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16 Nov 2009 11:45 PM

Chores out of the way, my wife said,  'Why don't you go for a walk,' and I took this to mean that she thought I should be out from under her feet. 

The light was poor but I did not need telling twice and, before long, I was driving towards one of the local nature reserves I like to visit. 

Actually, it was a grim looking day and because the winds were in the wrong direction, I knew that there would not be an influx of migratory birds.  No matter, I would enjoy the walk. 

Has it turned out; I saw a bird I had not seem for some time (A female Scaup.) The duck is a bit like a female tufted duck but its facial markings are much more pronounced and so is the colouration on the face. 

In the poor light, I only saw about 35 species of birds but, while I was sitting in a hide, two men came into the hide and one of the men told me that there had been a controlled shoot on the lake I was looking out over.

The shoot was to try and cull 'Ruddy Ducks' which are supposed to be interbreeding with a rare species of duck in Spain. 

I personally do not favour culling and prefer natural selection.  If it is so important to have culls, why are they not done is Spain?  I ask myself. 

Many years ago, when I was a young man, someone came up with the idea of culling Magpies so I conducted my own survey.  Every year, in winter, 23 Magpies came to a site I was taking particular interest in.  If one bird was killed, another bird took its place and the number 23 remained the same for several years. 

For me, getting to know that culling had taken place, on the site I was watching, it was a sad reflection on all the work, over the years, I had undertaken to try and protect the habitats and wildlife of the country.

By for now,

John. 

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