Amazing Journeys

[JohnC6]

I've recently read of two accounts of amazing journeys.

The first is about a Bar-Tailed Godwit that flew non-stop 8108 miles from Alaska to Australia creating a new world record. It's tagged and that's why the researchers can say that it's the second time that this super-bird has broken the world record. On September 17th it left south west Alaska for its summer grounds in New Zealand but strong headwinds over the Pacific ,south of Fiji forced a detour far west to Australia. It carried a solar-powered satellite tracking device. It landed at Tweed Heads, 500 miles north of Sydney at 9.30am. on September 27th..It had flown non-stop for 8108 miles and been in flight for 239 hours. Fortunately, it was a bird-watcher/photographer, Geoff White, who spotted it five hours after it landed on an estuary near the border of Queensland with NSW and he saw the transmitter. He took several photos. https://geoffwhite.photography/product/colour-print-bar-tailed-godwit-4bbrw-6488/ The bird has since flown 1200 miles to New Zealand. All the energy to do this comes from pre-flight feeding on molluscs, worms and aquatic insects.

Another Bar-Headed species..BH Geese fly over the Himalayas at 7000m (23,000ft) and been reported flying above Mt Everest which is 8 848m (29,032 ft)

On November 10th an Adélie penguin travelled 1800 miles from the Antarctic to Christchurch,New Zealand. A man walking along the beach spotted it and saw its head move so he called a wildlife rescuer. The penguin was fed fluids and fish. It was dehydrated and underweight.Sadly, a request to the NZ Airforce,who have a base in the Antarctic, declined a request to carry it back on one of their flights.. The penguin has been released where it was found in the hope it will make it back. An expert thinks it was carried by currrents to NZ.. Adélie penguins are quite funny. I recall watching a wildlife documentary about them and they gather large-ish stones to make a nest. A male and female had a nest but whilst the female was away her partner gave another female a couple of the stones. The female partner returned to catch him out and first she drove the other female away and waddled over to her partner and bashed him a couple of times with a flipper. He didn't retaliate. .


Sadly, in 2016...https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/mass-murder-of-150000-penguins-scientists-call-thi/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI25C78Lyi9AIVxe7tCh0mxQhQEAAYAiAAEgKX-_D_BwE

Global warming is bringing Cattle Egrets to the UK. and they're gaining a foothold.They normally reside to the south in warmer climes. They first bred here in 2008 but not again for nine years. They have now bred for the past three years.19 pairs were recorded in 2019 .Nine pairs were confirmed to have had chicks producing 24 fledglings.There are record numbers of the Common Crane and Great White Egret .In 2019 48 pairs (Cranes) and 24 pairs (Great White Egrets ) successfully bred. It's been put down to conservation and stronger rules re hunting in Europe. The protection of wetland sites in the UK has also helped. White-Tailed Eagle numbers continue to grow after re-introduction in Scotland with 123 pairs identified in 2019. About 25 pairs have been released on the Isle of Wight. The Eurasian Bittern numbers rose in 2019 as did Roserate Terns although their range is very restricted.. In 2019 there was only one report of a Fieldfare, two Golden Oriole and no reports of the Wryneck. Only one report of breeding for the Montagu's Harrier. The Little Tern, Capercaillie, Slavonian Grebe and Redwing all had a poor year. 2019 must be the last full year for figures due to Covid restrictions for the counters.

Two weeks ago two rare thrush species were spotted on Papa Westray in Orkney. A Varied Thrush and an Eyebrow Thrush (a native of Siberia) was photographed in the Cairngorms.

Not so good,though. Dated November 5th. Raptor killing increases as Covid restrictions kick in. There was a discussion on here about this not too long ago and one obvious solution recommendede (I'm sure by Andrew Flannigan..correct me if I'm wrong) was to prosecute the landowner. Vicarious liability. I think this law exists in Scotland but not England.

Scottish gamekeeper who killed protected birds of prey avoids jail

Campaigners call for stiffer penalties after Alan Wilson given community sentence

www.theguardian.com

A sheriff has criticised Scotland’s weak wildlife crime laws after a gamekeeper convicted of killing protected birds of prey and mammals avoided a prison term.

Alan Wilson, 60, pleaded guilty in July to shooting and trapping badgers, an otter, goshawks and buzzards and installing 23 illegal snares in a small wood on a grouse- and pheasant-shooting estate at Longformacus near Duns.

Wilson, then a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, also admitted using snares illegally and possessing two bottles of carbofuran, a banned carbamate nerve agent used to poison birds of prey.

A miserable level of fine would not be a deterrent. That's not going to happen. Too many 'friends' in government. It's an outrage that wonderful birds, that raptors are, are being shot and poisoned so a bunch of Horrah Henrys can kill grouse and pheasants that land owners put there for the purposes of being shot. When Prince Andrew fled to Balmoral to hide behind the skirt of the Queen in September to avoid being served a court order he held a 'shooting party' and amongst the guests it was believed was the Crown Prince of Bahrain. So he allows foreigners to come here and shoot our wildlife.

