The European Union’s Birds Directive – often believed to be one of the world’s most progressive and successful set of nature conservation laws – has had a huge impact in protecting Europe’s most threatened bird species, according to new research published this month.
“We analysed information on all bird species breeding across the European Union”, said Dr Fiona Sanderson, RSPB scientist and lead author of the paper. “Our findings confirm that species with the highest level of protection under the Birds Directive [listed in Annex I]… are more likely to have increasing populations, and that these results are most apparent in countries that have been members of the European Union for longer.”
While this may sound natural, the study, published in the journal Conservation Letters, noted that as a result of stronger conservation measures, a majority of Annex I species (like Dalmatian pelican, common crane, white-tailed eagle and white-headed duck) are now improving their populations more than other threatened species that are not on that list. This could point to a need to better implement protection projects for species across the other annexes as well, whose situation may not originally have been considered as dire.
The globally threatened Dalmatian pelican was driven nearly to extinction in Europe in the 20th century due to loss of habitat, degradation, persecution and collision with power lines. However, thanks to the directives, more than 2,500 breeding pairs are now in existence, five times the number of a few decades ago.
White-headed duck was just as threatened. There were only 22 left in 1977 because of wetland destruction and persecution, but thanks to strong protection of their habitat and other conservation measures, there are now more than 2,000 in the wild.
Bird species listed in the other annexes are not as lucky. For example, black-tailed godwit, despite being part of Annex II, continues to see a rapid decline in population and is listed as ‘threatened’ in Europe and ‘Endangered’ in the EU27. In Europe, the population size has decreased by an estimated 30-49% over three generations, while the EU27 has seen a 50-79% decline.
“Our research proves that, in an era of unprecedented climate change and habitat loss, those threatened birds protected by the Birds Directive are more likely to prosper”, Dr Paul Donald, the RSPB’s principal conservation scientist, said.
The research was published just days after the closure on 26 July of a public consultation on the future of the European Union’s nature laws. The European Commission is currently reviewing the Birds and Habitats Directives, looking into their effectiveness. More than 500,000 people signed and 120 NGOs supported the online campaign against this review in the largest public response to any consultation published by the European Commission.
“At a time when the benefits of EU membership are increasingly questioned, this research shows that, at least for nature, the EU is making a huge positive difference,” said BirdLife Europe’s Head of EU Policy, Ariel Brunner. “It would make no sense for the European Commission to demolish legislation proven to work and which enjoys a massive level of support among citizens.”
Download and read the paper Assessing the performance of EU nature legislation in protecting target bird species in an era of climate change here
The Department of the Environment has co-ordinated the Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (JBMS) for the last ten years, depending on a team of unpaid volunteers who count butterflies each week throughout the spring and summer at 38 locations across Jersey. The 10 year butterfly report has now been published online and is available to download here
The scheme is one of the ways Jersey meets its international environmental obligations, butterflies are environmental bellwethers and in line with countries around the world, the Department of the Environment monitors Jersey’s butterfly population to detect changes to the environment.
What happens to Jersey’s butterfly data?
The JBMS raw data are collected and collated by the Department, copies being passed on to the Jersey Biodiversity Centre, Société Jersiaise, the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, Butterfly Conservation and the EU Environment Agency. The Island has 40 monitored sites (which is more than several European countries) and punches well above its weight. JBMS data are used in local, national and international analyses such as the European Grassland Indicator Butterfly Scheme. The results are analysed annually and after 10 years of continuous monitoring the data obtained enough statistical significance to undergo a more thorough analysis, the results of which are presented in the new report.
What does the JBMS tell us about the island’s environment?
The JBMS 10 year results suggest that Jersey’s butterflies respond quickly to changes in the environment so are thus an excellent indicator of changes in the island’s terrestrial habitats and climate. The results suggest that there has been an overall decline in Jersey’s butterflies since 2004, especially on agricultural and urban sites, but that managed semi-natural sites are mostly doing well. Now that these and other issues have been highlighted by the JBMS, it may be possible to help mitigate and reverse any declines in species and habitat quality through government policy and changes in land management practice.
