Patchwork Challenge 2015.

At the onset of last year ( 2014) I had every intention in contributing to an ever growing trend in birding, that of systematically  "working a regular patch". This is increasing in popularity and I can do no better than refer you to the website which gives all the details about the project, how to join the rules and so on. See

www.patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk

As it was I got diverted, didn't even know whether I would be on Islay for any serious length of time so I set the idea aside. I've now resurrected it and have registered a "patch",    SW Islay.

Mainly because of fuel prices, at least until very recently, many people no longer travel around for birds as much as previous and, instead , have taken to intensively working their own patch of choice. This gave rise to the idea of the Patchwork Challenge.  Basically you submit details on  a monthly basis of the species seen within your favourite birdwatching patch, each particular species earns point and you end up with your name in lights or needing to try harder!!.

It's slightly more complicated than that , of course, but it provides an opportunity to make birding fun with an accompanying motivating factor built in. The size of your chosen area is limited to 3 km.squares in extent but the configuration of your area can be your choice.The whole idea is linked to having somewhere nearby to home where you can grab a period of time on  a regular basis and , hopefully, ensure you're not missing too much of what is occurring.

There are lots  of nice little features to this project. Sponsorship has, for example, ensured that the overall combined total of species seen ( 340 in 2014 ) has resulted in a donation of the same amount to the BTO's House Martin tracking project.  Additionally, if you see a "new" species for the year it can be added to the Patchwork Challenge BuBo list.  

Take a look and have a try!

3rd January, 2015.

At last, calmer weather!  Thankfully, a complete change in fact, with calm conditions, an open sky and sun, at least at times. A welcome change!  Given the recent holiday, car problems ( now fully resolved ), and a variety of tasks to complete, the day wasn't exclusively my own but I managed to get out locally.  Periodically I like to check out what is around across the rising grass moor westwards to the coast and eastwards out towards the fringing ring of conifer woodland that circles the basin of rough grazing and juncus ridden areas that stretch out from the house.

The area can be devoid of bird life, apparently at least, at the height of winter, but it's not always quite the case. A reasonable period of observation at this time of year can show activity beginning to increase with  " larger birds " predominating".  Corvids are the most obvious with Hooded Crows and Ravens ranging over the open ground, joined by the odd Buzzard and GBBG's. This time of year, based on several occasions experience, sees the "local" Choughs ranging around not just examining feeding areas, but also suitable nesting sites. This occurred yesterday with a pair exploring the barn on a couple of occasions. They've never bred there to my knowledge, but they seem to go through the motions each year.   Whilst I kept an eye open for the "local" Golden Eagles no sightings were forthcoming, a result perhaps of hunting/feeding conditions being bad in recent days and them now having to range over a greater area.

Little is present usually on the open moorland at this time of year and yesterday was no exception.  It's necessary to cover a lot of ground for very small returns, the odd Wren or Robin, slightly more Blackbirds, all of which are likely to be "Continentals", and the odd Song Thrush.  Given the nature of the habitat mix it's easy to monitor what is present and to notice any changes. Yesterday wasn't terribly productive, which could be taken as a baseline against which the sudden appearance , possibly due to harsh weather conditions, of thrush species like Fieldfare and Redwings can easily be detected. There were a few absences too! No Pheasant, Woodcock, titmice, Reed Bunting or Meadow Pipit or, indeed, despite an evening vigil at roost time, any signs of passing Hen Harrier. My resident Barn Owl appears to have moved to other quarters too.

Whilst watching out for harriers I kept an eye on the three or four Chaffinches attending my feeders. These were most certainly the majority representatives of smaller birds I saw throughout the day!  I watched one bird for quite a period of time within which it pecked at and picked up, as far as I could tell, in excess of 70 Nyger seed items. Some of these pecks must surely have failed (?), although it didn't appear so. I was amazed at how much bulk a relatively small bird could take in, although I admit Nyger seed is pretty small. Setting aside that aspect it was clear that the bird was "stocking up" before what would be a long night of around fifteen hours!  With winter weather conditions sometimes seeing temperatures plummet the need of birds to withstand this is paramount. This draws attention to the importance of feeding birds in winter and on a regular basis too! Thankfully conditions aren't that severe at present.

So, not a terribly good day for birds, but very worthwhile at showing how little is around against which changes can then be documented as we gradually move through the depths of winter into Spring.

2nd January, 2015.

