PUMPKINS FILLED WITH SEED OR SCRAPS CAN MAKE SUPERB BIRD FEEDERS

                                                                              

HERE'S an idea from the National Audubon Society - the American counterpart to our own RSPB!

It suggests that hollowed-out pumpkins can be used as bird feeders.

Materials:

• Small to medium sized pumpkin, up to 10 pounds

• Small sticks

• Twine or rope

• Birdseed
 
Steps:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half.

2. Scoop out the seeds, leaving a hollow inside with 1/2-inch thick shell wall.

3. Insert two sticks across the open pumpkin to create perches for the birds.

4. Knot two lengths of rope together at the centre and tack the knot to the bottom of the pumpkin feeder. Hang the other ends of the rope in your chosen feeder location.
 
5. Fill with birdseed. 

* The image, courtesy of Linda Goodman/ National Audubon Society, depicts  evening grosbeaks

More info (and a video) at:

https://www.audubon.org/news/pumpkin-bird-feeder-makes-happy-harvest-birds

SONGBIRDS AT SEA - NOTES FROM A CRUISE SHIP

Song thrush - it came  on board in the Bay of Biscay off the French Coast

The phenomenon of migrating birds seeking temporary refuge on ships is well- known.

 It was evident to guests on board the cruise ship, Columbus, flagship vessel of Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV), on its 15-night journey (October 12-27)  from Tilbury Docks, London, to Gibraltar, The Canaries, Madeira,  Portugal and back.
                                          

The cruise ship Columbus - part of the CMV fleet

From a bird’s eye perspective, the grass-coloured carpeting on the decks must have resembled fields or garden lawns while the swimming pools will have looked like ponds.

A field with a pond - how migrating birds might have perceived the open decks

                                          
 Among the confirmed species that hitched a ride south were robin, pied wagtail, song thrush, blackcap, skylark, plus at least one unidentified leaf warbler.

On the return, there were visits from at least one chaffinch (female) and one pied wagtail.

Typically. the birds (none of which seemed in distress) would fly around the vessel a couple of times or more before deciding whether and where to land.

The top railing was varnished and both too slippery and too broad to act as a perching point, so the narrower white railings beneath had to suffice

All the bird identified would venture on to the carpeting, while the blackcap also made brief forays on to the artificial, amenity shrubs in a vain quest for insect prey.

Most curious was the sight of the skylark shuffling its way along the deck under sunbeds regardless of their sunbathing occupants.

It is doubtful if there was any suitable food, and, the following morning, the bird was, alas, found dead.

It is though the other birds, having rested briefly, probably resumed their journeys - probably still hungry.

On one occasion, the robin flew into the ship’s Plantation self-serve bistro/restaurant where it was caught by a waitress and released outside.

There were also reports of whitethroat, grey wagtail. whinchat, redstart (and even of two quail) alighting, but these seem to have been speculative.

        It's carpet, not grass - so no worms to be found!

                                  

Unfamiliar habitat for this male blackcap

                                            

Vain quest for insects on this artificial shrub

This robin flew into the ship's restaurant

The skylark tries to make sense of its surroundings

No food to be found

Within 24 hours, the bird, sadly, was dead

MAN-MADE 'ISLAND' OFF SPURN POINT UP FOR GRABS

The fort - home to cormorants and  probable refuge for migrating birds

A MAN-made island located just off Spurn Point is up for auction.

The Haile Sands fort was built between 1915 and 1918 to provide a base for heavy gun batteries and anti-submarine netting against the threat of enemy incursions into the Humber Estuary.

Some 40,000 tons of concrete and steel are said to have gone into the construction, at a cost of around £1-5-million.

The fort was constantly manned during both world wars, and often under attack from aircraft and submarines.

The Army left in 1956, but the fort was still manned until the early 1960s.

It is believed its present owner bought it for about £350,000 two years ago with a view to carrying out a refurbishment project.

But this has not proceeded and the fort is due to go under the hammer, with a target price upwards of £100,000, at an auction in Sheffield on November 1.

From the vantage point of Cleethorpes and Humberston on the South Bank of the Humber,
cormorants and gulls can often  be seen perched on various parts of the fort's infrastructure.

In winter, it is probably used by peregrine falcons, and the chances are that it is a temporary refuge for many other species, including songbirds, especially at migration times.

More details at:
http://uniquepropertybulletin.co.uk/haile-sands-fort/

POPULAR BIRDING HOTSPOT HAS BECOME 'RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE' SAYS AUTHOR

 

OCTOBER birding on Scilly ain't  what it used to be.

So says John Lee in Bonkers Birding, his fast-paced and entertaining book about an activity that has kept him enthralled for most of his life

In several visits to the isles, he has seen many great species, but this location now appears to be dropping off his radar.

In a paragraph that won't best please the tourist board, he writes: "I am sad to say that October on Scilly now seems to be very much in decline.

"It has become ridiculously expensive to get and stay there. For the cost of a week's holiday, you could easily go abroad for half the price.

"I think many birders are now opting for the Continent or the States instead. It all just feels like a rip-off."

Lee is  Head of International Security at the European Investment Bank, based in Luxembourg, but he grew up, one of two sons of a GP in Castleton, Derbyshire, and studied English at Aberdeen University.

His varied career has also included spells as an inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police and at the Britannia Building Society prior to its takeover by the Co-op.

He is a dedicated fan of Sheffield United FC, but birding is his chief passion, and his book describes the highs (and a few lows) along the way.

There are fascinating accounts of the exotic birds he has seen on  holidays in, among other places, Cuba, Spain and The Canaries, but the strength of his writing is in its humour and his refreshing readiness to be controversial where he feels it is appropriate. It is a book with 'attitude'.

For example, he was not impressed with the hospitality, he  encountered at the "much-vaunted" Finca Santa Marta hotel in Spain's Extremadura region when he and his brother, Tom, turned up, "ravenously hungry", only to be told no food  was available.

 "What kind of establishment allows their paying guests to turn up mid-evening without giving them the opportunity to book a meal?  It was as if they just did not give a damn."

They found a restaurant nearby, but the next day were charged 12 euros each for a pack-up lunch they had  to make themselves from what was left of the buffet breakfast

Continues Lee: "The one breakfast we had was average, our room was not that clean and the customer service was poor."

Critics of Lee's approach will probably pinpoint his 'consumerist' approach to birding. He is an out-and-out twitcher, with a huge carbon footprint.

This is reflected in the section on his quest - in the company of hundreds more twitchers -  to glimpse a thick-billed warbler at a particular site on Shetland.

"The assembled throng panicked and charged en masse towards the area - it was like being in a herd of stampeding wildebeest."

There is no indication that the author has given anything back to the hobby or that he has much concern at how bird populations are being decimated both in the UK and overseas.

The sole exception comes in his reference to the cirl bunting of which he writes:

"Cirl buntings are very much confined to Devon in England, but they should be far more widespread.

"In Italy and Spain, you can see them all over the place, but their range in the UK has contracted hugely.It just shows how intensive farming and probably climate change has impacted the British countryside.

"It is a shame because cirl buntings are beautiful birds and our countryside deserves them as part of it."

 But there is no questioning his appreciation of birds as in his description of the peduline tit he saw in Stodmarsh (after first pleading with a "gobby" birder nearby to pipe down).

"It was a. cracking male on a reed mace, feeding away in glorious sunlight. A little-orange coated highwayman complete with a black robber's mask -  a miniscule Dick Turpin in feathers."

Bonkers Birding is published in paperback at  £8.99  by Brambleby Books (www.bramblebybooks.co.uk)

WELCOME DECLINE IN BIRD-TRAPPING IN FRANCE, CYPRUS AND MALTA - BUT ITALY REMAINS A WORRY

Greenshank - fewer trappings reported in Malta

AN upbeat note has been sounded on the campaign to combat  killing of songbirds in southern Europe and beyond.

