A New Recording Area for 2021

Our impending move to Leigh comes with a new bird recording area and a new club.
Leigh Ornithological Society Website > http://www.leighos.org.uk/
Facebook > https://www.facebook.com/groups/leighos/

Looking forward to exploring the area.

Reducing my Transportation Footprint

Transportation is one of the the largest sources of carbon emissions and one of the best areas we as individuals can make a difference. We can use cleaner cars but the best way is to return to walking or biking. Walking and Biking are not just recreational activities for the weekend they help us to get fitter being more active, reduce our demand for oil, reduce congestion, noise pollution and the destruction of open spaces.

Here in Trafford we have good cycle links many using quiet and non traffic roadways. Lots of routes can be found on the Greater Manchester Transport site - https://tfgm.com/cycling

I have decided to improve my fitness, get out more and if possible not use the car.To help meet these goals I have purchased a folding bike, a Tern A7.

Its light and compact so I will ba able to use it at home and on holiday. I'm hoping its the start of some great adventures in photography, birding, camping and kiting. I'll be making a proper review after a couple months usage.

Help Preserve Our Local Meadows - SIGNED!!

The campaign is created by Cllr Stephen Adshead

Concerning development of the Stretford Meadows

The Petition is to withdraw any suggestions, ideas etc. to develop industrial units/warehousing on the meadows greenbelt area that links Stretford and Urmston, and instead support the local community and Trafford Council’s strategy to help enhance this green space for the benefit of the local communities.

Why is this important?

These meadows are a former landfill site that has gradually over the years been transformed and enhanced into a green space with a diverse number of uses, Trafford Councils Strategy for the site includes:
• The provision of attractive, accessible links from surrounding residential areas;
• The creation of a strategic route encouraging cycling and walking, linking urban and
Countryside areas, that is highly accessible by a large number of Trafford residents;
• The inclusion of measures to secure improvements to biodiversity, for instance by
Enhancing the area adjacent to the existing wetland to encourage Reed Buntings,
Improving meadow habitat for Skylarks and supplementing naturally regenerating oak trees;
• Tree planting to create woodland to help tackle air pollution and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
All this could now be under threat if Land care develops proposals to industrialise our local greenspace, the local area includes high density housing and some depravation, and this green space is well used and valued by the local community. It is also home a diverse community of wildlife that would also be lost.

SIGN HERE - https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/help-preserve-our-local-meadows-1

up to 32 species of bird on the land (maybe more), lots of butterflies, moths and other animals. it is an important site and needs to be kept to support wildlife. We are loosing a lot of greenspace and we don't have much to begin with in Stretford, our Parks are also under threat of development, soon it could be a concrete jungle is that what we want?

Must be a first

A badger seen wandering nr Victoria Park

RSPB has announced that Cattle Egrets are breeding at its Burton Mere Wetlands reserve in Cheshire

RSPB has announced that Cattle Egrets are breeding at its Burton Mere Wetlands reserve in Cheshire this spring.

read more here

Bird of Paradise on Tv

BBC2 tonight 9pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/05/birds-of-paradise

Birdfair 2016

The Birdwatching Glastonbury

The British Birdwatching Fair is jointly organised by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust and the RSPB.

19th - 21st August Egleton, Rutland

The British Trust for Ornithology present: Chris Packham with The Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

Saturday 4:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Last years entries can be seen here

Read more here

Zebra Finch

  'heat song' changes hatchling development

When the weather is hot, zebra finches in Australia sing to their eggs - and these "incubation calls" change the chicks' development, a study has found.

Read more here

 

Rare bird of prey vanishes

Another rare bird of prey vanishes on grouse moor

A PROBE has been launched after a tracked hen harrier became the ninth bird of prey to vanish from an area of the Highlands in just five years

Read more here

New Zealand Bird of the Year Scandal

New Zealand Bird of the Year contest rocked by voting scandal

Vote-rigging hits the prestigious New Zealand Bird of the Year contest, with supporters of one species accused of fowl play

Read more here

Garden bird survey aims to solve goldfinch mystery

While many of our familiar songbird species are in decline, one avian character in particular has been spotted increasingly frequently in UK gardens - the goldfinch. 

