FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

Female Hen Harrier at nest with chicks DEFRA has today published its long awaited Hen Harrier Action Plan. As expected, the six ‘actions’ that apparently will contribute to the recovery of the hen harrier are as follows: Monitoring of hen harrier populations in England and the UK. Diversionary feeding of hen harriers on grouse moors. Analyse monitoring data and build intelligence picture... Read more >>

23 red kites were poisoned in 2014  (Image: RSPB - Robert Straughan) The RSPB is calling for better application of the laws that protect UK raptors, as the  Birdcrime 2014 report  highlights that illegal persecution continues to prevent some of our native birds of prey from recovering to their natural levels. In 2014, the RSPB received 179 reports of shooting and destruction of birds of prey, including the confirmed shooting of 23 buzzards, nine peregrines, three red kites and a hen harrier. The report also documents 72 reported incidents of wildlife poisoning and pesticide-related offences. Confirmed victims of poisoning include 23 red kites, 9 buzzards and four peregrine falcons. These figures are believed to represent only a fraction of the illegal persecution in the UK, with many incidents thought to be going undetected and unreported.

The week at a glance (21st - 27th of October) Chestnut Bunting  on Papa Westray Chimney Swift  briefly in Co Cork Blyth's Pipit  still on Scilly Another  White's Thrush  on Shetland Apparent  Short-toed Treecreeper  in East Sussex Few people paid much attention to a report of a  Yellowhammer  on Papa Westray, Orkney, last Monday until a poor-quality photo emerged late on the Tuesday evening, suggesting it might be something altogether rarer. It was not until 24 hours later, late on Wednesday evening, that further images emerged and served to confirm suspicions — the bird, with its rich chestnut hue on the upperparts, face and in particular tertial fringes, was surely a  Chestnut Bunting ! With no sign of the bird since it was briefly seen on the Tuesday, the automatic assumption was that it had gone — a potential first for Britain seemingly slipped through the net and rendered untwitchable. It was therefore somethi...

by Steve Portugal Sometimes it can get a little depressing when all the news about the state of the environment and Britain's countryside is bad; farmland devoid of birdlife, wetlands being drained and forestry being cut down. But it's not all doom and gloom, over the last decade many threatened species have been able to make successful comebacks, thanks mainly to the help of conservation charities and organisations such as English Nature, the RSPB and hundreds of dedicated volunteers from estate agents to students to housewives and the police.

       Paperback /  325 Pages /  Pelagic Publishing (2012) /  ISBN 978-1907807299 /  RRP £12.99 Review #1 by Mike Everett for British Birds Quite early in chapter one, reading about Mark Avery’s time as a deer researcher on Rum, I came across the bizarre statement that ‘our base… looked across Mull to Skye and the Cuillins…’ and wondered whether this boded well for the rest of the book. I need not have worried; it must have been an editorial mistake. This is a marvellous account of one man’s work for bird conservation, reflecting Mark’s impressive birding and academic background as well as his sharp intellect, his sure grasp of strategy and his huge commitment to his vocation. His well-known sense of humour is there too, as is that enviable facility at communication which made him such a great asset to the RSPB.

BirdWatch Ireland has warmly welcomed the recent announcement by Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food Simon Coveney that farmers undertaking actions to conserve critically-threatened farmland birds will get priority access to substantial funding within Ireland's new Rural Development Programme. If properly implemented, this offers hope of halting declines and restoring bird populations in parts of their range. Ireland's biodiversity is facing very severe threats, as evidenced by declining populations of many farmland birds and losses in extent and quality of many semi-natural habitats in the mosaic of Ireland's farmed landscapes. There has been extensive research in the UK, in particular, which has related farmland bird declines to changes in agricultural practices since the 1970s. Specific causes for these changes included a variety of farming practices, including increased use of pesticides and fertilisers, increased mechanisation and losses of hedgerow extent an...

Juvenile Hen Harrier by Jude Lane Hen harrier chicks have been fitted with high-tech satellite tags as part of a new RSPB initiative to help conserve England’s most threatened bird of prey. The chicks, which are approximately four weeks old, are currently being raised in a nest on the United Utilities Bowland Estate. The site is traditionally the stronghold for the English hen harrier and the RSPB has worked with the water company and its shooting tenants to protect the birds there for more than 30 years. The hen harrier nest is the first successful one in England since 2012 and one of only three in the whole of England this year. Chicks produced in the other English nests – one of which is also on the United Utilities Bowland Estate –will also be fitted with satellite tags when they are large enough. The satellite tags were supplied by Natural England and fitted by Stephen Murphy, the Agency’s lead adviser for hen harriers. He said:  “The lightweight satellite tags...

The  British Birds  Bird Photograph of the Year 2013 winners were as follows: BIRD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR 2013  Peregrine Falcons  Falco peregrinus,  Norwich, Norfolk, June 2012. (Canon EOS 5D III, Canon 400 mm f4 + 1.4x converter; 1/1250, f8, ISO 320.)  Steven Jefferson Here’s Simon winding up to hand out the prizes… (pic by Peter Baughan)

Here is the RSPB's report on bird crime in 2012 which includes accounts of individual offences against bird legislation. The full PDF can be viewed full screen, with larger text or zoomed in  here .