Wren retains top spot as the UK’s commonest bird

The latest report on bird populations by the British Trust of Ornithology has revealed the UK’s most common birds, and the wren has beaten other species to the top of the list.

By Bethany Sewell

February 4, 2020 at 3:22 pm

Following the RSPB‘s Big Garden Birdwatch which concluded the first month of the new decade, the latest report from the British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) suggests the wren has become the UK’s ‘commonest bird’, with over 11 million pairs.

They led the way in the last report from 2013, with a population of 8.5 million pairs. It’s thought that milder winters are probably benefitting the species.

Out of a total of 249 breeding species assessed in the report, 21 species have estimates of more than one million pairs.

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Royal Tern split into two species

27th January 20202

Royal Tern has been split into two species by the IOC as part of the the latest (10.1) update to its World Bird List.

West African Thalasseus albididorsalis has been recognised as a different species to [American] Royal Tern T maximus, and has been dubbed West African Crested Tern.

The news comes as little surprise – 2017 research showed that West African Crested Tern was in fact a sister taxon of the smaller Lesser Crested Tern rather than similar-looking [American] Royal Tern, and that its then treatment as a subspecies of Royal Tern was misleading. This was supported by both the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. These revelations come despite the fact that Royal and West African Crested Terns are morphologically near-identical and, in many cases, nigh on impossible to separate in the field. 

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Reintroduced eagle settles in Oxfordshire

22/01/2020

Forestry England has revealed that one of the six White-tailed Eagles released on the Isle of Wight last summer has taken up residence in Oxfordshire.

The eagle, known as G3-93, has been favouring an area close to the M40 in the county for some four months, having flown there last autumn from the release site on the south-coast isle.

Here, G3-93 has been happily co-existing with the local Red Kites, following them around and feeding on carrion, including a Roe Deer carcass. It may seem surprising that a bird with a 2.4-metre wingspan hasn't been seen more regularly but, like with most other eagles, it spends most of its time perched out of sight in trees.

Steve Egerton-Read, a project officer for the reintroduction programme led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said the bird is safe from human persecution: "Oxfordshire is full of game shoots but there's no ill-will towards it and the landowners are very pleased to have another exciting bird to add to their list.

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Finnish-ringed osprey found in Kenya

25/01/2020

A Western Osprey, ringed in Finland, has been refound some 4,300 miles away in Kenya.

The bird was discovered trapped in fishing net and struggling to free itself beside Lake Kanyaboli, in Siaya country in western Kenya, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service. A resident of the village spotted the raptor, noted the rings and reported the sighting.

The bird's origin was established from the ring on its leg, with the details confirming it was ringed near Helsinki, the Finnish capital. Paul Odoto, Kenya Wildlife Service Communications Director, said: "It has some bruises on the legs but it appears healthy, though it has lost some weight, and is dehydrated."

The bird was later delivered to the KWS Veterinary Department, with a statement reading: "It will be stabilised by administering IV fluids and provided with proper diet, then monitored for a few days before being released back to the wild."

Western Osprey is a regular winter visitor to Kenya, but ringing recoveries such as this one are very rare. Dr David Ndeereh, KWS Head of Veterinary Services, said the agency will share the information with the East Africa Bird Ringing Association to obtain further details on the bird.

Source

The little auks that lived in the Pacific

Fossil from Japan reveals unexpected distribution of 'Atlantic' seabirds

Date: January 21, 2020

Source: Kyoto University

Findings from a 700,000-year-old fossil bone indicate that a close relative of the most abundant seabird species in the North Atlantic, the modern dovekie, or 'little auk', used to thrive in the Pacific Ocean and Japan.

Seabirds are top predators in the marine ecosystem, and their distributions are shaped by numerous environmental factors in the ocean. As such, extensive scientific inquiries have been conducted on how seabirds respond to fluctuating oceanic environments in the ecologic and geologic timescales.

"The North Pacific has been one of the most intently investigated regions, but the fossil record of seabirds in the Pleistocene Epoch, about 2.6 to 0.01 million years ago, has been scarce," explains first author Junya Watanabe of Kyoto University's School of Science. "This has led to a frustrating lack of information in this critical time period concerning the origin of modern seabird communities."

In recent years, Watanabe and his team had been investigating seabird fossils from several locations in Chiba and Tokyo prefectures, gaining new insight on the Pleistocene seabird community in the region.

The group had been successful in identifying 17 fossils representing at least 9 species of birds: three species of ducks, a loon, an albatross, a shearwater, a cormorant, an extinct penguin-like seabird called mancalline auk, and a dovekie. Most of these species can be found in the region today; however, the presence of a dovekie was completely unexpected.

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Milton Keynes gull problems: Staff faced bird 'poo fear'

2nd February 2020

Staff at a major shirt firm faced the constant threat of being "covered in poo" due to thousands of gulls roosting on a warehouse building.

About 3,000 black-headed gulls made their home on the roof of Charles Tyrwhitt's warehouse in Milton Keynes, reports BBC Inside Out in the East.

The birds, which produce faeces which can also damage buildings, were dispersed by use of laser beams.

They then found a home at the Mercedes-Benz car dealership in the town.

Carly Harwood, of Charles Tyrwhitt, said: "There were thousands of them. You had to use an umbrella to get to your car. Otherwise you could be covered in poo."

As gulls are wild birds it is illegal to kill them without a special licence, so if they need to be moved on, they can only be deterred or scared away.

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Not-so-dirty birds? Not enough evidence to link wild birds to food-borne illness

JANUARY 31, 2020

by Sara Zaske, Washington State University

When food makes people sick, some blame birds because they hang around farms, and their feces can contain E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter, three common pathogens that can cause food-borne illness.

But a recent Washington State University study published in Biological Reviews on Jan. 31 has found scant evidence to support the link between wild birds and human illness involving those three pathogens.

The perceived risk of wild birds can impact their survival, said Olivia Smith, lead author on the study and a recent WSU Ph.D. graduate.

"Farmers are being encouraged to remove wild bird habitat to make their food safer, but it doesn't appear that these actions are based on data," Smith said. "When you restrict birds from agricultural settings, you are doing something that can lead to their decline."

Bird populations have been falling rapidly in recent decades. Scientists estimate that since 1970, North America has lost more than three billion birds. In light of this, the WSU researchers highlighted the need for more definitive research before destroying habitat and banning birds from fields in the name of food safety.

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