Cambridge, 9 July

Svensson's Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea to light, first record for the garden. A much-anticiapted species, since it's been reliably recorded within a few hundred metres of the house. Copper Underwings have been subject to much scrutiny since 2004, but when an example like this appears, its obvious!

pete
CB1 3ST
40W actinic
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38

Spotted Flycatcher Bedford

3 young Spotted Flycatchers in the nest and Days away from fledging.Filmed on 26th June with the nest empty on 1st July, and adults present carrying food. Confirmed feeding young on 6th July. Adults birds initially picked up by David while nest building we were able to follow them through to confirm successful breeding. Ray roche

Greenshank and Redshank - MVCP

These birds were on the MVCP Pillinge this afternooon.

Video by Martin Green.

The Starling Squad

Many thanks to Jeff Higgott for posting this clip on YouTube – it’s a Central News report from November 1984 on the work of Leicester Polytechnic’s ‘Starling Squad’, which was formed to investigate (and try to get rid of if possible) the huge Starling roost in Leicester’s Abbey Park.

It’s very poignant seeing my old ringing trainer Jim Fowler interviewed here, as sadly he died last month. Strange to think that he was younger than I am now when this was filmed. Also in the clip, pretending to catch roosting Starlings in broad daylight, are Will Peach (holding the net), Jeff (with hair!), Dave ‘Hodders’ Hodson (with head torch.... in daylight) and Richard Seddon. I think I must have got involved with the Starling Squad shortly after this was filmed. This was my first introduction to ringing, and I spent many nights over the next couple of winters with the team in Abbey Park catching and ringing thousands of Starlings. Happy days!

And here’s a scan of my official Starling Squad badge – there can’t be many of these around!

Grey Jackdaw

I saw this bird last year at the Viaduct pit at Radwell. Still here a year later. Still a bad photo though, taken by phone down the telescope...

Bedroom Treecreeper

This Treecreeper was photographed by Jenny Sprod on her bedroom window in Ampthill.  She says
"Having not seen a treecreeper for donkey's years (anywhere), this little bird flew in to a bedroom window this morning.  It stayed there for quite a while recovering, and I was quite anxious for it, but then after about half-an-hour it suddenly flew off.  We have some very mature trees behind us, oak and horse chestnut, so maybe it will be around for a while, although I think it will be almost impossible to see!"

Cull everything!

Watching a piece on Springwatch last night about Magpies v ‘songbirds’ got me thinking....

The argument of the Songbird Survival Trust (as championed by that intellectual leviathan Jeremy Clarkson) goes like this: We like songbirds – they’re pretty. But songbirds are declining. Magpies eat songbirds. Therefore Magpies must be causing the decline of songbirds. Cull Magpies!

Supposing some members of the Songbird Survival Trust tried to extend that logic to other things....

We like butterflies and moths – they’re pretty. But butterflies and moths are declining. Songbirds eat caterpillars. Therefore songbirds must be causing the decline of butterflies and moths. Cull songbirds!

And if we culled songbirds, then the Magpies would have less available prey, so their numbers would drop as well. Brilliant! Oh, hang on a moment – songbird numbers are falling anyway, and yet predators are.... somehow.... increasing.... and butterflies and moths are.... declining as well.

Shit.

Perhaps we’d better cull everything just to be on the safe side.