Rarity finders: Eurasian Scops Owl in Co Durham

04/10/2017

With good numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers around locally, I was optimistic for my morning’s trip around my local patch at Ryhope Village Dene, Co Durham, on 27 September.
Arriving just before sunrise, I headed down through the tunnel to the beginning of the Dene. With only 40 minutes spare before I had to head to work, I began to search the two larger canopies in the trees at the edge of the tunnel. With just the odd Blackbird noted, I headed up the bank to the right to search from the top of the valley. Checking the now famous Elder bush, there was only a Robin skulking among its branches.

I decided to head down the dene, checking each bush for any sign of movement. As usual, there were good numbers of Goldfinches flying overhead, together with a couple of Lesser Redpolls. A movement in the lower part of a hawthorn bush caught my attention, and after spending 10 minutes waiting to get a decent view, this turned out to be a Lesser Whitethroat. 

Time was running out. I had to head to the classroom to prepare for my day’s teaching and decided to head back up towards the tunnel in the hope of hearing a calling Yellow-browed Warbler. As I almost reached the top, I spotted a warbler on the other side of the Elder bush and I quickly walked up the bank to gain a better view. As I lifted my bins, I instantly uttered some colourful words - a very small owl had turned its head and looked at me.

Read on  

100 wild swans poisoned by 'killer duck-feeder'

THE mass killing of up to 100 wild swans was the work of a maniac who fed the birds poison-laced bread.

By STUART WINTER

PUBLISHED: 00:00, Wed, Dec 30, 2015 | UPDATED: 13:16, Wed, Dec 30, 2015

Up to 100 swans are believed to have been killed by lead-poisoning

An investigation into the way the beautiful water birds died gruesomely from lead poisoning is pointing the finger at a determined and cunning killer pretending to be a harmless duck-feeder.

Most of the birds rescued after being targeted along a stretch of the River Wear in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, never recovered from the high levels of lead in their bodies.

The fact that x-rays did not show any lumps of the toxic metal in the birds' digestive tract has led experts to fear that the killer had gone to extraordinary lengths to wipe out huge number of water birds.

Continued ...

Illegally shot peregrine falcon discovered in County Durham

The shot peregrine falcon which was found at The Stang forest, on the Teesdale and North Yorkshire border, in August 2015. Picture by the RSPB.

Helen Russell, Reporter (Wear Valley) / Monday 7 December 2015 / 

AN investigation has been launched after an illegally shot peregrine falcon was found in County Durham.

The dead bird was discovered on the south-east edge of Stang Forest, on the outskirts of Teesdale, near the North Yorkshire border, on August 23 by a member of the public, who alerted Durham Police and the RSPB.

The carcass was sent for a post mortem examination, which confirmed that the bird died as a result of being shot.

The bird had suffered severe blood loss and most likely died close to to where it had sustained the gunshot wounds.

It is the third such crime against birds of prey in County Durham this year.

In March, two short-eared owls were found shot dead near Selset reservoir and in June, a shot peregrine was discovered at Castle Lake, in Bishop Middleham.

Howard Jones, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: “This case once again provides a window into the reasons behind the peregrine falcon’s struggle to breed in much of the English uplands.

Continued …

Short-eared Owls found shot in Co Durham

Posted on: 31 Oct 2015

Durham Police and the RSPB are appealing for information following the shooting of two Short-eared Owls in March this year.

Found by a member of the public, the dead owls were pushed into a pothole near Selset Reservoir in Co Durham. They were recovered on 2 March 2015 and sent for a post mortem examination, where it was confirmed that both birds had been shot.

Short-eared Owls are fully protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The maximum sentence for the illegal killing of a wild bird is six months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The species can frequently be seen hunting in broad daylight as well as in the early evening. They live mainly on a diet of small mammals such as voles, and the main wintering numbers are just beginning to arrive in Britain from Scandinavia.

To attract a mate, the males perform dramatic sky-dancing displays over open moorland, accompanied by wing clapping to alert females of their presence. The breeding range of Britain's Short-eared Owl population has shrunk in recent years, though the reasons for this are not fully understood.

Continued …