BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #10

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Q&A
We solve your
baling wildlife
mysteries.


More amazing facts at
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This month’s panel







STUART BLACKMAN RICHARD JONES POLLY PULLAR MIKE TOMS LAURIE JACKSON IMOGENE CANCELLARE AMY-JANE BEER SARAH McPHERSON
Science writer Entomologist Naturalist and author Ornithologist Ecologist Biologist and conservationist Naturalist and author Q&A editor
















































BIRDS
Why are birds of paradise


so spectacular?



There are probably various females pick out males against the
Acontributing factors. First, the birds' cluttered and complex background of the
polygynous mating system, in which a few understorey habitat in which they display.
males monopolise most of the females, Despite the astonishing diversity of
leads to intense competition between displays among the 39 species, they are The king bird of paradise,
Tim Laman/naturepl.com male quality to the choosy – and far more same family (Paradisaeidae), so share that is the smallest and most
all very closely related, belonging to the
males. Exaggerated displays advertise
found in the lowland
forests of New Guinea,
propensity for colour and choreography.
drab – females. Second, choreographed
brightly coloured of the
movements and bright plumage help
Stuart Blackman
39 species of ‘BoPs’.
October 2018 BBC Wildlife 109

OURWILD WORLD




CRUSTACEANS
Whydoesahermit

crab change its shell?



Lacking a protective exoskeleton, a
A hermit crab uses the vacated shell
of a mollusc as a temporary safe house,
but must find a series of bigger homes
as it grows. Finding a shell exactly the
right size can prove difficult, and can
result in bizarre house-swap chains. If a
crab locates one that’s not the right size,
it will wait nearby until another crab
looking for a new shell arrives. When
More than 100,000 that crab sheds its old home and takes
red wood ants may live the empty shell, our first crab moves in
in each colony, creating to that newly vacated one, casting off its
a large nest with leaf
litter or pine needles. own, which is then adopted by a smaller
crab... and so on. The number of house-
swaps each crab undertakes in its life
INSECTS
varies depending on water temperature,
Which ant creates the largest nests? habitat and species. Polly Pullar


Ant hills made by the yellow meadow the size of camper vans, suggesting colony Hermit crab:
A ant, and the heaped leaf-litter nests populations of six million ants. serial house-
of wood ants, always look impressive but However, the largest colonies may be swapper.
pale into insignificance compared with those of the Argentine ant Linepithema
the subterranean cities of exotic species. humile, an invasive ‘tramp’ species native to
In Central and South America, the South America. In North America, Japan,
interconnected labyrinth of brood chambers, Australia, South Africa and Europe, where
fungus gardens (using those cut leaves as the species has been accidentally introduced,
compost) storage silos and waste storage neighbouring colonies have mingled and
facilities of leafcutter ants can reach the united to form supercolonies. The main
size of a tennis court. Experiments in which supercolony in Europe, spanning 6,000km 2
latex or plaster is poured into these tunnels, in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, may
then excavated, have revealed structures comprise half a billion ants. Richard Jones







There might seem to BRITISH BIRDS
be too many lesser
black-backed gulls in Why are gulls of
cities, but numbers
conservation concern?
are falling nationwide.


Though urban breeding populations of
Aboth herring gull and lesser black-backed
gull seem to be increasing, numbers at rural
and coastal breeding colonies are in sharp
decline. Yet rather than simply moving from Ant nest: Alex Hyde/naturepl.com; crab: Alex Mustard/2020Vision/NPL; gull: Nick Upton/Alamy; bee: Kim Taylor/naturepl.com
coast to city, data from monitoring programmes
indicate that national populations have declined.
Herring gull numbers are thought to be at their
lowest since counts began in the late 1960s,
hence it appears on the red list of birds of
conservation concern; the lesser black-backed
gull is on the amber list. Once data from the
latest gull survey, due for completion in 2019,
are analysed we will have a better understanding
of how gull populations are changing in
different parts of their ranges. Mike Toms




110 BBC Wildlife October 2018

OURWILD WORLD





3 questions on

RACCOONS



DO OTHER SPECIES CARRY
RACCOON ROUNDWORM?
Raccoon roundworm
Baylisascaris
procyonis is a
widespread
parasitic worm
found across
North America.
Its definitive host

Having chewed is the raccoon, and it
a hole in the base reaches sexual maturity
of a comfrey flower in the intestines of its host animal.
with its mandibles, a Though the parasite tends to afect
bumblebee extends
its tongue into the carnivores, it also infects small
corolla to ‘rob’ nectar. mammals and birds, and can cause
severe neurological disease in humans
if infections (contracted via the
faeces) are untreated.




