BYGONE BIRDING (4) SLAUGHTER OF THE SEABIRDS ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST

Blasted from the cliffs - anything with wings was shot at

The following paragraph is extracted from The Guardian of November 18, 1858 

 “On a strip of coast eighteen miles long near Flamborough Head, 107,260 seabirds were destroyed by pleasure parties in four months.


"Of these, 2,000 were killed for their feathers to adorn women's hats, and 79,500 young birds died of starvation in nests. 


"Commander Knocker (of Bridlington Coastguard), there stationed, who reports these facts, saw two boats loaded above the gunwales with dead birds.

Kittiwake - killed both for sport and for millinery

"One party of eight guns killed 1,100 birds in a single week.”


Note: Public outrage at the slaughter of seabirds intensified such that, in 1869, it was outlawed, at least during the breeding season. This was largely through the detemination of a Bridlington clergyman. His forthright initiative is chronicled in a new e-book, Saving Britain's Seabirds : The Campaign to End Bird Murder on the UK Coastline (price £1 via Amazon/Kindle).

Shooting took place from land as well as vessel

APPEAL FOR SIGHTINGS OF 50 CURLEWS THAT WERE 'HEADSTARTED' AT SLIMBRIDGE IN SUMMER

Curlew feeding on Cleethorpes Beach - watch out for birds with rings on both legs

WATCH out for curlews 'headstarted' at Slimbridge, in Gloucestershire, during July.

Headstarting is the technique whereby eggs are taken under licence from nests - invariably on Ministry of Defence land - then  incubated in confinement to prevent them being predated by creatures such as rats.

The chicks remain in confinement until they are mature enough to be released into suitable habitats in the wild.

Curlew eggs - removed under licence from MoD land (photo: WWT)

The 50 birds in question could  turn up feeding anywhere - on muddy estuaries, on playing fields and even in cemeteries.

For ease of identification,  each bird has been fitted with a yellow ring at the top of the right leg and a white ring with a number at the top of the left leg.

The organisation behind the headstarting project is the Slimbridge-based Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) which is appealing for information on sightings.

It says: "Please include as much information as you can - date, time, location, ring number and what they were up to.

"Is it feeding? Is it in a high tide roost? We’d love to know.
"If you manage to capture a picture of the bird - even better!"

Although common locally in winter, UK-wide curlew numbers have declined by over 65 per cent  since 1970.

Continues the WWT: "Modern landscapes are making it increasingly difficult for adults to rear enough chicks to fledging age.

"Because curlew live for a relatively long time, the hit on their population hasn't been obvious, as adult birds are still readily seen - but the lack of new chicks is becoming more and more apparent.

"Predators are having a major impact. Curlew eggs and chicks are predated by mammals and birds.

"This is a natural process, but some of these predators – such as foxes and crows - are more abundant in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, and there’s simply too much predation for the curlew population to sustain.

"The efficiency of modern farming, along with a warming climate, means that hay and silage crops are harvested earlier by larger, faster modern machinery. In some places, eggs and chicks accidentally fall victim to the mower.

"Breeding curlews favour open, usually damp, grassland and heaths, which provide safe nest sites and places for both adults and chicks to feed.

"But over recent decades, the land has become drier, more uniform and supports fewer insects, making it harder for curlews and their chicks to find food.

"The curlew is now regarded as the most pressing bird conservation priority in the UK where we hold a quarter of the world’s population.

"Its  decline  is not just the loss of a valuable wetland species, but a significant cultural and heritage loss too.

"We are working with farmers and landowners, conservationists and communities to improve the curlews’ chances."

Anyone who detects one of the ringed birds is urged to email the info to: curlew@wwt.org.uk

Curlew cutie - one of the headstarted chicks (photo: WWT)

BYGONE BIRDING (3): PUGNACIOUS HOUSE SPARROWS SENT RATS SCURRYING FOR SAFETY

From The Zoologist, Vol 16, 1858

Note on sparrows attacking rats

While sitting at breakfast one day, in the latter part of last December, my attention was drawn to some ten or twelve house sparrows which were fluttering about in a strange manner on the roof of an adjacent stable at a particular spot where a water-gutter joined the roof. 

I presently observed a large rat emerge from the gutter on to the roof, when it was fiercely attacked by all the sparrows, which surrounded it, drove it down the roof, and appeared to have entirely got the mastery over it.

But suddenly it made its escape by rushing down a waterpipe which led from the roof into a drain at the foot of the stable. 

The sparrows then resumed their post at the spot where this rat had first appeared, and very soon a second rat came out on to the roof, at the same place where the other one had first shown itself.

The second rat was attacked by the sparrows even more fiercely than the first, and it was not without two severe struggles and one vain attempt that it succeeded in gaining the same pipe in which its predecessor had taken refuge.

The sparrows appeared much disconcerted at the escape of their enemy. 

The above was communicated to me (in substance) by Mr G.W. Guymer, who is an intelligent and trustworthy person in this parish. 

J.H.Gurney MP
Catton,
Norfolk. 

February 23, 1858.

ESCAPED RAPTOR SIGHTED HIGH IN THE TREES OF NORTH- EAST LINCOLNSHIRE VILLAGE

Surveying its surroundings - the escaped raptor

ANYONE lost a Harris hawk?
This escapee was spotted in tall trees  in the North-east Lincolnshire village of Humberston, near Cleethorpes,  at lunchtime today.
The bird was being mobbed by two magpies, one of which approached close enough to aim a peck - at which point the huge raptor flew off to another tree, terrifying a group of perched woodpigeons which scattered from the branches in panic.
The Harris  hawk is a native of North America and  one of the most popular birds of prey among UK falconers.

