Injured cuckoo finds freedom in Italy

An injured cuckoo flown to Italy by plane to "catch up" on its migration after treatment has been successfully released to join its fellow birds.

The rare bird was released at a wetland centre in Turin where three cuckoos fitted with satellite tags in the UK were spotted.

Veterinary nurse Lucy Kells, from the Leatherhead Wildlife Aid Foundation, carried the bird on the British Airways 737, said it was a "goose bump moment".

The cuckoo, named Idemili after a Nigerian goddess, took a month to recover from serious head and wing injuries after other birds attacked it in Tolworth.

Ms Kells said: "The release went beautifully, it was a really amazing day.

"She sat on my hand for ages then flew off straight to a big tree. When we wandered over we saw it was covered in caterpillars.

"She then called for the first time. We'd had her in a month and she never made a sound, it was one of those really emotional, unrealistic moments.

"It was a goose bump moment, it was an amazing feeling. I was crying my eyes out."

Cuckoos are brood parasites, meaning they lay eggs in the nests of dunnocks, reed warblers and meadow pipits.

Once hatched, the chick ejects the legitimate occupants and then gets fed by its unsuspecting foster parents.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/9890701.Injured_cuckoo_finds_freedom_in_Italy/

Dealer in Rare, Endangered Birds Flies the Coop

A man arrested for allegedly trading rare and endangered birds through the Internet escaped from custody on Monday just as he was about to be questioned by wildlife authorities, conservationists said. 

Irma Hermawati, coordinator of the Wildlife Advocacy Foundation (LASA), said that Wahid bin Umar escaped from the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) before officers could interrogate him. 

“We received news that he escaped at 7 a.m., on Monday morning, after telling officers that he needed to go to the toilet,” Irma said. 

She added that Wahid had been arrested on Sunday afternoon in Subang, West Java, by BKSDA officers and local police for allegedly selling protected birds through an online commerce site. 

Officers seized two birds during the arrest — a crested hawk-eagle and a Javan hawk-eagle. The latter, which is the national bird of Indonesia, is categorized as an endangered species, making its possession, sale or trade illegal. 

Authorities were aware of the suspect’s actions and were keeping a close eye on him. 

“The suspect’s activities had been under surveillance since Saturday,” Irma said. “He was known to frequently sell birds online through the site tokobagus.com, under the handle ‘Sulaiman.’ He managed to sell between eight and 15 birds before he was arrested.” 

She said that among the birds he was known to have sold included palm cockatoos, yellow-crested cockatoos, hornbills and birds-of-paradise. 

Some hornbill and bird-of-paradise species are threatened, while the yellow-crested cockatoo is critically endangered — or just a step away from being extinct in the wild — which makes their possession or trade a crime. 

Irma said Wahid was believed to have bought the birds from a dealer in Surabaya. He was also a self-proclaimed member of the Raptor Club of Indonesia, which purports to conserve the country’s native birds of prey through breeding. 

“If he received the proper training [from the RCI], then it would be easy for him to handle the birds,” Irma said. “As for his claim to be a bird lover, we believe that’s just an excuse for him to sell birds. He was selling them as far as Aceh and Medan.” 

Wildlife activists recently sounded the alarm about the increased trading of animals and animal parts over the Internet, particularly in tiger parts. 

That announcement in late July came just days after police arrested a suspected taxidermist in Depok with dozens of stuffed wild animals and pelts. 

They included 14 tigers, two leopards, one clouded leopard, a lion, three bears and a tapir. 

There were also two sacks full of tiger pelts, as well as a stuffed tiger head and four mounted deer heads.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/dealer-in-rare-endangered-birds-flies-the-coop/538119

This sure is one lucky buzzard

Lucky , the endangered black breasted buzzard with Anita Turton who nursed the bird back to good health. Picture: Matt Turner  Source:   AdelaideNow

AN unlikely combination of freakish circumstance, chance meetings and the goodwill of Outback workers and wildlife lovers will return one of Australia's rare birds to the skies this week.

This endangered black-breasted buzzard, named Lucky by her rescuers, has been nursed back to health over the past three months at Williamstown after being discovered, near death, on the Strzelecki Track at Moomba.

The plan is to release her back at the track, but she will have to undergo one final procedure to ensure she survives. Four tail feathers taken from road kill will be glued to existing feather stumps so Lucky can fly away.

Grounded by a broken wing bone and unable to feed herself for at least three weeks, Lucky was found by an ornithologist conducting research on a part of the track usually closed to the public. Recognising how important she was, the scientist phoned the local ranger, who contacted Santos workers, who built a crate for the bird and organised for her to be flown to Adelaide.

Read on:  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/this-sure-is-one-lucky-buzzard/story-fndo471r-1226448263284

MoEF calls for action plan to save Great Indian Bustards

Gujarat’s Great Indian Bustards (GIB) and Lesser Floricans (or Likh) — large, rare birds found in grasslands — are facing “very high” to “high” levels of threats like poaching, removal or destruction of eggs and nests, habitat destruction and lack of effective grassland management, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The ministry has directed the forest departments of Gujarat and other states where, the birds are found, to draw up action plans and form local conservation committees, in turn pledging to provide Central funds.

“Currently, not more than 300 individuals of GIB are left in the world, with no known breeding population outside India,” the ministry said in a set of guidelines issued last week, adding the species has been listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — the world’s foremost body of conservation naturalists.

GIBs gather in grassland patches to breed during mid-summer and monsoon, nesting in open areas and laying one or, at most, two eggs per year, the IUCN says, adding that it “probably makes local and possibly long distance nomadic movements” during other months.

In Gujarat, the GIB is found in and around the Bustard Sanctuary in Kutch district. A 2012 assessment by the IUCN says there are now “fewer than 20 birds at densities of 0.05 per sq km in about 400 sq km suitable habitat” in Kutch.

The MoEF has identified Kutch’s Abdasa taluka as the site for conservation measures directed at the GIB. Revenue and gauchar land falling under 16 villages, where the birds breed, are to be acquired on a war footing because it is “being encroached and developed illegally”.

... contd. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/moef-calls-for-action-plan-to-save-great-indian-bustards/978160/

Peacocks, rare birds found dead in India village

Mumbai: In a tragic incident, as many as 14 peacocks and 35 rare birds, including 15 partridges, were on Monday found dead under mysterious circumstances at Khatgaon village in Aurangabad district in Maharashtra.

The authorities have not established the exact reason for the sudden and simultaneous death of the birds, They prima facie suspect that these birds, including peacocks, might have died after consuming pesticide-mixed food grains strewn on agriculture fields.

Following the development, the forest officials rushed to the Khatgaon village and began questioning the people on the circumstances leading to the death of so many peacocks and other birds. The authorities have sent the carcasses of the birds for a post-mortem.

“It is only after the post-mortem that we will be able to pinpoint the reason for the death of peacocks and other birds,” a senior state forest official based in Aurangabad said.

The peacock is the national bird of India. It is fully protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The poaching or hunting of peacocks is banned in the country.

Though the killing of peacocks is prohibited in India, there have been instances, where the birds were killed using pesticide for the collection of the lovely tail feathers.

The simultaneous death of so many peacocks is bound to shock bird lovers across Maharashtra, where there was a similar incidence of peacock deaths nearly five years ago.

In August and early September, 2008, as many as 30 peafowls — 17 peahen and 13 peacocks — had been found dead under mysterious circumstances in a span of a week at Khedkar Vasti near Ranjangaon in Pune district.

Khedkar Vasti is close to Morachi Chincholi village, famous for prevalence of peacocks.

At that time, the clinical examination of viscera of peafowls had revealed that these birds had died after consuming poisonous pesticide sprayed on the poultry.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/peacocks-rare-birds-found-dead-in-india-village-1.1046803

Wind farm impacts on rare birds must be minimised

Developers must work to reduce the impact of a wind farm on rare species when it is built on the Hebridean island of Lewis, according to RSPB Scotland.

The conservation charity will withdraw its objection to Lewis Wind Power’s application for a substantial wind farm to the west of Stornoway on the Western Isles.

The wildlife conservation charity acknowledged efforts of the developer to reduce the construction and operational impact on rare species such as golden eagle and red-throated diver by reducing the number of proposed turbines from 42 to 36. 

Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland said:  “Although we are disappointed that risks to golden eagles and red-throated divers have not been reduced further, when compared with previous proposals for large scale wind power schemes in north Lewis, the Stornoway wind farm as now proposed represents a welcome improvement, and we acknowledge the efforts made by Lewis Wind Power in this regard. 

“The challenge now is to ensure that the construction and operational impacts are minimised, and that the development is thoroughly monitored, so that any eagle displacement or collision is discovered, and urgent remedial action taken. We look forward to working with the developer and our partners in the statutory sector in order to help achieve this.”

How you can help

Help us continue our conservation work

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/317049-wind-farm-impacts-on-rare-birds-must-be-minimised?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=News

Czech zoo keepers save rare bird's life with Coca Cola

Decin, North Bohemia, June 21 (CTK) - The Decin zoo keepers have successfully applied Coca Cola to save the life of a young Laughing Kookaburra, a rare exotic bird that suffered from serious digestive troubles and faced imminent death, the zoo said in a press release Thursday.

The Laughing Kookaburra, a species originating in Australia and very difficult to breed, hatched recently and the keepers, rejoicing at the arrival, put it in an incubator.

It fared very well for the first days. Afterwards problems emerged, however, the zoo expert Roman Rehak said.

The young bird suffered from digestive problems and was unable to accept food properly. That is why the keepers started to administer Coca Cola to it.

"It is a well-proved method. It is also known by a number of mums who give this drink to their kids if their bellies hurt," said Rehak, adding that the saccharides and caffeine supplied the small bird with the necessary energy.

Now it is completely fit, swallowing up a whole mouse a few times a day.

Several Czech zoos keep Laughing Kookaburras, but none except for Decin succeeded in breeding the species in the past two years.

http://praguemonitor.com/2012/06/22/czech-zoo-keepers-save-rare-birds-life-coca-cola

New Ecuador reserve to help protect one of the world's rarest and smallest birds

Esmeraldas Woodstar amongst rare birds to benefit from tiny reserve

June 2012. One of the world's rarest and smallest hummingbirds, the tiny Esmeraldas Woodstar, will receive new protection from a reserve established in Ecuador through a cooperative effort involving Fundación Jocotoco, World Land Trust-US, and American Bird Conservancy.

Just 500-1000 birds alive
This striking violet, green, white, and copper-colored hummingbird, which measures barely 2 ½" long and which local people call the "Estrellita" (little star), numbers between only 500-1,000 individuals. It is gravely threatened by habitat loss resulting from logging, development, cattle grazing, and agriculture. Less than 5% of lowland western Ecuador remains forested as a result of these activities.

Threatened by beach resorts
The species was little known until a few years ago, when researchers discovered its primary nesting areas along streams on Ecuador's Pacific Coast, near the village of Ayampe. They also discovered that the former sleepy village was becoming a magnet for beach-loving tourists and, as a result, much woodland in the area has already been destroyed for resorts.

38 acre reserve
The new 38-acre reserve is characterized by semi-deciduous to evergreen moist forests. The woodstar breeds at lower elevations along streams adjacent to large forest patches. There is evidence that at least the majority of the population moves upslope to spend the non-breeding season (i.e., dry season ca. April-November) at the higher elevations of the coastal cordillera. Fortunately, some of the non-breeding season habitat is protected by the Machalilla National Park.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ayampe-woodstar.html

Rare birds reared at home after being found by construction worker

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) Three Formosan blue magpie chicks discovered on a mountain path were reared at home by a construction worker for five days until they were identified as being a rare Taiwanese species, police in Keelung City said Monday. 

A construction worker, surnamed Yu, found the three chicks in a bird's nest that had fallen on a path near a construction site on a mountain in New Taipei where he worked, police said. 

He reared the birds at home for five days until his friend recognized the birds' characteristic long-tails and suggested they might be Formosan blue magpies, also known as "long-tailed maidens of the mountains," which is Taiwan's national bird, according to the police. Yu took the birds to the police and they were subsequently checked by experts, who identified the birds as being Formosan blue magpies, a rare and protected species. 

The chicks will be reared by experts at Keelung's Agriculture and Forestry Department until they are able to fend for themselves in the wild. Police said Yu had not violated the country's Wildlife Conservation Act as he had not hunted, sold or publicly displayed the birds. Hunting, selling, or buying protected animals in Taiwan can result in a maximum prison sentence of five years and/or a maximum fine of NT$1.5 million (US$50,206), according to the act. (By Liu Li-jung and Ann Chen)

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1950013

Bird Breeder: Burglars Stole 350 Rare Birds Worth More Than $80,000

BUCKINGHAM (CBS Miami) – Almost 400 rare birds flew the coop, but not by choice.

Three hundred and fifty rare parrots valued at more than $80,000 were stolen from a high-end Southwest Florida bird breeder earlier this week. The News-Press reports that the birds included about 160 breeding pairs and had dozens of types of parrots, such as parakeets and macaws.

According to media reports, Sandy Kortz didn’t hear anyone enter her backyard between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

“It blew me away,” Kortz told the News-Press. She added that there was no insurance for the birds. “It has screwed up my business, and they have destroyed our retirement.”

Kortz indicated to police that she believed the burglars hopped her fence and had cages ready for the 350 birds in her aviary.

“I’ve worked too long and too hard to have someone come in and do this in two minutes,” she said. “Right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/bird-breeder-burglars-stole-350-rare-birds-worth-more-than-80000/ 

US Forest Service moves logging farther from rare bird nests at Lake Tahoe but critics unhappy

RENO, Nev. — Forest Service officials have agreed to move post-fire logging operations at Lake Tahoe farther away from nests with rare, black-backed woodpecker chicks at the request of conservationists who've been fighting the overall project for years.

But leaders of the John Muir Project — who have documented one nest in the path of the logging and suspect there are more — say the no-cut buffers the agency is implementing are far too small to protect one of the rarest birds in the Sierra Nevada.

"No credible black-backed woodpecker scientist would say it is enough — not even close," said Chad Hanson, a wildlife ecologist and executive director of the group who has filed a petition seeking protection of the bird under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

"It will kill them just as surely as logging right up to the nest tree," he said.

Lawyers for the Forest Service told the group last week its proposed 60-acre buffers around each nest would undermine the 1,400-acre project's goals of restoring the forest and reducing future catastrophic risks where the Angora fire destroyed 250 homes in South Lake Tahoe in 2007.

But Deputy Forest Supervisor Jeff Marsolais said Friday the agency and the private logging contractor agreed to move the fuels reduction operations at least 10 acres away from the nesting area until the chicks leave the nest. One acre is a little less than the size of a football field.

"The relocation shows our ongoing commitment to balance ecosystem values and our intent to maintain efficient operations in completing our Angora restoration efforts," Marsolais said in a statement the agency provided to The Associated Press late Friday.

In addition to no logging within 10 to 12 acres of the identified nest tree, an additional 25 acres of habitat will be preserved within one-quarter mile of the tree, until the chicks "fledge," USFS spokeswoman Cheva Heck said.

The area includes some of the last of the 156 acres of forest that remains uncut in the overall 1,400-acre project first proposed in early 2009 and under way for more than a year.

A federal judge in Sacramento earlier rejected a request for an injunction to block the logging filed by the John Muir Project and its parent Earth Island Institute.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals currently is considering their appeal claiming the Forest Service's environmental assessment ignores the agency's own science suggesting the project will harm the bird without effectively reducing long-term fire threats.

Continued: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f07e60e5e9d849079c289af9018b3f50/NV--Rare-Woodpeckers-Logging-Nests

Rare birds threaten Spit development

THE discovery of an endangered bird species roosting on a massive sandbank is likely to impact on future development of both the Broadwater and The Spit.

Ashmore bird enthusiast Bob Westerman has photographed a pair of beach stone-curlews at an area he calls The Unnamed Island, south of Wavebreak Island.

"It's an absolute find. In NSW there are only about 10 pairs of them," Mr Westerman told the Bulletin.

"I couldn't believe it. They turn up in the strangest places.

"This is a particularly good roost. You don't have dogs unless people allow them there. It's mainly free of predators. The birds seem to like it."

The Spit is again being targeted for future development, with the State Government briefed on plans for a casino on a site south of Sea World and new Mayor Tom Tate having floated a plan for a $30 million cruise ship terminal on the southern Seaway wall.

But photographic evidence showing thousands of migratory birds on Broadwater sandbanks is likely to restrict future dredging along with any moves to destroy bushland.

"If they start working in that area and it proves to be a significant area, they have to get Federal Government approval," Mr Westerman said.

"I thought I'd just show everyone what is there. If they (council and government) stuff it up, that's their business."

The beach stone-curlew is a large thick-set wader, listed as vulnerable under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act, and regarded as a "high priority" under the Department of Environment and Resource Management's Back on Track project which develops special management plans for "at-risk" species.

continued: http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2012/06/04/421355_gold-coast-news.html

Rare baby wood storks are guests at Beach shelter

By PETER GUINTA 

peter.guinta@staugustine.com

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH — A quartet of fluffy white wood stork babies are squawking away — even between bites of delicious cut up fish — at their new home at Noah’s Ark, a bird sanctuary on Mizell Road.

Wood storks are endangered and are the only storks that breed in North America.

These chicks were born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Zoo scientist Tirzah Nichols, who cares for rhinos, big cats and African hoof stock, said these four babies had fallen out of their nests at the Zoo’s wood stork rookery.

“Sometimes it’s not possible to get them back into the nest,” Nichols said. “Some parents don’t want them back. When that happens, we help get them out to someone who will care for them.”

On Monday, an older baby wood stork was sent to another rehab center.

“Water birds are expensive to raise because of the cost of fish,” Nichols said. “Our last resort is having a human raising the babies.”

According to Karen Lynch, head of Noah’s Ark, said storks love “soft-bodied fish high in fat and not too bony.”

Continued:  http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2012-05-21/rare-baby-wood-storks-are-guests-beach-shelter#.T7z-StxfEbA

RSPB purchase of “already-protected” land criticised

BIRD protection charity RSPB Scotland is facing criticism it wasted more than £300,000 of public money creating a nature preserve on as site which is already protected.

The charity bought land on the Wards Estate on the banks of Loch Lomond at a total cost of £1.1 million.

It plans to increase the populations of endangered birds such as snipe, curlews, redshanks and lapwigs.

The land is heavily protected under European laws, and falls within the Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) also says snares will have to be used to prevent foxes preying on the rare birds.

One rural property agent, who wished to remain anonymous, said questions had been asked about the decision to use public money to
help buy the land.

The property agent said: “This land is fully designated and has full legal protection. It is a criminal offence to damage it.”

Read on:  http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2012/05/20/rspb-purchase-of-already-protected-land-criticised/

Nature rewards farmers who help rare birds

Farmers who are working to help threatened birds on their land are also more likely to have healthy populations of bugs, butterflies, bumblebees and bats, new scientific research based in the South West has revealed.

In two studies, RSPB scientists discovered that all sorts of insects and small mammals were benefiting "by accident" from measures to protect two of the UK's rarest farmland birds – cirl buntings and stone curlews.

Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said: "It is great to see that farmers who are working hard to help birds are also providing habitats for many other plants, bees and bugs. We know that these measures are vital if we are to restore lost populations of threatened birds – but now we have confirmation that they are providing real benefits for a range of other beautiful and fascinating species as well.

Scientists compared the diversity and abundance of wildlife with similar farmland which was not involved in bird conservation schemes. Where pastureland had been managed for cirl buntings in Devon, there were five times as many butterflies – and other measures on the same land helped double the number of ground beetles.

And arable land on Salisbury Plain with fallow plots for nesting stone curlews was found to have almost twice as many wild plant species, five times as many butterflies and bumblebees and four times the number of hares as similar land without the plots.

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Nature-rewards-farmers-help-rare-birds/story-16097174-detail/story.html

Skokholm Island bought by Wildlife Trust

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales has raised the money needed to buy the lighthouse on Skokholm Island. The purchase completes the purchase of the whole island, which lies off the Pembrokeshire coast, by the trust that now aims to turn it into a conservation area. The island is home to a number of rare birds including Storm petrels, Manx shearwaters and the Pembrokeshire parrots, or puffins.

The appeal was launched in Autumn 2011 and raised £150,000 within four months, allowing the Wildlfife Trust to buy the land and lighthouse. The trust have now taken over the ownership of lighthouse from Trinity who previously owned the building. They hope it will secure the future of the important area for rare sea bird colonies.

The Wildlife Trust now aims to raise a further £100,000 to convert the lighthouse into accommodation so that visitors can stay on the island, and to install a bird observatory on the island.

With thousands of sea birds, including a significant population of storm petrels and the densest colony of Manx shearwaters in the world, it was of paramount importance that we purchased the last bit of the island's jigsaw. When we were offered the opportunity to buy the last bit of the island we knew we could not risk it going into private ownership for fear of risking the precious cliffs and their stunning wildlife. We were amazed by the generosity of the people of Wales in helping us save this important site.

– SARAH KESSELL, WILDLIFE TRUST OF SOUTH AND WEST WALES

In July 2010, the Wildlife Trust was contacted by Trinity House, owners of the lighthouse on the island and a significant portion of land around it. Trinity House were in the process of replacing the traditional light with a modern beacon, which needs very little maintenance and therefore allows them to consider selling the lighthouse and land around it.

http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2012-05-16/skokholm-island-bought-by-wildlife-trust/

USA. Is rare Albatross now colonizing Hawai'i?

