RSPB - Birds of Prey

The RSPB have been running a campaign to protect all species of Birds of Prey. They continue to be killed although it is illeagle to do so. The RSPB have great support for these magnificent birds. You can follow their campaign on the following link and also add your support.
If you would like to chat about the work they are doing this is the place to do so.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/birdsofprey/index/asp

littlewid-x-

I thought this was an interesting article and food for thought.

The RSPB's eagle owl dilemma
Local people have known about the existence of a pair of eagle owls on the RSPB's upland reserve at Geltsdale since they first bred there in 2009, but the presence of these incredible birds with their 6 foot wingspan is something that the RSPB had been doing its best to keep under tight wraps. That is until questions started being asked in the media, and the RSPB finally had to admit to the pair, which this year fledged two young.

According to the RSPB, they were not quite ready to publicise the presence of their eagle owls at Geltsdale because the balance of risk to the birds was unfavourable. In stark contrast, however, the charity was only too happy to publicise the pair of rare purple herons that nested for the first time in the UK in May this year, despite the fact that the young had still to hatch. It believed the risk of doing so was very small, and a viewing station was even provided so that visitors could share the historic moment.

Why then does the society have a different attitude towards publicising the successful breeding pair of eagle owls on its showcase moorland reserve? The RSPB's problem with eagle owls is that they are top predators and, like other birds of prey, eat lots of other birds. With most birds of prey that is not an issue, but the eagle owl has a particular taste for hen harriers which are the RSPB's favourite raptor. Only last month an eagle owl was caught on CCTV attacking a hen harrier in the Forest of Bowland. The hen harrier has not been seen since, and its nest failed.

Back at Geltsdale this is the fourth year running that hen harriers have failed to breed on the reserve. When hen harriers fail to breed on grouse moors the RSPB uses their absence as conclusive evidence that hen harriers are being persecuted, by implication to protect shooting interests. If we assume that the RSPB is not going to accuse itself of illegal persecution one of the factors contributing to the failure of hen harrier nests might well be predation by eagle owls.

One therefore cannot help wondering when the RSPB will finally have to admit that some raptors, in some circumstances, may need to be managed. A fact that many conservationists have recognised for a long time; but one which the RSPB has so far failed to acknowledge.

Lai

My thoughts on this were that maybe the RSPB were trying to protect the Eagle Owls from being taken out by man because of some people feelings towards them because of their predation on other birds. Then I found this from the World Owl Trust and it kind of supports what I was thinking.

No doubt many of you will have seen the marvellous film (Natural World, BBC 2, November 16 & 20), which gave the news of the return of the European Eagle Owl as a breeder in the UK. The more observant amongst you will also have registered the fact that the Trust was involved in the making of this film, so no doubt you will be wondering what our stance is over this controversial event. I am sure you will not be surprised to learn that opinions are much divided over whether the birds currently breeding and being seen in ever-increasing numbers in Britain, are the ‘genuine article’ or simply birds which have been deliberately released or ‘lost’/escaped from captivity.
I summarize the WOT’s position as follows:

There is fossil evidence, first-hand observations of birds in the wild, plus anecdotal and a few confirmed reports (eg. Galloway, Invernesshire, and Sutherland) of Eagle Owls breeding in Britain before the Yorkshire pair, plus many instances of undoubted ‘escaped’ or deliberately released birds in England. The old literature gives many examples of birds being ‘taken’ (ie. ‘shot’) in a wide range of counties, as well as many ‘seen’.
The WOT has never released European Eagle Owls into the wild in the UK.
While we formerly considered any Eagle Owls seen or breeding in England as ‘suspect’, we have always believed that genuine wild birds were present and breeding in very small numbers in parts of Scotland. Our work in Finland demonstrated the difficulty of locating this species in the wild, due to the large size of their territories and their ability to stay hidden (as was clearly shown in the film). In the light of the evidence presented in the film, we now consider that any Eagle Owl reports must in future be treated with an open mind unless there is clear and indisputable evidence (e.g. unnatural tameness, presence of jesses or rings, etc.) that these may be ex-captive individuals.
Rather than it being incumbent on ‘believers’ to prove that observed Eagle Owls are genuine wild individuals, as in the past, we now believe it is for the ‘unbelievers’ to prove they aren’t!
While we accept that the Eagle Owl is a formidable predator well capable of taking a wide range of prey – including other owls and diurnal birds of prey - it also takes a great many corvids, rats and in particular, rabbits which Man usually regards as vermin. We regard predation by any predator as ‘natural’, even when the victim is something we ‘like’.
We regard the confirmation of the Eagle Owl as a resident breeder in Britain as an exciting event on a par with the reintroduction of the White-tailed Sea Eagle and reinforcement of the Red Kite population, and would draw attention to the fact that no-one complains about the Little Owl - which was a full introduction to Britain. We suggest that the opposition to the Eagle Owl is perhaps down to its size and expertise as a predator rather than being based on scientific fact or logic. We believe the British Ornithologists Union should now add it to the official list of British birds and that the species should receive the same protection as any other bird of prey or owl, perhaps even being placed on Schedule 1.
The above remarks do not apply to any other species or subspecies of Eagle Owl (such as the commonly kept Indian (Bengal) Eagle Owl (Bubo bengalensis) or Turkmenian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo turcomanus) which should be recaptured if seen in a ‘wild’ state in the UK.
Tony Warburton

littlewid-x-