This fluffy little chick has given conservationists cause to celebrate after it was found pecking around in Westcountry undergrowth.
The baby storm petrel is the first of its species ever recorded on Lundy Island, off the North Devon coast, and its discovery has provided further evidence that the island’s seabird protection project is making progress.
Bird ringers Luke Phillips, Tony John and Tony Taylor – all members of Lundy Field Society – came across the tiny chick while searching for manx shearwater hatchlings in a west coast colony, and were amazed at the find.
“We saw a small dark shape moving in the bracken and as we approached, we quickly realised it was a storm petrel,” explained Mr phillips.
“We realised it was a very special one indeed when we picked it up and found its belly was coated in down,” added Mr Taylor. “This was certainly my most special Lundy moment in the past 40 years.”
Lundy’s seabirds are protected by its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
But a gradual decline in bird numbers prompted residents and conservationist to establish the island’s Seabird Recovery Project to improve conditions for breeding.
The scheme was initially targeted at boosting puffin and manx shearwater populations by reducing the local rat population, which are a known predator for burrow nesting birds.
However, Lundy warden, Beccy MacDonald, said there were always hopes that it would encourage other bird species on the island.
“We’ve been celebrating the success of the Seabird Recovery Project through news of the large increases in our Manx Shearwater and Puffin populations and hoped that one day we would find a Storm Petrel chick,” she said.
“We are ecstatic at the news that these wonderful seabirds have begun breeding on Lundy.”
A small, black and white bird, adult storm petrels usually weigh less than 30g and retreat to nests located in burrows at night to avoid predators.
Nik Ward, of Natural England, said their discovery on Lundy “adds another significant species to the list for this important colony”.
National Trust’s head of conservation, David Bullock, also recognised the importance of the find.
“I have been visiting Lundy for over 20 years, including in the dark days when rats were everywhere, shearwaters were rare and storm petrels non-existent,” he said.
“The discovery is the first evidence we have that indicates this beautiful bird of the ocean is now on the island.”
Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Conservationist-s-delight-arrival-new-bird/story-23177531-detail/story.html#ixzz3GVMq1rEZ
Kinshasa in 1955 Kinshasa, pictured in 1955, was at the centre of the pandemic, scientists say
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Early HIV drugs are 'not a cure'
Aids can be 'under control by 2030'
HIV origin 'found in wild chimps'
The origin of the Aids pandemic has been traced to the 1920s in the city of Kinshasa, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists say.
An international team of scientists say a "perfect storm" of population growth, sex and railways allowed HIV to spread.
A feat of viral archaeology was used to find the pandemic's origin, the team report in the journal Science.
They used archived samples of HIV's genetic code to trace its source, with evidence pointing to 1920s Kinshasa.
Their report says a roaring sex trade, rapid population growth and unsterilised needles used in health clinics probably spread the virus.
Meanwhile Belgium-backed railways had one million people flowing through the city each year, taking the virus to neighbouring regions.
Experts said it was a fascinating insight into the start of the pandemic.
HIV came to global attention in the 1980s and has infected nearly 75 million people.
It has a much longer history in Africa, but where the pandemic started has remained the source of considerable debate.
Family affair
A team at the University of Oxford and the University of Leuven, in Belgium, tried to reconstruct-READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29442642
The rat (pictured) was discovered in the late 1990s in Cornwall. It was originally found covered in black hair, which has since faded. It is said to be more than 650 years old, and experts believe it may have been interred while still alive, to protect the homeowners. But, no evidence of the disease was found on the rat’s body
+3
The rat (pictured) was discovered in the late 1990s in Cornwall. It was originally found covered in black hair, which has since faded. It is said to be more than 650 years old, and experts believe it may have been interred while still alive, to protect the homeowners. But, no evidence of the disease was found on the rat’s body
However, no evidence of the disease was found on the rat’s body.
The mummified remains were found during renovations to the staircase at 107 The Terrace, Penryn.
It was originally covered in black hair, but this has faded since the rat was removed.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2774983/Mummified-rodent-building-renovations-dates-Black-Death.html#ixzz3FBUOvBs3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook