REVIEWS
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Farlington Marshes - 30th October 2011
On Sunday 30 October all the members of our party arrived at the pick up point at the correct time, so obviously we had all remembered to put our clocks back the previous night.
The skies were rather grey when we set off, but in no time at all our journey was brightened by the glorious colours of the trees and hedgerows along the A34. The wild cherries were particularly spectacular with their red leaves.
Our first challenge on arriving at Farlington Marshes was to inspect all the black headed gulls to see if we could spot the Mediterranean gull which had been seen amongst them. Some of our party were successful. Just as we passed Seamus Pond a Cetti's warbler burst into a short song. Even after patiently waiting for some time and hearing the song a few more times we didn't get a sight of this elusive bird.
Black necked grebe were spotted by some people and we all saw great numbers of brent geese, large flocks of redshank, grey plover, dunlin and some knot which were being driven our way by the incoming tide.
The mud flats provided good feeding grounds for curlew, black tailed godwit and many other waders. Avocet were in the shallow water.
As we progressed along the sea wall we saw about twenty merganser out on the sea together with shelduck and teal.
Several single little egrets had been seen during our walk around the reserve, but at high tide they seemed to congregate and we saw at least 18 together. Some of us were confident that we had seen about three rock pipit fly up from the seaweed under the wall and we also saw several wheatear, stonechat and bearded tit in the reeds.
On the rough pasture behind the sea wall somebody spotted a short eared owl sitting on the ground and we all peered through the experts telescope to get a better view. We also saw two buzzards. This reserve provides varied habitats from open sea to mud flats, marshes, scrub and rough pasture with ponds of brackish water and reeds. Our walk was very interesting and at times it was difficult to decide which was the best area to view. Just as we were returning to the coach, a green woodpecker performed beautifully for us by probing in an ant hill for some time showing off his colourful plumage.
Our friendly driver, Phil, had the coach warmed up and waiting for us when we arrived at the pick up point and he drove us safely back. Everybody seemed to have enjoyed the day and it was agreed to have been a success with a combined total of 62 species seen during the visit.
Heather Smith
| great crested grebe | little grebe | |
| cormorant | grey heron | little egret |
| mute swan | barnacle goose | canada goose |
| brent goose | shelduck | wigeon |
| pintail | teal | mallard |
| shoveller | red breasted merganser | goosander |
| buzzard | sparrowhawk | moorhen |
| coot | Oystercatcher | avocet |
| ringed plover | grey plover | lapwing |
| dunlin | knot | snipe |
| bar tailed godwit | curlew | redshank |
| greenshank | turnstone | mediterranean gull |
| common gull | black headed gull | lesser b b gull |
| grt b b gull | herring gull | woodpigeon |
| short eared owl | green wooodpecker | skylark |
| rock pipit | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| wheatear | blackbird | song thrush |
| dartford warbler | bearded tit | blue tit |
| magpie | crow | starling |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| reed bunting |
Blashford Lakes and Blackwater Arboretum - 21st January 2011
We were so lucky that on our visit to Blashford Lakes near Ringwood the weather, although cold, was sunny. This well run reserve was a mixture of lakes from old gravel extraction pits and woodland.
Some 15 members followed Steve and Alan's excellent directions and were rewarded by some very good birds. (list below)
Perhaps the highlight was a bittern, but also on the many feeders we saw siskin, redpoll, nuthatch, greater spotted woodpecker and brambling.
We were told that in the not-so-far away Blackwater Arboretum hawfinch had been seen and sure enough there they were.
A most enjoyable day. Thanks go to Steve and Alan
Brenda Ross
| great crested grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | canada goose | wigeon |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| pintail | shoveller | pochard |
| tufted duck | goldeneye | goosander |
| moorhen | coot | green sandpiper |
| bittern | black headed gull | lesser b b gull |
| grt b b gull | herring gull | woodpigeon |
| grt s wpecker | pied wagtail | dunnock |
| robin | blackbird | songthrush |
| goldcrest | coal tit | blue tit |
| great tit | long tailed tit | nuthatch |
| jay | magpie | rook |
| crow | chaffinch | greenfinch |
| goldfinch | siskin | redpoll |
| brambling | hawfinch |
Moor Green Lakes, Blackwater Valley - 27th February 2011
The Weather was good until we were leaving when it rained. 6 people attended.
52 species were seen including Egyptian goose, siskin, goldeneye, goosander, nuthatch, bullfinch. 3 species were also heard. greater spotted woodpecker, tawny owl and lesser spotted woodpecker. back to top
Rutland Water - 21st November 2010
Eleven members joined the Oxford group on a coach trip to Rutland Water. The day was rather overcast but 62 species were seen. Two rarieties were seen a grey phalarope and a lesser yellowlegs!
Alan Strachan
| grey phalarope | lesser yellowlegs | little grebe |
| great crested grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | canada goose | shelduck |
| wigeon | gadwall | teal |
| mallard | shoveller | pochard |
| tufted duck | goldeneye | goosander |
| buzzard | kestrel | pheasant |
| coot | avocet | golden plover |
| lapwing | dunlin | ruff |
| curlew | redshank | green sandpiper |
| comon sandpiper | black headed gull | lesser b b gull |
| grt b b gull | herring gull | collard dove |
| woodpigeon | kingfisher | green wooodpecker |
| grt s wpecker | grey wagtail | pied wagtail |
| wren | dunnock | robin |
| blackbird | fieldfare | mistle thrush |
| redwing | marsh tit | coal tit |
| blue tit | great tit | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | house sparrow |
| chaffinch | goldfinch | reed bunting |
| little egret | egyptian goose |
Keyhaven - 26th September 2010
The day started grey, cold and windy. Five of us turned up. We had a good start from the sluice on the road with good views of a water rail and a brief sight of a bearded tit. Turnstones lined the shore as we walked out to the estuary.
Things were looking a little bleak when a wheatear appeared hopping along in front of us. We stopped to look at a flock of black tailed godwits with a knot running around their legs. Then flying over our heads a blackish bird. We put up our bins - a black curlew? - no a glossy ibis. We were all very pleased with this as it was a tick for most. I knew there were about ten in the country but did not expect to see one. Later I heard it went on to Titchfield Haven. We then found a dartford warbler in the bushes a few feet away.
We pondered over a bird running around with some dunlin this was found out to be a young curlew sandpiper slightly different than the adults.
The sun came out to warm us up as we watched a black turn hovering over the lagoons like a butterfly catching fish. We all had great day. 61 species in all.
Steve Cload
| curlew | ring plover | grey plover |
| knot | little grebe | dunlin |
| great crested grebe | redshank | grey heron |
| knot | little grebe | dunlin |
| turnstone | little grebe | cormorant |
| black tailed godwit | mute swan | ruff |
| canada goose | snipe | shelduck |
| black headed gull | little grebe | teal |
| greater black backed gull | widgeon | herring gull |
| mallard | black tern | red breasted merganser |
| wood pigeon | buzzard | skylark |
| water rail | house martin | moorhen |
| sand martin | meadow pipit | pied wagtail |
| coot | wren | lapwing |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| wheatear | dartford warbler | long tailed tit |
| blue tit | bearded tit | jay |
| magpie | rook | crow |
| starling | goldfinch | linnet |
| curlew sandpiper | glossy ibis | little egret |
| oystercatcher | greenshank | chiffchaff (h) |
| kingfisher |
Titchfield Haven - 24th October 2010
On a frosty Sunday morning 17 members met at Fairacres Retail Park in Abingdon for our trip to Titchfield Haven. It was good to welcome two new members, Gwyneth and Sarah Lee. 4 members came under their own steam.
The frost soon passed and as we drove south the views of the countryside and the stunning autumn colours were admired.
If you have never been to Tichfield then it is well worth the effort. Situated on the Solent with views across to the Isle of Wight - a small harbour, the river Meon and a choice of two walks, plus a good cafe - well what more could you want?
The bird list can be found below. Whilst not everyone saw everything I guarantee most people were satisfied. 65 species in all.
Brenda Ross
| great crested grebe | little grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | mute swan | little ergret |
| barnacle goose | canada goose | brent goose |
| snow goose | shelduck | wigeon |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| shoveller | pochard | tufted duck |
| marsh harrier | sparrowhawk | kestrel |
| buzzard | pheasant | water rail |
| moorhen | coot | oystercatcher |
| lapwing | redshank | greenshank |
| snipe | curlew | turnstone |
| bar tailed godwit | black tailed godwit | black headed gull |
| lesser b b gull | herring gull | stock dove |
| woodpigeon | kingfisher | green wooodpecker |
| gt spot woodpecker | swallow | meadow pipit |
| pied wagtail | wren | robin |
| blackbird | stonechat | bearded tit |
| blue tit | great tit | long tailed tit |
| jay | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| reed bunting | fulvous duck |
Post Xmas Walk - Little Marlow - 29th December 2009
Probably due to the very bad weather only 6 people were brave enough to attend this outing. Despite the lake being frozen over, restricting the usual large numbers of waterfowl, 47 species were seen. High spots great views of bullfinch, siskin flocks, jay the parakeets were heard briefly and a kingfisher chased by a sparrow hawk
Alan Strachan
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Beaulieu Road Station - 23rd May 2010
On Sunday 23 May fifteen members of the group turned up at Beaulieu Rd Station, Hampshire for some bird watching in the New Forest area.
Our route took us across heathland by pools and streams and through ancient woodland with easy walking all the way. A tree creeper showed itself as we gathered together. As we began our walk a Dartford warbler was spotted by some but otherwise remained elusive. Stonechats were easily seen and heard, chiff chaff called and we heard our first cuckoo- later on we actually saw one. Our great excitement was seeing a hobby and some of watched a pair displaying. Their favourite food of dragonflies is in plentiful supply in this area.. We had good views of redstarts in the woods, some entering their nests in the cracks of tree trunks. Steve did his best to teach us their call and distinguish it from the song of the garden warbler near by. Another pleasure was seeing a small lizard. The sighting of a possible harrier was discussed but not confirmed. Martins and swallows were seen and other small birds but those mentioned were the highlights.
Parking and refreshment facilities were good and at the hotel a 50's style wedding party was in full swing. The girls looked very pretty in their full skirts and the boys smart in their sharp suits. A cheerful sight on what was an enjoyable and rewarding day.
Winifred Stanton
The combined list totaled 37 species.
| buzzard | hobby | woodpigeon |
| green wooodpecker | grt s wpecker | wren |
| robin | blackbird | songthrush |
| goldcrest | marsh tit | coal tit |
| blue tit | great tit | jay |
| magpie | jackdaw | crow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| siskin | House martin | Swallow |
| Meadow pipit | Tree creeper | Pied wagtail |
| Stonechat | Redstart | Reed bunting |
| Dartford warbler | Garden warbler | Blackcap |
| Chiffchaff | Willow warbler | House sparrow |
| Cuckoo |
Slimbridge (instead of flooded Welney) - 17th January 2010
After a couple of weeks of terrible weather we had a break, the Sunday was warm bright and sunny. Fourteen of our members joined Oxford RSPB for a very enjoyable outing. I do not have a ful list but birds noted by me include peregrine, water rail, BT Godwit, Ruff, dunlin, a buzzard having a good wash in a puddle and a bittern was reported showing well. We arrived at 9.30 and the venue steadily filled with large numbers of adults and children enjoying the first good day for ages.
Alan Strachan
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Old Hall Marshes - Sunday 21st February 2009
On an amazingly spring-like Sunday in February eleven of our members joined with the Oxford group for the lengthy coach trip to Old Hall Marshes, on the North side of the Blackwater estuary in Essex. The site was very open, with no facilities or hides, comprising grazing marshes, reedbeds and saltmarsh, so we were grateful for the lack of wind.
We had no difficulty spotting the 3000 or so Brent geese, also greylag and Canadian geese. Amongst the waders out on the mudflats we saw redshank, oystercatcher, little egret, avocet and curlew. There was a wide variety of ducks, including golden-eye, smew and red-breasted merganser.
We watched first a peregrine, and later a marsh harrier, flying over the marshes, putting up widgeon and other birds. A female stonechat posed obligingly on top of some reeds, giving everyone an opportunity to focus on her.
We were hoping to spot ferruginous ducks, which had been seen there earlier in the week, and were lucky enough (with some help from the experts) to see a couple of these on the edge of the reeds, but, sadly, not the bittern which had also been reported.
Tim Pett was the only one to see the black brant in amongst the flock of Brent geese, and was one of a few who saw the spotted redshank. Finally, Martin was rewarded for his patience by seeing two merlin. At the end of a very pleasant day the bird list totalled 70.
Gill Macklow
The combined list totaled 70 species.
| mute swan | greylag goose | canada goose |
| brent goose (dark bellied) | black brant | shelduck |
| wigeon | teal | mallard |
| pintail | pochard | ferruginous duck |
| tufted duck | goldeneye | smew |
| red-breasted merganser | red-legged partridge | pheasant |
| little grebe | great crested grebe | cormorant |
| little egret | grey heron | red kite |
| marsh harrier | sparrowhawk | buzzard |
| kestrel | merlin | peregrine |
| moorhen | coot | oystercatcher |
| avocet | ringed plover | golden plover |
| grey plover | lapwing | knot |
| dunlin | ruff | black-tailed godwit |
| curlew | spotted redshank | redshank |
| black-headed gull | common gull | lesser black-backed gull |
| herring gull | woodpigeon | collared dove |
| green woodpecker | skylark | meadow pipit |
| pied wagtail | robin | stonechat |
| blackbird | blue tit | great tit |
| jay | magpie | rook |
| carrion crow | starling | house sparrow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| reed bunting |
Little Paxton Pitts - Sunday 18th April 2010
The combined list totaled 39 species.
| gt crested grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | greylag goose | canada goose |
| mallard | pochard | red crested pochard |
| tufted duck | pheasant | buzzard |
| moorhen | coot | black headed gull |
| stock dove | woodpigeon | kingfisher |
| green wooodpecker | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | blackbird |
| nightingale | cetties warbler | reed warbler |
| willow warbler | blackcap | chiff chaff |
| blue tit | great tit | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | crow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | wheatear |
Rainham Marshes, Lee Valley - Sunday 14th November 2009
The combined list totaled 50 species.
| little grebe | gt crested grebe | cormorant |
| shag | grey heron | mute swan |
| greylag goose | canada goose | white fronted goose |
| brent goose | shelduck | wigeon |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| shoveller | pochard | tufted duck |
| kestrel | peregrine | water rail |
| moorhen | coot | lapwing |
| snipe | curlew | black headed gull |
| lesser b b gull | herring gull | woodpigeon |
| skylark | meadow pipit | pied wagtail |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| blackbird | fieldfare | redwing |
| coal tit | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| house sparrow | chaffinch | greenfinch |
| goldfinch |
Frensham Country Park - 17th April 2011
The total number of birds wasn’t great 44 but what we did see was nice. 5 of us turned out on a nice sunny day. From the car park we could hear a redstart singing as we walked on we found the redstart round the visitors centre,one of many.
We walked from the great pond and around the little pond but became very disappointed about the amount of heath that had been burnt about half from what we could see. The warden said it would take about forty years to regenerate. It burnt for ten days and all for the sake of a jacket potato. Unfortunately the only breeding Dartford warbler had nested there. Apparently there has only been a female seen this year.
We found a tree Pipit singing in a distant tree and a flock of Redpoll feeding in a bush not far from the path. A cuckoo was seen and we heard siskins over head. We watched a redstart going in and out of a nest hole and watched a small flock of brambling drinking and bathing. In all a good walk on a nice day.
Steve Cload
| mute swan | Canada goose | mallard |
| gadwall | red kite | common buzzard |
| moorhen | coot | common tern |
| wood pigeon | cuckoo | gt. s. woodpecker |
| tree pipit | redstart | stonechat |
| song thrush | blackbird | sedge warbler |
| chiffchaff | willow warbler | blue tit |
| great tit | long tailed tit | jay |
| crow | starling | chaffinch |
| brambling | linnet | redpoll |
| goldfinch | siskin | bullfinch |
| pied wagtail | grey wagtail | robin |
| little owl(h) | green woodpecker(h) | blackcap(h) |
| goldcrest(h) | coal tit(h) | marsh tit(h) |
| reed bunting(h) | reed warbler(h) |
Forest of Dean weekend - 5th -7th February 2010
A splendid weekend was enjoyed by all. The Speech House Hotel made us welcome and comfortable. It's fascinating history addded to the enjoyment. It was very central to the sites chosen by Steve and David at a reconnoitring visit meaning we didn't have far to travel to the reserves and areas subject to preservation.
David organised a dawn patrol, on the first morning,
to see goosanders and after assembling outside the hotel before dawn we walked
to a lake where they had been seen previously. They were elusive but we spotted
then as we were about to leave to return to the hotel for breakfast. I was particularly
struck by the evidence of rooting by wild boar. They seem to favour disturbing
the ground near to paths. On approaching the hotel we were delighted to see
a pair of buzzards sitting in the paddock.This proved to be an omen for the weekend. Apart from the goshawk (seen by only one member) which failed to appear despite two visits to the goshawk viewing platform we saw some splendid birds as can be seen from the list below. Included in the list are birds seen by those who took in Slimbridge on their way to the Forest and those of us who went to Symonds Yat on the way home.
Once again the people on the trip added to the pleasure. We do seem to get on well together. Where are you taking us next year? Thanks and well done to Alan, Steve and David.
Malcolm Ross
| little grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | bewicks swan | greylag goose |
| canada goose | white fronted goose | shelduck |
| wigeon | gadwall | teal |
| mallard | pintail | shoveller |
| pochard | tufted duck | goldeneye |
| madarin | goosander | goshawk |
| buzzard | sparrowhawk | kestrel |
| merlin | peregrine | pheasant |
| water rail | moorhen | coot |
| Oystercatcher | golden plover | lapwing |
| dunlin | ruff | curlew |
| redshank | spotted redshank | black headed gull |
| lesser b b gull | grt b b gull | herring gull |
| collard dove | woodpigeon | kingfisher |
| green wooodpecker | grt s wpecker | lesser s wpecker |
| grey wagtail | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | blackbird |
| fieldfare | songthrush | redwing |
| mistle thrush | goldcrest | marsh tit |
| coal tit | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | nuthatch | jay |
| magpie | jackdaw | rook |
| crow | raven | starling |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| siskin | crossbill | bullfinch |
| hawfinch |
Hosehill - Sunday 25th October 2009
12 Members attended.
Weather - sunny and bright.
No special birds seen - good numbers of waterfowl though.
Always worth a visit as this venue does produce rarities.
Alan Strachan
The combined list totaled 45 species.
| little grebe | gt crested grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | mute swan | greylag goose |
| canada goose | wigeon | teal |
| mallard | gadwall | shoveller |
| pochard | tufted duck | buzzard |
| kestrel | moorhen | coot |
| Oystercatcher | lapwing | black headed gull |
| lesser b b gull | collard dove | woodpigeon |
| pied wagtail | wren | dunnock |
| robin | blackbird | chiff chaff |
| coal tit | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | jay |
| starling | house sparrow | chaffinch |
| greenfinch | goldfinch | reed bunting |
Pulborough Brooks - Sunday 21st February 2010
Another well attended joint outing. We mostly managed to dodge the showers and were rewarded by good views of water rail, peregrines and pintail amongst others.
Brenda Ross
The combined list totaled 55 species.
| cormorant | mute swan | shelduck |
| wigeon | gadwall | teal |
| mallard | pintail | gargany |
| shoveller | tufted duck | buzzard |
| hen harrier | kestrel | peregrine |
| pheasant | grey partridge | water rail |
| moorhen | coot | lapwing |
| snipe | black headed gull | lesser b b gull |
| herring gull | woodpigeon | green wooodpecker |
| grt s wpecker | wren | dunnock |
| robin | stonechat | blackbird |
| fieldfare | songthrush | marsh tit |
| coal tit | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | nuthatch | tree creeper |
| jay | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| house sparrow | chaffinch | greenfinch |
| goldfinch | crossbill | bullfinch |
| reed bunting | little egret |
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Tring Reservoirs - Sunday 22nd March 2009
9 members attended (clash with Mothers Day).
The weather was bright and sunny with little wind.
43 species were seen during a walk of about 2 1/2 miles.
The reservoirs were quiet with high water level preventing possible sighting of water rail.
The most notable sightings were the first views of sand and house martins this year and great views of a pair of kingfishers. Grey wagtails which posed a long time for us. Many chiff chaffs seen and heard. Sparrowhawk, skylark, bullfinch and a brief glimpse of a sandwich tern. A debatable white wagtail was also spotted.
Alan Strachan
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Wyre Forest - Sunday 24th May 2009
16 members from our group joined the Oxford Group. The weather was beautiful the birds were a little thin in number, but dipper and wood warbler were seen to mention but two.
Alan Strachan
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Keyhaven - Sunday 27th September 2009
Eleven members of the VWH Local RSPB Group met in the car park at Keyhaven for the first of this season’s outings. It had been a chilly autumn morning (7°C) when we had began our journeys, but on arrival the sun was shining brightly, and with only a slight breeze, a fine day promised.
House sparrow, pied wagtail, collared dove and wood pigeon were all seen before we had left the car park. The pond next to the car park held wigeon, coot, cormorant and little grebe. A couple of jays flew over and a buzzard was seen in the distance. A Cetti’s warbler was heard singing in the adjacent reedbed, the first of several heard throughout the day. The tide was high and there was no sign of the turnstones that usually frequent the little inlet.
Once on the path around the southern edge of the marshes we noticed that the air was full of swallows and house martins. We tried hard to find sand martins amongst them but without success. The yaffle of a green woodpecker rang out and the bird was seen flying low over the mud, pursued by angry house martins – something none of us had seen before. A solitary clouded yellow butterfly put in an appearance. All the usual species of wader were busy feeding out on the mud, and the missing turnstones were found feeding on the strand line.
Wheatears were expected but were very elusive. We found just one. A single whinchat was a nice find to compare with the more numerous stonechat.
The water level in the freshwater lagoons was very low, not surprising considering the lack of rainfall during September, but there were some interesting birds to be found, notably curlew sandpiper and pectoral sandpiper. The latter species is a very long distance migrant that breeds in the tundra of North America and north-east Siberia, and winters in South America, and is a regular vagrant to Britain. [This was a new tick for me, the 34th addition to my Life List this year]. Unfortunately we did not find the little stint that was rumoured to be about, but a water rail showed well in compensation.
While we sat enjoying our packed lunches, several butterflies were also making the most of the warm autumn sunshine. Wall, common blue, and a beautiful small copper butterfly were observed. On a mud bank a group of grey plover included a few birds still resplendent in their breeding plumage. Great crested grebes were diving for food in the sea, but no sign of any other species of grebe or mergansers.
There were very few geese about. In fact we only saw two, one each of Canada and Brent species. Several thousand Brent geese usually overwinter on the Marshes, so the one that we saw must have been an early arrival.
We returned to our cars along the lanes behind the marshes, adding several “garden” species to our day’s list, which finished on a total of 65. A splendid day.
The Bird List
| Mute Swan | Canada Goose | Brent Goose |
| Wigeon | Gadwall | Teal |
| Mallard | Little Grebe | Great Crested Grebe |
| Cormorant | Little Egret | Grey Heron |
| Buzzard | Kestrel | Peregrine |
| Water Rail | Moorhen | Coot |
| Oystercatcher | Ringed Plover | Grey Plover |
| Lapwing | Knot | Pectoral Sandpiper |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Dunlin | Snipe |
| Black-tailed Godwit | Curlew | Greenshank |
| Redshank | Turnstone | Black-headed Gull |
| Common Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Herring Gull |
| Woodpigeon | Collared Dove | Green Woodpecker |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Swallow | House Martin |
| Meadow Pipit | Pied Wagtail | Wren |
| Dunnock | Robin | Whinchat |
| Stonechat | Wheatear | Blackbird |
| Cetti’s Warbler (h) | Chiffchaff | Long-tailed Tit |
| Blue Tit | Great Tit | Jay |
| Magpie | Carrion Crow | Starling |
| House Sparrow | Chaffinch | Greenfinch |
| Goldfinch | Linnet | |
| The Butterfly List | ||
| Clouded Yellow | Wall | Common Blue |
| Small Copper | Speckled Wood | Red Admiral |
| Comma | Peacock |
Martin Smith
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North Norfolk - Friday 30th January - Sunday 1st February 2009
This years winter weekend away was a great success with 111 species of bird seen in the three days.
Our party which included several new members, plus many 'old hands' was based at 'The Pheasant Hotel' in Kelling, near the north Norfolk coast. It was within easy reach of several reserves: Cley (Norfolk Wildlife Trust), Holkham (N.N.R.)and Titchwell (R.S.P.B.)
On the Friday, en route to Norfolk, most of the group met up at Welney (W.W.T.) in Cambridgeshire. The site is part of the Ouse Washes, but when we visited only the new visitor centre and the adjacent viewing point by the access road were accessible as the flood reservoir between the two great dykes of the 'Bedford Levels' C17 drainage scheme was under at least a metre of water. The bitter east wind also limited viewing time outside for many but the new centre made a good lunch stop between Oxfordshire and the hotel.
After Welney, several members made a short stop at Snettisham (R.S.P.B.) near Hunstanton, but again the low temperature restricted viewing time despite excellent visibility.
Saturday was 'Titchwell day' and after a huge hotel breakfast, the party converged at the reserve for an overview of what might be seen, before making off towards the beach or meadow walk. It was cold, but the wind was not so strong as the previous day, and the sunshine and blue sky boosted morale, and it proved to be an excellent birding day, especially for our new members, one of whom especially commented on the friendliness and helpfulness of the more experienced members of the party. Highlights of the day included sightings of a bittern; two peregrines posing for us in skeleton trees, and velvet scoters and gannets seen out at sea. Many of the group were delighted with close views of bearded tits. Later a few of the group went to Holkham, where excitement resulted from sightings of a large flock of snow buntings.
The hotel food was good, and members socialised in the lounge and bar on both evenings, and discussed the bird count, the weather, history of the group, (for the benefit of the newcomers) and the two sets of questions compiled for 'fun' by Alan and Phil. Several people who did not have to get back for work on the Monday had originally planned to stay over on the Sunday night, but the ominous weather warnings for Norfolk and S.E. England in general being put out by TV caused several to change their plans and nearly everyone left Norfolk on Sunday after visiting Cley Marshes. This is a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. The new eco-friendly visitor centre (complete with wind turbine, ground source heat pumps, solar water heating and rainwater harvesting) opened by the trust in 2008 integrates well with the existing features of the 435 acre reserve by the A149, included boardwalks, hides and excellent circular walks. The centre has a well stocked shop and serves excellent snacks and hot meals, and has a long viewing window facing northwards over the marsh, which even in the mini blizzard which arrived just after we did, afforded great views of birds on the scrapes while we downed our welcome hot coffees.
Besides the main reserve visits, some hardy souls did their 'own thing' during the weekend, and at least one couple did a very early pre-breakfast walk on the Sunday, and were rewarded for their enthusiasm with some good views of hunting barn owls and loads of geese.
Thanks are due to Alan Strachan for his hard work in once again organising another 'winner'.
Phil Morris
The combined list totaled 115 species.
| black throat diver | little grebe | gt crested grebe |
| gannet | cormorant | bittern |
| grey heron | mute swan | bewicks swan |
| whooper swan | greylag goose | brent goose |
| canada goose | white fronted goose | pink footed goose |
| black brant goose | shelduck | bean goose |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| pintail | shoveller | pochard |
| tufted duck | eider | velvet scoter |
| goldeneye | red breasted merganser | wigeon |
| buzzard | rough legged buzzard | marsh harrier |
| hen harrier (ring tail) | sparrowhawk | kestrel |
| peregrine | pheasant | red legged partridge |
| grey partridge | water rail | moorhen |
| coot | Oystercatcher | avocet |
| ringed plover | golden plover | grey plover |
| lapwing | knot | sanderling |
| dunlin | ruff | snipe |
| woodcock | black tailed godwit | bar tailed godwit |
| curlew | redshank | spotted redshank |
| turnstone | black headed gull | common gull |
| kittiwake | lesser b b gull | grt b b gull |
| herring gull | glaucous gull | collard dove |
| woodpigeon | barn owl | tawny owl |
| kingfisher | grt s wpecker | skylark |
| rock/water pipit | meadow pipit | pied wagtail |
| wren | dunnock | robin |
| stonechat | blackbird | fieldfare |
| songthrush | redwing | mistle thrush |
| bearded tit | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| house sparrow | tree sparrow | chaffinch |
| greenfinch | goldfinch | siskin |
| linnet | redpoll | bullfinch |
| snow bunting | corn bunting | little egret |
| reed bunting | stock dove | red throated diver |
| great white egret | egyptian goose | black swan |
| guillimot |
Thatcham - Monday 29th December 2008
On a bright, crisp winter morning about 22 people braved the cold to discover the delights of Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre. When I arrived many had already seen a redpoll and several Siskins near the visitors centre.
We took a leisurely walk along one side of the main lake where many water birds were noted. Because of the low sun shining across the water it was difficult to use binoculars or a telescope so we saved the closer inspection until our return. In spite of that several people managed to spot 2 ruddy ducks.
On entering the scrub area we were soon rewarded with views of 2 female and 1 male bullfinch. Some saw a jay fly over while others were satisfied with blue tits, little grebe, robin and grey heron to mention a few.
We then entered the reed bed, which was fairly quiet, but we did see a great spotted woodpecker and a goldcrest. .
The next part of the walk took us along the bank of the Kennet and Avon canal. Apart from several more goldcrests and some long-tailed tits this area was also rather quiet.
After crossing the railway line we encountered our first patch of mud, which lasted just a short distance, and we were soon back on firm ground.
On reaching the main lake again I think everyone saw the ruddy ducks. It was decided to walk around the perimeter of the lake and this resulted in the whole group having a good view of siskins in the alder trees.
It was then back to the visitors centre hoping it would be open for refreshments, only to find that it was closed all day on Mondays. However I think everyone had a good time. In a leisurely two and a half hour walk the group had seen about 40 species.
The location is very attractive and has many facilities on offer to families or individuals depending on interest. There are often interesting displays in the visitors centre. I noted a fisherman by one of the quieter lakes and several children were enjoying the play area. In the summer it is a good place for picnics and there is always chance for an interesting walk at any time of the year.
Jane Rudd
The combined list totalled 42 species.
| Little Grebe | Great Crested Grebe | Cormorant |
| Grey Heron | Mute Swan | Canada Goose |
| Mallard | Shoveler | Pochard |
| Tufted Duck | Ruddy Duck | Kestrel |
| Moorhen | Coot | Black-headed Gull |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Wood Pigeon | Collared Dove |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Pied Wagtail | Wren |
| Dunnock | Robin | Blackbird |
| Goldcrest | Long-tailed Tit | Marsh Tit |
| Coal Tit | Blue Tit | Great Tit |
| Jay | Magpie | Jackdaw |
| Carrion Crow | Chaffinch | Brambling |
| Greenfinch | Goldfinch | Siskin |
| Lesser Redpoll | Bullfinch | Reed Bunting |
Titchfield Haven - Sunday 16th November 2008
This was my first trip with the RSPB. The destination was to be Titchfield Haven.
I arrived at the car park of Didcot Civic Hall to be greeted by friendly faces and was soon chatting to people, Martin in particular. When I told him I did not have a scope, he assured me that everyone who did would be more than willing to share theirs and I could also be sure that should I need any help or information that that would also be freely available. This proved to be so during a very enjoyable day.
On arriving at the reserve we spent some time watching water and shore birds in the harbour. We then went into the reserve. Martin was a mine of information and very helpful as were many other members. His tripod mounted scope gave incredible definition and clarity to what appeared to me to be just small brown jobs through my binoculars.
I spotted a total of forty one different species on the day, eight of which I had never seen before, new ticks, I was told. My first Dartford Warbler being particularly exciting.
I got on the coach tired but very happy with the day. I had met many really nice and very helpful people and had a great days birding. What more could a new to trips birder ask for.
Arthur Billett
The combined list totalled 56 species.
| little grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | greylag goose | barnacle goose |
| brent goose | canada goose | shelduck |
| wigeon | gadwall | teal |
| mallard | shoveller | pochard |
| tufted duck | marsh harrier | peregrine |
| kestrel | pheasant | moorhen |
| coot | oystercatcher | lapwing |
| snipe | black tailed godwit | curlew |
| redshank | turnstone | black headed gull |
| herring gull | woodpigeon | stonechat |
| pied wagtail | blackbird | dartford warbler |
| cettis warbler | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | robin | wren |
| dunnock | jay | magpie |
| rook | crow | starling |
| house sparrow | greenfinch | redpoll |
| little egret |
Dinton Pastures - Sunday 25th January 2009
On a wet, windy and grim morning 7 diehard birders met to go around Dinton Pastures.
Despite some paths and one of the hides being flooded we managed to see 34 species of which the stars were a pair of goldeneye.
The rain held off for an hour or so.
On our return to the car park most of us headed to the cafe for a restorative mug of hot chocolate!
Brenda Ross
The combined list totalled 34 species.
| great crested grebe | little grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | mute swan | canada goose |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| shoveller | pochard | tufted duck |
| goldeneye | red kite | moorhen |
| coot | lapwing | black headed gull |
| herring gull | woodpigeon | green woodpecker |
| dunnock | robin | blackbird |
| coal tit | blue tit | great tit |
| magpie | rook | crow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
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Rutland Water - Sunday 27th April 2008
We arrived at Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre at Egleton Nature Reserve just after 10 o’clock. We were met by Tim Appleton the Reserve Manager, who came to our Group in March and gave a very informative and entertaining talk on the story of Rutland Water. He whetted our appetites with details of the birds that had been seen on the reserve the previous day. So we were very soon exploring the reserve eager to see black tern, Mediterranean gull, grasshopper warbler, scaup, garganey, tree sparrow, whimbrel and, of course, osprey for which Rutland Water is famous. Our only concern was the weather. The forecast for the day looked rather grim, but when we set off it was a rather pleasant and sunny spring day.
The black terns were soon “ticked”, as they were in the lagoon in front of the Birdwatching Centre. The woodland surrounding the reserve was full of the song of resident birds such as blackbird, song thrush, robin, dunnock and blue tit, and also that of recently arrived migrants (chiffchaff, blackcap, garden and willow warblers). A singing garden warbler was seen particularly well by some. This species is usually described in guide books of having the distinguishing feature of having no distinguishing features, but this individual had a very obvious white eye-ring and a pale patch on the leading edge of its wing.
The ospreys were seen by many of our group, either flying over the reserve or sat on a nest. One was seen carrying a fish, though no-one was lucky enough to actually see it catch its meal. The grasshopper warbler’s insect-like reeling song was heard, but this elusive bird resisted all attempts to be spotted. A cuckoo was heard calling in the distance, and sedge warblers were numerous. The pair of Mediterranean gulls were a splendid sight in their full breeding plumage, and were a “first” for many of us. Waders seen included, redshank, turnstone, dunlin and black-tailed godwit. The feeders outside the Birdwatching Centre attracted finches, tits and tree sparrow. The day was rounded off for a few of us by Tim Appleton pointing out the scaup on the far side of the reserve.
A total of over 70 species was seen during our visit. Many of our members saw species they had never seen before, and were therefore very satisfied with their day’s birdwatching. Another bonus was that the bad weather threatened by the forecasters never arrived and the raincoats we had all brought with us proved to be superfluous!
This was another joint outing with the Oxford Group, and our thanks go to Anne and Alan (and everybody else that helped) in organising such a splendid day.
Martin Smith
| little grebe | great crested grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | mute swan | greylag goose |
| canada goose | shelduck | wigeon |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| pintail | shoveller | pochard |
| tufted duck | osprey | buzzard |
| sparrowhawk | kestrel | pheasant |
| moorhen | coot | Oystercatcher |
| ringed plover | lapwing | dunlin |
| black tailed godwit | curlew | redshank |
| turnstone | black headed gull | common gull |
| lesser b b gull | herring gull | sandwich tern |
| common tern | stock dove | woodpigeon |
| cuckoo | swift | green wooodpecker |
| grt s wpecker | sand martin | swallow |
| house martin | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| blackbird | songthrush | mistle thrush |
| sedge warbler | reed warbler | |
| Whitethroat | garden warbler | blackcap |
| chiff chaff | willow warbler | goldcrest |
| blue tit | great tit | long tailed tit |
| jay | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| tree sparrow | chaffinch | greenfinch |
| goldfinch | reed bunting | black tern |
Twyford Lakes and Lodden Reserve - Sunday 26th October 2008
Five hardy men attended but the horrible weathertook its toll and only 24 species were seen.
The high spots were 3-4 goldcrests and good views of a feering flock of siskins
Alan Strachan
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Nagshead and Symonds Yat - Sunday 18th May 2008
The review will appear here when to hand.
| cormorant | mallard | buzzard |
| sparrowhawk | kestrel | peregrine |
| pheasant | black headed gull | collard dove |
| woodpigeon | swift | green wooodpecker |
| grt s wpecker | sand martin | swallow |
| house martin | tree pipit | grey wagtail |
| wren | dunnock | robin |
| redstart | blackbird | songthrush |
| mistle thrush | garden warbler | blackcap |
| wood warbler | chiff chaff | willow warbler |
| spotted flycatcher | pied flycatcher | coal tit |
| blue tit | great tit | nuthatch |
| tree creeper | jay | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | crow |
| raven | crossbill | mandarin duck |
Lodmoor and Portland Bill - Sunday 21st September 2008
21 members attended so the cost of £12 was very reasonable. For once the weather was kind to us, sunny, warm and little wind. The off-shore breeze did not help us with sea-watching which was very quiet.
Around 60 species were seen. The stars of the visit being a wryneck (seen by only a few) and melodious warbler (seen by many). The little owl posed nicely in it's quarry hole. Good numbers of other migrants - yellow wagtail and wheatear were about. Other notable birds were little stint, little gull, mediterrean gull, greenshank, green and common sandpiper, sanderling and lots of little ringed plover.
Despite a long slow journey home a very enjoyable day.
Alan Strachan
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Otmoor - Sunday 22nd June 2008
On a bright, but very windy morning, a smallish friendly group met at Otmoor. A Cettis warbler greeted us by the carpark. We particularly hoped to see hobby, turtle dove and grasshopper warbler and were heartened when we met one of the volunteer wardens. He confirmed that all those species were around as well as a marsh harrier.
In the event some of us saw all three and the rest heard both turtle dove and grasshopper warbler. I append the complete list -37 in all. The hobby was hunting and catching prey on the wing.
The commonest bird was the reed bunting which was all over the place. Reed warblers were singing loudly, sky larks ditto, garden warblers and blackcaps were, as usual, hard to separate (at least for me) and a noisy party of long tailed tits with youngsters that looked as if they had only just fledged accompanied us along the path.
Other, non-bird, wildlife we found in profusion were damsel flies and darter dragonflies, 5 spot burnet moths just 'hatched' from papery cocoons and tiny froglets swarming across the path.
Brenda Ross
| great crested grebe | grey heron | little egret |
| mute swan | mallard | shoveller |
| pochard | tufted duck | marsh harrier |
| kestrel | hobby | pheasant |
| coot | black headed gull | woodpigeon |
| swift | grt s wpecker | skylark |
| wren | robin | cetties warbler |
| grasshopper warbler | reed warbler | Whitethroat |
| garden warbler | blackcap | blue tit |
| long tailed tit | crow | blackbird |
| starling | goldfinch | linnet |
| reed bunting | turtle dove | cormorant |
| common tern |
London Wetlands Centre
On the 21st of February we had an outing, with the Oxford Group, to the London Wetlands Centre. Our route took us along the M40 where we counted at least 30 red kites before we got to Stokenchurch.The Wetlands Centre is an easy venue for getting around being a purpose made reserve on the site of the redundant Barns Elms reservoir. There are good level surfaced footpaths so no need for wellington boots.
On arrival we learned that there was a bittern on the site, so, something exciting to look out for. There are captive wildfowl to see as of course The Wetlands Trust has a breeding programme to aid the conservation of endagered species.
Apart from this good natural habitats have been created here. Nine species of duck were present including pintail and shelduck. Great-crested grebe were in breeding plumage and were pairing up. Little grebe were numerous, along with grey herons, cormorants and gulls including common gulls. Lapwing and snipe were also seen. Tits (including the long-tailed variety), blackbirds, robins, wrens, chaffinches and a songthrush.
Treats were a small flock of siskin on an alder tree and a jay. There is an area with feeders and here half a dozen ring-necked parakeets could be seen squeaking and squabbling.
We enjoyed a spring-like day and a few lucky people managed to see the bittern but sadly the writer wasn't one of them!
David Williams
| little grebe | great crested grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | bittern | mute swan |
| greylag goose | canada goose | shelduck |
| wigeon | gadwall | teal |
| mallard | pintail | gargany |
| shoveller | pochard | tufted duck |
| ruddy duck | water rail | moorhen |
| coot | lapwing | snipe |
| black headed gull | common gull | lesser b b gull |
| herring gull | collard dove | stock dove |
| woodpigeon | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| blackbird | songthrush | blue tit |
| great tit | long tailed tit | jay |
| magpie | jackdaw | rook |
| crow | starling | house sparrow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| siskin | reed bunting | parakeet |
| eider | long tailed duck |
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Culham and Sutton Courtenay
A score of cheerful members set out from Culham Lock to walk across the fields and round several pools to Sutton Courtenay. Then we meandered down a path behind the churchyard and turned left up towards yet more lakes and the millennium field.It was a gloriously sunny morning and we were still in the car park when we saw buzzard, blue tit, magpie, pheasant, robin, gold finch, and greenfinch. 100 yards futher on eagle eyes spotted a brace of partridge (red legged) and a meadow pipit.
Perhaps the highlight of the walk were goosanders. Unfortunately the peregrine, which is known to roost on the power station buildings, did not show.
A full list of birds seen is below. Thanks to Alan for organising the outing.
Brenda Ross
| little grebe | gt crested grebe | cormorant |
| grey heron | mute swan | greylag goose |
| canada goose | gadwall | mallard |
| pochard | tufted duck | goosander |
| red kite | buzzard | kestrel |
| pheasant | red legged partridge | moorhen |
| coot | black headed gull | lesser b b gull |
| grt b b gull | woodpigeon | green wooodpecker |
| skylark | wren | dunnock |
| robin | blackbird | fieldfare |
| chiff chaff | blue tit | great tit |
| long tailed tit | tree creeper | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | crow |
| starling | house sparrow | chaffinch |
| greenfinch | goldfinch | linnet |
| collard dove | reed bunting |
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Weekend Away - Rye and Dungeness
Our RSPB Group weekend away, 25‑27 March, was spent in Sussex. On our way down we visited Pulborough Brooks, always a favourite place. We watched a nuthatch on the feeders as we had our refreshment but the lesser spotted woodpecker, known to be in the surrounding woodland, proved elusive. Little egret and snipe were seen as well as buzzards. Primroses were everywhere and some of us had very good views of a grass snake swimming to and fro in a small pond.
We were based in Rye - our accommodation was comfortable and the food good. However beware of the cost of a glass of wine at the famous Mermaid Inn!
On Saturday we walked round Rye Harbour nature reserve - an area of shingle, salt marshes, grazing marshes, gravel pits and lagoons. Redshanks were much in evidence as were large flocks of golden plover. There were good views of reed bunting and a stonechat and Cetti's warbler were heard. Flocks of Mediterranean gulls were on the inland pools.
Much work is being
done on the reserve to create more lagoons and island areas. The walking was
easy and could be extended or shortened to suit everyone. There were good hides
all with wheelchair access.The next day we went to the RSPB reserve at Dungeness, again easy walking. Here there were splendid views of marsh harriers. We ended the afternoon with a visit to the lighthouse area. We mingled with swarms of families and passengers from the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway and it was here we saw our best birds!! We had excellent views of black redstarts which like the “cliffs” of the power station, and a newly arrived wheatear. They were almost posing for us and didn't seem put off by the surrounding activity. The highlight was the sighting of a serin, a rare visitor from france. A cup of tea at the railway café saw us on our way home, much satisfied even though we didn't see a bittern.
An excellent weekend with good weather in an area that has much to recommend it.
Winifred Stanton
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An Indian Winter - Keith Offord
It may have been our first meeting at our new venue at Steventon Village Hall, but it was the seventh visit by one of the groups’ favourite speakers and at least 120 members attended to experience an informative and beautifully illustrated talk.
Keith gave us a taste of India during the winter examining its culture, practical issues and the conservation challenges it faces. We were taken on a journey in the north of the sub-continent starting in Delhi, travelling down to the Taj Mahal at Agra and then southwards to the wetland reserve of Keoladeo at Bharatpur. There was more culture at the historical temple site of Khajuraho with its well known erotic carvings and the journey finally ended in the jungle at the Project Tiger Reserve of Bandhavgarh. En route we encountered lots of birds, mammals and the odd python!!
Delhi, the starting point of our journey, and a surprisingly green city, hosts a good selection of birds and reflecting his interest in raptors, Keith highlighted Black Kite and Shikra, the latter a close relative to our Goshawk being an Accipiter. Both have adapted to city living and live happily in close proximity to humans, an important attribute given India’s expanding population. We were amused by the “Seven Sisters” – the local name given to the Jungle Babbler which hunts invertebrates in the undergrowth in groups of six or seven birds - and the ubiquitous “M25 bird” – the Rose-ringed Parakeet.
We had an interesting resume of Indian transport –everything from camels, bicycles and rickshaws of all types to the Ambassador, a locally made car which is actually made with the old Morris Oxford tooling. It was then down to Agra and the Taj Mahal. After an interesting discussion of its construction back in the 1600s incorporating earthquake-proof minarets, it was on to its birdlife with Oriental Honey Buzzards flying over the Taj itself and waders like Green Sandpiper and Egrets on the holy River Yamuna flowing along one of its boundaries.
Bharatpur was our next destination and the Keoladeo National Park. Whether we like it or not, Keith made the point that some of our best bird sanctuaries didn’t start out with conservation in mind and we learnt that the nature reserve was originally the creation of a Maharaja to attract wildfowl for hunting. Shooting ended around 1964, and now there are huge numbers of birds to be seen at very close hand by all the visitors to the park. I can certainly vouch for this, having visited the reserve back in 2000. Among numerous examples of the avifauna, Keith had some beautiful images of a Pearl-spotted Owlet and a group of fledglings huddled together, but perhaps my “image of the evening” was the cryptic Large-tailed Nightjar, incredibly camouflaged as it sat on the leaf litter of the forest floor, closely followed by the double-jointed Purple Heron!! And this is not to mention the eagles, ducks and other water birds.
Culturally, Keoladeo is a very interesting place and as he rightly points out, a spot of “people-watching” reveals that most visitors are not bird watchers as such, but are locals enjoying the space and tranquillity. This, if nothing else, will ensure its survival for future generations.
It was then on to bigger things – the Bengal Tiger – with excellent close-up shots in the Bandhavgarh Reserve, particularly of the 400lb tiger known as B2. It is often hard to judge scale, but he cleverly illustrated the majesty of the tiger by showing us a picture of a tree trunk with tiger scratch marks reaching some three meters from the ground! Conservation issues were highlighted by a discussion of the way the reserve’s lax management of the Jeep drivers – some 80 of which depend on the park for their livelihood. The main issue appears to be a lack of respect for the wildlife, often due to the enthusiasm of the drivers to give the tourist the thing they most want – a close-up view of a tiger.
But Bandhavgarh is not only about tigers – it is home to many birds and other mammals. We were treated to some excellent close-ups of Green Bee-eaters and Woolly-necked Storks not to mention the Nilgai, a rather rotund antelope that looked as though it should go on a diet, and the hugely personable Langur Monkey. The reserve is also famous for its Indian Long-billed Vulture, a member of the Gyps genus and this lead to a discussion of the plight of all vultures in this group which are unable to metabolise Diclofenac. Animals in general are highly respected in India and cows in particular. The drug Diclofenac has been used widely for veterinary purposes and when the animal carcasses are consumed by the vultures, the vultures are poisoned and subsequently die. This has lead to a massive decline in vulture numbers, and, during questions afterwards, it was pointed out that the consequences have been very far reaching with an explosion in scavenging dog numbers and consequently, rabies.
The evening finished with an explanation that the plight of vultures is particularly critical. They are very slow to breed in captivity, the regulation of the distribution of Diclofenac is difficult to enforce as, while banned for veterinary use, it is available for humans, and Keith made an appeal that in the areas where vultures still survive they should be awarded special protection.
Once more, a very enjoyable and informative talk.
Dr. Christine Marshall
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Charles Martin - The Somerset Levels – Birds and Man
Charles Martin, who has been involved for many years as a volunteer, is an authority on the work being done to return the Somerset Levels to a prime place for wildlife.
As the story unfolded we found ourselves despairing at the damage done by peat removal and drainage and daunted by the amount of work needed to return the reserve to wildlife. Charles took us through the work needed to restore the water levels, create scrapes and plant thousands of reeds. He shared with us the variety of habits being created and the variety of wildlife now to be found on the reserve.
He highlighted two achievements in particular. The amazing number of starlings roosting in the winter - at it's height over 3 million - and the reintroduction of the crane. He has been fortunate to see the return of many species particulary the bittern and otters.
There remains much work to be done despite the amazing progress so far.
The evening was most enjoyable hearing at first hand the transformation that is taking place.
Malcolm Ross
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Pete Potts - Operation Godwit – The First 16 Years
Pete is a Senior Ranger with Hampshire County Council Country Services as well as being a leading member of the Farlington Ringing Group. Together with fellow-ringer Ruth Croger and a number of multi-national colleagues, he has been involved in a long-term programme studying the Limosa islandica race of Black-Tailed Godwits.
These are familiar birds on our coastal marshes and estuaries in late summer and winter. Many breed in Iceland, during the brief summer months. Because of increasing global warming, they are increasingly exploiting an extensive new breeding area in the north-west of the island. We saw images of a starkly beautiful, rugged and largely uninhabitated landscape, perfect for the Godwits and other waders. . .
Some quite startling statistics emerged, such as the fact that around 90% of the fledglings ringed in Iceland are soon seen again in various locations throughout Britain, Ireland, France and Portugal. They are also creatures of habit and re-appear time and again in the same places. An odd fact is that B-T Godwits wintering on the east coast of Britain seem to have a life expectancy of up to half that of birds elsewhere in Britain, which could live to twenty years or more. The reason is the scarcity of alternative inland feeding sites, when food on the tidal mudflats has been exhausted.
As an aside, we learned that the BTG’s cousin, the Bar-Tailed Godwit, has been satelite-tracked on non-stop migration from Alaska to New Zealand. That’s a journey which extends over nine days (and nights) and 11000 kms (6800 miles)! Surely a contender for the longest unbroken avian migration?
We heard that sadly the survival of the Black-Tailed Godwit is seriously threatened. Let’s hope that the efforts of Pete and his colleagues help to avert such a catastrophe.
An interesting, briskly delivered talk, with excellent images.
David F Lovegrove
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Pete Potts - Wader Studies from the Solent to Iceland, Portugal and West Africa
Pete Potts of the Farlington Ringing Group entertained us this month with a talk entitled “Wader Studies from the Solent to Iceland, Portugal and West Africa.
A population of about a quarter of a million waders over winter in the Solent area, and their studies involve colour-ringing birds so that their movements can be tracked by observers. We learnt that the birds are extremely site faithful, for example greenshank GY GY (so called because each leg has a green and yellow colour ring) has been recorded in the Solent for 10 years, and black-tailed godwit GL YL has been seen for over twenty years. Annual ringing expeditions to Iceland add young birds to the study.
Pete’s illustrated his talk not only with photographs of the many colour-ringed birds in the study, but also some stunning landscapes in Iceland.
Recent advances in technology has produced data-loggers that record day length. These are fitted to the bird’s legs, and once retrieved and the data downloaded, enable researchers to determine where the bird has been. Amazingly, they can work out when a bird has been incubating eggs, as while doing this no light will reach the data-logger. This is an expensive line of research as the devices cost nearly £100 each, and there is the danger that it will fall off and be lost before the data can be retrieved.
We where very lucky to get Pete to give this lecture as his research means that he does a lot of travelling. He had only been back in the UK for a couple of days, and was due to fly off to Norway the following day. He probably does as much travelling as the birds he is studying!
A truly fascinating talk, giving some insights into the mystery of wader migration.
Martin Smith
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Steve Nagennis - The Farne Islands
Our March talk this year was by photographer Steve Magennis who, as an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and a self-confessed wildlife enthusiast, was very well qualified to judge our annual Photography Competition which was also held this evening.
Steve took us on a voyage to the Farne Islands, a group of some 15-18 islands off the Northumberland coast, introducing us to the wildlife as we went. As he explained, the ideal time to go is late May and June when the 18 or so species of breeding birds are nesting. By July, all the auks (Guillemots, Puffins and Razorbills) have started to leave and later in his talk, Steve shared some delightful images of Guillemot chicks preparing to leave the nest.
But back to the beginning: even before we left the harbour at Seahouses, he was entertaining us with a series of images of harbour wildlife including a Herring Gull manipulating a rather large flatfish stolen from one of the local fishing boats. Apparently, not only the Herring Gulls are out to get what they can, but even the Eiders eat fish and chips begged from the tourists!
Steve explained that an all day trip with Billy Shiels MBE on “Glad Tidings” takes one out past a small island with breeding Cormorants and then on to Staple Island, home to several breeding species including Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Puffins numbering in their thousands together with a few hundreds of Razorbills, Shags and Herring Gulls. Steve showed a series of close-ups comparing the head and bill structure of cormorants and shags – a difficult pair of species to distinguish between. At a distance, Guillemots and Razorbills can be difficult to distinguish and Steve provided us with some excellent id tips based on their silhouette followed again by close-ups of their bills – sharp and pointed for Guillemots, large and flat for Razorbills.
We were delighted with spectacular close-ups of Puffins with their brightly coloured bills during the breeding season and interestingly he explained the structure and function of the orange patch of skin at the base of its bill – it allows them to open the two halves of their bill in parallel so enabling them to carry several Sand-eels at a time.
He also enlightened us with the nesting strategies of the different seabirds within the colony starting with the non-breeding birds low down near the water. Moving upwards, Guillemots have specially adapted to nesting on the bare rock of exposed ledges as they have evolved an egg that rotates around its pointed end so if disturbed it spins rather than falling off. Kittiwakes also nest on ledges but build a nest. Razorbills nest higher up in crevices and finally, Puffins nest on the top of the cliffs and stacks, often in old rabbit burrows.
One of the features of Steve’s photography is that he delights in showing a series of images illustrating some aspect of wildlife behaviour. Whilst often entertaining and endearing, one series came with a warning to look the other way if of a nervous or squeamish disposition - there was a stark reminder of the fragility of life on the Farne Islands and the gauntlet that the auks risk everyday with attacks by the gulls. He illustrated this by showing us a series of images of Guillemot chick predation and also food predation from a Puffin, in both cases by Herring Gulls. We couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Puffin, who not only lost its catch of Sand-eels, but also got attacked by a fellow Puffin after accidentally taking refuge in the wrong burrow!
Finally, we sailed on to the island of Inner Farne, 7th century home of St Cuthbert but currently home to Arctic, Sandwich and a few Common Terns together with about 800 pairs of Eiders. One of the sequences was of a man photographing an Arctic Tern hovering just above his head. Those of you who have visited the Farne Islands will know what came next – the tern diving down and attacking the man’s head. The moral of the story - don’t forget your hat!!
Steve provided a most enjoyable evening – exquisite wildlife photography illustrating both id features and bird behaviour and well balanced in two respects – the realities of life in seabird colonies and, often overlooked, the interactions between people and the wildlife they have come to watch.
Dr Christine M Marshall
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Rod Lawrence - Beyond Old Harry
Rod Lawrence is an ecologist. He is based near the western end of the “Jurassic Coast” – our only UNESCO designated “natural” world heritage site “natural” to distinguish it from such sites as Stonehenge.
Rod is also a man with a mission. His aim is to educate not only established wild life supporters such as local RSPB groups, but also farmers, local government officials, industrialists and uncommitted members of the public, about the likely consequences of global warming and what steps need to be taken to maintain biodiversity, especially in his area of interest – Devon and Dorset.
Rod is particularly involved in the establishment of “wild life corridors”, especially where river and stream courses exist, to link up established nature reserves and become networks of cover through which many species can migrate through farmland and urban areas. (Interesting to note that the Town Planning Association is advocating similar ideas as 21st century alternatives to green belts).
Although Rod praised the work done in the late 20th Century, especially the setting up of nature reserves by English Nature, the RSPB and local County Wildlife Trusts, he stressed that new approaches are required as sea levels rise and species come under increased pressure from knock on effects of increased temperatures – particularly in the southern part of England. Ecology is not a static concept.
October's meeting, where Rod was a welcome repeat speaker, was almost a full house. It was good to see both several visitors and a few new members. As on previous visits, Rod illustrated his talk with many excellent images of individual species and great areas of landscape. He answered a barrage of searching questions before the meeting closed.
Phil Morris
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Ian Rowlands - There she Blows – dolphins, whales and seabirds
Ian Rowlands is an enthusiast, particularly for whales, dolphins and porpoises, that can be seen in the seas round our coast-line. If you wonder where the best places are the answer is almost anywhere! The Moray Firth is wonderful for bottle-nosed dolphins (I know because I've been there), the area around the Scillies and across the Bay of Biscay can throw up many different animals and Ian said a trip on the cross channel ferries to Santandar is ideal. But Wales, the Hebrides and north Cornwall are also worth watching.
With the aid of superb photographs he carefully pointed out the distinguishing features of each species and later, to make sure we were paying attention, he would occasionally test our memories!!
The birds were not forgotten either, so with more good slides he showed us many species including gannets, skuas, puffins, red-necked phalaropes and storm petrels on the island of Mousa.
After the talk all around me I heard people saying what a good lecture and speaker he had been.
Ian kindly judged our photographic competition and the results can be seen on the website (reviews).
Brenda Ross
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Mike Wilkes - Tanzanian Spectacular
April is the month when the sales table gives way to the plant sale, and a wide variety of plants were on offer including an unidentified “mystery” one. Phil Morris reported that 17 members had joined the Oxford group on a visit to Little Paxton Pitts where it was a fine day but sadly the nightingales refused to appear. Next month’s outing will be to the New Forest.