In dedication
The butterfly report is dedicated to two of Jersey’s foremost naturalists. Margaret Long and Joan Banks were instrumental in setting up the Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. They had tested a similar scheme in the 1990s and in 2004 used the data from this to establish butterfly transects around the island. They also provided background knowledge on Jersey’s butterflies and continued to support the scheme for many years. Without them the Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme would have been much harder to get off the ground. We remain very grateful for all their help and support. Margaret kindly helped Birds On The Edge with the development of this website.
Birds On The Edge reported last year on the bird species that have been recorded throughout the Channel Islands (Just how many birds are there in the Channel Islands?). Well, each year the full list gets updated by bird groups in each of the islands and is now complete up to the end of 2014.
Besides including new species, we try to update the local status of each one to reflect just how they are faring. This is not always a nice job as so many species are declining so it’s always good to provide positive news. With European storm petrel remaining a rather enigmatic bird in Jersey (do they ever breed, hidden away somewhere?) we received a possible answer as to just where all the birds we see at sea and, occasionally, ring on the north coast might be coming from. In 2006 we said that storm petrels breed on Burhou (Alderney) once in large numbers but now scarce but annual. At the end of 2010 we revised this and added that there may be 150+ pairs. However, in 2012 we further changed this to say that there might only be 40+ pairs on Burhou. Well, now, following an analysis of ringing studies on Burhou we have revised the figure once more – to 1,000 or more pairs! True, this represents a better understanding of the birds rather than a definite increase, but it does give us something better to go on with the support for this bird and increase further the international importance of Burhou!
Of new species, Jersey fared best with the only bird new to the Channel Islands, a Caspian tern seen briefly over St Ouen’s Pond on 25th April. Jersey also recorded its very first great spotted cuckoo in March and a paddyfield warbler in September – both species already on Guernsey’s list. A great bustard was a remarkable sight in Alderney in November – this bird, the first recorded in the Channel Islands to leave the islands alive – was from the reintroduction project in England. The bustard stayed for five days giving some great views.
Alderney recorded only its third ever garganey, Guernsey its third subalpine warbler and fourth Kumlien’s gull and Jersey its fifth red-rumped swallow. An unconfirmed report of two spoonbill in April would constitute only Sark’s second record of this increasing bird if accepted. Black-winged stilt were seen in both Jersey and Guernsey, while Guernsey further increased its grip on visits by red-breasted flycatcher and rose-coloured starling while Jersey did likewise with tree sparrow. Another Jersey highlight, of course, was the presence of a free-flying flock of red-billed chough! I must, however, reiterate that although 329 species have now been recorded in Jersey to Guernsey’s 325 there is no competiveness between the islands at all.
If a conservation initiative like Birds On The Edge aims to restore bird populations and stop them from further declines, it is important that we keep our eyes on the target. Even when you are busy restoring habitats, planting winter bird crops, clearing bracken and introducing grazing flocks, unless you monitor how the birds are actually doing, you can’t just assume that things will work out, just because they work well elsewhere.
In short, doing the conservation work itself is only half of the job. Any project needs to put in place systems to measure its progress, not only to find out whether techniques actually work but also when to stop, evaluate and adjust. Real-time feedback allows us to adapt the techniques that we use, saving a great amount of work, time and money.
Thankfully some local initiatives have been monitoring birds in Jersey for quite a while. The Ornithology Section of the Société Jersiaise collects bird records all year round and publishes an annual bird report summarizing each species’ year. During spring, our local representative of the BTO co-ordinates a team of volunteers that survey randomly selected squares twice in a 6-week period and record all breeding birds and their activity. The BTO then publishes a nationwide analysis and report on general trends based on everybody’s input. On top of that, every year the BTO organizes a nationwide census for a different species, in which Jersey’s ornithologists also participate. Last year it was the peregrine falcon, this year it’s the turn of the house martin.
