FLYING AROUND THE FARLEIGHS WITH RAY MORRIS
Late again, but saved by the … bottle?
As per usual, I receive the customary email from the editor pointing out that Lifeline is going to press the next morning and subtly alluding to the fact that I have yet to submit my copy. Without a hint of panic, I uncork a bottle of wine to help me think about what Farleigh Folk would like to know (or should be told) about village birds.
The answer lay not in the bottom of my emptied glass – it rarely does – as on this occasion it was stuck on the outside of the bottle in the name of the grape. So, can you guess the grape when you read on?
The birds in question, one of the UK’s commonest and plentiful species, will be known to every resident who has spent time outdoors in their garden or simply enjoying a walk around the village. If they are of an age when they learned nursery rhymes from their parents – how many do nowadays? – they’ll recognise it as the Blackbird.
It is one of the few species that has adapted well to human changes to the environment, its population has increased by 17% since 1995, including a 1% increase in the last year. But this increase masks a worrying situation, one that is being carefully monitored now by the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
APHA is tasked with tracking new, potentially dangerous introduced species, like the Asian Hornet, that are a threat to our natural environment and/or human health. They are not just interested in the animal or plant itself, but in any pathogens, eg. a potentially harmful bacterium or virus, it may be carrying. Avian Flu is an obvious example, as is Covid-19, of the disastrous impact of an animal-borne virus spreading to other species and, in the horrific case of the latter, to humans.
So where do blackbirds fit in? While their national (and European) populations appear buoyant, it has suffered declines in some areas – notably in London and the Southeast (and the Netherlands). The cause is suspected to be infection with the Usutu virus. Originating in Africa the virus is slowly spreading north as the mosquito that carries it responds to our warming climate.
While the virus can transfer to humans, the flu-like symptoms are very mild in anyone infected. Indeed, it is likely they may have no symptoms at all. It may be that blackbirds will develop an immunity over time, along with other species that become vulnerable – it’s thought London house sparrows have succumbed too.
However, as avian flu in large flocks (e.g. in factory farms) eventually developed into a highly pathogenic variety that has spread to mammals, including humans on an American cattle farm, the government is spot on in ensuring that any pathogen appearing in the UK is carefully evaluated and tracked. Tracking fluctuations in bird populations is often the early-warning sign of something more sinister than just loss of habitat.
Now I’m not at all depressed by what I have written. I have enjoyed a pleasant glass of wine produced from my favourite grape. It is an early-ripening variety, allegedly much enjoyed by blackbirds (merles in French) – and named Merlot to reflect that fact.