Illegal Bird Trapping in Cyprus 2016

'Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'.
Winston Churchill


I am just back from a 2 week stint volunteering for the Campaign Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) in Cyprus.  Some of you may recall I was there last year at the same time and blogged about my experiences afterwards - a fairly depressing missive.  Regrettably, this year was much the same if not worse, and the focus of interest was on the UK administered Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA) in the Famagusta region.  Prior to my deployment CABS asked me to write to the Head of the British administration, an Air Vice-Marshall Wigston, in order to apprise him of my experiences last year and to invite him into the field to experience the problem at first hand.  I duly received a courteous reply thanking me for the information I supplied and confirming that his staff would accompany us into the field on his behalf - fair enough I thought.

A couple of Scops Owls (one struggling to stay awake!) rescued from the butcher's nets on UK-administered Cape Pyla.

Some of the CABS team and their transport - very inconspicuous in the country at night.

Cutting birds free from a mist net just after 0600.

Approximately 900,000 wild migratory birds are killed every autumn in the ESBA.  This figure is implausibly high but has been checked by several authoritative agencies. Why is the situation in the ESBA so bad? Probably because of a reluctance by British to upset local sensitivities - law enforcement demands are being trumped by diplomatic needs.  The meeting I had arranged with the ESBA was cancelled at short notice and, despite a promise on their part to make alternative arrangements, no further contact was made.  Wonderful.

A cruel variation on a theme - lime sticks and drinking water.  Note the feathers top right of the photo.

Collecting lime sticks in a small olive grove located right in the middle of Ayia Napa.  A garden of death surrounded by hotels and swimming pools.

A mist net at dawn - note the trapped bird.

CABS have been campaigning on this issue for years and have reached a point of extreme frustration with the British because the measures they were taking were too little and, therefore, the situation was not getting better.  The SBA Police anti poaching unit is staffed by some fine local men yet the support they receive in terms of equipment and uniforms - some patrolling in worn out training shoes and a rag tag of uniforms last used by the British military in the 1980s - is woeful.  So I arrived back on the island wanting to believe that the British were taking effective action but sadly I came to the view that they were not.

Me being interviewed for BBC News.

Freeing a Garden Warbler.

A female Blackcap - she's wet because water is needed to remove the lime glue.

This year, however, things might at last start to get better.  We were joined on the island by a BBC News team and by Chris Packham and his film team.  The BBC report can be found here and Chris Packam's piece can be found here.  In my view, shining a light into this wretched case is the only way to force the British to take the action necessary to eliminate this practice.  As Chris Packham said to us, being concerned is now not enough (if ever it was).  Action, in the form of letters to MPs, lobbying of the MoD and the use of social media, are needed to mobilise public opinion.  And in the mean time, thousands of birds will continue to be killed every night.

CABS volunteers at the end of a night shift.

A mixed bag of CABS volunteers (from Italy, Germany, Slovenia, the UK, Malaysia, Switzerland and Cyprus) with Chris Packham (centre wearing a green T-shirt) displaying their haul of mist nets.

BREXIT!

Come the three corners of the world in arms,
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true.

Shakespeare King John, 1595

So, the hardly believable has come to pass.  I watched the TV News through the small hours on Friday morning as the BREXIT Referendum results came in.  Like most people I expected Remain to win by a margin of between 5 and 10%.  The final result, which had become increasingly obvious as the hours went by, came as a complete shock.  And I voted to Leave.  Like most people I spent Friday in a state of numb shock wondering what I and we had done.  But, as time has passed, and despite the scorn and criticism heaped on me by Britons and Germans alike, I am increasingly confident that the country has made the right call.

A difficult binary choice to be made.

Living in Germany I am often asked to comment on or explain British attitudes to current issues and affairs.  One of my stock answers about the EU has been to explain that the British attitude to it has always been essentially contractual, whereas for the Germans and especially the Germans, it is an emotional relationship developed as part of their post-war foreign and domestic policy construct.  Most Germans reacted to BREXIT with a mixture of incredulity, extreme sadness and anger.  I have seen some people close to tears.  Its like when a lover unexpectedly announces the end of a relationship held dear by the other half - emotions are running high.  My German wife is extremely upset.

