Rare birds spotted during the 2016 Big Farmland Bird Count

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) 2016 Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) has been an incredible success. Nearly 1,000 farmers spotted 130 species across the UK. 

This year the count not only beat the last two years’ records, but also included the spotting of several rare birds over the week. The highlights were a ring ouzel and snow bunting.

The ring ouzel was spotted by NFU’s Vice President, Guy Smith, in a field adjacent to his house. Ring ouzels usually migrate from the Mediterranean to the west of the UK to breed. This ouzel was ahead of the game, as breeding does not usually occur for this species until mid-April to mid-July. Guy’s sharp eyes and ears led him to spot the bird singing with the resident thrushes and blackbirds.

While Guy Smith was spotting birds in his paddock in Essex, Matt Willmot and Jenny Parsons from Natural England saw a rarity of their own. As they were taking part in the count with farmer Hugh Darbishire, on his farm in Warwickshire, Matt and Jenny managed to get a rare and exciting view of a snow bunting.

Hugh Darbishire is a young farmer who, for over a decade, has dedicated his sheep and arable farm to helping farmland bird numbers. By using key techniques such as bird seed mixes and wild flower patches, Hugh has encouraged farmland birds to take up residence on his farm.

Matt Willmot, Natural England Advisor, said; “This was my third year of taking part in the Big Farmland Bird Count and I will definitely be counting again next year. The time you put in really counts towards the support of our farmland birds. It is always a pleasure not only to take part in the event, but to encourage local farmers to count their resident birds as well.”

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Rare bird captured on camera in Denbighshire

A RARE bird has been spotted by a St Asaph photographer.

Nathaniel Ramanaden was visiting one of Denbighshire's pebbled beaches when he spotted a small bird known as a snow bunting.

The 75-year-old said: “I have a few serious photographer friends who give me information when they spot something of interest anywhere in the North West and I do the same for them if I am first in the field.

“One of my friends contacted me on the day and told me where the bird was and where to find it within that place.

“So I quickly drove to the beach and scoured the area but it was very difficult to find as it is about the size of a sparrow or blue tit.

“The bird merges very well with the pebbles and sand, so it’s hard to spot unless you know what you're looking for, luckily I carry binoculars to help find the birds.”

According to the RSPB the snow bunting is a large bunting with a striking snowy plumage that breeds globally in places such as Scandinavia and Alaska and migrates further south in winter.

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Bird watchers flock to Bexhill

Published on the 18 February 2015 

Russell Harrisson sent this wonderful photograph of a Snow Bunting spotted on Bexhill’s seafront. He said: “There has been a lot of excitement recently for bird watchers living in East Sussex with the arrival of a male Snow Bunting visiting the western end of Bexhill beach, near the toilet block by the raised beach huts.

Some of the local dog walkers say that the Snow Bunting has been seen regular since early January.

Small groups of birders can be seen daily eagerly awaiting with binoculars and cameras to view this little colourful bird.”

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RARE BIRD SIGHTINGS: The weather is so nice rare arctic birds are flocking to PCB

By News Herald staff report 

Published: Monday, February 17, 2014 at 09:15 AM.

Clear eyes, full hearts and lots of sunshine can't lose.

This week is why you moved to Florida. It's the middle of February and the temperatures will be in the 70s all week. Also, that troublesome rain that you normally associate with great weather like this is nowhere to be seen. At least until Friday when there is a 40 percent chance of scattered showers.

How nice is it? A snow bunting, a rare artic bird is hanging out in Saint Andrews State Park, according to local resident Ron Houser of the Bay County Audubon Society.

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Scottish climate change could wipe out rare birds

By JULIA HORTON 

Published on 10/05/2013 00:00

Some of Scotland’s rarest birds could be wiped out by the end of the century as a new UK report highlights “profound” climate change in the Highlands, experts have warned.

Ptarmigan, dotterel and snow bunting have already been forced to the tops of the highest Scottish peaks as global warming has shrunk the cooler high- altitude habitat which they need to survive.

snow bunting

Experts yesterday published a new report highlighting numerous accepted predictions that climatic conditions in the birds’ territory will have altered so much that within 100 years they will be squeezed out completely because there will be nowhere left for them to go.

The latest warning was made in the Terrestrial Biodiversity Climate Change Impacts Report Card, the first assessment of its kind in the UK bringing together research by 40 scientists to produce an overview of the affects of climate change on biodiversity now – and predictions for the future.

Environmental groups in Scotland, including Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) which helped to create the report card, voiced grave concerns over the affect of the changing climate on the birds’ niche Highlands habitat.

Professor Des Thompson, SNH principal advisor on biodiversity, stressed that “generations of study” were needed to get a clear picture of the effect of climate change on the Scottish mountains.

But he added: “From what we know, yes, there have been changes and, yes, they appear to have been profound, but we need further time to appreciate all the factors at work here. A 30- or 50-year period of study is in effect a very small snapshot but what is extraordinary is seeing how this habitat has changed over quite a small timeframe.

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Novel Approach to Track Migration of Arctic-Breeding Avian Species

Jan. 15, 2013 — Animals move around the globe in billions, sometimes -- like the snow bunting -- one of the iconic Arctic-breeding species, covering huge distances and enduring the most extreme frigid weather conditions. In this conspicuously white sparrow-sized bird, animal migration epitomizes a stunning success of biological adaptation -- with Snow Bunting representing the only songbird to breed as far north as the Arctic Circle. Indeed, there is nothing north of the snow bunting's breeding ground except the North Pole and the polar ice cap. These passerines thrive in chilly, alpine conditions, playing and singing in temperatures dipping as low as -20F.

Although snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) have so far been considered common and widespread, enjoying stable numbers and extensive nesting and wintering habitats, their North American populations have shrunk by 64% over the past four decades, according to the National Audubon Society.

These alarming statistics may reflect how nature and wildlife are responding to climate change and rising temperatures. Because snow buntings need snow and cold, the increasingly warmer winters are the species' primary long-term threat. And although considerable attention is currently being paid to the conservation of migratory birds, this species remains still relatively under-studied. New data and novel methods of research are needed to assess the conservation implications of habitat changes in wintering locations as well as the effects of climate change on their breeding success. Fresh light on the migration patterns of remote populations of this avian species is shed by the recent work of a group led and inspired by Prof. Oliver P. Love -- a wildlife biologist from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130115190212.htm

Snow bunting and Greenland wheatear in Northern Ireland - Photos

October 2012. Christine Cassidy, an avid birder from Northern Ireland, has sent us these great images of a couple of unusual birds that she has recently spotted. 

The snow bunting was at Magilligan about a week ago (23rd October). Snow buntings breed in the Arctic and migrate south for winter, though a few pairs do breed in the UK, so they are occasionally seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern and Eastern England in the winter months.

Greenland wheatears breed in Canada, Greenland and Iceland, and undertake one of the toughest journeys of any small bird as they migrate to West Africa for the winter. Christine spotted two birds at Ballykelly. 

Photos:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/snow-bunting.html