Birds On The Edge and Action for Wildlife held their first spring walk along Jersey’s stunning north coast on Saturday (18th May). Starting near Devil’s Hole and walking east toward Sorel Point, forty people joined us to see how the project has been faring in its first full year. What was most impressive, however, was that we managed to choose the best day of the year so far!
Sally and Cris from the National Trust for Jersey and Liz and Glyn from Durrell were able to show the tour and explain about the sheep grazing programme, the miles of bracken and efforts to reduce its coverage, the causes of local bird declines, the conservation fields and crop rotation, hedge planting and the choughs themselves waiting patiently in their aviary at Sorel.
While the sheep and the choughs put on a good show, wild birds were in rather short supply. That is, of course, why the project is so necessary. One singing meadow pipit and only the occasional overflying linnet highlighted what has happened to birdlife on the Island’s coastlands. Although single raven, kestrel, common buzzard, marsh harrier and even a green lizard were also spotted by the keen-eyed in the group it was obvious on such a fine day that the coast needs more wildlife. Lets hope that future walks, the next will be this autumn, show continuing improvements in bird and lizard numbers as the fields and grassland are restored.
The tour finished back at Devil’s Hole and most participants took the opportunity to further enjoy the sunshine with lunch outdoors at The Priory. On Sunday the rain came back!
Check this website again for details of future walks and see how the project is getting on.
At the start of April the juveniles at Durrell nominated for release were transported to Sorel. Catching them up out of the main display aviary proved a little trickier than first thought!
Having witnessed the breeding pairs being trapped and having vague flashbacks to the year before (if birds indeed do that) the juveniles were apprehensive to say the least. Keeper sat with baited trap and baited breath waiting to catch up four out of the seven birds in the aviary. Day 1 was fruitless. Day 2 saw B6974 and B6978 caught up (technically B6973 was also in the shut-off but evaded capture). Finally – Day 7, albeit with a two day break, saw the last two captured; B6973 and B6977.
All four juveniles had to undergo visual health checks by the vets before moving to Sorel. Three had already been fitted with radio transmitters so this was an opportunity to check attachment and the birds’ feather condition. B6977 was fitted with a radio transmitter and all four had Channel Islands metal rings attached to their right legs. Two of the birds had their existing plastic rings swapped for a different colour to avoid duplication with choughs already at Sorel.
During the catch-up process it was noticed that B6975 had lost her dummy radio transmitter. From previous observations we think the transmitter had fallen off in the past couple of weeks. On examining the bird there was a new feather growing where the transmitter would have been glued on. The adjacent feather, which would have been tied to the antennae, showed signs that the tag, once unstuck, moved down the feather shaft and fell off. This transmitter had been attached for over five months, so it is not a grave concern, but is of interest. The birds with the real transmitters attached will naturally moult within this time period anyway.
When the Durrell birds were moved into Sorel there was a lot of interest from the other, Paradise Park, birds. No aggression was observed just lots of vocalising. This was a positive sign that the two groups would get on once mixed. After a few days living next to each other and adjusting, the hatches between 1A & 1B were opened to allow the groups to mix.
The Durrell birds seemed more interested in their new surroundings than in interacting with the Paradise Park birds. The Durrell male (green) was seen to order around a few individuals at the start, but no one was chased or blocked from getting to food. This may have had a lot to do with them being juveniles and not breeding pairs.
However, we did notice male and female ‘pairings’ even at this early age. Black and Orange from Paradise Park hang out together and Green and Mauve from Durrell do likewise. We have also seen them pick up and carry around twig-like vegetation. One bird has gone a step further and carried material up to the top of a shelter box. A fruitless task since the wind clears anything within seconds, but at least it keeps them occupied!
Durrell vets have visited the aviary on a couple of occasions this month. On the 10th the Paradise Park group had to be caught up to be given Ivermectin injections. They also had blood samples taken whilst in the hand. All juveniles had put on approximately 20g in weight since arriving in Jersey. Weight gain was expected but needs to be monitored if the training is to be successful.
George, the tame adult, had not put on any weight and started to become more of a concern towards the end of the month. He was spending more time lying down even when the keeper was present. It was difficult to know whether he was depressed from being alone (he still hadn’t ventured into the polytunnel with the others) or through a physical illness. When the hatches between 1A and 1B were opened he became a little perkier since he could mix with the Durrell juveniles next door to him. However, as the juveniles became braver and spent more time in the tunnel George was back to being alone again except at feed times or when sheltering from bad weather.
George’s mobility looked to be declining and he was immediately put on a course of an anti-inflammatory drug given to him in his insect feeds. This made a brief improvement until the course finished. On two occasions after that he grazed his toe on the left foot. Fear of infection and further decline in condition meant that George had to be moved back to Durrell to be housed in the Veterinary Centre.
Under anaesthetic, several X-rays were taken and George’s feet were examined. He came to Jersey with bumblefoot on his right foot. This is a bacterial infection and inflammatory reaction affecting feet. George’s rotated left leg means that he will load more on his right and has probably aggravated if not caused this issue. A swab was taken from the site of the bumblefoot. In house Lab analysis identified the bacteria present and George was put on a course of antibiotics as well as the anti-inflammatory medication. Bio-security legislation requires George to undergo a quarantine period whilst with the vets before he can be moved into one of Durrell’s aviaries. He gets a lot more attention in the Vet Centre than at Sorel so his mood quickly improved although his physical condition is still a struggle. We will review his situation once the antibiotics have finished.
Pre-release training
The choughs are being trained to fly in and out of the release hatches (within the aviary)on a whistle command and rewarded with food. This is to ensure that during the early stages of the soft-release the birds will come back to the aviary and that they can be safely locked in overnight. They will learn that the aviary is a safe shelter and holds food resources if they struggle to locate any in their first few months exploring the coast. In the long term this should also help with monitoring their condition after release.
To achieve this, the aviary has been designed to let keepers train the choughs to go through an internal set of hatches before attempting the external release hatch. There are large target boards on the food stands and two tables in the polytunnel (kindly donated by Tony Pirozzolo at Café Firefly). Hopefully the birds will start to associate these boards with food and will easily spot them when flying around after their release.
The birds responded well when they had access to the first half of the polytunnel. Whilst still nervous of the keepers they would fly in for food once the keeper had blown the whistle and left. When they were given access to the entire polytunnel they started to become less responsive.
Radio-tracking and behavioural studies
There have been several practice sessions this month on how to radio-track choughs. More importantly, learning how the Jersey landscape affects radio frequencies and discovering the practicalities involved. Initially this involved checking that the transmitters on the birds were working and seeing how far the signal will travel. When feeling a bit more adventurous this progressed to seeing if keepers could track down a live moving target. Durrell staff, with transmitter in hand, kindly volunteered to be ‘choughs’ and hide somewhere between Sorel point and Devil’s Hole. They took the role to heart by belly-crawling through gorse bushes and sitting on cliff tops. Despite all their efforts to deceive the radio-trackers they were all found and pretty quickly. Next test….paragliding volunteers!
Jess Maxwell, a Durrell intern student, is assisting with the field project and undertaking a behavioural study for her degree. Her observations started this month and will continue post-release. These studies involve Jess sitting in a field for two hours each day which is why Jess is very grateful for the recent weather improvements. She is studying the group dynamics to see if they behave the same pre- and post-release and try to assess what is the ideal cohort size for release. Hopefully this work will be replicated with future releases and the data can be used to evaluate the ongoing project.
Choughs at Durrell
With the last of the release birds being moved out of the display aviary we are now left with three birds in there including Gianna. These choughs have been joined by a pair of breeding toads who have decided to spawn in the choughs’ ‘pond’! Keepers have provided the choughs with water bowls to deter them from going near the pond. At the time of writing we now have tadpoles.
Our two breeding pairs of choughs have been very busy off show. Keepers provided nesting material in the appropriate stages; large twigs, heather thatch and finer twigs, wool and horse hair. Both pairs set to work building nests and completed them relatively quickly. Keepers never witnessed any copulation, but on the morning of the 22nd they did see their first egg. Unfortunately this was when Issy got off her nest, walked along the shelf and laid the egg there much to the dismay and confusion of the keeper watching. On inspection of the nest camera it looked like there was an egg in the nest too (although the wool can be deceptive) so the shelf egg could be the second egg not the first. On the 25th, keepers thought they could see three eggs in the nest and by the 26th Issy was sitting tightly on them. If all goes to plan these eggs should hatch towards the end of May.
Keepers are not sure if Arthur and Gwinny are up to anything. We do know that they have a nest. Somehow the camera lens moved position so we do not have a clear view of the nest but from their behaviour it doesn’t appear that Gwinny is sitting on eggs. We don’t want to disturb them so will continue as normal and monitor them as closely as we can.
Keepers have also been kept busy at the display aviary after members of the public reported seeing the choughs “trying to escape”. Being inquisitive birds they investigate everything including broken threads in aviary netting. It wasn’t an escape attempt more a quality assurance test. The height of the aviary makes it very difficult to repair holes in the netting with just a ladder and a good head for heights. Jono le Maistre, tree surgeon, kindly offered his assistance and with harnesses firmly attached climbed the poles to fix the netting.
BIRDS ON THE EDGE launches a trial scheme to help farmland birds through the winter months
By Cris Sellarés
In early 2013 a joint sponsorship granted funds for the purchase of bird-conservation crops to be planted by potato farmers for a trial scheme to provide many Jersey birds with a source of food throughout the coldest months of the year.
Introduction
Habitat restoration is at the core of BIRDS ON THE EDGE which is working to identify sites of high importance to birds and other wildlife in Jersey and to provide independent advice and support to funding applications that will increase the value to wildlife of these sites. Examples of wildlife-friendly management include hedge-planting and restoration, enhancement of boundaries, planting of insect and bird-conservation crops, bracken clearance and scrub management.
Aims of the trial scheme
To provide a source of winter food for farmland birds in the north coast from 2013, especially for skylarks, buntings, greenfinches, linnets and others;
To test the productivity of two similar bird-conservation crop mixes against a variety of field characteristics such as slope, aspect, geology and boundaries;
To test the responsiveness of local wildlife, especially bird species, to crop type and land characteristics;
To assess the results of the trial in accordance with verbal agreements between each participating farmer and the scheme;
To offer the farmers an economic stimulus to help them to opt for a wildlife-friendly management of their land.
Development
In February 2013, as part of the BIRDS ON THE EDGE management plan, 181 fields were surveyed north of the coast road between Sorel Point and Grève de Lecq.
Of these, 18 fields were found suitable to be tried with bird-conservation crops, through a combination of favourable characteristics such as: good boundaries in the form of hedges, main crop type, distance from the sea cliffs, slope, geology and vicinity to buildings, amongst others.
The Project Officer approached the owners and tenants of these fields to discuss the trial scheme and, over a series of meetings, learned about the management regime of the fields and each farmer’s preference for conservation crops. At the end of the discussions the final number of suitable fields was brought down to 15, representing a combined area of 55 vergées and 24 perches (10ha).
At the same time that the trial scheme was taking shape, a sponsorship opportunity arose in the form of two private donors. The combined donation has allowed the trial scheme to be launched, covering the cost of the bird-conservation crops that will be planted on the 15 chosen fields.
All the owners and tenants of the fields accepted to include them in the trial scheme, which will involve the farmers receiving the crop seeds free of charge and sowing them in the fields once the potatoes have been harvested. The progress of the crop and its utilisation by birds and other wildlife will be monitored throughout the year. All participating farmers further offered to look after the features most suitable for wildlife, in particular to leave the margins or headlands next to the best hedges unploughed.
Thanks to the generosity of the two sponsors the 10 new hectares of land in the trial will join the existing nine hectares of bird-conservation crops that the National Trust for Jersey has managed in the north coast since 2012, instantly doubling the area of land where birds can feed from. We hope that this will help them to survive the winter months and will boost the populations of those bird species locally endangered.
A further bracken clearance project involving 30+ vergees of land and including a site near Grève de Lecq has received support from the Countryside Enhancement Scheme (CES) as an integral component of the BIRDS ON THE EDGE project. This compliments work by the National Trust for Jersey further east and is consistent with probable recommended management actions that will be included in the National Park management plan. Maritime heath, cliff and slope are listed as valuable habitats In the Biodiversity Strategy for Jersey (2000).
On behalf of the public of Jersey, the Department of the Environment is responsible for the ecological management of the majority of the north coast from L’Etacq to Grève de Lecq, including Les Landes Site of Special Interest, the headland La Piece Michel and Plémont Headland. Habitat management contractor Aaron Le Couteur, the shepherd (see Grazing), is aware of the potential for introducing grazing to this new site and is involved in planned preparation of this land.
Method
Access to the chosen site is difficult due to the established agricultural land adjacent to the steep slopes. This, however, offers the alternative of tractor access and the use of specialised machinery owned by Aaron Le Couteur. Site visits have been made to identify suitable areas for management where, realistically, the dwarf shrub heath could be restored.
The landowners of fields adjacent to the site have been contacted and permissions have been granted to access the land with tractor mounted machinery. A flail, attached to a winch, will be used to cut the mix of bracken and bramble on the coastal slope in early June. After a period of a month to allow regrowth the newly emerged bracken heads will be rolled in July. The following year, in 2014 (dependent on 2014 CES applications), the area will be cut in June and the following month the fronds will be treated with Glyphosate using specialised equipment purchased by the contractor using CES granted funds in 2012. Using this methodology, it is believed that the success rate of the project will be maximised rather than using the herbicide application in Year 1.
Strict safety measures will be put into place to ensure that the work is carried out in compliance with best practice Health and Safety guidelines including provision of signs informing people that dogs will need to be under control. A strip of uncut bracken and bramble will be left on the lower slopes (closest to the cliff edge) to minimise the likelihood of the public getting too close.
The total budget for this clearance programme is based on £250 per vergee to prepare for herbicide treatment.
On Monday the Alderney Wildlife Trust recovered a dead guillemot from Braye Harbour in Alderney. This was the first bird recorded in the Channel Islands as being killed, it is believed, by Polyisobutylene (PIB). The discovery of this bird took place at almost exactly the same time as it was announced that over 1,000 seabirds had been found washed up dead on the south-west coast of England during the previous seven days, killed by PIB. Equally alarming was the news that 19 species had now been affected, with the hundreds of birds found dead and dying along the coast including large numbers of guillemots, and even puffins. Gannets, which were also found amongst the dead, may well include birds which were breeding at the only Channel Gannetries of Les Etacs and Ortac, just off Alderney’s coastline.
An earlier incident in February of this year and involving PIB killed hundreds more birds, raising the question as to what the future is for seabirds in the English Channel if these incidents continue to grow in regularity and scale.
PIB is used as an additive to oils and is currently listed under the MARPOL Convention as being legal to discharge from ships at sea, under certain conditions. Investigations into the February incident were abandoned by the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) as they ‘concluded that it is highly unlikely we will be able to link the pollution to any specific vessel.”
Roland Gauvain Manager of the Alderney Wildlife Trust commented:
‘We are extremely concerned that, though we haven’t seen large numbers of dead and dying wildlife on Channel Island beaches, this is probably down to blind luck and strong southerly winds. If the wind direction had swung to the north it may well have been our islands which would have experienced the horrendous site of hundreds of dead seabirds on our beaches.
It’s even more important to recognise that we don’t know as yet how much damage has been done by these discharges! With as many as 2,000 birds having been found dead or dying in the UK in the last few months alone, we have to ask ourselves; how many of these birds would have bred in the Channel Islands? The answer is we simply don’t know and we will not be able to tell until much later in the season. Yet, with the guillemot colony of the Guernsey Humps yet to return this year, it may well already be too late for some of our Channel Islands most special wildlife..
The Alderney Wildlife Trust is calling on the Channel Island Governments to back the growing demand of key UK NGO’s, including The Wildlife Trusts Partnership, to have the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) reclassified PIB to prohibit its dumping at sea.
Joan Edwards, Head of Living Seas for The Wildlife Trusts, said:
‘Dead and dying seabirds may be the most visible victims of our mismanagement. Impacts on other parts of marine life support systems may be just as widespread, and more serious. Firm controls must be implemented to minimise future disasters such as this and which allow deliberate offenders to be held to account.’
Further the Alderney Wildlife Trust will be calling for a joint seabird monitoring strategy for the Channel Islands. Mr Gauvain added:
‘Our marine wildlife is one of the strongest parts of the Channel Island identity. It’s a crucial indicator of the health of our environment and vital for our tourism industry. This incident highlights the need for joint working between the islands to protect our crucial natural resources and prepare a joint response to man-made disasters such as this.
Recent research on declines in Afro-Palaearctic migrant birds has primarily focused on conditions in these species’ wintering grounds. However, population changes could also be influenced by factors during breeding and migration, as a new study shows. Read the abstract here
The study’s authors analysed data from the BTO’s Breeding Bird Survey for 46 species of passerine and near-passerine, including residents, short-distance migrants (wintering in continental Europe) and long-distance migrants (wintering in the Arid and Humid Zones of Africa). Overall, they found that species breeding in Scotland are generally doing better than those in England, with several species either declining in England but increasing in Scotland, or increasing in England at a slower rate than in Scotland. These differences were especially stark in long-distance migrants, and in particular those that overwinter in the African Humid Zone, with species such as house martin and garden warbler strongly increasing in number in Scotland only.
Taken together, these results illustrate how population trends can be affected by interactions between breeding season processes, wintering conditions, and the costs of making long migratory journeys. While many migrants may be facing increasingly tough conditions outside the UK, it is likely that these costs are being offset by better breeding conditions in Scotland than in England, which could be related to differences in land-use between the two countries (e.g. lower agricultural intensification in Scotland than in England). Further exploration of such geographical variation is essential to properly understand the demographic processes underpinning population trends of these migratory species, many of which breed in Jersey, are in marked decline and are on the Jersey bird Red List.
In December 2012, BIRDS ON THE EDGE submitted an application to the Countryside Enhancement Scheme (CES) to cover the costs of bracken clearance works in three areas of the north coast.
This application is part of the project’s main strategy of restoring coastal habitats such as heathland, gorseland and grassland which, properly managed, can provide prime breeding and feeding sites for many locally threatened birds from stonechats and whitethroats to puffins and fulmars.
In March, BIRDS ON THE EDGE was notified that the application had been successful, securing the contractor’s fee of £6,665 to carry out this year’s work. This grant only covers the costs of one year’s work and further funds will be needed to continue work for at least three further years. Bracken management does not yield immediate results; each area that needs management requires two annual passes, repeated each year for at least three years depending on many factors such as the local geology and climate.
The three areas that will be cleared are found on areas of National Trust for Jersey land along the coast between Sorel Point and Île Agois to the west. Together these sites represent an area of approximately 50 vergees. The work to be carried out at each site will take place in two separate periods of the year (at the end of spring and end of summer) and will involve a variety of techniques, from cutting, flailing and bruising to spraying and trampling (see bracken clearance) depending on each site’s terrain and state of the bracken.
Two of the sites are within the grazing area of the Manx Loaghtan sheep flock, so the exposed land will benefit from these animals’ trampling action and in turn the sheep will be able to reach new patches of suitable pastures beyond the bracken. Whilst the sheep are not really very keen on eating the bracken themselves, they do graze the grass swards beneath the thick fronds, encouraging the regeneration of natural grassland. Their hooves also trample the bracken’s new shoots, preventing the fern from coming back after it has been removed.
The areas of cleared bracken will be monitored to evaluate which techniques are most effective as well as to detect any changes on the wildlife in the vicinity, such as an increase on the invertebrates and thus on feeding opportunities of
nearby nesting birds such as stonechats, meadow pipits, Dartford warblers and common whitethroats. It is hoped that it won’t take long for the wildflowers, invertebrates and birds to find their way to the clearings that will be opened soon amongst the sea of bracken on our coastal cliffs.
All three managed sites are found within the boundaries of the North Coast Breeding Bird Survey which will provide information on the locally endangered birds and their breeding success in 2013.
What is Birds On The Edge and what has it achieved so far?
Saturday 18th May 2013. Start 10.30 at Devil’s Hole.
Join Birds On The Edge and Action for Wildlife on a fascinating walk along the north coast path from Devil’s Hole to Sorel Point and back with Sally Dalman, Cris Sellarés and Glyn Young.
This stretch of coast is truly beautiful and best shows off the project. Learn here about the birds of the north coast: the importance of the area for breeding, wintering and as a stopover during migration. We will hope to see several species including breeders on the coastal edge and any migrants that may still be heading further north.
We can look too at the bracken, how it has become invasive over large areas of the cliff tops and how we can manage it. I am sure that we will have a chance to meet some of the most stalwart land workers, the Manx Loaghtan sheep doing their best to open up this habitat. We will see the recently planted hedges and look at their importance for birds throughout the year and also the permanent fields and second crops planted out as winter food for birds.
While we are on the cliffs we will look out for the choughs and learn how the programme to return these stunning birds to the Island is progressing. We can see the release aviary and meet the occupants.
The walk will last approximately two hours, on undulating terrain, so good shoes are required and a degree of fitness. Bring drinks as, you never know, it might be hot and there will be a pub on hand for lunch later if you chose!
Please meet in the Upper Car Park (above the Priory Inn) at 10.15.
The breeding pairs were caught up out of the display aviary at the start of the month and moved down to their breeding aviaries. It took three days to get them all. By the second day they were all wary of the catch-up cage and it took Tristan three days before he summoned up the courage and/or his hunger got the better of him.
Nesting material was added to the breeding aviaries almost straight away, but the record-breaking snow blizzard deterred the birds from doing anything. As soon as this past and the weather ‘improved’ they began taking the material into the boxes.
The choughs in the display aviary braved the elements at the start of the blizzard. By the end of the first day the snow had settled on the netting and transformed the aviary into an igloo. They were probably warmer than their keepers.
Thanks to the generosity of Paradise Park we have been given two brand new Sony 700 line nest cameras. With weather disrupting breeding behaviour we took the opportunity to install one of the new cameras. The existing camera in SF3, whilst showing a clear picture, was not suitable in design, size, and position and was removed.
Gianna has started to be a bit more forthcoming towards keepers now she has settled in to the main display aviary. She has started conditional behaviour training and is learning to fly on command. Once this is mastered she will begin learning to weigh herself on scales and enter/exit carrying crates without being handled. Hopefully the other choughs in the aviary will follow suit in the near future
Arrival of Paradise Park’s 2012 juveniles
Three juvenile choughs, hatched in 2012, and the trained adult male, George, were scheduled to arrive by plane in Jersey on the 12th March. Lee Durrell had kindly loaned her Navajo plane for the collection of the choughs from Paradise Park. Colin Stevenson was going to be the pilot.
However, with the unprecedented snow blizzards this plan was thrown into mild chaos. By hook or by crook the birds had to arrive by the end of that week. If not, the next import date would be in mid-April. Having been ‘snowed in’ for two days at the Wildlife Park, keepers were far from optimistic that the birds would arrive.
A decision was needed by the 13th in order for the airport authorities to sign off on the paperwork for a flight on the 14th. Despite the 9ft snow drifts that lined the roads the route to the Sorel aviary was still accessible. The next task was making sure that Lee’s plane could get onto the runway on the 14th, let alone be able to fly. Colin, the pilot, reported that:
“Steve Driscoll, the Ports of Jersey Group Operations Director and André Rabet, the Airport Engineering Director made a significant intervention by diverting their very stretched crews to clear our taxiway.
The Airport snow clearing team themselves, once detached from their normal duties, cheerfully made short work of clearing the snow from our taxiway and had us operational by Wednesday night…..Eric, the digger driver, worked at the hangar for four and a half hours, until half past seven in the evening – after starting to clear snow at the airport at 5am that morning.”
After, what we were told were near perfect flying conditions, Colin, co-pilot Gregory Guida and the choughs touched down in the early afternoon. The choughs were accompanied by David Woolcock, Curator at Paradise Park, who had kindly volunteered his time to stay at Durrell for two days to help settle the birds in and discuss training protocols.
Once the birds arrived at Durrell they were swiftly whisked away to the Vet Centre under quarantine conditions. There the birds had a general health check, blood samples taken, ID rings attached, and radio transmitters attached where appropriate.
On inspection of two of the juveniles it was noted that some of their tail feathers had ‘fret lines’. The central tail feather, where the radio transmitter is attached, had broken off quite close to the base. It meant it was not possible to attach radio transmitters to these two birds. After careful consideration of the options it was decided that these two would not be used in the trial release. Their feathers will be allowed to moult through naturally at the end of the breeding season and we would consider them for a second release if planned.
The two birds involved were still given Jersey addressed metal ID rings in case they accidentally escape over the next few months. It will not make them easier to find but if recovered it will make it easier to identify where they came from. The only one who has not been given a Jersey ring is George due to his leg deformity. All the choughs at Durrell and now at Sorel have transponders implanted under their skin as another means of identification if recovered. These tiny ‘microchips’ were fitted by Paradise Park staff prior to the birds departure for Jersey.
After what must have seemed like a lifetime for the birds they finally got to leave the Durrell Vet Centre and be transported by car to the release aviary at Sorel. Andrew Terry volunteered his time and more importantly his 4WD to transport the birds. Unfortunately the last 100m of track leading up to the field site had not been cleared and the driver faced a 6ft wall of snow. The last leg of the journey had to be done on foot from Sorel car park, but finally with the sun setting the choughs made it to the aviary. They were released into the back half of the enclosure (Sorel1A) where they will stay until the Durrell group get moved up and then mixed together. For the next thirty days quarantine restrictions will apply and only designated staff can access the aviary.
Choughs at Sorel
The first quarantine faecal sample was submitted to the lab on the 18th. For the choughs (and their keepers) to be ‘released’ from their quarantine period a minimum of three pooled faecal samples need to be taken on a weekly basis. Analysis of these samples will determine whether more are needed and/or if treatment is required.
The first faecal sample showed positive for nematodes and coccidians, albeit at low levels. It was decided to not move the Durrell choughs until a second faecal sample could be analysed and a decision made about treatment. The second faecal showed low levels of coccidians and nematodes, but since this would be typical for wild birds as well it was not deemed significant. However, as a standard of good practice we will treat George’s group with a single injection of Ivermectin (anti-parasitic drug) prior to release.
A Bushnell trail camera was installed in the aviary when the choughs moved in. This will act as a security camera as well as documenting the birds’ behaviour when keepers are not present. It has proven very useful so far and we have been able to see how the birds react when dogs, people, and heavy machinery are around. It has shown that like most other corvids, choughs can be active from 05.00 onwards.
The camera has also recorded a surprising, and unprovoked, attack on George by the other male in the group. This might be expected since George has been kept separate from the group over the last 5-6 weeks. From the keeper’s point of view, whenever they enter the aviary, the juveniles hide or are too busy eating to show any animosity towards George. Most squabbles seem to be between the juvenile male and the female without the radio transmitter so it was interesting to be able to remotely observe this behaviour.
Pre-release training
George, having been trained prior to arriving in Jersey, will be the role model for the other choughs when they start their conditional behaviour training. However, it is not a role he can easily jump into. First he needs to adjust to his new surroundings, the new weather conditions (gale force winds are not a common occurrence in Hayle) and, even more challenging, adjust to his new keepers.
Whilst George settled in very quickly (eating straight away) it took him a few days to be confident enough to perch close to the keepers. He will now fly to the keeper when called and can jump onto the scales to be weighed. This last task is quite a challenge in his new surroundings. For a start, on certain days he has to battle against the wind. The scales are a slightly different design to what he is used to which will make him insecure. We have ordered the same scales as Paradise Park, but they have to be delivered from the manufacturer in Germany.
For the keeper to reach the shelving and be at a comfortable height with George a ladder is required. At first George was scared of the long ladder, so they were swapped for a small pair of steps. Gradually he warmed to the ladder, mainly due to the keeper using it a lot to carry out DIY work inside the aviary.
The biggest challenge was in keeper and bird trying to understand each other. George knows the command for “please jump on the scale” and he knows that he will be rewarded with insects. The keeper knows the correct command and the correct reward. But when the bird doesn’t want to jump up in the wind onto a strange object it is very hard for it to convey this. It is a lot easier to hop along to the keeper, look doe-eyed (trust me they can do this) and ‘guilt’ the keeper into giving them insects!
As part of a study on impacts from the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, nicotine-like chemicals called neonicotinoids, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for a ban on their use as seed treatments and for the suspension of all applications pending an independent review of the products’ effects on birds, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.
“It is clear that these chemicals have the potential to affect entire food chains. The environmental persistence of the neonicotinoids, their propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their cumulative and largely irreversible mode of action in invertebrates raise significant environmental concerns,” said Cynthia Palmer, co-author of the report and Pesticides Program Manager for ABC, one of the USA’s leading bird conservation organizations.
ABC commissioned the 100-page report, The Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds, that reviews 200 studies on neonicotinoids including industry research obtained through the US Freedom of Information Act. The report evaluates the toxicological risk to birds and aquatic systems and includes extensive comparisons with the older pesticides that the neonicotinoids have replaced. The assessment concludes that the neonicotinoids are lethal to birds and to the aquatic systems on which they depend.
“A single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird,” Palmer said. “Even a tiny grain of wheat treated with the oldest neonicotinoid — called imidacloprid — can fatally poison a bird. And as little as 1/10th of a neonicotinoid-coated corn seed per day during egg-laying season is all that is needed to affect reproduction.”
The new report concludes that neonicotinoid contamination levels in both surface- and ground water in the United States and around the world are already beyond the threshold found to kill many aquatic invertebrates. Data on surface water contamination from surveys to date, most notably from California and from the Canadian Prairies, indicate that concentrations of several of the neonicotinoid insecticides are high enough to be causing impacts in aquatic food chains. Data from other jurisdictions such as the Netherlands show even higher levels of contamination.
Neonicotinoids’ toxicity to bees and other insects has brought them the most attention thus far and has dominated recent concerns of regulatory institutions worldwide. The serious risk to bees should not be understated, as one-third of the US diet depends on these insect pollinators. The ABC assessment makes clear, however, that the potential environmental impacts of neonicotinoids go well beyond bees.
Buglife UK have added that “This highlights the poisonous nature of neonicotinoid insecticides, environmental concerns go well beyond pollinators. They can persist in the soil for many years, leach into aquatic ecosystems and affect birds and mammals. One of the reasons neonicotinoids are so commonly used is because they are promoted as being non-toxic to vertebrates, but this study shows that claim to be false”.
This report has been released shortly after the European Commission failed to agree on a proposed ban on three of the most commonly used neonicotinoids– imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and clothianidin. Representatives from Member States met to discuss a significant ban after the European Food Safety Authority identified a ‘high acute’ risk to honeybees. However, with five countries abstaining from the vote, including the UK, the ban failed to go through.
Buglife said “The ban proposal will now go through the appeals process with the European Commission free to ban the insecticides unless Member States reach a compromise within two months. I am sure that the European Commission will take note of the recommendations of this significant report when making their next decision and enforce a robust ban”.
It should be noted that in Jersey itself, very few of these products have ever been used. However, their use outside of the Channel Islands will undoubtedly have a bearing on our wildlife too.
Birds On The Edge and Action for Wildlife held their first spring walk along Jersey’s stunning north coast on Saturday (18th May). Starting near Devil’s Hole and walking east toward Sorel Point, forty people joined us to see how the project has been faring in its first full year. What was most impressive, however, was that we managed to choose the best day of the year so far!
Sally and Cris from the National Trust for Jersey and Liz and Glyn from Durrell were able to show the tour and explain about the sheep grazing programme, the miles of bracken and efforts to reduce its coverage, the causes of local bird declines, the conservation fields and crop rotation, hedge planting and the choughs themselves waiting patiently in their aviary at Sorel.
wild birds were in rather short supply. That is, of course, why the project is so necessary. One singing meadow pipit and only the occasional overflying linnet highlighted what has happened to birdlife on the Island’s coastlands. Although single raven, kestrel, common buzzard, marsh harrier and even a green lizard were also spotted by the keen-eyed in the group it was obvious on such a fine day that the coast needs more wildlife. Lets hope that future walks, the next will be this autumn, show continuing improvements in bird and lizard numbers as the fields and grassland are restored.
