Surveying for Badgers - Restoring Force

Lord Brocktree

I grew up not only learning about badgers from my animal books but I read about them in a different capacity, through fiction I was enlightened. Throughout my childhood I read the Tales of Redwall books, written by the late Brian Jacques. It was a world where the majestic badger lords and ladies ruled the mountain kingdom of Salamandastron. They were the mightiest of warriors, the fairest rulers and the most respected of creatures. From Lord Brocktree to Lady Cregga Rose Eyes you could always rely on the badgers to protect their friends and dispatch their foe with unparallelled strength, along with The Long Patrol, their loyal army of Hares. These are the sorts of stories and tales which really captured my imagination, the stories they told were of a warriors code, destiny, duty, unity, friendship and villainy (some of them were really dark looking back on it) & subliminally they opened my eyes to the brilliant wildlife we can find in the United Kingdom. They resonate even today. Its safe to say I am very passionate about the badger, they rank highly and I, like many others do strive to help protect these creatures from the encroaching unjust, cruel and nonsensical threats poised against them by certain sectors of our society and government. Threats that are equally as poisonous and brutal without cause as some of the enemies I grew up reading about in the Redwall books.

Badger footprint

Peanut butter with red pellets

This reminiscing leads nicely into something our group at university has just started doing. We are helping to take part in some badger surveying around our universities estate. Its something I've always wanted to do, we have been told of the theory a million times but to actually go out and put some of the theory to use is superb! The setts had already been identified our role was to help with some bait marking surveys (not to be confused with the medieval badger baiting). First of all we walked around the areas of the setts identifying signs of presence, including footprints, snuffle holes and walkways. The next task was to find the latrines, these are originally snuffle holes in the ground which the badger then proceeds to use as a toilet, as a method of marking out their territory. Once we had found some (I never thought we'd be so happy to find poo) we could move onto the bait marking. This involved mixing a small amount of tiny (and I mean tiny, probably 2mm max) coloured plastic pellets in with a dollop of jam or peanut butter. We spaced these out around the setts ranges under heavy logs or stones. The reason for jam or peanut butter, well badgers like a lot of animals have an irresistible sweet tooth. Placing the bait under heavy logs or stones is also ideal as badgers are incredibly strong, with massive front paws. They will be easy for them to tip over to get to the bait whilst preventing other mammals such as foxes from getting to it. We used different coloured pellets for different setts. Once this was done it was time to retreat, the next stage begins tomorrow... early. We will have to revisit the latrines and look through the faeces (who said working with animals is glamorous). The pellets would have been digested and expelled as part of the faeces meaning that we can identify which coloured pellets are in which latrine, thus allowing us to mark out the territory for that particular sett (as they will leave some droppings in a number of latrines around the sett). It'll be a great way of helping us map out the local territories for our resident badgers, after all anything that can help us further understand them must be a good thing.

Snuffle holes

Badger pathway

The Results

Gearing up for action!

So the morning came and we were up bright an early to search the latrines, after a morning Starbucks to give us an energy boost we got walking to the setts. Due to the rain we were not expecting to get sterling results but that is the way of science! We went to sett after sett to no avail, we searched through the faeces but got no pellets. in with the faeces. After checking the latrines we searched the areas where we initially placed bait and got some interesting results. It turns out that in some instances the sweet jam or peanut butter had been devoured with a few pellets, but a large amount of the coloured pellets were left over and in other spots it hadn't been touched at all. It was a bit of a disappointment but still worthwhile, it gives us a chance to refine and evaluate. In all we have suggested that either too many pellets were used, making it look too conspicuous to the badgers hence they don't eat it, or it the ingested pellets haven't passed fully through their system yet. So the latrines will be checked again tomorrow to see if they have passed and more bait will be placed next week using less pellets which will be mixed more thoroughly with the jam and peanut butter.

Searching the latrines, as glamorous as it gets!

Jam gone, pellets remain

Round 2

Another week, another round of surveying. The pellets had been reset over the weekend and our group were in to check the latrines once more. Again it was a bit of a mixed week, in some places we found pellets in others, nothing. Its slightly frustrating but something you have to deal with, adapt and try again, after all this is a survey that overall could take years to get conclusive results from. Alongside searching latrines we did move the process further slightly. This week our main focus was classification of the setts, along with marking territory it is important that we understand which setts are which in a territory, whether they are the main sett, annexe setts subsidiary or outliers, this is vital information which becomes useful when mitigation arises, as it is more important to concentrate efforts on the main and annexe setts rather than outliers which are rarely used.

Latrine with faeces

Outlying sett

Unfortunately this was the last week we were out with the badgers, Time to leave it to the professionals. I know we could have stayed for the rest of the year working on this, i wouldn't have complained that's for sure, but our timetable says otherwise. We still have plenty of lectures that we can't afford to not have, as this conservation stream is the only part of the course I have an exam in this year.
So this ends my contribution with the wonder that is the badger, for now at least. I've thouroughly enjoyed it.

