Welcome to Goallover.org
Goallover.org is a not for profit site dedicated to encouraging internet users to make regular and more varied donations to charities. It takes less than 5 minutes to decide which of our partners to support, so we hope you pick one, click through, and sign up today.
- SPONSOR A CHILD - AFRICA - CHOICE OF 42 COUNTRIES / MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP - £20 A MONTH... More →
- SPONSOR A CHILD - AMERICAS - CHOICE OF 21 COUNTRIES / MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP - £20 A MONTH... More →
- SPONSOR A CHILD - ASIA - CHOICE OF 26 COUNTRIES / MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP - £20 A MONTH... More →
- SPONSOR A CHILD IN INDIA - CHOICE OF 32 INDIAN CITIES / MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP - £20 A MONTH... More →
- SPONSOR A CHILD IN CHINA - CHOICE OF 9 CHINESE PROVINCES / MINIMUM SPONSORSHIP - £20 A MONTH... More →
- SPONSOR AN ORPHAN IN HAITI - SOS Children's Villages is providing food, water and shelter for earthquake orphans... More →
CHARITY BLOG
‘LADETTE’ BIRD BACK FROM THE BRINK
Scottish phalarope bouncing back from near extinction.
The RSPB is delighted to see one of Scotland’s rarest and strangest birds battling back from the brink of extinction. Red-necked phalaropes have become so rare that they are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of endangered species.
They disappeared from the Scottish mainland in the early 1980s, with numbers dropping to an all-time low in 2008 of just 17 breeding pairs in the Western Isles and Shetland
It is unknown why they have suffered such serious declines. However, predation by foxes and hedgehogs, theft of their eggs by collectors, lack of suitable habitat and climate change are thought to have played a part.
But last year they showed the first signs of recovery and rose to 26 pairs.
Their demise in recent years is particularly sad as they are particularly unique birds, fascinating even experts in ornithology.
The birds have inverted gender roles compared to that found in most of nature.
The females display bright colours in the competition to find a mate, compete for nesting territory and will aggressively defend their nests and mates. Once they have laid their eggs, they will abandon the male to look after the brood, while they search for another mate. Sometimes they spend just two days with each male.
While the females hunt for mates, the smaller, duller-coloured males stay on the nest guarding eggs.
James Reynolds, spokesman for RSPB Scotland, said they were “fascinating little birds”.
“The really interesting thing is how their sexual behaviour completely goes against traditional gender stereotypes, with the females behaving like the equivalent of the modern-day, liberated ‘laddette’.”
“It is a more extreme, avian version of the sexual revolution that we saw in the 1960s.”
Malcolm Smith, RSPB Scotland North Isles Officer, said he was delighted by the rise in pairs, but would not allow their efforts in providing hope for the near-extinct bird to lead to complacency: “Unfortunately numbers are still below our targets and there is no guarantee we will be able to repeat this success next year.”
