PEMBROKESHIRE BIRD CONFERENCE – 1ST
DECEMBER 2019
A BRIEF REVIEW
The Picton Centre in Haverfordwest was full to
capacity for the 2019 Pembrokeshire Bird Conference. Chris
Taylor in his introduction to the day, welcomed everyone and thanked Valero
for their continued support for the event.
David
Astins gave a detailed and absorbing account of the
birding highlights of the past year in the Pembrokeshire Bird Diary. As well as reporting some notable occurrences
such as Ortolan Bunting, American Golden Plover, Stone Curlew, Myrtle Warbler
and a Sanderling ringed in Mauretania, David noted some highs and lows of bird
populations in the County. Whilst Goldfinches, Puffins and Harriers appear to
be on the increase and a high of 157 Chough fledged, diving ducks are scarce, some
gull numbers are crashing and farmland bird populations such as Yellowhammer
are in trouble.
Next came Kelvin
Jones of the British Trust for Ornithology who gave a whistle-stop
account of the history, goals and activities of the Trust. In particular he
stressed the large number of surveys and schemes that volunteers can engage
with to increase knowledge on bird populations and movements, the importance of
reporting bird observations to Bird Track and the opportunities for training
and mentoring.
Arfon
Williams of the RSPB spoke about issues affecting birds
and farming in Wales. Some species such as corncrake and turtle dove are now
extinct as breeding birds in the Principality, and many traditional farmland
species are declining fast. The reasons for the situation include inappropriate
land use/management; changing farming practices; pollution; climate change and
invasive non-native species. Subsidy payments through EU agriculture policy and
the CAP have incentivised intensification and habitat destruction and 8,000
farms have been lost in Wales since its introduction. He declared some optimism following the
formation of the ‘Nature Friendly Farming Network’ and the development of an
increasing understanding amongst farmers that they must work with and not
against nature.
James
Roden of the National Trust continued the theme of
environmentally damaging practices referring to the depressing status of the
UK’s natural resources as reported in the ‘State of Nature Report 2019’. He is working with National Trust tenants to
improve the environmental quality of the land with a goal of bringing 50% of
holdings up to High Nature Status as soon as possible and a longer-term
ambition of all land holdings achieving HNS by 2025. James identified the decline in arable
farming and the rise in monoculture grass leys as being major contributors to
the decline in biodiversity and this has been demonstrated through major
volunteer surveys on NT land recently.
A delicious lunch was followed by the formal
Bird Group AGM and an auction conducted by David Gardner for a private Warden
guided visit to Ramsey Island with picnic and sea bird boat safari that raised
£300 and one of David’s photographs that raised £25. The raffle raised a further £239 so thanks to
everyone who contributed so generously.
Chris
Taylor returned to the microphone to give a brief
introduction to a programme of monthly Pembrokeshire Bird Group outdoor
meetings to be initiated from January in 2020.
Details of the first 6 meetings were circulated and all are welcome to
attend. These meetings, which will be
held at different outdoor venues each month, will include both expert and
amateur birdwatchers and will be an opportunity to learn, share and have fun,
tea and cake apparently being an important component of the day.
Seabirds are a subject dear to ex Skomer Warden
Stephen Sutcliffe’s heart and he gave an in-depth account of the current
status of sea birds in Pembrokeshire. Surprisingly to many, Shags are the scarcest
of the familiar sea birds locally and they are continuing to decline in numbers
whereas populations of Cormorants, the second scarcest species, appear
relatively stable. Numbers of Great Black-backed
gulls, the largest gulls in the world, are small but now stable, whilst Kittiwakes
are now extinct as mainland breeders and are in serious decline. Herring gulls
are also really struggling with large declines in numbers, but a significant
proportion of the Pembrokeshire population is found on Caldey Island, which supports
one of the largest colonies in the UK. Lesser
Black-backed gull numbers are recovering from a reduction of 25% since 1963 and
now appear stable. Thankfully, the auks are doing well with Razorbill,
Guillemot and Puffin populations all increasing contrary to reports of
declining numbers from elsewhere in the UK.
The Grassholm Gannet colony, which appears stable with around 35 – 40
thousand pairs, is the third largest in the UK, whilst the population of
Pembrokeshire’s commonest sea bird, the Manx Shearwater, is increasing with
340K pairs on Skomer, 90K pairs on Skokholm and 6K pairs on Ramsey comprising
50% - 70% of the world population. Reasons
for the widely varying fortunes of Pembrokeshire’s sea birds are still not
fully understood.
Following the sea bird theme, Martyna Syposz, a Research
Student from Oxford University, gave an account of her on-going study of the
effects of light pollution on Manx Shearwaters.
Young shearwaters in particular are known to experience navigation
difficulties and to ground in areas affected by light pollution, situations
which often require them to be rescued in order to allow them to continue their
migration flights to their winter feeding grounds off South America. Adults do not seem to be adversely affected
but juveniles suffering from disorientation and misorientation leading to
grounding appear to be influenced by low natural light, onshore winds and
artificial light pollution. 56 out of
113 Procellariformes species are known to be affected worldwide. Martyna’s
studies are ongoing to identify causes and possible remedies, but a reduction
in light pollution sources would be a major benefit.
Mick
Brown, Arctic and Antarctic guide and photographer, provided
a perfect end to the day with a fascinating review of the history, form and
function of feathers, beautifully illustrated with photographs. Mick explained that from the enormous tail
feathers of male peacocks to the tiny feathers of penguins, feathers have a
range of functions from insulation from cold, heat and UV light to display, sexual
identification and attraction, and to camouflage, nest lining and, of course,
flight. Originating during the time of
the dinosaurs, feathers have undergone many structural changes and are highly
specialised in design. They require regular attention through preening and
oiling to keep them in condition and have to be replaced through regular moults.
A chaffinch might have up to 2,000 feathers but some birds have tens of
thousands, and surprisingly, a bird’s feather coat weighs more than its hollow
skeleton! Mick noted the considerable
use that humans have made, and continue to make, of feathers for personal
adornment, clothing and fabrics, headdresses, jewellery, pillows, quilts,
mattresses, and particularly the millinery trade, and the vast quantities of
birds that were killed to provide the trade.
Thankfully, opposition to the trade has led to conservation movements to
protect birds in more enlightened times.
David
Gardner rounded off the event with a summary of the
day’s talks and a plea for everyone present to enlist as volunteers for the
many on-going surveys and projects being run by the organisations represented
at the Conference and to put the programme of Pembrokeshire Bird Group outdoor
meetings in their diaries for 2020.
Outdoor
Meetings
Occasional outdoor meetings take place with the Mid
Pembs Group of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales
and will be advertised on the Pembrokeshire Birds Blog as well as on the
Pembrokeshire Bird Group Blog, and in the Bird Group Newsletter.