BYGONE BIRDING (1): 'FAIR EXCHANGE IS NO ROBBERY'

Great spotted woodpecker - eggs laid in vain

Letters published in the January, 1869, edition of The Zoologist


Nidification of Woodpecker

On the 8th of May last, knowing a woodpecker's nest, I enlarged the hole by cutting sufficiently to admit my arm, hoping to find eggs, but was disappointed. 

Two days after, on passing the spot and seeing the bird fly out of its hole, I put my hand in and found to my surprise two eggs. 

These I took, and, acting on the principle of " exchange is no robbery," substituted blackbird's eggs. 

This exchange went on for the next three days.

 On the 15th, however, I found the blackbird's eggs, together with one of their own (laid that morning), turned out and broken. 

Nevertheless, next morning I took another egg from the nest, and not having one with me for substitution, I left the nest empty. 

On the 21st I got four more, having taken in all eleven, not including the one broken. 

G.W.P. Moor
Great Healings
Suffolk

November 13, 1868. 

***

Great Black Woodpecker in Leadenhall Market

I am indebted to Mr. Gatcombe who has been successful in obtaining some of our rarest birds in the London markets) for an unskinned specimen of the great black woodpecker, obtained by him in Leadenhall on the 6th of November.

Mr. Gatcombe supposes it was from Sweden as it came with some capercaillie, but the dealer who had it said that it was consigned
to him from Hull. 

The stomach was remarkably thin, and contained (as Mr. Cordeaux, who examined it, informs me) nothing but turpentine and insect remains.  

J. H. Gurney, Jun. 

***

Great Black Woodpecker 

I lately received, through the kindness of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. the stomach of this bird to dissect. 

This stomach, the muscular coat of which was very thin, smelt very strongly of turpentine, and contained a dark, thick, oily fluid, which I believe was almost pure turpentine. 

It was well filled with insects, all of one sort: they are probably the larvae of the snake-fly  or some closely-allied species. 

John Cordeaux
Great Cotes
Ulceby,
Lincolnshire

November 18, 1868. 

***

Great Black Woodpecker in Hampshire

I have  just received a letter stating that a great black woodpecker (male) was shot a few days since, at Benstead, in Hampshire. 

My informant (Smithers) had the bird in his hand before it was skinned. 

I am none the more certain, however, that it was shot at the place mentioned for T have known many instances of rare British birds being sent to our markets in the flesh, and from the markets sent into the country for the purpose of deceiving the unwary. 

Still the statement may be true, and I will leave no stone unturned to ascertain if such be the case. 

John Gould

* Anyone visiting Leadenhall Market so frequently as I do (being compelled twice a day to pass the entrance) will admire the unquestionable honesty of the dealers as demonstrated by the excessive paucity of the records of rarities source. It is marvellous how very small is the amount of records of rarities purchased in that great mart of Continental and British ornithology. 

Edward Newman
Editor

AMERICAN WARBLER REMOVED FROM ENDANGERED LIST AS NUMBERS RECOVER

Still vulnerable but the Kirtland's warbler has bounced back from near-extinction (photo supplied by ABC)

A BIRD which came close to extinction is now recovering.

According to a statement released today by the American Bird Conservancy, the Kirtland’s Warbler has been removed from its list of  endangered species by the US Federal Government.

Says ABC: "During the 1970s and 1980s, the warbler was on the brink of extinction, numbering fewer than 200 pairs. 

"But with help from the Endangered Species Act, and the efforts of government and non-profit partners, the Kirtland's Warbler fought back, increasing its numbers more than ten-fold.

"As we consider the loss of almost 30 percent of North America’s birds during the last 50 years, this is a remarkable achievement. "

However, this beautiful warbler remains a conservation-dependent species and one of the rarest migratory birds in the Americas. 

Adds the ABC: "If we fail to protect and manage habitat and to combat threats, it is sure to  slide right back toward extinction."

POOR BREEDING SEASON FOR GREY PARTRIDGES

Grey partridges struggled in June (photo: GWCT)

IT has been a disappointing  breeding season for a rapidly-declining farmland bird - the grey partridge.

This is the discouraging annual autumn count data coming out of the  Partridge Count Scheme and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Even in areas that are managed for grey partridges (those that ensure abundant habitat for nesting and brood-rearing as well as seasonal predator control), the number of chicks produced is below average.

In areas of the country without management for grey partridges, the situation is likely to have been worse.

It is likely that the low number of young is related to a lack of chick-food insects, in combination with intense rainfall and cold temperatures in June. 

The GWCT is urging caution from those who shoot partridges for sport.

It describes the situation as "serious" thought not  as bad as the devastating summer of 2012.

Says one of its senior scientists, Dr Julie Ewald: “In order to shoot sustainably, it is important to know what numbers of birds you have on the ground.”

“Many coveys seen this year have few young and are being joined by barren pairs or single adult birds, making the covey size appear closer to normal.  

"Make sure you spend time identifying both young and old in a covey, to ensure you don’t overestimate the number of chicks produced.”

The  trust  advise that  grey partridges should not be shot if there are  fewer than 20 birds per 250 acres 

Head of advisory services Dr Roger Draycott comments: “While it has been a disappointing year for grey partridge breeding success, given the right conditions, numbers can bounce back quickly.

Roger Draycott - hoping for a bounceback

"A cautious approach to shooting this autumn will benefit greys in the long-run.”

Farmers and land managers are being urged to give wild partridges extra food this winter and next spring to make sure they start the next breeding season in the best possible condition.

They are also being encouraged to provide  plenty of cover at the edges of fields for birds to hide in during the late winter and early spring as they can suffer losses of over 50 per cent when cover is in short supply.