Conservation Lecturer, Alan Roscoe, is back to provide us with a captivating update about wildlife around the Writtle College campus. Read Alan's discoveries for the start of 2014!
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"When I was a lad (as they say) nothing was quite as thrilling as seeing a Kestrel hovering by the side of a motorway, its elegant wings braced against the wind as its finely-tuned eyes scanned for prey below, and its tail working furiously to keep its head stock-still in the breeze. The species was all the more meaningful to this young birder as it was also the emblem of the Young Ornithologists’ Club, the junior section of the RSPB at that time. (Goodness, who uses the word ‘ornithologist’ nowadays?)
"When I was a lad (as they say) nothing was quite as thrilling as seeing a Kestrel hovering by the side of a motorway, its elegant wings braced against the wind as its finely-tuned eyes scanned for prey below, and its tail working furiously to keep its head stock-still in the breeze. The species was all the more meaningful to this young birder as it was also the emblem of the Young Ornithologists’ Club, the junior section of the RSPB at that time. (Goodness, who uses the word ‘ornithologist’ nowadays?)
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| Image courtesy of Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Whilst many birds of prey have prospered in recent years
though, the Kestrel has, for reasons which are not quite clear, declined at a
rather unpleasant rate. Help is at hand however, as its plight has already been
recognised and conservation groups are taking action.
Working with Essex Birdwatching Society and our colleagues
on the College farm, we are now installing Kestrel boxes on our estate to help
encourage the local population.
This will supplement the Barn Owl boxes we put
up a couple of years ago (see below).
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| Alan Roscoe monitoring Barn Owl boxes on campus |