WHY DID A
RACCOON SCALE
AN OFFICE BLOCK
IN MINNESOTA?
Raccoons are well-adapted to
urban environments, but like
all wildlife, they can
experience stress, which they
often respond to by climbing.
The female that scaled the
walls of the concrete tower in
St Paul, Minnesota, was trying
to escape the well-meaning
humans attempting to rescue
her from a second-story ledge. She
climbed 25 storeys before she was
eventually rescued and released.

ECOLOGY
What is nectar robbing? ARE CITY RACCOONS
CLEVERER THAN THEIR
COUNTRY COUSINS?
The ancient relationship between resourceful foragers bite holes through Raccoons may have increased
A flowering plants and pollinators the corolla to gain access to nectaries. adaptive abilities in response to novel Raccoon top to bottom: Harris Hui/Getty; Raimund Linke/Getty; Shattil & Rozinski/naturepl.com
is based on cooperation: one is given Flowers such as comfrey, aquilegia situations, and the cognitive demands
help with reproduction, while the other and honeysuckle commonly bear the of urban settings might be responsible
earns a high-energy meal. Delve deeper, mark of a thief. Buff-tailed and red-tailed for recent claims that city raccoons
though, and it becomes clear that this bumblebees are known to pilfer, and can solve the same problems (such as
is a complicated relationship. learn this behaviour from one another; opening rubbish bins) faster than their
Flowers use an astounding array other bees are not averse to using the rural counterparts. This is unsurprising
of shapes, colours and scents to holes created by these thieves. given the problem-solving abilities
entice their preferred pollen porters; Interestingly, research shows that demonstrated by other urban
for example, deep, tubular flowers nectar robbers don’t necessarily have a species, such as coyotes and
are accessible to only the longest negative effect on a plant’s ability to set bullfinches.
tongues. However, many short- seed, and many bee species combine Imogene
tongued bees have learned to sidestep theft with honest foraging. Cancellare
this inconvenient anatomy. These Laurie Jackson




October 2018

OURWILD WORLD






INVERTEBRATES

What is the diference between

a grub, a caterpillar and a nymph?



These are names for the immature nymphs. If in doubt, it’s usually safe
Aforms of insects whose life history to use the broadest term, larva – a bit
involves a metamorphosis. In some, of a catchall that can also be used
such as house fly maggots, beetle for the young forms of other
grubs, crane-fly leatherjackets and animals that undergo some form
moth and butterfly caterpillars, the of developmental metamorphosis,
transformation happens all in one go, including amphibian tadpoles,
during an intermediate pupal stage. In lamprey ammocoetes, crab
the case of dragonflies, mayflies and zoea, sea urchin plutei,
grasshoppers, however, metamorphosis the planulae of jellyfish,
is gradual, each youngster passing corals and anemones,
through several developmental stages and literally dozens A caterpillar feasts on
milk parsley before
(instars) separated by a moult. These of crustacean forms.
pupating, to emerge
forms are known collectively as Amy-Jane Beer as a spectacular
swallowtail butterfly.




