As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday 28 June 2013

Rare avocets delay roadwork closures

MOTORISTS have protected birds to thank for avoiding a full summer of roadworks, after avocets were found nesting alongside the A13.

Two dozen pairs of the protected species were found by National Grid engineers, who were hoping to carry out £30million of repairs to overhead cables and pylons along 24 miles from Rayleigh to Tilbury.

The proposed work meant drivers would have had to contend with temporary lane and road closures on the A127, A130 and A13 throughout the summer, but the work has been put back until the end of July, so the birds are not disturbed during the nesting season.

Work was scheduled to start in May, but was rescheduled following the discovery.

Project manager Graham Livings said: “National Grid has a vital job to do connecting people to their energy supplies. However, we always try to do our vital work as sensitively as possible, doing all we canto minimise any impact on local communities and the environment.

“Our ecologists work closely with local community stakeholders, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to ensure we don’t have any adverse impact on the local environment.

“Avocets are a very rare bird and, after discussions with the RSPB, we decided the best thing to do would be to postpone this section of the work".

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