The Farmland Monitoring Scheme set up in 2005 and co-ordinated by Dr Glyn Young at Durrell, collects data from 22 transects walked by volunteers every fortnight throughout the year. So far it has collected date from over 3,200 individual site counts as it celebrates the first 10 years of work (watch out on the website for a full report). Other annual surveys organized locally include the Jersey Garden Bird Watch, organised by Action for Wildlife and Birds On The Edge, and various wader, geese and raptor counts which help create a picture of long-term trends of the most well-known species.
In 2013, Birds On The Edge started its own ‘breeding birds survey’, partly to complement these schemes, and partly to fill a gap which was relevant to the project, that is to focus survey efforts on Jersey’s most threatened coastal and farmland birds. This survey pays special attention to endangered species found in the areas of work (north-west and western coasts to start with), such as the stonechat, skylark, lapwing and turtle dove, plus Island-wide species whose status is uncertain such as the kestrel and the starling. The survey also includes other species whose populations seem stable, such as the raven or the peregrine falcon, yet are considered highly vulnerable due to only a small number of breeding pairs.
We are pleased to publish now the report of the 2014 survey (download a copy here). Over the two years of the survey to date, we have found high enough numbers of certain species such as the meadow pipit, linnet, Dartford warbler and common whitethroat, for example, to make it difficult to monitor each breeding pair. This suggests that any changes in the population trends will be, and already are, reliably picked up by long-term monitoring schemes such as the Farmland Monitoring Scheme.
The majority of resources were placed instead in monitoring the breeding success of our smaller bird populations. Over the course of two years we have seen an increase in the number of stonechat pairs, going from two to six and we have seen the cirl buntings, which returned in 2011, increase to two pairs. The breeding success of one of our most threatened birds, however, the turtle dove, proved difficult to confirm in 2014, although a single pair was seen nest-building. Skylarks seemed also to follow the negative trend of the last few years while lapwings remain at very low numbers, and are not able to reverse their decline of the last few years. In contrast, other small populations, such as that of the raven and the peregrine, do seem more stable at 3-5 breeding pairs.
The 2014 report also recommends a few new species to be included in this year’s (2015) survey, like the sedge warbler and the sand martin, and reminds us to keep a close eye on species that are suffering declines in the UK, such as the kestrel and the common starling, as their present trend in Jersey is anything but clear.
Results from one year to the next have to be taken with much caution and interpreted in the wider context of long-term trends and habitat changes. Having said that, it is important to continue monitoring the small populations that we have in Jersey as they are very vulnerable to rapid extinction events, and any acute dip in the population or any new threat (a disease, a new predator, changes in habitat) will be detected early and might allow us to take action before its too late.
This report was made with the help of many local birdwatchers, local enthusiasts, work colleagues, and the Ornithology Section of the Société Jersiaise. Please download a copy of the 2014 report here
A new and experimental project was launched today offering an unrivalled insight into the lifecycle of Britain’s largest native seabird, the northern gannet. The project entitled ‘Track a Gannet’, or T.A.G. for short, is jointly run by Britain’s smallest Wildlife Trust, the Alderney Wildlife Trust (AWT), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the University of Liverpool, and has enabled gannets to be put under surveillance using the 3G mobile network. The project is unique in that:
T.A.G is the first time 3G live tracking has been used on seabirds and is a world first for ‘real time’ tracking of a seabird being available to the general public
T.A.G is delivering daily discoveries into the vital importance of the English Channel to these birds as they fish over vast areas. The maximum track for a single trip recorded since the tags were enabled on the 8th June is in excess of 800km
For the first time real time tracking has been combined with a live streaming webcam here
Data collected from the tags will be vitally important in understanding the potential impacts of off-shore developments in the English Channel and will be used to respond to a variety of development issues
Alderney’s gannet populations are the most southerly in the British Isles. Northern gannets are identified as an ‘Amber listed’ in the Birds of Conservation Concern 3 (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), and perhaps one of the most charismatic of British breeding seabirds.
