Merry Christmas and welcome to Shipley

Last year's effort dropped its needles and had most of the lights stolen within a week. I'm not sure this is an improvement.

Birthday Bath

I have one of these each year on my birthday whether I need one or not. This year I took the plunge at White Wells, the famous Ilkley Moor landmark.

Curiously my friends had all "forgotten" their swimming costumes. Odd that!

The water temperature was "invigorating" and I may find I have other things to do on New Years day.

Thanks to Andy Hamilton for making me appear photogenic.

Harry and the Hen Harriers

Interesting story here from the BBC.

To summarise, a Natural England warden (and two other witnesses) reported two Hen Harriers as having been shot "on the edge of the Sandringham Estate" in October. Norfolk Police deemed it appropriate to interview "three suspects - Prince Harry, William van Cutsem and David Clarke, a gamekeeper" and referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Today the CPS deemed that there is insufficient evidence (no bodies have been recovered and therefore there is no ballistic/forensic material) to bring the case to court. The three suspects have denied any involvement.

The Sandringham Estate have deemed this matter so important that it is addressed on their homepage and the RSPB have this to say.

So there we have it.

Case closed?

I don't think so.

Someone unknown, with a shotgun, has been allowed close enough to Prince Harry to have shot two individuals of the UK's rarest and most protected species on the edge of one of the most secure estates in the UK. All this without the knowledge of the Prince or, it seems, anyone else connected with the royal household, his protection people or the Sandringham Estate.

This must be biggest breach of royal security since Michael Fagan sat on the edge of the Queen's bed in 1982.

We must take better care of all our endangered species. The people who threaten them really are beneath contempt.

Catching up

Since the summer there have been some additions to the list which now stands at 142 species, all seen in the UK. These are the latest additions (entries in red are lifers).

• Chough, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Linnet, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Corn bunting, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Kittiwake, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Fulmar, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Purple sandpiper, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Gannet, 8/07, Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
• Dunlin, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
• Eider, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
  

Eider duck taken in Lindisfarne harbour by Caradoue.

• Sandwich tern, 9/07, Lindisfarne.
• Redpoll, 9/07, Fairburn Ings.
• Great egret, 9/07, Leighton Moss RSPB.
• Bittern, 9/07, Leighton Moss RSPB.
• Common crossbill, 14/10/07, Timble Ings.
• Red-flanked bluetail, 20/10/07, Flamborough Head.

Striking chalk cliffs at Flamborough Head. While returning to my car after a morning spent here with my wildlife course a woman, seeing my binoculars, shot out of her house and said "You'd better get yourself up to ... they're releasing it on private land". So, following the throng, I arrived in a small copse to see an extremely rare 1st winter Bluetail being released. The nearest this bird normally gets to the UK is Eastern Finland, seriously lost on its migration to South-east Asia!

• Brambling, 27/10/07, Dalby Forest.

The Bramblings flew up from under my front wheel as I negotiated the mountainbike trails of Dalby Forest with my brother.

Amongst all this I've started learning to kayak with Bradford and Bingley Canoe Club and splashed out on my own touring boat. A Dagger Charleston.

My new toy on the shore of Ullswater. Photo by Caradoue.

I put it through its paces a couple of weekends ago on Ullswater, in the Lake District, following the canoe trails established on the lake by Eden Rivers Trust and Canoe England. We also walked on the fells nearby and saw a Red squirrel.

Looking back towards Ullswater in morning mist from Kirkstone Pass.

I'm a Single Pitch Supervisor!

At last.

After first training for this award in 1994, then again in 2005, I completed my assessment last weekend. One of the most challenging and rewarding for a long time.

While not entirely hitch-free, my snake-eyed assessor (Thanks, Stuart, for your expertise, professionalism and guidance) was sufficiently satisfied over two and a half days of rock-climbing problem solving in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District.

Now I'm looking forward to addressing Stuart's feedback and developing my work with people in the outdoors.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Our main summer holiday was spent camping, following the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Around 300 kilometers from Amroth to Cardigan by foot...

...by bus, and by...

...kayak. Here're some of the photos I took, an account of wildlife encountered and other interesting things (interesting to me at any rate).

Common Eyebright (thanks for the ident. Marie) at Lydstep Headland.