As Didcot Civic Hall is unavailable for meetings next season, the new venue will be Steventon Village Hall. There is slightly less parking space, but otherwise is very suitable. Details will be given with the new programmes. A pleasant task for Phil was to present the photographic competition shield to this year’s winner Clive Marvell
This month’s talk was the aptly named Tanzanian Spectacular, by Mike Wilkes. Mike has been photographing wildlife in Africa for over twenty years , and his slides were indeed spectacular. Using a variety of cameras and lenses, he vividly captured the people, animals and wildlife of this region. Taking groups of other wildlife enthusiasts to safari lodges, the animals they saw included elephant, lions, hippos leopards cheetahs rhino, zebra and many others. The bird life too, was colourful,and varied. Mike captured both the movement and humour in his pictures. Some memorable moments were scenes of interaction between the birds, the shots of hunting cheetah and the wonderful black maned lion who was afraid of nothing. These slides were indeed spectacular and Mike had the group laughing, and gasping in admiration at the results of his photography.
Next month’s meeting is the AGM and will start at 7,15pm at Didcot Civic Hall. This will be followed by Solent Shoreline Bird Studies with Peter Potts. Phil urged members to attend the AGM and also to volunteer to serve on the committee as more members would be needed to help at the indoor meetings when they are at Steventon Village Hall.
Valerie Alsop
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Paul Donald - A Tale of Two Larks
Dr Paul Donald, Principal Conservation Scientist on RSPB’s International Research team, gave an enthralling talk about his research on (1) the skylark and (2) its close relative the Razo lark of the Cape Verde islands. We were introduced to the biology and ecology of each species in turn and the work being done to solve their very different conservation problems.
In Victorian times skylarks were killed in huge numbers for sport and commercial consumption (40,000 were being sent to Leadenhall Market each day by the 1890s) giving rise to a very early conservation campaign by the Society. Skylarks can still be killed legally in France, Italy and Greece but the sharp decline in numbers within Europe since the 1970s is largely because of intensification of agricultural practices.
We learnt about the studies carried out on how the change from spring to winter cereals is adversely affecting the skylark - no winter stubble to provide an important food source and spring growth too dense for nesting. Fortunately it is possible to extend their breeding season by the use of clearer patches in the crop, as has been proved by the ‘skylark plot’ trials at RSPB’s Hope Farm. It is now a case of persuading others to incorporate this farming practice throughout Europe.
The world population of the Razo lark is only 180 and it’s on the “critically endangered” list (1 down from extinct). Paul visited Razo a few years ago. It’s an uninhabited island in the Cape Verde archipelago – 7km2 stretch of flat lava and tufa with no water and small patches of green appearing only after the very infrequent rainfall. Drought is the larks’ main problem, especially as they only breed after rain, but amazingly they have managed to survive as much as 18 years of drought (1970-1988).
In fact the Razo lark seems to be very good at surviving against tremendous odds, not least from the Cape Verde giant gecko - itself an endangered species - which raids the nests at night. The best hope for its conservation is to establish it on other Cape Verde islands and also to ensure that non-indigenous predators are kept off Razo (eg cats and rats and possibly tourists).
In a flawless presentation Paul told us many fascinating details about these birds (eg how the skylark has adapted to nest predation and how the male Razo lark outnumbers the female two to one and acts like a different species from the female). At the end we were still demanding to learn more in an interesting question and answer session but eventually had to let him go.
Judy Allan
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David Waters - the Reintroduction of the Great Bustard
David Waters gave a most interesting talk on the reintroduction of the great bustard into the UK. David is the director of the group and has been with the project from it's inception in 1998. Their work and a feasibility study in 2003 led to permission being granted for a 10 year trial to commence.
The British birds are from eggs collected from doomed nests in Russia. Much of the natural steppe grassland of Saratov has been converted to huge cereal fields which now seem to provide more attractive conditions for great bustards to nest in even when areas of natural and semi-natural steppe are available. The extreme seasons experienced in Saratov results in the cultivation of fields coinciding with the great bustard nesting period. Despite their size, female great bustards are difficult to spot on a nest and reluctant to fly away from approaching tractors and consequently countless nests are inadvertently destroyed by the teams of tractors working the fields. Even with an outline superimposed on a photograph of a female on the nest when the outline was removed it was incredibly difficult to see her.
Since the 1980s The A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (a branch of the Russian National Academy of Science) have been collecting eggs from doomed nests and artificially incubating them. The Institute is running a captive rear and release project, releasing great bustards back into the wild in Russia and also providing the chicks for the UK reintroduction.
After a time in quarantine they are wing tagged and fitted with electronic devices which allow field staff to identify and follow their movements. They are released into a large fenced pen to allow them to acclimatise themselves in a protected environment free from predators. There is no roof so they are free to leave as soon as they wish. We were shown a fascinating trip made by one male who travelled back and forth to the west of Swindon from the release site on Salisbury Plain.
The group have now got a second release site at which birds have been released, for the first time, this year.
Predation is a problem but within acceptable levels for “naive” birds. It is anticipated this will decrease when more mature birds are around to teach the youngsters. Best of all will be mother birds teaching their young. Thus far the group knows of two chicks raised from eggs laid in this country.
He invited us to visit the project. A very instructional evening.
Malcolm Ross
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Martin Davies - Birds ancient and modern
Martin certainly knew his Egypt and by the use of slides demonstrated how may of today's birds can also be seen on the pillars and tombs of the ancient Egyptians. He exercised our brains and imaginations by asking us to identify the birds illustrated. A very interesting talk.
Brenda Ross
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Keyhaven and Pennington Marshes
The coach party of 37 arrived at Keyhaven to be welcomed by a stiff breeze and overcast skies. After a short walk along the coast path towards Pennington two stonechats were spotted and then a dartford warbler showed briefly. We were all on the lookout for a bairds sandpiper and wryneck which had both been reported the day before but sadly there were no reports of the birds while we were there. On the seaward side a good number of waders were seen including dunlin, ringed plover, golden plover, black tailed godwit and grey plover, some of which were still showing some of their breeding plumage. Further along the path on one of the inland lagoons good views were had of a curlew sandpiper, spotted redshank and three little stints.
Around lunchtime we had our first rain shower which curtailed any bird watching for a short while. The afternoon produced a few sandwich terns, a little tern and a number of common terns already changing into their winter plumage. On the open water were a few brent geese and a number of common eider. A few members got sight of a mediterranean gull and an arctic skua. As we were about to leave, an osprey was reported over the harbour and a few of us managed to see it from the coach.
Despite the intermittent showers the day produced a wonderful range of birds - 72 species in total.
Reg Cox.(Oxford Group)
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Keith Offord - Chasing the Day
Keith Offord took us on a lively and beautifully illustrated exploration of the impacts of day length on birds. He explained how the Earth’s orientation leads to longer summer days in the northern hemisphere, contrasting with shortening day length in the southern hemisphere. That pattern is reversed in our winter, when day length increases to the south. Birds that migrate north for the breeding season therefore benefit from increased foraging time, allowing their young to fledge more quickly. As a result, parents may be able to rear multiple broods in a single summer.
Starting with a British autumn, we heard about examples of birds that come to our shores from further north. While many of our visitors have flown south into Europe and Africa, birds like redwings and fieldfares migrate to Britain for its longer day length. Meanwhile others, like wood sandpipers, travel still further south stopping off in Britain as passage migrants.
Most migratory birds travel at night, using the stars and Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. The extent of the inbuilt instinct to fly south is illustrated by cuckoos, which have no guidance from their parents. We also learnt of a possible correlation between wing length and distance migrated. Such variation may even happen within species, with longer wing lengths occurring in Scottish wood warblers than in their counterparts bred in Devon.
Spring sees the arrival back in Britain of our summer visitors. Northern wheatear is one of the first to arrive. And increasing day length triggers the release of a flood of testosterone in the males. Increased aggression means that birds, which had previously flocked together in search of food, become territorial. This is also the stimulus for birds to start singing. Some of the earlier birds to sing in the spring are dippers, dunnocks and nightingales. There are many examples of plumage altering as a result of hormonal change. The bright breeding colours of black-tailed godwit are an example.
Keith’s talk was a fascinating insight into the importance of day length as a controlling factor in the lives of many birds. Through their migration they do ‘chase the day’ as the title of the talk suggests.
Caroline Coleman
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Rod Lawrence - Beyond Old Harry
Rod Lawrence is an ecologist. He is based near the western end of the “Jurassic Coast” - our only UNESC designated “natural” world heritage site - ”natural” to distinguish it from such sites as Stonehenge.
Rod is also a man with a mission. His aim is to educate not only established wild life supporters such as local RSPB groups, but also farmers local government officials, industrialists and uncommitted members of the public, about the likely consequences of global warming and what steps need to be taken to maintain bio-diversity especially in his area of interest – Devon and Dorset.
Rod is particularly involved in the the establishment of “wildlife corridors”, especially where river and stream courses exist, to link up established nature reserves, and become networks of cover through which many species can migrate via farmland and urban areas.
(Interesting to note that the town Planning Association is advocating similar ideas, as C21st alternatives To “Green Belts”).
Although Rod praised the work done in the late C20th, especially the setting up of nature reserves by English Nature, the RSPB and local county Wildlife Trusts he stressed that new approaches are now required as sea levels rise and species come under increased pressure from knock-on effects of increased temperatures – particularly in the southern part of England. Ecology is not a static concept.
October's meeting, where Rod was a welcome repeat speaker, was almost a full house. It was good to see those several visitors and a few new members. As on previous visits, Rod illustrated his talk with many excellent images of individual species and great areas of landscape, and answered a barrage of searching questions before the meeting closed.
Phil Morris
Group Leader
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Jeff Blincow - Bird Flight
Jeff Blincow gave us an erudite talk on bird flight, travelling through 18 countries, which encompassed the mechanics of flight in all its facets and all accompanied by beautiful slides. He told us afterwards that in the case of the frigate bird he took 7000 photos, 1000 in one day and got 7 reasonable pictures!
For flight birds need feathers, bones, wind and balance. He illustrated this in general and in the particular.
Feathers
Bones
Wind
Some birds sleep on the wing – albatross, sooty tern, arctic terns and swifts which also preen, sleep, moult and defacate whilst flying – he had an explicit slide to show this!
He spoke about landing techniques. Mostly wings out, tail spread and legs down. Birds like heron stretch and flatten their necks - large water birds put their feet forward like water skis.
He gave examples of his favourite birds – larks for displaying, eider which is fast at 50 – 60mph. Peregrine has been measured at 204kph and racing pigeons at 100mph.
But if he had to put them in order
His ambition is to film the sungrebe whilst the male carries the young in a flap of skin under his wing.
Brenda Ross
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Paul Eele - Snettisham and Titchwell RSPB reserves
Paul Eele, Warden of Titchwell reserve in Norfolk gave us an excellent talk titled "Past Present and Future"
He gave us an outline of the area which includes salt marsh, brackish water, fresh marsh, reed beds, dunes a fen meadow and some pine plantation, all in 800 acres. There was an excellent title picture
The area was once a Tank Firing Range and Field Hospital (no cause and effect I'm sure!) It was bought in 1973 to look after Montague's harrier's which immediately never bred again! However it now has breeding bitterns and is a haven for wildfowl and waders, particularly ringed pover and the dark bellied Siberian race of brent geese.
It also has rare plants like sea lavender - and a rare dune beetle only discovered in the 1990's. It is now a specially designated area under European Law and heavily protected. However costal erosion is now a big issue and much debate is going on about a big project perhaps allowing the tide into the salt marsh.
Our speaker took us through all the areas in turn explaining the management and use of volunteers. Throughout he used excellent photographs depicting the birds in beautiful detail and showing us the landscape. He explained about the use of sluices, monitoring and the cutting of the reed beds.
He mentioned Sammy the black legged stilt which many of us saw and the finding of razor shells 6000 years old.
It was an informative and well put together talk and he is an excellent speaker with good delivery. A lecture well worth attending and an incentive to visit this reserve which now has good facilities and good paths - and of course anything could turn up there.
Winifred Stanton
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John Wyatt Svalbard Wildlife
We were entertained by John Wyatt to an evening on Svalbard wildlife. The evening covered not only wildlife but included the geography and geology of the area which had me reaching for my bird book and atlas as soon as I returned home.
Some of the facts that John uncovered were that coal mining had taken place and some mines, still in use, can be visited.
The islands are inside the Arctic circle which are snow covered most of the year creating tundra glaciers. Winter months have three months of total darkness. Summers twenty-four hours of daylight.
The wildlife seemed to be everywhere There were alpine plants growing on the tundra and rocky cliffs, Arctic fox, polar bear, four species of seal and walrus.
Birds include :-arctic tern, barnacle goose and gannet, eider, king eider, ptarmigan, turnstone, dunlin, phalarope, long tailed duck and little auk whose droppings provide nutrients for plants which, in turn, gives grazing for reindeer.
John announced that this was to be his last talk as he is retiring. I was so pleased to be at his last talk.
Doug White
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Gordon Langsbury - Birding in Holland
Gordon Langsbury is a professional wildlife photographer and author and has visited our group several times over the years. His talks, accompanied by his excellent photographs are always well received. The subject of this month’s talk was Birding in Holland, more specifically southern Holland, which Gordon has visited annually for the past fourteen years. The first half concentrated on spring and autumn, and after the tea interval, the winter season.
We learned that there are many nature reserves in the area, all very accessible by cycle tracks. Gordon favoured birding from the car, using it as a mobile hide. His photographs were proof that this is a very effective way of getting close to the birds.
Being so close to Britain most of the birds illustrated were very familiar to us, though obviously there were species that are unusual on our shores e.g. Kentish plover, red-breasted goose, and the continental sinensis sub-species of cormorant. Spoonbills were also fairly common in the area, but maybe with climate change we can look forward to this becoming a familiar species in the UK too. One photograph showed a large group of spotted redshank as they gathered together before continuing their autumn migration south to Africa. Here and in Greece are the only places where this species gather in such flocks.
A few ID tips were very useful. The black-necked grebe has as slightly up-turned bill that separates it from the Slavonian grebe; the black legs of the Kentish plover are the best field mark for distinguishing it from other ringed plovers; the very long legs of the black-tailed godwit differentiates it from the bar-tailed variety.
In all we saw photographs of an excess of 80 species – not a bad total for an evening’s birding!
A very enjoyable and informative presentation from Gordon, which surely encouraged some of us to consider southern Holland as our next birding destination.
Martin Smith
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Keith Offord - Whats That Raptor?
The new season of talks kicked off with a presentation by Keith Offord on raptor identification. This is a substantial topic with quite a number of pitfalls for the inexperienced bird watcher.
A frequent difficulty is that a bird is only seen in the distance for a short period of time, making a telescope essential. It seems that a golden rule is not to rely on the colour of the plumage because different species can have the same colours, and these colours can change with the age of the bird. It’s best to use a combination of other characteristics such as size, shape (particularly wings and tail), flight patterns, general behaviour and the local environment in which the bird is seen. These characteristics can be lumped together to produce what is usually called the ‘jizz’ of a particular bird. The time of year when the bird is seen may also help.
The size of a raptor is a useful indicator but it can be difficult to judge at a distance, so the presence of other easily recognised birds, which may be mobbing the raptor, can help. However, difficulties may arise because, for instance, the size of a female sparrow hawk approaches that of a male goshawk.
Wing shape and length, relative to the body size, and tail length and shape are important. These characteristics often reflect the hunting strategy, and therefore flight patterns, of a species and the habitat in which it is found. Harriers, kites and buzzards have long, rounded wings for effortless soaring and gliding as they scan the ground to locate prey/carrion. In contrast falcons have long pointed wings for fast flight that enables them to catch prey on the wing in open country. Hawks have shorter wings for flying through woods, and they have great agility. Sparrow hawks often ‘pop over’ hedges and buildings to surprise smaller birds on the far side. It’s worth noting that whilst kestrels habitually hover, buzzards can also sometimes hover. The tail of a kestrel is long to act as a balancing tool.
The habitat in which the bird is observed provides useful clues. Hen harriers and merlins are found on open moors, whilst peregrine falcons can be found near cliffs or large buildings, such as power stations or churches, which act as cliff substitutes. Buzzards, kites and kestrels are often found over farmland having trees and bushes. Marsh harriers, as the name suggests, are likely to be seen over reed beds. Hobbies can appear over lowland heaths and marshes in summer to prey largely on abundant insects. Ospreys can be spotted on their spring/autumn migrations and their nests may be observed during the summer in a few well known locations in England and Scotland.
Colouring sometimes provides clues. Much of the body of male hen and montagu harriers can be nearly gull grey, but you’re unlikely to see a montagu harrier during the winter. The body of a marsh harrier is not grey. Falcons always have dark eyes, if you are close enough to see them!
There are of course lots of other raptors not mentioned above but many of these occur in southern Europe, and especially Spain, so the chances of spotting any in England are small. Keith’s talk was really interesting and acted as a stimulus to check out the bird ID texts in the light of his many useful comments. His very professional presentation was illustrated throughout with lots of high quality photographs.
Robin Prentice
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Terry Bond - Scandanavian Birds
The October meeting was expecting a talk about the Snettisham and Titchwell RSPB reserves, but unfortunately this was cancelled with only a few hours notice…… The group was therefore very grateful to Terry Bond who stepped in so valiantly.
Terry has been a bird watching photographer for the past 35 years, and took us on a journey that started at the most southerly point in Sweden, the Falsterbo reserve, a key migration point. Here he found large numbers of common buzzards waiting for thermals to carry them across the water (about 650 in one shot!), as well as other possible visitors to the UK: rough-legged buzzard (just 2 or 3), shore lark (only 1 seen last year), tree sparrow, linnet, twite, white wagtail, grey-headed wagtail, yellowhammer, siskin, mistle thrush. We learned that even robins travel, as Terry pointed out that Scandinavian ones can be identified by a greenish olive back (rather than brownish) and a red breast that is less bright than its UK cousin’s.
Terry then took us to Hornborgesjӧhn, the wetland breeding grounds for cranes. Farmers in this protected area are paid to leave potatoes in the fields for the cranes to feed on. Other birds photographed included red-throated diver, whooper swan, water rail, osprey, goldeneye, goosander, scaup, and slavonian and black-necked grebes.
From Bergen we sailed northwards up the coast, where long-tailed duck, purple sandpiper, skua (great, arctic and long-tailed), gulls (common and glaucous, eider (common and steller’s), oystercatchers and arctic tern were all seen. Terry’s top tip was to avoid getting close to nesting fulmars, as his coat still reeks of the foul-smelling stuff ejected by them, despite being cleaned several times!
The Hardanger Fjord brought some even more striking scenery, with snowmelt waterfalls and rivers in full spate, as well as sightings of reindeer, black-bellied dipper, redwing, fieldfare, tawny owl, bluethroat, redshank, greenshank, and red-necked phalarope.
Finally we headed inland to Hardanger Vidda, an area that was reminiscent of the Cairngorms, to find lapland and snow buntings, dotterill, golden eagle, white-tailed eagle and ptarmigan. The journey had been spectacular, and it was surprising to learn just how many birds move back and forth between UK and Scandinavia, whether as species that we share or as vagrants.
Helen Baldwin
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Tim Appleton - Greenfields to RAMSAR
In 1975 whilst working at Slimbridge Tim Appleton heard about a new project in Rutland to set up a reserve on land belonging to Anglian Water. At our March meeting he unfolded the story of how it became not just a worldwide place to see wildlife but also a RAMSAR.
