The post Guernsey Bird Report 2023 appeared first on La Societe Guernesiaise.

We had a brilliant time with a very engaged group who were captivated seeing wild birds up close as they were measured, weighed and rung. Throughout the morning 9 birds were caught, with a special highlight of a Goldcrest. (We also had a great time looking at the moths which had been caught overnight).

Thank you again to Trevor and his trainees for taking the time to demonstrate this fascinating practice to our Juniors, and fingers crossed events such as this will inspire the next generation of bird ringers!!

[Ringing was undertaken under licence]

© Emma Boughey

The post Junior Bird Ringing appeared first on La Societe Guernesiaise.

Over the last 18 months, four Peregrines and a Buzzard have been found deliberately poisoned, mainly in the north of the island. An unknown number of birds will have been killed but the bodies not found. Pigeon baits laced with deadly chemicals have been used to kill the falcons. Bird Section and La Societe as a whole have so far contributed £2000 in addition to the £7000 anonymous pledges held by Animal Aid. Many local birders have also pledged money. The reward currently stands at over £16,000 which would be paid for information leading to a successful criminal prosecution. Further pledges to this fund can be made by emailing the Section treasurer: jamie.hooper@cwgsy.net

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A REDUCED vole population has been blamed for the death of around half a dozen barn owls this year.
The hire.ls hunt their main diet with super keen hearing and a head rotation of 250 degrees.
La Societe land management and conser­vation officer Jamie Hooper confirmed a higher number of dead barn owls than nor­mal had been found.
‘We can’t put it down to bad weather be­cause there hasn’t been sustained enough bad weather to affect them,’ he said.
‘The only thing we can think of is -that their prey, -voles in particular, are at a very low level this year and resulted in our owls really being in a bit of bother.’

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