Raptor persecution at an all-time high

The RSPB’s Birdcrime report has revealed shocking levels of bird of prey persecution, with 137 incidents in 2020 alone

www.discoverwildlife.com

National Geographic

Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

www.nationalgeographic.co.uk

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ..RSPB.. reports a large spike in raptor persecution in 2020 while the U.K. was locked down because of Covid-19. “In a typical year across the entire U.K., we’re looking at about 65 to 75 confirmed incidents of raptor persecution,” says Mark Thomas, head of UK investigations at the organisation. “It doubled during the lockdown. This was a direct response of the public being removed from the countryside. People with guns who had the motive to kill birds of prey went on a killing spree. We only know about these incidents because of specific intelligence from people based in these exact areas. We suspect the total number of incidents is far greater.”

Those who do the shooting are called 'the guns' .I have my own term for them which would rightly be deleted by Staff.

A survey showed that between 1990 and 2020 the occupation-related offences for killing raptors was 66% gamekeepers. 6% other game interests. 8% Pigeon fanciers.

 

[LCPete]

The persecution of raptors and mammals by the hunting fraternity is really upsetting unfortunately our government will never stop it because it’s their supporters that are involved
Chris Packam has been campaigning against this, the release of huge amounts of pheasants into the environment which has a big effect on birds and the persecution of raptors him and his family have been threatened by the hunting lobby
In the USA the hunters actually conserve wildlife where they hunt as they have realised the benefits of a working ecosystem
Here they just release millions of stupid pheasants and try to eliminate other wildlife

 

[sphexx]

The persecution of raptors and mammals by the hunting fraternity

The persecution of raptors and mammals by the hunting shooting fraternity

FTFY .

 

[sphexx]

bunch of Horrah Henrys can kill grouse and pheasants that land owners put there for the purposes of being shot.

Some punctuation needed? Grouse are not put there . Actually, not all pheasants are either, though probably the vast majority of shoots do that — though I’ve no figures on that,

 

[sphexx]

The first is about a Bar-Tailed Godwit that flew non-stop 8108 miles from Alaska to Australia creating a new world record. It's tagged and that's why the researchers can say that it's the second time that this super-bird has broken the world record. On September 17th it left south west Alaska for its summer grounds in New Zealand but strong headwinds over the Pacific ,south of Fiji forced a detour far west to Australia. It carried a solar-powered satellite tracking device. It landed at Tweed Heads, 500 miles north of Sydney at 9.30am. on September 27th..It had flown non-stop for 8108 miles and been in flight for 239 hours. Fortunately, it was a bird-watcher/photographer, Geoff White, who spotted it five hours after it landed on an estuary near the border of Queensland with NSW and he saw the transmitter. He took several photos. https://geoffwhite.photography/product/colour-print-bar-tailed-godwit-4bbrw-6488/ The bird has since flown 1200 miles to New Zealand. All the energy to do this comes from pre-flight feeding on molluscs, worms and aquatic insects.

Another Bar-Headed species..BH Geese fly over the Himalayas at 7000m (23,000ft) and been reported flying above Mt Everest which is 8 848m (29,032 ft)

It’s hard to imagine either of these isn’t it, especially the fragile-looking Godwits.

 

[Tringa]

The godwit certainly is amazing as is that of the Greenland Wheatear( Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa). This is from Wikipedia -

Birds of the large, bright Greenland race, leucorhoa, makes one of the longest transoceanic crossings of any passerine. In spring most migrate along a route (commonly used by waders and waterfowl) from Africa via continental Europe, the British Isles, and Iceland to Greenland. However, autumn sightings from ships suggest that some birds cross the North Atlantic directly from Canada and Greenland to southwest Europe, a distance of up to 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi). Birds breeding in eastern Canada are thought to fly from Baffin Island and Newfoundland via Greenland, Ireland, and Portugal to the Azores, crossing 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi) of the North Atlantic) before flying onwards to Africa. Other populations from western Canada and Alaska migrate by flying over much of Eurasia to Africa.

Miniature tracking devices have recently shown that the northern wheatear has one of the longest migratory flights known - 30,000 km (18,640 miles), from sub-Saharan Africa to their Arctic breeding grounds.

"The Alaskan birds travelled almost 15,000km (9,000 miles) each way - crossing Siberia and the Arabian Desert, and travelling, on average, 290km per day. "This is the longest recorded migration for a songbird as far as we know," said Dr Schmaljohann.

Although the migrations are not necessarily non stop they are still incredible.

Agree about the killing of raptors. Unfortunately I don't see there being any change in penalties without a change in the law. Perhaps anytime a gamekeeper/worker is found guilty of the estate is banned from holding shoots for a couple of years.

