What we do now
Our projects
We have closed to the visiting public and yes, this really is permanent. All bar one of my birds have now been rehomed. Instead, we are putting all our resources into practical conservation.
England
Hen Harriers
BROOD MANAGEMENT
We have been working on the somewhat controversial hen harrier six-point plan. On point 6 of the plan our brief has been the Brood Management trial from 2018 – 2022 which was then extended until 2024 when as a trial it will cease and start again under a difference license and we are not sure how that will work at this point.
We are very proud that the work we have done has succeeded towards increasing the number of fledged chicks in 2022 to 119 young in the wild, and 141 chicks fledged in 2023 with more to come before the end of the trial part of the programme in 2024. This is a very special programme and has come some way to disprove some of the comments made by those who have been against it.
To understand what is happening, one has to understand the problem. Moors in northern England and Scotland are utilised for grouse shooting. Now, whether or not you approve of shooting, it happens and has done so for centuries since the gun was invented. In fact without grouse shooting the moors are not managed which in turn means that the fox population rockets up and the ground nesting birds – merlin, hen harriers, oyster catchers, plovers and so on, have their young eaten. A catch 22 situation.
Grouse can’t be bred in captivity in the vast numbers (immorally vast numbers I might say) that pheasants, partridge and mallard are, so grouse shooting relies on natural breeding. Unfortunately, hen harriers are adept at taking baby grouse to rear their own young. Sadly brood management does not solve the problem completely, but it does show a different way forward, that can have an impact and should not be dismissed without trying.
THE SOUTHERN RELEASE
Alongside Brood Management, the 5th point in the government’s plan is the Southern release. This is a programme to endeavour to breed, and then release, Hen Harriers back into Southern England. Unlike the Hen Harriers in the North of England, the now long extinct southern birds nested in crops rather than heather. We needed birds from the same latitude to start the breeding project.
So young rehabilitated Hen Harriers from France and Spain have subsequently arrived at ICBP in 2022/3 and we are hoping that they will settle enough to breed.
Unlike the Hen Harriers in the UK which are only now found in Northern England, Wales and Scotland and all breed in moorland habitat, the Hen Harriers in France and Spain tend to nest in crops. This can lead to problems over there because they nest on the ground and as the harvesting is earlier in warmer climes, the nests and young can be destroyed by machinery harvesting the crops
Hen Harriers, as far as we know have not been bred in captivity. The whole of the Harrier family tend to be quite nervous and flighty in captivity, so we are facing a somewhat difficult task ahead.
However the birds are here, they have settled well and are in excellent condition so all we can do now is cross our fingers and wait to see what happens. In the UK, because we are in a colder climate, we tend to harvest later in the summer and the Hen Harrier young should have fledged by then. We are relatively confident on the release side as the young released in the north of England that were reared here have done very well in terms of survival and learning to hunt for themselves.
It is an interesting project, one we are delighted to be involved in and hope that it proves to be successful.
England
Long eared owl
We are also working on a Long-eared Owl conservation breeding project to increase the numbers in the wild in the UK. We are working with the Hawk and Owl Trust (HOT) and the Scottish Owl Centre on this project. Surveys looking at winter roosts, spring and summer nesting are taking place now. We have already got six pairs together. There is much to do, but it is another very viable project for us to be involved in and use our expertise and share with others.
Southeast Asia
NEPAL
We are still involved in the vulture conservation programme in southeast Asia. In Nepal all the captive vultures have been released and the breeding programme ceased as the wild population of vultures is now stable and slowly increasing. The teams in Nepal have done the most amazing job and should be congratulated for their excellent work.
Nepal is the only country that has officially recognised Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs) and is also the only country with stable and increasing populations of vultures. This really does go to show that if NSAIDs are banned and monitored, then the population will recover. If NSAIDs are still in use and not monitored then the populations will continue to decline elsewhere.
A recent piece of research on how effective the bans of NSAIDs can be has shown us the real picture and how far we have to go to success. The ban of Ketoprofen (another NSAID toxic to vultures) took fourteen years to achieve. During those 14 years the vulture population declined at a rate of 50% each year. That is a terrifying figure particularly with species that are very slow to reproduce.
Southeast Asia
INDIA
India has done well with the conservation breeding but has not managed to move forward in the Vulture Safe Zones which is a great shame as they desperately need to start releasing birds having over 800 in captivity.
But, until the environment is safe it would be unwise to start releases. The SAVE website gives a great deal more information on all the countries involved in the vulture crisis.
India, in comparison to Nepal, is a huge country, divided into different States with different priorities which makes coordinated conservation work difficult. It also has to be said that Tigers are much more likely to evoke public interest than vultures, although vultures do actually do vital work for the environment.
what's next?
We are advising and will be involved in a project on the Falkland Islands involving the Striated Caracara also known as Jonny Rook. We have kept various species of Caracaras over the years including the Striated Caracara and we have bred them as well. They are undoubtedly the most intelligent of birds of prey and fascinating to work with. We have visited to see, first hand, what they are up against.
Hopefully over the years there will be more projects that can benefit from our expertise in conservation breeding, release techniques and programmes, husbandry and management of birds of prey in captivity, handing of wild birds of prey and field work.
YOU CAN HELP
None of the above would be possible without the help and support of others. You can make a difference and help us to help them. Whatever you can afford is much appreciated.
We are eternally grateful for those who leave a legacy to the ICBP, as they make a huge difference to our conservation work. For further information please contact us
