RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Please note the PROPOSED FINAL CUT OFF DATES for the expected four issues, These are now at the VERY LATEST, THE FIRST SATURDAYS OF - JANUARY, APRIL, JULY

AND OCTOBER.Thank you for your input to the newsletter, whether it be an article, a photo, a letter or just a comment.

a millionvoices fornature

Group Leaders:Dave and Mary Braddock Newsletter Editor: Geoff Porter(For more contact details please see the back pages of this newsletter.)Group Web Site: www.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey 2013 - 2

LEADER’S RAMBLINGS

Welcome!A very warm welcome to the following new group members,

Christine and Graham Dyson, Jenny Reeds and Jill Corbyn.We look forward to meeting you at our indoor

and outdoor events.

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FLABERLOSS

£490and counting -

Will yousponsor Mick

further?

SUFN - p2 FLABERLOSS - p3 Events INs & OUTs & WeBS p4-9 Nature Ramblings - p12 Odds & Ends p14 Future Events- p15-16

Hello all,It is strange how we try to humanise nature. I am as guilty as anyone. Last year we had a baby hedgehog and I namedit Trundle, not sure why but it seemed a good idea at the time. Perhaps it was because it had short legs and when itwalked it looked like it was trundling around. Mary says perhaps there is a comparison to me!!! Looking forward toseeing him/her again this Spring.We also had a friendly robin for the last year or two and he would perch on the car aerial as you got in the car. Sadlyhe is not around this year. The one that has taken his place has a different personality - does not seem to be asfriendly as the other one… still a robin but not my robin. This one keeps his/her distance, seems aloof and looks downon me. All in the mind, or is it?Exciting times for the group next year as it is the 40th anniversary of our group and the committee are in the processof planning some special events for you to enjoy as we don't want this milestone to pass us by unnoticed. As well asthe customary cake and party there will be special indoor and outdoor events taking place throughout the year tocelebrate the occasion. It is all under wraps and in the planning stage at present so I will keep you informed later inthe year as things progress. There is some great history to this group so look out for an article on how it all startednext year. If anyone out there has any old photos of the group we can borrow to copy, that would be great.Back to this year, we had a great start to the year's fundraising with £292 raised from our traditional quiz night, the fullreport is inside. The first street collection of the year organised by Marion raised a fantastic £263. Several talks havebeen given by our talk team already and we have managed to recruit eight national members to the RSPB so far sinceMarch 2012, down from last year but still a good effort from the group. We have also sent off over £3,700 from ourfunds to support the RSPB in their efforts on conservation. Over £2000 has been raised from pin badges by Simonand his team and Mick's new style of displaying pin badges at events has paid dividends.We trialled a beginners bird walk during January and fourteen members of the public took up our offer. It was such agreat day that we are running another, most probably as you receive this newsletter. We hope to continue themthroughout the year if the response is as good. We took this bird walks idea a bit further and we were invited by RHSWisley to run them during the Big Garden Bird Watch Weekend. We had a fantastic time, taking over 200 peopleover the weekend around Wisley, pointing out the birds that can be found there. We engaged with over 500people at the event and handed out at least 1,600 BGBW leaflets. The event was a massive success and wehope to do more at Wisley in the future.Looking ahead, don't forget our annual BBQ on the 6th of July at Simon's again. A great opportunity to meet upwith other members of the group. Contact me for details. Hopefully there will be a better Summer this year andour outdoor events will not be impacted like last year.Flaberloss is coming to an end and the thermometer is showing a fantastic amount of money raised. A big thank you tothose of you that sponsored Mick's massive effort. There’s still a little time remaining if you wish to donate.‘Til the next time. Dave Braddock

Sometimes outdoor and indoor meetings have tobe cancelled at short notice due to bad weather.Welney is an example where we had to cancel theday before because of snow and floods. If theweather forecast is not good please remember tocheck with the outdoor or indoor leader to makesure the event is going ahead. This will save youmaking a journey and finding that no one is there.

