http://www.birdguides.co.uk/birdwatch Birdwatch•October 2017 77
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Ruddy hell
MARK Avery’s comment in September’s
Birdwatch (page 31) concerning the Ruddy
Duck cull was yet another attempt to defend
the indefensible. The cull was without doubt
the greatest single stain on conservation in
the last 100 years. The complicity among
so-called conservation bodies was shameful.
Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money
was squandered on killing a bird which
the government itself admitted was not
responsible for the demise (if, indeed, this
was the case) of White-headed Duck.
Not once have I met any birder who
agreed with this cull. What I and others did
see was a duck popular with the general
public being subjected to vicious harassment
by gangs of armed men in motor boats,
who mowed the birds down to save money.
Such cruelty! Many did not know a Ruddy
Duck from a Common Pochard. It was a
total asco. Some birders said that when
they tried to intervene they were subjected
to threats of violence from armed men
purporting to be culling the birds.
I assume Mark Avery will agree that we
need to cull all the Black-crowned NightBirding saved my life
A couple of years ago I was in a state of
depression and anxiety. I had suffered from
a spinal injury, a very dif cult relationship
breakdown, lost my job and ended up living
with my parents at the age of 36. As a form of
therapy I was advised to walk for at least one
hour a day, to strengthen weakened muscles in
my back and help my brain heal itself.
I have always been fascinated by the natural
world, and like many I grew up watching David
Attenborough documentaries. I had spent
the last 10 years travelling the world and
volunteering at animal rehabilitation centres in
South Africa, Belize, Indonesia, Namibia and
Ecuador. I decided to use my now ample free
time learning about wildlife in the Midlands.
Armed with a camera, a cheap, decades-old
binocular and a pocket guide to the birds of
Britain, I started to walk the towpaths of the
Staffordshire-Worcestershire and Trent-Mersey
canals around my home town of Stafford.
It didn’t take me too long to make friends
with other local birders around the area, and I
kept bumping into familiar faces everywhere I
went. I asked people who seemed to know what
they were doing to help me identify birds I had
photographed and got their advice on where to
go to see birds in Staffordshire. It seems that if
you’re polite and friendly, then most people willbe polite and friendly back, especially if you’re
willing to learn from their expertise.
Two years later and I still struggle with both
physical and mental health problems but I’m
most de nitely on the mend. I have some
more camera equipment, a better pair of bins,
a cheap and basic spotting scope, more up-
to-date eld guides and a group of local ‘bird
nerds’ I can now call my friends, who inspire me
to keep watching and learning.
Most importantly, I have a passion which has
given me a new outlook on life.
Ian Sheridan, via email- See our article on birding and wellbeing on
pages 48-50.
Tied up in Notts
DAVID Campbell’s fascinating analysis of the
recent rise in breeding attempts of Black-winged
Stilts in Britain (Birdwatch 302: 60-62)contained
one important omission. The species’ rst-ever
successful breeding attempt did not take
place at Holme, Norfolk, in 1987, as the article
suggested, but at Nottingham Sewage Farm as
long ago as 1945. At least two pairs nested
there, raising a total of three young.
Interestingly, the sewage bed holding the
nest was deliberately ooded at one stage,
requiring the emergency removal of the eggsfrom one nest and the immediate breaching
of a retaining bank. The event attracted such
ornithological luminaries as W B Alexander and
Bernard Tucker, and was later commemorated
in the logo adopted by Nottinghamshire
Birdwatchers.
However, the species has not been recorded
in the county since May 1974, and it may be
time to replace the logo with a depiction of the
European Bee-eaters nesting at East Leake!
Jason Reece, via email- David Campbell replies: “You are indeed
correct to point out that this was the true fi rst
British breeding record for Black-winged Stilt,
and apologies for the omission.”
Though a fi ne-looking duck, Ruddy Duck is
not naturally a part of the British avifauna
and poses a potential threat to endangered
White-headed Ducks on the Continent by
hybridisation.Mike Trew sent us this photo of a Marsh
Tit feeding from the hand, taken in the New
Forest, Hampshire.Herons and Little, Great and Cattle Egrets
as well, because they threaten not only Grey
Herons but also the frogs and newts they eat.
Do they eat Water Voles, a protected species?
I bet they do. That is the trouble when you
start to slaughter species – where does it end?
Richard Leighton, via email- Mark Avery replies: “Nature conservation
sometimes entails diffi cult decisions – the
Ruddy Duck cull was one of these and I’m glad
that UK conservationists didn’t shrink from it.
There were two main objections at the time:
Ruddy Ducks weren’t threatening White-
headed Ducks, and they’d be impossible to
cull.
“On the fi rst issue there was a very
strong consensus that Ruddy Ducks did
pose a risk to the already-endangered
White-headed Duck. I don’t know what
Richard Leighton means by his remark
about a government admission – that
doesn’t make sense to me. And subsequent
events have shown that a cull was possible.
Richard’s assumption in his last paragraph
is both false and silly.”1710 p77 lettersAndPhotos FIN.indd 77 15/09/2017 11:58:23