birding-aus

Bird Islands in Dams

To: Peter Shute <>, Andrew Hobbs <>, BirdingAus <>, Judith Hoyle <>
Subject: Bird Islands in Dams
From: "" <>
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:03:13 +0900
Dear all

Here's a bit more info on what the Poms like me usually call "bird rafts"  although I guess "bird pontoons" would be less ambiguous.

For an account of the success of the RSPB in using rafts for Divers (as we Poms call Loons) see for example:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-169381

There is a photo of some tern rafts at  http://www.brentres.com/gallery2.htm  where a chain of rafts (started in the 1970s I think) helps create a barrier between areas use for boating and conservation area, and also reduces wave action thus creating some muddy shallows. 

And the great British Trust for Conservation Volunteers has a whole section on raft designs (including floating rafts of reeds and a cute little one on a pole) in their waterways and wetlands handbook:

http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index

Michael Norris




On Fri Dec 14 3:23 , Judith Hoyle <>sent:

Hi Peter,
 
Sorry, I had not realised that the article I pasted in did not transmit with the pictures in it.  I have sent the link below.  You will see that the structure is not much more than a raft!  Still in this case it did the trick and it shows how small you can go and still make a difference!
 
Judith
 
http://www.akcf.org/_pages/story/box2-making_a_difference.php
 





> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] Bird Islands in Dams
> Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:50:54 +1100
> From:
> To: ; ; ;
>
> Where exactly on the site is the photo of the pontoon? I'm wondering if
> pontoons could be better than islands, as they could be constructed to
> make it difficult for a fox to climb up onto them. Although I guess
> that could make it hard for young birds too.
>
> Peter Shute
>
> wrote on Thursday, 13 December 2007
> 6:10 PM:
>
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > In response to the debate bird islands in dams, I have cut
> > and pasted the article below off the net from Alaska. Jean
> > Tam's work with Loons in Connors Lake in Anchorage shows how
> > successful a very simple approach can be in providing refuge
> > for nesting birds. I have visited this lake with Jean and
> > Scott and as you can see from the photos the pontoon is not
> > far from shore. I'm not sure what the fox population is in
> > Anchorage, but red foxes do inhabit the state and naturally
> > cats are common pets. As you will read though, raptors were
> > the big issue for the loons, which they fixed with a screen.



Sell your car for just $30 at CarPoint.com.au. It's simple!

===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, 
send the message:
unsubscribe 
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU