NO MORE OSPREYS.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19893, 23 May 1936, Page 23 (Supplement)

NO MORE OSPREYS.

#__.o__\,__ RIFLED NESTS. NATURALISTS‘ DISAPPOINTMENT. ___... LONDON, April 24'. A pah‘ of Old Ospreys (fish hawks made their humu on an island in a Scottish loch, says the Sunday Ex~ press They were the last pair in Britain. Naturalists waited. hopefully. ’l‘heii‘ eggs were laid uncl the old hen took her post on the nest. - “Clever" collectors. An egg collector heard of the eggs Ha persuaded some one to swim out

i to the island and steal the eggs. To—dny those eggs are the pride lo!” somv Ono's collection. ‘ Hui. [here are no more Ospreys in 1 Briluin. ’ Mr N. Tracey, :1 Norfolk naturalist, has established a private him sanc—-ium-y near King‘s Lynn He de—scribed the fate of the ospreys to a

Sunday Express representative and added:~ “There are laws protecting rare birds and making it an offence to steal their eggs. but the collectors are clever. "There is a gang of men in London who specialise in the collection of rare hirds' ngp‘s. They travel by motor car to all parts of the country. Raiding Nests. "They pose as l'l'r'lllll‘élllfiifi. and carry a dummy camera. \\ltit-h they produce it' they are challenged. “They gatht‘r Illlli‘li of the information about rart! ltirtls from tho perindit: census returns issum‘l iuy llto Hillel‘ent. societies. "The snt-ielins sltrttilri rcl't'nin from publishing: tho localities in \\hit'h Ihr birrls hmr- nested. “Collectors :trr- nmv t-mn‘cniraling on lllc eggs or him illlll l'tl\'t‘l‘l.\‘. ] lmnw that “It“ gum: is al “Lurk in one district. in \\‘nlcs raiding ticsisl Kites are. hemmim: extint'l in this country, and l bclime there are only three. pairs lrl‘t. “Ravens, int). :trc hot-omin; few. They are to he found in Cornwall, and only this week I had information from the Cornish coast that. the raiders had been seen there. “In the Spay Valley. the collectors are searching for the ems of the crested lit. the greenshnnk and the dotterel, three species of birds which are rapidly disappearing. “Not content with stealinn one ‘clutch' or each species. the collectors return time and time again to the nests. ‘ "A schomt‘ is hcing prepared by naturalists under “him it is hoped to put a chm-k on lhc activities of the (XI: stmicrs, “littllt‘t'lnrs illitt‘lf‘ :1 mill rm lhr‘ nr‘sis nf l‘ili‘l‘ i‘ll'il‘ in .\nrrnik, and were \‘u’illfl’ill \\itlt v;_'_:s, Challenged. “.\ kl‘i‘l'il‘l' l'ililiil‘llj-Yi‘ii them. but lilf‘)‘ ittlll :t slur} In in“ \\ltit-lt iii ”11‘ lilill‘ ltu t'utiltl tittl (lispi‘tn't'. 'l'ltt' tit'\l llu)‘ illl‘ mllilt' turn \\t'l'l‘ l‘uttlttl :tllnnst nulti‘tl nl'nr tltn- tit-sis. ’l'ltoy “til-I .‘\\lllll :t t'i\'i't' in l‘t'nt‘ll Hti' mist :tittl ‘Sil'ill Hli‘ Hit—l's. “’l'lit-rt- is :t l't-:_'ul.tt‘ trade in l':li"‘ lL“'—\' I‘nr l'l'llt’l'ltll~ \\iil [my us much its litrut- nl‘ l'mtt- lttttttttls for our t~\> t't‘pitnitully tum- t_-_ _\~ llu- lint- is willy L'l Im‘ |’\i‘l'} I'll: \iull'll. :ttul liiml. 1‘ 1| lll\.lll|llllit. lltn'i'w is «ILL-it lqllllt' .l immisnntn tit‘uiii."