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BirdCrime 1997 reveals continuing persecution
This month's Bulletin articles
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BirdCrime 1997 reveals continuing persecution
All British wild birds, their nests and eggs, are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is an offense to intentionally kill, injure or take, or attempt to kill, injure or take, any wild bird, nest or egg. Yet despite this high level of legal protection, the latest report from the RSPB, BirdCrime 1997, is depressing reading, revealing an all too familiar pattern of poisoning, shooting, nest-robbing and nest destruction.
There were 671 such crimes reported in 1997, including 330 against birds of prey. Virtually all of the UK's raptor species were involved, including nest robberies of 42 Peregrines, eight Goshawks, three Golden Eagles and three Ospreys. There were 42 poisoning incidents, half of them involving birds of prey, including seven Red Kites - three of them birds from one of the English re-introduction schemes.
Of course, these are only the cases that get reported. The actual number of birds killed is believed to be far in excess of these figures. As many cases simply go unnoticed or unreported, the RSPB are urging people to report any suspected persecution incidents and, in the case of poisoning, make use of the MAFF poison hotline number which is 0800 321600.
We should not be complacent in Hertfordshire. The regional breakdown in BirdCrime 1997 lists five incidents in the county, one involving a bird of prey.
The black owls of Puttenham - Rob Young
The road from Drayton Beauchamp towards Puttenham has always been prime owl territory. For many years the pollarded poplars have proved productive for both Tawny and (particularly) Little Owl.
Over recent months my rather few trips along the lane have produced nothing of interest. During early July, after a particularly difficult day at work, I drove towards Puttenham and a small but dark owl flew across my path and out of sight. Over the next week or two I saw the bird (or so I thought) on a number of occasions. The only decent view I had showed it to be a very strange looking bird, more detail was required...
One bright Sunday evening, I sat and waited for the bird to appear. Initially I flushed it off some farm machinery but soon refound it sitting on a recently pollarded Poplar. Just as I focused on it, another bird flushed it a few feet and suddenly there were TWO! They looked very strange. Essentially the shape and size of Little Owl, although dark birds always look smaller I think. The first thing to note was a slight difference in shading. One bird was slightly darker than the other. The facial disk was a dark blackish brown (or brownish black!) and this, along with the leg feathering, was probably the darkest colour on the bird. The breast and crown were a dark smoky-grey colour with little or no streaking or contrast. The mantle and coverts may have been a slightly warmer blackish brown. The white spots on the coverts were somewhat dull although present in similar proportion although the finer spotting on the mantle was not noted.
One bird was seem to enter a hole in a pollarded tree and they spent most of their time perched in the usual Little Owl type perches on the heavily pruned trees. As is usual at this site, they rarely ventured across the road or were seen perched on the telegraph wires there. At one point one of the birds dropped down to the road where it spent some time investigating (presumably road-kill insects).
It is interesting that there should be two, similarly aberrantly plumaged birds at he same site with no others apparently present. There has been a history of normally plumaged individuals here. I can only assume that the colouration was caused by either extreme environmental conditions or some genetic malfunction.
As an interesting contrast, three Little Owls were present at a site near Long Marston. These presumably also bred in the same type of tree although this particular patch has two or three years' growth since it was last pollarded. These birds (at least two were juveniles) spent many evening on the telegraph wires nearby and showed completely normal plumage characteristics.
Towards the end of August, the black owls became less reliable and may have moved out, although their change on behaviour could be due to a change in the weather. This area however seems likely to remain a reliable one for owls, at least in the near future.
In 1996 the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust embarked on a five year project to reintroduce the Osprey to England. It has been greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm and support by both national conservation organisations and the visiting public. In 1998 12 chicks have been translocated from nests in Scotland to Rutland Water Nature Reserve.
The young birds settled in well and have been attempting to fish. These juveniles will now have set out on their southerly migration and in order to build up a picture of the possible route these birds are taking, the L&RWT are asking for any information regarding sightings of these birds.
The translocated juveniles may be recognised by an ochre (orange/brown) Darvic ring bearing two black numbers on their RIGHT leg (1998 juveniles reared and ringed in Scotland bear a similar ring on their LEFT leg).
In order to compile a clear picture of Osprey migration through England the Trust are also hoping to collate recent records of all spring and autumn Osprey sightings. Any news of the Rutland Water birds should be sent to Helen Dixon, Osprey Project Officer, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, c/o Fishponds Cottage, Stamford Road, Oakham, Rutland, Leicestershire, LE15 8AB, telephone 01572 770651, fax 01572 755931; and of course to your county recorder.
* * *Western European Ospreys, including the Scottish birds, overwinter in West Africa. The species has not bred in England for at least 150 years. The history of this magnificent bird of prey has been a tragic tale of destruction by humans, leading to its extermination in the UK at the beginning of this century. The last recorded nesting in England was in Somerset in 1842.
The Osprey translocation project has been carefully researched by Roy Dennis of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife, one of the world's leading experts on Ospreys. In early July Roy began the task of collecting the Osprey chicks from well-monitored nests in the Scottish Highlands under a special licence from Scottish Natural Heritage. Whilst in Scotland the young birds are fed on fresh fish delivered specially from Rutland Water.
In early July the Osprey chicks were brought down from Scotland by road - at night when the weather was cool. On arrival they were placed in specially designed release pens overlooking the reservoir and fed on trout and other fish as soon as they were settled. These pens, sited on raised platforms, are modelled on ones used in North America. A specially designed approach ensures that human contact can be made with minimal disturbance.
Small, light-weight radio tags were fitted to the tail of each bird before their release. The first birds made their maiden flights at the end of July. The Ospreys stay at Rutland Water until late August or early September, when they begin their migration to Africa.
The L&RWT are waiting with bated breath for their return of birds during the next few years when it is hoped that they will breed in England for the first time. Osprey numbers have risen to about 110 breeding pairs in Scotland today; however, as Ospreys like to nest close by other Ospreys, experts have estimated that it might take, at the present rate of population expansion, over 100 years for the species to recolonise the whole of Britain.
(An extract from The Return of the Osprey, published by Anglian Water Services Environmental Affairs Team.)