Articles...
Cirl
Buntings in Cornwall
Cirl buntings are breeding
again in Cornwall thanks to the RSPB’s cirl
bunting reintroduction project in partnership
with Paignton Zoo, Natural England and the
National Trust. Cirl buntings are small farmland
birds that used to be found throughout the
county, and right across England’s south coast,
but now they are restricted to a narrow strip of
coastal farmland in south Devon. Despite a
revival in numbers over the last 15 years, this
population is still vulnerable, so it was
decided to establish another population within
its’ former range.
Summer 2006 saw the first
releases at a ‘secret’ site in south Cornwall.
Young chicks were taken from Devon nests under
licence from Natural England, then transported
to the site and reared by aviculturalists from
Paignton Zoo. When the chicks were old enough,
they were moved outside to aviaries, and
released into the wild a week later. By the end
of August 2006 72 cirl buntings had been
released. They were all ringed with a unique
colour combination so each bird could be
identified. During March 2007 , pairs began to form
territories and showed signs of breeding
activity, with the first chicks hatching out in
June.
Though this represents a
great success for the species, more birds will
be needed for the population to be able to
sustain itself. More young birds have been
brought down from Devon and released this year
(2007),
and will be for the following two years, and we
are working with local farmers, landowners and
Natural England to provide suitable habitat for
cirl buntings under the government’s
Environmental Stewardship schemes. If anyone has
any sightings, would like to commit to regular
voluntary work (*see below), or simply wants
more information, please feel free to contact me
on 07702 779345 or by
e-mail.
Nick Tomalin
RSPB Cirl Bunting
Reintroduction Project Field Officer
* In
the RSPB volunteers are a major resource and
make a vital contribution to the RSPB’s aim to
take action for the conservation of wild birds
and the environment. On a project like this we
would need someone with good field
identification skills and reasonable fitness who
could commit to at least one day each fortnight,
since it requires regular work to become
familiar with the ring identification and the
monitoring area. For more information please
contact Nick Tomalin – details above.
Photos by Nick Tomalin
_____________________________
Cirl Project Update 2008...
The joint
venture between the RSPB, Natural England, Paignton Zoo and The National
Trust to reintroduce cirl buntings to Cornwall has continued with another
successful year of rearing and releasing young birds from Devon, as well as
continued breeding by older released birds in Cornwall. In 2007 we were able
to report the first confirmed breeding of cirl buntings in Cornwall for some
time, with several pairs making nesting attempts and rearing young. This
summer there has been even more pairs breeding despite the wet weather,
including some birds that were born in Cornwall last summer. These pairs
have been dispersing into new areas too, finding suitable areas of
over-wintered stubble and bird cover crops during the winter, and breeding
in the nearby insect-rich grasslands.
The population
has also been boosted by another batch of young birds translocated from
Devon. Aviculturists from Paignton Zoo have again been busy rearing the
birds from 6-day old chicks until release at around 30-32 days. This is no
easy task, as the birds require feeding every two hours from 6am until
midnight. The process has been adapted from last year drawing on the
experience of the head aviculturist, Carl Laven, and on advice from vets at
the Zoological Society of London, who develop the rearing protocol. Although
poor weather may mean that the chicks are more vulnerable to disease, a
total of 68 have been released this year - ahead of target and with very few
losses, due to the dedication of the hand-rearers.
With the
winter fast approaching, monitoring of the population will continue with
RSPB staff and volunteers identifying birds by their unique colour-ring
combinations. The birds will begin to form flocks and spend their time
feeding in seed-rich stubble fields. The local farming community have been
hugely supportive of the work, with many putting in suitable wintering
habitat on their farms to encourage cirl buntings. Many have been interested
in the governments Environmental Stewardship Schemes, which offer payments
for wildlife friendly management of the land. This support is crucial to the
success of the project. With more birds due to be translocated next year, it
is hoped that the population will continue to expand over the next couple of
years so that cirl buntings will be a common feature of the Cornish
countryside once again.
If anyone
has any sightings, would like to commit to regular voluntary work (*see
below), or simply wants more information, please feel free to contact me on
07702 779345 or at nick.tomalin@rspb.org.uk.
Nick Tomalin
RSPB Cirl
Bunting Reintroduction Project Officer
*In the RSPB volunteers are a major resource
and make a vital contribution to the RSPB’s aims to take action for the
conservation of wild birds and the environment. On a project like this we
would need someone with good field identification skills and reasonable
fitness who could commit to at least one day each fortnight, since it
requires regular work to become familiar with the ring identification and
the monitoring area. We also offer residential placements during winter. For
more information see
www.rspb.org.uk or contact Nick
Tomalin – details above.
______________________
Cirl Project Update
2009...
