Articles...
Cirl Project Update 2008...
The joint
venture between the RSPB, Natural England, Paignton Zoo and The National
Trust to reintroduce cirl buntings to Cornwall has continued with another
successful year of rearing and releasing young birds from Devon, as well as
continued breeding by older released birds in Cornwall. In 2007 we were able
to report the first confirmed breeding of cirl buntings in Cornwall for some
time, with several pairs making nesting attempts and rearing young. This
summer there has been even more pairs breeding despite the wet weather,
including some birds that were born in Cornwall last summer. These pairs
have been dispersing into new areas too, finding suitable areas of
over-wintered stubble and bird cover crops during the winter, and breeding
in the nearby insect-rich grasslands.
The population
has also been boosted by another batch of young birds translocated from
Devon. Aviculturists from Paignton Zoo have again been busy rearing the
birds from 6-day old chicks until release at around 30-32 days. This is no
easy task, as the birds require feeding every two hours from 6am until
midnight. The process has been adapted from last year drawing on the
experience of the head aviculturist, Carl Laven, and on advice from vets at
the Zoological Society of London, who develop the rearing protocol. Although
poor weather may mean that the chicks are more vulnerable to disease, a
total of 68 have been released this year - ahead of target and with very few
losses, due to the dedication of the hand-rearers.
With the
winter fast approaching, monitoring of the population will continue with
RSPB staff and volunteers identifying birds by their unique colour-ring
combinations. The birds will begin to form flocks and spend their time
feeding in seed-rich stubble fields. The local farming community have been
hugely supportive of the work, with many putting in suitable wintering
habitat on their farms to encourage cirl buntings. Many have been interested
in the governments Environmental Stewardship Schemes, which offer payments
for wildlife friendly management of the land. This support is crucial to the
success of the project. With more birds due to be translocated next year, it
is hoped that the population will continue to expand over the next couple of
years so that cirl buntings will be a common feature of the Cornish
countryside once again.
If anyone
has any sightings, would like to commit to regular voluntary work (*see
below), or simply wants more information, please feel free to contact me on
07702 779345 or at nick.tomalin@rspb.org.uk.
Nick Tomalin
RSPB Cirl
Bunting Reintroduction Project Officer
*In the RSPB volunteers are a major resource
and make a vital contribution to the RSPB’s aims to take action for the
conservation of wild birds and the environment. On a project like this we
would need someone with good field identification skills and reasonable
fitness who could commit to at least one day each fortnight, since it
requires regular work to become familiar with the ring identification and
the monitoring area. We also offer residential placements during winter. For
more information see
www.rspb.org.uk or contact Nick
Tomalin – details above.
______________________
The wintering
singing Black Redstarts of Wadebridge
by Colin Selway
Usually in late autumn Black Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros) arrive from
their breeding grounds somewhere to the east, and spend a relatively warmer
winter in coastal locations, like the town of Wadebridge in Cornwall, finding mostly the live food they need, in the micro climates formed in the
many sheltered gardens, balconies and roof valleys to be found in the town,
where they are in the habit of running like wagtails (they also hop) and
feeding (usually unnoticed) under lines of parked cars, often in the busy
streets. They can be seen picking food items from the gable walls of
houses, often hovering under guttering or facia boards, and fly-catching
from favourite perches, usually near lawns, were they can take prey from the
ground, always returning quickly to the favourite lookout, their fiery tails
giving a welcome flash of exotic colour to otherwise drab winter streets.
The adult male at Glen Road has been observed catching insects around
street lights late at night. This remarkable bird, I believe, by observing
it closely, has spent the last four winters at the same site, its
distinctive strangled song can be heard on sunny days, even before
Christmas. Throughout March it sings every day that the sun shines.
Strangely I hardly ever hear the ‘tisip’ call, just on a couple of
occasions, and then from the female at Town quay. It could well be that the
‘tisip’ call is harder to separate from the town's noise pollution.
There appear
to have been four known Black Redstarts in the town last winter, (the
number varies from year to year)-two females and two males, all with their
own fairly small winter territories. The adult male at Glen Road has a
territory no larger than 250m x 80m. The female at Town Quay uses an area
almost exactly the same size. At first this may seem like a small territory
but it covers a larger area of roof tops and balconies on many levels.
There
was a male, probably a first winter (not as striking as the Glen Road male)
holding a territory in the very centre of the town (Foundry Road across to Trevanson
Road). This male also sings during the winter. Usually it’s the
only way to pick it up, and then (if you are lucky) just seeing its
head poking over the gutters of the high buildings.
Only once have I seen a
pair together in Wadebridge, and that was at Glen Road. On that occasion the
male was in the process of chasing the female away. Before living in the
town of Wadebridge I spent several years in the Cornish town of Tintagel,
where Black Redstarts are fairly common, wintering on the cliffs and the
many derelict coastal slate quarries, but in all that time I never managed
to hear their song. It came as a surprise to me to find that even first year
males appear eager to sing in the town. The Wadebridge Black Redstarts
usually depart in early April.
