The government has given itself an “alarming loophole” to avoid protecting seabirds including puffins and gannets, a leaked document shows. Campaigners have accused ministers of “giving up” on the UK’s seabirds as they plan to apply for an exemption to a legal duty to protect the rare species. Each year the government sets itself targets […]
Tag: Gannet
Albie, the black-browed albatross, was blown off course and is now the loneliest bird in the Northern hemisphere
Name: Albie the albatross. Age: It’s not known how old Albie is, but albatrosses can live for more than 70 years. Appearance: A bit like a big gull, to be honest. The black-browed albatross is medium-sized – for an albatross – which is pretty damn big compared with most birds. Wingspan can reach 250cm. Guess […]
Avian eye: how to take photos of birds that stand out from the flock
Taking good photos of wildlife can be hard, especially birds, as they often move in three dimensions. The right equipment certainly helps, but like most photography, it’s never just about that. Composition and storytelling Whatever equipment you have (and I’ll get to that), the first thing to think about is trying to be at eye […]
Serin at Littlestone and a first for London
Jim and I travelled down to Littlestone in Kent this morning and before 7am we had found our first target as we pulled up outside the golf course to park and we could hear the European Serin singing it’s heart out. The singing made it quite easy to pick out the bird as it moved […]
Somebody stop me next time
With East Yorkshire having a mad migrant day on Saturday I hatched a plan to attack it on Sunday. I knew it was forecast to have a clear night and the wind was against us but the draw of Brown Shrike, Collared Flycatcher, two Woodchat Shrikes, two Wryneck and several other more common spring migrants […]
Feed a fishery, starve a seabird
Competition for fish stocks with fisheries to feed humans could be forcing seabirds to go hungry, according to new research. The study, published Dec. 6 in the journal Current Biology, reveals that seabirds’ share of fish has dropped by nearly 20 percent over a span of 40 years. Expanding large-scale fisheries, meanwhile, have increased their […]
Sea watch at Cley
With the north winds forecast I headed up to Cley this morning for a bit of a sea watch stopping off at Buckenham Marsh for a couple of Pec Sands and then a couple of Jack Snipe before landing at the coast guards car park. The weather looked good but the going was slow. Four […]
Bempton Cliffs
Spectacular chalk cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast, the hundreds of thousands of breeding seabirds are an onslaught on your senses, with the sheer sight, sound and smell of the nesting Gannets (largest mainland colony in Britain), Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and a few Puffins. Run by the RSPB, there are viewpoints where superb views can […]