The Explainer DISEASE
Do wild animals get cancer?
Evolutionarily
stable strategy Wild animals do indeed get cancer – causing their numbers to plummet by
Athough because cancer tends to be a up to 80 per cent. Sea turtles suffer from a
disease of older age, and because life in the cancer called fibropapilloma, which forms
wild is often brutal and short, few animals obvious tumours on the flippers and around
will manage to live long enough for cancer the mouth and eyes. The incidence of
to take hold. fibropapilloma has increased ten-fold over
There are, though, some notable the past decade, and there are suspicions
exceptions. An infectious and lethal cancer that pollution is to blame.
known as devil facial tumour disease, which But it’s only a suspicion. In fact, the roles
is spread by biting and was first identified of environmental problems in the incidence
in 1996, has devastated Tasmanian devil of cancers among wildlife have barely been
populations over the past two decades, studied at all scientifically. SB



Tasmanian devil
Male walrus: facial tumour disease
unlucky in love is a transmissible
(mostly)
cancer alicting this
marsupial carnivore.
The concept of evolutionarily
stable strategies emerged from
the mathematical discipline
known as game theory. A strategy Caterp
is evolutionarily stable if it cannot
be bettered – as long as most
of the population adopts it. This
helps explain, for example, the
evolution of cooperation; how
animals make decisions about tasmanian devil: Dave Watts/naturepl.com; treehopper: Lucas Bustamante/naturepl.com ar: Terry Wh ttaker/2020VISION/NPL; wa rus: Theo A
when they should fight or flee;
and why most species produce
equal numbers of males and
females, even though a minority
of males in many species (such as
walrus) father the majority
of ofspring. SB ofs/M nden/FLPA;




112 BBC Wildlife October 2018

OURWILD WORLD









What

is it?



ALIEN VERSUS PREDATORS
The treehopper is the cyborg of the
insect world, with bizarre projections
and protuberances sprouting from
its thorax. The precise function of
these extreme enhancements is
rather mysterious. They may play a
part in physical protection or mate
attraction. Or they could serve as
resonators for the amplification of
acoustic signals. In the case of the
tropical American species Alchisme
grossa, though, camouflage is at least
part of the story. And any predator
that sees through the thorn-like
disguise still has to contend with an
arsenal of toxic chemicals harnessed
from the sap that the bugs suck from
wild potato plants. SB









































































October 2018 BBC Wildlife 113

OURWILD WORLD







3





















1


3
2
































NATIONAL PARKS OF THE WORLD Area: 2,273km² Highest peak: 2,884m Area of Grey Glacier: 270km²



TorresdelPaine Patagonia, Chile




Whattosee
Named for the ‘blue towers’
1 PUMA 2 GUANACO 3 OTHER SPECIES
– three sheer granite peaks

that loom over its teal-hued Whentogo
lakes – this windswept Weather in Patagonia
Though not strictly a Believed to be the Spot Andean condor is notoriously
landscape of pampas
big cat, this predator wild ancestor of the soaring thermals fickle at any time.
grassland, lenga forest, – which can grow domesticated llama, among the high November–March
glaciers and jagged rock to nearly 2m long the guanaco is a peaks, watch for (summer) is best
and over 100kg – is hardy camelid that ostrich-like Darwin’s for hiking, while
spires attracts trekkers and both impressive and grazes and browses rhea, and admire the June–August can
wildlife-watchers alike.Along elusive, and known Andean foothills and vivid scarlet flowers offer good sightings
of pumas hunting
with 26 species of mammal, as the‘ghost cat’.The slopes up to 4,250m of the Chilean firetree the guanacos that
population density in altitude.Far from in spring. If you’re gather in large herds
including the elusive puma, Patagonia is among camera-shy,the really fortunate you in winter.

it’s home to at least the highest, and this park’s 3,000 or so might spot a huemul,

115 bird species and an park offers relatively guanacos can be seen an Endangered south GO THERE WITH
reliable sightings. migrating in groups. Andean deer. •Natural World Safaris
array of unique flora. •Naturetrek Illustration by Bex Glover
•Wildlife Worldwide
Spotability IF YOU’RE LUCKY GUARANTEED LIKELY




114 BBC Wildlife October 2018

OURWILD WORLD




WORKING FOR NATURE


StevenAllain




Amphibian and reptile surveys, Cambridgeshire





All over the Herpetologist Steven is

world devoted on a mission to improve
habitats for reptiles
individuals are and amphibians.
doing their bit

by volunteering
to be involved

with wildlife.
Jo Price meets

Cambridgeshire’s
online amphibian

and reptile

records veriier.


















S teven has been volunteering for the S Myproudest Despite amphibians How you
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Amphibian and and reptiles being can help...
Reptile Group (CPARG) for five and a half years. He momentwas active only between
will soon start his PhD on snake fungal disease in grass locatingthe February and October, Three projects you
snakes but still finds time to survey amphibians and the CPARG chairman can get involved in:
reptiles, organise outreach events, train new volunteers population is busy all year. “When HerpMapper
and provide wildlife advice to local people. ateryears they’re hibernating, I’m Create and keep
“Aside from monitoring a number of populations arranging volunteer days records of your
over a long period of time, our ongoing major project of hearsay. T to improve habitats in amphibian and reptile
is to study the non-native midwife toad in Cambridge,” woodland, grassland and observations with this
he explains. “My proudest moment as a volunteer was ponds for them to breed app (iOS and Android).
locating the population after three years of hearsay.” in when they emerge. A herpmapper.org
Working with local residents, the herpetologist number of improvements we made last year benefitted
gained access to gardens to survey the species and swab species like the great crested newt and common lizard.” ARC Trust
individuals for chytrid disease: “Luckily none of the Aside from gaining localised recognition for his work TheAmphibianand
toads have yet tested positive but our fear is that they and providing surveying equipment for CPARG, Steven ReptileConservation
may pass the disease onto our native amphibians.” has published more than 12 scientific papers on his Trustneedhelpto
Steven mainly works within Cambridge and the volunteering work in the county with more to follow. managetheirreserves,
surrounding area: “Unfortunately, the county is pretty In addition to his current responsibilities, he will surveywildlifeand
devoid of reptiles (except for grass snakes) but that soon start conducting reptile surveys for the British educatethepublic.
doesn’t stop us trying our best to conserve the few Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in Norfolk. “No matter arc-trust.org/
populations that we do have,” he says. “These animals where I find myself in the future I’ll be spending some volunteering
have suffered major declines since the 1950s due to of my time helping wildlife,” he says. “We all have a
loss of habitat and intensive agricultural practices.” moral obligation to look after the planet we have found Froglife
The naturalist has always been passionate about ourselves hurtling through space on.” Inspireyoungpeopleby
cold-blooded creatures. “They are a major part of many takingpartinFroglife’s
Charles Best ecosystems and provide us with a number of services, CPARG or visit Steven's blog at cparg.wordpress.com GreenPathwaysproject
including pest control,” he explains. “We would
orjoinaToadPatrol.
FIND OUT MORE CPARG: groups.arguk.org/
certainly notice if they all disappeared.”
froglife.org
October 2018 BBC Wildlife 115

OURWILD WORLD






Your photos Amazing images

taken by our readers

Enter our Your Photos
competition at discoverwildlife.
com/submit-your-photos







Star
photo



























































Ready to land
I travelled to a farm in
Bedfordshire to spend the day
in a hide photographing little
owls that were nesting in
a disused building. The birds
occasionally popped out to sit
on a broken window frame
before flying away to hunt. This
individual often used a gate post
as a lookout spot, and as I had
taken lots of portraits, I wanted
to capture some flight shots.
This action was captured using
a fast shutter speed. I love the
owl’s outstretched wings and
lifted talons as it comes in to
land on its favoured perch.
Andy Edge, Essex, UK



116 BBC Wildlife October 2018

OURWILD WORLD




1 Rays of light
Manta rays come
together to mate of the
coast of the Socorro
Islands in Mexico.For this
photo,I used a fisheye
lens and twin underwater
strobes to light the ray
from underneath.
Stephen Laycock,
Blackrod, UK


2 Making eye contact
I was amazed by the
compound eyes of this
huge longhorn beetle
photographed on a dead
Moringa tree inWest
Bengal.I used a macro
extension tube and ring
flash to capture the detail.
Arunava Dey,
Baharampur, India