A Convention on Wetlands met at Ramsar, a place on the the Caspian Sea in Iran and from this meeting of people involved in wetlands all over the world came an intergovernmental treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Rutland Water was one of the first to be designated a Ramsar. In addition in 1992 it became a Special Protection Area principally because of the large numbers of gadwall and shoveler that gather there in winter and also the many different habitats offering great diversity of wildlife.
Now it is a major tourism site where flyfishing championships are held, where sailing, cycling, picnicking, and last, but by no means least, where birdwatchers flock to see a huge variety of birds. Anglian Water have been very supportive over the years and, now that they want to abstract more water for drinking, are to spend £18 million on increasing wildlife habitats with shallow ponds and lagoons etc.
Amongst the birds likely to be seen depending on the time of year are hen harrier, barn and long-eared owls, grasshopper warbler, reed bunting, little ringed plovers and common terns. There are 14 hectares of reedbeds and bitterns have passed through, sand martins nest in a specially constructed series of nesting holes; spoonbills and little egrets visit and hawking hobbies feed on the multitude of dragonflies and damsel flies.
The reserve tries to provide an experience for all ages and expertise. Thus there are feeding stations near each of the centres and these are a good place to look for tree sparrows and the more familiar garden birds. There are nest boxes all around. Look out for kingfishers. There is a hide overlooking a badger sett and places can be booked for that and the boat trips.
Rutland Water is well known for ospreys which now come back each year after a project to introduce them in the late 1990s. They were translocated from the Highlands and encouraged to stay by the construction of artificial nests. Other birds of prey are coming back. One day last year 7 red kites and 8 buzzards were seen.
The Bird Fair was started in 1987 and has grown every year so that it is now the worlds largest with 320 exhibitors.
Tim Appleton is an interesting and infomative speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Anyone who missed this talk would be wise to come on our outing there next month!
Brenda Ross
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Our Man From Biebrza
I first heard of Marek Borkowski over two years ago. Some of you might recall his collaboration in making the Bill Oddie Goes Wild in Poland TV programme a few years ago. This was the one in which the Great Snipe did its ‘watch-me-mummy-I’m-on-the-bouncy-castle’ impression in pitch blackness. However, I didn’t remark the name at the time and to be honest, I can’t remember how or why he came to my attention later, but he did. Anyway, the upshot was that I booked him to come and talk to the Group as part of the annual UK lecture Tour that he undertakes each November (he refers to this as his holiday – a 2500-mile round trip!).
Over the intervening two years I had learned more and more about him. I had heard good reports of his talks elsewhere and so for me, this was going to be one of the highlights of our calendar. You can imagine the anticipation with which I was looking forward to Marek’s visit.
Now that it’s over – I’m writing this the morning after - I find myself struggling to describe the experience of meeting this extraordinary, larger-than-life character. Although only of average height, he is possessed of an enormous, bushy beard à la Father Christmas, and highly mobile eyebrows shadowing twinkly eyes behind a pair of John Lennon-style round glasses. More than a suggestion of showmanship here!
But there’s more to him than just a striking appearance. There is enormous energy as well. Despite a long drive from Lancashire down to South Oxfordshire and having slept badly the preceding two nights in digs, there was no trace of tiredness, though he told me he had not felt at his best. His English, whilst not perfect, is nevertheless extremely good and is delivered at speed, so that you needed to concentrate to hear the subtle nuances and the occasional joke he threw in from time to time. He referred frequently to his ‘garden’ – I still haven’t fathomed out exactly how big this is but again, I detect a little Polish humour here, as there appeared to be no demarcation lines and certainly no visible formal garden in any of the scenes he showed us. In fact, he alluded to an area of 100,000 hectares – 250, 000 acres - of reserve/garden, comprising vast areas of marsh, wet grassland and all-but-impenetrable swamps rather like the Florida Everglades. Some garden!
We learned that Marek’s life is divided between a) his family: he and his partner have four children, the eldest aged twelve, whom they are educating at home b) his beloved tarpan horses; an ancient, sturdy breed, tolerant of standing for any length of time in water and obligingly munching its way through scrubby vegetation and therefore perfect for helping to maintain wildlife reserves and c) the wildlife tour business which he started some 25 years ago, now burgeoning as eco-tourists worldwide latch on to the many attractions of his private reserve.
It’s impossible, indeed pointless to try, to summarize the total, huge enjoyment of the Borkowski experience. He’s a one-off. He spoke to us for an hour and a half. I’m sure he could have gone on for twice that time and still have kept us spellbound. Speakers of that quality are rare.
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Christmas Walk
A local walk on 28 December attracted a good turnout of members to walk from Culham lock along the cut and over to Sutton Courtenay as far as the gravel pits at the far end of Churchmere Rd. Unfortunately a blustery wind discouraged small passerines which were few in number. However it was a very sucessful day for rptors with the red kite, buzzard, sparrowhawk, kestrel and for the highlight of the day two peregrine falcolns which sat in full view on the building at Hansons gravel pits.Chris Rogers
| little grebe | great crested grebe | cormorant |
| heron | mute swan | canada goose |
| mallard | shoveler | pochard |
| tufted duck | red kite | sparrow hawk |
| buzzard | kestrel | peregrine |
| pheasant | moorhen | coot |
| b h gull | herring gull | wood pigeon |
| collard dove | grt spt woodpecker | wren |
| goldcrest | dunnock | robin |
| blackbird | fieldfare | redwing |
| mistle thrush | longtailed tit | blue tit |
| great tit | magpie | jackdaw |
| rook | crow | starling |
| chaffinch | goldfinch |
Phil Palmer - Follow that Goose - Arctic Birds and Polar Bears
Due to a mix up over hall bookings by the owners of the Didcot Civic Hall (Didcot Town Council), some members turning up for our regular meeting in December had a short time to wait until donors, nurses and attendants – there for an advertised blood donation session – had packed up and cleared the building. We had managed to notify many members in advance, and more importantly, we did manage to have a meeting. Thanks to help from many members, plus a well executed plan of action organised by the committee with help from some rather embarrassed Council Staff, the kitchen was got ready; the chairs were rapidly put in place; the projection and audio equipment was installed and with some editorial cooperation from our speaker, plus shortened notices, raffle time and interval, the programme began just twenty minutes later than usual and only went over its usual timing by about fifteen minutes.Our December guest, Phil Palmer, who regularly leads groups of `eco-tourists` for one of the advertised tour companies, into both the Arctic and Antarctic regions was billed to talk on the subject of `Follow that Goose – Arctic Birds and Polar Bears`. In the first half of his presentation, like many of the speakers we are currently getting to Didcot, he made much of the changes taking place in both polar and peri-arctic regions due to climatic alterations and short term and also possible long term effects on wild life of all kinds in these regions. He spent several minutes suggesting that perhaps his title was inaccurate, for in reality there are few Arctic birds, as most of the species he had encountered and would discuss were migrants – we would be familiar with them at the southern limit of their range – and during their time in high latitudes they would be occupying islands in the 70–80 degrees north region. Much of his material was related to migrant geese, especially barnacles, but he did show us some excellent photos of other species, mostly from Spitzbergen and Svalsbard.
After the interval, when as a gesture to the approaching festive season, mince pies were served in place of the usual biscuits, Phil showed us some magnificent pictures of earth's largest carnivore, the polar bear and explained the strategies used to allow small groups of tourists to venture quite close to these magnificent animals. This can be accomplished by using `Zodiacs` - high powered, fast, inflatable boats, launched from the cruise ships, which in the case of the firms he supports are converted Russian ice-breakers. Despite the slight hiatus at the start of the evening, I sensed that all those who did turn up – quite a high turnout, despite the inclement weather, enjoyed this speaker, and his excellent collection of slides.
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Lars Lachman - Biebrza Marsh Project in Poland
On 19th of September we heard from Lars Lachmann when he told us about the rare aquatic warbler once common across reed beds of Europe now confined to two main areas one in Germany and the Biebrza Marshes in Poland.
The latter site is where Lars is mainly concentrating his efforts in conserving this rare bird and increasing its numbers by putting back the habitat once abundant there.
Over the last fifty years farming has become non-viable in these areas leading to habitat overgrowth which needs clearing. Lars has made progress in his efforts by being able to bring in larger machines to cut and collect the overgrown vegetation turning it into pellets for fuel. This has lead to the warblers spreading out. The decrease in numbers may be down to very particular feeding habits as only the female feeds the fledglings. The male just sings and protects his area. This habit makes it fairly easy for the research team to count the birds. Around 2,500 singing males have been recorded which comprises 20% of the world population.
Good luck Lars.
Steve Cload
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Giles Strother - BBWOT Reserves
The speaker at our November meeting was Giles Strother of the Berks., Bucks. and Oxon. Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). He briefly referred to the recent DEFRA policy statement, “The Natural Choice – Securing the Value of Nature” and then went on to describe, by reference to three of their sites, how BBOWT seek to look after their reserves by careful management and the encouragement of wildlife.
The first was Chimney Meadows, a site adjacent to the River Thames about half way between Oxford and Lechlade. BBOWT had recently been able to acquire the local farm which had enabled them to expand the area considerably. They had now been able to create extensive watery habitats and develop excellent hay meadows with a wide variety of wild flowers and animals.
The second area was adjacent to the upper River Ray on the Bucks./Oxon border near the RSPB Reserve at Otmoor. Again, the area has been substantially enlarged due to the acquisition of two local farms and work is progressing on developing drainage ditches and discovering the routes of old ones.
The third area is somewhat different – a much larger site in several different ownerships now called the West Berkshire Living Landscape. This extends from the River Kennet (and the associated Kennet & Avon Canal) south towards Greenham Common. Various uses have occurred in the area, gravel workings, the old USAF airbase, but by working with local landowners, BBOWT have done much to encourage wildlife of all forms, flowers, birds, insects, snakes back onto areas where positive management is achieving worthwhile results.
Giles finally made a brief reference to another area of old mineral workings, College Lakes, near Tring, which is proving popular and now has a well-equipped visitor centre.
Rodney Davies
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Mike Wilkes - Gambia
This was the fourth talk given by Mike to the group so those of us who had heard him before were anticipating an enjoyable evening. We were not disappointed.
In his inimitable style, a dry humour, he described the lengths he will go to to obtain a shot (even, unknowingly, depriving the locals of their water supply on one occasion). He must have set a near record for the number of slides he showed in the time he had to illustrate his visits to the Gambia.
He would have us believe that from the moment he stepped off the plane, with black kites forming a reception party, he was assailed with photo opportunities.
He showed us lots of exotic birds; weavers, kingfishers, plovers, magpies and vultures but also some which are familiar to birders in this country such as greenshank, dunlin and ruff.
We were also treated to slides of reptiles including crocodiles, gekko, lizards and chamelion, and a variety of monkeys and deer.
A somewhat surprising fact that emerged is that he does not count or list the species seen he just enjoys taking photographs.
It was plain to see he is an expert at his craft and revealed some of his methods which may help us who are less skilled to improve our results.
An excellent evening enjoyed by all.
Malcolm Ross
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Graham Maples - World Wildfowl and their Conservation
Graham is chairman of the Friends of Slimbridge and in the first part of his talk he set out to illustrate those features that differentiate wildfowl from other avian orders. To do this he focused in turn on six physical attributes: tongue and bill; feet; preening gland; moulting; egg appearance; activity of the young after hatching. Each of these, as seen in wildfowl, was described in depth. Incidentally, in the context of discussing the role of the beak and tongue in feeding, he pointed out that because grazing birds cannot digest cellulose, their high input is allied to a high frequency output, reckoned to occur every 3½ minutes! In concluding this section, he emphasised that it is the simultaneous exhibition of the special features of the six attributes that uniquely define wildfowl - whilst other orders may exhibit the features in three or four of the attributes, only wildfowl exhibit them in all six.
In the second part of the talk, after some brief comments on taxonomy and Livezey’s classification of wildfowl (order anseriformes), Graham discussed wildfowl distributions around the world. For example, northern hemisphere species tend to be widely distributed and migratory whilst southern hemisphere species tend to be localised and nomadic. The final section dealt with endangered species and some of the WWT conservation work. He used the example of the Hawaiin Goose (Ne Ne) to illustrate how three key factors can cause extinction: hunting; habitat loss; predation by introduction of non-native species. In a species at risk, emphasis now is placed on improving the surviving birds because it is realised that reintroduced stock may bring with them asymptomatic disease. Conservation strategies include a range of generic steps: obtain legal protection; understand the site; ban hunting; perform research on ecology/habitat; carry out breeding surveys; raise public awareness. Graham gave a number of examples around the globe of conservation activities aimed at specific species – Marbled Teal, Mergansers, Blue Ducks, Red Breasted Geese, the Brent Supergoose Project. He concluded his talk with two examples of ‘good news’: in New Zealand, the reestablishment of Campbell Island Teal (from a small surviving population on Dent Island); the expansion of barnacle geese numbers in Spitzbergen from a few hundred to around twenty four thousand.
This well-received talk, with its current relevance and attractive slides, covered a very broad range but nevertheless succeeded admirably in bringing out the depth of understanding that now underlies many of the issues.
Harry Megaw
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Mike Wilkes - British Birds - Autumn and Spring
Our December meeting was a rare and entertaining glimpse of how a wildlife photographer gets his excellent pictures. When Mike Wilkes turned professional he began an intensive study of one pasture with a wet area frequented by snipe and other waders. A hide large enough to spend whole days in, three SLR cameras (one digital) set with short and long-focus lenses and an old post or piece of rustic fence provided with peanuts and grain brought birds to pose for him. A photographic studio in the wild!Another hide by a blackthorn hedge enabled him to discover that all five species of thrushes can take sloes whole. The effort needed gave him time to get a series of brilliant pictures from pick to gulp. In the corner of a dry arable field a small water-filled hollow and a patch of loosened soil attracted a family of partridges to dustbathe and various wildlife to drink.
All this was not without its lighter moments. The photographer hunched over his camera with a duck perched on his back seeming to whisper in his ear - 'Where's the bread?'
One of the best features for us was the way his pictures revealed behaviour in common birds and mammals. One reward- a shot of a fierce hunting tomcat creeping through the grass worth £500!
Michael & Gillian Taylor
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Mike Read - At Home with the Robin
Mike Read gave us a humerous and informative talk on the robin. Did you know you can tell the sex of robin by the shape of the red above it's beak? V shaped for the female (think widows peak). U shaped for the male.
It's thought that the robin started it's relationship with man when he began coppicing and now it is regularly around when gardening disturbs the earth and throws up tasty morsels. They can be tamed by the regular use of meal worms as Mike's excellent photos proved.
Like the nightingale, to which the robin is related, it often feeds at twilight.
When paired, usually around Christmas or New Year, the female stops singing and later she begs food from the male before egg laying. Their main predators are the sparrow hawk and the cat. Magpies and squirrels will take the eggs.
In winter female are more likely to migrate than males and tend to go to southern France and Spain.
Mike enlarged his subject into garden planting for wildlife, exhorting us to leave a patch of nettles and seedheads for birds and butterflies.
He completed an interesting and enjoyable evening by judging our photographic competition. You can see the winners by clicking here.
Brenda Ross
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Debbie Pain & Duncan McNiven - Vultures, Peregrines, Parrots and Poisons
An inspired double bill presented by RSPB speakers.
Debbie Pain recounted the fascinating story of the investigations into the dramatic collapse in numbers of the three main Gyps species vultures on the Indian sub-continent (from over-abundance to near-extinction in about 8 years). From the intriguing details of the forensic research into the causes to the discovery of the main suspect (a widely used veterinary product for livestock which became transferred to the carcase scavenging vultures with fatal results) and the successful hunt for an equally effective but safe substitute, this was the stuff of crime novels. The offender was banned within 2 years of discovering its effects. Conservation breeding centres are now successfully working to help rebuild the breeding stocks.
Duncan McNiven provided a very illuminating account of his work as part of the small Investigations Unit with RSPB. He highlighted its work in advising the police and working with other agencies to ensure laws protecting wild birds are enforced. He explained the priorities of focusing on bird of prey persecution, the illegal trade in endangered species and the threat to our rarer breeding birds, and described advances in DNA technology which can be used to prove parentage of claimed ‘captive bred’ birds seized.
Clive Buckley
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Fishers Green
The preceding week of very cold weather and snowfall in some parts of the country meant that only six members braved the journey to Fishers Green, part of the Lee Valley complex. Although it was a cold day (maximum about 6°C) and there was a chilly northerly wind, there was no rain, and a
weak
winter sun shone at times.Our first point of call was the RSPB Bittern Watchpoint hide – and surprise, surprise – there was no bittern! A walk south around the lakes produced many waterfowl, but few other birds, apart from a very obliging great spotted woodpecker that posed at the top of a dead tree so that we could all have a close look at him through 'scopes.
Hall Marsh Scrape held wigeon, teal, lapwing, shoveler, and plenty of very visible (and close) snipe, feeding busily on the wet grassy area in front of the viewing screen.
The high spot of the day then came with the discovery of a drake smew on Friday Lake. This was a very fine bird and we spent several minutes watching it diving and feeding. We watched it swallow a fish that seemed far too large to slip down its throat. A common gull alighted on this lake next to a couple of black headed gulls – giving us the opportunity to brush up on our gull ID skills.
We ate our packed lunches in the comfort of the Bittern Watchpoint (still no bittern), and enjoyed
watching
the tame robin that enters the hide to feed on mealworms provided by the RSPB
wardens. After lunch we walked north towards Holyfield Lake as we had heard
rumours of goosander being present. We found no sign of the goosanders, but
did locate a female redhead smew. From Grebe Hide we observed a splendid peregrine
falcon perched contentedly high up on an electricity pylon.Returning back for one last try from the Bittern Hide (still no luck), we all agreed that it had been a great day. Over 50 species were seen, and the drake smew was the undoubted highlight for us all.
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Ashdown Estate
Twenty members braved the very cold weather for our Christmas outing to Ashdown House, a picturesque National Trust property beautifully situated amongst woodland and the rolling
countryside
of the Berkshire Downs. The advantage of the cold conditions was that the usually
very muddy paths were firm underfoot.Although we had to work hard to locate birds, we eventually saw a good selection of woodland species. We did not have a huge list, but nuthatch and treecreeper showed well. Blue tit and coal tit were numerous, but great tit were very sparse. Good numbers of marsh tit were seen; this species seems to thrive here. Long-tailed tit were elusive, as we did not manage to spot any until nearly back at the car park. Goldcrest were also easy to find, and this confiding species came very close at times allowing us to see to advantage the bright orange blaze on its head that gives the species its name. A jay was briefly glimpsed.
The nearby Iron Age hill fort of Alfred’s Castle offered excellent views across the Downs. Whilst standing on the ramparts of this fort we saw the best species of the day – two ravens flew over and landed in a nearby field next to the body of a large mammal. This appeared to be a roe deer, but
closer
inspection through a telescope revealed it to be a badger. A couple of stonechats
posed on nearby fence posts for us, and a herd of roe deer were visible in the
distance. There was no sign of the golden plovers often seen over this area,
but we did see a flock of lapwing earlier in the morning.The now rare and elusive lesser spotted woodpecker and willow tit have also been recorded here, but sadly there was no sign of them today.
The woodland and surrounding countryside are excellent for walking and bird watching, and a visit at any time of year is recommended. There is no charge for admission to the woods, but bear in mind that the car park gate is closed at sunset and that the woodland is closed on Fridays.
