Previous meetings this winter
1,000 Shades of Green – 10th December 2024
We had a treat in store with a visit from Mike Dilger, well known as a regular wildlife presenter on the One Show on the BBC – in fact over 450 films for that show, he told us. So when lockdown came in 2020, as a freelance reporter, Mike’s income dried up. Initially he was able to make a report from his back garden about the wildlife to be found there, and the germ of an idea for a book was born: he’d tour the British Isles with the intention of seeing 1,000 plants during 2021. After much planning, involving his wife and son, he set out on his quest.
From his first plant on 2nd January – a Groundsel in flower at home – he recounted areas he’d visited, the hunt for plants to be found there, and the botanical gems he discovered. A thoroughly entertaining speaker with enormous enthusiasm for his subject and plenty of humour, he kept us entertained for almost an hour and a half – indeed, he had to cut short his presentation, although many of us would have cheerfully sat through another hour.
The formalities were followed by a fine Christmas buffet, and some free wine provided by our generous sponsor, Lynton Wines.
Saving the World’s Seabirds – 21st November 2024
For the November meeting we were delighted to welcome one of the world’s experts on seabirds: Professor Richard Phillips has worked at the British Antarctic Survey since 2000 and has made twelve fieldwork trips to the Antarctic and South Georgia.
In his fascinating talk, he outlined the main threats to seabirds, focusing on albatrosses on Bird Island in South Georgia. It was interesting the hear that there is very little evidence that plastic pollution has any significant impact on seabird populations. The greatest threat is bycatch – the death of millions of seabirds which get caught in gill nets, trawls and baited longlines.
Much of the information comes from dataloggers placed on birds which not only record their movements across the Southern Ocean but also monitor precise details such as their wingbeats, heart rate, each time their feet come in contact with water and, using radar detection, how they interact with particular fishing vessels.
Richard outlined the various conservation measures which have been put in place to protect albatrosses. For example, fishing vessels can be fitted with various devices to reduce the chances of birds being caught. Unfortunately, most of his graphs showed a steep decline in the populations of albatrosses so there is still much to do to preserve these iconic seabirds.
This meeting was generously sponsored by Cley Spy.
Curlews In Breckland – 17th October 2024
Many of his 50 listeners could have been grandparents of the BTO’s Harry Ewing but anyone who can find and monitor 204 Curlew nests commands instant respect. A shocking 135 of them failed, overwhelmingly due to predation, and what Harry called the ‘sticking plaster’ of predator control or deterrence seems essential for waders to sustain populations in the degraded habitat we’ve bequeathed them. The real answer of course is to restore fully functioning heterogeneous ecosystems without mesopredator release and on landscape scale, but Harry and his colleagues in the Curlew Recovery Partnership have practical heads on young shoulders. I’ve rarely heard such an elegant, succinct exposition of how we might actually conserve a real bird in the real world, delivered with warmth and common sense that must endear Harry to the landowners whose help is vital.
Electric fences around nests increased hatching from 20% to 90%. A mixture of vegetation heights is key with tall grass especially scarce in Breckland. Nests in arable crops hatch surprisingly well but the chicks must then immediately find grassland for feeding and cover so rewilding low-value arable patches can treble chick survival. Breeding Curlew don’t probe marshes, they depend on grassland invertebrates so their productivity is tightly coupled to human activity. Once fledged their survival is good and not presently declining, especially as hunting is now illegal in France.
All the Numenius are threatened, two are probably extinct and ours is heading that way but this was no celebrity talk – Harry Ewing walks the walk for Curlew and from experience he left plenty of time to give thoughtful answers to a raft of serious questions from an intrigued audience. His impressive presentation was kindly sponsored by Van der L Feeds.
Breckland Curlews are colour-ringed with (top down) Blue-Orange-White or Green-Orange-White on the left tarsus (other colours on tibiae) and can be reported directly to harry.ewing@bto.org
