Monday, September 08, 2008

Chough question

I know that Choughs feed on invertebrates and mainly on the ants Lassius flavious and L. niger, so did they at one time occupy coastal cliffs all around Britain ? The reason for my question is that I pointed out some Choughs today to some people whilst eating my butties at the top of Mynydd Mawr this lunchtime and when I told them this was one of the last strongholds of Choughs in Britain they asked why they did not occur in other areas of coast around Britain. I know Choughs are around in Cornwall, but I know of nowhere else that they occur or have occurred ? I assume that if they only occur in Cornwall and North Wales its because of lack of these sufficient numbers of these ants elsewhere ?

Not a bad spot to eat yer butties with glorious views across to Ireland and Ravens, Choughs and Peregrines to keep one entertained.
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3 comments:

AndyC said...

They have strongholds in Ireland and the isle of man and a few scottish islands,but apart from a few pairs in Cornwall, Wales is the stronghold on mainland britain

8:11 am
Alf King said...

As I recall they require well cropped grass right up to the cliff edge in order to successfully forage. This means that sheep would be running over the area for many years and running sheep in these areas has long been uneconomic. There aren't many places that have provided such conditions over a consistent period of time.

I await to be corrected.

9:50 am
Goldon Gordon said...

Hi Andy/Alf
Thanks for the information. Around the area I was in yesterday on Pen Llyn the area is owned by the National Trust (as is most of the coast around here) and several sections are grazed by sheep right to the edge and they are absolutely covered in thousands of ant mounds made by the Common Meadow Ant. I had assumed this was one of the reason why the area was so over grazed and why the Choughs are doing so well here. I seem to recall that Choughs are now using artificial nest sites in Cornwall ?

Surprisingly enough most people on Myndd Mawr gasp in wonder if they see a common seal in the sea below but totally ignore the rare "Crows" with red beaks passing around them. This is why I pointed them out yesterday to a group gaping at the cute seals but ignoring the Choughs. I did not bother with the Ravens or Perigrines as no doubt they have not watched these on a Bill Oddie program yet so are unware they occur in the wild and not just TV screens.

11:34 am

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