Letter: Why Special Treatment For These Birds?

Published on: 10 Nov, 2016
Updated on: 10 Nov, 2016

A Dartford warbler photographed by Malcolm Fincham on Thursley Common.

From Gordon Bridger

Hon Alderman and former Mayor of Guildford

I am not a bird watcher but Malcolm Fincham’s column is really a splendid account, which I only encountered by accident, of local birds.

His photos are superb and accounts of the birds delightful and worthy of national attention. I would urge readers who have not opened his column to do so. It almost makes me want to be a bird watcher too.

While on birds can he explain to me why the rather boring Dartford warbler, the nightjar and the woodlark are so precious that £5.2m of Guildford Borough Council levies (on EU advice) has been spent protecting them, mainly on Whitmoor Common?

Unfortunately they were almost all killed off in a cold spell seven years ago, though some surprisingly survive on Ash Ranges.

Can Malcolm explain why these birds have been singled out for such favoured treatment? Maybe he could see if he could spot one?

Responses to Letter: Why Special Treatment For These Birds?

Ben Paton Reply

November 10, 2016 at 9:05 pm

There were also people who asked what good dodos were. Presumably they concluded that they also were ‘rather boring’ and deserved to made extinct by mankind.

We live in an age when species are becoming extinct at a faster rate than ever in human history. See this Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction

‘At present, the rate of extinction of species is estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than the “base” or historically typical rate of extinction…’

r Bridger has consistently advocated building on agricultural land at the former Wisley airfield in Ockham. He overlooks the fact that it is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest or SNCI.

It is also immediately adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).

Ockham and Wisley Commons have these designations because they are some of the last remaining areas of lowland heath in England.

Surrey Wildlife Trust describes this habitat as ‘rarer than rainforest’. It is home to many rare species of plants, reptiles, insects and birds. Among these birds is the remarkable nightjar.

It is also home to some of the last remaining Dartford warblers.

Why have these birds aroused Mr Bridger’s sudden interest? Is it because they are an impediment to the development that Mr Bridger promotes at every opportunity? Is protection of the environment something he wishes to jettison along with membership of the EU? How boring!
Malcolm Fincham Reply

November 10, 2016 at 10:47 pm

I would like to thank Hon Alderman] Gordon Bridger for his flattering remarks.

I must say, when I first had my arm ‘twisted’ into writing these reports, I must confess, I was very reluctant to do so.

I was, however, inspired by such early comments, similar to yours.

With my original intentions to inspire readers to the local world beyond our doorsteps, seemingly a success, I decided it to be important to continue.

The fragile world of nature that surrounds us is an important concern and one I enjoy opening people’s eye to.

I hope to answer some of your questions in future reports.
Lisa Wright Reply

November 11, 2016 at 9:03 am

Mr Bridger wouldn’t have questioned the expenditure if the species in question was an elephant, whale or tiger.

Just because the bird is small, along with the nightjar, it doesn’t make them less important.
Ben Paton Reply

November 11, 2016 at 4:02 pm

Perhaps Mr Bridger can tell us exactly where he gets this figure of £5.2m?
Neville Bryan Reply

November 11, 2016 at 6:16 pm

I just want to clarify what I am told leaving the EU means in terms of the environment rules, as it is an area huge of concern for me. I am more than aware, immigration, and free market access are getting all the focus.

Apparently on of the few parts of “the plan” which has already been announced by Mrs May would be an act of parliament remove the laws with bind us to the EU Laws, and replace with another to say UK law is the same as EU law at the point of BREXIT.

That being the case all the great EU environmental law (whoever drafted it) we have until 2019 remains unchanged.

After BREXIT of course the UK can choose to deviate, but why would we in most cases, when for example to sell cars in the EU we need to apply to EU standards.

Its appears that only if we in the UK are stupid enough to start watering down our environmental law after this point would we be in trouble. Of course that is risk of a construction led government.

Hope this is the right translation, and if anybody knows different please advise.
David Roberts Reply

November 12, 2016 at 11:43 am

Like Gordon Bridger I’m not all that interested in “rather boring” birds. But I totally accept the RSPB argument that birds, more than most animals, are “marker species” that give us humans a good indication of the health of our ecosystems and the planet generally. Like canaries in mines, we neglect them at our peril.

Mr Bridger’s letter is just another silly sideswipe at the EU, without whom we’d still be breathing coal fumes and bathing in sewage. The only conceivable environmental advantage of Brexit is if UK protection rules become tighter, not looser.

I can understand that “rather boring” politicians of a certain age find global climate change and species loss perplexing. But they are game-changers that ultimately threaten human existence.
John Perkins Reply

November 13, 2016 at 10:53 am

Would it be possible to keep to the subject of birds? It’s boring to have to endure false and irrelevant claims for a body that didn’t even exist at the time of the Clean Air Act (1956).
Gordon Bridger Reply

November 15, 2016 at 5:22 pm

I do not intend to become involved in irrelevant and discourteous correspondence.

Mr Perkins sticks to the issue of birds and I would be happy to spell out to him personally what is quite an extraordinary story of an environmental policy gone very badly wrong.
Harry Eve Reply

November 19, 2016 at 12:07 pm

I believe the Dartford Warbler was only first recognised as a separate species (despite its distinctive plumage) when someone considered it interesting enough to be shot at (on Dartford Heath). Fortunately, birdwatchers use binoculars for a closer look in our more enlightened times.

I understand that this bird has been extinct in the Dartford area for a very long time so perhaps it should be called the Whitmoor Warbler which has more of a ring to it.

Anyway, wherever the figure of £5.2m came from (and what it covers, over what period) it seems far too little given the number of people who appreciate our wildlife and heathlands and I am very pleased to read that Mr Bridger is considering joining us. He is most welcome.
Gordon Bridger Reply

November 22, 2016 at 7:12 pm

The problem is that as a result of a cold spell in 2008/9 ion Whitmoor Common almost all were wiped our and the latest 2015 nest figures are: two for warblers, four for woodlark and zero for night jars.
Malcolm Fincham Reply

November 25, 2016 at 2:50 pm

Mr Bridger is correct in what he has written about the Dartford warblers on Whitmoor.

Nationally we were down to only a few pairs in the UK by the end of the ‘icy’ winter of 1963, even our ‘Jenny’ wrens were almost completely wiped out, though both these species (and many others) are dependant on our climate; perhaps, with climate change, they may increase in years to come?

Nightjars are summer visitors, of which I have personally recorded at least two pairs, each year, in the last decade, sometimes more, including this year and last year. I do not disclose the locations at the during their breeding season.

Although I cannot verify if they were successful in raising young. I was successful in photographing the male of the species, both last year and this, in one of there ‘daytime’ roosts, https://guildford-dragon.com/2016/06/19/birdwatchers-diary-no-112/, one of my reports at the time.
Gordon Bridger Reply

December 1, 2016 at 8:12 pm

I would like to thank Malcolm Fincham for his helpful reply.

He will be interested to know that they have returned on the Ash ranges which are restricted to the public. The birds are presumably not bothered by military activity. An expert said he thought it could be to growth of bush – though very odd that they seem to thrive in a military area? Perhaps threatened by military activity they reproduce faster?

Another question. There are 891 nests of these three endangered species in 11 SPAS with around 8,700 hectares of land. This means that there is about 1 nest per 10 hectares. With this ratio is it credible that humans, let alone dogs, could be a significant factor adversely affecting these species.