The technology
The tracking is done by fitting prototype GPS tags which have been developed by the BTO and the Universities of East Anglia and Lisbon and transmit data in near real time. The devices were attached to the tail feathers of 20 northern gannets by a team from the AWT, BTO and University of Liverpool, and connect the birds with any 3G enabled mobile network they come into contact with, at which time the tags download the track of where the birds have been. The tags transmit the flight paths of the gannets to the website which updates every time a bird comes within range of the European 3G network. The website offers the most ‘real time’ form of monitoring ever attempted on birds at sea.
Watching the nesting gannet colony LIVE online
The same webpage also has a live streaming GannetCam webcam which is situated on the Ortac gannet colony. The webcam enables both scientists and the public to get a much more detailed glimpse into the birds’ behaviour within their colony. In fact, several of the birds with tags on are nesting in front of the camera and can, therefore, be followed live both through the transmitters and the camera. If tags survive until the chicks have left our waters it is hoped that the project will yield the first live streaming data from gannets heading to their wintering grounds.
Protecting the gannets for the future
Alderney hosts a number of important seabird colonies in the English Channel and with six wind and three tidal developments proposed in waters surrounding the island under consideration by UK, French and Alderney governments, the Alderney Wildlife Trust is increasingly concerned about the need to understand and protect its seabirds.
Our vision for ‘Living Seas’ includes ensuring development in our seas is ecologically sustainable and it is only with increased knowledge of the marine environment that this can be fully achieved.
T.A.G. is an AWT co-ordinated project which has been jointly supported by the University of Liverpool, the Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy (ACRE), local businesses and members of the general public who have sponsored and named birds themselves. See list of tag sponsors including our own Action For Wildlife on the website here
T.A.G.
The T.A.G. page is now live so you can start seeing the birds and their tracks. It is likely that the website will be modified soon so we only see the last three days of tracks (data from when the tags went on will be stored). Another eight tags to replace the ones that failed will go on to birds shortly to increase the data set.
La Société Guernesiaise is to use its herd of six Guernsey steers to try to attract the skylark back to the Island by reintroducing grazing to the Port Soif Common area this summer. Many Islanders will remember the wonderful sight and sound of the skylarks that were once widespread in Guernsey, but sadly, apart from the odd visitor, no more. The area around Port Soif was well-known for these lovely ground-nesting birds, but none has bred there for about eight years.
The Conservation Herd moved to the area last weekend and will be grazing there for roughly six weeks to try to re-establish the habitat that attracted the birds to breed there.
Physical disturbance of the ground by trampling creates small bare patches of earth which disturb the seed bank and helps the germination of wildflowers. This has the potential to allow plants which may once have been considered lost from a site to re-establish or spread. These bare patches can also be important for ants and nesting solitary bees and wasps – and, hopefully, skylarks.
The birds won’t have far to travel. Jersey still has a population and conservationists there are very supportive of our efforts to bring some back here.
The land is managed by Guernsey’s Environment Department and since traditional grazing ended, the area has been tractor-mown each year. Tractor mowing is efficient but leaves the cut vegetation on the ground and a ‘thatch’ of dead grass builds up, the thatch smothers finer grasses and plants, encouraging coarser plants such as common hogweed and brambles to thrive. Reintroducing traditional grazing will increase the range of plants found here and an improved habitat will develop for insects and small mammals. Grazing these areas of land will also allow the grassland to retain small tussocks of grass which are ideal nesting sites for skylarks.
Julia Henney, the Conservation Herd’s manager, said, “Birds such as skylarks and cuckoo were commonly seen in Guernsey until relatively recently. Traditional grazing around the coast has almost stopped and by reintroducing the Conservation Herd to selected sites we hope to recreate more favourable conditions that will encourage them to return here and, over time, to breed regularly on the Island. The Conservation Herd will be ideal to give ‘Operation Skylark’ the best possible start and it’s an exciting project for everyone involved.”
The Conservation Herd will be grazing within electric fencing for several weeks around Port Soif and will be checked daily by the team which cares for them. La Société and the Environment Department would welcome assistance from regular dog walkers and people who walk or exercise around Port Soif. ‘Watchers’ are sought to keep an eye on the cattle when they’re passing and report any problems or concerns to the Conservation Herd team.