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Elmley Marshes
Thirty-three members of Oxford & Vale of White Horse groups travelled on the joint outing to RSPB Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey. Even though it looks a long way on the map the journey only took a little over two hours. It was a cold and foggy morning, but the mist had all but cleared by the time we arrived.We were told that the wet grasslands and mud flats of Elmley attract thousands of ducks, geese, wading birds, and numerous raptors. We were not disappointed,
as within a few
minutes of arrival we had already seen marsh harrier, peregrine, kestrel and
huge flocks of wigeon. The group as a whole saw well over 50 species during
the day, including large flocks of avocet, curlew, dunlin, teal, and pintail.
A common gull alighted in front of one of the hides giving us the chance to
study it closely so that we would all be able to identify them easily in future!
There are five
hides and many members did the six mile round trip to the furthest hide at Spitend.
From this hide as well as numerous black-tailed godwits, there were also a few
bar-tailed godwits amongst them, giving us opportunity to brush up on our skills
at separating these two tricky species. Amongst the distinguishing features
that can be seen as they fly are that the bar-tailed has no white wing bars,
and a white wedge extending from the rump to half way up its back, whereas the
black-tailed has white wing-bars, a white rump and grey back with the distinctive
black tail. Red-breasted mergansers were also seen diving for food out in the
estuary, and some lucky members also saw a hen harrier.
At the end
of the day as we were returning to the coach, several short-eared owls put in
an appearance to round off the day.Our thanks must be extended to the Oxford Group for organising such an excellent outing.
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Minsmere Weekend 27-29 Jan 2006
Twenty-one members travelled to Suffolk for our group’s annual weekend excursion. The weather forecast looked promising for an excellent weekend.
After checking in to the recently opened Ufford Park Hotel, we made our way
to the first venue, Iken Cliffs overlooking the Alde estuary. We spent an hour
observing the birds busily feeding on the exposed mud. Redshank, dunlin, black-tailed
godwits were seen in good numbers. Ringed and grey plover were the also showing,
but the best was a flock of several hundred avocets some distance offshore.
A large number of these avocets took to the air and wheeled around for a brief
time – a splendid sight. Our visit had to be curtailed because the bitterly
cold north-easterly wind was bringing in snow showers that threatened to get
heavier. Returning to our cars two members of the party saw a woodcock flying
above the trees; a bird we did not expect see here.An amazing golden sunrise on Saturday morning heralded our day’s visit to the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. An overnight frost saw us all busily clearing windscreens before we departed, but we were all wearing extra layers, having learnt from the previous day’s experience.
The bird watching
facilities at Minsmere are excellent, and we all had a great day’s birding.
Marsh harriers put in numerous appearances, interspersed with the occasional
hen harrier. The star turn of the day was undoubtedly the bittern, with many
of our group getting sightings of this elusive “brown heron”. Some
lucky members managed to get extended views of one perching on a reed stem,
and another witnessed one chasing off a marsh harrier as it came in to roost
in the bittern’s patch of reedbed. Another good tick for the day was a
shore lark on the wader scrape, and also a couple of spotted redshanks. The
stiff north-easterly wind meant that the sea was pretty rough and so there was
no sign of any divers off the coast.After checking out on Sunday morning (and again de-frosting our cars) we made our way to Aldeburgh and the RSPB reserve at North Warren. Again the rough sea spoiled any chance of seeing birds offshore but the reserve had plenty to see in the way of geese and ducks. Highlights were white-fronted geese and a possible bar-headed goose (this was not positively identified as it remained asleep the whole time we were there).
All in
all a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, with our sighting’s list amounting
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Springtime in Spain
At the January meeting Gordon Langsbury gave his usual polished performance with magnificent slides of birds and habitats taken in late winter and spring in Spain, starting in Almeria and gradually working north to finish in the Pyrenees. The slides were the fruit of numerous visits to the different locations of which some were in national parks but many in unprotected areas found by simply being alert and observant when travelling. The interest of the evening was heightened by the great variety of birds that can be seen in Spain on migration to more northerly breeding areas as well as those that breed there, which is reflected in the large number of birders who visit the country.back to top
Have Wings Will Travel
Dominic, despite a persistent cough, gave us an amusing but packed with information illustrated lecture on the various types of migration undertaken by birds. He commenced by showing that at least one bird migrates every month of the year and followed with a description of the various types of Migration.
The record for the greatest distance by a regular migrant is held by the arctic tern whilst the shortest is probably the capercailie which leaves the ground to live in the tree tops during the late Autumn and Winter surviving on pine needles!
He categorised migration into 12 types and explained the difference between migration, dispersion and eruption.
Despite warning us that migration cannot be defined I, for one, felt I had learnt a great deal.
The jokes came thick and fast, most of them of the "groan" variety but none the less appreciated for that. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Malcolm Ross
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Pulborough Brooks – 26 Feb 2006
It was during a spell of very cold weather that our outing to RSPB Pulborough Brooks took place. As we alighted from the minibus it began to snow, which was not very promising for our day.
We
were met by Peter, one of the RSPB wardens on the reserve, who gave us a brief
introductory talk. We were delighted to hear from him that there had been a
hawfinch seen regularly for the past week or so, and that there was also a lesser
spotted woodpecker around. Enthused with the possibility of these two uncommon species we began our walk around the reserve. Thankfully the snow had stopped falling, and although it remained a very cold and blowy day, the weather brightened considerably.
Song thrushes were surprisingly numerous in the grassy fields, along with fieldfares and redwings. Bullfinch and treecreepers were also seen. We spent considerable time at the view point where Peter had told us that the hawfinch had been seen, and we were not disappointed. The bird (a female) put in an appearance and posed for some time in the branches of a nearby tree allowing us good views in our telescopes, but was surprisingly difficult to see in binoculars. For many of us this was our first hawfinch, and we were amazed at the incredible size of its beak.
There were
plenty of geese and ducks on the various flooded areas, as well as waders including
black-tailed godwit. A kestrel perched in a tree allowing us great views, but
sadly there was no sign of the lesser spotted woodpecker.A fine day’s birding was had by all, and the sighting of the hawfinch made it a Red Letter day for those who had never seen this species before.
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Badbury Woods 25 Mar 2006
Our March outdoor meeting was a walk around the woodlands of Badbury Hill near Faringdon. The weather forecasters had told us that this March had been the coldest for twenty years, but in the two days beforehand the cold easterly wind had subsided to be replaced by a westerly airstream bringing much milder weather. Sixteen members of our group met in the car park in anticipation of good few hours birding.
The walk around the perimeter of the Iron Age hill fort produced treecreeper, nuthatch and great spotted woodpecker barely five minutes from the start. The yaffle of a green woodpecker was heard several times, but the bird was not seen. As we descended lower into the wood the cry of a buzzard had us all looking skywards, only to see a sparrowhawk gliding gracefully overhead. The buzzard was soon located, and in fact three put in an appearance.
A grassy field held half a dozen hare – we thought. Closer inspection through a telescope revealed that the hare were brown rocks, but they were very convincing hares in binoculars!
The lower paths on the hill were very muddy and slippery, and we had to concentrate more on our foot placement than bird watching. A song thrush was in full song perched at the top of a tree, and blackbirds, robins, chaffinches, dunnocks and wrens were all singing – a sure sign that spring is on the way.
As we made our way back up the hill a mixed feeding flock of birds was located. Goldcrest, long-tailed, coal and great tits and a solitary siskin, which posed high up in a larch for us to have a good look at through a telescope. Another treecreeper put in a brief appearance, and the verges of the forestry track had a good show of the yellow flowered coltsfoot. Further up the hill, where there were extensive views westwards, a flock of about 120 golden plover were seen wheeling around in the distance towards RAF Brize Norton, and another buzzard put in a low level appearance.
As we approached the car park, there was a final chance to see a nuthatch, and more goldcrest, but although we checked very closely, we were not lucky enough to find a firecrest amongst them.
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Life over 1000ft
This month Keith Offord was the first speaker to use a powerpoint presentation to illustrate his talk. His digital images were fantastic, so clear and well-defined with natural colours.
He spoke about life over 1000ft: contrasting moorland, heaths, woodlands and farms and the impact of the various uses on the flora and fauna. For example landowners are encouraged with grants to manage the heather by burning strips even if they do not run shoots. Too many sheep are a menace and also a great deal of land is ploughed up for arable purposes.
His special interests are merlins and hen harriers and he explained how the latter nest under overhanging clumps of heather, thus shielding their bright white eggs from predators.
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The Natural Quarry
But what can be so un-natural as a quarry?
In this lively and entertaining talk by David Boag, we were taken on a journey from his initial horror at being invited to photograph the wildlife (could there be any!) in a working quarry, through to his conversion and deeper appreciation of the quarry as opening up the environment to wildlife and the sensitivity of people involved in the quarrying industry. All this came about through the charming persuasion of a quarry owner, Mrs Angela Yeoman.
David would be the last to deny that quarries are brutish heavy industrial sites which make a lasting impact on the landscape, and are dirty, noisy places that most of us would run shy of. They are full of vast, ugly machinery and the out-of-scale lorries have to be kept on track by high banks either side of the road known as ‘bunds’. There are also stone crushing sheds and railway tracks – not a happy environment, at least on the face of it.
But David was able to show us that it isn’t long before the first plants, such as rosebay willow herb and weld, begin to colonise the bare, newly exposed land, and frogs and toads have a heyday laying their spawn in the many muddy puddles. In turn, quarries attract birds such as little-ringed plover and skylark. Skylark are actually more abundant in quarries than in the surrounding monoculture farmland, exploiting the new food sources produced by the indigenous plants and their associated invertebrates.
As quarries mature, those with cliff faces offer excellent breeding sites for peregrines and ravens. David has so often been taken by quarry managers to see “their” peregrines that it has almost lost it’s excitement for him! Along with buzzards, David mentioned that peregrines are able to find a ready food source from the over abundant rabbit population which adore nibbling the quarries coltsfoot and groundsel.
He also showed us a small fragment of woodland by the side of the quarry workings where there is a seasonal succession of flowers, from dogs mercury to bluebells and on to ransoms (wild garlic) during early summer and which shelters a different complement of woodland birds and where buzzards nest.
But what was most intriguing was how the birds had adapted to this man-made environment - and equally - how man has had to adapt to the birds environment. Let me explain: on the one hand, he showed us pictures of oystercatchers quietly (or perhaps not so quietly!) nesting on top of the bunds and of peregrines and ravens on the cliff faces, and then on the other hand, images where the birds had taken control of man. One endearing image was of an oystercatcher which had swiftly taken up residence on a sack of gravel ready for despatch to the local farmer. However, by the time the farmer had come to collect his gravel a couple of days later, the oystercatcher had built a nest and laid it’s eggs, so man had to wait for bird!!
David’s talk was a reminder to us of the strength of public opinion through environmentally minded groups such as ours, which can put gentle pressure to bear so that wildlife can have precedence over man. He illustrated how successful this has been in the quarrying industry, and at the same time, was extremely complimentary to the quarrymen – and justifiably so. David made the very valuable point that there are many in industry that greatly delight in wildlife and are extremely knowledgeable. They have a wealth of experience in restoration and rather than destroying the environment, quarries open up new ecological niches which benefit wildlife, and once the quarry working has finished, restoration can create an environment of benefit to us all.
This was David’s eighth talk to the Group – beautifully illustrated, and one to remember. It’s not every talk where the oystercatchers wink and the wagtails actually bob their tails, but this evening they did – honestly!
Dr Christine M Booth
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Paxton Pits
It was rather dreary and drizzly morning as 37 members of the Vale of White Horse and Oxford local RSPB groups set off on their joint coach trip to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. The drizzle had stopped by the time we arrived at our destination, but it remained overcast all day.
Ray Matthews, the Chairman of the Friends of Paxton Pits greeted us on arrival and gave us a brief introduction to the reserve (with a cuckoo singing in the background). Ray then led a walk around the reserve, giving us further insights into its working and future development as we went along.
Within minutes of starting we had already heard common whitethroat, willow warbler, and nightingale. The whitethroat was visible singing from the top of some brambles and the willow warbler singing intensely from a wire, completely oblivious to the crowd of bird watchers below with their telescopes and binoculars trained on it. Many more nightingales were heard as we made our way around and some were seen briefly. We managed to see one well, singing quite openly on a branch high up in a fir tree – not where one would expect to see nightingales. Obviously it had not been told he was supposed to skulk around in the tangled bramble thickets.
Blackcaps were also heard and seen, but there were very few females around, only one being spotted throughout the day. Chiffchaffs were not as numerous as willow warbler, but one posed and sang for us giving us the opportunity to compare it with the very similar willow warbler seen so well earlier. These are two very tricky species to separate by sight, but dead easy when they sing.
At the far end of the reserve a lesser whitethroat was heard but not seen (hiding in the thick shrubby vegetation as usual for this species). One member claimed to have seen a sandwich tern, which was received sceptically by the rest of us, but was confirmed later by other members of our party who had explored the reserve independently. Indeed sandwich terns were reported at other inland sites (including Farmoor reservoir) at the weekend, so maybe there had been an unusual influx of this species.
After lunch at the Visitor Centre members explored other parts of the reserve. More sightings of nightingales were recorded, one being spotted apparently feeding on open ground. There were sightings of lesser whitethroat as well. This is a species that is easily overlooked because of its habit of hiding deep within bushes when it sings, so learning its song is very worthwhile. One final species of note were the three oystercatchers that flew over the Visitor Centre at the end of the day. A total of 53 species were recorded during our visit.
Paxton Pits is an excellent reserve that never fails to provide excellent birding. Our thanks to Ray Matthews and the Friends of Paxton Pits for looking after us so well.
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Birds of the Sea -UK
What a pity our RSPB Bird Group is not situated nearer our coastline. Our speaker provided a superbly illustrated and presented talk which left one yearning for the sea. A great bonus was the addition of sound. Many sounds were amplified and evocative of Britain’s coast and islands. The rather surprised Oh! Oh! Oh! of the female eider duck to the onomatopoeic kittiwake together with various calls of gulls (one sounding remarkably like a Jack Russell terrier) were faithfully recorded for our enjoyment.
Although entitled “Birds of the sea UK” travel was extensive including Campbell Island, south of New Zealand for the royal albatross and the Falkland Islands for the black browed albatross.
The stratification of cliff nesting sites was clearly explained with the guillemots and razorbills near the waters edge on very narrow ledges. Now we know why they only incubate one egg. The puffins occupy the topmost soft sandy areas where burrowing is easier with the gulls nesting on the grassy headlands. In between nest the fulmars and kittiwakes all safe from most predators.
Various islands around our shores were illustrated including Skomer and Skokholm off the Pembrokeshire coast, the Farne Isles with excellent views of shags (green eye) and nesting terns. We were again warned to beware of attacks by nesting terns – has anyone tried an umbrella as a defence mechanism? St Kilda and the Bass Rock were covered in gannets – very colourful but the smell of guano must be somewhat off putting.
Most sea birds have a brood patch – but the gannets incubate their egg on their feet like the penguins of Antarctica.
Ian Rumley-Dawson completed his presentation with long distance pelagic sea birds i.e. storm petrels and manx shearwaters. Both species nest on islands, the former in crevices in stone walls and the shearwater in deep burrows only returning to land at night thus avoiding some predators. They both make strange sounds particularly when amplified.
This was a most informative, instructive and fascinating insight into the sea birds of the UK. Unfortunately there was no time for questions.
Ps. Was the speakers deliberate mistake noted? A shelduck not a shoveller was illustrated.
Ted Nelson
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Beaulieu Road Station
Fifteen members travelled from Didcot on our May outing to Beaulieu Road Station. The New Forest has an excellent variety of breeding birds to offer in its wonderful habitat and superb scenery, and the area around Beaulieu Road Station is particularly renowned for species such as woodlark, crossbill and Dartford warbler. An unseasonal gale had blown for the preceding couple of days, and it was still quite windy on the day of our visit, not ideal conditions for bird watching.
We had only
walked a mere twenty yards from the car park before finding our first speciality
of the area – a woodlark. This posed on the ground only a few feet away
from us allowing us time to pick out the key identifying features for this species
– short tail and the pale-dark-pale pattern on the leading edge of the
wing (the primary coverts for those that like to be technical). It then flew
off showing us that the outer tail feathers were not white (as a skylark would
show). The final clincher was that it then perched in a pine tree, which other
lark species rarely do, indeed the scientific name for the species is Lullula
arborea. Redshank and curlew showed well in a little wetland area, and meadow pipit were heard in their song flight and then seen parachuting back down to the ground. A cuckoo was calling in the distance. A kestrel put in an appearance, closely followed by a hobby, another local speciality. A couple of buzzards were seen in the far distance.
Another area of wetland had a distant heron and little egret, a stonechat posed in the top of a silver birch, and willow warblers were singing well. A very vocal curlew flew up to chase off a buzzard that was obviously getting too close to its nest.
A mistle thrush was seen on the woodland floor, along with a brief glimpse of a fox cub. A treecreeper was observed bringing food back to its nest hidden behind the bark of a decaying tree stump.
Redstarts
were heard at several places in the woods, but were surprisingly difficult to
locate. Once they were found we were able to watch them easily for some time
– one even posed for several minutes with a beakfull of caterpillars,
obviously not wishing to show the assembled crowd where its nest was. We moved
on so that it could attend to its parental duties in peace. A marsh tit was
located singing well, and possibly a wood warbler, but this was not positively
identified.This really is an excellent birdwatching location, and a warmer, stiller day would no doubt have yielded more species – notably Dartford warbler which were not seen today, probably because of the windy conditions.
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The River Exe. Source to Mouth.
The 2006-2007 series of indoor talks commenced on September 18th by the ecologist Rod Lawrence who gave an informative, stimulating, thought provoking- yet disturbing – presentation. There are few speakers with more enthusiasm and passion! Using as a theme a description of the changing landscape from the river source in a peat bog on Exmoor to its outflow to the sea at Exmouth, Rod explained the inter-relationship between the successive stages of the river (upper, middle and lower) and the changing biodiversity (e.g. flora and fauna etc.) and how human actions (e.g. deforestation and farming) have affected this relationship.
In the upper reaches the river has cut through the peat and become fast flowing thus providing the ideal conditions for dippers to thrive. In the middle section the lack of trees allows the river to widen and slow down and here the kingfisher is the bird to watch out for.
The Exe estuary has become one of the key UK wetland areas for wintering birds. Notably 500+ avocets, 100+ bar-tail and black-tailed godwits, several hundred Brent geese and red-breasted mergansers, to name but a few of the 50 or so species, are amongst those seen regularly from November to March. In addition to the estuary itself there are RSPB and Devon Wildlife Trust reserves (including Bowling Green Marshes, Exminster Marshes and Dawlish Warren) which provide good viewing opportunities. One of the best ways is from an RSPB or Stuart Line boat excursion.
This enables one to witness the interdependence of specific species, how particular species congregate at specific sites and how those species have developed ( e.g beak size & curvature) to utilise the unique food source available there and thereby minimise competition. The richness of the avifauna originates entirely from the abundance of small snails called hydropia which underpin the food chain.
Throughout his talk Rod emphasised how this ecological- biodiversity relationship would be influenced significantly by global warming and, as a consequence, the importance of ensuring the development of wildlife corridors. Rod is deeply involved with this work. It behoves every one of us to do everything we can to slow down and ideally reverse the likelihood of the currently impending disasters.
Overall, this was an outstanding talk to kick off our programme. As one of our long-standing members remarked it was one the best talks the group has heard.
Michael Bennett
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Raptor Research at the Hawk Conservancy Trust
In the April meeting we had a talk given by Campbell Murn who is the Chief Scientific Officer of the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover.
