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.

Saturday 15 February 2014

Rare bird seen at Wealden reserve

Published on the 09 February 2014 

A rare bird has returned to a nature reserve, thanks to hard work by a wildlife charity.

The distinctive melodic song of the woodlark is now being heard at the RSPB’s Broadwater Warren reserve after a successful campaign to restore the habitat of the little heathland bird.

Other wildlife such as adders, slow worms and butterflies are also benefiting from the heathland restoration of the former conifer plantation on the reserve north of Crowborough, as part of the RSPB’s Give Nature a Home campaign. Heathland as a habitat in the UK is now rarer than the rainforest worldwide.

Like many native British birds, the woodlark, which is slightly smaller than a skylark with a shorter tail, has undergone a steep decline in numbers over the last few decades. This is mainly due to destruction and disturbance of the places where they feed and breed. It’s now on the up, thanks to projects like the one at Broadwater Warren, but there is a long way to go before numbers are stable and thriving again.


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