Another summer comes and goes and
we ask yet again what happened to it! There were periods this year when I
almost believed the met office’s prediction that it would be a ‘BBQ
Summer’, but a hot, sunny day turned out to be nearly as rare as a Cornish
cirl bunting. This was the fourth year of the project to reintroduce the
species to the county, in a joint venture between the RSPB, Paignton Zoo,
The National Trust and Natural England. Every autumn so far I have reported
that wet weather has not helped the plight of these plucky little birds,
despite the fact that released birds have been breeding on the Roseland
Peninsula since 2007. This year the damp periods were sandwiched between a
bright and warm April and May, and a slight resurgence of summer in
September. The effect of this was a considerably more productive breeding
season, as there was more invertebrate food available for the tireless
parents to gather for their chicks. In fact, despite there being a similar
number of breeding pairs to last year, the productivity went up three-fold,
with around 50 young birds fledging from Cornish nests. Moreover, this year,
females outnumbered males for the first time. This is an unusual situation
for many species, and we were able to observe some instances of polygamy,
which has rarely been recorded for this species before. One optimistic male
tried his luck with three separate females, ensuring that he fathered more
chicks than any of his peers.
Another
cohort of chicks were translocated from Devon and reared in Cornwall. By the
end of the season, 67 had been released into the Cornish countryside. When
added to the young born in Cornish nests, the population had been boosted by
over 100 young birds this year. Many of these will not survive their first
winter, but in larger flocks, alongside more experienced birds, they stand a
better chance than in previous years. RSPB staff and volunteers will
continue to monitor these birds through winter, when they tend to move onto
spring barley stubbles or patches of bird cover. Many of these areas have
been put in place through the continued support from local farmers. Their
knowledge and enthusiasm for farmland wildlife has ensured that a diverse
range of flora and fauna will benefit from suitable management. Some farmers
have now been offered financial support from Natural England for this work,
and this will secure the future of cirl buntings in Cornwall.
We
will shortly be deciding what the future holds for Cornish cirl buntings, as
we go over the progress that has been made, and try to determine what we
still need to do! The next year or two will be critical if the birds are to
establish themselves for good. After a better breeding season this year,
things are looking positive for the species. With the continued support of
the local community, and a dedicated team of staff and volunteers keeping a
close eye on things, I hope to be able to report even more success in future
years for cirl buntings in Cornwall. Who knows, perhaps we’ll get a BBQ
summer next year instead
If
anyone has any sightings, would like to commit to regular voluntary work
(*see below), or simply wants more information, please feel free to contact
me on 07702 779345 or at nick.tomalin@rspb.org.uk
Nick Tomalin
RSPB Cirl Bunting Reintroduction Project Officer
*In the RSPB volunteers are a major
resource and make a vital contribution to the RSPB’s aims to take action
for the conservation of wild birds and the environment. On a project like
this we would need someone with good field identification skills and
reasonable fitness who could commit to at least one day each fortnight,
since it requires regular work to become familiar with the ring
identification and the monitoring area. We also offer residential placements
during winter. For more
______________________
The wintering
singing Black Redstarts of Wadebridge
by Colin Selway
Usually in late autumn Black Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros) arrive from
their breeding grounds somewhere to the east, and spend a relatively warmer
winter in coastal locations, like the town of Wadebridge in Cornwall, finding mostly the live food they need, in the micro climates formed in the
many sheltered gardens, balconies and roof valleys to be found in the town,
where they are in the habit of running like wagtails (they also hop) and
feeding (usually unnoticed) under lines of parked cars, often in the busy
streets. They can be seen picking food items from the gable walls of
houses, often hovering under guttering or facia boards, and fly-catching
from favourite perches, usually near lawns, were they can take prey from the
ground, always returning quickly to the favourite lookout, their fiery tails
giving a welcome flash of exotic colour to otherwise drab winter streets.
The adult male at Glen Road has been observed catching insects around
street lights late at night. This remarkable bird, I believe, by observing
it closely, has spent the last four winters at the same site, its
distinctive strangled song can be heard on sunny days, even before
Christmas. Throughout March it sings every day that the sun shines.
Strangely I hardly ever hear the ‘tisip’ call, just on a couple of
occasions, and then from the female at Town quay. It could well be that the
‘tisip’ call is harder to separate from the town's noise pollution.
There appear
to have been four known Black Redstarts in the town last winter, (the
number varies from year to year)-two females and two males, all with their
own fairly small winter territories. The adult male at Glen Road has a
territory no larger than 250m x 80m. The female at Town Quay uses an area
almost exactly the same size. At first this may seem like a small territory
but it covers a larger area of roof tops and balconies on many levels.
There
was a male, probably a first winter (not as striking as the Glen Road male)
holding a territory in the very centre of the town (Foundry Road across to Trevanson
Road). This male also sings during the winter. Usually it’s the
only way to pick it up, and then (if you are lucky) just seeing its
head poking over the gutters of the high buildings.
Only once have I seen a
pair together in Wadebridge, and that was at Glen Road. On that occasion the
male was in the process of chasing the female away. Before living in the
town of Wadebridge I spent several years in the Cornish town of Tintagel,
where Black Redstarts are fairly common, wintering on the cliffs and the
many derelict coastal slate quarries, but in all that time I never managed
to hear their song. It came as a surprise to me to find that even first year
males appear eager to sing in the town. The Wadebridge Black Redstarts
usually depart in early April.
