Police seize illegal bird trap in a park

 24th September

By Kloe Hackett

POLICE seized an illegal trap used to catch wild birds.

The officers were called to a park in Wickford to deal with the large metal illegal device.

They have not revealed where the park is in the town.

A spokesman for Basildon Community Policing Team posted on Facebook: “Today, we have seized a device used in the illegal trapping of wild finches.

“This was located in the Wickford area.

“Please make us aware if you see any similar devices.

“Possession or control of a wild bird is an offence.

“Anybody possessing wild birds is obliged to show, on a balance of probabilities, that their possession is lawful.

“Finches listed on Part I Schedule 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can only be legally sold if they have been bred in captivity from lawfully held parent birds, and if they are fitted with Government approved close-rings.”

A wildlife charity conservationist has blasted the illegal bird catchers.

Macbraden Bones, 48, Essex Wildlife Trust landscape conservationist area officer for the south east, said: “I have never heard or come across this before.

“This is the first time I have heard of this and have not seen a problem like this in our area.

“I am stunned by this, there are a number of concerns with this.

Continued

Western Cattle Egret nests in three new counties

16/07/2019

Western Cattle Egret has bred in three counties for the first time this year, as the species' seemingly inevitable – yet somewhat drawn out – colonisation continues. Nesting birds have been confirmed in Essex, Hampshire and Northamptonshire for the first time, with the species only previously breeding in Cheshire and Somerset.

The species has increased significantly during the past decade. In winter 2007/8, an influx numbering some 200 individuals resulted in at least two pairs breeding on the Somerset Levels in summer 2008. Another large influx occured in winter 2015/6 and, the following summer, at least one pair nested in Cheshire.

Despite this, no nests were publicised last year (though it's thought some birds bred), perhaps symptomatic of a somewhat staccato colonisation that has stopped and started over the past decade, rather unlike that of Little Egret in the late 1990s. However, following another influx during the winter of 2018/19, Western Cattle Egret has spread into at least three new counties, suggesting the most successful breeding season ever for the species in the UK.

At Chigborough Lakes in Essex, a pair has raised four chicks that, on 8 July, looked set to fledge. In Hampshire, the anticipation of as many as seven nests at Langstone Mill Pond in Chichester/Langstone Harbour (a site of significance during the early days of Little Egret colonisation) was confirmed on 5 July.

It's likely that more breeding success will be confirmed in the coming weeks and months, and it seems plausible that, after an up-and-down decade since the first ever breeding in 2008, Western Cattle Egret may now be here to stay.

Source

Blue tit family make nest in Copford pub cigarette bin

1 June 2018

A family of blue tits have been wetting their beak at an Essex pub after they made its cigarette box their home.

The two adults and four chicks have taken up residence at The Alma pub in Copford for the past month.

The pub put up a sign asking customers not to disturb the makeshift nest, and the birds remain there for feeding.

Derek Miller, from the pub, said regulars "find it quite funny that we've got some extra guests", and are respecting the birds.

An RSPB spokesman said: "It may look like an odd place to set up a home, but there's probably a quite a bit of room in there to build a nice warm nest."

Mr Miller said the nest was discovered when customers spotted one of the birds nipping in and out of the bin prompting someone to look inside, where they found the four young chicks.

Continued  

Appeal for volunteers to help rare coastal seabird

The RSPB's appealing for volunteers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex to help one of the UK's rarest seabirds, the Little Tern.

Their numbers have seriously declined in recent years as they struggle to find safe beaches to nest and feed their young.

Over a third of the UK breeding population make a home in East Anglia.

“Norfolk beaches are fantastic places to see little terns. Over a third of the UK breeding population make a home in East Anglia, and some of the largest colonies in the UK can be found here in Norfolk. However, our beaches are busy places and the little terns rely on our help to ensure chicks thrive and are able to successfully follow their parents back to Africa in August."

– PHIL PEARSON, SENIOR CONSERVATION OFFICER

The RSPB says that the birds are often disturbed when nesting by people as well as being vulnerable to predators such as crows or foxes. Severe weather events have also affected numbers in recent years.

Continued  

Maldon turtle dove conservation zone set up

2 December 2017

A new conservation zone has been created to protect the turtle dove, one of Britain's fastest-declining birds.

The zone is being set up in Maldon, Essex, to help the species increase.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said in the past 20 years, the UK had lost more than 94% of its breeding turtle doves.

In the new zone, farmers, businesses and conservation organisations will work together to create the breeding and feeding habitats the birds need.

