Your letters and photos
Photos for record acceptance and escapees have you writing in this month.
Sound and vision
DOMINIC Mitchell’s article ‘For the record’ (Birdwatch 341: 19) was interesting, but I can’t help but think that if photographic information is not mandatory for the criminal justice system, requiring photographs for vagrant birds is perhaps taking things too far.
Over-reliance on photographs may also mean that we become less accomplished and skilled at making critical observation and detailed field notes, which I think would be disappointing – and perhaps to our detriment when the battery is dead on the camera!
The popularity and capabilities of modern cameras would seem to be making a difference to record assessment, as the lists of rejected records in recent BBRC annual reports appear to be getting shorter. But photography is not the only tool important for bird ID. A birder I know has a very good photograph of a ‘Iberian-type’ Wagtail, but without a sound recording it was rejected. And then we have Stejneger’s Stonechats, Caspian Reed Warblers or Central Asian Lesser Whitethroats, where only DNA will do. I have pondered whether my kit bag should include camera, recording device and a test-tube with spatula!
I think there is a lack of information on sound-recording equipment for the avid birder, and I have rarely seen a UK birder with any type of field recorder. Some of the online forums have information, but has there ever been an equipment review in any British birding magazine? The only sound equipment I have ever seen on offer at Birdfair was the now long-obsolete RememBird, which you stuck to your cherished binoculars with double-sided sticky tape! Perhaps Birdwatch could fill the void with some articles on suitable sound equipment, and maybe even something on how to collect that all-important poo sample! Jon Bryant, via email
Caring mate
Awhile ago I saw a Eurasian Oystercatcher lying dead on the ground below some overhead powerlines, with its mate trying to revive it. The latter began to grip the dead bird by the back of its neck and then started to shake the head from side to side. It also pulled its dead mate along the ground for short distances.
Hooded Crows came close by and the bird chased them away. Sometime later the crows returned to eat the dead bird. The next day, the same oystercatcher came back and went to the remains, staying for some time. The day after it came for another look.
Do oystercatchers mate for life? David Nicolson, Walls, Shetland
Prison break
Ihave been birding for more than 60 years. Hampshire has been my home and Titchfield Haven NNR is my local reserve. The site attracts many wildfowl, particularly in winter, and ‘odd’ species have occurred regularly. I have seen Puna Teal, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Ringed Teal and Black Swan, which have all clearly escaped from a collection.
At Gilkicker Point nearby, I have seen Zebra Finch and Grey Cockatiel during migration time. These are also escapees.
To ‘escape’ requires a ‘breaking free’ from ‘capture’ where normal freedom is denied. This brings me to the reason for this letter. I cannot understand why some services refer to sightings of White-tailed Eagle, White Stork and Great Bustard as ‘escaped’. These birds are part of reintroduction schemes where it is intended for them to be free-flying.
I do not recall Red Kites from the Chilterns or Western Ospreys from Rutland Water being described as escaped birds during the early stages of reintroduction. I would be interested to know if my views are held my others. Martin Terry, via email
Sam Viles, BirdGuides News Manager, replies: “The world of reintroductions is a fast-moving one, and there have been a number of projects launched across the UK in recent years. Great Bustards, White Storks and White-tailed Eagles have all been reintroduced to England, while we have even been visited by two Bearded Vultures from the Alpine reintroduction scheme. There is even talk of potential reintroductions of Chough to Kent and the Isle of Wight, while Dalmatian Pelican has also been mooted.
“On BirdGuides, records of Great Bustards, White Storks and Whitetailed Eagles thought to belong to these reintroduction projects are treated as escapes (or given the padlock symbol) in line with the approach taken by the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC), which places them alongside escaped birds in Category E of the British list.
“These are treated as escapes as their breeding populations are not yet thought to be self-sustaining, and Category E species form no part of the British list. This is also why the English Bearded Vulture of 2016 (presumed to be from the Alpine reintroduction scheme) was not accepted.
“They remain here until the population reaches a level the BOURC deems to be self-sustaining, at which point they are moved to Category C3 (naturalised re-established species) and form part of the British list. Category C3 refers to species with populations successfully reestablished by humans in areas of former occurrence, which includes British Red Kites and English Western Ospreys, as well as Scottish populations of White-tailed Eagle and Western Capercaillie.
“It seems likely that these populations will continue to thrive and bring these iconic species back to the British landscape, whereby they will be restored to their rightful place on the British list.”