Report stays on flight path of bird welfare
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OF all the reports that land on my desk there are one or two that stand out. The Highland Bird Report for 2012 keeps me up to date with what is happening to Highland birds and I’d recommend getting it.
The photographs are always outstanding in these reports – so much so they make me feel as though I might as well give up photography altogether.
With the 2012 report I did not even have to look inside as there, on the front cover, was a simply superb photograph of a lesser redpoll taken by Desmond Dugan.
I have photographed redpolls in the garden often enough, but none of the results have been anything like this.
In the centre of the report are 16 more images and some equally good ones, such as the common and king eider by Derek McGinn and the velvet scoter by Andy Williams.
In the list of contents there are 13 headings that include "Review of the ornithological year 2012" and "Highland Weather", plus "Glossy ibises on Eigg 2012".
While these are fascinating, the one section I always turn to is, as you would expect, the longest section by far. It is the "Systematic list for 2012" and covers well over 100 pages.
The layout is standardised and the one on the oystercatcher is typical, with the status and breeding of the bird summarised at the start. Then there are details including counts etc, for winter/spring, a breeding section and then autumn/winter.
While most people may turn to the rarities, I am more interested in other birds. The house martin, for instance.
I was intrigued to see there are still nests on the inland cliffs at Inchnadamph, north of Ullapool. I knew this site in 1969/70 and I thought they were long gone. The magpie is another bird that has intrigued me and I was interested to see that its range is spreading to the west and north. There are breeding records for Inverness airport and Tarbat Ness.
The jay, too, is spreading. Last time I travelled up the west side of the Great Glen I saw a jay cross the road and thought that very long tract of woodland must be ideal for them to spread from the south, where they are relatively common. There are other fascinating sections such as the late and early dates for migrants, and yet again I wonder why I never get anywhere near these dates!
The ringing section gives an insight to just how much hard work goes on behind the scenes, and as a former ringer myself I have an idea. Just imagine a total of 33,762 birds ringed, from golden eagle to shearwater and siskin to tawny owl.
There are a number of special ringing schemes, including some on the islands such as Canna and the Shiants. Some of these places are difficult to get to, let alone ring birds.
The recovery of ringed birds and those found ringed when they are caught are an important part of ringing, and the list gives some of the more outstanding ones and where they have been found. This section gives a fascinating insight as to where birds travel to and from.
Also well worth a read are a paper on Nigg Bay and its history and future.
The "Review of the ornithological year 2012" summarises much of the report and the note on submitting records is a good read.
The report’s editor is Alex Joss and his contact details are included. He and all the others involved are to be congratulated on yet another superb report.
RECORD OF THE WEEK
Raising a toast to the kestrel
This has to be alcohol, which may seem a strange subject but it is all in the cause of wildlife conservation.
Some years ago, The Famous Grouse blended whisky had an addition to its stable in the form of a black grouse, and for each bottle bought a contribution was made to the RSPB for its invaluable work on black grouse.
This included the programme of habitat management at the RSPB Corrimony reserve west of Inverness. Large sums of money came from this scheme.
There has been a huge decline of the black grouse in the last century and there are only a few places where it is now holding its own or increasing. The decline is due to a combination of fence lines, overgrazing and predators such as crows and foxes.
The latest money-raising scheme I’ve come across is run by Kestrel Beer.
The kestrel used to be the commonest bird of prey in the UK but in recent years its decline has been substantial – 32 per cent in UK with a decline of twice that in Scotland. Nobody knows why and the RSPB has begun a campaign to find out.
Accordingly, Kestrel Beers has decided to support this and will be giving a substantial sum to help in the next three years. It will be interesting to see if the sums involved match those from the black grouse scheme.
Congratulations to Kestrel Beers.
