South and West of you, by several hundred miles. although pals reported hearing them on moorland 50 miles west of me the same day, as well as the southern uplands in scotland. Do the bliddy things spread across the country silently, waiting for the agreed day?
RSPB &BBC blame farming practices for curlew decline
- Thread starter bracken basher
- Start date
South and West of you, by several hundred miles. although pals reported hearing them on moorland 50 miles west of me the same day, as well as the southern uplands in scotland. Do the bliddy things spread across the country silently, waiting for the agreed day?
I do not understand the alleged decline in species as reported by various bodies, blaming farmers, when there is a steady increase in the amount of farmland signed into environmental land management agreements, where the 'experts' know best?
Is there therefore a significant correlation between the decline in species and the land in EA?
http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4242
I would suggest farmers know best practice for the species on the their farms, yet our voices are not heard over what the 'experts' think.
Is there therefore a significant correlation between the decline in species and the land in EA?
http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4242
I would suggest farmers know best practice for the species on the their farms, yet our voices are not heard over what the 'experts' think.
We did 10 years in CSS, then 10 in HLS, which finished in December (& was administered by people who knew what they were doing). We had to move our most successful stone curlew plot for Mid Tier, as the rules forbid it being on top of archaeology. Thats one reason why we had it there in the first place as it kept deep cutivations off an old enclosure.
We are dd anyway nowadays, but I fail to see how a light scratch 1" deep for the tilth the birds like can do any damage after generations of ploughing the site.
The curlews dont seem to have settled on the new site, but the "experts" are probably happy so all is fine.
PostHarvest
Member
- Location
- Warwick
During a farm walk at Elevedon Estate a few years ago we were told that stone curlews prefer to nest in their onion fields. Also the greatest hazard to those that nest in heathland (their favourite habitat according to RSBC) is the birdwatchers that keep disturbing them.
It is ironic that the RSPB’s own research emphasises the essential role of predator control in the survival of curlew (and ground nesting bird) populations.
Upland land use predicts population decline in a globally near-threatened wader (2013)
‘3. Curlew population changes over an 8- to 10-year period were positively related to gamekeeper density (a surrogate of predator control intensity) and inversely to the area of woodland surrounding sites, as a likely source of predators to adjacent open ground. Model predictions suggest that increasing woodland cover from 0% to 10% of the land area within 1 km of populated sites requires an increase in human predator control effort of about 48%, to a level associated with high-intensity grouse production, to achieve curlew population stability.
4. Curlew nesting success, known to be a key driver of population trends, was also positively related to gamekeeper density and inversely to woodland area surrounding sites, providing a plausible mechanistic link between land use and population change’.
5. Synthesis and applications. Upland land use is associated with curlew declines, with predation a likely mechanism, and this may apply to other breeding waders. The removal of isolated woodland plantations from otherwise unafforested landscapes may help reduce predation pressure across a range of systems including moorland. However, direct predator control may also be important to conserve ground‐nesting birds in these landscapes, for example, where moorland management and forestry coexist as major land uses. Predator control may also mitigate climate change effects by enhancing wader productivity, particularly where climate effects coincide with changing land use. Emerging land uses in open landscapes, including native woodland restoration and wind farms, require careful siting to minimize further impacts on open‐area breeding birds.
‘Upland land use is associated with curlew declines, with predation a likely mechanism, and this may apply to other breeding waders’. When one considers the emphasis the RSPB and the BBC claim to place on science It is surprising that the BBC article ignores the RSPB’s own findings.
Upland land use predicts population decline in a globally near-threatened wader (2013)
‘3. Curlew population changes over an 8- to 10-year period were positively related to gamekeeper density (a surrogate of predator control intensity) and inversely to the area of woodland surrounding sites, as a likely source of predators to adjacent open ground. Model predictions suggest that increasing woodland cover from 0% to 10% of the land area within 1 km of populated sites requires an increase in human predator control effort of about 48%, to a level associated with high-intensity grouse production, to achieve curlew population stability.
4. Curlew nesting success, known to be a key driver of population trends, was also positively related to gamekeeper density and inversely to woodland area surrounding sites, providing a plausible mechanistic link between land use and population change’.
