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 15 December 2017

Bird pulled from brink of extinction facing poisoning threat


By Helen BriggsBBC News
28 November 2017

The red kite has become more common in the past 30 years in the UK, thanks to conservation schemes.

But, while numbers of the birds of prey are on the rise, scientists say human factors threaten to derail progress.

Post-mortem tests on wild red kites show many have been poisoned by lead shot, rat poison or pesticides.

The study, published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research, suggests poisoning of red kites may be slowing their rate of recovery in England.

Dr Jenny Jaffe of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), who worked on the study, said birds of prey, and especially scavengers, eat animals that contain lead shot, leading to lead poisoning.

''That can be changed by changing the shot gun cartridges to non lead, which a lot of countries do,'' she told BBC News. ''And, there is some legislation already in the UK, but it is very limited.''

Another threat - pesticide poisoning - is ''mostly deliberate'', she said, caused by baiting of bird or rabbit carcasses.

''You'll find red kites that are in good body condition that have died very suddenly and where toxicology shows that they have high levels of pesticides,'' said Dr Jaffe.

''It might not per se be focussed on red kites specifically, but the people who put out these poisons are focussed on killing predators of their, for example, game birds or livestock.''

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