Phil reminded me of the disgraceful time in NZ history when people were paid a bounty to kill Australasian harriers. Hundreds of thousands of harriers were killed early last century to protect people's chickens and game birds (and sheep, allegedly).
"In NZ, between 1923 and 1938, bounties were paid for feet of harriers; Auckland Acclimatisation Society paid bounties for 200,000 harriers ... and in 1930s and 1940s, Otago Acclimatisation Society paid bounties for 26,184 harriers in 7 years."
#history #birds #persecution #shooting #conservation #nz #harriers
The flow of migratory soaring #Birds continues and with careful positioning we have been right in the flow of this migration party!
Experiencing thousands of soaring Egyptian #Vultures, Booted and Short-toed #Eagles, European Honey #Buzzards, Montagu´s and Marsh #Harriers, Black Kites and Black and White #Storks all coming together overhead to make the challenging crossing of The #Straits.
Awesome #FlywayBirding!
Our guests have been enjoying some magical #FlywayBirding here at the epicentre of migration in The #Straits !
A near constant flow of European Honey #Buzzards, shadowed by the ever flowing Black #Kites, increasing numbers of Booted and Short-toed #Eagles, Egyptian #Vultures, Montagu’s #Harriers, Black #Storks with dazzling arrays of White Storks in their thousands !
This IS the #migration party to be at !
Here a migrating Booted Eagle takes a swerve to check us out ☺️
Yesterday the flow of migrating #Birds was near constant !
3,483 Black #Kites headed the pack and filled The #Straits joined by 122 Short-toed #Eagles, a handful of Booted Eagles, European Honey Buzzards, Egyptian Vultures, Marsh and Montagu’s #Harriers, thousands of mesmerising White Storks and 3 Black #Storks.
Going the opposite way several returning Griffon #Vultures crossed north into Europe and were accompanied by an immature (untagged) 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄-𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 !
We got ourselves in the flow of migrating soaring #Birds yesterday with 12 European Honey #Buzzards, 915 Black #Kites, 79 Booted and 75 Short-toed #Eagles, Black #Storks, Montagu´s and Marsh #Harriers, Egyptian #Vulture and returning Griffon #Vultures !
Meanwhile downtown a gorgeous and unexpected male 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 joined the migration party! Normally breeding across Eastern Europe it is a welcome vagrant!
(Thanks to #amigo Ricky Owen for news on the Flycatcher!)
After the stormy conditions subsided it was a great arrival day for our students from Bangor University !
Here to study the #migration, they were directly in the magical flow of soaring migratory #Birds !
715 Black #Kites, 683 Booted Eagles, 202 Short-toed #Eagles, 93 Griffon Vultures, 2 Egyptian #Vultures, Eurasian #Sparrowhawks, #Osprey, Marsh #Harriers, and both Black and White #Storks!
Our private boat trip brought us delightful encounters with migratory Fin #Whale plus Bottle-nosed, Striped & Common #Dolphins as masses of Atlantic #Puffins poured through
In the Los #Alcornocales - Common #Firecrest, Short-toed #Treecreepers, Crested Tits, #Iberian Chiff-chaffs, Western Bonelli’s #Warbler & Eurasian Golden #Oriole
An hours session at our chosen watchpoint in the flow of 872 Booted & 122 Short-toed #Eagles, Black #Kites, 2 Ospreys, Marsh #Harriers and Eurasian #Sparrowhawks
Jon Sullivan
IngloriousBustards
DanH