Tuesday, March 31, 2009

EGP 31/03/09

2 Teal on R Calder
5 Goosander on R Calder
2 Cormorant on ski lake
1 Grey Heron
1 female Sparrowhawk
1 LBB Gull
1 adult Herring Gull W up R Calder
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming
11 Sand Martin
4 Swallow
2 singing Song Thrush
1 singing Blackcap
6 singing Chiffchaff
2 Siskin
25 Lesser Redpoll

2 Roe Deer near railway line south of Tag Loop

1 guy firing a shotgun by the fishing lake around 10:00hrs this morning scared me and other passers-by witless so I suspect the Cormorant number was less than 2 after I left.

Nice to meet another birder (Mike Henshaw) who happened to be tucking into a butty with relish at the time from the thriving mobile snack bar by the Avocet empire.
Posted by at

8 comments:

Andrew Huyton said...

david the guy firing his shot gun would of a. Been breaking the law by firing so close to public rights of way and b. Aiming at birds prob cormorant which is also against the law please if you witness this again take his photo if safe for you to do so but first ring 999 telling them firearm crime being committed. We need to stop these people.

2:37 pm
Andrew Huyton said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
4:03 pm
Goldon Gordon said...

Andrew...I think that the Angling club have a licence to shoot a certain number of Cormorants per year. Might be wise to check with the angling club first before phoning the police.

4:54 pm
Mike Henshaw said...

Nice to meet David this morning and the butty was very nice.The first shot was discharged as I was walking down to the chuck wagon and the second shot was discharged when I was past Cromwell Bridge.As far as I am aware they have permit to shoot Cormorant and Goosander and I did not see the victims this morning and I have no idea how to check on the permit but if I see them I will take a photo.

6:19 pm
Jeff Cox said...

If anyone wishes to check on the shooting licence status, the fishing at Brookfoot Lake belongs to Brighouse Angling Association and contact numbers are given at the bottom of their web page:
http://www.brighouseangling.co.uk/index.html

8:23 pm
Goldon Gordon said...

Hi Guys
I have just spoken with an official from Brighouse Angling Club and asked for clarification on shooting. This is his response:

DEFRA have issued a licence for them to Shoot TWO cormorants anually. This is to be reviewed yearly. They also have permission to shoot to scare Goosanders. They do not have permission to shoot Goosanders to kill.

I have informed the person I spoke with that the shooting had been observed. I also informed him that any future shooting or shot birds at the lake would be monitored by local birders to ensure that they did not step outside the permission granted by DEFRA.

7:11 pm
Nick Carter said...

Nice one Paul, even whilst no longer living in the area you're still fighting for EGP

7:20 pm
Goldon Gordon said...

Just a thought about this shooting at the Angling Lake. Does anyone know the legal status of shooting near nesting birds ? I woould have thought at this time of year shooting and thus intentionally causing disturbance near to nesting birds was an offence under the wildlife and countryside act.

My other thought about this is that if they are using shot as opposed to blank cartridges that a heath and safety risk assement needs to be carried out before any shooting takes place ? As someone who rough shoots regularly in Wales for rabbits, one is always aware of safety risks and does not carried a loaded gun or shoot near public access points. Using live shotgun cartridges even loaded with no 6 game shot (which is very light) carries the risk of loose shot coming into contact with someones eyes even a distance away from the person shooting and causing damage to the eyes.

The above points could perhaps be checked out with the local wildlife police officer and the RSPB.

Finally although I now live in an area where regular shooting takes place it does not take place at this time of year. Sensible shooters who rough shoot for the pot do not shoot in Spring and early Summer as it disturbs breeding wildlife. Even foxes are left well alone at this time of year as they have cubs which would starve if the vixen was shot. So using a shotgun at this time of year is not usual which makes me even more suspicious of whats taking place in Calderdale.

7:44 am

Post a Comment