Jim's Retirement Bash!

Kite!
As I mentioned, I had just returned from Spain. I had been out to a retirement party. My former Senior Lecturer, Dissertation Supervisor, Bird-Ringing Trainer and Friend, the eminent Dr. Jim Fowler (AKA His Majesty, The Royal Maalie King) was celebrating his retirement with some 25 or so of his good friends, family, colleagues and loyal subjects. It was excellent to see some of my favourite folk there, including Kate “House Sparrow” Vincent, Will Kirby and Simon “The Minstrel to the Royal Maalie Court” Cotter, along with some of my blogging friends, including Lorenzo the Llama. Another of my favourite lecturers attended, “Drinking Ken” Stewart, who drank a bottle and half of Irish whiskey, “Crested Ten” and “Black Bush”, with me, complaining continuously that Irish make weak whiskey compared with the dirty disgusting peat-bog and wood-smoke whiskey that the Scottish prefer. Having said that, he admitted that he doesn’t but whiskey any-more preferring to have it given him. He is Scottish, after-all. It was also very rewarding to meet Judy and Dave Bullock, who I had met in the Banagher Office of Birdwatch Ireland, last year, and mistaken him for a Shetland Bullock, which I proceeded to do again on re-acquaintance this year. I was about to purchase a Batbox-3 on my return but he was able to give me some good advise on Bat-recording and waiting for the new Batbox “Duet”, which I shall do, being fed-up with buying things that don’t do the right job. Dave keeps the main data-base of UK bats. If you’re reading this Dave, in the newspaper on the plane home was an article calling for a embargo on all Irish beef products because of a proposed cull of the Irish Badger population. De Je Vous? I should also probably add here, that it was Dave the introduced the “Beaver’s Paw” tradition to Jim, which he readily adopted and uses to indicate that he is actually tell the truth for once. Graeme Mochrie was also with us, being the fellow who actually instigated the Maalie Court by effectively crowning the King.

We were very fortunate to have a number of “birders” who were much better than myself, so I never had to open my Collins Field Guide, although some of Jill’s reports were a little dodgy, including the Rough-legged Buzzard, Arctic Tern (which would have been remarkable) and the Spotless Sparrow and Muted Eagle would also surely have been picked up by “Birding Ken” Hindmarch, who I know as a fine birder from Cumbria and a pretty good ringer. Ken did remind me that our parting words last time we met, was a request from me to “Look after Jim for me”, which he has been doing a fine job of, ever-since, and I hope that he will continue in this role. Pam Moorhouse another birding friend that I have met in Cumbria and Leicester (who also has the honour of being the first woman I ever met who owned her own telescope) upset me with daily sightings of the Purple Galinule, which I managed to “Dip on”. I had only two birds on my wants list, a “two foot purple chicken” (as reported on Askam-in-Furness’s Sandscale Hawes NNR), which I managed to miss by a few weeks, and the Black Kite (which turned out to be more common than pigeons…..).

We were camping (in air-conditioned chalets) at Al Aldea campsite, which I would strongly recommend to anyone planning to visit Spain, having the virtue of been on the edge of the Donana National Park. It is rather pleasant to lie by the pool listening to Nightingales and Corn Buntings, whilst Red-rumped Swallow drink from the pool and Kites soar overhead. It also has the benefit of a very excellent bird tour guide, John Butler, who knew where to take us for almost every bird that I got on my hypothetical list, including visible Nightingales, Hoopoe, Black-shouldered Kite, Booted Eagle, Bee-eaters, Squaco, Purple, Night and even a Western Reef Heron. I refused to keep a list, on the principal that I was on holiday, but our tour-group got 69 species and I got a couple of extras after that including my first Nightjars (Red-knecked). The Eagle was my first too. Black Kite and Bee-eaters I saw on my first day ever in Shetland, with Kate and Worzel (AKA Alun AKA Snortzel), Jim’s son, the “Other Dr. Fowler”.
Glossy Ibis chicks
Spoons!
More spoons!
Bee-eater, worth a click to zoom!
Storkery
Nightingale... Click, go on!