The Trust was set up in 2002 and grew from the Hawk Conservancy developed by Reg and Hilary Smith and their son Ashley from 1981.
The Conservancy, situated at Weyhill near Andover, has an educational function for children and their families who wish to learn about birds of prey.
As injured hawks are frequently sent to the Trust, they have a hospital and rehabilitation centre there which is constantly developing new methods to house, rehabilitate and release the birds. The Trust is also involved in breeding endangered species.
We also heard about their numerous research projects. Their work overseas involves endangered species of vultures. Numbers are depleted because of starvation or from recent research, lethal unintentional poisoning by the drug diclofenac. This drug is used by vets/farmers on cattle, whose carcases the vultures may eventually eat.
The talk was interesting and well illustrated with digital images.
Brenda Hopkins
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Looking at Waders
Charles Brown is a lifelong birdwatcher, as well as an accomplished photographer, and hails from Dudley, in the West Midlands. The subject of his talk to the Group in October was the most immense group of birds imaginable – waders.
Over the course of an hour or so, he covered not only the majority of those appearing on the British List, but also ventured overseas to locations as different as the exotic, lush Seychelle Islands and the dank, frozen marshes of the High Arctic. We learned that waders don’t necessarily play by the rules and are to be found in dustbowls in the arid deserts of Africa as well as the nice muddy estuaries of Europe. Another surprising nugget of information was that in the USA, a flock of Knots will happily tolerate an approach by a human to just a few yards. Compare that to the UK, where the whole flock would be propelled skywards if we were to get within a couple of hundred metres! But why the difference …?
That perhaps Charles’ brief was just a little too wide became evident when he unfortunately forgot the names of one or two birds. With so many photographs of very similar-looking waders, I think we could all sympathise with his dilemma, though perhaps he would have been wise to reduce the numbers a tiny bit?
All in all, a nice, chatty, informative talk which added much to our collective appreciation of this hugely diverse group of birds.
David Lovegrove
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Birds of North America
– Terry Bond
Terry is one of that rare breed of speaker who manages to successfully combine an effortless delivery with just the right mix of humour and well-chosen anecdotes to complement his slides and keep his audience highly entertained.
In the space of about ninety minutes we were treated to a breathtaking 6,000-mile ornithological travelogue, beginning at Vancouver in the northwest, flying down the west coast and east through Arizona and Texas, en route to the Florida peninsular before turning briefly up the east coast. This covered many varied habitats and for each Terry had selected some fascinating bird subjects to show us, mainly coastal birds but also some from the inland and desert regions. We were treated to a wonderful display of birds such as the thrasher, tattler and grackle, as well as tanagers and orioles (interspersed with shots of some other local animal wildlife). Many had been selected having occurred as ‘accidentals’ in the UK or Isles of Scilly, and Terry spoke knowledgeably about previous sightings here.
Terry’s highly informative detailed commentary and plumage identification tips helped to make this a talk to remember.
Clive Buckley
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Otmoor
The forecast was depressing for Sunday 22 October but nonetheless about 20 members and friends turned up at Otmoor for the first outing of the season.
We had a good walk with only a few spatters of rain but in many cases the birds were hard to spot and in spite of shared telescopes not everyone saw everything.
The exception being a pair of stonechats who obligingly stayed on top of the bushes giving plenty of time for those who had never seen one before to study them.
The total number of species seen was 32 and in addition 4 were identified by sound only. These were green and greater-spotted woodpecker, and later cettis warbler and water rail which were heard very close to each other by the last small group to leave the reserve.
| Cormorant | Black headed gull | Goldfinch |
| Grey heron | Lesser black backed gull | Greenfinch |
| Mute swan | Wood pigeon | Robin |
| Teal | Skylark | Blackbird |
| Mallard | Meadow pipit | Crow |
| Shoveler | Pied wagtail | Rook |
| Pochard | Stonechat | Jackdaw |
| Coot | Pheasant | Kestrel |
| Moorhen | Grey Partridge | Blue tit |
| Lapwing | Great tit | |
| >Golden plover | Long-tailed tit | |
| Snipe |
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Exe Estuary Weekend
Our hotel meals were exceptional. The twenty eight members who travelled to South Devon were unaware of this when motoring to Otter Point after a midday arrival. An excellent path led beside the Otter. In this stunning setting,birds were a bonus. Stonechats and reed buntings soon showed. Six dabchicks took advantage of fast moving water. A water rail gave excellent views. In adjacent water meadows were impressive groups of curlew, lapwing and shelduck.
Satuday saw us at Dawlish Warren. From this exposed sand spit the sharp-eyed saw common and surf scoter. Others seeking more sheltered spots found bullfinches and chiff chaff.
The Exmoor Marshes path was extremely muddy, but members were rewarded with large numbers of wigeon and teal.
Bowling Green Marsh provided close sightings of black tailed godwit, snipe, shoveller, pintail and dunlin. A spotted redshank lurked in the background. One keen observer found a long billed dowitcher.
A southerly gale heralded Sunday, booked for our river cruise. Despite the conditions members saw great northern divers and redbreasted mergansers at close quarters.
Alan Strachan will be hard pressed to organise a better trip. And it should not be forgotten that the meals were great!
Tony Rayner
The bird count (seen by at least one of the party) was 92
| gt northern diver | little grebe | gt crested grebe |
| slavonian grebe | cormorant | shag |
| grey heron | mute swan | little egret |
| greylag goose | brent goose | canada goose |
| shelduck | wigeon | teal |
| mallard | pintail | shoveller |
| pochard | common scoter | velvet scoter |
| surf scoter | goldeneye | red breasted merganser |
| buzzard | marsh harrier | sparrowhawk |
| kestrel | pheasant | water rail |
| moorhen | coot | oystercatcher |
| avocet | golden plover | grey plover |
| lapwing | knot | sanderling |
| purple sandpiper | dunlin | snipe |
| black tailed godwit | bar tailed godwit | curlew |
| redshank | spotted redshank | turnstone |
| black headed gull | lesser b b gull | grt b b gull |
| herring gull | collard dove | woodpigeon |
| kingfisher | green wooodpecker | rock pipit |
| meadow pipit | grey wagtail | pied wagtail |
| wren | dunnock | robin |
| stonechat | blackbird | fieldfare |
| songthrush | redwing | mistle thrush |
| dartford warbler | blackcap | chiff chaff |
| goldcrest | bearded tit | blue tit |
| great tit | long tailed tit | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | crow |
| raven | starling | house sparrow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| linnet | bullfinch | reed bunting |
| cirl bunting | long billed dowitcher |
Portland Bill Weekend
This year the group were based at
the Portland Heights hotel in Dorset, aptly named with its stunning views over
Portland Harbour and Chesil Beach, which we savoured on the few occasions when
the mist lifted sufficiently. The weekend started inauspiciously on Friday afternoon
with a trip to a cold, damp and dull 
Portland
Bill where a couple of Purple Sandpipers were sighted. Things warmed up a bit
with a lively debate on "when is a Shag not a Shag?". The answer was "when
it’s a cormorant!". Most then retreated to the hotel but a few brave souls
ventured out again into the Tout Quarry where our only bird was an owl, albeit
one of the many sculptures carved from the ubiquitous Portland stone.Saturday saw a distinct improvement in the weather although it had become rather breezy. Another trip to Portland Bill gave us 6 "purps" followed by a pleasant walk to the bird observatory. On the way another debate – "it’s a raven; no it’s a crow"! A lucky few who had lagged behind the rest saw a Black Redstart, which was rather too elusive for most of us.
A stop at Portland Castle proved even windier and so we lingered just long enough to see some Red Breasted Mergansers bobbing in the swell. The Chesil Beach/Fleet nature reserve was a little calmer and gave us at least 6 Wheatears and a large flock of 30+ Ringed Plovers.
Then it was on to Radipole Lake where most of us sat on the wall outside the RSPB centre to eat the sumptuous packed lunch provided by the hotel. Wandering through the reserve we had good views of Cetti’s Warblers and a "cracking" Marsh Harrier. A few lucky people had a fleeting glimpse of a Bearded Tit. The
final stop of
the day was at Lodmoor, the other local RSPB reserve, where everyone had good
views of a pair of Spoonbills. The tail of a solitary Godwit caused another
debate as to whether it was black or barred with the former being accepted by
most. Sunday saw us tripping off to the RSPB reserve at Arne where the sun shone and the temperatures rose. A pleasant woodland walk produced Marsh Tit and Treecreeper but views over the estuary were somewhat disappointing with mainly Oystercatchers and a few Curlew.
A flock of Brent Geese were seen in the distance from the hide. Our now predictable packed lunch was followed by a walk over the gorse-covered heathland to look for Dartford Warblers. Although there were reported to be 60+ pairs breeding there, only 2 or 3 of our party managed to see one. Views over Middlebere Lake produced another good sighting of a Spoonbill and a large flock of 200+ Black Tailed Godwits, many in their Summer plumage.
Thanks are due to Alan Strachan for his leadership and efficient organisation, which contributed hugely to a very enjoyable and successful weekend.
Tim Pett
The total number of species seen was 92 and in addition 2 were identified by sound only (water rail and green woodpecker). Not everyone saw all. The black redstart was seen by only 3 and the dartford warbler by 2 people.
| great crested grebe | little grebe | gannet |
| cormorant | shag | little egret |
| grey heron | mute swan | canada goose |
| db brent goose | shelduck | wigeon |
| gadwall | teal | mallard |
| shoveler | pochard | tufted duck |
| rb merganser | ruddy duck | sparrow hawk |
| buzzard | kestrel | pheasant |
| moorhen | coot | oystercatcher |
| ringed plover | dunlin | snipe |
| btgodwit | curlew | redshank |
| turnstone | bh gull | lbb gull |
| gbb gull | herring gull | sandwich tern |
| guillimot | stock dove | wood pigeon |
| collard dove | gs woodpecker | skylark |
| sand martin | house martin | meadow pipit |
| rock pipit | pied wagtail | wren |
| dunnock | robin | stonechat |
| blackbird | song thrush | chiff chaff |
| long-tailed tit | marsh tit | coal tit |
| blue tit | great tit | nuthatch |
| tree creeper | jay | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | c crow |
| raven | starling | hse sparrow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldfinch |
| linnet | siskin | yellowhammer |
| reed bunting | swallow | marsh harrier |
| spoonbill | purple sandpiper | peregrine |
| wheatear | cetti's warbler | bearded tit |
| black redstart | dartford warbler | little owl |
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Post Christmas Winter Walk
We were very fortunate on our outing to Theale Gravel Pits for the day dawned bright and calm and stayed so for the 3 hours or so that we meandered round 2 lakes.
But it was not just the water birds that took our eye. A peregrine sat for some time on a pylon before flying to the next one giving everyone a chance to have a good look; and the surrounding woodland turned up trumps with redwing and fieldfare in good numbers plus jay and green and great spotted woodpecker and nuthatch which was heard but not seen. I would not have recognised it had not more experienced members told me so on the way home we played the song and calls on the CD player. I could not believe how many different sounds it makes, rivalling those of the great tit I think.
The 3 children who were part of the 25 strong group enjoyed looking through members telescopes.
There is no doubt that a group that stays pretty much together maximises the chance of seeing more species.
| Little Grebe | Great Crested Grebe | Cormorant |
| Grey heron | Mute Swan | Canada Goose |
| Wigeon | Gadwall | Teal |
| Mallard | Shoveler | Pochard |
| Tufted Duck | Goldeneye | Peregrine |
| Moorhen | Coot | Black Headed Gull |
| Wood Pigeon | Green Woodpecker | Gt Spotted Woodpkr |
| Pied Wagtail | Wren | Robin |
| Blackbird | Fieldfare | Redwing |
| Blue Tit | Great tit | Long-tailed tit |
| >Nuthatch | Jay | Magpie |
| Jackdaw | Rook | Crow |
| Chaffinch | Greenfinch | Goldfinch |
| Bullfinch | Reed Bunting | Egyptian Goose |
Thank you Alan for selecting this venue and for the recce shortly before.
Brenda and Malcolm Ross
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Tichfield Haven
The Weather either side of this trip was atrocious, however we managed to find some sunny spells and during the few rainstorms we stayed in the hides and kept dry. We also had the good luck to meet a true birding legend, Tony Soper, who was selling his latest book in the Visitor Centre. With a little tweaking by adding two escapees, a whistling duck, a strange hybrid bar headed goose and a heard cettis warbler we managed a list of 60 species of bird and 4 roe deer. A fair days birding I think.
Alan Strachan
| Dartford Warbler | Snipe | Cormorant |
| Grey Heron | Mute Swan | Canada Goose |
| Wigeon | Gadwall | Teal |
| Mallard | Shoveler | Pochard |
| Tufted Duck | Shelduck | Eider |
| Moorhen | Coot | Collard Dove |
| Wood Pigeon | Stock Dove | Gt Spotted Woodpkr |
| Pied Wagtail | Wren | Robin |
| Blackbird | Fieldfare | Dunnock |
| Blue Tit | Great tit | Long-tailed tit |
| >Starling | Jay | Magpie |
| Jackdaw | Rook | Crow |
| Chaffinch | Greenfinch | Goldcrest |
| Dabchick | Turnstone | Redshank |
| Lapwing | Oystercatcher | Curlew |
| Black Tailed Godwit | Little Egret | Pheasant |
| Sparrow Hawk | Buzzard | Kestrel |
| Herring Gull | Black Headed Gull | Common Gull |
| Greater Black Backed Gull | Barnacle Goose | Brent Goose |
| Cettis Warbler | Whistling Duck | Hybrid Bar Headed Goose |
Mike Lane - A Digital Lane
At the cold,foggy November meeting we welcomed Mike Lane, a full-time wildlife photographer. He gave us an excellent talk entitled ‘A Digital Lane” on his experiences with digital bird and wildlife photography having recently switched from using film.
The latest digital cameras are so good in poor light conditions and the digital format allows so many shots to be taken at almost no cost that almost anybody can now get very good bird photographs with a little luck and effort. It has thus been necessary for professional bird photographers to find new original angles to stay in business. Mike now specialises in bird behavioural pictures, he showed some great shots of ‘lecking’ black grouse, fishing ospreys, red kites, kingfishers and many others. Where necessary Mike will ‘set the scene’ by arranging convenient perches and food for his subjects although he still needs a deep understanding of the behaviour of each species to succeed. He will also go to great lengths to find suitable vantage points, spending hours in hides and on one occasion using a cherry picker platform to photograph wallcreepers many feet above a road in Hungary.
Mike also photographs other wildlife in the UK and abroad. When photographing red squirrels at a remote feeding station he unofficially rearranged the foliage to get a better composition. When the shoot was complete he suddenly realised that a CCTV camera was transmitting pictures back to the visitor centre, he had also attended to a call of nature at about that time...!
This was an excellent lecture particularly as Mike had come all the way from Solihull on a very cold and foggy night. A good evening.
A measure of Mike’s success was shown when a few days after the lecture the Daily Telegraph published one of his pictures, a kingfisher perched on the handle of a fisherman’s keepnet which contained a large salmon, obviously wishful thinking on the bird’s part!
Jon Orme
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Debbie Pain - UK and International WWT Activities
Debbie Pain, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Director of Conservation, described in vivid detail the work of the Trust. She told the stories of two of the WWT’s conservation projects, demonstrating the commitment of its staff and the crucially important results that such projects can achieve.
Debbie spoke first about the Great Crane Project, run in partnership between the WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust. She told the fascinating story of Nigel Jarrett’s journey to Brandenburg to collect the first set of eggs under licence from the German Government. Volcanic ash from the Icelandic Eyjafjallajoekull volcano forced him to undertake a long journey over land, arriving back in the UK less than 24 hours before the eggs hatched. The birds are reared in large pens, initially kept separate from each other to avoid aggression between individuals. To avoid them becoming too familiar with humans they are fed using a device that looks like a Crane’s head. The people working with the Cranes all wear strange white overalls which stops them looking too ‘human’. This sort of detail is vital if the Cranes are to survive when released at a specially prepared site on the Somerset Levels. The birds are even taught how to react to predators, using specially trained dogs. This is the start of a five-year long project, during which twenty birds each year will be hand-reared and released, seeing a flagship species returning to the British countryside and promoting good wetland management at Somerset and elsewhere.
The second example was of an overseas attempt to save the Critically Endangered Madagascar Pochard from extinction. The project has been run in close collaboration with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. On a reconnaissance visit to Madagascar in 2009, only nineteen birds (including just six females) were found on a single lake. It was subsequently established that none of that year’s young had survived – urgent action was needed. Debbie described the epic journey taken the following autumn to collect eggs and set up a captive breeding programme on the island. The team encountered numerous hazards on their outward journey. Having been forced to land in Africa because of monsoon weather, they caught swine flu. Once in Madagascar, their equipment was impounded in customs, they were held up for a day in an enormous traffic jam, encountered flooded roads and finally discovered that an important road-bridge was closed. The last day’s journey to the lake must have been exhausting. One can only imagine their disappointment to see ducklings on the lake the following morning – this meant they were too late to collect the eggs they had come for. Worse still, the equally rare Madagascar Harrier was observed predating them. Fortunately, though, they found another nest and eventually collected three clutches, all of which hatched successfully. The adventures have continued: the team was forced to move to a secret location after an armed gang came looking for them at the hotel where they were raising the ducklings. The project now has 23 birds in captivity, including sixteen females, forming a strong basis for captive breeding. The breath-taking adventure illustrated the complexity of projects such as this, as well as the rewarding successes they can achieve.
The WWT does some fantastic work and it was a real pleasure to hear the stories of just two of its projects from Debbie. No doubt its next project, to develop a conservation breeding programme for Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Arctic Russia, will be equally dramatic. I am sure many of us would be delighted to see Debbie return to tell us about it.
Caroline Coleman, October 2010
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Dr Mark Avery. Director of Conservation RSPB - Future Conservation Challenges for the RSPB
The sight of a red kite flying overhead will be familiar to many locals. Indeed, Mark Avery opened his talk by describing it as “the only interesting bird in Didcot”! Although it is now a frequent visitor to the town, Mark reminded us that it was last commonly seen when Brunel was building his Great Western Railway.
Some of the other birds which Mark went on to show – corncrakes, cirl buntings, white tailed eagles – will be remembered by the older members of the Group. But today’s children have lower expectations of what wildlife they will see in the countryside. So the first challenge which Mark gave us is not just to protect the wildlife which we still have, but to restore what has been lost within living memory.
The reintroduction of the red kite in the Chilterns, the corncrake in the Nene Washes, and the white tailed eagle on the west coast of Scotland are a “metaphor for how to look at conservation”. Mark’s message was that the challenge is not just to stop things getting worse but to make things better.
His next slide, a view from space of the blue planet Earth, is “where we live”. When he asked how many of the audience had been to America, Africa and Australia, hands shot up, but if he had given the same talk 50 years ago, how few there would have been. He has an idea for a book: what would happen if in future we become space settlers on some earth-like planet: how would we colonise it without making mistakes of the past? Now he tells us “you go off and write it!”
From the far future he returned to the present, with a picture of some of the 1000 RSPB members among the 25000 who attended the Stop Climate Chaos rally in Trafalgar Square on 4th November. Five years ago the RSPB would have struggled to find 100 members to participate, five years from now Mark thinks it could be 10000. The task of Stop Climate Chaos is to persuade Government to introduce measures that, paradoxically, may lead to fewer hands going up when he next asks his audience how many have been to going to America, Africa, and Australia.
