Sad diver and owl news

We received news today that the Great Northern Diver we rescued from illegal netting on Carnsew Basin (more here) was found dead last week (54 days after ringing). Found by the RSPB warden for the area on a litter pick, there was no obvious reason why it had died, but sadly it wasn't fresh enough for a post-mortem examination.

There have only been 12 ever ringed in the UK, with one ringed at Selsey Bill, West Sussex, in February 1973 found just 11 days later.

We also heard that one of our breeding Barn Owls was hit by a car in Lostwithiel last week, having to be put to sleep at a local vets. This was the female from the local pair, ringed just last summer, but hopefully it's still early enough in the season for another female to take over the territory...

Great day for a diver!

Finally the wind let up long enough to get some mist-nets up, so we decided to get onto some of our farmland sites for the first time this winter! Sadly they weren't quite as productive as we'd hoped, with just 28 birds at Predannack (including three Skylark and five Song Thrush) and 32 birds at St Allen (including a rather smart male Yellowhammer).

The maize cover crop alongside the feed crop at St Allen

Just as we were leaving St Allen, we had a call from a couple of the group's ringers who were birding at Carnsew Basin, Hayle. They'd found an illegally set net across one corner of the pool which had managed to catch and entangle the regular wintering Great Northern Diver, so a rapid rescue mission was launched. With a kayak on hand just in case it was needed, we managed to safely bring the net ashore and untangle the bird (along with a few fish and crabs). After fitting a ring (a carefully-shaped L ring to fit its extremely flattened leg) it was released back onto the pool and seemed happy to go about its business. Enquiries are now underway by the local police to find out who had set the net last night.

Just 12 Great Northern Divers have ever been ringed in the UK,
the last being in Scotland in 2010