It wasn’t a purely birding holiday for me, I spent one day at the beach with Kate and Kelly watching the locals relaxing on the beach. Strangely enough, the two girls closest to us were Irish, having a Belfast accent. I spent the following day lying around the pool getting an excellent suntan. My only regret is that I didn’t get good photos of Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Eagle, Kite or Azure-winged Magpie, or that I couldn’t get a decent mixed grill for breakfast. The Spanish know nothing about proper breakfasts.

The highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly Jim’s Big Dinner Night. We had a smashing meal followed by a few speeches from Worzel, Graeme, Dave and Jim himself, in which he said a few words about most of us, where we had entered his life, or what we’d done to it. It was worth the effort to get there just for this part of the evening. Worzel was a magnificent Master of Ceremonies, and Jim was on his best behaviour for once, only slightly runcible.
"Birding Ken", Will, Kate and Struddles.
A happy Maalie King
Story time!
More stories

White-tailed Eagles in Irish Skies.

I was at a conference, yesterday, 17 February 2007, in Dublin, with delegates from Norway, America, Scotland and the UK, of The Annual Irish Raptor Study Group

Before you read any further, there are attempts being made to block this project, and there is a petition for folk to sign at this link. White-tailed Eagle Petition. The Red Kite has been successfully reintroduced to England, with 1000+ pairs now, which is 5% of the worlds declining 20000 pairs. The White-tailed Eagle is being re-established in Scotland, RSPB and The Golden Eagle to Ireland (now 40 pairs), Irish Raptor Study Group. So, why should this project be blocked? Let’s fill the skies with Eagles again…

White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction Project!

Photo by Leirdal, click on picture to visit his Flickr site

This year sees the launch of the most exciting wildlife reintroduction programme ever undertaken in Ireland!

During the summer of 2007, the White-Tailed Sea Eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in the world, is to be reintroduced into Killarney National Park as part of a five-year project.

As part of a carefully researched programme, the Golden Eagle Trust Limited in association with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Irish White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction Group will release 15 chicks a year being brought from Norway to specific zones of the Killarney National Park.

It is hoped that after five to six years the birds will begin to breed across the wider coastal and upland regions of Kerry and West Cork. For almost a century people have been deprived of the glory of experiencing these great birds soaring again over our sea and landscapes.

The Facts

Natives

White-tailed Eagles lived in Ireland for thousands of years, before they were driven to extinction in the early 1900’s, due to poisoning, shooting and egg collecting.
Photo by ketch, click on picture to visit his Flickr site


Diet
Sea eagles are scavengers and principally feed on carrion (mainly dead whales, seals, birds, sheep, deer). They will also hunt seabirds, fish that swim near the surface of the water, rabbits, hares and fox cubs.

Breeding
Sea Eagles construct large nests of branches and twigs in trees or on cliff faces. The female lays an average of two eggs, which she incubates for about six weeks before the young fledge the nest after 7-9 weeks. The first breeding of the sea eagles would be expected in 2012.

A Common Myth

Eagles present a serious threat to livestock!

Evidence from abroad in Scandinavia and Scotland along with experience in Donegal where the Golden Eagle has been successfully re-introduced points to very limited interference with sheep and other farm animals. Norway’s 3000 eagles have never been recorded attacking or killing sheep or lambs.

In Ireland, any lambs that would potentially fall prey to the eagles would be negligible compared to those lost due to through poor husbandry, cliff-falls (over a hundred per annum on the Reeks alone) to preying by the estimated 10000 foxes dwelling in County Kerry, dog-attacks, etc.

Ambassadors of the Skies

These Majestic birds are great Ambassadors. Who cannot feel awed and inspired when seeing an Eagle soar. These creatures reconnect us to nature, inspire art and poetry and greater efforts in our daily conservation efforts. Please visit the White-tailed Eagle Petition and register your support for this pjoject.

Copyright honours to the above website at www.aniolair and the (photo contributers at flickr) for the material which I have copied and pasted here for the sake of accuracy. Please visit the site and add your name. Much Respect.