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

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RSPB North West Surrey Quiz NightSaturday January 12th 2013New Haw Community Centre

A cold night in January and a number of people slip quietly (!) into the New Haw Community Centre; it must be the annualgroup quiz night.For 2013, the quiz masters, Neil and Simon, elected for a TV quiz theme with rounds such as ‘A Question of Sport’, ‘PopQuiz’ and ‘University Challenge’. Hidden behind those names are the Sports round, music and general knowledge so youget the idea. This year we had eleven teams glorying in such names as ‘Hannah’s Hoopoes’, ‘Cygnet Rings’, ‘Jolly Robins’and ‘The Nuttyhatchers’.The early running however was made by the ‘Twitchwells’ and ‘Rockhoppers’, each having played their jokers on the QIround (science and nature) with which we opened the night. The entertainment round ‘Shooting Stars’ turned out to be alittle harder than we had anticipated with many scores of 2 and 3 out of 10. ‘Countdown’ (that one got ‘em thinking!)produced better scores and we went to the break after a tricky ‘Pop Quiz’ round with Cygnet Rings holding a narrow lead.Then it was time for the fish ‘n’ chip supper which was, I have to say, excellent.Suitably nourished, we raced through the ‘Have I got news for you‘ round (sort of current affairs), sport and ‘UniversityChallenge’. Now whilst all that was going on, the teams had to identify fifteen logos ranging from the prancing horse ofFerrari to the Deutsche bank logo (which I thought no-one would get actually but one team at least did so) plus fifteen‘Dingbats’, so a massive 30 points were on offer. Having drawn the raffle, I then tried to build a bit of tension by enteringthe last scores onto our ‘scoreboard’ in reverse order. Having done so (entered the scores rather than built tension), CygnetRings topped the points table with 67, narrowly edging out the Resplendent Quetsals by only four points with the‘Twitchwells’ third on 60 points. Only 5 points separated the next five teams so it was a close contest all round.Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening (even if a couple of the rounds were a bit harder than we intended!) andapproximately £290 was raised for RSPB funds. Thanks to everyone who helped on the night from both Simon and me.It looks like we will do 2014 so get revising!

Neil Bew & Simon Lumsden

Congratulations to the winning team - the Cygnet Rings !

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Sponsored Flaberloss UpdateSponsored Flaberloss, Further Update

I am finding it a little stressful on the Flaberloss front.It is in these difficult times that a manager really has to dig deep in order to justify his fees.Mick’s weight has plateaued at 90 kg which is about 14st 2lb resulting in a loss of about2st 7lbs; tantalisingly close to the amount needed to trigger some substantialsponsorships. Total is now at £490 and I am not expecting it to rise much further. (This isYOUR chance to prove me totally wrong!)All this comes despite Mick increasing his training regime. However his personal trainerhas said that this is not unusual as often after the initial weight loss there is build up ofmuscle which can halt or indeed increase weight.Yes I know, it is difficult to imagine Mick building muscle, amazing even. I personally thinkhe is eating too much salad and fruit and have insisted that this must stop.You certainly look as though you have lost weight, Mick. Suggest you put all your clothesin the machine on a very hot wash followed by 6 hour tumble dry, that should shrink themby about 4 sizes so that they actually fit you!! I'll be round in the morning for yourbreakfast!! Also for these last few weeks up to the weigh in I will be going to Mick’s housethree times a week to eat his dinner, now that’s what I call managers dedication.Any late sponsorship encouragement would help me through these last few weeks.Anyone wishing to sponsor by post should make their cheque payable to 'NW SurreyLocal RSPB Group' and send it to me -c/o Orchard Cottage, 12 Smallholdings, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 2HB.I will then record it on the sponsor form.

Alan Sharps – Flaberloss Manager

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What a day!!Our first street collection of the year did not get off to a very good start. Here we were at 9 am, just a couple of days afterthe vernal equinox, arriving at Longacres Garden Centre and it was snowing and windy, with the temperature just strugglingabove zero.Did that put us off? Not at all. With an intrepid bunch of nine collectors dressed in their full winter survival gear we managedto collect an amazing £262.48 during the day.A big thank you to all the collectors who braved the elements and made it possible.

Marion Sharps - Street Collection Coordinator

I think this sums up the day nicely.And yes, Marion is as cold as shelooks!!

Alan Sharps

Sadly, I fear that Marion may be losingher influence.When I agreed to participate I wasassuming that as normal I would bestanding outside in glorious warmsunshine and keeping my eyes openfor passing buzzards and red kites.What happened? There was morelikelihood of seeing a snowy owl!Seriously - a great total and it sayssomething about the great Britishpublic that they fought their waythrough multiple layers of clothing tofind some coins to put in our boxes.

Peter Hambrook

Longacres Street Collection

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

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PapercourtNew Years Day 2013

As usual, North West Surrey RSPB starts its year with agentle stroll around Papercourt, this time with a small band ofseven people braving damp conditions underfoot, but withpleasantly sunny weather overhead. I did, perhaps somewhatunprofessionally, announce that I had half a mind on makingthe 1.00 kick off for Woking vs Luton but did not allow that toinfluence the pace of walk (no, really, I didn’t).The car park produced a great spotted woodpecker andlooking out across the fields opposite, the years first stockdoves. Having crossed the bridge to check over the areaaround Newark Priory, we encountered a good mixed flock ofsiskin and goldfinch together with a handful of fieldfare. Thisis also one of those spots where you normally see Egyptiangoose, two I think, and to these, one greylag and a party ofCanada geese could also be added.Returning over the bridge, we struck out along the Wey and if‘struck out’ sounds a little like we should have beenswimming, it is fair to say that all the party were equipped withwellie boots; and they needed to be. Crossing by PapercourtLock, we looked out over the meadows and had nice views ofa male kestrel. This seems to be a good spot for them and Irarely fail to see this fine falcon throughout the year atPapercourt. The trees adjacent to the towpath were a littlequiet but still produced goldcrest, long tailed tit, blue tit andgreat tit. Heading towards the sailing club pit, we had oursecond grey heron of the day and added greenfinch to the listbut it was at the entrance to the club itself that we had theday’s best finch, a female bullfinch. These really are rarethese days and I haven’t seen one at Papercourt for many

years (which says quite a lot about my birding skills I suppose, but then they are scarce).The small, tree lined pit behind the clubhouse is always a tranquil spot and the trees hosted a small party of redwing. Thepit itself (pit doesn’t sound right really, small lake or large pond maybe), had a number of gadwall, tufted duck, mallard anda few coot. Moving on to the main sailing club pit, the rather larger number of coot also contained a pair of little grebe andright at the far end away from the clubhouse, around ten of the significantly larger great crested grebe which whilst not rare,always manage to look impressive even in their winter dress. A kingfisher briefly zipped across the water behind the grebes.The walk back to the cars added nothing new but we had seen more than forty species in a pleasant three hour stroll tokick off the new year. Talking of kick off, I missed the missed the first 10 minutes of the Woking/Luton game (and the firstWoking goal) but a good morning was enhanced by a good 3-1 win (I’m almost sure you wanted to know that).

Words by Neil BewPhoto of a little owl from Dave Braddock

Mid-week Walk at theLondon Wetland Centre, Barnes

Thursday 10th January 2013Weather: Cold and overcast but dry with a light NW wind, 4OC.For once the traffic was reasonable and most of us arrived ontime. Eleven group members were joined for part of the time bythree and a tiddler visitors (the ‘tiddler’ being only four yearsold).The normal route was followed to the Peacock Tower withoutproducing anything out of the usual – just winter wildfowl,Egyptian geese, grey herons, cormorants and black-headed,herring, great black-backed and common gulls. A Cetti’swarbler was heard briefly. Little else was on offer at the towerbut Barbara picked out a common snipe that showed well.

Group Events (The In’s and Outs)

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Returning via the southern loop footpath, Geoff spotted a female or immature smew flying in but most didn’t get on it beforeit flew off again and they then picked it up distantly. Continuing along the footpath a flock of small finches was spottedfeeding on the alders and on investigation we identified at least one lesser redpoll and several siskins before the flock ofaround 25 moved on again. Apart from blue and great tits, chaffinches, a robin and two marauding grey squirrels, thefeeders were unproductive.A second visit to the Dulverton hide to double check for bittern, without success, produced several lesser black-backed gullsand a flock of greylags, while a pair of wrens was seen as we neared the centre.After lunch we headed for Wildside. The first hide was still closed for renovation so we quickly moved on to the Wildsidehide. This gave us a good view of the reed bed where the bitterns had taken up residence but none were found despiterepeated scanning. We did however re-find the smew and also a male pintail that appeared to be in poor condition.Returning towards the centre we stopped to check out the mandarin’s pen where we had been told several wild males hadbeen attracted by the captive females. We identified at least three wild birds, one of which was involved in a fight with oneof the captive males.Finally, as we got back to the car park, John spotted a kingfisher hunting in the nearby ditch, allowing those of us who wereleft by this time to enjoy excellent views of a smart male bird.All in all a funny sort of day, no sign of the resident bitterns, peregrines and water rails that we had half expected but somenice rewards for our effort. Undoubtedly the variety and quantity of birds on offer had suffered somewhat due to the recentmild weather but it was pleasant day out in the big city that I, for one, certainly enjoyed.