Temporary signs are placed around the site to explain the project and give information on who to contact in the event of an emergency.
Anyone who would like more information on the Conservation Herd is welcome to contact conservationherd@societe.org.gg and follow the project on Facebook. Visit the online map here to track where they are grazing.
The European Red List of Birds, published this month by the European Commission, reveals that habitat loss and climate change have caused the declines of 20 per cent of European bird species.
The report’s foreword by novelist Margaret Atwood and poet Graeme Gibson minces no words: “First the birds, then us. Unless we pay attention, we’ll be on the Red List next.”
After three years of work, led by BirdLife International and financed by the European Commission, this report will set the base for European conservation and policy work over the coming years. The Red List is widely recognised as the most authoritative and objective system for assessing the extinction risk of species.
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Policy says that: “These reports contain some worrying statistics, but they also show the value of well-targeted actions to protect the biodiversity we depend on both economically and socially. Our task is to find ways of building on those successes and spreading them to other areas. They are also a valuable input to our on-going Fitness Check. Europe needs nature legislation that is fit for purpose.”
Iván Ramírez, Head of Conservation at BirdLife International (European and Central Asian Division) said: “The new European Red List of Birds is a call to arms for the conservation of our natural world. It is inspiring to see that many species targeted by conservation efforts and supported by key tools such as the Birds Directive and the LIFE programme are recovering. Yet it is shocking to see many species that used to be common now listed as threatened. It is deeply worrying to contemplate the possibility of a world with no puffins, European turtle doves, northern lapwings or oystercatchers“.
And Christina Ieronymidou, the European Species Programme Officer at BirdLife, commented: “The Red List tells us that we have done a decent job at rescuing the rarest species by protecting their last strongholds and taking actions such as eradication of invasive species and insulation of killer power lines. We are now faced with much bigger challenges, from the ecological degradation of our farmland to climate change. These problems require a much broader and deeper response.”
The very bad news
13 per cent (67 species) of the 533 species assessed are threatened at European level, of which 10 are Critically Endangered (the highest threat level). Among them some iconic birds such as: sociable lapwing, yellow-breasted bunting, slender-billed curlew (which is probably already extinct) and, of local importance, Balearic Shearwater. The study also found that 18 species are Endangered and an additional 39 Vulnerable.
A total of 29 species have been uplisted since 2004, having been formerly considered to be of Least Concern but now threatened or Near Threatened in Europe. These species include, of local importance, European turtle dove, oystercatcher, puffin, razorbill, meadow pipit, kittiwake and common pochard. Some further species that were identified as being in trouble a decade ago have still not improved including Egyptian vulture, greater spotted eagle and little bustard but also aquatic warbler and northern lapwing.
There is some good news
Improvements include a total of 20 species which were previously considered regionally threatened, and are now classified as Least Concern in Europe (although some are still globally threatened). These include Dalmatian pelican, ferruginous duck, stone-curlew, black kite, lesser kestrel, long-legged buzzard, gull-billed tern, black-throated diver and great bustard. Another 25 species are still threatened in Europe, but now have a lower extinction risk than a decade ago, and have seen their threat level downlisted. For example, Zino’s petrel and Azores bullfinch, both previously considered to be Critically Endangered, are now classified as Endangered.
In March we outlined opportunities to watch Channel Islands seabirds remotely through web cameras. We included tantalising details of future access to Alderney’s gannet colonies and even some video from previous seasons. Well, now Alderney Wildlife Trust and LIVE are pleased to update everyone as the camera on Ortac has gone live!
The camera is still a very new instillation and next year we will be able to take full advantage of the supper Falsystems pan/tilt/zoom camera array. However for 2015, AWT very much hope that GannetCam, when it is officially launched in early to mid-June alongside the Track A Gannet (TAG) project, will provide school students, teachers and the general public an unrivalled view into the world of the this spectacular seabird.
