News Archive
Use the calendar links to the right to find articles published in that month.
Follow the ups and downs of raising a family
Three years ago our volunteer River Monitoring Co-ordinator, Susan Allen, placed a bird box and camera in her back garden, praying for something to nest. She has not been disappointed, as Great Tits have nested every year.
This year as the box and the nests have been fairly successful, she chose to record what happened to the young family of Great Tits.
Swift Action Needed For Swift Recovery
The Common Swift isn’t soaring like it should be, in fact their numbers have dived by 30% in recent years. They have now landed on the Amber list as birds of Conservation Concern, and need our help.
A destruction of nest sites is the suspected cause of the decline, in the form of demolitions, renovations and roof repairs. It is estimated that 16% of nest sites are currently under threat. An analysis of current known nesting sites show them to be present in half of houses built before 1919, 25% of houses built 1919 to 1944, and 24% of public buildings (such as schools).
Bustards on the rise on Salisbury Plain
A new set of Great Bustard chicks has hatched in Wiltshire, only the second wild set since the species was reintroduced to this country. The Great Bustard, which became extinct in Britain as a nesting bird in 1832, successfully nested last year, when two pairs fledged two chicks on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire. This year though there have been four nests with young so hopes for their survival are high.
Bird Ringing at Langford Lakes
The Calne Watch Group visited Langford Lakes on the 24th of April 2010 to observe bird ringing in action. This was under the expert guidance of Rob Turner and two of his colleagues from the Wiltshire Ornithological Society in conjunction with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Plenty of birds were ringed and there were some surprises as well.