Last night was brutal!  The wind threw repeated heavy gusts at the house and rain also deluged at regular intervals during the night. I was reminded of those immortal words of the poet, Dylan Thomas

Do not go gently into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Well, given I'd no intention of passing into the hereafter, my raging was directed at the conditions and the way in which they prevented sleep!  Sure, I raged, but the night of turbulence carried on.  This morning a look in the bathroom mirror saw an apparition more resembling Father Jack than Father Ted ( you've got to have seen the series to appreciate this ) and I felt somewhat evil!!  The wind still blew, the bins were flung across the yard several times until I put them in the barn and news came of a plane blown off the runway on Stornaway.  Not a day that was going to produce much I thought.  In reality two occasions out locally were rewarded with nothing . Not a bird, how's that for a record!

So I wrote a couple of things for the Blog and am now signing off with conditions beginning to improve ( a bit! ).

Radio programmes week commencing 3rd January, 2015.

I had an idea the other day that might be useful and, there again , it might be quite useless!!  I habitually go through the Radio Times and "spot" both TV and radio programmes I'd like to take in during the following week. Very often I miss them. It occurred to me that a listing of radio programmes might be quite useful for those who are regularly out and about in the car or even tied to a desk throughout the week. Of course, most, if not all, can now be listened to after the event.  As an experiment I thought I'd just list them out and see how it goes.  I haven't included anything before 0600 hours in the morning ( Farming Today and Tweet of the Day ) as neither figure on my "must listen to" list,  not based on prejudice but on preference!!

All programmes this week are on Radio 4.   FM198.

Saturday 3rd January.
0607 hours    Open Country ( Suffolk Coast )
0630 hours    Farming Today.

Sunday   4th January.
0605 hours     Something Understood  ( Arctic Circle ).
0635 hours     On Your Farm  ( Animal Behaviour ).

Monday   5th January.
1100 hours     This Farming Life.
2100 hours     Shared Planet  (Lemurs )

Tuesday    6th January.
1100 hours      Shared Planet  (Corals ).
1530 hours      In search of the Holy Tail   ( Mull....Sea Eagles  and Basking Sharks ).

Thursday   8th January.
1500 hours      Open Country   ( Wiltshire Wellbeing Group )
1630 hours      Inside Science.

Hope it's a help.  I know there's the pre selection facility in some cars, ( for Environment ? ) but above might just capture the odd jem besides!    Happy listening .

Hen Harrier saga continues ( Part 1 ).

Two years ago I spent much of that Christmas thinking through the implications of the E-petition I was shortly to register proposing the licencing of grouse moors and gamekeepers. A year or so later the petition had gained over 10,000 signatures and, due to having reached this threshold, received a Government response.  In many ways the response was irrelevant as it sought to avoid the main issue relating to raptor persecution and, overall, could be judged to be pathetic. However, later events confirmed the response very much represented the Government's intended position and its arrogance at refusing to recognize more fairly the concerns of an appreciable body of electoral opinion.

But , since then , what has happened that might be deemed to represent progress?  Two years on from that point above I've spent yet another Christmas pondering over the subject;  what has improved and what tangible progress we might claim in the cause of reducing raptor persecution and an improvement to Hen Harrier breeding numbers?   This first Blog is a bit of a "scene setter" with Part Two laying out what I feel is at the real heart of the problem.

A few months ago a further E-petition from past colleague Mark Avery called for a ban on driven grouse shooting altogether. Following much promotion the petition has gained already in excess of 20,000 signatures. Whilst it is unlikely to reach the necessary threshold of 100,000 signatures that would secure its consideration for debate in Parliament, due mainly to being "truncated" in March this year due to the then imminence of the General Election, it pays testament to a growing body of opinion that calls the activities of the grouse shooting industry into question. Within this time too the RSPB, publicly, has more robustly embraced the licencing proposal, has written to key stakeholders but no longer appears to be pursuing the issue with any real campaigning zeal. However, the Society has gained significant funding from Europe to pursue initiatives aimed at improving the breeding status of Hen Harriers and addressing the raptor persecution problem and certainly can't claim to be bereft of resources for this particular task

The admirable Hen Harrier Day initiative in August, first proposed by Alan Tilmouth, resulted in good attendances despite abysmal weather and generated some good publicity. Since then a further rally at Parliament previous to Christmas certainly resulted in the topic of raptor persecution being raised with a number of MP's.  Sadly, the responses to various questions laid by an MP in Parliament make it abundantly clear that neither licencing nor the adoption of an offence of vicarious liability are within the Government's intentions, even for consideration.  The question of banning driven grouse shooting wasn't even responded to so I think we can confidently presume it's not sitting central to the Government's radar at present!!

