WOODCOCK - A MOST ICONIC BIRD

 

GAME & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST ASK:

‘WHY ARE RESIDENT WOODCOCK NUMBEWRS FALLING?’

We have recently published Conserving Our Woodcock, a new guide which turns 50 years of GWCT woodcock research into practical guidance on how to provide the varied habitat woodcock require. This blog is taken from the guide, which you can download in full here. 

GWCT research has helped increase our knowledge of woodcock in recent decades, but that alone does not help support the species. Applying this understanding to develop conservation guidelines is our best chance of reversing the downward trend in breeding woodcock numbers.

The main challenge woodcock face is fundamentally the same as many species in the modern countryside, that of habitat loss; although there are additional pressures, such as higher predator numbers and more human disturbance.

At first sight it may seem that the amount of woodcock habitat should be rising; woodland cover in Britain has increased since the 1940s, but the type of woodland has changed. Between 1940 and 1990, the amount of coniferous woodland has tripled but the amount of coppiced woodland has decreased by over 80%. Although conifer plantations can be used by woodcock, it is usually the young, relatively open stands that still support ground vegetation. When the canopy closes and vegetation below cannot survive, these areas become unsuitable for woodcock, along with many other species.

British woodland has been changing over the past decades, and the evidence is that this will continue without an active shift in approach. One study found fewer young trees, a decrease in rides and glades, and a marked drop in the mix of ground plant species in woodland in the thirty years between 1971 and 2001.

All of these characteristics that are being lost are important to woodcock. Coupled with increased grazing and browsing by rising deer populations, the changes that we are likely to see to British woodland in coming decades suggest that good habitat for breeding woodcock will become even scarcer, and that this is already likely to be one of the driving factors in local woodcock declines in southern and eastern England.

ANOTHER POST FROM HUNT SABOTEURS ASSOCIATION

 Here is the latest news from the HSA.

(There is a video to see here)

On Saturday 28th January, hunt saboteurs from Calder Valley, West Yorkshire and East Yorkshire Coast caught the Middleton Hunt out on the Garrowby Estate, in the East Riding area of Yorkshire. In the shocking footage, a fox flees from the hunt’s hounds, merely a few meters in front of the pack.

Huntsman Jason O’Donnell – on a white horse – is seen right next to the chase, watching what is happening and doing nothing to call the hounds off. This illegal hunting took place in Preserve Plantation, within the grounds of Lord Halifax’s Garrowby Hall

Members of Calder Valley Hunt Saboteurs present at the scene cracked whips – the hounds are trained to stop at the sound of a whip cracking – and used voice calls to slow the hounds down and buy the fleeing fox some time to escape. It is unknown whether the hounds managed to kill the fox within the large wood.

The Middleton Hunt seemed determined to kill and the fox in the footage was only one of many chased by the hunt during the day. Later on in the day, Jason O’Donnell took his hounds to an artificial fox earth near Skirpenbeck, built by the hunt to ensure a ready supply of foxes to chase, as he knew a fox would be there to chase.

(The next picture is of an artificial foxearth)

Calder Valley Hunt Saboteurs commented: 

Our footage once again proves that ‘trail’ hunting is a lie and is only a cover for illegal fox hunting. Without sabs present, many foxes would have died that day.

Why does the hunt maintain an artificial fox earth on the Garrowby Estate? The only explanation is that they continue to hunt and kill foxes, with the full blessing of Lord Halifax and the Garrowby Estate.”

The post Damning Footage Shows Middleton Hunt Illegally Hunting a Fox appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

THE HUNT SABS ARE DOING GREAT WORK

                                                   

This post is taken from 

                                                   HUNT SABOTEURS

                                   ASSOCIATION THIS

                                    www.huntsabs.org.uk

DEVON COUNTY HUNT SABS SECURE  CONVICTION

The Spooner’s & West Dartmoor Hunt terrier man has been found guilty of blocking, damaging, and causing a terrier to enter a protected badger sett under the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act.

Mark Harris was caught breaking the law and endangering animals’ lives by Devon County Sabs on 27 November 2021.

In court Harris claimed that the hounds were under control of the huntsman Guy Morlock. They chased a fox to ground and he was instructed to flush and kill that fox. Mark said that he knew there was a litter of foxes in the area on that day.

Mark was ordered to pay a fine of £1000, victim surcharge of £100, and Crown’s costs of £900.

A Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson stated: 

It must be questioned why the huntsman was not in the dock alongside him and if the Spooner’s & West Dartmoor will continue to use his tainted services going forward.