More than half the UK's remaining turtle doves breed in East Anglia, with "hotspots" in parts of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Loss of food from the countryside was behind the species' decline, the RSPB said.

Turtle doves eat the fallen seeds of arable plants such as fumitory and knotgrass that are usually thought of as weeds.

These foods had become more scarce with the increased use of herbicides and the intensification of farming, the charity said.

As migrating birds, turtle doves also face threats and pressures outside the UK as they cross the Sahara Desert to survive the winter in Africa.

Continued  

Eagle-eyed family spots rare birds near garden

 A HALSTEAD family were surprised to spot a rare bird flying in fields near their garden.

Gareth and Lisa Wilson, of Slough Farm Road, started seeing red kites near their house a couple of weeks ago.

However, the couple, who have two children, Jack, five, and ten-year-old Evie, were unable to capture them on camera until Tuesday when they saw seven buzzards playing and then the elusive red kite flew in.

Mr Wilson, 42, a retained firefighter in Halstead, was able to take several photos of the kite and the buzzards.

Teaching assistant Mrs Wilson, 36, said: “We have seen them a few times.

I’m not sure if it has been the same kite, but I think it might be as there aren’t many around here.

“We were looking in the fields and then saw them. Kites were endangered so it is quite unusual to see them. We recognised it was something different as it was quite low and we watched it for a while and then went in and looked it up in the bird book.

“We aren’t really big birdwatchers, although my husband is more so than the rest of us. It is just interesting and the children like watching the wildlife as well.”

Once a very rare bird that could only be found in central Wales, the red kite has been successfully reintroduced to several areas of the UK and can now be seen in parts of Scotland, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the Chilterns, according to the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Red kites were routinely persecuted as hunters of game and domestic animals, but they are in fact scavengers, eating carrion and scraps, and taking only small prey like rabbits for themselves. They are classified as near threatened and as an amber list species.

Source

Rhea exit! Runaway bird gives police slip AGAIN

A RUNAWAY rhea has given police the slip again - after almost a YEAR on the run.

Published: 15:34, Mon, January 12, 2015

By REBECCA PERRING

The six-foot tall flightless bird - capable of running at 40mph - is believed to be one of three birds that went missing from a pen in Essex last February.

One of the birds, which are native to South America, was recaptured four months later but the other two have since been roaming free.

Police were alerted to the loose ostrich-like animals after one was spotted near the village of Brent Pelham, in Hertfordshire. 

On Sunday morning, East Hertfordshire rural police officers attended a further sighting and spotted the bird - but failed to catch it.

Continued ...

Spotted in Writtle: Do you recognise this rare bird?

A BIRDWATCHER got these snaps of a warbler, seen only once before in Essex, perched in Writtle scrubland.

Glyn Evans had wandered just 150 metres down Highwood Road, off the A414, into farmland at about 3pm on Saturday when he spotted a Blyth's reed warbler.

The passerine bird, typically no longer than 14cm, is more akin to Eastern Europe and Asia, and in the winter, in India and Sri Lanka.

The 51-year-old Essex Birdwatching Society member and former Chelmsford schoolboy, who was visiting family in Chequers Road, said: "It's another of those "Little Brown Jobs" which are often difficult to distinguish from several similar species.

"To find one this far inland was remarkable."

The birds are known to appear in the UK in the spring and autumn seasons, but usually just along the coast.

http://www.essexchronicle.co.uk/Spotted-Writtle-recognise-rare-bird/story-21153507-detail/story.html#ixzz33LCsmcvc

Man arrested after dead birds of prey seized

Wildlife crime arrest in Essex

October 2013: A man from Essex has been arrested by officers from the National Crime Unit on suspicion of smuggling endangered birds of prey.

A number of dead birds, believed to be owls, were recovered from a freezer in the house in Stanford-le-Hope and forensic analysis is now being carried out to find out how they were killed. Another 25 taxidermy birds were also seized.

The man was arrested on suspicion of trading in endangered species and evading restrictions contrary to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and Control of Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997.

The search was part of a joint investigation involving the NCA’s Border Policing Command, Border Force and the National Wildlife Crime Unit officers.

Senior investigating officer Ian Truby, from the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said: “This joint investigation has so far identified around 150 endangered birds that we suspect have been sold without the correct trade certificates or export permits. Unregulated imports or exports of animals can harm the survival of rare species. That is why the law around moving them is so strict.”

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/birds-of-prey-wildlife-crime-arrest.html

Harris hawk trapped at Essex caravan park rescued from tree

A couple hired a cherry picker to rescue a Harris hawk trapped upside down by its ankles in a tree.

