FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

The recently-published  Bird Atlas 2007–11  has highlighted some very significant patterns and shifting trends in our bird populations over the past 20 years.  For all too many species these findings reveal declines and range contractions; however there are some positive stories too. One of the most remarkable of these has been the colonisation and subsequent spread of the  Little Egret .  As the atlas has shown, this elegant heron is now widespread and is frequently observed throughout the country both during the winter and breeding seasons.  It is therefore easy to forget that it was as recently as 1997 that the first ever nesting record was documented in Ireland, following the first British record the previous year!  These events followed on from a rapid expansion of the Iberian breeding population in the early nineties, and their arrival to these shores throws up all sorts of interesting questions, such as the speculation as to whether their colon...

Black-throated Diver by  Chris Gomersall A pioneering project to recreate ideal breeding habitat for one of Scotland’s rarest birds on some Scottish lochs has met with remarkable success. The black-throated diver, a species that only breeds in freshwater lochs in the north-west of the country, is benefitting from the scheme to create special floating rafts that provide the necessary conditions to breed and raise chicks.

Eagle Owl (Belfast Telegraph - More info >> ) Vandals have damaged enclosures at an animal sanctuary in County Antrim, releasing birds of prey into the wild. It happened at the World of Owls Centre in Randalstown Forest. It houses 55 birds, 12 of which are now missing. There are fears the escaped birds could starve, as most of them have been raised in captivity and have never known life in the wild. Efforts are being made to locate the 12 missing birds and police are appealing for information. The netting on many of the enclosures has has been cut open and rolled back by vandals, allowing the birds to escape. The sanctuary is located in Randalstown Forest, County Antrim (BBC) After staff at World of Owls appealed for help on Tuesday afternoon, volunteers began to arrive at the sanctuary to mend the enclosures. However, sanctuary staff have warned the public that if they spot birds of prey in the area, no attempt should be made to captur...

Redwing (BTO) Thanks to the efforts of over 1,600 volunteers, our Winter Thrushes Survey covered more than 3,000 different locations in the first year of fieldwork. Over 12,500 visits were made overall, with Sussex hitting the top of the county leader board for core site visits.  Initital exploration of the data  suggest that winter thrushes switch from feeding in trees to ground feeding as the autumn progresses and that this switch may occur at different times for the different species. http://www.bto.org/news-events/news/2013-07/winter-thrushes-survey-update

PC Helen Felton and RSPB's Head of Investigations Bob Elliot with illegally killed buzzards (RSPB) Colin Burne, of Winters Park, Penrith, has today pleaded guilty to the intentional killing of buzzards on land managed by a private shooting syndicate in Whinfell Forest, near Penrith, Cumbria. The 64-year old gamekeeper attended Carlisle Magistrates Court today where he pleaded guilty to three charges. These related to the killing of two buzzards on the 11 February 2013, killing five buzzards prior to this date and possession of a wooden stick as an item capable of being used to kill the birds. He received a 70-day jail sentence, concurrent on each charge, suspended for 12 months.  In sentencing, the Judge stated that had it not been for his ill health he would have considered jailing him. On Monday 11 February, this year, a cage trap containing live buzzards was found by members of the public on land managed by the shoot. Cage traps can lawfully be used to control certa...

A second consecutive wet, cool and unsettled summer across Britain has wiped out large populations of bees, moths and butterflies, according to a new National Trust report. Common Blue Butterflies (Earthweek) - Butterflies have been very scarce across the United Kingdom this year, according to a National Trust report. It warns that the drop in the number of winged insects could cause birds and bats go to hungry for the remainder of this year. “Insect populations have been really very low. Then when they have got going, they’ve been hit by a spell of cool, windy weather... so our environment is just not bouncing with butterflies or anything else,”said Matthew Oates, a National Trust naturalist who worked on the report. It says that the dearth of airborne insects could cause martins, swifts, swallows and warblers to struggle to survive in the coming months. A delayed spring that started with the coldest March in 50 years across the U.K. caused frogs and toads to struggl...

Cuckoo (BTO) Of the 18 Cuckoos we are tracking with satellite tags this year, 12 have already left the UK. Of the remaining six, three were tagged in Scotland and three in Norfolk. Those tagged in Devon, Sussex and Wales have already set off on migration. We currently have Cuckoos in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Corsica.  Take a look at the latest positions and blogs here. http://www.bto.org/news-events/news/2013-07/two-thirds-tagged-cuckoos-have-left

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News, Valencia, Spain Guillemot eggs have special structures on their shells that make them self-cleaning, according to new research. Guillemot (BBC) The study began after scientists noticed the liquid-repelling properties of a batch of eggs that had water spilled onto them. Further analysis revealed tiny cone-shaped structures on the eggs' shells were responsible for this property. The findings were presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Valencia, Spain. Dr Steven Portugal from the Royal Veterinary College in London who conducted the research told BBC Nature that the project started with a "minor spillage" in the lab. "I accidentally spilled distilled water over a batch of eggs," Dr Portugal recalled. "And I noticed that the eggs from the guillemots stood out in terms of how the water droplets reacted on the surface. "They formed little droplets - th...

