Cranes make comeback in Britain's wetlands

By Roger HarrabinBBC environment analyst

22 April 2020

The graceful crane - the tallest bird in the UK - is making a comeback into Britain’s wetlands thanks to re-introduction and habitat restoration.

It was absent as a breeding bird for 400 years because of wetland drainage and widespread hunting.

Now, an estimated 200 of them are dispersed in Wales, Scotland, the Fens, Suffolk and Gloucestershire.

Their recovery has been glacially slow – in 2019 there’s thought to be just one more breeding pair than 2018.

But the RSPB says population modelling suggests that number will swell much faster soon, as fecundity of the surviving birds improves with age and second generation chicks reach breeding age.

Adult cranes stand at around 1.2m (4ft) and are fabled for their complex “display“ behaviour, where they perform bows, pirouettes and bobs.

Continued

Duck migration study reveals importance of conserving wetlands

Date:

July 17, 2014

Source:

University of Missouri-Columbia

Summary:

During the 2011 and 2012 migration seasons, researchers monitored mallard ducks with new remote satellite tracking technology, marking the first time ducks have been tracked closely during the entirety of their migration from Canada to the American Midwest and back. The research revealed that mallards use public and private wetland conservation areas extensively as they travel hundreds of miles across the continent.

Continued

Port Fairy Landcare group takes fight to save rare water bird's habitat to VCAT

A Landcare group heads to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to continue its fight to save the habitat of a protected bird species from a proposed development.

Each year, a small, brown Japanese water bird - the Latham's Snipe - migrates from the northern hemisphere to south-eastern Australia.

The rare bird is protected under several international agreements, including the Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement and by the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Jodie Honan of the South Beach Wetlands and Landcare Group says many of the birds flock to Port Fairy's Powling Street wetlands, which is made up of three ephemeral or seasonal wetlands.

"It comes to our part of the world to rest and to feed and get ready for its migration back to Japan."

Continued

Mediterranean birds moving to Runcorn and Widnes wetlands

Apr 18 2013 by Sam Yarwood, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

WILDLIFE lovers in Runcorn and Widnes have been encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for a rare bird spotted on saltmarsh sites along the banks of the Mersey.

The little egret, a smaller cousin of our more familiar and larger grey heron, is one of a number of species that have made the gradual journey north through Europe in recent years, despite being a rare migratory visitor just 20 years ago.

During the 1990s, anyone wanting to see the little egret would have to make the long journey to Cornwall or Devon, however the birds are now being spotted regularly along the saltmarshes of the Mersey.

Nature experts believe a warming climate and natural colonisation of the north may be behind the egret’s move to the region.

Increasing numbers of the great white and little egrets and the exotic-looking spoonbill are being spotted across the North West’s saltmarshes.

The trust hopes its strategy for connecting wetlands across 8,000 hectares of river banks will boost the fortunes for birds like the little egret, and bring an added bonus for visitors heading to nature reserves.

Saltmarsh at Wigg Island and Moore have been recommended as good spots to sight the little egret.

Richard Gardner, the trust’s living landscape manager, said: “Our vision is to create a string of interconnected wetlands, which we’re already achieving through working with local farmers and landowners.”

“The combination of healthier rivers, more sympathetic riverbank management and maintaining floodplain grazing will be creating the conditions that birds like the little egret find irresistible. In recent months we’ve been lucky enough to have both great white and little egrets making regular visits to our reserves, and we hope this will continue as we develop the habitats further.”

http://www.runcornandwidnesweeklynews.co.uk/runcorn-widnes-news/runcorn-widnes-local-news/2013/04/18/mediterranean-birds-moving-to-runcorn-and-widnes-wetlands-55368-33187718/

Rare, endangered bird spotted in Pasadena, San Gabriel River

It's a small, gray songbird that's so defenseless it can't even protect its young from marauding cowbirds who devour its chicks and take over its nest.

Yet, the least bell's vireo - a shy bird found only in California's diminishing wetlands - has miraculously fought off extinction and could spark a SoCal-style face-off between developers and conservationists.

Two sightings of the bird in the San Gabriel Valley this summer have conservationists happily canceling the bird's obituary. The least bell's vireo has been on the federal endangered species list since 1986.

One bird was spotted along the San Gabriel River between Duarte and Azusa in late April. A pair - most likely a mother and baby - was found on July 15 at Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local birding groups.

At both locations, ornithologists and local birders who keep detailed records of birds species in the area, say the endangered bird had not been seen in these locations in decades.

The two least bell's vireos seen at Hahamongna during several weeks in July and August could put a stop to plans by the city to build a second soccer field at the park.

Continued:  http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_21668432/rare-endangered-bird-spotted-pasadena-san-gabriel-river

More information about the Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus)