Think before buying
On behalf of RSPB North Bucks Local Group, of which I am a committee member, with the help of Naturetrek, I organised a private tour for group members to Spain and Morocco: Birding on Two Continents. On our first day in Morocco, we were taken to Merja Zerga lagoon on the north-east coast.
We were soon to find out just what an exciting place this is when we got into two small boats. We had been joined by Hassan, a local guide, who knew the waters so well. This was the last place that Slender-billed Curlews survived and Hassan was one of the very last people to ever see one before they became extinct. He certainly knew where to take us and, very quickly, we were looking at two Lesser Crested Terns and Audouin’s Gulls among the numerous Yellow-legged Gulls. The tide was coming in so we had to make haste before the mudflats got covered. A host of waders were spotted, including Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper, a splendid Bartailed Godwit and, for this participant, one of the five favourite birds of the whole trip, Slender-billed Gulls. I had seen them before, but never so close to be able to really observe their lovely pink breasts. If that was not enough, Caspian, Sandwich, Common, Little and Whiskered Terns were added, making six terns in all. Following our boat trip, we headed onto a private area of fresh marsh which is under increasing pressure from ever-expanding strawberry farms. These are growing to fill the ever-increasing demand for out-of-season fruit in northern Europe, especially the UK. We lamented the loss of habitat here and how this could have been one of the drivers for decline and extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew. Hassan accompanied us as we walked for about a quarter of a mile listening to Quails’ ‘wet-my-lips’ calls, spotting Zitting Cisticolas, looking at a very obliging Cuckoo and then, for many the highlight bird of the whole trip, getting excellent and close views of Moroccan Marsh Owl. We didn’t stay for too long, wanting to cause only minimum disturbance but, for the few minutes that we were there, we had wonderful views of this beautiful bird. If not already, this must soon be split from the abundant marsh owls of South Africa; the two races will never meet up and, indeed, it may well be too late now to save the Moroccan race. I asked Hassan how many birds remained. “About 20 pairs, so they will be gone in about 10 years!” was his reply.
And all because we, in northern Europe and UK, in particular, desire out-ofseason, tasteless strawberries! What a shame! Shame? Yes, I think that’s a good word! The next time you buy, or better still, before you buy strawberries from your local supermarket, just take a look at the label on the packaging, note where the strawberries came from and just ask yourself, “Do I really need these and what is the effect of me buying them?”.