Photo of a Common Snipe, and text by Peter Hambrook

Indoor meeting, Sir William Perkins’s School, Chertsey.RSPB Films : Kingfisher and Short-eared Owl

Wednesday 23rd January 2013In the absence of our advertised speaker (due to the adverse weather conditions) the opportunity was taken to show twoRSPB films, one featuring the kingfisher, the other the short-eared owl. Although rather dated, both held our attention andreally brought out the character of each species. From pictures of nestlings, fully fledged young and mating pairs we wereable to appreciate the life cycles of two of our well-known birds. We noted also that kingfishers keep their magnificentcolours all year round and pair for life, and that short-eared owls nest on the ground and depend mainly on short-tailed volesfor their food. The secret splendour of the brooks – Tennyson’s lovely portrayal of the kingfisher - was quoted in the film,and on looking at these showings I felt that the short-eared owl deserved an equally beautiful description.

Brian Shreeve

Trip to West WitteringSunday 27th January 2013

Seven of our group met at the far end of the car park, nearest toEast Head. Looking over the grass fields we picked up the usualdark-bellied Brent geese, oystercatcher, curlew and fieldfare.Beginning our walk at 09.40, we spent some time looking overthe south end of Snowhill Marsh where we had reasonablenumbers of grey plover, turnstone, lapwing and a good numberof common snipe. A trio of avocet and shelduck were also visiblefrom our vantage point.As the tide was coming in and the sun was low, I decided to walkaround the west side of the head first, keeping the sun behind usto improve our visibility.In the sheltered bay, we had a trio of red-breasted merganserand along the marshy grass, near the water’s edge a lone goldenplover was hunched up against the cold. Feeding in the shortgrass there was a mixed flock of skylark, meadow pipit and linnet.Ringed plover flew into the grass near the golden plover andjoined a resting flock of dunlin and grey plover. Several piedwagtail were also feeding in the marsh grass near the wader flock.At the end of East Head we scanned the bay and watchednumerous large wader flocks moving about on the far shore. Itwas not easy to identify all the flocks but there were certainlygood numbers of dunlin and silvery coloured sanderling in someof the flocks.

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Group Events (The In’s and Outs)

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

In the bay were great crested grebe, a beautiful slavonian grebe, several cormorant and two lone divers were seen flyingeast across the bay in quick succession.The second was definitely a red-throated diver, as the back was a light grey colour and the head could be seen nodding asthe bird flew. The first bird caused considerable debate as it was further away and appeared darker but this could easilyhave been a trick of the light. In my opinion it was probably also a red-throated diver but Geoff Keen, who saw the birdearlier and better, believed it was a black-throated diver.Walking along the beach towards the car park we got good views of feeding sanderling – silvery grey waders that areconstantly on the move, racing back and forward on the edge of the water. Reaching the cars we had an early lunch (whichis becoming a bit of a common theme with our current series of walks).After our lunch, we walked towards the creek and the pools that are at the north end of the East Head bay. Here we got ourfirst species of duck that included wigeon, teal and mallard. Wader species on the pools included large numbers ofredshank, a single very pale greenshank, a handsome spotted redshank and two solitary bar-tailed godwits.After a good look at the pools, we continued around the fields but added very little to our day list.We returned to the cars just after 13.30 and decided that we had time for an additional stop on the way home. West Deanwoods was our chosen destination but it proved to be very quiet and the birds we hoped to see, crossbill, redpoll, siskinand firecrest were conspicuous by their absence.Even the little owl that we hoped to see in its favourite dead tree was absent.Thanks to all those that made the trip on a cold blustery day.

Frank ClarkPhoto of a Stonechat by Dave Braddock

Mid-week walk at WraysburyTuesday 5th February 2013

Weather: Dry and mainly sunny but with a strong NW wind, 6OC.Twelve of us tackled the mud and standing water of thislow-lying area for a short two-hour trudge along Hythe Lakeand then across a more open area to emerge onto the road bythe BA Sailing Lake. Before we moved off a song thrush washeard singing and a small flock of siskins passed over.Hythe Lake held quality rather than quantity with a goodnumber of goldeneyes and a single female goosanderamongst numerous tufties, black-headed gulls and smallernumbers of gadwall, coot, mallard, grey heron, Canada gooseand cormorant. Apart from the occasional jay, magpie andblackbird the only passerines seen were great tits, a chiffchaff,goldfinches and a long-tailed tit.The fenced-off fishing lake held a common gull plus furtherfemale goosander along with two males. Moving on to theextremely water-logged open area we came across a fewsmall groups of fieldfares and an even smaller number ofredwings before finally reaching the sailing lake where afurther two males and a female goosander were to be foundalong with further goldeneyes.

A kestrel was the only raptor seen.Sadly the smew kept out of sight on one of the less accessible pits. My thanks to those who braved the mud and the coldto attend.

