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birding-aus From your antipodes 3

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Subject: birding-aus From your antipodes 3
From: "Wim Vader" <>
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 10:00:37 +0200

        3. BIRDLISTS NORFOLK AND FRIESLAND AND A COMPARISON


                                                                                
                                        Norfolk   Friesland
Little Grebe
        Tachybaptes ruficollis                  +               +
Great Crested Grebe
        Podiceps cristatus                              +               +
Cormorant
        Phalacrocorax c. sinensis                       +               +
Bittern
        Botaurus stellaris                              -               +
Grey Heron
        Ardea cinerea                                   +               +
>White Stork
        Ciconia ciconia                         -               +
>Mute Swan
        Cygnus olor                                     +               +
>White-fronted Goose
         Anser albifrons                                -               +
>Greylag Goose
        A. anser                                        +               +
>Bar-headed Goose
        A.  indicus                                     -             (+)
>Canada Goose
        Branta canadensis                               +               +
>Barnacle Goose
         B. leucopsis                                   -               +
>Brent
        B. bernicla                                     +               -
>Egyptian Goose
        Alopochen aegyptiacus                   +               +
>Shelduck
        Tadorna tadorna                         +               +
>Wigeon
         Anas   penelope                                +               +
>Gadwall
         A. strepera                                    +               +
>Teal
        A. crecca                                       +               -
>Mallard
        A. platyrhynchos                                +               +
>Garganey
        A. querquedula                          +               +
>Shoveler
        A. clypeata                                     +               +
>Pochard
        Aythya ferina                                   +               +
>Tufted Duck
         A. fuligula                                    +               +