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter has provided the following, mostly positive, update on the outcome of its activities this month.

France: Ortolan bunting trapping ceases
A CABS bird protection camp in the Southern French department of Les Landes at the beginning of September has produced a great result: we could not find a single active Ortolan buting trapping site. From hundreds of trapping sites in 2011, it went back to five active sites in 2017. Now there is apparently no active Ortolan trapping. For seven years, we have fought against the illegal capture of the endangered bunting species and have finally struck a victory despite extensive opposition from politicians and the criminal poachers!

Malta: Wader trapping dwindles
As in the south of France, a similar pattern is emerging on Malta: Thanks to our work, the illegal trapping of waders such as dotterel, ringed plover, sandpipers and greenshanks (using clapnets and decoys around artificial ponds) is almost at a complete standstill. Again, we rely on conducting aerial surveys to easily discover and film the nets. While we typically had more than 20 active traps five years ago, there are just four during this late part of summer. The sites have been reported to the police and we await the results of their follow-up investigations.

                                    

Maltese reprieve for ringed plovers

Brescia: Action against pied flycatcher poachers
In Northern Italy, Brescia, we usually run our bird protection camp in October. However, we deployed a small team to the region during late August/ early September to conduct field investigations and monitor the scale of illegal poaching of pied flycatchers with snap traps. The results were worrying. We found eight active trapping installations. Nine individuals were convicted, and 180 traps, 16 mistnets, 6 small clapnets and 26 bowtraps were seized as well as four shotguns and ammunition. The problem seems to be more widespread than we initially thought. A late summer action in Brescia will be included in our annual program again next year.
 

Pied flycatcher being released from trap (photo:CABS)

 Lebanon, Cyprus, Malta: Actions have started
Although our first small actions are now complete, our large protection camps have now begun. In Cyprus, the CABS teams were able to collect more than 160 limesticks and two nets. Two poachers were convicted . In Lebanon and Malta, our focus is on the protection of migratory birds of prey and storks. We will post regular updates on social media and on this website: 
http://www.komitee.de/en/actions-and-projects/bird-protection-camps/camp-diary-autumn-2018

It will definitely be a busy autumn!

HURRICANE FLORENCE - ITS IMPACT ON BIRDS

Due for monitoring - godwits, such as this bartail

 WHAT impact has this month’s Hurricane Florence had on birds?

The Audubon Society (the American equivalent of the RSPB) has been monitoring developments - not least because it has staff and bird reserves in South and North Carolina, the states worst affected.

In a statement this week, it says: “Shorebird and seabird migration is in full swing, and we will be monitoring local birds for any negative effects of the storm.

“Species include whimbrel a variety of godwits and sandpipers, piping and semipalmated plovers plus least, royal, gull-billed, common, and Forster’s terns

“Almost all 2018 nestlings have fledged, and we know that birds are very good at riding out - or flying away from - bad weather.

“As of last week, only one brown pelican colony in North Carolina still had unfledged chicks, but chances are good that these chicks will survive so long as they do not get separated from their parents.”

Staff and society premises escaped the worst of Florence, but there has been damage which will be assessed in due course.

The statement continues

• After the storm passes, as soon as it is safe to do so, Audubon staff will be surveying the damage.
• Storm surge, winds, waves, and floodwaters can deposit debris and trash onto delicate ecosystems.
• Floodwaters might wash pollutants from a variety of industries into local waterways and the surrounding habitats.
• Storm surges can erode natural barriers between freshwater and saltwater habitats. We expect to see some saltwater incursion into the freshwater marshes behind some barrier islands, disrupting those habitats. We do not know to what extent that will occur and will assess the situation once the storm has passed.
• Conversely, those same storm surges can drop needed sand onto barrier islands, helping build them up. We will be monitoring places like Pine Island Sanctuary in North Carolina, and Crab Bank Island in South Carolina, for storm-related changes.

