The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: Odin on November 10, 2012, 04:37:41 am

Title: East Coast Birds
Post by: Odin on November 10, 2012, 04:37:41 am
Has anyone experienced or heard about all the birds dropping out of the sky along the East Coast after crossing the North Sea from Scandinavia ?
It was reported on Radio 4 that fisherman were experiencing thousands of migrating birds landing on anything, exhausted after the crossing. I'm sure they mentioned Thrush, Starlings & Fieldfare ? The programme was looking for a weather related explanation.
Title: Re: East Coast Birds
Post by: Mammyshaz on November 10, 2012, 07:37:33 am
I didn't hear about this, it's a bit worrying  ???
Title: Re: East Coast Birds
Post by: sabrina on November 10, 2012, 12:25:06 pm
Not heard this but the Hooper Swans arrived last week. We get them every year around this time. Must be the extrem weather that is causing the problem for the birds. Worrying right enough.
Title: Re: East Coast Birds
Post by: jaykay on November 10, 2012, 02:37:16 pm
I used to live on the east coast and every year there would be some birds in a poor way, usually after it had been very windey.

I had a guillemot living on sardines in the front porch for a while. It was a young one the dogs found collapsed on the beach. Made a good recovery after its R&R, took it to Bempton where it flew off to join the other guilles the wardens said were just offshore.
Title: Re: East Coast Birds
Post by: oor wullie on November 14, 2012, 03:38:55 pm
Had a goldcrest land on the oil rig I work on (70 miles west of Shetland) a couple of weeks ago which was in a pretty poor state (it made no objection to being picked up).
Now and again we get birds that are obviously totally lost, usually after bad weather or fog which has disorientated them.  Sadly they tend not to survive although occasionally they are given a ride home - last year we found an owl which was sent into Shetland on the helicopter (not sure what happened to it them - I presume it was handed over to the RSPB).