Mute swan at Bosherston Lily Ponds. We also saw Perch and Moorhen chicks here (but no Otters).

Bell heather (purple), Ling (pink) and Gorse (yellow) at St Govan's Head.

Sea Sandwort hanging in there at Freshwater West.

Old (WW1/2) gun emplacements on the Angle Peninsula. Relics of unhappier times.

7th to 9th Century ring-cross at Martin's Haven. To receive the prayers of those about to travel by sea?

Saw lots of these beetles (and slugs). What is it?

A huge Garden spider at Pwll Deri Youth Hostel.

Local youngsters helped to make this signboard at Marloes. A really good way of involving people in local heritage projects.

We saw lots of badger signs on the path. This is the typical five-toed print with long claw-marks and wide plantar pad. More later.

Ponies graze the cliff-top meadows to maintain the habitat for wildflowers.

Stone circles (this is a modern one near Trefin) and...

...burial chambers (this one near Abercastle) are special places and common in Pembrokeshire.

More badger "signs". The top one is the typical "muddy" deposit resulting from a diet of earthworms and beetles (the wing-case is a giveaway). The bottom one has been eating grain among other things. Badgers are omnivorous and dig latrines to act as territory markers. Caroline was not as interested in this aspect of the journey as I was. Odd that!

We saw Common lizards. Some only as long as a little finger, others full grown. This one's been in the wars having lost its tail and with a gouge in its side. We also saw Common toads and Adders.

Goodwick is the site of the last invasion of the UK by the French in 1797. In the event, the French mercenaries (along with their American commander) got drunk and surrendered a matter of days later. A more recent French invader is hiding behind the memorial.

A Magpie moth. Common but striking.

Cemaes Head. One of the most striking places along the coast path and near its end. We saw Chough, Peregrine and large groups of Grey Seals on the rocks below. Our best view of seal were from a boat trip to Ramsey Island from St. Justinians.

More photos at my Flickr page and Caroline's Flickr page.

So, that was July

The wettest on record. Here's what I've been up to.

• Out again with Wharfedale Nats around the Washburn Valley

Mating damselflies

• I was based at Skipsea and at Beverley Youth Hostel for a practical conservation week with Bishop Burton College.

Skipsea Castle

Some steps what we built

Bog Asphodel at Fen Bog, Fylingdales on an upland plant ID trip.

Beverley Friary Youth Hostel, my home for the week.

Gareth tackles a tree. The blurry right arm, testament to his energy.

• I went on a mammal ID course with the Mammal Society and Field Studies Council at Malham Tarn.

A woodmouse with its delighted trapper.

Weather's improved now. I'm off out on my bike!

Situation awful

Very little outdoor action has taken place recently due to torrential rain in our part of the world.

The flooded River Aire from my train on the way to work on Monday. The rain has continued, on and off since, causing widespread flooding with some loss of life and very much damage and disruption.

However, here are some highlights of the last month.

• Nightjars
  

We met with Andy at Timble to ring Nightjars. This male was caught very shortly after turning on the MP3 lure. Caro held it in her hand as it recovered its wits and flew off into the dark.

• Ringing kestrels

I was invited again to assist with ringing activities. This involved abseiling to the nest on a small cliff where three bedraggled kestrel chicks sheltered in a damp and squalid hole with their dead sibling. It stank! Photo by Caradoue.

• Giant/T-mobile Mountain Mayhem 24 hour mountain bike race. This annual event has become a regular habit (in stark contrast to my training regime on this occasion). Here's me anticipating my first lap riding for Team Banana Racing.
  

Photo by team-mate Andy Carson.

Me looking fresher than I felt.

• A walk with Wharfedale Naturalists Society. My course was canceled due to bad weather so we went for a walk around Addingham with Wharfedale Nats instead.
  

Beamsley Beacon from Addingham.

Curious Cows

More list additions

Aside from the Eagle owl, the Bank holiday weekend has been quite profitable for the list, despite calling off a visit to Bempton Cliffs RSPB due to inclement weather.

A visit to Staveley Nature Reserve yielded:

• Sand martin
• Swallow
• House martin and
• Reed warbler

as well as Yellowhammer, Gadwall and nesting Great Crested grebe.

At the RSPB Peregrine Watchpoint at Malham I picked up:

• Little owl
• Spotted flycatcher and
• Redstart

as well as Peregrine.

