Ornithological titles likely to attract interest at scarce books auction in Yorkshire next week

                                                                      

One of the illustrations in the impressive book

A RARE 1875-published book by John Gould is expected to be star attraction  at an auction  sale in Yorkshire next week.

Tennants of Leyburn expect the hammer to fall at between £15,000 and £20,000 on John Gould's self-published A Monograph of the Trogonidae or Family of Trogons which contains 47  hand-coloured lithographic plates.                                          

Another of Gould's masterpieces

Also in the sale on September 29 are Morris' British Game Birds and Wildfowl (with 60 hand-coloured plates) for which the pre-sale estimate is £250 - £350  and Volumes 1 - 10 in Collins' New Naturalist Series which is expected to fetch between £80 and £120.

Tennants can be contacted at  01969 623780 or enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk

                                                                     

                                                       

First in King's Series of National Nature Reserves 'launched' at ceremony in Cleethorpes, near Grimsby

                                                             

Natural England chief executive Marian Spain unveils a plaque at  Cleethorpes Leisure Centre   

THE  Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve has been  formally 'launched' at a ceremony in Cleethorpes, near Grimsby. 

It is the first in the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves and is due to be joined by 24 others over the next five years.

It covers  33 square kilometres along almost 30 kilometres of the Greater Lincolnshire coast containing a rich variety of sand dunes, saltmarshes, mudflats and freshwater marshes.

It brings together the  Donna Nook and Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes national nature reserves along with other sites such as the RSPB's Tetney Marshes reserve.

A statement from Natural England reads: "The new reserve is close to large urban populations, with Grimsby and Cleethorpes to the north, Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea to the south, and Louth and Lincoln to the west. 

"The reserve will help to unlock more opportunity for local people to access and experience the coastline for their own health and wellbeing, supporting communities to get active, providing education opportunities or learning new skills through volunteering or to simply recharge in nature."

                                                       

This outline map indicates the extent of the Lincolnshire reserve

King Charles meets young nature enthusiasts on a visit to Lincolnshire earlier this year 

That's fantastic, chaps! Natural England chairman Tony Juniper praises landowners as hen harrier numbers rise

Hen harrier chicks - what future after they leave the nest?

THE chairman of Natural England, Tony Juniper, has hailed the news that 141 hen harrier chicks have fledged in England this year - the seventh year in a row that numbers have increased.

Says he: "The continuing year-on-year increase in the number of hen harriers fledging from English nests is fantastic to see.

"It shows how, through partnership work, it is possible to reverse Nature’s decline even in the most challenging of circumstances. 

"This is testament to the volunteers, landowners and partner organisations who have worked so hard to support and monitor these birds."

                                            

Tony Juniper - breeding delight tempered by persecution concerns

There are now thought to be more hen harriers in England than at any time over the past 200 years.

In 2023, 54 nests were recorded (up from 49 last year), of which 36 were successful (34 last year). 

This represents an average of 3.9 chicks per successful nest. 

Northumberland had the highest number of nesting attempts, 17 in total and the highest increase on the year before where 9 nests were recorded. 

The Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale area also remained a stronghold with 15 nests recorded in 2023.

The fledglings recorded this year includes 24 'brood-managed' chicks - birds taken from six nests on grouse moors and reared to fledging in captivity. 

The brood management programme is controversial. Critics claim it represents appeasement of grouse moor owners, many of whom regard raptors as grouse-eating vermin.

But Natural England describes it thus: "It is an  experiment to see if removing hen harrier chicks from grouse moors for rearing in captivity for later release reduces conflict with game shooting and reduces persecution sufficiently to allow populations to recover. 

"Natural England is committed to a full scientific investigation of this technique and the brood management trial has recently been extended."

Despite his exultation at the apparent progress, Mr Juniper acknowledges that challenges remain.

He continues: "Despite all the good practice among many landowners illegal persecution still stubbornly persists. 

"We know that much more needs to be done to protect these precious birds and we remain absolutely committed to working with our partners to stamp out the despicable killing of these wonderful creatures that bring so much joy to so many people. 

"We will continue to work hard, improving monitoring and conservation management to achieve long term recovery."

The landowners and partner organisations praised by Mr Juniper have not been named - nor those sites where illegal persecution is though "stubbornly to  persist". 

