A pair of Montagu’s harriers have raised four chicks in an English wheat field, the first success for Britain’s rarest breeding bird since 2019. The fledglings took their maiden flights this week after being closely monitored by the RSPB and the local farmer, with a protective wire-mesh fence installed around the nest to repel predators […]
Tag: birds of prey
In West Africa, hooded vultures vanish as abattoirs modernize
Critically endangered hooded vultures in Nigeria that once fed on the carcasses of wild animals are now largely dependent on scraps discarded by people. But changes in the way waste is disposed of at slaughterhouses has left them desperately short of food, researchers say. In the 1970s, hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) were among at least […]
Telemetry: Tracking Bald Eagles in Real Time
We often say that the science of bird banding is like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into the ocean. Data can only be recorded if someone else finds the bottle, or in other words, resights the bird and reports its band. While this data is useful, it is limited. Now, the […]
The watchers who prey on Israel’s falcon poachers
For the volunteer watchers scanning southern Israel’s wheatfields, protecting migratory falcons from poachers is a highly coordinated security operation. The raptors may top the food chain in the wild, but here the predators can themselves become the prey. Many protected species of migratory birds spend their winters in this agricultural area close to the Gaza […]
How to tell if mangrove restoration is working? Listen to the birds
The soundscape in mangrove forests can be wonderfully complex. If you prime your ears, you might chance to hear mudskippers sloshing their bellies across silky mud, or fiddler crabs pattering between their burrows. If you’re lucky, a rustling overhead might indicate monkeys creeping along branches, intently curious, or it could be a Brahminy kite taking […]
National Trust records ‘alarming’ drop in insects and seabirds at its sites
There have been alarming declines this year in some insect species including bees, butterflies, moths and wasps, while many seabirds have also been “hammered” by unstable weather patterns caused by the climate emergency, a conservation charity has said. In its annual report on the impact of the weather on flora and fauna, the National Trust […]
Water voles bounce back in key areas but distribution across UK declines
Water voles continue to decline in their distribution across Britain but there are signs of recovery in some regions, with populations bouncing back in 11 key areas, according to a report. The river-residing mammal, which inspired Ratty in the Wind in the Willows, has revived in number in parts of Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and East […]
Scottish conservation agency accused of undermining law to protect birds of prey
Wildlife charities have condemned a decision by Scotland’s nature conservation agency to dilute a new law designed to combat the illegal killing of birds of prey. NatureScot, a government agency, has decided to greatly reduce the area of land affected by a new licensing regime for grouse moors after legal threats from shooting estates and […]