Making Room For Wild Birds In Britain

Forest and Bird, Issue 153, 1 August 1964, Page 16

Making Room For Wild Birds In Britain

By

SYLVIA ADBURGHAM

(well known London journalist and featrire writer)

In the United Kingdom more is now being done for the protection of wild birds than anywhere else in the world. There is a growing concern for their welfare as the population increases and urbanisation spreads.

Unfortunately, the human way of life is often detrimental to that of the wild creatures and, without intention, man can become an enemy. It is essential for birds to be within easy reach of their natural food supply and cover for their nesting and breeding purposes. They suffer when ousted from their chosen habitats through the spreading of towns, the mechanisation of farmlands, timber clearance, land drainage, and through the industrial pollution of waterways. Those unable to adapt themselves to these conditions must eventually leave the country to breed elsewhere.

Protection by Law

The most recent Act for the protection of birds became law in 1954, and includes nearly all wild birds, their nests and eggs; it makes anyone found breaking this law liable to a fine or imprisonment. The Act is supported by the various groups and societies concerned with the preservation of wildlife, whose policy is to preserve the greatest number and variety of birds possible in their natural surroundings and to ensure that the rarer species do not become extinct.

There are now 84 National Nature Reserves in Britain, in which wildlife can flourish with the minimum of disturbance. The largest reserve is situated in the Cairngorm mountain region of Scotland and contains some of the rarer birds, including the golden eagle. The scientific service of the Nature Conservancy, . a Government body, is at present investigating the use of poisonous chemicals in agriculture and their effect on wildlife. An experimental station for this type of research and other scientific studies is being planned. During the past seven years the conservancv has given help and information to the Colonial Office about overseas plants and animals.

After 100 Years’ Absence

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds .owns or maintains at least 13 bird sanctuaries. One of these, in the East Anglian region of England, is a salt-marsh site where the avocet, a beautiful wading bird with a long up-curving beak, has recently re-estab-lished itself after a century’s absence from Britain. The society is hoping that the osprey, a fish-eating hawk, will start breeding again on the Scottish lochs; ruthless killing for the sake of its decorative feathers during the 19th century, and egg stealing then and since, have made this bird an infrequent breeder in Britain. During the first eight months of 1960, a day-and-night watch was kept over the nest of a pair of ospreys in a north-of-Scotland sanctuary. Only after the eggs were hatched was the public allowed to watch the birds from an observation hide.

One of the RSPB’s major aims is to get an international agreement on the prohibition of oil-pollution by ships at sea, which causes the death of thousands of sea birds. Steps have also been taken to safeguard migratory birds on their night flights from the danger of crashing into lanterns of lighthouses. In some cases the entire lighthouse is now floodlit so as to be visible to the birds.

At the stations and observatories set up by the British Trust of Ornithology, there are living quarters for individual and cooperative research, and a harmless apparatus is available specially designed for catching specimen birds for close study or for “ringing” (fastening a small identification ring to one leg so that migratory movements can be checked). The first of these stations was built in 1933 on Skokholm Island, off the Welsh coast, a favourite breeding ground for various kinds of sea birds. There are a number of these stations on other island and coastal sites round Britain and at junctions of migratory routes.

Refuges for Wildfowl

Under the Protection of Birds Act and private enterprises, several refuges have been established for wildfowl, which were for long at the mercy of traps and guns because of their food value. The most widely known of these refuges was started by Peter Scott, the famous author and painter, who takes a keen and active interest in the wildfowl group of birds. The refuge is in the west of England on the

estuary of the River Severn in the county of Gloucestershire, and it is managed by the Severn Wildfowl Trust.

One hundred and sixty different species of geese, ducks, and swans from all parts of the world live here in separate pens, each containing natural cover and watercourses. “Hides” are made available to bird watchers when, during December to March, large flocks of Siberian geese fly in to feed along the estuary. The trust has its headquarters and laboratory on the site, membership is open to all, and visitors to the refuge are welcome. Information concerning birds is spread by means of films, lectures, radio and television programmes, and by the press. The result has been a growing enthusiasm for field studies and for bird watching in recent years.