Birds
Are gardens an ecological trap for birds?
Gardens are often thought of as havens for many bird species and many gardeners don’t just feed the birds but put up nest boxes to attract birds into their garden to breed. However an interesting study just released by Boise State University means it may not all be a bed of roses for birds in [...]
Puffins to cope with worst start to year for 50 years
One of Britain’s most lovable seabirds, the puffin, is having one of the worst starts to the year for over 50 years according to the RSPB. When they should be getting ready for the breeding season the birds are having to cope with the worst storms for half a century. The RSPB in Scotland have been receiving reports of hundreds of seabirds being [...]
Will fisheries discard ban force birds to relearn old tricks?
There is no doubt that the recent ban on fisheries discards will be good for the environment and the seas in the long-term. But in an intriguing study by scientists at Plymouth University it appears that some species of seabirds at least will need to relearn their old tricks of foraging for food rather than [...]
African parrots return home from Bulgaria
Thirty-two illegally caught African Gray parrots that ended up being seized in Bulgaria have now found their way back home to Africa in a first of its kind operation. While confiscated parrots in Africa have been returned to the wild before, for the first time confiscated parrots from outside the continent have been returned for [...]
Crop intensification or pesticide – which impacts farmland birds more?
Across the globe farmland and grassland birds are on the decline. As farmland needs to produce more crops it is more intensely managed. As crop production continues to climb the number of farmland birds continue to fall. But what is behind the decline. A study published in PlosOne seems to show the biggest impact on [...]
Carbofuran the weapon of choice against birds of prey in UK
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have today published maps to show the incidents of illegal poisonings of birds of prey in England and Wales. One map covers incidents during 2007-2011 and a separate map shows the poisonings that were committed in 2011. The accompanying report also highlights that carbofuran is the weapon [...]
A beginner birdwatching scope for World Wetland Day
Today is World Wetland Day when we can celebrate the biodiversity of one of the most threatened habitats on the planet. In the last 100 years it is claimed that as much as half of the planets wetlands have been lost with a good portion of that in Europe. Wetland habitats cover a great range [...]
Can restaurants help save the vulture?
GPS tracking of young white-backed vultures in southern Africa shows that these fast diminishing birds tend to avoid national parks and prefer to feed on dead cattle on grasslands and farmland. This poses a real problem as chemicals used in cattle rearing can be toxic to vultures. However when a bird finds a ‘vulture restaurant’ [...]
As farmland birds continue to crash taxpayers to pay farmers to feed the birds
The latest wild bird indicators have just been published by the BTO. They show that farmland birds are still seeing the biggest drops in numbers. The figures released relate to the years 1970 – 2011 and while many bird species appear to be holding their own it is the farmland birds that continue to drop in number. [...]
New homes could see £20 million a year boost to wild bird conservation
Could the proposed new plans to build an additional 2 million homes over the next 20 years be a major boost to conservation of Britain’s wild birds? Surveys have shown that 70% of people with gardens will do something active to help wildlife. So with another 2 million homes that’s an additional 1.4 million households actively supporting [...]
Gardeners – chaffinches need your help
The British Trust for Ornithology has just released the preliminary details of the 2012 Nest Record Scheme and it is devastating news for a number of our most loved garden and woodland species. This breeding season was the worst on record for chaffinches and numbers of both Great tits and Blue tits fledglings are significantly down. The Nest [...]
UK cat owners fail to recognise the impacts of their pets on wildlife
Do cats impact on local wildlife at a significant level? It’s an ongoing argument and a new study published in Plos One will keep the argument alive. While the study looked at the impact of cats in Reading, UK the biggest shock must be how British cat owners fail to see the impact that their cats [...]
EU action plan on seabirds begins
An action plan to reduce an estimated 200,000 sea-bird deaths a year due to the European fisheries industry has been adopted today. The new action plan will apply to EU registered fishing vessels where-ever they operate in the world and to non-EU vessels operating in EU waters. It is hoped that the new action plan [...]
Fears grow for owls as Hindu festival approaches
Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is a bright and colourful religious festival for the Hindu faith. It is a 5 day festival that celebrates the return of lord Rama from his 14 year exile. Today the festival is dominated by bright and colourful lanterns but beneath this celebration there lies a dark underside. Thousands of [...]
Make the right choice of food when feeding the birds
Feeding garden birds is big business and the range of bird seeds and food is growing all the time. Sometimes making the right choice and be difficult, it is also very easy to opt for the cheapest seed mixes to try to feed the birds and still stay within a reasonable budget. But there are [...]
Britains iconic moorlands could be lost due to herbicide ban
Concerns are being raised that the ban of the herbicide Asulam by the EU could lead to major losses of Britain’s heather moorlands. The chemical is the most effective bracken control herbicide available and it ban at the end of the year could mean maintaining the habitat becomes too difficult. Britain has 75% of the [...]
Almost 4,000 bird dealers busted by INTERPOL
Interpol environmental crimes division has announced that almost 4,000 dealers in wild birds have been caught from Operation Cage – a three-month intensive investigation between May and June focusing on the trade in endangered birds. Wildlife and law enforcement officers across 32 different countries took part in the investigations. While Operation Cage focused primarily on birds the action also [...]
Secrets of the swift migrations start to be unraveled
Modern tracking devices are becoming incredibly light-weight and this means that researchers can track even our smallest birds on their travels. The latest species to reveal its migration secrets is the swift (Apus apus). On its travels between Sweden and the Congo researchers found it could cover more than 300 km a day. The new study published in PlosOne [...]
The best recommended squirrel proof bird feeders
You could be forgiven for thinking that Britain has by-passed Summer and headed straight into Autumn. It’s now July and there’s no sign of dry or warm weather on it’s way. This makes it essential to carry on feeding the garden birds. Wet weather can really restrict the amount of food available for birds so putting out food will [...]
New real time bird diversity monitoring now possible
Bird surveys can be labour extensive and often need willing volunteers who are not just prepared to sit it out for a few hours but are also skilled enough to recognise the birds or their bird songs. This means trying to keep and up to date record of local bird diversity and health can be [...]