Churchill statue, Parliament Square

But as I said earlier, I think that the British decision is the right one.  It carries significant risk internally and externally and needs to be managed extremely carefully by London and Brussels.  But I am clear that the EU has, through its intransigence and obduracy, just lost a country with the world’s third-largest military and fifth-largest economy and Europe's only global city. The UK vote is a calamity for Brussels and could have been avoided had David Cameron been given a proper renegotiation – or at least something he could plausibly describe to voters as “far-reaching reform”.  Then any reluctant Leave voters, myself included, would have voted Remain.

So where does this leave us all?  Whilst the decision was clear, the margin of victory was narrow.  Were the EU to properly embrace reform, as Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister recognises, then I and I sense many others, could be persuaded to Remain.  We have two years to work this out.  If we don't, Juncker's vision of Europe will ignobly die under a wave of popular revolt, whilst the UK will embrace the world and prosper.

Drömling - Sperbergrassmücke und Biber

Drömling this Sunday morning with a grim determination to find a bird that has been eluding me for the past 2 years - the Sperbergrassmücke or, in English, Barred Warbler.  This attractive Sylvia species is fast approaching the eastern limíts of its distribution in Sachsen Anhalt and approximately 100 pairs breed in the Drömling and Kusey areas.  The males arrive on their breeding grounds usually towards the end of the first week in May and the females soon after.  Accordingly one needs to resist the temptation, so often the case in Spring, to search for them too early.  Sperbergrassmückes are traditionally associated with Red-backed Shrikes which inhabit similar landscapes and arrive pretty much at the same time.

Reserve area south of Kusey.  The areas of interest are the wetter meadows - marked in blue - towards the bottom centre of the map.

Sperbergrassmücke territory south of Kusey.  The bushes running through the centre of the photograph, are growing in a water filled ditch.

But there the similarities end.  Red-back Shrikes are abundant in the Drömling and slightly less so in Kusey.  Sperbergrassmücke, in my experience at least, are difficult to come by.  Despite the conduct of intelligence based searches throughout the area, I had so far drawn a blank.  Added to that, the sheer size of the search area has made the location of this species a difficult and frustrating affair.  I think that I have heard some birds signing in the past, including this spring, but Sperbergrassmücke can sound remarkably like Whitethroats and besides, a visual beats an aural any day.  Today my luck changed in a quite a dramatic way as I found 2 birds,  Both were male ands quite active flying to and from the wood line from the bushes shown in the photograph above.  However, both birds never exposed themselves for more than a couple of seconds before disappearing deep into the bush or hedge line.

Sperbergrassmücke - library photo.

Long distance shot - Red-backed Shrike - Kusey.

But what really made the morning was the combination of Sperbergrassmücke, Red-backed Shrike and an Icterine Warbler - the latter signing vociferously from the top of the same bush!  Nightingales were also plentiful but impossible to see, Yellowhammers all over the place but interestingly, in this slightly damper part of Kusey, no Ortolan Buntings.  Great Reed Warblers were pretty easy to come by often singing from smallest stand of reed and shrub.

Another habitat shot - Great Reed Warbler.

During my walk out I surprised a Beaver which proceeded to lie still in the water before my efforts to photograph it caused it to slap its tail on the water and dive.  I should say that the noise this made was considerable and must have been audible to any Beaver within 200 - 300 metres.  I was thrilled to see this animal.  It s easy to witness their activity throughout the Drömling in the form of flattened vegetation leading to water or of 'sawn' down trees and bushes, but its something else to see one! 

Beaver lodge - south of Kusey

European Beaver - library photograph

Approaching the car further north, the Ortolans appeared - I counted at least 6 signing males indicating their abundance in this area.  Any finally, a lovely view of a White Wagtail standing on some lily pads in a ditch.  A pretty good morning all in all!