Mark illustrated changes in farmland bird numbers such as lapwings and skylarks. Fifty years ago in Northamptonshire, lapwing eggs were collected by the trayload to be sold by bakers: now one would be hard pressed to collect a single tray of eggs from the whole county. All is not lost, for the RSPB has bought Hope Farm as a normal working agricultural enterprise. From 2000 to 2006, farmland bird numbers on Hope Farm have risen by 63%, and most notably the number of skylarks has trebled – at no cost to the economic yield of the farm. So there is another challenge: to persuade more farmers to adopt best practice methods which are good for wildlife.
From farmland he turned to Cliffe Marshes, one of the few areas in South East England which is not covered in concrete. Although we have seen off one threat, others will keep coming back, and Mark wondered if the RSPB will need to ask members again for help in the next five years. With so few areas in Britain that are special for wildlife, the challenge is to protect them for future generations.
Beyond our shores, the RSPB has bought logging rights in Sumatra for the next 20 years, in order not to use them! Mark believes that by the time rights are due for renewal, rainforest will be so rare that cutting it down will have become unthinkable.
He ended on a high note with a big “thank you for your support” and thoughts of what is possible with 1 million members. So his three challenges were: to protect what wildlife is left, to restore damaged places, and to recreate nature in places where it used to be.
Valerie and Simon O'Sullivan
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John Wyatt - Costa Rica
John Wyatt, an old friend of the group, gave his usual polished performance as he took us over Costa Rica from east to west and from sea level up through lush forest to the mountains. His forte is his photography and this years super slides more than maintained his reputation. The selection from 850 species revealed the amazing variety of shape, size and range of colours and left me feeling quite overcome by the diversity. There are for instance, 78 flycatchers, 54 humming birds, 52 tanagers, 20 wrens, 6 foliage gleaners, 3 leaf cutters, not to mention 5 kingfishers and 22 species that have “ant” in their name. This is not because their main food is ants but because they follow the columns of ants hoovering up what the ants disturb.
John gave some useful tips on bird watching in Costa Rica; don’t chase the birds; just sit still and tick your list! In three days at one site 200 species were seen on one tree!
A few points which stick in my mind:-
-
There are only 15 pairs of the large green macaws left due to the cage bird
trade.
New world cuckoos make nests, lay an egg, the nest collapses and then the cuckoo takes over another birds nest. Is this perhaps how our familiar Eurasian cuckoo developed?
Illegal logging has reared its ugly head and appears to be unchecked.
There are approx 1500 species orchids in the country.
Don’t be fooled by the owls – one sits on top of a dead tree trunk and is hard to spot. Another can be found in the same tree for several days – we were assured that it was not stuffed.
Thank you John
Brenda Ross
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Tim Loseby - Lions Tigers and Birds
The vast Indian sub-continent embraces a range of habitats and as a consequence, a rich diversity of wildlife. However, several mammals, such as tiger, Asiatic lion, wild ass and blackbuck are found now only in a single or at most, a few reserves in N. E. India. This talk described a search, in the dry season, for these animals in the Ranthambore, Gir forest, Velavadar and Little Ram of Kutch reserves. It also featured more common prey mammals, such as Nilgai antelope, Chital and Sambar deer, wild boar etc. as well as the immense diversity of birds present in these parts. Some, such as kingfisher and wigeon, were the same species as in the U.K. others, such as Montague and other harriers, demoiselle cranes etc., were winter migrants from Europe or Asia but the majority were unique to the sub-continent, where there are some 1300 different species.
Each of these reserves covers a substantial area, the target mammal numbers are small – less than 30 tigers at Ranthambore, 300 lions in the Gir forest, which one can view only from the safety of a jeep or the howdah on the back of an elephant. Tigers especially are masters of camouflage in the surrounding jungle or elephant grass, so that the chance of even catching a momentary glimpse of these animals is slim.
Spending several days in each reserve Tim described brilliantly the changes in human emotions experienced in one’s search - anticipation, exhaustion, disappointment, despair – but finally, as one’s available time was running out, with a sighting – amazement, elation – but then some concerns – has my camera captured the moment?!
In the event no worry. Tim’s photographs were excellent. Combined with a clear informative and entertaining presentation this was another excellent talk given to the group.
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Barry Mason - Scottish Wildlife
Another near capacity audience met at Didcot Civic Hall (despite the twin distractions of FA Cup replays and bitter cold) for a splendid illustrated talk by Barry Mason.
The talk was in two parts, firstly mainland Scotland which consisted of many excellent slides compiled over more than 30 years. Speyside featured prominently with the osprey success and “mad George” the infamous capercailie. Interspersed with bird pictures were magnificently photographed sunsets, landscapes, mountainscapes, and many of the larger fauna to be found on the western side of Scotland together with some floral exhibits eg. Wood sorrel and St Johns wart.
Handa Island yielded arctic skua, and great skua which is big enough to consume a puffin on the wing!! Other sea birds shown included brindled guillemot (usually 5% of population), razorbills, shag and puffins. At this stage a map of the areas of Scotland to be covered would have been useful together with an accurate timescale. When was the chairlift abandoned?
The captive Estonian golden eagle was beautifully photographed and the black cock lek pictures were amazing. Charming pictures of red squirrels (with and without ear tufts), mountain hares difficult to photograph and more difficult to detect due to excellent camouflage. This also pertained to the ptarmigans where the female in the picture was well hidden.
The wolves were fortunately confined within a Wildlife Park but posed very artistically. Also in this park were redshank, meadow pipit, pied wagtail and lapwings showing why their alternative name is green plover.
Slavonian grebe in breeding plumage cut a dashing picture on a mountain loch and the views of red deer were of truly “Monarch of the Glen” proportions. These together with wonderful views of mountains and lochs brought the first half to a close.
The second half of the programme revealed an even greater store of treasures and concerned trips made to the Inner Hebrides (again over a considerable period of time). The reserves on Islay contain some 33,000 barnacle geese with 12,000 white fronted geese together with fabulous sunrise and sunset pictures – does Barry ever sleep.
Jura contained red deer in large numbers, chough in much smaller numbers and a few rock doves. There were also some late migrating brent geese.
Mull revealed “paddling” highland cattle. Apparently it was 30 degrees C in July 2003 and the cattle with their enormous coats must have been very uncomfortable.
Pine martens were pictured consuming peanuts with strawberry jam at night and showed a “green eye” not a “red eye” as seen in some “people” pictures.
There are no less than 7 distilleries on Islay – mostly with unpronounceable names but nevertheless very photogenic albeit mainly black and white.
Seals and shags were observed pictorially en route to the Isle of Skye and a charming series of orchid pictures on the island; viz. early marsh, northern marsh, fragrant and lesser and greater butterfly orchid.
An otter was photographed swimming and ashore, and the group of wheatear pictures showing both male and female with 4 fledglings were delightful and a glorious sunset picture rounded off a thoroughly entertaining evening. As summed up in the vote of thanks all aspects of flora, fauna and geophysical phenomena were explored.
It would appear that a well versed guide is a requirement for any successful trip to the Scottish Highlands and Inner Hebrides.
Ted Nelson
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Rod Lawrence - The Jurrasic Coast
At the first indoor meeting of the new season on the 17 September, the Group hosted Rod Lawrence, whose subject was 'The Natural History of the Jurassic Coast'.
Originally trained as a botanist, and previously very involved in forest work in many parts of the world, Rod could now be best described as a campaigning ecologist. He today divides his time between active field work, educational work, and as a natural history tour guide. A large amount of his time is taken up with projects linked to rising sea levels, and their eventual effects on both wildlife and human activities in Devon and Dorset; more particularly in the western part of England's only natural 'World Heritage Site'-especially the estuary of the River Exe.
It was this coastal area, stretching from the mouth of the Exe to the eastern end of The Isle of Purbeck that was the location for his pictures, descriptions, and ecological arguments during the evening. ' The Jurassic Coast' as the area is now branded for tourism purposes; with its wide range of sedimentary rocks ranging from sandstones, marls, clays and shales to a variety of limestone types, with strata that are sometimes horizontal, often folded or contorted, and even now exposed vertically, is an open air classroom and laboratory for geomorphology students. In the central part of the 'Coast' in the Lyme Regis area, the beaches and rock platforms have become a paradise for fossil hunters of all ages.
Rod laid great stress on the contrasting climatic regimes that caused the physical conditions that produced the rocks of the area. So arid periods, with desertification, which produced sandstones; and clear tropical seas and silty shallows which resulted in limestones and marls. He then moved on to his main theme of the evening; the predicted manner in which climate change will rapidly alter the area, especially in the estuaries of the Exe, and the Otter.
Our speaker is currently very involved in work designed to provide woodland corridors leading inland from the coast that can act as escape routes, between farmland, for all manner of plant, insect, and animal species, as coastal habitats disappear. He reminded us on several occasions during his talk that although, as keen RSPB members and active birdwatchers, it was obvious that our main conservation concerns would be with avian species, we must become more ecologically-minded and see birds as just one part, however intrinsically important they appear to us, in a wider and more intricate web of life.
Rod illustrated the evening with some splendid slides, that graphically portrayed all aspects of his talk, bringing out the colours and structure of the rocks and the range of the coastal formation; the variety of birdlife, and the beauty of coastal plants and butterflies, as well as showing us some of the follies of human settlement activity in unstable cliff areas.
However, I would say that the most obvious aspects of Rod's talk were his enthusiasm for his subject and his obvious passion to attempt to make both young and old aware that global warming; climate change; receding coastlines; rising sea levels - whichever term you wish to use; poses great challenges to humans and all other life forms; and many of the potential scenarios that are coming over the horizon are likely to be as serious in the long term to life as the ones that faced those creatures in past millennia, whose fossil remains we now search for along the Jurassic Coast.
Phil Morris
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Chris Bailey - The Lark Descending
The speaker in November, Chris Bailey, gave an interesting informative and thought provoking talk on The Lark Descending: Impact of Food Production on Farmland Birds. Chris Bailey is the manager of the only RSPB farm.
The RSPB bought Hope Farm, a 181 hectare farm in Cambridgeshire in 1999. Farmland is crucial for many of the countryside birds such as skylarks and yellowhammers.
Numbers of once common birds have fallen in recent decades. To help find ways for modern methods and wildlife to co-exist, the RSPB decided to buy an arable farm with the aim of developing and trialling farming techniques that can produce food cost-effectively and benefit wildlife. Hope Farm provides a unique opportunity to work with farmers and the government.
Mainy autumn-sown crops (wheat and oilseed rape planted in September) and spring beans (planted in March) are grown on the farm. Unfortunately, autumn-sown wheat is more profitable but makes a less suitable habitat for breeding birds. The RSPB are trying to find ways to help birds breed as successfully in autumn-sown crops as in spring-sown crops. It is also hoped that by improving the habitat for birds the changes made will benefit other species. Increased numbers of insects means more food for insectivorous birds. The monitoring programme includes butterflies, moths, dragonflies, surface and crop dwelling insects and small mammals.
During the Power Point display we were shown which birds have declined the most.
| RED LIST | AMBER LIST | GREEN LIST |
| skylark | kestrel | wood pigeon |
| grey partridge | stock dove | rook |
| Turtle dove | yellow wagtail | greenfinch |
| tree sparrow | lapwing | goldfinch |
| linnet | whitethroat | |
| reed bunting | jackdaw | |
| starling | ||
| corn bunting | ||
| yellowhammer |
Farmland birds need three vital ingredients to thrive
-
A safe nest site
A plentiful supply of insects (usually in the summer)
Seed (usually in the winter)
The RSPB's work at Hope Farm has benefited wildlife by offering information about what can be done on diifferent types of farms without compromising crop yields or farm profitability.
Marilyn Dyer-Finch
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Trevor Gunton - Wilderness Europe
Trevor Gunton's subject was Wilderness Europe. He began well with an account of his travels to Spitzbergen and showed slides of birds, including little awks, Brunnich's guillemot, grey phalarope and also red-breasted geese which later featured more than once.
The scenery was stunning and he had shots of mammals especially a huge walrus and an inquisitive polar bear.
Trevor then moved on to Holland where the red-breasted goose unexpectedly turned up again. He switched to Romania and the Danube delta with nice pictures of red-backed shrike and white-tailed eagles.
In the second half of the programme the wilderness theme took second place to accounts of bird migration, the routes they take and the problems they face ,particularly with shooters in Malta and Italy and bird-limers in other areas. However he did show the bleak landscape of the Sahel and the seemingly never ending stretch of the Sahara.
One of the routes from Africa was up the Nile Valley and,lo and behold, there we found the red-breasted geese again!
Trevor worked for many years at the RSPB, founded the first local group in Bristol and played a large part in the formation of BirdLife International and these subjects were a recurring theme.
Rodney Davies and Brenda Ross
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Mike Read - Scottish Wildlife
Once again Mike has given us an informative and wonderfully illustrated evening.
The Scottish Highlands and Islands contain unique habitats and are thus renowned for a wide diversity of wildlife.
We were able to accompany Mike through, not one, but several seasons, the scene set by beautiful landscape photographs and followed by every bird one hoped to see capercaillie, dotterel, ptarmigan, crested tit, osprey, red and black grouse and golden eagle, many in wonderful close up, varied plumage or best of all with young ─ I can still see the lovely fat dotterel chick.
I was also impressed by the care and patience needed to take these photographs without disturbing the birds natural behaviour.
We look forward to Mike again in 2012 talking on New Zealand.
Bronwen Bennett
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Keyhaven and Pennington Marshes
On Sunday, September 23rd, we joined up with the Oxford Local Group to share a coach for this trip. The morning was fine with a promise of a stiff breeze and possible showers. Arriving a little after 10.00 a.m., 47 hopeful birders set out and they didn’t have to walk far before the first birds were seen resting on a moored boat. These were turnstones which were later seen on the shore turning over pebbles.
Some of us wandered along the inland path towards the marshes hearing robins. Is it robins in the plural or does the same robin accompany us along the way? Anyway, a robin appeared on a twig singing loudly and a jay was seen nearby gathering food.
On one of the lagoons, a pair of black swans were seen gliding gracefully around, oblivious of the territorial disputes going on between mute swans. On a spit in the same water were numerous canada geese, black-tailed godwits and two curlew sandpipers. Visiting an adjacent flooded gravel pit, it was very entertaining watching a little grebe feeding two very hungry youngsters.
We are very lucky in our Group to have a number of knowledgeable birders who are only too willing to help the less experienced and share their equipment. Two new members on their first trip said they had had a super day and remarked that we were such a friendly Group.
Jeanne Davis
We were pleased to receive the following unsolicited review
Keen, but definitely amateur birdwatchers, we walk and smugly enjoy spotting birds that we are confident of recognising, pronouncing the names to each other as we go. On these walks we have often encountered groups of people with scopes and binoculars focussed on intriguing curiosities that we are dying to be a party to. We stand a little way off and try to find the object of their intense scrutiny and occasionally, when we feel brave, we might go up to a small group and ask if they have seen anything interesting! Invariably we are let into the secret and invited to look through their scopes to be shown birds that we had not realised were there. We then continue pleased to have seen something new or exciting, but wishing we could stay and learn a bit more.
Having joined the RSPB local group in June this year we finally went on our first RSPB outing yesterday as part of the group rather than as onlookers; what a revelation!
Firstly they managed to make a walk that might take us an hour to do (with a bit of birdwatching en-route) last over 4 hours. These people have stamina! Luckily we had packed a picnic for there was no nipping back to the pub until the very end in case we missed something!
Second revelation is that not everyone is an expert! It is very helpful to have a couple of people in the group who are good at spotting and identifying different birds, but as everyone asks questions and offers suggestions it encourages you to join in. Many eyes trained in the same direction also ensure that you will see the Stonechat on the little branch, or spot the Curlew in the long grass!
Thirdly, if you take time to stop and really look at the birds and listen to the group members discussing why they think it is a particular bird, you really do learn as you are watching and you begin to see how different pointers lead to positive identification. It is also thanks to those that lug their scopes all day and so generously offer magnified views to the rest of us with lighter equipment that enhance the whole experience.
Finally, you can do these trips in whatever way you like. Some stay in set groups, some go alone and some flit from group to group. Throughout the day we met other groups we knew and swapped news of what we had seen and heard of expectations ahead which made the walk even more tantalising.
At one point we got ahead of our original group and found ourselves alone overlooking a marsh full of birds that had previously been identified as Canada Geese and Black-Tailed Godwits. But what were the other little waders? We felt quite unsure of our identification again until another group passed by and explained that Dunlin are in the seasonal change of their plumage which is why they looked so different. What a relief! They also showed us the Little Stint among the Dunlin that we would not have recognised and then four Curlew Sandpipers that flew in as our original group caught up.
Happily back among our group we continued to see more new birds and have positive identifications confirmed again; the definite benefits of being part of the group and not an outsider. We are really looking forward to the next RSPB outing – a great day out is guaranteed!
Karen & Mike Wirdnam
| little grebe | cormorant | grey heron |
| mute swan | canada goose | shelduck |
| wigeon | teal | mallard |
| shoveler | eider | pintail |
| greenshank | common sandpiper | ringed plover |
| golden plover | grey plover | little stint |
| curlew sandpiper | dunlin | snipe |
| sanderling | turnstone | redshank |
| lapwing | oystercatcher | curlew |
| bar tailed godwit | black tailed godwit | moorhen |
| coot | wood pigeon | collard dove |
| green woodpkr | pied wagtail | yellow wagtail |
| grey wagtail | robin | blackbird |
| blue tit | great tit | long-tailed tit |
| starling | jay | magpie |
| jackdaw | rook | crow |
| chaffinch | greenfinch | goldcrest |
| kingfisher | little egret | hobby |
| peregrine | buzzard | kestrel |
| herring gull | black headed gull | l b b gull |
| g b b gull | sandwich tern | common tern |
| cettis warbler | meadow pipit | dunnock |
| swallow | house martin | stonechat |
| wheatear | chiff chaff | house sparrow |
| goldfinch | linnet | reed bunting |
| black swan | goosander | great crested grebe |
| dartford warbler |
Little Marlow and Spade Oak Gravel Pits
A group of us met up at the Spade Oak Nature Reserve near Little Marlow, on a clear but cool Sunday in late November. Formerly a site of gravel extraction, it was handed over to the local parish council in the 90s and made into a nature reserve. It opened a year or two ago and 190 different bird species have been recorded there.
The reserve has been provided with a free car park and some picnic tables, and consists of a lake rimmed on one side by a field with mature trees, a sewage works borders another side and finally there is a narrow shrubby area running parallel with the railway and the river. The path was a little muddy and is often so, being in the flood plain of the R. Thames.
As we approached the reserve we were greeted by the raucous calls of the green parakeets sitting at the top of the trees - perhaps even the spade ( shaped) oak. We also quickly spotted a woodpecker after hearing its call and then saw buzzards and kites in quick succession. Fieldfares flew around in small groups. When we reached the waterside, the cry of “kingfisher” was heard and then a number of us became engaged in the ‘spot the siskins in the alder tree’ activity. Goldfinches were included as a spoiler.
Across the lake, a gravel island could be seen covered in waterfowl. We could also see three herons perching on the low branches of a tree- Alan told us that there was a heronry there. Flocks of tufted duck drifted past and a grebe looked for its lunch.
Two or three times a predator disturbed all the birds and sent them up into the air but they quickly resumed their places on the island. The best views were seen after passing the sewage works and there was a small peninsular which gave even better views.Greylag geese, a few Egyptian geese, lapwings, pochard and teal were easy to spot, but the snipe took a little longer, so good is their camoflage.
We arrived back at the car park after an enjoyable ramble at about 12.20pm. Our thanks to Alan for guiding us around.
Brenda Hopkins
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