Three herons found shot in first week of hunting season - BirdLife

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At least three herons have been illegally shot in the first week of the autumn hunting season, BirdLife said on Saturday.

Two of the birds were brought to BirdLife by members of the public while the third was recovered by Administrative Law Enforcement officials in Ħal Far, a spokesman for the organisation said.

“A fisherman found a grey heron adrift at sea on Friday and brought it to us,” an eNGO representative told Times of Malta. “A medical examination found that it has lead pellets in its body and a broken wing.”

The bird is expected to make a recovery.

The second bird handed to BirdLife, a night heron, was discovered by a woman on her farm in Żejtun last Sunday, the spokesman added. Its injuries were too serious and it had to be put down.

At least 47 protected birds have been reported shot this year – 20 more than in the same period of 2017.

BirdLife Malta say that there is a good chance that the number of protected birds shot this year will reach levels last seen in 2012. The eNGO’s appeals for the autumn hunting season start date to be moved back by six weeks was ignored by the government, and the five-month season began as planned on September 1. 

Continued  

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Herons flock to Somerset Levels as nests hit record high

By Western Morning News | Posted: April 18, 2014

RSPB staff have been surprised at the volume of Herons nesting at Swell Woods on the RSPB reserve near Curry Rival in Somerset.

RSPB staff have been surprised at the volume of Herons nesting at Swell Woods on the RSPB reserve near Curry Rival in Somerset.

The catastrophic flooding of the Somerset Levels took its toll on the human population but herons are now thriving and have flocked to the new wetlands in record numbers.

The annual nest count at the RSPB reserve at Swell Woods, which is near Curry Rivel, east of Taunton, close to the flooded area, revealed a near 50% surge in numbers from 98 last year to 145 – the highest ever recorded.

Site manager Harry Paget-Wilkes said there were now almost 300 birds in an area measuring less than an acre with some oak trees containing as many as 10 separate nests.

“It is an impressive site and can be quite a racket especially in the mornings when they are their most active,” he added.

“There are also little egrets nesting which make an amazing gurgling noise.

“I was expecting a higher number as I live on the Levels and had noticed there seemed to be a lot more birds around.”

There are estimated to be around 12,000 pairs of the birds in the UK with about 1% of the population in the South West.

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Somerset's heaven for herons

Conservationists in Somerset are celebrating the news that the Avalon Marshes has had its best year ever for rare breeding herons.

Following the first British nesting Great Egrets last year in the marshes, this summer has seen two pairs successzfully raise young; one pair again at Natural England’s (NE) Shapwick NNR (producing two fledglings) and a second pair within the boundary of the RSPB’s Ham Wall nature reserve (producing three). The Avalon Marshes is a huge wetland recreation site to the west of Glastonbury, managed jointly by NE, Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT), Hawk and Owl Trust (HOT) and RSPB.

Ham Wall RSPB has also been hosting a nesting pair of Little Bitterns. This is the only known British breeding location for these remarkably shy and diminutive herons, and this year two chicks fledged. In addition to this, Bittern itself has had yet another amazing year across the marshes, with as many as 33 booming males being heard. The area is now one of Britian’s hotspots for this rare and remarkable bird.

Alongside the bitterns and egrets, the area has also provided a home for four pairs of Marsh Harrier, which produced 13 young.

Ray Summers, RSPB warden for Ham Wall said: “We are all absolutely delighted. Since we took on the land at Ham Wall back in the mid 1990s, we’ve been working hard to recreate a pristine wetland. To have all these nesting herons and harriers is a fantastic seal of approval for the work we’ve done, and really demonstrates the quality of the site for wildlife."

Mark Blake, Reserve Manager for SWT, said: ”It has been an exciting year on the Avalon Marshes and we are delighted to see Marsh Harrier breeding at Westhay Moor for the second year. The habitat creation and management being carried out by the partners is going from strength to strength and we look forward to further breeding success in future.”

Chris Sperring MBE Conservation Officer for HOT said: “The Avalon Marshes just get better every year. The success is down to a wonderfully balanced and organised partnership, particularly heartening when we see so many new species establishing, and some old friends like the Marsh Harrier on the rise as well. The careful management also creates a very human experience, as I found out recently while on a footpath with a Kingfisher hovering less than 3 metres from me.” 

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__14746

Bird poaching goes on, actions rare

A section of locals are engaged in hunting of birds, especially herons, posing threat to the stock of the graceful creature of nature.

A poacher sold five herons at Balapukur Bazar in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat for Tk 150 to 200 each on Monday afternoon.

“I trap the birds in different areas and sell them at different markets without facing any obstacle from law enforcers or locals. Some people put order in advance to buy heron,” said the poacher, Jalal Hossain, 45, from Batrish Hazari village of Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

“I catch birds to earn a living. Many others in the district do the same. I do not know of any law against bird hunting,” he said.

Herons come to the beel (large water body) to eat puti maachh (an indigenous fish) but the birds are caught in the poachers’ traps set with the fish.

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Felled trees in Petaluma worry birders

A stand of eucalyptus trees used as nesting habitat by egrets and herons along the Petaluma River was felled Sunday night, worrying birders and environmentalists about the birds’ future.

The work, planned for several years, is part of a Caltrans project to reconstruct the Highway 101-Petaluma Boulevard South interchange and widen the highway along that stretch.

David Keller of the Petaluma River Council snapped photos of construction crews working under floodlights Sunday evening, cutting down the 50- to 80-foot trees across from Shollenberger Park.

He found it suspicious that construction crews would conduct the dangerous work at night.

Safety was indeed an issue, said James Cameron, a deputy director at the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, which coordinates local transportation projects.

“I can’t blame them for that perception,” he said. “We did expect to have a lot of people looking at these trees. If we were to have bunches of people pull over on that off-ramp off Highway 101, it could be a safety issue” for drivers.

Bird lovers from several local Audubon Societies met multiple times with Caltrans during the planning process for the interchange project. Environmental documents were finalized in 2009.

Cameron said there were eight active egret and heron nests last year in the rookery. The previous two years, the presence of a red-tailed hawk forced the birds to nest elsewhere.

Continued:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130114/articles/130119740?tc=ar