Showing posts with label Twatter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twatter. Show all posts

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Timely Advice

Migrants are trickling north in ones and two without any signs of a major arrival to enliven a morning’s birding. Ringing is on hold while cold north westerlies predominate and this week I’ve been busy with half-term duties. 

I’m hoping to go birding Friday and/or Saturday, but in the meantime this week came timely reminders on the reporting of rare breeding birds from Mark Holling of the UK’s Rare Breeding Birds Panel and Mark Thomas of RSPB Investigations,  here.

They suggest a long list of species where news blackouts should apply in circumstances suggestive of breeding or potential breeding unless public viewing has been arranged:
Capercaillie 
Black-throated Diver 
Little Bittern 
Cattle Egret 
Great White Egret 
Purple Heron 
Eurasian Spoonbill 
Red-necked Grebe 
Slavonian Grebe 
Black-necked Grebe 
Honey Buzzard 
White-tailed Eagle 
Peregrine Falcon 
Montagu's Harrier 
Osprey 
Baillon's Crake 
Common Crane 
Black-winged Stilt 
Ruff 
Temminck's Stint 
Purple Sandpiper 
Green Sandpiper 
Wood Sandpiper 
Red-necked Phalarope 
Snowy Owl 
Long-eared Owl 
European Bee-eater 
Wryneck 
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 
Golden Oriole 
Red-backed Shrike 
Penduline Tit 
Savi's Warbler
Marsh Warbler
Bluethroat 

Peregrine Falcon

Long-eared Owl

Lesser-spotted Woodpecker - Crossley ID Guide Britain & Ireland 

"By nature of their rarity, rare breeding birds are vulnerable to disturbance, but to do so deliberately is against the law. Although some species, particularly raptors, are still persecuted by game managers in some areas, there has been an increasing incidence of disturbance by birdwatchers and especially by bird photographers. Although such disturbance may be accidental, inconsiderate or careless behaviour can lead to birds deserting their nests or losing their eggs or young to predators.” 

The list includes species that are now beginning to make their mark in the UK as new colonisers but also one or two like Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Long-eared Owl, Peregrine and even the once common Ruff, all subject to relentless chasing around pressure in this area should they appear either in or out of the breeding season. 

If only all bird watchers, including local ones, had taken note of the sensible advice and guidance above, we may have avoided the recent deliberate shooting dead of a Peregrine Falcon at St Anne’s-on-Sea, 15 miles from here and where the birds were subjected to almost daily visits and reportage on Internet social media.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

 

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