There is of course no legitimate reason for a terrier man to be employed on a supposed trail hunt’ and this conviction once again shows the practice of trail hunting is just a smokescreen to kill wildlife.”

This is yet another conviction achieved using evidence supplied by Hunt Sabs. Behind all the headlines is the fact that Hunt Saboteurs have achieved more convictions than any other organisation despite having far fewer resources.

With over 60 local groups across the country, hunt saboteurs, under the umbrella of the volunteer run Hunt Saboteurs Association, are the only real force saving lives and getting hunters to face the courts.

 

This blog is in answer  to the National Gamekeepers Organisation and is a later comment made by the shooting industry to attack Police & RSPB for Raptor Crime reporting.

From Raptor Persecution UK

Last week I blogged about how a major shooting industry organisation, BASC, had attacked Suffolk Police for what BASC perceived to be an 'offensive' police appeal for information about the shooting of five young goshawks found dead at the edge of woodland near Thetford (here). BASC complained that the police's appeal was "disparaging to the […] Read more of this post

ALL THEY DID WAS TO ASK FOR INFORMATION FOR HELP AS TO WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE.

HOW IS THAT “DISPARAGING’?

PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE WOODCOCK THANKS TO LEGAL JUSTICE

 PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ‘LIMIT THE SHOOTING SEASON FOR WOODCOCK’

Woodcock: our petition closed at midnight, a little short of 108,000 signatures. Thank you for amazing support. 

 

Because the petition passed 100,000 signatures it will be debated by MPs and that will happen on Monday 27 February.  You can attend the debate in person, though seats are limited and not very comfortable, or watch the debate on the UK Parliament YouTube channel. 

 

We'll give you details of how you can encourage your MP to take part in the debate.  Westminster Hall debates are non-binding on the government but are opportunities to air the issues.  Only back-bench MPs are allowed to speak except that an opposition shadow minister and a government minister speak at the end of the debate so it is an opportunity to judge the policies and engagement across the political spectrum.

 

And this is where we won our second award - Birdwatch readers voted our Woodcock work as 'Campaign of the Year'. Thank you to everyone who voted for us. Back in the spring, nobody was talking about reform of shooting seasons and now the subject is on the table and will be debated in the Westminster parliament. 

 

 

 

If you like what we do and would like to make a general donation which will be used across our range of work, then please consider donating through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here.

 

LEGAL JUSTICE COMMENTS ON FIVE SHOT & DUMPED DEAD GOSHAWKS

Dead Goshawks: on 16 January, five dead immature Goshawks were found dumped in a Suffolk car park - see our blog. Of course these birds are fully protected by law - but these all had been shot. This is a disgusting crime or series of crimes and the dumping of the bodies in a public place seems like it is some type of 'statement' by the perpetrator(s).

 

The RSPB was quick to offer a reward of £5000 for evidence leading to a successful prosecution and we have matched that sum. Rare Bird Alert have a public crowdfunder which takes the reward to very nearly £15,000 and rising.

 

Wildlife crime is shocking and its level in the UK is a stain on our national reputation.  

LEGAL JUSTICE REWARDED

 

Good morning! Wild Justice wins two awards, the case of five dead Goshawks and the final count on our Woodcock petition.

Birdwatch Birders' Choice Award of Conservation Hero: we are delighted to have topped this poll but there were many other worthy potential winners in the list. Wild Justice can't achieve anything without public support (moral and financial), great colleagues (particularly the lawyers with whom we work) and good links with a range of other environmental NGOs. So the award is shared with all of you.

REWARD OFFERED FOR INFORMSTION ON FIVE SHOT GOSHAWKS

REWARD FOR INFO ON WHO SHOT FIVE GOSHAWKS  HAS PASSED 14,000 GBP RaptorPersecutionUK Jan 24

The reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever shot five goshawks and dumped them in Suffolk last week (see here) has now passed £14,000. The RSPB has provided £5,000, Wild Justice has provided £5,000, and Rare Bird Alert's crowdfunder appeal has so far accrued over £4,000. I haven't seen any effort by any […]

THE FULL REPORT IS ON THEIR SITE

AROUND THE SALINAS IN ALICANTE SPAIN

 Wednesday 24th January and it’s cold. Our first joint trip out since October with Bryan so we took our usual route inspecting the lagoons as we headed for La Marina. Our expectations were low but our first highlight at The Salt Tower was an incoming Spoonbill - Espátula Comun and a Grey Plover - Chorlito Gris resting on a wooden structure in the water and was photographed.