Alderney’s two northern gannet colonies (Les Etacs and Ortac) are, together, the second most southerly colonies in the world and support over 2% of the species’ population. With seven offshore wind farm sites proposed within the English Channel and tidal turbines likely to be deployed in Alderney’s waters, it is more important than ever for us to understand as much about these magnificent birds as possible.
You may notice a plastic bag has caught underneath the camera. Gannets when creating their nest will collect floating debris on the ocean. This originally would only be plant and seaweed material but with the growing problems of plastic pollution in the world’s seas we now find a lot more fishing line and plastic is being used in the nests. The plastic bag you see on camera is an example of this pollution. For more information about marine litter and AWT’s campaign against it visit their website
So please do drop in to GannetCam. There is never a dull moment in a gannet colony when the birds are at home!
A landmark report published this week has shown that European biodiversity is being lost at unacceptable rates. Intensive agriculture is shown to be the main culprit while protected areas can be seen to have a positive impact for conservation
The State of Nature 2015 report shows that only a minority of European species is in favourable conservation status in most EU Member States, and that the situation is even worse for habitats. Farming related activities are the most prominent threat to biodiversity in the EU today across species, habitats, sites and ecosystems. Unsustainable fishing is a main threat to the marine environment while damage to rivers represents the main threat to fresh water habitats and species.
Among ecosystem types, grasslands are in the worst crisis and this situation is clearly linked to agricultural intensification. The marine environment has a particular concentration of threatened species.
Ariel Brunner, Head of Policy at BirdLife Europe, stated: “The new report shows that conservation efforts are having an impact but that the overall situation of EU biodiversity is still dire. If we do not deal urgently with some of the major drivers of biodiversity loss, agriculture in particular, we are going to miss the 2020 target, lose precious habitats and species and pay a high price as a society”.
“On the positive side – added Brunner – there are clear indications that the Natura 2000 network is having a positive impact. Over 100,000 European citizens in just one week have participated to the European Commission consultation (join in here) to save Natura 2000. The findings of the State of Nature offer scientific support to these demands. Let’s hope the Commission takes both into consideration”.
The State of Nature 2015 is the first harmonized report by the European Commission on the state of the EU biodiversity, based on data reported by Member States under obligations emanating from article 12 of the Birds Directive and article 17 of the Habitats Directive.
Key findings for birds in this report are:
Half of the bird populations in EU Member States are reported as being Secure but around one sixth are regionally threatened with another sixth near threatened, declining or depleted.
Wintering bird populations appear to have fared better than breeding bird populations, although data was only available for a subset of birds, mostly waterbirds, many of which are better monitored in winter when they migrate to and congregate in Europe.
Many bird species previously considered under serious threat are, however, increasing. These results suggest that conservation action is having a positive effect on their populations. However, a high proportion of these birds remain threatened at EU level, owing to their small and/or declining populations and/or ranges.
Overall, the most frequently reported pressures or threats for birds were changes in agriculture, followed by modification of natural systems and use of living resources (hunting, trapping, poisoning and poaching). Agricultural pressures/threats are particularly associated with grasslands or heathland and scrub ecosystems and include modification of cultivation practices and changes in grazing regimes.
On habitats
Results for the conservation status of habitats vary considerably between EU Member States. The majority indicate a low level of habitats which are ‘favourable’ and a majority of the overall assessments for habitats have an ‘unfavourable’ conservation status.
Again, the two most frequently reported pressures and threats for habitats are agriculture and modification of natural conditions (each 19 %) including through fertilization, changes in grazing by livestock, and the abandonment of pastoral systems/lack of grazing.
The full report can be read here or in ‘brochure’ form here
Please also visitthis site to express your views on revision of the EU Nature Directives. The Channel Islands are not in the EU but citizens of EU countries can still express their views.
The first clutch of the season captured on the nest camera.
The breeding pairs at the park laid their first eggs of the season this month. Issy waited until after the Easter Bank Holiday to start her clutch of five eggs.
As planned, keepers waited until she had been incubating the clutch for at least five days (25% of the incubation period) and then transferred them to the artificial incubator. Tristan and Issy immediately started rebuilding the nest with the intention to re-lay.
