Category Archives: Europe

Rare Bearded Tits Thrive In UK Park

by Amy Posted on 1 November 2006

Leighton Moss, a nature park in Lancashire, has seen its most successful breeding summer for the rare Bearded Tit in recent years. About 30 pairs of birds nested in the park this year, rearing about 80 chicks. Wardens at the park have distributed grit and erected wigwams in order to entice the British rarities to make the park their home. Read the full story Rare birds thrive at nature park at the BBC.

bearded tit
bearded tit by Mostly Dans, Creative Commons on Flickr

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Posted in Aside, Endangered, Europe | Leave a comment

Falcon Demonstrations Anything But Educational

by Amy Posted on 28 October 2006

BirdLife International’s Belgian partner Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen has expressed concern over the increasing number of demonstrations involving birds of prey. People calling themselves falconers offer their services to schools, groups and public events, which in turn are picked up by the media. But often the so-called falconers are what Vogelbescherming calls ‘pseudo-falconers’, people who are using the art of falconry as a means of income and not to promote the welfare of the animals. Sometimes the pseudo-falconers have large number of day and night birds of prey captured by unsavory means.

An increase in the number of ransackings and plunderings of raptor nests is a cause for alarm according to Vogelbescherming.

Pseudo-falconers keep their birds in small cages or use means to restrict the birds’ movement which is a serious form of maltreatment, according to Vogelbescherming. The birds are further abused by means of starvation used to allow them to be manipulated with food rewards.

Source: Roofvogeldemonstraties zijn allesbehalve educatief

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Posted in Europe, Law | Leave a comment

Gull Nuisance Conference Coming To Leiden

by Amy Posted on 26 October 2006

On November 1st the Dutch city of Leiden will host an international conference. The subject: Gull nuisance in city environments. Representatives from cities in the Netherlands and abroad will be present, along with city biologists and the Dutch partner of BirdLife International, Vogelbescherming.

Leiden is not alone as a city whose citizens complain of resident gulls. The birds open garbage containers in search of food and in the breeding season cause noise pollution as they seek mates and protect their young. Leiden has tried employing raptors and removing gull eggs from nests but these solutions did not significantly reduce the nuisance caused by the birds.

During the conference, the experts will exchange ideas and brainstorm solutions to gull nuisance problems. A new survey in cooperation with the University of Leiden is also planned. Political party CDA will propose discussion on two plans: using falcons to scare gulls away and dipping the gull eggs with oil.

City alderman John Steegh has sought an exemption from the Flora and Fauna law in order to fight the gulls by killing them, a plan opposed by animal rights groups. After the conference Steegh will decide how to proceed.

Source: Leiden houdt conferentie over meeuwenoverlast

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Record Number Of Belgian Birds

by Amy Posted on 25 October 2006

The results from a February bird count sponsored by Natuurpunt in Belgium are in. A record number of birds were counted by volunteers. More than eight thousand participants counted 352,000 back yard birds, on average 43 birds per garden. The sparrow was the most counted bird and the blackbird the most widespread.

43 birds per garden marked a 30 percent increase over the number of birds counted in 2004 and 2005, when 33 and 31 birds per garden were counted, respectively.

In part a long cold winter caused the high number of birds to seek food from garden feeders, which lead to the high count.

A striking trend is the increasing number of small birds found at Belgian garden feeders. For example, the number of finches found in back yards increased dramatically.

The next Belgian back yard bird count will take place on 3 and 4 February 2007.

Source: Recordaantal vogels geteld

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Sixteen Dead Birds Found In Helmond Pond

by Amy Posted on 24 October 2006

In a small pond in the Dutch city of Helmond, an animal ambulance worker has found sixteen dead birds. The victims included ducks, geese, swans and gulls. The cause of death is not yet known.

Ambulance workers and firefighters removed the birds from the pond. The Dutch Food and Goods Authority will examine the birds to determine the cause of death. The results are expected next week.

Source: Zestien dode vogels in vijver Helmond

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Scottish Wind-Farm Plan Cancelled To Safeguard Raptors

by Amy Posted on 12 October 2006

“A wind-farm proposal has been abandoned because the area where it was to be built is used by golden eagles and red kites. The decision followed analysis of bird-survey data gathered over several years, and consultation with local RSPB officers, which showed that the 30Mw wind farm would pose a significant risk to the birds.” Read the full story in the Scotsman.

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Netherlands Results Of Birdwatch 2006

by Amy Posted on 11 October 2006

Volunteers counted birds at over 130 locations in the Netherlands last Saturday as part of World Birdwatch 2006. From the spotting points as many birds as possible were counted during their migration south.

This year the European Starling was the most counted bird, just as last year. 114,000 individuals were counted. In second place was the Common Chaffinch, and the Lapwing came in third place. In total 193 different species were counted.

Here is the complete top 10:

European Starling
Common Chaffinch
Lapwing
Meadow Pipit
Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Greylag Goose
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Eurasian Wigeon
Mew Gull

Sightings of note:

One group of 68,807 Common Starlings at Kinderdijk
1025 Northern Gannets
83 Great Egrets
36 Peregrine Falcons
14 Ospreys
5 European Honey Buzzards
2 Little Bitterns
One Rose-colored Starling
One Black Stork
One Little Bunting
One Eurasian Hoopoe

Sources:
Spreeuw met stip op één
Resultaten Birdwatch 2006

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Little Egret, Once Nearly Extinct, Breeds In London

by Amy Posted on 10 October 2006

Four Little Egret chicks have hatched and fledged in London for the first time. The bird was hunted virtually to extinction but has successfully bred in the Thames Water’s Walthamstow reservoirs. The species is only known to have begun breeding in the UK in the mid-1990’s. Experts believe that the move to northern nesting sites by the Little Egret could be a sign of climate change. Read the full story Once virtually extinct heron returns to breed in London.

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Balloonist Fined For Disturbing Birds

by Amy Posted on 7 October 2006

A 36-year-old hot air balloonist has been fined 300 euros by a judge in the Hague for disturbing breeding birds in a protected nature area.

The balloonist flew his balloon too low over the Nieuwkoopse Plassen (lake) in June 2005 and frightened hundreds of breeding birds. The judge found the balloonist responsible for keeping the birds off of their nests during incubation which proved fatal for many of the nests.

Changes in the wind caused the balloon to drift towards Schiphol Airport. In order to avoid breaching that prohibited area, the balloonist decided to bring the balloon down in the protected lake area instead.

Source: Ballonvaarder beboet voor storen broedende vogels

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Posted in Netherlands, Offbeat | 1 Comment