A wildlife management specialist in the Netherlands has a unique way of dealing with nuisance geese in the Hof van Delft park – he talks to them.
Martin Hof relocates geese from city centers and educates the public on issues related to the waterfowl. He has an remarkable rapport with the birds and can be seen whistling and whispering to the geese on their level while keeping their numbers to a manageable level.
In October 2005 Dutch researchers discovered a mass-grave of Dodo birds on the island of Mauritius. In June 2006 an international team of scientists returned to the location for further study. A new party from the Leiden museum Naturalis plans to return to Mauritius in August 2007 for more research.
The Dodo grave on Mauritius may be the largest such natural cache of animal bones in the world. Few such graves are found on volcanic islands, making the Mauritius cache even more remarkable.
The team from Naturalis plans to further excavate the bones, which lie one meter underground, by draining the soil. This special method of excavation will allow scientists to determine the age of the bone cache with more accuracy.
Woodlark numbers have risen 89% over the last ten years. The birds are breeding on English farms in greater numbers due to land improvements and habitat-building.
A recent survey estimated the number of breeding pairs of woodlark at 3,084. There were just 241 pairs in 1986.
A recent report reveals that Turtle Dove numbers are down 61% in the UK in the past 12 years. The bird has effectively disappeared from the north and southwest of England.
The Turtle Dove is a migratory visitor to the UK. The number of breeding pairs spending the summer in the British Isles is steadily decreasing. A number of factors have been cited, including illegal hunting along the migratory route and changes in UK agricultural practices affecting food supplies.
The European Commission is taking Germany, Austria and Poland to the European Court of Justice for failure to comply with the Birds Directive. The three countries have failed to designate sufficient Special Protection Areas.
Eight countries that joined the EU in 2004 will also receive warnings for failure to comply with the Directive. Of the states that joined in 2004, only Estonia is currently in compliance.
Last week thousands of nests on the Dutch Wadden islands were washed away. A combination of strong winds and rain caused dikes to flood and drown the nests.
Most of the nests of the 10,000 breeding pairs of birds on Ameland were washed away. At least 5000 seagull nests were lost. Many tern chicks were preparing for fledging but as the nests were washed away they lost their parents and may not be able to find them again.
The damage to nests on the islands Schiermonnikoog and Terschelling was also significant.
Aberdeen Red Kites (ARK) plans on releasing 30 Red Kites per year into the wild, in an attempt to reintroduce the bird to Scotland, where they were persecuted to extinction in the 19th century.
The Kites will be fitted with radio transmitters so the ARK can track their progress and behavior. The public will also be encouraged to report sightings of the Red Kites. The birds will also be fitted with wing tags.
On Monday the Vlaanders chapter of BirdLife International left 200 kilograms of pig meat in a field in Ninove, outside of Brussels, in an attempt to feed the large groups of Eurasian Griffon Vultures that have invaded the lowlands in recent days. The birds normally live in southern Spain but have flown as far north as Friesland in Holland in a desperate search for food.
BirdLife Vlaanders hoped the birds would feed on the meat and gain strength for their eventual return to Spain. Unfortunately the vultures did not discover the meat and continued their flight north.
Flemish Environment Minister Kris Peeters vocally opposed the plan and intended to meat with BirdLife representatives on Tuesday.
The Belgian Farmer Trade Union (ABS) also opposed the plan and planned to file a complaint with the Belgian federal food agency. According to the ABS, it is illegal to dump such animal products in a field without a permit.
EU regulations were recently put into place to disallow farmers to leave cattle carcasses on their land. A shortage of food for the scavenging Eurasian Griffon Vultures has meant that the birds are venturing far from their home but with little hope of finding suitable carrion on which to feed. The regulations were put into place to prevent the spread of diseases among cattle such as botulism, BSE and other illnesses.
Yesterday sightings of Eurasian Griffon Vultures continued to pour in from throughout the Netherlands.
Sightings Tuesday came from seven provinces: Noord Brabant, Noord Holland, Gelderland, Utrecht, Zuid Holland, Friesland and Limburg. The most sightings noted on www.waarneming.nl (also in English) were in Noord Brabant. In all over 100 different sightings were recorded throughout the day.
Last Sunday a large group of Eurasian Griffon Vultures was spotted in Belgium. On Monday the first birds, a group of 40, flew over the Dutch border. Many more followed.
It is highly unusual to have such a large group of these raptors in the Lowlands. The vultures that have been spotted in the Netherlands normally live in southern Spain.
In 2003 a group of 18 Eurasian Griffon Vultures were seen in Holland. Over Tilburg earlier this week a group of as many as 60 individuals was noted, and another group of approximately 50 birds was seen at about the same time in Zeeland.
Thousands of breeding vulture pairs live in the Spanish Pyrenees. The Spanish birds are struggling to find food in their native land. Due to new EU regulations, cattle cadavers may no longer be left outside to deteriorate naturally. The scavenger birds have been venturing outside of their normal habitat in a desperate search for food.
In May Spanish media reported that starving vultures in the Burgos province were attacking living cattle. In one case a hundred vultures killed a cow and calf. The Dutch BirdLife group does not expect the same to happen in Holland, although the 2003 invaders did kill several young storks.
Dutch birdwatchers have been out in force, noting their sightings of the rare birds at www.waarneming.nl (also available in English) and causing site response time problems due to high traffic. Birders can note the time and place of a sighting, number of birds seen and include GPS coordinates, photos and comments with their sightings.
Source: De gieren komen eraan!