As with all artificially incubated eggs, these were weighed, measured, and then set in the incubator. Staff weighed the eggs daily to monitor weight loss and candled the eggs to check on development. After evaluating methodology and data from last year’s breeding season we decided to set the initial humidity levels lower at 30% instead of 50% to increase hatching success. This seems to have had a positive effect last year.
Sadly, four of Issy’s five eggs died very early on, potentially before staff removed them from the nest. The fifth egg (not necessarily laid in that order) survived. Not only that but it showed an almost perfect pattern of expected weight loss over its incubation period. We think this was due to the reduced humidity. The expected hatch date for the egg is May 1st.
Gwinny waited until the end of the month to start laying. She did the same last year and timed it with Issy laying her second clutch. We had hoped that this year the male having now acquainted himself with what an egg looks like, would co-operate and not throw them out. Alas, the first sign of Gwinny having an egg was a discarded one on the aviary floor when the keeper went in to feed.
Looking back at the recorded footage from the nest-camera we spotted Gwinny laying an egg at around 20.00 one evening. At 06.15 the male went in and removed the egg in his beak when Gwinny was off the nest. Watch in this nest camera video as the male removes the egg – and watch Gwinny return showing her disapproval!
We set up the cameras so we could watch from our computers at home. At 06.00 the next day Harriet woke, switched on the computer and dialled 9-9-EGG! Catherine, living the closest to the park, leapt into action and headed straight for the aviary to rescue the egg. Harriet continued to watch as the male carefully removed the egg just before Catherine arrived at 06:10! We were able to rescue one egg from Gwinny’s clutch. We do not actually know at this stage whether the egg is fertile. We will have to wait and see.
Gianna’s golden egg
After Gianna’s master class in the art of nest building last month she advanced to demonstrating how to incubate an egg!
When she finished building the nest she spent a few days moping around the aviary looking a bit lost. This period is when you expect the pair to be copulating. Gianna’s substitute partner (guess who!) spent a lot of time tickling her lower back resulting in quivering wings and tail feathers. I am not sure I can go into much more detail for readers before the watershed.
The next stage was to provide her with a dummy egg to trick her into thinking she had started laying. It worked and she laid her first slightly odd-looking egg. Nevertheless she was very proud of that egg and has been incubating it diligently ever since. This is very good training for next year if she is to become a foster mum.
Breeding pairs at Sorel
In March we witnessed the first twigs to be carried by nesting choughs out on the north coast. This month things stepped up a gear. Twigs, gorse, dried bracken, and wool were just some of the items collected by the choughs. Interestingly the two dominant males did most of the work flanked all the time by their females. In the case of White, by both his females.
Hopefully they re not flying off to Sark with that twig. Photo by Liz Corry
White feeding Mauve whilst his other female forages alongside. Photo by Liz Corry
White and one of his two females, Black, taking time out to bond over a preening session. Photo by Liz Corry.
With the nests complete towards the end of the month (well at least thats what we think) the males turned their attention to courtship displays and mating.
Photo by Paul Pestana.
Watch this short video of one of the males displaying in the aviary towards two females.
For a while it seemed like April would be a very average month in the Sorel chough calendar. Then, true to form, scandal broke.
Dingle joining the other juveniles on the aviary roof. Photo by Liz Corry
Dingle, our hand-reared male, didn’t come home to roost at the aviary one night. For the past month or so the juveniles and an unpaired adult, Red, spent their nights in the aviary. The 8pm radio-tracking session towards the start of the month showed that Dingle was not there. Neither was Red!
Growing up, Dingle and the other three hand-reared chicks were always very close. Dingle begs for food from them, often they cave in and feed. He might reciprocate. Chickay and Bean probably spend more time with him than little Caûvette. Mutual preening observed on a daily basis.
Maybe Red’s recent heartbreak from Green and Dingle’s ‘teenage’ hormones have led to the two forming a bond. Can it lead to something more?
