New gin from Wiltshire distillery honours the county's most revered bird - the great bustard

This Special Edition gin from Wiltshire's Downton Distillery has been created in collaboration with Great Bustard Group. It is distilled with 12 botanicals including certain herbaceous plants that are part of the great bustard diet. These include rocket, Alfalfa, red clover, yarrow and nettle leaf, all found on the Wiltshire Downs and Salisbury Plain where the bustards roam. From the £39 sale of every 70cl bottle, £10  is donated to the Great Bustard Organisation.

Amusing or tasteless? Or both? Anthropomorphic taxidermy set to go under the auctioneer's hammer

                                                          

Queen Victoria was said to have been 'amused' by  anthropomorphic taxidermy. If so, she would doubtless have allowed herself a chuckle at two pieces that are due to go under the hammer tomorrow (Friday December 15) at a sale being conducted by Tennants of Leyburn  in Yorkshire. Bidding is expected to be brisk. The fox is expected to fetch between £600 and £800, while the pre-sale  guide price for the badger  is £500-£700. 

American film coming to UK cinemas next February will explore mysteries of mallard migration

 

Come February, British cinemas are set to screen an American-made film which stars a family of ducks that live on a pond in New England. The action is centred on the escapades of the birds - two adults, two ducklings - after they decide to migrate for a holiday in Jamaica, stopping off, on their way, in New York City. Definitely a movie for the youngsters (of all ages).

How did this rare White's thrush come to be in the saleroom of an auction house in Yorkshire?

 

White's thrush - how did this bird come by its plight? 

A WHITE'S thrush has been showing  well this week at a site in North Yorkshire.

Trouble is that it's a stuffed and mounted bird, currently within the premises of leading auction company Tennants of Leyburn.

A note in the catalogue describes the bird  as "a full mount adult with head turning very slightly to the right, stood upon a painted simulated rock, above grit covered groundwork, overall height 22cm, mounted upon an ebonised base".

It is not clear how the bird, a rarity in Britain, has come to be at its present location, but it is believed to be of relatively contemporary origin - that is to say, not of Victorian era vintage. 

The pre-sale guide price seems modest - £70-£90.

Also in the Natural History and Taxidermy  sale, to be held on Friday December 15,  are other taxidermy exhibits including a hawfinch, described as "circa late 20th Century", a wall-cased trio of waxwings, dated 2019, and a cased pair of snow buntings thought to date from the early 20th Century.

                                             

Hawfinch - pre sale guide price: £150-£200

                                             

Waxwings - pre-sale guide price: £350-£400

                                                    

Snow buntings - pre-sale guide price:  £150-£200

The Wryneck says: However expertly they are prepared, mounted and displayed, there is always a certain sadness about stuffed birds. And there are sometimes lingering questions, especially about more recent specimens. How did the lifeless birds come by their fate? By what means were they acquired by the taxidermist? It would be interesting to know the answers to these questions. Perhaps some clarification might be helpful.

RSPB seeks 'Plovers-in-Peril' officer to monitor and safeguard shorebirds on Norfolk coast

 

Oystercatchers - Norfolk population in peril, says RSPB 

A SIX-month post as a 'Plovers-in-Peril' officer is up for grabs in Norfolk.

According to the job description issued by the RSPB, the aim is to reverse the decline in two particular species - ringed plover and oystercatcher.

The position, which is based at the RSPB's Titchwell Marsh reserve, carries an equivalent  salary of  £21,255 - £22,818 per annum.

Says the conservation charity: "Plovers in Peril was launched in 2021, in partnership with Wild Ken Hill, to establish monitoring and species protection measures for beach-nesting birds. 

"With funding from the local borough council, we are now approaching our fourth season where we hope to continue to grow our volunteer team, empower local communities, develop innovative opportunities for collaborative working and generate a bigger voice for beach-nesting birds in North-west Norfolk.

"Your work will help more than just birds - you will be working on a project that seeks to cultivate positive change for all the special wildlife inhabiting this important coastal habitat.

"Our vision is to create a place where wildlife and people thrive. 

"As the seasonal field officer, you will support all aspects of on-the-ground delivery throughout the busy breeding season (March-August) in line with project objectives. 

"You will be based at RSPB Titchwell Marsh but will work predominantly at the project site - a 4km stretch of shingle beach between Snettisham and Heacham on the edge of The Wash."

Expiry date for applications: Sunday, 7 January, 2024.

Adds the RSPB: "We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 16 January 2024."

For further information please contact wynona.legg@rspb.org.uk.

                                           

Ringed plovers - nests are vulnerable to disturbance by other beach users

Urban expansion threatens many bird species but it also creates valuable opportunities

 

Little egret - a bird increasingly to be seen in our towns and cities 

WHAT impact is the increasing urbanisation of the  planet having on birds?

This question will be explored at the annual conference of the  British Ornithologists'  Union to be held at Nottingham University between April 9-11 next year.

Says the brochure promoting the event: "The expansion of urban environments is a key driver of global biodiversity loss.

"It is likely to have an increasing impact in the future since urban environments can profoundly affect the composition and persistence of avian communities. 

"As well as the  loss of natural habitats, birds are likely to face exposure to new predators and stressors such as noise, light and air pollution.

"But urban habitats also present opportunities. 

"Milder climates and the availability of new resources enables some species to flourish."

The document continues: "With 20 per cent of all bird species occurring in cities, it is essential that researchers, conservationists and policy makers now come together to share their knowledge if  avian diversity can be maintained in a changing world. " 

Speakers booked include:

* Fran Bonier (Queen’s University, Canada):  Hormones in the city: do endocrine traits affect urban tolerance?

* Pablo Capilla-Lasheras (University of Glasgow): Causes and consequences of variation in the gut microbiome of urban and non-urban birds: insights from correlational and experimental data

* Dan Chamberlain (University of Turin) Linking bird communities and socio-economic status in urban areas

* Hugh Hanmer (British Trust for Ornithology):  Urban bird disease dynamics: investigating the role of gardens and supplementary feeding

* Lucas M. Leveau (CONICET-University of Buenos Aires): Flying colours over the city: the effect of urbanisation on the interspecific variation in plumage colour

* Ian MacGregor-Fors (University of Helsinki, Finland): Facing the urban tapestry: urbanisation as a spatio-temporally filtering force for birds

* Barbara Tomotani (Arctic University of Norway): Evolutionary ecology of biological clocks: insights from urban birds

More details at:

Urban birds | #BOU2024 - British Ornithologists' Union

New Environment Secretary: 'I find it heart-rending to see habitats of tigers and other species being destroyed'

Steve Barclay - banging drum for orangutans

NEW Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has made what is probably his first utterance on wildlife issues since taking on the post last month.

He said: "I find it heart-rending to see the way illegal deforestation is destroying the habitats of tigers, jaguars, orangutans and many other endangered species.

"I know many people across the world feel the same. Globally, we lose forests equivalent to the size of about 30 football pitches every minute."

In the New Year, the Government says it intends to introduce legislation to ban  companies, notably supermarkets, from sourcing goods produced as a result of   illegal deforestation.

This legislation will see businesses that have a global annual turnover of over £50-million and use over 500 tonnes of regulated commodities a year banned from using them if sourced from land used illegally. 

These businesses will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains and to report on this exercise annually for purposes of  transparency.  

Continued Mr Barclay: "We will be  cleaning up supply chains to make sure that big businesses in the UK aren’t responsible for illegal deforestation.

"Shoppers need to be confident that the money they spend is part of the solution, rather than part of the problem."