In the meantime the shooting lobby has retaliated with a variety of statements and web site entries, none of which has assisted the situation in my view.  Such "tit for tat" exchanges are little more than an exercise in drawing teeth in my opinion. They achieve very little and divert effort  from possibly more profitable attempts to resolve the difficulties. This is not an opinion I've necessarily held previously, but I now believe the whole scenario is at a crucial stage in its development.  Certainly the "shooters versus conservation" divide is more clearly defined in some quarters than ever previously. In my view the RSPB, despite being accused of a variety of ill-conceived shortcomings, has treated such with disdain on most occasions and maintained its policy position , particularly when dealing with the Government's Hen Harrier Recovery Plan proposals.

Whilst much of the above suggests  "business as usual ", although with an accompanying platform of regular publicity being achieved on the subject, one small but crucial "positive" has happened in Scotland recently. Here the offence of vicarious liability had already been accepted into law and December saw the first successful prosecution being obtained. Whilst some people bridled at the alleged inadequacy of the fine involved, a serious first step has been achieved and will serve as a reference point that cannot be ignored.

Between now and the General Election in May, 2015 nothing is likely to change in my view. Progress of a kind has been made in terms of gaining the support of some Parties to include draft policies in their Manifestos. As we all know there's a long way to go before this can be viewed as real progress. It serves to show what a long drawn out process these type of issues can be and how difficult it can be to effect change.

2014 saw a very small improvement in harrier breeding numbers in England and young being produced, some of which, despite being tagged, promptly disappeared. So, the problem has not gone away. Increasing numbers of people are calling for change and that is very much a positive.  A reader might be led to conclude that much or all of the above is no more than platitudes arising from a basis of pessimism. They'd be so wrong!  Having become involved in this very conflict in the 1970's I've seen the situation ebb and flow more than a few times. We hit the bottom level two or three years ago, but things are beginning to improve and the subject is out in the open more, albeit with both sides expressing passionately opposing views at times. Such is not a problem in my view, but we have to be prepared to look critically and very openly at the fundamental factors involved, not all of which have necessarily been aired to the proper extent in the past.  At times it's as if shooting and conservation protagonists are permanently dancing around a Maypole, joshing each other as their respective circles pass. I'm sure I've been part of it at various intervals, but it's not the recipe for success.  We can do better than that, and must, which is what I'll consider next time.    

Quadrantids Meteor Shower.

This occurs annually each year between the 1st and 5th January and, at its peak, can see around 40 per hour of passage given optimum viewing conditions. The shower is thought to be derived from the debris left behind by the extinct comet, 2003 EH1  ( only discovered in 2003 ).  The phenomenon usually "peaks" on the 3rd or 4th night.

I'd rather looked forward to watching out for this first astronomical "event" in 2015 but , looking at the weather forecast for Islay, I doubt it's going to happen. Cloudy conditions, with rain on occasions, appears to be most likely and to have quashed the idea.  Still if you find your night sky clear after midnight over the next couple of nights I'm sure it's worth a look.  Unfortunately the full moon appears on Monday so developing bright conditions might also affect your ability to actually see any of the meteors. Make a note for next year too!!

Did you know......On Monday the full moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and, therefore, fully illuminated.  That's if the sky is nice and clear of clouds and viewing conditions good!!  This full moon was known by the North American Indian tribes as the Full Wolf Moon as it was at this time of year that the hungry wolf packs used to patrol around and howl outside their camps.  

New Year arrives with a blast! 1.1.2015

Setting events within the last two months aside, or even non-events, the New Year has now arrived and with it an imperative to get this Blog on an even keel again. So here goes!

Having looked at the weather forecast previously I'd already half decided today would not be much use for venturing out. And so it proved with rising winds overnight and rain, an interlude, but then with the same conditions returning in the afternoon and evening. Whilst many birders launch into New Year's Day with frenetic enthusiasm, mainly due to limited time off work I imagine, I decided on a different approach. Retirement provides a few bonuses from time to time! I decided to get all the phone calls and similar tasks out of the way and rely on the predicted improving forecast  ( except tomorrow's forecast is now not much better than today's! ) and then start the New Year in earnest.

So the upshot of all this is that I have seen two bird species today ( Blackbird and Robin ) and have read , somewhat enviously, of rare birds elsewhere and great weather in Norfolk. At the moment the wind is completing a concerto of its own making,  whistling, buffeting and roaring around the buildings, all combining to make for an unsettled night.