Dave

 

[sphexx]

Agree about the killing of raptors. Unfortunately I don't see there being any change in penalties without a change in the law. Perhaps anytime a gamekeeper/worker is found guilty of the estate is banned from holding shoots for a couple of years

I can’t see what this has to do with migration despite some raptors being migratory. Aside from the legality, I don’t see how raptor control is any different in principle from the RSPB controlling mammals.

Slightly different but do you remember the BBC program (Springwatch?) where great entertainment was made of attempts to fence a very determined badger out of a bird reserve? Interference or what?

Like most large charities the RSPB is all about the money sadly.

 

[Tringa]

I can’t see what this has to do with migration despite some raptors being migratory. Aside from the legality, I don’t see how raptor control is any different in principle from the RSPB controlling mammals.

Slightly different but do you remember the BBC program (Springwatch?) where great entertainment was made of attempts to fence a very determined badger out of a bird reserve? Interference or what?

Like most large charities the RSPB is all about the money sadly.

The only link is that John, in his original post, raised the issue of the killing of raptors.

The difference between the RSPB controlling mammals(yes, I recall the item on one of the '...watch' programmes) and the killing of raptors is, as you mention, the legal aspect. Any organisation trying to stop/limit predators(without harming them) on a reserve is a million miles away from the illegal killing of raptors.

Dave

 

[sphexx]

The only link is that John, in his original post, raised the issue of the killing of raptors.

The difference between the RSPB controlling mammals(yes, I recall the item on one of the '...watch' programmes) and the killing of raptors is, as you mention, the legal aspect. Any organisation trying to stop/limit predators(without harming them) on a reserve is a million miles away from the illegal killing of raptors.

Dave

Yes, I realised the reason you were ‘linking‘ them. Sorry if it came across as a criticism, I guess I should have aimed it at John if it was!

Yes, legality, but I did say that. There’s too much emotion about these things.

 

[Tringa]

Yes, I realised the reason you were ‘linking‘ them. Sorry if it came across as a criticism, I guess I should have aimed it at John if it was!

Yes, legality, but I did say that. There’s too much emotion about these things.

No problem, Richard. I didn't take as criticism.

Dave

 

[JohnC6]

Yes, I realised the reason you were ‘linking‘ them. Sorry if it came across as a criticism, I guess I should have aimed it at John if it was!

Yes, legality, but I did say that. There’s too much emotion about these things.

No problem, Richard. I didn't take as criticism.

Dave

Sorry chaps. Guilty as charged... There were three subjects in my post. The migration story, the bird survey and the raptors story. I was in two minds about posting all three in one post despite them not being related ..apart from being 'birds'. I didn't want to have three concurrent posts..like hogging the thread... but with hindsight maybe I should have done that.

 

[sphexx]

Sorry chaps. Guilty as charged... There were three subjects in my post. The migration story, the bird survey and the raptors story. I was in two minds about posting all three in one post despite them not being related ..apart from being 'birds'. I didn't want to have three concurrent posts..like hogging the thread... but with hindsight maybe I should have done that.

It’s OK! But I do think that bird migration is so interesting in general and particularly with these Herculean journeys (did Hercules journey?) that they deserve a post(s) of their own .

 

[JohnC6]

It’s OK! But I do think that bird migration is so interesting in general and particularly with these Herculean journeys (did Hercules journey?) that they deserve a post(s) of their own .

Indeed,indeed. Sometimes people post and say "I know it's daft but. I can also say ..I know it's daft but.. I hold these migrating birds in high esteem for having the wherewithal to not only travel vast distances but on the correct route..given a fair wind..ie no high winds, no storms. It's why it grieves me so much to see people shooting them on their migratory routes or just shooting them for so-called sport or in the case of some European countries to eat them..illegally. These wildlife programmes..especially those by David Attenborough along with Spring/Autumn/Winter Watch documentaries have done a great deal to to give us an insight into the lives of wildlife. I once did a stint of voluntary work at Slimbridge and one of the staff told me that the founder, Sir Peter Scott ,was a game shooter on the land until, one day, he shot a mallard and was so moved to see its mate fly down to it and stay with it until it was obvious it was dead and from that moment he started on his conservation programme. There are a couple of large ponds near Slimbridge and I heard shooting one day and was told that those doing it put plastic mallard decoys onto the pond to attract over-flying mallards..or any wildfowl.. down onto the pond so they could shoot them. I'll say no more on that.

I don't anthropomorphise creatures but they have many attributes we see in humans some at a higher level than others. They 'socialise'..dolphins come to mind..elephants look after their own and who can't be impressed by the behaviour of chimps/bonobos/apes and even meerkats. Anyone had Retrivers ? Lol. We had two. When we went out without them they made their feelings very clear at being left at home.

I do have a tendency to digress

You mention Hercules,Richard ? Seems he was a god of unparalled strength. He is said to have strangled a lion...diverted a river...held the world on his shoulders when he lifted it from the shoulders of Atlas (a Titan) So..that Atlas chap must have been as strong too because as a punishment for waging war against Zeus he had to 'hold aloft' the heavens .I'd rather like to have some of what those characters had for breakfast...