3 Dinner date
1 We were thrilled to see

this male hoopoe feeding
2 3 his mate as she incubated
their eggs in the
Kiskunsági National Park
in Hungary last year.We
watched him fly back and
forth with invertebrates.
Fion Wong,
Bellevue, USA


4 Fly-by
I was very pleased to
capture this northern
gannet carrying nesting
material at Yorkshire’s
Bempton Clifs. As it was
4 5 windy, these striking

birds flew at eye level.
Stan Maddams,
Bournemouth, UK

5 Poised for action
I visitedAmboli,India,on a
macro photography tour.
Our guide spotted this
Malabar pit viper coiled
around a dead branch
and,using a low exposure,
I photographed it.
Keyur Nandaniya,
Delhi, India







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CAMERA BAG this compact bag is ideal for nature watching trips, holidays and travel: billingham.co.uk



October 2018 BBC Wildlife 117

OURWILD WORLD






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Star Risksversusrewards for reintroductions. If we get
it wrong, it is the animals who
letter will suffer for it.
Thank you to Mark Carwardine for his However, despite knowing about
Phil Maund, Isles of Scilly
very interesting and eye-opening article the dangers of this field, I have not
on conservationists being killed (My Way been put off – and neither should
Pete Cooper replies: continental
of Thinking, July 2018). It raised some other people of my age. I believe that,
experience shows wildcats are on
very important points worth noting. I while there is always an element of risk
the increase – even in fragmented,
am just about to start an Animal Biology involved in activism, as long as there
populated landscapes – and we
degree after are those fighting to change things for
now have as much woodland cover
a gap year the better, change is possible, and it is
as we did in 1750 when wildcats
working, and important that we all remember this.
were still found throughout
I have a keen Daunting it may be, but there are
England and Wales. However,
interest and always people needed on the front
good woodland habitat that's
passion for line of conservation.
connected is still ideal. If an
conservation Though the statistics are shocking,
English/Welsh release was to go
and activism. they should not make anyone hesitant
ahead, careful modelling would
The prospect to follow their passion. With enough
need to be done to establish the
of pursuing people and hard work conservation
best linked-up areas of natural
such a brings about wonderful success stories –
habitat. The wildcat can be a
potentially let that be our primary motivation. If
flagship animal to drive creation
dangerous we can manage to retain hope, we will
of such corridors, as in the 'wildcat
career, however, be able to change those numbers.
leap' project in Germany.
is daunting. Anya Foxworthy-Bowers, via e-mail
Positive news
I have often thought that
perhaps conservation is
Relief on the redesign Pett Level in East Sussex. The Debating wildcats all ‘doom and gloom’, and
I was a little concerned when area encourages breadth of I admire the enthusiasm of that conservationists can
I read that BBC Wildlife was to vision with views of low, flat Pete Cooper and Derek Gow occasionally be guilty of
be updated. In my experience, marshland dissected by the for reintroducing species such sensationalism to make things
updating does not necessarily historic Royal Military Canal, as the beaver and wildcat to appear worse than they are. I
mean an improvement – all too but a flash of yellow suddenly our countryside (Should we must admit that your magazine,
frequently it means a smaller focused my attention on a wasp bring back the wildcats of to which I subscribe more to
magazine at the same price spider by the side of the path. olde England? August 2018). learn about and be wowed by
as the older version. To get my shot I had to gently However, what concerns me is wildlife than to hear about its
However, I am pleased to move several blades of grass his question: “If we don’t try plight, often strikes a similar
say that the updated magazine and lie on my front, waiting for now, then when?” tone which can leave you feeling
is even better than the older lulls in the stiff breeze with my Rushing into reintroductions discouraged about the state of
version. There were so many elbows serving as a tripod. now ignores the implications our planet, although I've come
interesting and thought- Andy Jenner, via Twitter message of the species spreading into to appreciate that this is just the
provoking articles in the the wider countryside. What reality of how things are.
July magazine, amazing Features editor Ben Hoare replies: happens to the animals’ I think it’s worth pointing
photography, as always – and These are fabulous spiders, aren’t offspring once they spread out, though, that many issues
you have still retained the they? They colonised England as to neighbouring land and are something of a double
crossword and quiz. Well done! long ago as the 1920s, but beyond? We talk a lot edged sword, that can either be
Anne Eaves, via e-mail only recently have they about connectivity viewed positively or negatively.
spread along the and habitat For example, in the brilliant
Spider spotting south coast and fragmentation; article by Marianne Taylor on

