent location, why did no local birder have the foresight to raise any  concerns with the district council whose planning case officer, unforgivably, approved the demolition with no safeguarding mitigation. After this sorry event, there has been plenty of tut-tutting in both local and national media. Doubtless there will be  inquiries into what went wrong. One of the main lessons is that planning officers, not just at Mole Valley council but everywhere, need to be properly trained on ecology and wildlife-safeguarding, to reduce their chances of making damaging decisions.