Great Britain's Bustards and Birders

Upon returning to my birthplace after 40 years, I discovered remarkable improvement in the environmental conscience. 

The British have always been at the genesis of science. One of the world’s oldest and most respected ornithological bodies, with an international membership stretching across all continents, the British Ornithologists' union (BOU), was founded in Britain in 1858.   

Today conservationists are desperately implementing many environmental practices in the UK in a last ditch attempt to save their own remnant traces of nature. 

  Great Bustard  in flight                                                         lan Oscar Ramirez

  Great Bustard                            Marco Valentini 

Commendable developments in Wiltshire

Despite the occasional traffic cone or shopping trolley having been thrown into the River Avon by the unhappy youth of the day, much as it was in yesteryear, we can celebrate the fact that the water is clean, with healthy fish stock and breeding Otters. 

Current practices of conservation are stretching the scope from saving a few chalk-down blue butterflies and hedgehogs, to the ambitious and successful reintroduction programme for the Great Bustard (more in a future post), on the Salisbury Plain, just north of the prehistoric World Heritage Site - Stonehenge. 

  

Stonehenge

 Elevated walkway along the River Avon during Spring flood 2020

 

Kingfisher

Roe Deer

Natural banks and riverine landscape

Wiltshire has a surprising large amount of rural landscape which lies on a chalk down formation, suitable for sheep grazing. The most delightful feature is the way the River Avon is permitted to take a natural course through Salisbury just north of the city at a location called Stratford Sub Castle. Here the water is not controlled or canalised, but allowed to flow naturally during heavy rainfall - where it simply fills up the vale beautifully

Moorhen

European Robin

forming temporary ponds. The walkways nearer to town become flooded and form an absolutely gorgeous hike through a riverine landscape. Wellies (rubber boots) are essential! Rediscovering England is refreshing because the limited nature available is nurtured. The remaining areas which are not farmed are allocated to preservation and are managed thoughtfully. In Spring the foxglove bloom and the Blackcap sing their familiar song. The British and Anglo bird of Christmas decoration is the Robin. These are still common and a garden bird in the suburbs along with Blackbird and even Wood-pigeon. Bird lovers and enthusiasts are a massive group here. Indeed a huge industry has developed for feeding the creatures. We might want to question this strategy as it keeps so many individuals and densities unnaturally high. Clearly, in terms of preserving bird numbers this is better than the twentieth century culture of shooting anything that flies. 

Remarkably, there is still a great number of Red Grouse and Pheasant killed for sport. Unfortunately, the game keeping that is instrumental in removing raptors (who might prey on game species), and are often considered undesirable, is still an issue. At least one powerful organisation, that promotes the protection of birds, has significant financial strength and influence - also carries a royal charter. These aristocrats shoot birds. Is there is an argument for continuing an industry owning large swaths of land for the explicit purpose of raising large numbers of birds to be blasted out of sky for sport? A sport based on competing to see who can shoot and bring back the greatest number of birds at the end of the day.

Sedge Warbler

Blackcap

Foxglove 

The now seldom European Cuckoo has been driven to higher mountain meadows in Central Europe. But to my delight and surprise, Cuckoo could be heard here in Wiltshire along the River Avon this April. The Cuckoo's territories remain because of the abundant Sedge Warbler (the Cuckoo's host-bird and that's a post for another time) that breed in the flooded meadows and reeds. The Red Kite, once had only a relic population in Wales, and now are well established nationally. 

Mute Swan 

Red Kite 

Honey Bee

After many years galavanting around the world...

...and returning to England in 2019 to rediscover the charm of its nature and that many threatened species have even expanded their range, I am pleased to see birdwatching is now a popular pastime, and in some quarters, even an obsession. The human necessity to compete has taken on the form of individuals keeping lists of the different bird species they have seen. This activity has been refined into remarkable and unusual forms: day lists, annual lists, life lists - all add to the competition of the sport. The motion of ticking a box has led to participants being called Twitchers. Some bizarre behaviour has developed. For example, this year a Bearded Vulture has spent the Summer in England, initially in the Peak District, now currently moving around further South. This bird has its own reverant following of enthusiasts travelling around the UK in chase to acquire the tick. This trend is certainly desirable, with hoards of Twitchers armed with binoculars and pen, as opposed to the over-privileged armed with shotgun and buckshot.