El Pinet was good. The highlights were 20 Black-tailed Godwits - Aguja Colinegra feeding and flying around and they were good to watch. Also Redshank -  Archibebe Comun, one Greenshank - Archibebe Claro and two Ringed Plovers -  Chorlitejo Grande. One Little Stint - Correlimos Menudo too.

Inland we found a vast area of scrub had been cleared and was being prepared with irrigation piping piled up. It’s changing out there and it was a good place for Greater Spotted Cuckoos -    Criala Europea which will be here soon. Will we see them there this year.? We stopped off at the ‘monastery’. Tree Sparrows - Gorrrion Molinero in the large tree and on the ground were a mixed flock of Greenfinch - Verderón Comun and Chaffinches - Pinzon Vulgar.  Always good to see was a Robin - Petirrojo. I searched around hoping to find some sights of Trumpeter Finches - Camachuela Trompetero but nothing evident. 

We included a quick look at Clot de Galveny as there are wintering ducks there. One hide revealed a vast quantity of Shovellers - Cuchara Comun, some Common Pochard - Porrón Europea, one White-headed Duck - Malvasia Cabeciblanca but the stars of the day were a female and a pristine drake of Gadwall - Ánade Friso. That’s  not a lot to show but I haven’t included everything with many notable absentees.

DARTMOOR AND ECERYONES’ RIGHT TO ROAM

Hello,

We’ve always known that eventually we would win back our rights to access the land. But we didn’t imagine how this story would unfold. The last two weeks have been an outcry, the wild injustice of not being able to sleep freely under the stars has felt raw and moved thousands of people to act. Thank you for being here and supporting the campaign. 

We also owe thanks to Alexander Darwall: through his selfish actions, he demonstrated that the story of enclosures is one that is alive and active today. Wealthy landowners continue to chip away at our rights. This is a system where one wealthy man can use their money to take away the rights of hundreds of thousands of people. 

But when lots of people organise together, things can change. The protest on Saturday - the largest land justice demonstration in a generation - was a powerful and inspiring message of hope. Your stories resonated loudly and helped the true spirit of Dartmoor, embodied in the folklore character of Old Crockern, to rise. 

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor showed us what we have always known: that when people have access to land and the belonging that comes from that, they are bound to it. Saturday demonstrated what happens when people are deeply connected to a place. It’s no wonder that some landowners want to break the bonds we have to the rocks, streams and meadows. 

Thank you to everyone who helped organise Saturday’s amazing action, and joined in droves on the day; has shared stories of wild camping;  and donated and joined the campaign. Your support means we can keep fighting for a Right to Roam. In our next mailing we’ll update you on the plans for next year and how to join the movement at a local level. But for now….

Here are some next steps:

1. Write to your MP… creatively!

We will not win the right to wild camp without a new Right to Roam Act. We will not accept permissive access as a substitute for our rights. 

Please write to your MP by following this link for information on how to do this and some suggested text. MPs will have email inboxes full with messages, especially ones that are about the same thing. We think it would be powerful to send an actual letter, something they can feel in their hands as they read our words. If you’re able to, print and post this (beautifully illustrated by Nick Hayes) version of the letter that you can personalise and sign before posting. 

Don’t forget to always include your name and address when contacting your MP so they know you are one of their constituents.

 2. Keep in touch with groups in Dartmoor

If you’re local to Dartmoor, or specifically want to support future actions in Devon and the wild camping appeal process, these are the accounts to follow:  

@thestarsareours on Instagram 

@EveryonesStars on Twitter

@DartmoorDPA for Dartmoor Preservation Association

3. Keep rising

It’s not just Old Crockern who will rise, we’re calling on everyone to tell your stories of land and love. What mythical creatures are sleeping in your hills, marshes and forests? Dartmoor isn’t the only place where greed will stir up the old ones. All of England was once free. Let us know by using #yearoffolklaw on Twitter and Instagram. 

 

4. Donate to the Right to Roam campaign

We have a small team and we’re all starting to dedicate more of our time to the campaign as the movement grows. The money that you donate means we can keep pushing for our Right to Roam, organising events, demonstrating what is possible and exposing what we’ve lost. The system of land ownership is rotten to the core, so we’ve got our work cut out. 
 

You can donate here. 

Love,

Nadia and the rest of the Right to Roam team 

WHY NEED TERRIERMEN THE HUNT SABS SAY AND I DO TOO?