But the highpoint was undoubtably yesterday when I helped friends to ring 3 Long-eared owl chicks at Timble Ings, climbing the tree to retrieve them from the nest.

I also got:

• Tree pipit

They live among us

Eagle owls that is.

Presently these birds are not recognised as a British species, thought to be escaped "pets" (now that's a whole other rant) or rare vagrants from the continent. But this one lives near Otley, West Yorkshire...

...sharing habitat with Red Kites.

There are now reported to be 4 pairs of Eagle owls breeding in the Forest of Bowland. This 2005 BBC report refers to a programme about the controversial status of the species (here). Roy Dennis has found historical records from the 18th and 19th century relating to Eagle owls in Britain. Long-eared and Short-eared owls routinely migrate from continental Europe to Britain (an individual ringed in the BOG area was recovered in Spain some years ago), though other owls, notably Ural, Great grey and Pygmy owls, range right up to the North Sea or Channel coasts but are not recorded in Britain, similarly British Tawny owls don't cross the Irish Sea.

However, there appears to be a strengthening case for the acceptance of these birds on to the British list and, therefore, for their protected status (see my previous two posts). The female of a pair breeding on MoD land in North Yorkshire was shot dead in January last year using large-gauge shot of the type used for killing foxes. This would appear to rule out a case of mistaken identity as a gamebird. As if!

Less controversial are Tawny Owls which friends were ringing at Timble Ings on Friday night.

While we were there I saw some new birds for the year list:

• Cuckoo
• Short-eared Owl
• Nightjar

Dinosaurs

Brains the size of walnuts and stuck in the past.

One can only hope for their rapid extinction rather than that of the wildlife they routinely persecute.


Abandoned North Yorkshire Hen harrier nest, April 2007 (don't check the GPS, I've doctored the screen). Photo from North Yorkshire Police.

I say this because these Hen harrier eggs will not be hatching. This is, in all probability, due to the misguided, shortsighted and illegal actions of a North Yorkshire gamekeeper and the compliance of their employer, the landowner. The result of a mindset which is Victorian at best if not actually antediluvian.

This is the nest that was abandoned sometime between 15th and 23rd April 2007. It's possible the parents were killed; shot, trapped or poisoned or frightened away.

North Yorkshire Police issued this press release yesterday.

INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY AFTER HEN HARRIERS “DISAPPEAR” FROM MOORLAND NESTING SITE

Multi-agency efforts have been stepped up to prevent England’s rarest bird of prey - the hen harrier - from becoming extinct as a breeding bird in the uplands of North Yorkshire.

The move follows the worrying “disappearance” two weeks ago of the only known breeding pair of hen harriers on moorland on the Yorkshire Dales.

The nesting site had been monitored by Natural England and Yorkshire Dales Upland Bird Study Group volunteers since mid-March, and they raised the alarm when neither bird could be found.

An investigation is being carried out by PC Mark Rasbeary, a Wildlife Crime Officer from North Yorkshire Police, and Steve Downing from the National Wildlife Crime Unit based in Scotland.

They spent a full afternoon searching the moorland for signs of the birds on Monday 23 April, but all they found was the abandoned nest with five eggs inside.

“It is extremely rare for a female hen harrier to abandon her nest when she is sat on eggs because the male will provide her with food,” said PC Rasbeary. “The only logical explanation is that the birds have been deliberately disturbed and driven away from the nest. Or even worse, they have been killed.”

PC Rasbeary said North Yorkshire Police treats this offence extremely seriously and said action will be taken against those who break the law. He also urged people with information or evidence to help catch any suspected offenders to contact the police immediately so they can be brought to justice.

“We simply cannot sit back while this senseless persecution against hen harriers appears to be happening," he said: “If something isn’t done soon, North Yorkshire is in danger of becoming labeled as the ‘killing fields’ for hen harriers and other raptors. To lose these magnificent birds of prey forever would be a conservation disaster for our area.”

Steve Downing, who recovered the five eggs from the heather-based nest, is the national co-ordinator of Operation Artemis, the police campaign set up in 2004 to combat the illegal killing of hen harriers.

