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British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:03 pm
by Fishnut
The twite, a small passerine that is found in English uplands, is likely to go extinct in the UK. It has had a 75% decline in population between 1999 and 2013 and a further 75% decline since 2016 with only 12 breeding pairs this summer. While the species is fortunately found in other parts of Europe, the population found in England is an endemic subspecies. There is another subspecies found in the Outer Hebrides which is also at risk.

The continued decline comes in the face of a recovery project that has tried to restore its habitat.
Reasons for the bird’s disappearance include less wild seed in upland meadows, climate change and the loss of tall heather in uplands, resulting in twite nesting in bracken where they appear to be more easily preyed on by stoats and weasels.

The genetic diversity and resilience of English twites may also have lessened because the population is now so small it no longer flies overseas in winter and mixes with birds from other countries, such as Norway...

In their core area of the south Pennines, large areas of grouse moor are also unsuitable for the birds because the moors are burnt and the heather is not allowed to grow tall enough for twite to nest in it.
The sooner we ban grouse shooting the better.

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:17 pm
by Grumble
Fishnut wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:03 pm
The sooner we ban grouse shooting the better.
As someone living next to the South Pennines I wholeheartedly agree. I wonder if there are any grouse hunt sabs groups?

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 5:28 pm
by jimbob
Grumble wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:17 pm
Fishnut wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:03 pm
The sooner we ban grouse shooting the better.
As someone living next to the South Pennines I wholeheartedly agree. I wonder if there are any grouse hunt sabs groups?
Likewise. The Moscar Moor estate has had a string of convictions for wildlife crimes in the 20 years I've been in the Peak District.

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 6:22 pm
by Bird on a Fire
jimbob wrote:
Fri Nov 12, 2021 5:28 pm
Grumble wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:17 pm
Fishnut wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 10:03 pm
The sooner we ban grouse shooting the better.
As someone living next to the South Pennines I wholeheartedly agree. I wonder if there are any grouse hunt sabs groups?
Likewise. The Moscar Moor estate has had a string of convictions for wildlife crimes in the 20 years I've been in the Peak District.
Wild Justice are doing some good work using activist lawyers to strengthen and seek enforcement of legislation governing grouse shooting (inter alia). Linky: https://wildjustice.org.uk/

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 8:34 pm
by jimbob
Bird on a Fire wrote:
Sat Nov 13, 2021 6:22 pm
jimbob wrote:
Fri Nov 12, 2021 5:28 pm
Grumble wrote:
Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:17 pm


As someone living next to the South Pennines I wholeheartedly agree. I wonder if there are any grouse hunt sabs groups?
Likewise. The Moscar Moor estate has had a string of convictions for wildlife crimes in the 20 years I've been in the Peak District.
Wild Justice are doing some good work using activist lawyers to strengthen and seek enforcement of legislation governing grouse shooting (inter alia). Linky: https://wildjustice.org.uk/
Thanks

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:10 am
by plodder
Broadly related is the fact that these habitats are owned by a handful of people / organisations (so should be pretty easy to target if the political will ever got there).

Significant carbon / wider habitat concerns too.

https://whoownsengland.org/2021/11/15/w ... ur-carbon/

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:42 pm
by jimbob
plodder wrote:
Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:10 am
Broadly related is the fact that these habitats are owned by a handful of people / organisations (so should be pretty easy to target if the political will ever got there).

Significant carbon / wider habitat concerns too.

https://whoownsengland.org/2021/11/15/w ... ur-carbon/
And this which I've just searched for in response to someone on Twitter saying that maybe we shouldn't reintroduce birds of prey if they keep dying... (on grouse moors in suspicious circumstances according to the story to which he was replying)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stud ... -published

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:00 am
by Bird on a Fire
jimbob wrote:
Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:42 pm
plodder wrote:
Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:10 am
Broadly related is the fact that these habitats are owned by a handful of people / organisations (so should be pretty easy to target if the political will ever got there).

Significant carbon / wider habitat concerns too.

https://whoownsengland.org/2021/11/15/w ... ur-carbon/
And this which I've just searched for in response to someone on Twitter saying that maybe we shouldn't reintroduce birds of prey if they keep dying... (on grouse moors in suspicious circumstances according to the story to which he was replying)

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stud ... -published
Red Kites, for instance, have been successfully reintroduced everywhere in the UK... Except where there are shooting estates. And attempts to understand the population trajectories simply don't make sense without including persecution.

Everyone knows it's happening, but even when gamekeepers are filmed shooting harriers at the nest they can get away with it. Historically the RSPB have been very unwilling to risk the political backlash from going up against teh rUrAl eCoNoMy (even though shooting employs basically nobody).

Turns out the handful of people who own the bl..dy places are extremely well connected, so can run organised crime gangs with impunity (see also the widespread continuation of foxhunting under the figleaf of "trail hunting").

Rewild the f.cking lot, leave the raptors alone, and I'd even be happy for folk to go out and kill grouse - they'd just have to learn to shoot first, like grouse hunters in the rest of North Europe and North America do. Driven shooting is just Victorian nonsense for talentless toff c.nts.

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 2:08 pm
by jimbob
https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/fina ... =operanews

The Upper Derwent Valley, again.

The Moscar Estate round there has had a long history of wildlife crime, with multiple gamekeepers convicted in the 20 years I've lived in the Peak District

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 6:06 pm
by EACLucifer
Bird on a Fire wrote:
Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:00 am
Rewild the f.cking lot, leave the raptors alone, and I'd even be happy for folk to go out and kill grouse - they'd just have to learn to shoot first, like grouse hunters in the rest of North Europe and North America do. Driven shooting is just Victorian nonsense for talentless toff c.nts.
This. In addition to all the other damage caused by moorland burning, it also exarcebates flooding in urban areas downstream of the moorland catchment areas. It's a class crime as well as an environmental one.

Re: British bird on brink of extinction

Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 8:22 pm
by jimbob
EACLucifer wrote:
Thu May 12, 2022 6:06 pm
Bird on a Fire wrote:
Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:00 am
Rewild the f.cking lot, leave the raptors alone, and I'd even be happy for folk to go out and kill grouse - they'd just have to learn to shoot first, like grouse hunters in the rest of North Europe and North America do. Driven shooting is just Victorian nonsense for talentless toff c.nts.
This. In addition to all the other damage caused by moorland burning, it also exarcebates flooding in urban areas downstream of the moorland catchment areas. It's a class crime as well as an environmental one.
It was very instructive walking through differently-managed moorland in the summer of 2018. It was very dry, but where moorland burning had been stopped, it was still damp and with streams. Given that they're catchments for reservoirs for drinking water, the flipside is also important.