More about Natural England's £875,000 hen harrier action plan is at :

Increasing hen harrier populations in England: action plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Friendly advice to Chris Packham: whatever the stuff is, don't get it on your binoculars - it's hard to shift

 

Keen to make a point - the popular (and controversial)  broadcaster  

THIS striking image is being used by Channel 4 TV and Chris Packham to promote a programme at 9pm on Wednesday (September 20).

Advance word is that the celebrity naturalist and campaigner will applaud the disruptive tactics of activist groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. 

The programme’s title is: Is It Time to Break The Law?

In the meantime, there is a more immediate question.

That picture: is it real oil or is it a substitute?

Chris Packham polarises opinion. You either hate him or love him. That being the case, it’s probably Marmite.

'Small feathery bombs of life with punky coifs and needle bills' - that's the crested tit to you and me

Amy-Jane Beer with a copy of her prize-winning book

"Either  I had the best dream or I just won the Wainwright Prize  for Nature Writing." That was the note of exultation sounded on social media by Yorkshire-based Amy-Jane Beer after her book, Flow, was last night named as winner of the prestigious award. Success brings with it a cash prize of unspecified amount. Below is a review of the book:

A "dart of supernatural blue fire" - that is the description of a kingfisher in flight by Amy-Jane Beer in her new book.

"It is in my sight for the single gasp of a second and gone, but its electrifying passage has lit the day completely anew, and I laugh in awe and disbelief."

The Flow is not a bird book - it is a highly informative, entertaining, lyrical (and sometimes hard-headed) exploration of the significance of rivers in art, literature, science history, politics, scripture, mythology, folklore and more.

However, it is whenever her prose turns to matters avian that Beer's writing is at its most colourful and captivating.

For instance, she describes the sedge warbler as a "gangster warbler", with "bold head markings like those close-cropped hairstyles favoured by urban cool kids" and a "loud and abrasive song whose whistles and flutes are interspersed with chucking, churring, buzzing raps".

On her travels in Scotland, she hears an unfamiliar call "like pennies dropping into a piggy bank".

Then comes the identification.

Crested tits!

"Small feathery bombs of life with punky coifs and needle bills, moving incessantly in a sequence of dart, peer, probe, repeat".

In effect, a short poem - terrific writing!

The Flow - Rivers, Water and Wildness is published by Bloomsbury at £18.99 in hardback or £10.99 in paperback.

Rare 'white' starling flies in from Russia to feast on sea buckthorn berries on Lincolnshire Coast

A rare ' white' starling has taken up residence in Cleethorpes on the Lincolnshire Coast. The bird is part of a flock of 100-plus that is believed to have flown to Britain from Russia or some other part of northern Europe. It has been seen feeding various on ploughed farmland, grass or, as here, on sea buckthorn berries.

Never mind the RSPB apology, pressure group opts to 'adopt' insulting message for its own campaigning

                                                    

Mark Avery - Wild Justice director

 

AN insulting image produced by the RSPB has now been adopted by the litigation-loving pressure group Wild Justice.

Although it did not immediately withdraw the message from its social media output, the society apologised for it following a backlash both internal and external.

In a statement, chief executive Beccy Speight said: "The reason that we issued our apology is that we do believe that the nature of public discourse does matter and that we have a role to play in that, and that we campaign on policy, not on people.

"So, the framing of that tweet, where we called out individual people, we felt was incorrect and inappropriate, and we apologise for that."

But now Wild Justice has decided that, whatever Ms Speight thinks, the message and image require wider publicity.

Enthuses one of its founder-directors, Mark Avery: "We thought it was so good that we've adopted it as our Twitter profile image for a while."

Is Wild Justice not breaching the RSPB’s copyright of the insulting message?

The latter is hardly like to sue - or even to object. The RSPB and Wild Justice share the same figurehead, Chris Packham, who is vice-president of the former and a founder-director of the latter.

                                           

The image that has been at the centre of the brouhaha

The Wryneck says: This decision by Wild Justice (Ruth Tingay, Mark Avery and Chris Packham) is regrettable. It lends credence to the widely-held belief that the group's activity is motivated not so much by concerns for the welfare of wildlife but by its three members own political prejudices. But campaigns are never won by hurling insults, least of all those that are poached from other organisations. Wild Justice has become too strident. It needs to fade out the personal abuse and name-calling in favour of a reasoned, mature and responsible approach to the issues of the day.