Read more on how to help BTO get to the bottom of why these birds are doing well....here

Rare red-necked phalaropes 'best Scottish season in years'

A bird described as an "extremely rare" visitor to the UK has had one its best breeding seasons in years in Scotland.

Read more here 

Bird News - Facing Extinction

Four UK bird species including puffins 'face extinction'

Puffins are among four UK bird species now at risk of extinction, according to the latest revision of a global conservation database.

Atlantic puffins, European turtle doves, Slavonian grebes and pochards are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species for birds.

Read more here

This bird is a brand new species discovered by zoologists at Trinity College

RESEARCHERS FROM DUBLIN’S Trinity College have discovered a new species of bird on a chain of islands off Indonesia.
The group of zoologists made the discovery of the previously unrecognised bird, which they are proposing be called the Wakatobi flowerpecker, after the group of islands it was found on.

Image: Trinity College

Read more.....here

Bird-brained: Man attempts to smuggle dozens of BIRDS in his TROUSERS

Bird-brained: Man attempts to smuggle dozens of BIRDS in his TROUSERS

The lengths some people will go to - Very very sad! Some of the birds were dead, have a read of the full article.

 Read more....here

The Great British Cull

Some of the UK’s most familiar and beloved birds are also being threatened by a health scare. Government advisors Natural England are proposing that private citizens be allowed to destroy robin and starling nests and remove their eggs if they are found to be a potential hazard under a General License  however we are already covered under a Private License and all this under the guise of health and safety.

Via the Guardian:

The number of nesting robins, starlings and pied wagtails prompting legitimate health and safety concerns in any year is very, very small, and we shall be responding to Natural England that it would be disproportionate to change the current licensing system, which should easily cope with genuine problems.
—Robin Wynde, RSPB

The group is also proposing that mallard (ducks) and greylag geese be subject to the same vigilante actions.
Is there more to this than just flimsy claims of  Health and Safety, see what you think, I know what I think!!

The Guardian article.....here

Stop Natural England from giving people the right to kill robins and destroy their nests and eggs - Sign the petition......here

Why would would the Tories want to allow the destruction of robins, starlings, wagtails and other such beautiful birds? See the related alternative viewpoints

RELATED:
Here’s the real reason the Tories are allowing the destruction of robin eggs and nests
Call for killing of birds deemed health hazard splits conservationists

Bird invaders 'moving in' to UK's nature reserves

Nature reserves and other areas specially protected for wildlife, as well as being vital for native species, are very important for helping European birds to expand their ranges into Britain naturally.  The catch is that protected areas are also at increasing risk of invasion by species that have been introduced from further afield.

Read more....here

The invisible killer threatening millions of migrating birds

Every year, hundreds of millions of birds are killed or injured when they fly into windows. Volunteers who document the collisions are now calling for architects and landlords to make their buildings more bird friendly to reduce the number of deaths.

read more and watch the videos.....here

This doesn't just happen in the US, this report highlights issues across the globe where ever there are buildings.

RELATED: RSPB Birds and Windows

China: Airfield uses monkeys to prevent bird strikes

A military airbase in China is now using monkeys to reduce the risk of birds striking aircraft, it is claimed.

The airfield - at an undisclosed location in the country's north - lies in one of the world's major fly paths for migrating birds, says state-run China Daily. Every March, birds descend on the area and hundreds of nests can appear on a single tree overnight, Taiwan-based newspaper Want China Times reports, creating significant risks for aircraft.

read more.....here

Birdfair 2014 - Dates / Info

Friday 15th - Sunday 17th August 2014, Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Egleton, Rutland, LE15 8BT

read more....here