Red and Dingle are now spending time together and roost away from the juveniles. Photo by Liz Corry.
Radio tracking and behavioural observations
Green dropped his transmitter on the 19th. This has very little impact on his way of life, but is extremely frustrating for the team as we can no longer distinguish between the three males in flight. Our behavioural observations are now biased towards those birds we can identify, i.e. choughs feeding on open grazed land or at the aviary. We have stopped these observations and are now focusing on nesting behaviour.
Behavioural observations in the field. Photo by Liz Corry
The radio-tracking study of the males’ home range also terminated at the end of the month due to the lack of transmitters. Despite trying to adapt we could no longer collect the required data. This will not stop us from following the choughs. It just restricts the amount of quantitative data for analysis.
Once the choughs take flight it is often difficult to tell them apart. Photo by Liz Corry
Choughs probing the sheep-grazed coastline. Photo by Paul Pestana.
Student exchange
Jen sampling gorse cupcakes. Photo by Harriet Clark.
Jennifer who joined the project in October last year, bid farewell to the choughs and Jersey this month as she returned home to the UK. Jen is the only non-resident student who has been able to commit to more than three months so far.
I’m sure that as the winter months set in at Sorel she began to regret signing up for so long.
Jen assures me that it was worth staying the course and has learnt a great deal including how gorse flower cupcakes taste! We are extremely grateful to have had Jen on our team and admire her dedication throughout.
New student Paul getting to know the choughs. Photo by Liz Corry
Jen handed over the reins to our new student Paul Pestana.
Paul is a familiar face at Durrell having swapped telecommunications for a career in conservation several years ago.
For the last six months Paul has been a volunteer in Mauritius working closely with the pink pigeons. The skills Paul has acquired out in the tropics are very applicable to the student placement role. With the added bonus of not having to deal with mosquitoes.
Whilst not quite up to tropical standards, the weather in Jersey improved greatly this month with the thermometer pushing 25°C – clearly challenging to both choughs and sheep (and field staff who forget sun block!).
The sheep seeking shade at Sorel (try saying that at speed). Photo by Liz Corry
The most challenging weather for staff at Sorel, however, may be when the sea fog rolls in. Breath-taking it may be, yet really really annoying when you are trying to follow birds across a 2km stretch of coastline.
Sea fog clung to the cliffs the entire day on 13th April. Photo by Liz Corry
The spate of good weather meant the juveniles had the opportunity to kick back and relax. If ever proof was needed that choughs play then this was it.
When corvids play it releases endorphins the same way as in humans, making them feel happy. And when choughs play with wool they are actually learning; watching how the adults pick out wool to line nests.
Who knows what else they learn out at Sorel…
Jean
We still have no news on the fate of Jean. We have officially declared her as deceased in the International Species Information System (ZIMS). There is though one new theory to her mystery disappearance. Alien tractor beam.
While this may sound natural, the study, published in the journal Conservation Letters, noted that as a result of stronger conservation measures, a majority of Annex I species (like Dalmatian pelican, common crane, white-tailed eagle and white-headed duck) are now improving their populations more than other threatened species that are not on that list. This could point to a need to better implement protection projects for species across the other annexes as well, whose situation may not originally have been considered as dire.
The globally threatened Dalmatian pelican was driven nearly to extinction in Europe in the 20th century due to loss of habitat, degradation, persecution and collision with power lines. However, thanks to the directives, more than 2,500 breeding pairs are now in existence, five times the number of a few decades ago.
he majority of resources were placed instead in monitoring the breeding success of our smaller bird populations. Over the course of two years we have seen an increase in the number of stonechat pairs, going from two to six and we have seen the cirl buntings, which returned in 2011, increase to two pairs. The breeding success of one of our most threatened birds, however, the turtle dove, proved difficult to confirm in 2014, although a single pair was seen nest-building. Skylarks seemed also to follow the negative trend of the last few years while lapwings remain at very low numbers, and are not able to reverse their decline of the last few years. In contrast, other small populations, such as that of the raven and the peregrine, do seem more stable at 3-5 breeding pairs.
