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July 21, 2006
Second pair of wild choughs breed in Cornwall
It's been revealed that a second pair of wild choughs has successfully bred in Cornwall, marking a new chapter in the story of the birds' natural recolonisation of the county.
Choughs returned to Cornwall in 2001, after a long absence; since then, the now famous pair on the Lizard has successfully bred each year. Now, after much anticipation, a second pair has raised young.
The new pair is made up of a Cornish born male from the 2004 Lizard brood, and a female that arrived naturally in the county two years ago. They have raised three youngsters, two male and one female, while the original pair fledged five chicks this year. Their three males and two females, bring their total offspring to 20 over five sea sons.
Alastair Cameron, property manager for the National Trust in South West Cornwall said: We've been working with other conservation organisations, volunteers, the farming community and the RDS to get land management on the Cornish coast right for wildlife and this fantastic news shows what we're doing is paying dividends for the choughs..
[The Cornwall Chough Project partnership comprises The National Trust, the RSPB, English Nature and RDS (Rural Development Service). It aims to encourage the restoration of suitable feeding habitats for choughs, monitor and protect the birds that are already present in Cornwall, promote the return of the chough to Cornwall and raise awareness of how managed coastal habitats benefit our native wildlife.]
Based on studies in Wales, researchers predicted there would be two breeding pairs of choughs in Cornwall by 2006 or 2007 so the birds are doing well and, according to local experts, are on the right track to an established population in the county.
RSPB chough project officer, Claire Mucklow, said: The season started with great excitement as there were actually three pairs nest building, but one of the females died after an attack by a fox or dog. Even so, the natural recolonisation process is doing well according to the predicted trends, with just this one out of seven serious breeding attempts failing.
The birds' natural return to the county is also threatened by controversial plans by Hayle-based zoo, Paradise Park to release captive-bred choughs in Cornwall.
English Nature and the RSPB have asked Defra to add chough to Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which would make further releases illegal unless covered by a licence. There have been well-documented problems with the release of captive-bred barn owls in the past and further releases of that species have already been banned.
Claire added: We feel it would be a great shame if this ill-advised release were to disrupt the natural recovery of one of Cornwall's best loved birds.
All of this year's wild chough chicks have been fitted with colour rings so their progress can be monitored. Sightings of the colour ringed birds should be reported to Claire Mucklow, either via e-mail Claire.Mucklow@rspb.org.uk, or by calling 01392 453 775.
The choughs' return to Cornwall is a conservation success story. A pioneering pair of wild choughs returned to the county and bred in 2002 after an absence (as a breeding species) of around 50 years. Sensitive land management has ensured the natural return of the chough to Cornwall. The National Trust, English Nature and RDS continue to ensure that the cliffs are grazed, as this enables the choughs to reach the ground with their beaks and feed on ground dwelling insects. The success is due in no small part to the many supporters of the Cornwall Chough Project, including enthusiastic farmers and landowners in managing their land for choughs to feed and local people, volunteers and staff who guarded both nest sites from egg collectors and disturbance, round the clock.
English Nature manages the 2000 hectares of the Lizard National Nature Reserve, which includes large areas of coastal heath and grassland that are important for feeding choughs, especially during the winter. The Cornwall Chough Project partnership is concerned for the safety of the future of wild choughs in Cornwall due to the ongoing threat of inappropriate and misinformed releases of captive-bred choughs in the county. Such releases would go against internationally recognised procedures and guidelines, and were rejected by a gathering of chough experts in 2003. If it ever became necessary to release choughs in the future anywhere in the UK, it should only be after vigorous trials and in accordance with IUCN (The World Conservation Union) guidelines.
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2006
Moustached Warbler removed from British List
The seventh edition of The British List: a Checklist of Birds of Britain is published this month in the BOU’s journal Ibis (148: 526-563) and replaces the sixth edition A Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland (Knox (Ed.) 1992).
The British List includes changes made to the British List up to and including the BOU Record Committee’s (BOURC) 33rd Report (Ibis 148: 594) and the BOURC’s Taxonomic Sub-committee’s 3rd report (Ibis 147: 821-826).
The 33rd BOURC report details the following changes which are included in the new edition of The British List -
Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma feae
An individual observed at sea c. 12 miles south of St. Mary’s, Scilly on 8 July 2001 becomes the first British record.
Rufous-tailed Robin Luscinia sibilans
Added to Category A on the basis of the first-winter individual seen on Fair Isle, Shetland on 23 October 2004
Moustached Warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon
Following a comprehensive review of all records, this species is removed from the British List. A paper detailing the review is currently in preparation for publication in British Birds.
Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus
Added to Category A on the basis of one seen at Kilrenny, Fife from 29 October to 14 November 2004.
Also considered -
Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis
A review of the record from Radipole Lake, Dorset, 23 November 1962 concluded that there were circumstances concerning the plumage and condition of the specimen that led BOURC to conclude that the bird was unlikely to have been a natural vagrant and the species is placed in Category E.
The British List now stands at 572 species
(Category A = 552; Category B = 10; Category C = 10).
The British List can be viewed online at www.bou.org.uk/recbrlst.html.
The BOURC 33rd report can viewed online at www.bou.org.uk/recreps.html.
Copies of the July issue of Ibis in which The British List is published can be purchased from the BOU priced £7.50 (orders to: email sales@bou.org.uk, tel 01 865 281 842 or web www.bou.org.uk/store2.htm).
For further information, you can contact –
Steve Dudley, BOU Administrator Tel 01 733 844 820 Email steve.dudley@bou.org.uk
Tim Melling, Secretary, BOURC Tel 01 484 861 148 Email bourc.sec@bou.org.uk
Bob McGowan, Chairman, BOURC Tel 0131 247 4262 Email bob.mcgowan@bou.org.uk
Posted by Surfbirds at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
Scottish Ospreys head for Spain
Scottish ospreys are set to check in for a flight to Spain, as part of a reintroduction project organised by the Andalucian Government and the Highland Foundation for Wildlife.
Osprey, Highland, Speyside May 2004. © Steve Round
Five chicks are being collected from locations in Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey and Inverness. The last two will be take from a secret Forestry Commission Scotland forest near Fort Augustus on Thursday, July 13, and taken to join the other three, before being flown by BA Connect to Spain on the early Inverness flight on Friday, July 14.
The reintroduction is part of a combined international conservation partnership between Spain, with donations of young ospreys from Scotland (which is sending five young), Finland (which is sending four young), and Germany (which is sending 12 young). This is the fourth year of the project and already a pair of ospreys has been encouraged to breed near the release area in Andalucia (southern Spain) and they are rearing two young this year. This is the first breeding pair in 60 years on mainland Spain.
Claire Martin, Forestry Commission Scotland Press Office, tel: 0131 314 6507 or email claire.martin@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Posted by Surfbirds at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)