Following your inclusion of north into the we need more the hooded grebes of Patagonia
a wasp mimic (Wild Month, Midlands, likely evidence that (Tango in Patagonia, August
July 2018), I was thrilled to due to climate we can provide 2018), it was mentioned that
spot my first wasp spider at change. this, especially the prospect of building a
A female
wasp spider.
118 BBC Wildlife October 2018

OURWILD WORLD




hydroelectric dam could be TALES FROM THE BUSH
catastrophic for the grebes.
While this is no doubt true,
surely these dams are an Theteethinthejawof
attempt to reduce the burning
of fossil fuels and pollution
produced in this way? a beaked whale tell all
I think all this serves to Have a wild
tale to tell? If so,
underline that conservation is please email a brief
never easy or straightforward. Ater more than 50 ferry crossings, would John Horsfall synopsis to
We should look to take a holistic inally see the most elusive of beaked whales? jo.price@
view in every circumstance to immediate.co.uk
see how wildlife can benefit.
Paul Stamper, Liverpool


Editor Sheena Harvey replies:
You make some very valuable
points about the complexity
of conservation and land
management. We do try to give
the good news where we find
it and my primary aim is to
highlight what a world filled
with amazing creatures we live
in. However, we can’t deny that
a lot of nature is facing tough
times, and not to cover that in the
magazine would be to give a false To identify a beaked
impression that everything in the whale you have to be
garden is rosy. quick.They spend little John Horsfall
time at the surface.
Foot massage
I enjoyed Mike passion inspired by S minutes later and a whale-
Dilger on rockpool a sighting of baleen Andthenit watching group on the top
wildlife (Wildlife whales in the Bay of happened: deck reported two possible
Watching, August ABiscay 20 years ago withacolossal Sowerby’s beaked whales at
2018). I'd like to – cetacean photography – can a distance – even better.
share my recent often be the only chance to crashawhale And then it happened:
interactions with make a positive identification emergedinthe with a colossal crash a whale
rockpool prawn, of an animal that grants emerged in the ship’s wake
Palaemon elegans. This seconds of visibility. I have ship’s wake. T and hurled itself into the
is an inquisitive prawn A peckish since crossed the Bay 50 swell. You never get the
species commonly found prawn stops or so times, and there is a first breach on camera but
in British rockpools. They for a nibble. surprising diversity of whales and dolphins I was ready as a second whale emerged in
usually forage and scavenge recorded here, including a group that are are a graceful arc and smashed its two-tonne
for food, so it pays for them to very tricky to identify – the beaked whales. body back into the ocean. Surely it couldn’t
be curious about anything new These small-to-medium whales spend go on – beaked whales never give you
in their environment – even my little time on the surface, exhibit uncertain such an opportunity – but it did, for a full
feet. Much of their usual diet geographical distributions, and field minute; more than 50 photographic frames.
comes from detritus (organic guide illustrations of them are close to As they receded into the ocean haze and
matter produced by decomposing educated guesses. Along with location and my heart calmed down, my thoughts
organisms), and in this case they appearance, the position of the (usually) two accelerated – they hadn’t looked anything
were trying to eat the dead layer small teeth in the males provides the only like Cuvier’s, but would the photographs
of skin cells on my toes. Given known certainty of identification. take me any further into the taxonomic
their level of interest and the The most challenging species to see in nightmare or would I be left again with yet
fact that they were fighting one North Atlantic waters is the True’s beaked another grey, generic shape? The joy of
another, I suggest they found me whale. There have been just three possible digital: I scrolled down a few frames – heart
pretty tasty! Luckily, all I felt was live sightings in the North Atlantic up until in mouth – and there were two glistening
a slight tickle. 2004 – a total recently augmented with a white teeth at the tip of the protruding
Huw Griffiths, via Twitter handful of observations from the Canary lower jaw of a True’s beaked whale.
Islands and the Azores.
On this trip we were three hours from DR JOHN HORSFALL is a biologist
QUIZ ANSWERS (see p99)
Spain and a Cuvier’s beaked whale cruised and overall winner of Wildlife
The Wild Words are: 1B, 2B, 3C, 4A, 5C, 6A
quietly by – it was looking promising. Thirty Photographer of the Year in 1982.