Ortolan Bunting - Kusey

White (Alba) White Wagtail - Kusey

Frosse and Osmarlsleben - Spring 2016

On Sunday I popped down to Osmarlsleben to see how last year's Bee-eaters were getting on and called in to Frosse on my way home.  The two sites are interlinked to some degree and the Bee-eaters use both, especially in the late summer when they can be seen swooping in and out of Frosse's reed beds.  The Bee-eaters do not arrive on their breeding grounds until about the end of the first week in May and I have already documented their success in colonising Saxon-Anhalt and the warm weather corridor east of the Harz.

Map of Osmarsleben (1 and 2) and Frosse (3) sites.

Today's visit brought no surprises and I quickly picked up some birds calling incessantly at site number 1 in the warm late spring morning.  Swooping and wheeling about the semi-industrial chalk quarry they present quite an incongruous site in the east German countryside.  If anything, there seemed to be more birds here than last year - in the region of 20 at least.  Worthy of note here is the Sand Martin colony, though access to get decent views is difficult.

Slightly distant view of Site 1 Osmarlsleben

Site 2, Osmarsleben.  The Bee-eaters are nesting in the sandy bank at the rear.

Having previously observed a sandy bank from Site 1, I decided to investigate it.  Approaching carefully, it quickly became obvious that it too was occupied by Bee-eaters, except that there seemed to be even more here than at the previous site.  It was great to be able to sit quite close to, but discretely hidden in some bushes, and to watch these beautiful and graceful birds to-ing and fro-ing and hawking insects, big and small, on the wing.

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben

Bee-eaters - Osmarsleben

So, mission accomplished.  Bee-eaters, perhaps the most exotic of my local birds, safe and sound and in apparently really good numbers in the east-Harz corridor.

A nice shot of Frosse reed beds with the village with its distinctive twin towered church in the distance.

Whinchat - Frosse.

I have written several blogs about Frosse.  It is a brilliant site; compact, diverse and rich in terms of species (though less so in winter) and easily accessible.  My most recent visit was about 2 weeks ago and some characters were yet to make an appearance.  Today's visit seemed to confirm their return to Germany as Great Reed, Marsh and Grasshopper Warblers were seemingly everywhere.  Conspicuous by its absence were Sedge Warblers and indeed Red-backed Shrikes which ought to be back on their breeding grounds by now.

Marsh Warbler - Frosse.

An immaculate Reed Bunting - Frosse.

I heard probably 3 Bitterns booming and briefly the dog-like 'bark' of a possible Little Bittern.  Bitterns are notoriously difficult to see and luck is needed more than anything to catch a glimpse of a bird walking or flying about its territory.  The water meadows at the head of the reserve had dried out substantially but contained a beautiful lonesome drake Garganey, some Gadwell and Mallards.  Lapwings were also present pee-witting their way across the sky.  Whinchats were also present and a White Stork, perhaps a late migrant, was resting on the water meadow.

White Stork - Frosse

Garganey - Frosse.

In summary, a good visit.  Great to see the bee-eaters in such good numbers and lovely to find a Garganey at Frosse.  Next visit I might sneek into one of the hunting towers overlooking the reserve, in order to increase my chances of seeing a Bittern.

Drömling - Spring 2016

I had a fantastic day at the Drömling on Sunday. This was especially important following a couple of recent somewhat underwhelming visits.  I'm pleased to say that spring has properly arrived in Germany and most of the continent has been enjoying warm weather  brought to us on a moderate easterly air stream.  As I have mentioned before, the Drömling's size can be daunting and so I tend to concentrate on 4 or 5 areas I have visited in the past and which I know yield dividends in terms of birds seen. 

Wide area map of the Drömling with three locations marked A, B and C

Landscape south of Kusey

One area I had not visited before but which I had researched over the winter was a reserve area in the north, just south of the village of Kusey - marked on the map above with the letter A.  This area is drier and sandier than most of the Drömling and contains a mosaic of oak, pine and smaller trees lining agricultural roads and pathways.  Kusey is renowned as being one of the few remaining places in Germany where Ortolan Buntings are holding their own - there are supposed to be about 35 pairs here which, when considering the relatively small size of the area, represents quite a significant population density.  Other species to be found here include Barred Warblers, though they prefer the damper bushier areas, Crested Larks and occasionally Montagu's Harrier. 