Having said all this I did take in the first in David Attenborough's new TV series, Conquest of the Skies. What a tour de force  and what a communicator !  Look for a repeat and don't miss the rest.  How anyone can set nature and the world's wonders aside is beyond me. Whilst everyone can't be obsessive aficionados the sheer beauty and background information surrounding its very existence dictate none of it should be ignored or discarded.  

So, may I wish everyone a happy and productive 2015, may you be in both good heart and health and may your hopes and resolutions become a reality.  

Origin of visitors to this Blog.

Some readers  may have noticed the absence of the Clustrmap widget showing the origin of visitors to this site. Sadly I've had to cancel the facility as it repeatedly didn't load up properly and, despite best efforts, I couldn't rectify the problem. I even cancelled the necessary coding and tried to set the facility up anew , but was repeatedly reminded I was already registered.

Sad really as I found it really interesting given the map thumbnail showed the extent to which we all have worldwide connections with one another.  I'll try and find something similar, but felt a quick explanation was in order.

What IS going to happen to our environment?

I confess to being increasingly worried!!  With an election being held next year in May, with the main political parties and their initiatives being on a roller coaster of changing support and clarity, and their leaders' popularity ebbing and flowing, the status of our system appears to be in disarray, if not meltdown.

Add to this the clear indication, oft repeated and despite claims of an intention by the Tory Party to be the Greenest Government ever,  such was not the case and  environmental matters and concerns became increasingly way down on the political agenda. Indeed, one might have easily come to a conclusion that the Coalition Government  had little intention of affording any wide examination to a pressing array of countryside and subject based problems be it fracking, badgers or bees!!  With the role and prominence of Natural England, ( as the Government's advisory body on such matters), seemingly being degraded by the year, with a former Environment Secretary being in denial when climate change issues  emerged and whose attitudes towards the "Green lobby" was both antagonistic and downright rude, what conclusions are we to reach?  With the Chancellor of the Exchequer preaching that development should receive priority treatment come what may, whether this was in conflict with environmental concerns or not, are we right to conclude that not only has the Tory Party no empathy with our countryside, wildlife heritage and environmental issues but that it has no intention of giving such topics prominence either.  Not a position that bodes well for those subjects if they are successful in the forthcoming election in May,2015.

And what of the Liberal Democrats?  I suppose, through time, there has been a number of instances where the LibDems have demonstrated both concern and support for environmental matters, so should we view them as a continuing positive force? Well, in my opinion I'm afraid not given their current popularity ratings. I fear their forthcoming situation overall will see a massive dive into obscurity, no involvement in any position of influence and no accompanying leverage that might be of benefit on environmental matters. I feel rather sad at airing this view, but fear it represents a reality.

And then there's the Labour Party. With only seven months to the General Election and taking account of their current position, I suspect there will be such an over-riding need to reinvent themselves in order to survive, be it in Scotland or Westminster,  that "environment" will be a topic way down the list.  Indeed, there appears to be few really firm policies in place already, either as work in progress or referred to intentions, despite them engaging actively with debates in the Chamber involving such subjects.

And then there's UKIP.  Well I leave you to actually identify any meaningful environmental policies they might pursue if , indeed, they manage to succeed in their repeatedly declared mission of gaining a presence in Westminster. I get a firm impression this is not a series of subject areas in which they are interested and I neither hear nor see any displayed expertise in that regard.

All this causes me to reach an inevitable conclusion that, if all of us don't fight very hard to ensure our wildlife and countryside get a "look in" within the next session of Parliament, then both "quality and quantity" will spiral to an all time low level. It certainly gives me no satisfaction or pleasure to come to this conclusion, but all the obvious indicators suggest there is simply insufficient interest or willingness to engage with such topics in any meaningful way, certainly by any of the main Parties.  The NGO's appear strong on advice giving, but increasingly weak on campaigning for change. Attending endless meetings and advocating change is needed to secure improvements is not campaigning, but little more than offering polite comments within a continuing round of ineffective discussions. There needs to be a little more boat rocking I'm afraid!  RSPB, the County Trust movement and other bodies need to up their game more than a little as opposed to simply providing commentary as bystanders. We can all do that!  If you purport to protect the environment and its wildlife, claim to have a million members then do something with that clout for Heaven's sake!

Whilst I don't believe they will achieve any controlling position at Westminster in a single party sense, I have nonetheless joined the Green Party as at least they have a respectable list of policies which address environmental concerns, express a recognition of wildlife and countryside topics and appear to have some idea of how integrated action can attain benefit.  If they are successful in gaining an increased number of MP's to add to the efforts of the current representative, Caroline Lucas, whose efforts I judge to have been absolutely admirable, then at least we can feel assured environmental concerns will not be abandoned. You may feel personally that placing pressure on your  Party of choice might improve matters and I certainly wouldn't discourage such action. But action there has to be otherwise the future might be very bleak indeed.

Diversionary Feeding Survey.

On Thursday I helped in a monitoring survey associated with diversionary feeding, the first of several over the winter. Now you could be excused for thinking this might be an exercise connected to the Scottish Health Authority and an enquiry linked to such much vaunted delicacies as Scotch Pies, Fish Suppers and Deep fried Mars Bars, but you'd be way off the mark.  This was, in fact, a day monitoring various sites where alternative food sources are being provided for Greenland White-fronted Geese and "distraction treatments" are being trialled on grassland to attempt to persuade feeding geese to move elsewhere.

In the next few days I'll be Blogging on the more general subject area of geese on Islay. In essence we have a problem!  Each winter around 40,000 Barnacle Geese travel from Greenland and take up winter quarters on Islay, besides occurring in lesser numbers elsewhere in Scotland and in Ireland.  Their numbers have increased over the years and their predilection for feeding on grass pastures managed for cattle and sheep bring them into conflict with farmers.By contrast the numbers of Greenland White-fronted Geese, now around 5000, have decreased such that their status is of increasing concern. Some interesting research is being completed by WWT ( I'll put out a Blog on that too! ) coupled with other efforts instituted by Scottish Natural Heritage. If you wish to be prepared for what is a complex subject area then here is a bit of homework for the weekend!!  The Management Strategy illustrated below can be found in entirety at the following link  Islay Goose Managemnent Strategy

Now I would ask to be treated gently in all this and the succeeding Blogs as the subject is a little complicated, not a little controversial and trying to present an informative summary in an appealing way to a largely lay audience is not the easiest task. However, we shall try!!

Today saw us looking at a series of diversionary feeding sites that have voluntarily been set aside by farmers and sown with a variety of crops that, hopefully, over the winter will prove attractive to geese, particularly Greenland White-fronted Geese.. Crops included fodder beet ( which will also ultimately provide food for sheep ), oats and turnips ( which are actually swede but called turnips in Scotland ). I'm told that one variety of turnip is possibly viewed as being too bitter by the geese, so enter the complication of palatability, not a difficulty one might have automatically arrived at!  It was also useful to see the different uptake of different sowings and the clear natural hurdles that are present and affect farming practice. Given the majority of geese haven't yet arrived the usage of these areas was patchy, but provided a useful set of control observations against which subsequent observations can be judged.  One field being managed was absolutely alive with birds other than geese...... larks, finches and buntings (20+ Yellowhammers ), some thrushes, corvids and a hunting male Hen Harrier up for a meal.  Is this each farm, single small field, winter feeding approach possibly a less complicated way worthy of subsidising generally compared to other options available aimed at supporting farmland birds?  Two other sites carried numbers of Twite in addition to other passerines. Clearly, already, the approach is generating results, questions and possibly solutions for the future. Certainly a couple of sites had already been discovered by geese and were obviously being successful in their role!

Another aspect we looked at were the results arising from the use of additives ( in fertiliser treatments) that are potentially off putting to the geese, back to palatability again! These have only just been completed so the results will emerge later on in the winter.

The whole question of goose management on Islay is laced with passionate convictions from differing factions of opinion and I'll be outlining some of the factors involved shortly.  Whatever one's position, it is becoming increasingly apparent that, in many places, we just have to routinely develop management solutions to upcoming problems, be they derived  from conflicts with farming, access, visitor numbers, built development, the sustainable development of energy sources and so on.  In that context seeking out a solution on Islay to what is an apparent conflict between farming and geese is simply one that is also mirrored elsewhere or is in the process of development.  In reality, and we must view it in that context, the solutions adopted finally on Islay are extremely important as they might usefully provide a way forward where problems of a similar nature are being experienced in other places be it in Orkney ( with Grey lag Geese ) or the Uists. In that sense, solutions must take account of the accumulative effects of any measures adopted,  as currently the holistic effects on the overall populations of various species don't appear to be figuring very prominently. Strategies are limited to areas of , shall we say, more parochial interest. Perhaps the Scottish Government ought to be considering an over-arching goose management strategy for Scotland that takes account of its international responsibilities and the effects any proposed solutions might have on the collective population levels of different species.  I'm sure such work will have been completed and exist somewhere against which any recommendations for action on Islay can then be viewed.