>Marsh Harrier
        Circus aeruginosus                              +               +
>Sparrowhawk
        Accipiter nisus                         +             (+)
>Buzzard
        Buteo buteo                                     -               +
>Kestrel
        Falco tinnunculus                               +               +
>Red-legged Partridge
        Alectoris rufa                          +               -
>Grey Partridge
        Perdrix perdrix                         +               -
>Ring-necked Pheasant
         Phasianus colchicus                            +               +
>Water Rail
         Rallus rallus                          -               +
>Moorhen
        Gallinula chloropus                             +               +
>Coot
        Fulica atra                                     +               +
>Common Crane
        Grus grus                                       +               -
>Oystercatcher
        Haematopus ostralegus                   +               +
>Black-winged Stilt
        Himantopus himantopus                   +             (+)
>Ringed Plover
        Charadrius hiaticula                            +               +
>Grey Plover
        Pluvialis squatarola                            +             (+)
>Northern Lapwing
         Vanellus vanellus                              +               +
>Sanderling
        Calidris alba                                   +               -
>Temminck's Stint
         C. temmincki                                   -               +
>Dunlin
        C. alpina                                       +             (+)
>Ruff
        Philomachus pugnax                              +               +
>Black-tailed Godwit
        Limosa limosa                                   +               +
>Whimbrel
        Numenius phaeopus                               +             (+)
>Curlew
         N. arquata                                     +               +
>Redshank
        Tringa totanus                          +               +
>Wood Sandpiper
        T. glareola                                     -               +
>Common Sandpiper
        T.  hypoleucos                          +               -
>Turnstone
        Arenaria interpres                              +               -
>Mediterranean Gull
        Larus mediterraneus                             -             (+)
>Little Gull
        L.  minutus                                     +               -
>Black-headed Gull
        L. ridibundus                                   +               +
>Common Gull
        L. canus                                        +               +
>Lesser Black-b. Gull
         L. fuscus graelsii/intermedius         +               +
>Herring Gull
        L. argentatus                                   +               +
>Great Black-b. Gull
         L. marinus                                     +             (+)
>Sandwich Tern
        Sterna sandvicensis                             +               -
>Common Tern
         S. hirundo                                     +               +
>Little Tern
        S. albifrons                                    +               -
>Black Tern
        Chlidonias niger                                -               +
>Rock Dove
        Columba livia (feral)                   +               +
>Stock Dove
        C. oenas                                        +             (+)
>Wood Pigeon
        C. palumbus                                     +               +
>Collared Dove
        Streptopelia decaocto                   +             (+)
>Turtle Dove
        S. turtur                                       +               -
>Cuckoo
        Cuculus canorus                         +               +
>Barn Owl
         Tyto alba                                      +               -
>Long-eared Owl
        Asio otus                                       -               +
>Common Swift
        Apus apus                                       +               +
>Great Spotted Woodpecker
        Picoides major                          -               +
>
>Skylark
        Alauda arvensis                         +               +
>Sand Martin
         Riparia riparia                                +               +
>Barn Swallow
         Hirundo rustica                                +               +
>House Martin
        Delichon urbica                         +               +
>Tree Pipit
         Anthus trivialis                               +               +
>Meadow Pipit
        A. pratensis                                    +               +
>Yellow Wagtail
        Motacilla flava                         +               +
>Pied/White Wagtail
        M. alba                                 +               +
>Wren
        Troglodytes troglodytes                 +               +
>Dunnock
        Prunella modularis                              +               +
>Eur. Robin
         Erithacus rubecula                             +               +
>Nightingale
        Luscinia megarhynchos                   +               +
>Bluethroat
        L.  svecica                                     -               +
>Black Redstart
        Phoenicurus ochruros                            -             (+)
>Redstart
        Ph. phoenicurus                         +               +
>Northern Wheatear
        Oenanthe oenanthe                               +               -
>Eur. Blackbird
         Turdus merula                          +               +
>Song Thrush
        T. philomelos                                   +               +
>Mistle Thrush
        T. viscivorus                                (+)                -
>Savi's Warbler
        Locustella luscinioides                 -               +
>Sedge Warbler
        Acrocephalus schoenobaenus                      +               +
>Reed Warbler
         A. scirpaceus                          +               +
>Marsh Warbler
        A. palustris                                    -               +
>Icterine Warbler
         Hippolais icterina                             -               +
>Lesser Whitethroat
         Sylvia curruca                         (+)             +
>Whitethroat
         S. communis                                    +               +
>Garden Warbler
        S. borin                                        +               +
>Blackcap
        S. atricapilla                          +               +
>Wood Warbler
         Phylloscopus sibilatrix                        -             (+)
>Chiffchaff
        Ph. collybita                                   +               +
>Willow Warbler
        Ph. trochilus                                   +               +
>Goldcrest
        Regulus regulus                         +               -
>Spotted Flycatcher
        Muscicapa striata                               -               +
>Pied Flycatcher
        Ficedula hypoleuca                              -               +
>Bearded Reedling
        Panurus biarmicus                               +               +
>Long-tailed Tit
        Aegithalos caudatus                             +             (+)
>Willow Tit
        Parus montanus                          +               +
>Blue Tit
        P. caeruleus                                    +             (+)
>Great Tit
        P.major                                 +               +
>Nuthatch
        Sitta europaea                          -             (+)
>Short-toed Treecreeper
        Certhia brachydactyla                   -               +
>Jay
        Garrulus glandarius                             -             (+)
>Magpie
        Pica pica                                       +               +
>Jackdaw
        Corvus monedula                         +               +
>Rook
        C. frugilegus                                   +               +
>Carrion Crow
        C. corone                                       +               +
>Starling
        Sturnus vulgaris                                +               +
>House Sparrow
        Passer domesticus                               +               +
>Tree Sparrow
         P. montanus                                    -             (+)
>Chaffinch
         Fringilla coelebs                              +               +
>Greenfinch
        Chloris chloris                         +               +
>Goldfinch
         Carduelis carduelis                            +               +
>Linnet
        C. cannabina                                    +               +
>Yellowhammer
        Emberiza citrinella                             +               +
>Reed Bunting
         E. schoeniclus                         +               +
>
>The crosses in parenthesis concern birds that were seen in England, cq
Nederland, during this holidays, but not in Norfolk or Friesland.
>
>Comparison:
>Basically the two lists are very similar, no wonder as both are from
low-lying wetland areas on the shores of the North Sea basin. A number of
the differences are in addition quite accidental: of course there are Jays
in Norfolk and Blue Tits in Friesland. As so often before, I stand in
danger of concluding from a too meagre material. Still, it is fun to
compare the two lists.
>The Norfolk marshes are much more coastal, and this accounts for the
presence there of coastal shorebirds (Turnstone, Sanderling, Grey Plover,
Avocet) and terns (Little tern, Sandwich tern), as well as the Brents.
Red-legged Partridges do not occur in Nederland (and have been introduced
to Britain in historical times).
> On the other hand the rich meadow avifauna of Friesland differs from
similar areas of Norfolk in the common occurrence of Black-tailed Godwits
and inland Oystercatchers, as well as the return of the White Stork as a
breeding bird. There also appear to be a number of songbirds that are quite
common in Nederland but that never reached Britain as regular nesting
birds, examples are Bluethroat, Savi's Warbler, Marsh Warbler and Icterine
Warbler. The Black  Tern and the White Stork are in the same category.
>
>Some differences do not show on the list, as it gives simply
presence-absence. As earlier mentioned, it seems as if the British are
cranking out pheasants in enormous numbers ; this is a common bird in
Friesland too, but not in those amazing numbers. On the other hand, I got
the definite impression that at least in the areas I visited (Cambridge
suburbia in addition to Norfolk) the Chiffchaff was much less numerous than
it is in Holland, where its song can be heard almost everywhere, even in
small village gardens as Riet's. Tine to stop, before I draw too many
conclusions from too few data!
>
>                                                       A few old friends get 
> more and more hard to find. The Great Reed
Warbler used to be a quite common bird in the right habitat in the
Netherlands. No longer! Skylarks, while still joyfully numerous in the
Norfolk coastal areas, are now patchily present only in the Friesland
meadows. And although the Yellowhammer is on both lists, it is on the basis
of one observation in each country only, and during an afternoon of
bicycling in the village of my youth in Zeeland, where Yellowhammers used
to be among the most numerous songbirds, I did not hear or see any trace of
them at all.
>
>
>There are also many positive developments, though. Here I can only talk of
the Netherlands, where I grew up. in my youth Buzzards were uncommon and
declining, because of poisoning i.a. by seed dressings. Now almost every
coppice has its nesting pair of Buzzards, and their mewing is a common
sound everywhere in the country. Similarly, after the IJsselmeer polders
and the Delta works created many new wetlands and large reedy areas, birds
like Marsh Harriers, Bluethroats and Bearded Reedlings have become much
more common, and geese have once more started to nest many places in the
country. Only the Greylag is indigenous here, but other species clearly are
developing feral populations, and especially the Egyptian Goose is rapidly
becoming a nuisance.
>
>Still, with more than 14 million people on such a small piece of real
estate, it is truly amazing that the Netherlands still has managed to
maintain such a rich and diverse avifauna. They have all reason to be proud
of their successes in nature protection and the creation of new wildlife
areas, even in the teeth of the ever increasing pressures of too many
people and too much manure.
>
>                                               Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
>                                               9037 Tromsø, Norway
>                                               
>
>

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