Ortolan Bunting - Kusey

Ortolan Bunting - Kusey

The Ortolan's plaintive song is like a fore-shortened version of its cousin the Yellowhammer, which is a common resident here.  After walking a while I heard an Ortolan signing from a oak tree from which I was able to observe it closely.  Close in size to the Yellowhammer, its song and plumage are diagnostic and include a bright eye ring and pale sub-moustachial stripe with warm buff underparts - a really beautiful bird.  Soon after I located two other signing males though these birds were inhabiting smaller bushier trees.  A Spotted Flycatcher was a nice surprise as was a Nightingale signing from a dry and dusty bush line, a whole host of Common Whitethroats scratching away from within the now densely green bush line and a 2 Hawfinches in a larger stand of mature trees.  A flock of 20 beautiful pink flushed Linnets were feeding on something on the ground - probably seeds.  Interestingly, Ravens were everywhere, their raucous call filling the air.  Finally, and not through a lack of effort, I failed to locate any Barred Warblers or Crested Larks, both of which will have to wait for another visit.

Spotted Flycatcher - Kusey

Yellowhammer - Kusey

My next port of call was an area I was familiar with - the central 'Kern' zone near the little settlement of Buchhorst marked with the letter B on the map.  In the past I have found River Warblers here and no end of other species including Grasshopper and Great Reed Warblers, Great Grey Shrikes and Golden Oriels.  The bio-diversity here in spring and ummer is really quite astonishing.  Today's visit elicited not a great deal other than Grasshopper Warblers and Nightingales and I was disappointed not to relocate last year's River Warbler.  I did, however, come across a Collared Flycatcher - a first for me - which helpfully gave really great views.  This bird's white collar was not as extensive as shown in field guides which did raise the question of whether it could have been a Semi-collared.  Having discussed the bird's identify with a friend, we settled on the Collared variety - either way I believe that this is a good sighting for the Drömling and was a first for me.

The Drömling - river Ohre and spring landscape near Buchhorst

Collared Flycatcher - Drömling

Collared Flycatcher - Drömling

Grasshopper Warbler -  - Drömling

Other species seen in and around this central area including several White Storks, Cuckoos, Black and Red Kites, Buzzards, Lapwings, Tree Sparrows and Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers galore.

Bluethroat territory and landscape near Rühen, Drömling

Bluethroat near Rühen, Drömling

A recently arrived Red-backed Shrike near Rühen, Drömling

My final location was in the south western segment of the reserve marked by the letter C on the map.  It is located just south of the village of  Rühen and is bordered by Mittellandkanal to its north. I originally found this area after reading that Barred Warblers breed here and though I have searched frantically, I don't think they are here any more.  Never mind, today's visit delivered another new Drömling species for me - a Bluethroat which was signing its strange mechanically wheezing song from the top of a hawthorn bush.  All 5 Bluethroats that I have seen this year have been of the cyanecula type though I am sure there must be some overlap with svecica types which inhabit more northern and eastern climes.  Stonechats and Whinchats were aplenty and, not to be outdone on the chat front, a Robin showed its face too.  Finally, a male Marsh Harrier, resplendent in his spring plumage, quartered the fields.  This species is quite common here and can be seen throughout the reserve, especially during the warmer months.

Whinchat near Rühen, Drömling

Male Marsh Harrier near Rühen, Drömling

So, in summary a good visit though Spring is not yet into its full stride.  No Golden Oriels and only one Red-backed Shrike which must have very recently arrived.  It was fantastic to be able to observe Ortolan Buntings so closely and frustrating (again) not to find any Barred Warblers which seem to be turning into something of a bogey species for me.  The addition of Kusey to my Drömling repertoire is good news.  And anyway, there's always a next time for the Barred Warblers!