Latest news with #JacquieClark
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Oystercatcher birds outlive life expectancy by 30-plus years
Two oystercatchers that have outlived the species' average life expectancy by some 30 years have been discovered by bird surveyors. In February, bird recorders from the Wash Wader Research Group (WWRG) found an oystercatcher believed to be about 41 years and eight months old, at RSPB Snettisham in Norfolk. A few weeks later, they found an even older bird - aged 43 - on The Wash Estuary in Lincolnshire. It said both birds found were healthy and in a good condition. The average lifespan of an oystercatcher, recognisable by its black and white feathers, orange bill and red legs, is about 12 years, said the bird experts. Jacquie Clark, from WWRG, said: "It was amazing to find the first oystercatcher and confirm it was the UK's oldest, but we're even more stunned that it's all happened again within just a few weeks. "To find an even older bird on The Wash is astounding. It just shows how crucial this huge coastal wetland is for these birds."The conservation charity said bird ringing in Britain and Ireland was coordinated and licenced by Thetford-based British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), which was able to confirm the ages of both birds. Bird ringing has been used to monitor wild bird populations for more than a century. Dr Ellie Leach, head of the BTO ringing scheme, said: "We know that the average oystercatcher lives for 12 years, but birds in their 20s and 30s are regularly recorded, so these two birds are old but not completely unexpected."Jim Scott, RSPB estate operations manager at Titchwell Marsh and Snettisham Reserve, said The Wash was a site of "international importance" for oystercatchers, with about 26,000 nesting there. He said: "Oystercatchers rely on The Wash mudflats for food as they are jam-packed with invertebrates such as ragworms, snails and shellfish. "So, in some ways, it's not really a surprise that these two record-breaking oystercatchers choose to spend every winter here."As time goes on we may find the longevity record of oystercatchers keeps getting extended... it just shows how important it is that we protect these areas." Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, or BBC Suffolk.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Norfolk bird charity finds Britain's oldest known oystercatchers
If your ears are assaulted by the shrill piping calls of an excitable bird on the east coast of England, fear not: it's probably an oystercatcher experiencing a midlife crisis. Two of the handsome black and white birds with bright red-orange bills have been found to be the oldest known oystercatchers ever recorded in Britain, clocking up at least 41 and 43 years on the mudflats of the Wash. The venerable birds were spotted alive and well this winter by volunteer bird surveyors at RSPB Snettisham in Norfolk. Investigations of the data noted down from their leg rings found that one, 41 years and eight months old, had been ringed as a chick in 1983, probably at the same nature reserve. The elder bird was discovered a few weeks later and was already at least three years old when fitted with a leg ring in 1982, which could make it as much as 46 years old. Like many sea and shore birds, oystercatchers can be long-livedand reach their 20s or 30s, but on average survive for just 12 years. Jacquie Clark, from the Wash Wader Research Group, a conservation charity which rings birds around the Wash, said: 'It was amazing to find the first oystercatcher and confirm it was the UK's oldest, but we're even more stunned that it's all happened again within just a few weeks. To find an even older bird on the Wash is astounding, it just shows how crucial this huge coastal wetland is for these birds.' These oystercatchers do not live on the Wash all year round but migrate to the region every winter to find safety and reliable food – invertebrates such as ragworms, snails and shellfish – on the mudflats. Wintering sites are likely to have been passed down through generations of oystercatchers. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Jim Scott, the RSPB estate operations manager for the Titchwell Marsh and Snettisham reserves, said: 'The Wash is the single most important coastal wetland in the UK for migrating and over-wintering wading birds, ducks and geese, supporting up to 400,000 water birds each year. Up to 26,000 of these are oystercatchers, making the Wash a site of international importance for this species, as it is for many others. The records of these two birds illustrate just how important it is to protect England's east coast wetlands.'
