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Wildlife In The Media; A Fox cub covered in petrol and mud is found in a skip
Topic Started: Aug 13 2008, 09:39 AM (10,449 Views)
Davebutterflyman
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A great idea to keep the Black Honey bee the only native bee on Colonsay and Oronsay.
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Davebutterflyman
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I think that the new National Trail website is a fantastic addition to the existing trails itinerary, being able to map your routs and stop off at points of wildlife interest is an invaluable tool.
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JennyWren
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[div style='visibility: hidden']test[/div]
the National Trail website looks very good ....... on some there seems to be a lack of places to stay as yet ... i guess it depends on some calling by the Trail staff or for the venues to call in themselves ... only little hiccups at first . I suppose everyone travels with a hand held tablet or the like these days ?
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Davebutterflyman
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They more than likely do Jen....whatever happened to a good old map, compass and directional sense :lol:
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mick2
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Marsh Harrier
i think this would be a great idea, then licenses could be removed from estates where deaths are known.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25879595
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Davebutterflyman
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That is a brilliant idea Mick....should be rolled out as soon as possible.
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
Very interesting idea indeed.
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mick2
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Marsh Harrier
i sent an email to paul wheelhouse regarding the latest golden eagle death and got a reply the other day.

Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your recent letter to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Mr
Paul Wheelhouse. I have been asked to respond.
Mr Wheelhouse was appalled to hear that the young golden eagle Fearnan had been
illegally poisoned in Angus. This was particularly disappointing coming as it did at the end of
the Year of Natural Scotland, which had seen the golden eagle voted as Scotland’s favourite
of the ‘Big Five’ species in an exercise conducted by Scottish Natural Heritage. While it is
entirely understandable that there is a strong public interest in knowing more about the case,
the Minister hopes you will understand that as there is a live and ongoing police
investigation, it would be inappropriate for Scottish Ministers to comment further.
Clearly this has focused the attention of all who care about our wildlife on raptor persecution
issues more generally. In recent years we have made some progress in reducing the
number of raptor poisonings – down to three in 2012, but at the time of publication the
Minister made it abundantly clear there would be no room for complacency, given the risk of
a change to other forms of persecution. However, while the final numbers for 2013 have not
yet been published, it does appear that there was an increase in confirmed poisonings.
There were also a number of illegal shooting and trapping incidents involving raptors last
year.
Mr Wheelhouse believes that these crimes have only served to reinforce the need for the
new measures he announced in July 2013. These new measures were:
 Scottish Natural Heritage to restrict the use of General Licences on holdings of land
where there is reason to believe that wildlife crime has taken place. The 2014 General
Licenses now contain an enabling paragraph making it clear to users that SNH can
act where they believe it is appropriate to do so.
Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
www.scotland.gov.uk abcdefghij abcde abc a
 A review of the penalties associated with wildlife crime. The aim here is to ensure that
the penalties for these offences are an adequate deterrent and that they properly
reflect the damage that can be caused to ecosystems. The Minister will shortly
announce further detail on the nature and scope of this review.
 To encourage the use of the full range of investigative techniques at their disposal by
Police Scotland, to identify and bring to justice the criminals responsible for wildlife
crimes in Scotland, a measure fully and publicly supported by the Lord Advocate. A
number of meetings have taken place involving the Lord Advocate in ensuring this is
delivered.
Tackling raptor persecution remains a key priority for the Scottish Government and we will
monitor the impact of these new measures. We believe there is a strong legal framework in
place in Scotland. The key now to defeating wildlife crime is effective and robust
enforcement action and we will work hard to ensure support and encouragement for those
involved in law enforcement to put an end to this blight on Scotland’s reputation.
Yours sincerely,
Karen Hunter
Wildlife Crime Policy Officer
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
Scottish Government seeks public opinion on wild animals in circuses
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Scotland-wild-animal-circus-vote.html

Wildlife presenter voted in as President of BTO
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Chris-Packham-BTO.html

Review highlights decline in soldier beetles
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/soldier-beetles-decline.html

Beaver filmed in the wild on Devon farm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-25822883
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Davebutterflyman
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That's great to hear that you have had a reply Mick....and it wasn't one of those generic waffling ones by the looks of it. I hope that some of the bullet points listed are put into action/force asap.

I'll have a look at those links shortly Danny.
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
Gordon Buchanan asks petitions committee to adopt golden eagle as national bird
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/golden-eagle-scottish-national-bird.html
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Davebutterflyman
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I think it is a great idea and what better than a Golden Eagle to symbolise Scotland as a Nation. Thanks for the link Danny.
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Davebutterflyman
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Regarding the issue on the decline in Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae).

Wyver lane, my local nature reserve, has a good population of Rhagonycha fulva, Cantharis nigra and Cantharis rustica...however...over the past two summers i have noticed a decrease in all three species. This could be down to a number of issues but the one issue that can affect such species, the destruction of suitable habitat, is not the case here as the wild flower verges are left alone to manage themselves. I am going to start looking for signs of the above three species this summer and see what my findings are.
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
Long-term vision agreed for the conservation of wildlife and habitat on the Somerset Levels and Moors
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/somerset-levels-vision.html

Crocodile sighted in Bristol
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Bristol-croc.html

British Birdwatching Fair raises record amount of money for conservation
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/birdfair-cheque.html

National Wildlife Crime Unit funding secured for two years
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/NWCU-funds.html

Rare marine turtle washes up on Devon beach
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/turtle-devon.html

Deer have damaged one third of Scotland's woodland
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/deer-damage-scot-woodland.html

UK investigation leads to conviction of three Swedish egg collectors
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/egg-collectors-arrest.html
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
That Croc sighting sounds unlikely especially going by how many sightings from the public are mistaken identification.
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Davebutterflyman
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I suppose escapees are always a possibility Danny but i would want photographic proof first!
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Danny's Nature
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Buzzard
Yeah there's always a possibility, but even any photographic proof I probably would not take much notice of it. Photos are rarely good quality and there's so much that you can do now to fake photos.
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JennyWren
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[div style='visibility: hidden']test[/div]
:cool: Danny .............. all interesting reads .. thanks for them

Dave , re soldier beetles ... are there just the nigra and rustica ? and that means the little end piece on the body ? I looked up the images and there seem to be some redish bodies .... i'm sure there are other slight differences but on the whole ... they seem to be that oblong shape ?
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Davebutterflyman
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Hi Jen.

There are a few dozen species of Cantharidae and all have a very similar shape (Elytra in latin or commonly known as wing casings) I'm not 100% sure why each species has attained each latin taxonomic classification although nigra obviously suggests that black is the predominate colouration.

The identification of all soldier beetles lie in many different salient id pointers, some have dark scuttelum (the shieldlike bony plate just under the head on the thorax) whilst others can be red. The legs often hold key id pointers, dark femur, red tibia etc and generally speaking, the more photos you can obtain of each individual specimen, the more chance you have of being able to obtain a positive id.
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JennyWren
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thank you for the info , Dave .. it is all very involved but i'll keep my eyes open Posted Image

if this rain ever stops : )
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