October 2018 BBC Wildlife 119



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October 2018 BBC Wildlife 6121

VIEWPOINT






WILDLIFE CHAMPION




ATM







In our series about people with a passion for a species, we ask the

wildlife artist ATM why he cares so much about kestrels?










Why are kestrels special? connection with nature.
Because I trained them when I was I recently painted a kestrel in Acton,
growing up in Rochdale. I was 14 West London, on the side of emergency
when I bought my first kestrel from housing made of shipping containers
a lad at school for £5. He hadn’t trained stacked four-high in a big estate.
it so I read books about falconry – the The bird is shown hovering above a
best one was Jack Mavrogordato’s wildflower meadow. We’ve also made
A Hawk for the Bush, which was an planters for growing vegetables and
inspiration for me. He had such respect herbs, insect houses and sown seeds
for birds of prey and the complicated to make real wildflower meadows
and difficult art of training them. around the tower blocks, as part of a
community project working with the
What did training involve? local school and youth groups. This
It was a long process of stage-by-stage kind of thing could have a huge impact
increases in trust between the bird if it was repeated in lots of other places.
and me. I made all my own falconry S A kestrel is a
equipment from leather: hoods and Why are kestrel magical sight. How much time to you have
jesses; leashes and lures. You need to numbers falling? to spend birdwatching?
get a bird trained to the point where it Kestrels hovering along I love their Not as much as I’d like, but I’ve
will fly 30 yards to your fist, then you the roadside used to be assured light just been to Arne in Dorset where
know it’s ready to fly free. The first time a common sight, but I heard the wonderful sound of
it did was extremely nerve-racking. they’re now a rarity. It and the way nightjars. I grew up wandering the
I’d get up every morning around must be due to lack of they hover. T valleys and woods around Rochdale
6am before school and fly the kestrel, habitat, plus farmers and I love wild places and birdsong.
swinging a lure round my head and using more pesticides Seeing a kestrel today is a magical
snatching it away at the last moment, and rodenticides. We’ve sight. I love their assured flight and
as the bird would swoosh overhead, also lost meadows, field margins and watching them hovering above a field.
arcing and diving after the food. other unkempt areas. When I was They remind me of those sunny
growing up we used to go to days of my youth and the freedom of
an area simply known as ‘The exploring wild places. Matt Swaine
Long Grass’ that was perfect
hunting terrain for kestrels – it ATM is a London-based street artist whose
was full of voles. Our constant work celebrates the beauty of threatened species.
See more of his art at atmstreetart.com
need for tidiness means we
don’t allow nature to grow wild.
So key habitats and the whole The expert view
web of life, all the plants and
creatures that depend on each “The kestrel often hunts by hovering
other, just aren’t there. over rough grassland. Around 70 per
cent of their diet is made up of voles, Portrait: Mark Atherton/The North Somerset Times; Kestrel: ATM; Stafan: Zsolt Nagy
What do you want your whose numbers tend to peak every
artwork to achieve? three years. This corresponds to bigger clutches
I paint endangered species, of eggs. There have been significant population
mostly in urban areas, to reach declines in the UK as a whole – around 35 per cent
people who may not have a – and the RSPB suggests this is driven by a loss
of habitat, often due to more intensive agriculture.
Left: ATM collaborated with Karen
Francesca to create this kestrel and Anti-coagulant rodenticides are another problem.”
meadow painting in West London. Stafan Roos is senior conservation scientist, RSPB


October 2018