Bird Song (28) – whitethroats

We have two species of ‘whitethroat’ warblers in the UK, the Common Whitethroat and the Lesser Whitethroat. They look rather similar, although there are lots of differences when you look closely, and they live in similar habitats (hedgerows and scrub) but they sound quite different. Both have now arrived in east Northants, with Lesser Whitethroat…

Bird Song (27) – why a dawn chorus?

We know why bird song is a feature of Spring – it’s because the function of bird song is usually to defend a territory and its food and nesting resources and to attract a mate. Song is largely concentrated in the Spring in high latitudes because that’s when birds breed. But why is there a…

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

In yesterday’s Natural England blog on the licensing of taking Peregrines from the wild Natural England’s Director for wildlife licensing, Dave Slater, points out that Natural England can issue licences for a variety of purposes which include falconry. The legislation in question is the Wildlife and Countryside Act where the relevant section is, I think,…