HULA VALLEY, Israel — It’s chilly and still dim at 6 a.m. when Haggai Hochman, a Galilean farmer, slides into his tractor and sets out on his dusty course. Behind him, in a repurposed fertilizer spreader, he drags four tons of dried corn kernels. It’s “for the birds,” he says. As Hochman turns off the […]
Tag: Red Kite
Kite Launch
One of the most common raptors to be sighted all over Southern Africa is the Black-shouldered Kite. They are often seen sitting on telephone poles and fence lines in the countryside, or hovering over grasslands as they scan for prey. I have seen them very close to urban areas on a number of occasions too. […]
Petition: Save British Birds of Prey
Britain’s rarest birds of prey, including red kites, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons, are being shot, trapped and poisoned in record numbers. This persecution might be completely illegal, but inadequate legislation in England makes it easy for gamekeepers to massacre any nuisance, real or imagined. The birds are being slaughtered because of a perceived threat to […]
Alarming disappearances among our familiar countryside birds
The latestState of the UK’s Birdsreport, published today, reveals many of our most familiar countryside birds are undergoing sweeping changes with some experiencing ‘plummeting population declines’, compared with the 1990s. It is now known that in some parts of the UK these birds have disappeared completely. A section of the report looks at the UK’s […]
Review: The Bird Atlas tracks changes of Britain and Ireland’s birds
A new atlas of 1,300 maps shows the patterns of distribution, abundance and change among 296 bird species in Britain and Ireland. The Bird Atlas 2007-11 is a partnership between British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Scottish Ornithologists’ Club and Birdwatch Ireland and involved the work of more than 40,000 volunteers over four years. BTO used […]
UK’s wild bird population continues to decline
The number of wild birds in the UK is still falling, despite efforts to protect them by changing farming practices. Conservationists have urged the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, to use the money newly available from the EU’s common agricultural policy to step up protection measures. Since 2003, there has been a 13% decline in the […]
Migrating Raptors on The Strait of Gibraltar
It’s been a busy six weeks with almost non-stop birding here on The Strait and across Europe. I thought I’d quickly post some of the raptor shots I have managed to edit so far on the blog to show at least some of the autumn delights… Black-winged Kites (old name is Black shouldered Kite) have […]
Is European wildlife making a comeback? Recent success stories with top images
Beaver, bison and eagles are among the species that have made a successful comeback in Europe in the past 50 years, according to a major survey published by a coalition of conservation groups on Thursday. The report selected 37 species that have showed signs of recovery, studied changes in their numbers and range since 1960, […]