A huge amount has happened in the eighty-year lifetime of the BTO. Whilst the life expectancy of a man has increased from 53 to 78 and that for a woman from 60 to 81, much of our bird life has fared rather less well. In five pages we focus on the range of the BTO’s achievements over eight decades – from its role in the discovery of DDT’s impact on raptor populations, via the reactions to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and on to more recent concerns about farmland, woodland and migrant birds. Throughout this period our members, whether amateurs or professionals, have helped to shed light on the issues facing Britain’s birds and the habitats we share with them.

Trophy exhibition on Facebook This Lebanese poacher proudly displays a shot White Stork A freshly-shot, still living Short-toed Eagle is proudly presented as a trophy. Armed men pose with freshly killed cranes and pelicans. Another hunter holding a dead Lesser Spotted Eagle grins into the camera lens. His hunting companion has neatly draped his bag for the day - hundreds of shot song birds - on a bedsheet. Two children, hardly eight years of age - inspect wide-eyed two dead Honey Buzzards that their father has brought back today from the hunt. Another still life shows nine freshly shot White Storks in the foreground with behind them the hunter, completely relaxed with a cigarette in one hand and the beak of one of the storks in the other. Such photos give an idea of the incredible damage that Lebanese poachers inflict on the European bird populations. There are several hundreds, perhaps thousands of such trophy pictures. Most are taken by the poachers themselves to show off to...

The White-throated Needletail on the Isle of Harris, by David Campbell An enthusiast who travelled to the Western Isles to view a rare bird has told of his "dismay" after watching it fly into a wind turbine and die. The white-throated needletail, which breeds in Asia and winters in Australasia, was spotted on Harris. About 30 birdwatchers travelled to the island to see the unusual visitor, which has only been recorded five times in the UK since 1950. However, they then saw it die after colliding with the wind turbine. Birdwatcher David Campbell, from Surrey, told the BBC Scotland news website that the incident took place late on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Campbell, who is now making his way home to south east England, said: "We just watched the whole thing with dismay." He added that on a previous bird watching trip he had seen a migratory wryneck hit by a train. A relative of the common swift, the white-throated needletail is s...

Skylark by   Andy Hay Cuts to the environment budget announced today prove the need for a radical rethink on how we protect our threatened wildlife. That's the message from the RSPB following today's announcement that Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), alongside several other Government departments, is set to be hit with a 10 per cent cut.  Added to the cuts that have already been announced, this leaves Defra's budget at almost half where it was in 2010 in real terms. Today's cut is likely to fall disproportionately on conservation as spending on flooding issues and the badger cull is likely to be protected. The news comes a month after the groundbreaking State of Nature report was launched by Sir David Attenborough and 25 leading conservation organisations which revealed that our wildlife is in serious trouble with 60 per cent of UK species in decline. 'We need a radical rethink of how we can protect our plants, anima...

Carrion Crow (BTO) A black crow flies over - but is it a Crow, a Rook or even a Raven? Our latest bird ID video attempts to help you to separate these confusing species, along with their smaller cousins: Jackdaw and Chough.  Watch the Corvids bird ID video now . If you enjoy our Youtube channel, subscribe for free to receive updates when new videos are posted. Related Downloads   Bird Table 70 - Jackdaw article   (343.5 KB) http://www.bto.org/news-events/news/2013-06/crow-rook-or-raven

World premiere of the film about CABS in England Bonn/Sheffield.  The activist operations by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter for better protection of migrant birds are the theme of a new documentary film that has its world premiere at the Sheffield Docs Film Festival this weekend. Under the title  Emptying The Skies  the New York bestselling author Jonathan Franzen and director Roger Kass expose how millions of European songbirds land in the cooking pot every year, under the pretext of retaining ‘old traditions’ and ‘sustainable use’. Bestselling author and bird lover Jonathan Franzen (CABS) The screenplay is written around a group of international activists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, who travel every year in spring and autumn to the poaching hotspots - mainly in Southern Europe - to combat illegal bird hunting and trapping. Jonathan Franzen and the film crew shadowed the operations - now well known internationally as  CABS bird protection c...

Updated 3rd Edition, by Lee G R Evans --> When Lee Evans'  Ultimate Site Guide to Scarcer British Birds  was published in 1996 it became an instant classic. For the first time in one place, British birders could discover how and where to see over 100 rarer and more difficult-to-find species. These are the birds that can make birding such an exciting and rewarding activity: there is nothing quite like the thrill of tracking down and observing elusive and attractive species such as Hawfinch, Spotted Crake and Honey Buzzard. Now BirdGuides has re-published Lee Evans' original guide in a fully revised, updated and extended edition. The information has been carefully reviewed for accuracy and also remembering the need to protect vulnerable breeders. The species accounts have been further enhanced with more than 60 new vignettes from illustrator Ray Scally. For each of the 142 species covered this book tells you all you need to know, including: where to look - ...