Owls and Things

After a couple of pretty windy days there’s no ringing just yet but I made a couple of visit to our Linnet ringing site to put out a mix of millet and rape seed. The lifting of the exclusion zone and the ban on ringing within the area is due to be lifted on 28th February.

There are still 170 + Linnet around plus a watching Kestrel and 10/12 Stock Dove taking advantage of the seed on offer. The local Carrion Crows have found a source of food in last season’s maize field. 

Avian Flu

Kestrel

Carrion Crow

Linnets

Looking at the forecast I’m hoping to get out birding on Wednesday and ringing in the hills on Friday when the wing drops off. 

Meanwhile here’s an interesting and recent item I found on the Internet. The story centres upon research being carried out near here at Lancaster University. The video features Barn Owls and research into the often incorrect and inconsiderate use of rodenticides and how such mistakes lead to the poisoning of Barn Owls and other birds of prey. 

Clicking on the “You Tube” icon will take you to a full screen viewing. 

A friend of mine who operates a pest control business told me years ago how careless some farmers are about how they both store and use rat poisons. He’s found containers of rodenticides lying around in barns and outbuildings, sometimes with the contents scattered nearby. This is the type of misuse that can cause secondary poisoning, where an animal is poisoned after consuming another animal that has eaten and digested poison. This can occur in birds of prey such as owls or hawks and mammals such as foxes and badgers. 

Secondary poisoning can also occur when poisoned rodent bodies are not disposed of quickly and efficiently so as to ensure that no bird or animal take the poisoned corpse. 

Read more about the work of the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme and how you can help by clicking this link  http://pbms.ceh.ac.uk/content/send-us-birds 

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday.