Little change in the birds available, though like so many times this winter the conditions are forcing good numbers of gulls into the local fields. Likewise a good 30 Curlew on the way into the village just now close to the road. During the week the 2nd Year Iceland Gull was at Cransdale again, and over the last few weeks the 1st year Glaucous gull has been seen on Meikle intermittently.
Sad news concerns the level of farmland drainage activity all over the Slains area this winter. Though at the moment only partially effective due to the weather, I am sure this will have a significant impact on the breeding farmland birds this Spring. Lapwing is a good example of a bird that has crashed in population in recent years and will only decrease further with this loss of habitat. Some of the pools lost so far have been present for at least a decade.
All this goes hand in hand with some of the other farming practices, Corn Bunting now down to handful of breeding pairs compared to tens some years ago.
Seems there is little to no mitigation of this destruction provided by statutory bodies...
Absolutely correct CB; the constant, inexorable erosion of habitats due to agricultural changes, development, etc, is a huge factor in the continuing decline of once-familiar species. A former patch of mine 'down south' had breeding Barn Owl, Turtle Dove, Nightingale and LS Woodpecker, all now disappeared due to 'progress'. Seemingly none of the conservation bodies are too willing to confront the issue - especially at a time when anything viewed as a barrier to economic growth is greeted with outright hysteria. Happy days!
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