                                      HUNT SABOTEURS

                                     ASSOCIATION THIS

                                     www.huntsabs.org.uk

Here is the latest news from the HSA.

A QUOTE

“Terrier work, this is our soft underbelly. A lot of people would say that if you’re going trail hunting why do you need terriermen following you around? Yes, it is totally legal for them to be out doing everything if they follow the correct exemptions but it does flag up a bit of a marker to everyone, you know why do you as trail hunting, do you need them there?” – 

Mark Hankinson, former MFHA Director, Hunting Office Executive Director and former Master of the Wilton Hunt.

The recent arrest of six men and seizure of 22 dogs used for hunting in a joint operation by the RSPCA and police, has thrown the spotlight onto the usually shadowy world of the terrierman.

Often seen speeding along country roads on overloaded quad bikes with terriers crammed into metal boxes, terriermen are surely by definition incongruous to a day’s supposed ‘trail hunting’. Because surely if the hunt were following a trail, as they like to claim, there would be no need for them.

Terriermen Pre Ban

What was the role of terriermen before the Hunting Act 2004 (”Ban”) was introducedBefore the Ban, terriermen would routinely use dogs to flush out a mammal that had been chased to ground by hounds, enabling the hunt to continue.The exemptions of the flawed Hunting Act allows the use of a single ‘soft’ i.e. not a fighting terrier, to flush a mammal from underground only to prevent damage to birds being kept for shooting, it is still illegal to kill the animal.

There should be no need for terriers where a trail has been laid.

Stopping up’ / Blocking fox dens or badger setts

On the morning of a hunt day, terriermen would block the holes of the dens where the mammals rested, forcing them to find shelter above ground during the day. This also prevented the animals from being able to find safety and ‘go to ground’ during the hunt.

In October 2020 the Barlow Hunt’s terriermen were covertly filmed blocking an active badger sett during a cubbing meet in Ashover. The Ban made sett stopping an illegal activity.

Since the Ban, it is now illegal to chase wild animals with dogs. So why are terriermen still there? Surely terriermen would have no role to play during an actual ‘trail hunt’? The answer is they don’t. The hunts are routinely breaking the law and chasing live quarry and it’s business as usual for the terriermen.

The post Terrier work – the soft underbelly appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

THE NAZI’S FINAL SOLUTION

ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEETING TO DISCUSS THE FINAL SOLUTION, BERLIN, 1942

20th January

Striding out and not a glance at anyone; focuses on what will happen. Repeats to herself the imminent  conversation with these despised non-people.  The liars who continue to perpetrate a  myth. 

The meeting place came into view. Metal railings create the boundary between suburban pavement and pristine front garden.  The partly open gate welcomes the invitees who are guided by the anniversary and the lights on both sides of the path to a double fronted Georgian house. The two rooms, brightly illuminated, indicate with clarity that their world is on show. The tightly pruned rose bushes seem severe in the glow.  Two tightly clipped topiary trees illustrate the owner’s symbols of peace. 

The music comes and goes on each opening of the door as new arrivals enter.  Mozart plays as the guests move around, glasses in hands.  There's an eclectic mix inside as though a bus has disgorged it’s passengers.  The common denominator is grey hair and black clothing. It looks, and is, a sombre affair as if an outdoor celebration is dampened by a thunder storm.

Preparations complete, full of confidence and a brisk walk takes her swiftly to the front door.  Black dress cut just below the knee for respectability is only partly hidden by the open, flapping shiny black coat. She could be one of them.  Conversation stops as her presence is noticed and they gather around her in silence.  Far too brazen to be cowed; she stands stock still as the gathering parts a little.  Faces him, jaw juts out and yields not an inch, and stares at him.  

They know each other.  Both have done their research and he is aware of her politics and the propaganda that she spouts.  It is reprehensible to him, her beliefs.

He’s gigantic for a Jew, and without any warning a fist connects with her firm jawline and her head glances off the low table on the way down before she folds into the floor.

Unconscious for now, but senses movement.  Jolts, lurches, rumbles and there are hard, cold  wet, boards underneath her.  A pungent smell of urine, vomit and other odious human fluid soaks her clothes.  The living moan, whine, jostle to find warmth as wheels rattle to the rhythm  of the death march.  Days seemingly pass and then the wagon stops and the door bangs open.  In her silent world lips move and then she is outside crawling in snow.  She stares upwards to see the black smoke rising.  The stench of the bodies around her now being supplanted by a sickly smell.  

She wakes up and spews.  White clad arms support her.  Everywhere now is white, clean and the only smell is that of a hospital.  Someone says ‘you were brought in unconscious.  Do you know what happened?’  It’s all distant as though unreal.  She doesn’t answer and stares at the whiteness of the sheets. Whiteness for purity. She still believes that the Holocaust did not happen, but now there is a doubt.

THE SABS WITH THEIR NEW YEAR ROUNDUP. A CONTINUING LIST OF DEATH

 Here is the latest news from the HSA.

(NB. THIS POST CAN BE READ WITH PHOTOGRAPHS THAT I HAVE OMITTED)

Since the hype and spin of Boxing Day it’s back to usual on the countryside killing fields. Hunts are going to ever more extreme lengths to try and stop the sabs who stand in their way of hunting and killing wildlife.

Here’s a round up of just SOME of the things that have happened since the New Year:

On the 4th Jan sabs from CIHW and Three Counties sabs caught the Cotswold Hunt digging out an active badger sett. The presence of the sabs forced them to stop and the incident is now being investigated by Gloucestershire police.

On Saturday the 7th Sheffield and Peak District sabs had their tires slashed by balaclava wearing thugs from the Grove and Rufford Hunt. This was followed on the Tuesday by the hunts whipper in Tom Hopson attacking members of the Sheffield group.

Later on that week a member of Weymouth Animal Rights had two dead foxes left at their home by supporters of the South Dorset Hunt. This followed supporters of the same hunt slashing the tires on multiple WAR vehicles on New Years Eve in a bid to stop them sabbing.

This past Saturday was the worst day yet. Beds and Bucks sabs had their windscreen smashed by the Fitzwilliam Hunt whilst even more shockingly West Sussex sabs vehicle was attacked by a farmer driving a tractor with spikes on the front. The spikes pierced the vehicle inches from where a sab was sitting and they were lucky to escape serious injury.

Also on Saturday the East Kent Hunt killed a fox in front of West Kent Sabs in someone’s front garden while the Mendip Farmers Hunt hunted a fox through a local zoo, terrorising the animals, just days after meeting at a church without permission.

Three Counties were in action again, this time catching the Heythrop Hunt terrier men attempting to flush a fox out of an artificial earth to be hunted.

Amidst all this chaos and carnage special mention must go to West Midlands Sabs who sabbed the once powerful Warwickshire Hunt for the 50th time this season.

A spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association stated:

Any of these incidents alone are shocking but when you look at them collectively it’s unbelievable. Hunts are criminal countryside gangs that are running amok and consider themselves completely above the law. Hunt saboteurs are used to such violence and we will not be deterred. It’s only because of the presence of sabs that these incidents have been made public and we will continue to act to shine a spotlight on the outrageous acts of the hunting community.”

The post Chaos in The Countryside appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

RARE BIRD ALERT - LAUNCH CROWD FUNDER TO INCREASE REWARD

 

RaptorPersecutionUK Jan 19

Further to the news that the RSPB and Wild Justice have put up a £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction of the person who shot five young goshawks and dumped their bodies at the edge of The King's Wood in Suffolk on Monday (see here), the bird news service Rare Bird Alert has […]

Read more of this post

REWARD OFFER FOR FIVE SHOT GOSHAWKS

 

WILD JUSTICE PARTNERS WITH RSPB TO OFFER 10,000 GBP REWARD FOR 5 SHOT GOSHAWKS RaptorPersecutionUK Jan 18

Further to the news that Suffolk Police have found five shot goshawks, dumped at the edge of the King's Forest near Thetford (see here), conservation campaign group Wild Justice has partnered with the RSPB to increase the reward for information from £5,000 (here) to £10,000 (see here). In a statement, Wild Justice said: “We are […]

Read more of this post

FIVE GOSHAWKS SHOT IN SUFFOLK

 THIS IS ATROCIOUS, HORRIBLE TO SEE AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

THE REPORT BELOW IS FROM RAPTOR PERSECUTION UK

                FIVE GOSHAWKS SHOT & DUMPED IN

                  KING’S FOREST, SUFFOLK POLICE

                     APPEAL FOR INFORMATION,

Yesterday evening, Suffolk Police's Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Unit posted an appeal on Twitter asking for information about the discovery of five young goshawks, reportedly shot and dumped in the King's Forest, Suffolk. The corpses were found on Monday (16th Jan 2023) and the police say all five birds were x-rayed and all were found […]

(THEIR FULL REPORT CAN BE READ ON THEIR SITE)

LEGAL JUSTICE LOSE THE OFWAT CHALLENGE.