Maybe ten rare Short-tailed Albatrosses showing up at several Hawaiian Islands doesn’t count as a new population, but those sightings are still causing a buzz in the conservation and birding worlds.

“This is a bird that was once thought extinct and even now inhabits only a very small geographic area in Japan. The fact that it is now showing up in Hawai‘i in double-digit numbers around breeding season is huge news and potentially a major development in the efforts to protect this species from extinction,” said Dr. George Wallace, Vice President for Oceans and Islands at American Bird Conservancy, the nation’s leading bird conservation organization. Wallace said that three birds have been seen on Kure Atoll, five on Midway Island, one on Laysan Island, and one on Tern Island.

The Short-tailed Albatross was once the most abundant of the North Pacific albatross species, numbering more than a million birds. It was decimated by feather hunting at the turn of the 20th Century, and by the late 1940s was thought to be extinct. In the early 1950s, ten pairs were discovered breeding on the island of Torishima, Japan. The population has now reached 3,000 individuals, with most still on Torishima, but conservationists fear an eruption of the active volcano there could spell disaster. For the last five years, the Short-tailed Albatross Recovery Team, an international group of collaborators, has been working on establishing a new colony on Mukojima Island, also in Japan, which is safe from volcanic activity.

http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=101573

Coins Feature Rare Australian Birds

By Dennis G. Rainey, World Coin News
April 11, 2012


I have written about animal representatives of five of Australia’s World Heritage Areas in Perth Mint’s Celebrate Australia 2010 series (World Coin News, 3/2012). In that article I stated Australia has 19 such areas. The animals in the 2010 series are the eastern quoll, dugong, macaroni penguin, green sea turtle and Blue Mountain tree frog.

Now, I want to start telling you about the continuation of this series for 2011 with animals of five more World Heritage Areas that were issued by Perth Mint in a nice album. Each coin in the album is attached to an informative card that can be removed and set up as a desktop display. 
The following two coins are not yet in a Krause catalog or Numismaster’s database: southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius), 2011, one dollar, and Albert’s lyrebird (Menura alberti), 2011, one dollar. I will continue in a separate article information about the short-eared wallaby, fur seal and the fossil marsupial lion.



Continued:   http://www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=25042 

Wildlife lover loans collection of stuffed birds to Macclesfield museum

Bird lovers are enjoying a rare opportunity to study a range of species at close-quarters. John Wratchford has loaned a collection of stuffed birds to a Cheshire museum. They include a nightingale, a Dartford warbler, a black redstart, wagtails, a bar-tailed godwit, a great grey shrike, a honey buzzard and a snow bunting. Mr Wratchford inherited the Victorian specimens from his grandparents 70 years ago. And now he has decided they deserve to be seen, and has loaned them to West Park Museum in Macclesfield. Mr Wratchford, a member of the RSPB for more than 60 years, said: "As a wildlife enthusiast the only way I like to preserve the birds I enjoy is using photography, but we have to remember that in Victorian times there was no television and people found different ways to entertain themselves. "I visit the West Park Museum from time to time and I thought it would be nice to let more people enjoy them." The birds have proved a big hit with visitors to the museum on Prestbury Road which has a permanent exhibition of work by wildlife illustrator Charles Tunnicliffe. The stuffed birds have been used as models for the museum’s Art In The Park programme which allows school children to sketch them. Carol Sadelaar, from West Park Museum, said: "We are thrilled to be able to use these birds to give pupils first-hand experience of the subjects they are drawing and would like to thank Mr Wratchford most sincerely for making this temporary loan to the museum.

John Wratchford with his grandparents’ collection of stuffed rare bird species, 

which he has loaned to West Park Museum in Macclesfield

Read more at: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1490691_wildlife-lover-loans-collection-of-stuffed-birds-to-macclesfield-museum

Volunteers protect avocets on Two Tree Island in Essex

Volunteers are being asked to help protect rare avocet chicks from thieves on a special island in Essex.

People are needed to monitor this year's young, as part of the Egg Watch project on Two Tree Island.

Six chicks were successfully hatched on the island last year, but double that number were stolen.

Matthew Gonshaw, from east London, was jailed in December for stealing hundreds of birds eggs, including 12 avocet eggs from the reserve.

The avocet is a black and white wader with a long curved-up beak and distinctive blue legs, mainly found in coastal areas of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Kent.

The species became extinct in Britain in the 19th Century, but was reintroduced in the 1940s.

Two Tree Island is one of fewer than 20 sites in Essex where the protected birds breed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-17637140