He said: “This area of the Yorkshire Dales is perfect habitat for a wide range of birds of prey, particularly hen harriers. Unfortunately, historical data indicates that persecution is also widespread. Hen harriers in England are hanging on by a thread. This failure, coupled with another failure in Northumbria last year when eggs were taken from a site after the female was shot, represents 20 per cent of this year’s known nests.

“It is a national scandal that persecution continues in the 21^st century. The eggs I recovered have been delivered to the scientists undertaking research to identify hen harrier DNA in our efforts to use forensic science to aid our investigations. I look forward to the day when those involved in the persecution of hen harriers are put in gaol, where they clearly belong.”

Paul Irving, Chairman of the Yorkshire Dales Upland Bird Study Group, said: “It is extremely disappointing that this nest has failed apparently due to persecution. The area, however, has a long history of such events and so this was perhaps to be expected.

“However, with such a low national population, it seems extraordinary and totally unforgivable that what is an extremely rare bird should be targeted in this way. One can only hope that the culprit or culprits are caught before we lose

this spectacular bird entirely from the Dales.”

In a joint statement, Paul Burgess, Chief Officer of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Ian Court, Species Officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “We are very concerned to hear about the disappearance of this pair of hen harriers that had been nesting close to the boundary between the National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and we hope the police will be able to find out exactly what has happened to them.

“Conserving wildlife is both one of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s main purposes, and one of the foundations of AONB designation. The hen harrier is one of the highest priorities for conservation action across the two areas.

“It would be a sad day for the Dales and everyone who cares about them if it is proved, as the police and RSPB suspect, that these birds have disappeared as a result of illegal activity.

“We will do everything we can to help the police in their inquiries”

Peter Robertson, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Northern England Conservation Manager, said: "The RSPB is very concerned that this pair of hen harriers nesting in the Dales have disappeared. It is extremely unusual for nesting harriers at such an advanced stage of incubating eggs to abandon their nest, and we would very much like to know what has happened to these birds.

“We urge the police to investigate this matter as fully as possible so that we can find out what has happened to these rare birds.

"Regrettably, this is just the latest in a long line of incidents that have affected hen harriers in the Yorkshire Dales. Sadly, in recent years, other harriers have also disappeared in mysterious, unexplained circumstances in this area and many of these incidents bear the hallmarks of illegal human activity.

"If human interference is shown to be responsible for the disappearance of these birds then it will be nothing short of a national disgrace and one that tarnishes the reputation of the Dales as a haven for wildlife. Illegal persecution of birds of prey not only shows a complete disregard for the law, but also an utter contempt for wildlife.

"The RSPB spends a lot of time and effort in trying to combat illegal killing of hen harriers and other birds of prey in Northern England. Every harrier nest is a vital and precious resource for producing the young birds which could lead to the establishment of a regular breeding population in the Yorkshire Dales by this charismatic species."

Anybody with information or evidence to help catch suspected offenders should contact PC Mark Rasbeary, Wildlife Crime Officer, via 0845 60 60 24 7.

Find out more from Operation Artemis at Save The Hen Harrier.

Vermin

What's he been up to? Blood on his hands?

I got news yesterday that the Hen harriers I had been watching recently had been "knobbled". They're gone, perhaps killed. A territory holding pair of the rarest raptors in the UK will not breed this year. There was no reason for these birds to leave the area in the midst of the nesting season. It's difficult to prove, but the disappearance of these birds is consistent with previous occurrences in the area. Suspicion must fall on the estate and reports have been made to the police.

Breeding success of Hen harriers is far higher on moors managed as water catchment than for driven grouse shooting. The grouse shooting estates are heavily implicated in the illegal persecution of these birds. This 2002 BBC report and this from the RSPB states the facts and demonstrates something of the culture which supports this illegal activity. This report makes the case for alternatives to persecution in managing raptors and red grouse together.

AN APPEAL

Be vigilant and report suspicious activity on your local moors to the police or RSPB. Case law would support a belief that many gamekeepers and their employers routinely act illegally, with breathtaking arrogance and not a little cruelty with regard to our natural heritage and biodiversity.

Two weeks ago I saw my first male Hen harrier. I'd like to think it wasn't my last and that future generations will be able to experience this privilege. Don't let grouse estate landowners take this from us.

You can use this form to report suspicious wildlife crime activity to the RSPB here.