5. Synthesis and applications. Upland land use is associated with curlew declines, with predation a likely mechanism, and this may apply to other breeding waders. The removal of isolated woodland plantations from otherwise unafforested landscapes may help reduce predation pressure across a range of systems including moorland. However, direct predator control may also be important to conserve ground‐nesting birds in these landscapes, for example, where moorland management and forestry coexist as major land uses. Predator control may also mitigate climate change effects by enhancing wader productivity, particularly where climate effects coincide with changing land use. Emerging land uses in open landscapes, including native woodland restoration and wind farms, require careful siting to minimize further impacts on open‐area breeding birds.
‘Upland land use is associated with curlew declines, with predation a likely mechanism, and this may apply to other breeding waders’. When one considers the emphasis the RSPB and the BBC claim to place on science It is surprising that the BBC article ignores the RSPB’s own findings.
Old McDonald
Member
- Location
- Harray, Orkney
You might have a point there. I never heard a cuckoo last year, yet I am (almost) certain I saw one on a couple of ocasions. I do not wear my distance spectacles when working on the farm. Neither have I heard one this year. Obviously they reach these latitudes before yours, so sometime in March has been the norm in past years.
I realise that the "cuckoo" sound is only made by the male, but I would expect to hear at least one from late winter to early summer.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
had a couple of curlew chicks hatch a couple of years ago
gone in a week
crows and pigeons in the field plus badgers roaming about
gone in a week
crows and pigeons in the field plus badgers roaming about
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aah, but isn't the call a breeding call, so they wouldn't make it in transit?
I recall the male is not host species specific, while the female is.
IE, she lays eggs which will match a certain hosts eggs. But he can make whoopee with any female.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
- Location
- Cirencester
- Location
- Herefordshire
I absolutely agree,the sheer ever increasing numbers of Badgers are doing untold damage to our precious wildlife.I remember several years ago when my father was still alive and he had a soft spot for birds and would walk the farm checking on their well being.He returned to the farmyard,one day,and asked us to come and view what he had found.We found 5 curlew nests where every egg had been smashed and eaten by Badgers.I think they may,also, be responsible for the decline in hedgehogs but it's easy for the media and the public to blame Farmers without doing proper research into it.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Red Kites are to blame
Who in their right mind let that vermin run riot in the countryside
Who in their right mind let that vermin run riot in the countryside
- Location
- Welshpool Powys
Vermin
- Location
- Cirencester
To be fair I have not witnessed any damage caused by Kites here, they are mostly scavengers, buzzards and ravens on the other hand are getting too plentiful, leverets dont stand a chance.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Tudor Vermin Act
- Location
- Ceredigion
One farmer counted 600 when he was mowing his field
- Location
- Welshpool Powys
Out of balance due to artificial feeding
When did modern farming practices start?
In my 30 odd years there has been a lot less change in farming than the "wildlife management" practices here.
If you looked back to the war years the cropping here was not dissimilar, the biggest change is Oil seed rape in place of rotational grass. A pollen generating plant displacing ruminant livestock.
The other change happened before my time with herbicides, however we now have miles of grass strips.
I don't remember ever seeing badgers and buzzards rarely saw sparrowhawks or foxes. No cats in the cottages, no dogs walked on the disused railway.
What is in decline are the farmland and hedgerow birds.
In my 30 odd years there has been a lot less change in farming than the "wildlife management" practices here.
If you looked back to the war years the cropping here was not dissimilar, the biggest change is Oil seed rape in place of rotational grass. A pollen generating plant displacing ruminant livestock.
The other change happened before my time with herbicides, however we now have miles of grass strips.
I don't remember ever seeing badgers and buzzards rarely saw sparrowhawks or foxes. No cats in the cottages, no dogs walked on the disused railway.
What is in decline are the farmland and hedgerow birds.
- Location
- Northumberland
Old McDonald
Member
- Location
- Harray, Orkney
In past years at least they have bred nearby, and we normally heard them through to at least midsummer. A great shortage of Cattle Egrets in the last few years too.
The hoopoe makes a sort of whoopee noise.