It Seems "The Black Death" Are Alive And Well..

Neil Maidment · Feb 5, 2007

Spent a few hours on the lower Stour today (bluddy cold but had a few Chub).

Whilst sat there, I counted 9 Cormorants winging their way up river (towards Throop!). They were at a fair altitude but all heading in the same direction. I wonder which stretch/lake/pond suffered today?

Jeff ( Lucky ) Spiller · Feb 5, 2007

Neil lets hope someone was there to meet them.

Steve Spiller · Feb 6, 2007

They don't like cormorants on the Throop!

Especially the one that grabbed and eat a rather large chub two years ago, it couldn't take off after eating it. I'm sure I heard a loud bang about five hundred yards downstream...........

Mithrandir · Feb 6, 2007

When I was a lad we used to get a 5 shilling bounty for a cormorants head from the local fishermen in Poole harbour. do they still do that or have the conservationists stopped it?

Steve Spiller · Feb 6, 2007

5 shillings? what's that? ;-)

I think fisheries have now got a very strict quota of cormorants that they are allowed to "take out"!

Neil Maidment · Feb 6, 2007

Indeed, strictly licences for a defined number of birds now.

Unfortunately, a lot of licence holders seem to keep shooting the "wrong" ones (allegedly) and have to keep trying to shoot the "right" ones!

Mark Wintle · Feb 6, 2007

The beak bounty went with the protection that came in with the 1981 act; from memory 50p at the time it went. Then the number or cormorants rocketed with calamitous effects on Poole Harbour.

The ones Neil saw are part of a large group that roost in Christchurch Harbour; one lot go up the Avon, the others up the Stour.

It Seems "The Black Death" Are Alive And Well..

Neil Maidment

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