 We're disappointed to have to tell you that we lost our appeal for permission for judicial review of Ofwat's regulation of sewage releases.  This is a blow to us and we know it will be to many who supported us financially and/or morally. We've invested a lot of time and effort researching the issue, and over £40,000 of your donations in legal fees taking the case and then taking it on to the Court of Appeal. We gave it our best shot but there is nowhere else to go.

 

Was it worth it?

Well, although we lost, we tried. Most judicial reviews fail but unless you take to the field you can't win any victories. This one we lost. We lay out our scorecard overall below.

 

Frankly, we are surprised that we were not given permission to go to a full court hearing. We believed, and still do believe, that we had a strong and arguable case. We would have relished having a day in court to make that case.

 

We'd much rather win than lose - wouldn't everyone? But we are often told, and often by those against whom we have taken legal action, that despite losing, the very act of taking a legal challenge changes the future behaviour of public bodies. We are now accustomed to being told that things would have happened, bad things, but someone said 'What if Wild Justice got to hear of this? We'd be in court pretty quickly.'. So we guess our view is that if we keep throwing ourselves against the door then we will sometimes break through, and even when we don't then we've rattled the windows as well as the doors and the residents know there is someone outside.

 

But we wish we could have won this case.

 

Our record: 

This is the third challenge that we have lost at the 'permission' stage - and we have appealed all of them - unsuccessfully. The other two were cases on the Badger cull in England - click here - and the hopeless Defra burning regulations - click here.

 

There have been other cases where even just a legal letter has been enough to secure a positive change - most spectacularly in our first challenge over general licences in England back in 2019.

 

Some cases, where permission is granted, proceed towards a court hearing and then the other party caves in - examples include our challenge of gamebird releases in England -  click here - and our challenge of Northern Ireland general licences - click here.

 

Our challenge of general licences in Wales went to court and the judge found against us - click here - but his remarks were so helpful (and to be fair, Natural Resources Wales were so sensible) that after a consultation NRW brought in a suite of changes that were pretty much what we had asked for - click here.

 

Sticking in there, and making a strong case, won the day in the end.

 

This is a very strong record - and for that we have to thank our legal team at Leigh Day and Matrix Chambers.  

 

The future:

We've already started some further investigations in relation to sewage discharges. We'll let you know if anything comes of them. But we'd also like to wish others well in their actions on water quality; small organisations like Windrush Against Sewage Pollution with whom we worked closely, Surfers Against Sewage, River Action, Wild Fish and the incomparable Feargal Sharkey.

 

We'll sit in a corner feeling down about this loss for a day or two and then we'll be up again and looking for the next area where we can take legal action on behalf of wildlife. 

 

MORNING AT EL HONDO

It was a good morning for birding but that had to wait while BBC Breakfast allowed us to reminisce on their forty years with their anniversary. Memories shared and then we moved on towards El Hondo.

I think I can look at Snipe - Agachadiza Comun all day as the blacks and browns in their plumage are  striking. We were into double figures for this species and, as best we could, we looked for a Jack - Agachadiza Chica. 

Glossy Ibis - Morito Comun were around 50 fifty in number and only flew up when a low flying Marsh Harrier - Aguilucho Luganero went by. Two Bluethroat - Pechiazul showed really well close by and were the best views I have had in awhile. 

We also had two Ringed Plovers - Chorlitejo Grande who showed well. Tell me if I am wrong. A Robin - Petirrojo was there as usual.

Our first bird we think is a Green Sandpiper - Bastardo Grande and the photo when examined can tell me I am wrong or not. The other ‘piper’, Michelle and I have discussed, and your thoughts would be welcomed. The water levels have been reduced and some reeds have been cut down. 

Green Sandpiper?

Mystery Piper?

We had a quick look at Santa Aguada where there is water but hardly any margins and nothing on view. Our search for Common Cranes - Grulla Comun was unsuccessful. It was good to be out.

Now for Winter Watch tonight with the experts.

 

IT’S DARTMOOR AGAIN

 LEGENDARY DARTMOOR

On Face Book a ‘beautifully crafter piece of social media’. The article is full and in my opinion well balanced. It is written under the heading LEGENDARY DARTMOOR. Please read the footnote at the end and I suspect by now the Blatchford Estate will have taken their phone off the hook!