Birdman

The Philippine Eagle = AotW

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi)

Description

What better way to properly start off this feature then by introducing my overall favorite animal.
The Philippine eagle is also known as the monkey-eating eagle; it is the worlds largest eagle measuring at 86 - 102cm in length with a 2m wingspan. It weighs between 4.7 - 8.0 kilograms, meaning that although it is the largest in terms of length it is not in regard to weight and bulk with is being surpassed only by the Steller's sea eagle and Harpy eagle. Although it is the largest and one of the most powerful raptors it is also listed as one of the most endangered. IUCN classifies the species as one of the most critically endangered vertebrates on the planet.

IUCN classification of Philippine Eagle

The Philippine eagle's nape is adorned with long, brown feathers that form a shaggy crest. These feathers give it an appearance of possessing a lion's mane, possibly explaining why it is often called "habiron" meaning "king bird". It has a dark face and a creamy brown nape and crown. The top of the bird is dark brown whilst its underside and underwings are white . It has large, heavy yellow legs each containing large, dark powerful talons, the deep beak of the Philippine eagle is a bluish grey, similar to its eye colour. The plumage of the juveniles are similar to the adults except their underparts have pale fringes.

Klaus Nigge - National Geographic (2008)

Philippine eagle foundation

 

Eagle flying - Craig Steely

Size comparison against a human

Biology

The Philippine eagle can live for up to 60 years. They feed primarily on flying lemurs (90% of its diet), palm civets and monkeys, other prey items include rats, bats, snakes, flying squirrels and birds. They utilize 2 main hunting strategies. The first is still-hunting where the bird watches for its prey activity whilst sitting motionlessly on a branch near the canopy. The second strategy is perch-hunting, the eagle will gradually work its way down from the canopy by gliding from perch to perch looking for food. if unsuccessful the fly or circle back up to the top of the trees and work them again. 

Catching a monkey

Philippine eagle with prey

It has also been found that pairs of Philippine eagles will hunt troops of monkeys (typically the local macaque species) cooperatively. One bird perches near the troop acting as a decoy to distract them which allows the partner to swoop in from the rear and seize a monkey through the element of surprise. This method is particularly desired when hunting monkeys as the macaques are around the same size as the eagle.

The Philippine eagle is monogamous and they build their nests high up in the canopy at around 30m. The territory of a single pair can span 133 sq Km (51 sq m). They lay a single egg between October and December. Females sexually mature at 5 and the males at 7.  Nest building signals the beginning of courtship. Aerial displays play a large role in their courtship, they include paired soaring over nesting territory, the male chasing the female in a diagonal dive, and mutual talon presentation. The single egg is incubated for 62 days with both sexes participating in incubation, both sexes also help feed the eaglet. The eaglet itself fledges after 4 or 5 months and both parents take care of the chick for a total of 20 months.

Range and habitat

This eagle is endemic to the Philippines, and can be found on selective parts of the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. It was once widespread but today there is only thought to be less than 250 mature birds. Populations are very small and as of 2013 the Philippine eagles numbers were still thought to be decreasing in the wild. It inhabits remnant patches of primary dipterocarp forest.

The distribution of the Philippine eagle in blue-green

Threats and conservation

The decline of the Philippine eagle has been a direct result of habitat destruction and fragmentation, through commercial timber extraction and shifting cultivation. Forest continues to be lost rapidly, it is believed that as little as 9220 sq km may remain within the eagles range. In the short term, hunting has been the most significant threat, juveniles are easy to shoot and trap and adult birds may also accidentally get caught in traps, intended for pigs and deer, whilst hunting on the forest floor. The killing of a Philippine eagle is punishable by 12 years in jail and heavy fines.

Philippine eagle being caught

The falling numbers of the eagle was first bought to international attention in 1965 by the Filipino ornithologist Dioscoro S. Rabor and the director of the Parks & Wildlife Office, Jesus A. Alverez. The Monkey-eating Eagle Conservation Program was started in 1969. However, it was not until 1992 the first chicks were born in captivity, through artificial insemination. The first natural birth in captivity came in 1999. Successive releases in the early 21st century were unsuccessful with the bird being killed. Its numbers have continued to dwindle since then. The Philippine Eagle foundation of Davao City, Mindanao is the main organisation dedicated to the protection and conservation of the eagle and its habitat. They have successfully bred Philippine eagles in captivity for the last decade and conducted the first experimental release to the wild. The centre currently houses 35 birds (18 of which are captive bred). Ongoing research on behaviour, ecology and population dynamics is also underway including the setting up of protected lands specifically for this species. The Philippine eagle has also  become a flagship species of the Philippines and was declared the national bird of the Philippines by president Fidel V. Ramos in 1995. 

 In all seriousness this is one of the most marvelous creatures left on the planet. if habitat destruction continues it is unlikely that this species will ever recover. Below I'll post the link to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) website so you can all take a look at their work. This is a bird I would love to go out and work with in the future.

Website: http://www.philippineeagle.org/index?pageval=thepef

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Philippine-Eagle-Foundation-Official/149246185148978

Again none of the above images belong to me and all rights reserved to the original photographer. I do try and find the original source for as many of the photos as possible so I can give credit as I use them, but that's easier said then done.

Birdman.

The Penguin = AotW

This is the first entry in a new weekly feature for the blog. Now normally it would be a single species but this has fallen perfectly as today is penguin awareness day! So this week I'll be doing a little piece on the penguin.

The Penguin 

 Although all penguins share common features they are all uniquely different, they occupy different types of coast, different regions and climates, they also have different lifestyles and make use of different resources, this is what gives them their individuality in the ecosystem.

 Penguins are a flightless group of birds, which belong to the family Spheniscidae. Across the world there are 17 species of penguin, all of which can be found in the southern hemisphere. In light of not being able to fly the penguin has evolved quite differently to a lot of other avian species, birds that fly need a skeleton which is as light as possible, whereas the penguin is much heavier and robust as a light skeleton is not advantageous, a light, hollow skeleton would mean the bird would need to use a considerable amount of energy to overcome their natural buoyancy, a denser skeleton gives them greater strength and reduced buoyancy.

The distribution of penguins in the Southern hemisphere

The penguins history is thought to lead back to 50 million years ago, giving them a relativity long evolutionary history, this explains some of their unique structural differences, such as flippers (instead of wings) and a modified breast bone. despite this, many of the penguins alive today are very similar, they mostly have blackish upperparts and whitish underparts on the abdomen and flippers, acting as camouflage against the lighter sky when viewed from below and vice versa. Another unique adaptation are its interlocking feathers which act as barrier to water, each feather contains small muscles which allows them to be held tightly down against the birds body whilst it swims, acting as a sort of water proof layer. Not only this but it also means that little air is trapped within the plumage helping to further reduce buoyancy. In contrast, when on land these feathers are erect to do the opposite by trapping warm air to provide sufficient insulation. Fat deposits under the skin also provides insulation; a highly adapted vascular system is also present to maximize this. It works in such a way that heat loss can be greatly reduced from the extremities (flippers and feet) by keeping them as low as 6 Celsius despite a core body temperature of 39 Celsius, this reduces heat loss during winter and vice versa in summer months through a reversal of the system.

Penguins must retain their waterproof coating in their plumage, to do this they annually push out the old feathers and grow new ones during a molt. This requires a period of fasting by the penguin as they cannot reenter the water until their plumage has fully returned, and the water is where their entire food source is located. Incubation and brooding are also periods of fasting for penguins. During these phases they can greatly reduce their metabolic rate in order to reduce the rate at which fat reserves are used. To ensure the feathers keep their waterproofing, feathers are preened constantly with a waxy substance from a gland at the base of the tail. In areas that are inaccessible for self preening allopreening within the flock is seen, this is also part of their pair bonding behaviours. However, this is not seen in all penguin species

Whilst ungainly on land the penguin is a perfect aquatic predator in the water, they can reach speeds of up to 14km per hour for prolonged periods of time. They dive in search of prey and when located, they chase it and swallow it whole under the water, they have good all round vision and are able to alter the lens in their eye depending on if they are on land or in water, enaing they can compensate for the differing refractive indexes. The penguins eye is also more sensitive to greens and blues (due to hunting in the water). They eat fish, cephalopods and crustaceans as well as the occasional small stone to help break up food in the stomach. All penguins have the ability to dive to around 100m but larger species such as the king and emperor penguins have been recorded at around 500m. Healthy adult penguins have few natural predators on land, although on occasion Sea Lions have been known to take them on land. On land it is the eggs and chicks that are more at risk, Skuas and Gulls will often predate them, whereas in the water adults are prey to leopard seals, sea lions and orca. 

As a last note I will say that penguins are declining on a global scale. the main suspects are climate change, fisheries and disease and pollution. A greater understanding is needed of these great birds, in terms of their ecology and how they are affected by such threats. That is where days like today are great, in raising the awareness needed to help support the penguin.

(Information from a variety of sources including the International Penguin Conservation Work Group (IPCWG) go check out their website and their specific work in protecting this marvelous bird)

http://www.penguins.cl/index.htm

Species

1) Aptenodytes  - Great Penguins

  

• King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

• Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)

2) Pygoscelis - Brush-tailed Penguins

 

• Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

 

• Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antartica) 
  

   

• Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua)

3) Eudyptula  - Little penguins

• Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor)

4) Spheniscus - Banded Penguin

 

• Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus)

• Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldt)

•  Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) 

• African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)

5) Megadyptes

•  Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes)

6) Eudyptes - Crested Penguins

• Fiordland Penguin (Eudyptes pachyrynchus)

 

• Snares Penguin (Eudyptes robustus)

•  Erect-crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri)

• Western Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome)
• Eastern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes filholi)
• Northern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi)

• Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli)

• Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)

(Above list adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org)

*Disclaimer – I do not claim ownership for any of the above images, nor do they belong to me, they are copyrighted with all rights reserved to the original photographer*

Birdman.