IT doesn't look like a good winter for the original Liver Birds - after changes to the licensing system for controlling them, the ace anglers could be forgiven for keeping a low profile. Of course, any reduction in the cormorant population will be music to the ears of human fishermen, but it doesn't mean that any fewer cormorants will be raiding their fisheries in the future. Cormorants from all over Europe winter in Britain, and up to 4,000 were killed under licence from 1983 to 1992, according to the RSPB. Up to 3,000 could be done away with this winter. Numbers are swelled by winter visitors from Europe, the subspecies of cormorant "sinensis" which tends to favour inland locations, and has remained to breed at sites in the Home Counties. Why bother killing them in winter then, if next year the numbers will only be swelled by more visitors from the continent? Aged examples of the UK race, "carbo" are often mistaken for "sinensis" on our coast, because of the white crown feathers that older UK birds share with European visitors - we all go grey (or bald) in the end. I confess to being cautioned over my "impetuous claims" of the European race on Southport marina over 20 years ago by no less than Eric Hardy, and quickly learnt to treat identifying all "sinensis" with care - but the numbers of birds of this race are on the increase. You can enjoy big winter cormorant roosts at Marshside, and "Fortress Seaforth" - but don't forget to make the proper arrangements for a visit to the latter first. Julian Hughes, the RSPB's head of species conservation, said: "Government, angling and conservation bodies have a responsibility to work together to continue to improve our wetlands for wildlife and to develop non-lethal ways to sustain fish populations to ensure a positive future for both angling and cormorants." Quite right Julian - killing cormorants just because they're good at what they do is like clamping a Ferrari because it might go very fast, or felling a healthy tree because it has too many leaves. Those anglers envious of the superior skills of the cormorant, may do well to ponder whether overstocked waterholes offering "fish in a barrel" to the less ambitious in the rod and line brigade, are one of the reasons why so many cormorants are wintering in the UK in the first place. What do YOU think about controlling cormorants? Cast your vote on the POST website www.icliverpool.co.uk/country/ * In torrential rain I watched as a blue tit visited the peanut feeder at Dempsey Towers. Nothing noteworthy about that, but what was odd was that the garden regular flew into a nearby "robin" nestbox to eat its meal out of the rain. It repeated the manoeuvre several times - could it be that our mild, wet winters are even getting to the birds? Has anyone else seen blue tits doing this? * As part of celebrations for World Wetlands Day, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is offering free entry to Martin Mere on January 30 and 31. A record-breaking flock of 1,850 whooper swans has been counted recently. * Two ravens gorged on a dead sheep on Altcar Moss, where Derek Williams also counted 356 fieldfares. Nearby Haskayne irrigation pools had 115 stock doves. * Submit your items of news for the column by calling John Dempsey on 0151 472 2408 (Mon to Fri) or e-mail him at john.dempsey@liverpool.com | 
