Eco Hvar

Bird Watch early January 2016

Steve from Dol reports:

Blue tit. Photo Steve Jones Blue tit. Photo Steve Jones

I have been out bird watching a couple of times but a little disappointing. Made the mistake of going out on the 6th January.

Hunters everywhere and not a bird in sight. Came over on the back road from Vrbanj to Jelsa yesterday as the land promises much but once again very quiet. I managed to get two poor pictures of the Hooded Crow, both these and Buzzards are very flighty. Even photographing from the car they take flight at the slightest movement.

My Blackbirds which I thought were nest building due to all their activity are not. I noticed yesterday morning that 4 males were all eating the berries on the ivy on a ruined building next door.  My garden list for 2016 stands at 7 species which have touched down, my garden in the UK would generally hit 15 species by January looking back at the last 2 years, I am putting this down to just natural food sources. I keep looking for Brambling here amongst the Chaffinch but it's just wishful thinking it seems.

Steve Jones, Dol 9th January 2016

Crows on posts. Photo Steve Jones

Comment from Eco Hvar

Sundays and Wednesdays are hunting days during part of the winter - roughly October 15th to January 15th, although the dates may be subject to change each year. Officially hunting should stop at 2pm, maybe 3pm (it seems to vary according to who you ask), but the hunters sometimes stay out longer, at least round here. Very tedious, as I have to go down to my field to feed the dogs in the afternoon, and it's a bit scary. I don't think I look like a rabbit or pheasant, but I'm wary in case they shoot on sound rather than sight, especially if they've had a few rounds of wine with their lunch!

Dol: roadside herbicide. 6th January 2016. Photo Vivian Grisogono

Your garden birds may be suffering rather than simply dining elsewhere. I was in Dol on Wednesday, dining at the (extremely fine) Stančić restaurant, and saw that just outside their property someone has sprayed Cidokor (Roundup) liberally over some fields of vines and olives, also over a bit of land on the edge of the woodland abutting the road. Presumably the last bit was to use up what was left in the spray canister. Any birds around during the spraying would have been poisoned at least to some degree, their habitats and ground feeding possibilities eliminated.

Herbicide in Dol, 6th January 2016. Photo Vivian Grisogono

Sadly, the spraying has started early this year, possibly because of the fine weather up to New Year. We (Eco Hvar) are organizing a seminar in February about organic agriculture, with the aim of pointing up the hazards and detriments of pesticides, and the alternative ways of controlling unwanted plants and insects which are more environmentally friendly. The message will take a long time to percolate through.

VG 9th January 2016

For more of Steve's beautiful nature pictures, see his personal pages: Bird Pictures on Hvar 2017, and Butterflies of Hvar

Related items

back to top
You are here: Home Nature Watch Bird Watch early January 2016

Eco Environment News feeds

  • London, San Francisco and Beijing achieve ‘remarkable reductions’ in air pollution

    Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20%

    London, San Francisco and Beijing are among 19 global cities that have achieved “remarkable reductions” in air pollution, analysis has found, having slashed levels of two airway-aggravating pollutants by more than 20% since 2010.

    The analysis found interventions such as cycle lanes, uptake of electric cars and restrictions on polluting vehicles had helped to drive the improvements.

    Continue reading...

  • Reaching net zero by 2050 ‘cheaper for UK than one fossil fuel crisis’

    Climate change committee finds move to renewable energy would also bring health, economic and security benefits

    Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast.

    Eliminating the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels by adopting renewable energy and green technologies, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps, would be the best and most cost-effective option for the future economy, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) found.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘The last frontier’: how red globules of nickel ore are suffocating an island’s precious wilderness

    In the race to meet the demands of the energy transition, biodiversity hotspots such as Palawan in the Philippines are being increasingly mined for critical elements

    Moharen Tahil Tambiling lowers himself from the fishing boat into the water and gingerly picks his way over the reef circling the bay. At low tide here in Brooke’s Point on Palawan, a long, rugged island in the south-west of the Philippines archipelago, the coral is just under the surface, and it looms suddenly under the waves, scraping at the boat’s wooden hull.

    Beneath his feet are brain-like mounds and curling fingers of coral. Leaning over the side of the fishing boat, the men point out different kinds: some which were once vibrant orange and others that should be delicate pink. Now, almost everything is the same dull khaki, covered by a thick film of silt. Another man jumps overboard, stirring the sediment. A cloud rises like thick smoke over the reef.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Severe water stress’: why desalination plants are the Gulf’s greatest weakness

    Recent attack on plants led to fears of escalating strikes, but Iran knows drought has left it equally vulnerable

    In 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.

    Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And the greatest threat to the region’s water supply? “Iran.”

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: Primroses turn a churchyard buttery yellow, heralding spring | Sarah Lambert

    Bainton, Cambridgeshire: Villagers gather each year on Palm Sunday to celebrate these scented flowers

    Beside the lichen-encrusted churchyard wall, a robin sings from the dark heart of a yew, its clear notes rising above the gruff calls of nesting rooks. Along the path, a bank of buttery primroses glows beside the bright stars of lesser celandine, offering early forage to the first pollen-dusted solitary bee. Across the gravestones, small points of colour are beginning to appear. St Mary’s churchyard stirs in readiness for the annual Bainton primrose festival, when villagers gather on Palm Sunday to celebrate this quiet herald of spring.

    The primrose has long symbolised renewal. In earlier times, landowners would open their woods on Good Friday so that parishioners could gather the scented flowers for Easter decorations. Here in Bainton, their abundance owes much to a thoughtful former churchwarden who delayed mowing until early June, allowing the plants to set and shed seed. Since then, primroses have spread beyond the churchyard and on to the verges of this Fen‑edge village.

    Continue reading...

  • How nature is being sacrificed for mining across the world – a data visualisation

    Analysis has found more than 3,000 mining operations within the most naturally precious areas of the planet, a much bigger footprint than previously thought

    Weda Bay is just one example of a global trend that could see the mining industry expand into some of Earth’s last areas of wilderness in search of minerals and materials to feed the global economy.

    Analysis produced for the Guardian by a group of academic researchers found more than 3,267 mining operations within key biodiversity areas (KBAs), accounting for nearly 5% of the mining sector’s global footprint. China, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico top the rankings for total surface mining area within key biodiversity areas, the most naturally precious areas of the planet.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘When I leave, part of me stays’: why Scarborough’s youth won’t turn their backs on the seaside town they love

    Hemmed in by the sea and poor transport links, many young people from the Yorkshire town feel trapped, but there is also a pride in the area

    It’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.

    Just up from the seafront in the centre of town, Jack and Charlie, both 17, are leaning forward listening to a story from 19-year-old Keane about his recent visit to a drama school in London, where he is hoping to apply for a place on an actor training course once he has saved enough money.

    Scarborough, on the North Yorkshire coast, was one of England’s first seaside resorts

    Continue reading...

  • March for Romans was a time to sow conflict as well as crops

    Rome did not only organise its agriculture in tune with the rhythm of the seasons, it also fought its wars that way

    March is named for the Roman god Mars. He was among other things the god of agriculture, and the month was marked by ceremonies to protect new crops from bad weather.

    Mars was the god of war too, and better weather also meant the start of the campaigning season. The roles sometimes merged. In one of the oldest Roman ceremonies, the “leaping priests” of Mars, 12 young men from noble families would dress as ancient warriors and parade around the city singing in an archaic form of Latin for a good beginning to the planting season.

    Continue reading...

  • Harold ‘the Kangaroo’ Thornton: the extraordinary, forgotten life of the ‘greatest genius who ever lived’

    The Australian artist was a relentless self-promoter, prolific painter and pro wrestler. He loved a tall tale – but his true story was remarkable

    If you checked out the Archibald prize finalists back in 1983, one painting in particular might have caught your eye. Taking up seven feet of wall space, Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz is a psychedelic portrait of Bob Brown, rendered in rich colours and filled with hidden details: from faces smuggled into the trees to little green men walking around Brown’s feet.

    But just as noteworthy as the painting was the man standing next to it. Clad in hand-painted clothes, with painted false teeth in his mouth and a walking stick he didn’t really need in his hand, stood Harold “the Kangaroo” Thornton, the artist and self-described “greatest genius that ever lived”.

    Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

    Continue reading...

  • Peak interest: Toronto’s snow mountains that refuse to melt are a toxic hazard

    Reaching up to 100ft, these massive piles contain tonnes of salt that keep roads clear – but pose environmental risks

    Most mountains take tens of millions of years to form. Toronto’s newest mountain took just days.

    Towering atop the crowns of evergreens, it has no skeleton of limestone or granite. There are no spires, cornices or headwalls. It is simply piles upon piles of snow, mixed with a toxic cocktail of road salt, antifreeze, oil, coffee cups and lost keys. It is the final resting place for the forces of nature that have battered the city in recent weeks – and a daunting environmental hazard.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.