On a plus note, the statement notes that storm surge overwash brings nutrients into the brackish back-bay habitats where shorebirds and wading birds forage.

"As a result, they might have more food to fuel their migrations southward."

BOOK REVIEW: WHY DO BIRDS SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR?

Mission to see 200 species in a year - Lev Parikian's new book

IT is not often that a bird book can be likened to a thriller, but Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? qualifies as  a really fast-paced page-turner.

Author Lev Parikian is a returnee to birdwatching after an absence of almost 40 years, and, for him, the sighting of each new bird (starting with blue tit) does indeed come as a ‘thrill’ as he seeks to notch up 200 species within the UK in a single calendar year, 2016.

And the briskness of his narrative takes on a gripping tone of urgency as he reaches the start of November still 22 birds short of his target.

As a schoolboy, Parikian had a brief, fairly intense enthusiasm for watching birds such that he persuaded his mother to take him to the RSPB reserve at Minsmere to watch avocets.

But his interest waned, not to be revived until middle age when he rediscovered on a bookshelf in the Oxfordshire home of his childhood, the copy of The Reader’s Digest Book of British Birds, the title which had first prompted his interest as an 11-year-old.

He found himself fascinated anew not just by the illustrations (“my gateway drug to an intoxicating world”) but also by the strangely evocative names of such species as wryneck, phalarope, scaup and skua.

There are other books about similar bird-ticking quests, but what makes this one so refreshing is the combination of the author’s relentless good humour, his witty writing style and his modesty.

There is never any showing off. He doesn’t pretend to be worthy, authoritative or (heaven forbid) pious.

Parikian is not particularly skilled either at detecting birds or identifying them. He makes mistakes - for instance, inadvertently recording linnets as twite - but he is honest about his shortcomings and all too ready not only to admit them but also to mock them.

In fact, some of the funniest parts of the book are his exasperation as some unidentified warbler or chat disappears deep into the undergrowth never to be seen again.

Although the author’s 200-tick quest starts on the patch in South-east London where he now lives, he quickly realises that, if his target - which started as a New Year Resolution - is unlikely to be fulfilled unless he spread his wings and ventures to well established birding hotspots such as reservoirs and wildlife reserves such as those managed by the RSPB at Dungeness, Cliffe Pools, Titchwell and Rainham Marshes.

Later in the year, the Isle of Wight and the Dorset Coast beckon as (in August) do Loch Garten, the Isle of Skye and the Bass Rock

On his travels, Parikian meets numerous other birders of varying abilities and temperaments. Some are knowledgeable, genial and helpful while others are, alas, morose to the point of joylessness even when encountering rarities.

He is disquieted that some experts have been birding so long as seemingly to have forsaken any capacity to marvel at the beauty of the commonplace - for instance, the colourful sheen on the plumage of a rook or the spectacular courtship flight of lapwing.

This intriguing book also contains moments of speculation, some of it almost hidden between the lines.

What would be the reaction of a 1950s birdwatcher if he returned today? Is there something “namby-pamby” about birding at dedidated reserves? Is it not a little sad to watch waders and wildfowl in an airless hide when the sun is shining outside? Has Mao Tse Tung’s purge of grain-eating birds in 1960s China been reflected in what intensive farming has been doing over the past 60 years, to their counterpart species in the West?

All questions which are seldom considered, let alone asked, in the birding world of today.

Does Parikian achieve his target of seeing 200 species in 2016? Does he exceed or does he fall short? And what happens at the start of 2017?

To give the answers would be to risk spoiling the end of his ‘thriller’.

Published by Unbound and with Alan Harris’ charmingly lifelike study of a goldcrest on the front cover, this is one of the best nature books of the year - a great read alike for birders, prospective birders and those who simply enjoy a lively tale, sprinkled with plenty of wry, mischievous and occasionally mildly salacious humour.

Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? is available via Amazon and wherever books are sold.