The female hawk was spotted 34ft (10m) up in a dead tree at the Dovercourt Caravan Park by a security guard.

The guard called Katrina Myers, who runs Colchester Owl Rescue in Rowhedge, asking her to come and help.

But because Mrs Myers was not tall enough to reach the bird from the cherry picker, her husband Dave - who is scared of heights - went up instead.

And as he made his way up to the hawk his mobile telephone rang. Mr Myers' ring tone is the Mission Impossible theme tune.

'Went ballistic'

Mrs Myers said after repeated attempts to reach the hawk, Mr Myers managed to take hold of the bird.

"It knew it was going to be handled," said Mrs Myers, "and it freaked out.

"As soon as my husband got it wrapped up, she went ballistic."

The hawk suffered grazes but no broken bones.

Mrs Myers is now hoping to reunite the hawk with its rightful owner.

It is not clear whether it had previously been used as a pest control or breeding bird.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-24204085

Crossrail moves earth for RSPB reserve

Posted on: 11 Sep 2013

One million tonnes of earth have now been removed from the new tunnels of London's Crossrail transport scheme, and are being used to build habitat at the new Wallasea Island RSPB reserve in Essex.

The 55 million-year-old earth has left Crossrail’s tunnel entrance at Westbourne Park in west London, having been removed during the construction of Crossrail’s western tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon by two giant 1,000-tonne tunnel-boring machines.

Over the past 15 months, more than 860 train loads of excavated material have been transported to Northfleet in Kent by GB Railfreight. The material has then been transferred to ship and transported to the new nature reserve.The earth will be used to create a new wetland on Wallasea Island. A total of 4.5 million tonnes of excavated material from Crossrail’s new tunnels and stations will eventually be used to create Britain's most ambitious manmade coastal nature project. The RSPB will require about 10 million tonnes in total of excavated material to create the new 1,500-acre reserve, which will be the largest new wetland nature reserve in Europe for some 50 years.

Read on

Little John rules the roost as the world’s biggest cockerel

By Tariq Tahir

When it comes to the question of who is the world’s biggest cockerel, Little John rules the roost.

He stands an impressive 66cm (26in) tall and terrifies small children on his owner Jeremy Goldsmith’s Mountfitchet Castle estate.

The secret to the huge bird’s size is a craving for popcorn.

He also helps himself to crisps and sandwiches from visitors to the 4ha (10-acre) grounds in Stansted, Essex.

Mr Goldsmith, 45, said: ‘Little John looks massive compared to the other cockerels and chickens we have on the estate.

‘I think he has grown so big just because he is treated well and you don’t get more free range then here.’

Mr Goldsmith is confident Little John is a world-beater because he reared the previous titleholder, Melvin, who was 60cm (24in) tall.

A Guinness spokesman said: ‘If that measurement is verified then Little John would take the Guinness World Records title for tallest cockerel.’

Brahmas are an Asiatic breed of chicken that originated from China and were known as ‘Shanghai’ birds.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/21/little-john-rules-the-roost-as-the-worlds-biggest-cockerel-3803797/

Unusual bird expected to make Colchester appearance

FLOCKS of stunning birds are poised to appear in north Essex this winter.

Waxwings occasionally migrate from Scandinavia when a successful breeding season means their local berry supply is exhausted and do not winter every year.

But experts at the Essex Wildlife Trust are hopeful for an irruption this year, where the birds arrive in large numbers, and there has already been some sightings at Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, and Fingringhoe Wick nature reserves, and also further south in Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers.

Slightly smaller than a starling Waxwings have a mix of colours with a prominent pinky crest from which it gets its nickname pink punk. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. The wax refers to the red endings on the feather tips which help identify the age and sex of the bird.

Regular updates of Waxwing sightings will be given by Essex Wildlife Trust on their website.

The trust wants to collate records about Waxwing sightings in Essex this winter and people are asked to email details of their sightings and any photographs to records@essexwt.org.uk.

The email subject should be Waxwing and include your name, an accurate location including a postcode and if possible six-figure grid reference, who saw them, when, and how many birds were recorded.

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/10096617.Unusual_bird_expected_to_make_Colchester_appearance/

RSPB: Upcoming events 22/23 September 2012

Wild times at Wallasea this weekend

http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/Wild-times-Wallasea-weekend/story-16944256-detail/story.html



Burton Mere Wetlands Celebrates 1st Birthday

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshire/Neston/CH64/News/Local-News/230981-Burton-Mere-Wetlands-Celebrates-1st-Birthday