Photo of a fieldfare and article by Peter Hambrook

Trip to Blashford Lakes & Blackwater ArboretumSunday 10th February 2013

The arranged meet time was 10.00 am, but a small group of us arrived early (09.00 am), to visit the screen at the north endof Ivy Lake. We were looking for a reported green-winged teal but despite carefully going through all the teal we wereunable to find it. A bright blue flash passing through my bins was the only view we were to get of a kingfisher. The otherbirds of interest on this side of the reserve were two handsome black-necked grebes on Rockford Lake.Arriving at the car park, a total of eleven members assembled for what was to be a very wet and wild day. Once we wereall wrapped up and had our water proofs on we immediately headed for the woodland hide, to get out of the rain and cold.The feeders here are always well filled and birds present included lesser redpoll, siskin, brambling, great spottedwoodpecker, chaffinch, coal tit, blue tit and great tit, nuthatch and robin.

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RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

A hungry male pheasant was also taking advantageof the fallen seed from the feeders. After about 40minutes, we visited the first of the lakeside hides(Ivy South Hide) that overlooks Ivy Lake. Birdspresent were great crested grebe, tufted duck,wigeon, gadwall, pochard, teal, mallard, Egyptiangoose and cormorant. Towards the rear of the lakea small grey duck, with a reddish brown back andtop to the head with a bright white check patchraised some interest. This was a female Smew, alsoknown as a redhead. Once everyone got onto thebird, it was time to return to the visitor centre forlunch.Several of the group chose to have lunch in thevisitor centre whilst the rest of us retired to the carsto eat. At this point, a number of the group decidedthe weather was terminal and was not going toimprove and so would head home. For the rest ofus, our next stop was to cross the main road andvisit the hide that overlooks Ibsley Water.

This particular lake is well known in winter for Goosander and true to form we managed six of these elegant saw-bills. Themales are a beautiful salmon white with a dark back, stunning green head and a red bill. The females are generally greywith an off white neck / throat, a reddish brown head and red bill. Other birds here included pintail, goldeneye and a largenumber of shoveler. The final bird was a buzzard being mobbed by a large number of crows.I had planned to be ready to leave Blashford Lakes about 14.30 / 15.00 to go to Blackwater Arboretum to look for hawfinchbut due to the weather and not visiting the whole of the reserve, it was only 13.30.We then headed to Harbridge Meadows, only a five minute drive away, to look for two reported Bewick’s swan. Arriving atthe meadows, I was not surprised to find the area almost completely flooded. In the middle of the flood, amongst the muteswan was a single Bewick’s swan. Smaller than the mute swan, with a shorter neck this bird has a yellow bill and not anorange red bill that a mute swan has. To separate it from a whooper swan, size is important but as this bird had a largeamount of black on the bill, this identified it as a Bewick’s swan.Continuing on to Blackwater, we arrived at about 14.15 in the very heavy rain. I was not expecting this to be a successfulsearch for Hawfinch and after about 30 minutes we chose to abandon the search and head for home. Thanks to all thatmade the effort to attend this trip, despite the poor weather forecast.

Words by Frank ClarkPhoto of a Brent Goose by Dave Braddock

Indoor meeting - Sir William Perkins’s School, Chertsey.Poole Harbour and its Birds by Neil Gartshore

Wednesday 27th February 2013Our speaker on this occasion was well qualified to talk about Poole Harbour since he is not only the author of the 2011Buckingham Press/Swarovski Best Birdwatching Sites in Dorset guide, but also spent fifteen years as a staff member onthe RSPB reserve at Arne. Although human activity (which includes boating, fishing, wildfowling, bait digging and otherleisure pursuits) in what is the second largest natural harbour in the world (after Sydney harbour in Australia) is relativelyhigh, the area boasts a wide variety of habitats which in turn attract large numbers of waders and wildfowl especially inwinter.Internationally important numbers of avocets and black-tailed godwits together with hundreds of grey plovers, curlews andredshanks may be seen at this time, along with brent geese, wigeon, teal, pintails and red-breasted mergansers amongothers. Apart from the coastal harbours and marshes, Neil’s presentation also covered heathlands, woodlands, river valleysand reed beds, and ranged from Poole Quay to Studland Bay to Arne and Brownsea Island with its breeding colony ofsandwich terns. More specifically, places to see spoonbills, Dartford warblers, bearded tits, water rails, nightjars, marsh tits,puffins and more were mentioned in this knowledgeable talk which provided a good ornithological background to thisbeautiful part of the country.

Brian Shreeve

Mid-week Walk at Wey MeadowsWednesday 20th March 2013

Weather: Dull, cool and drizzly to start, becoming brighter and warmer later. 7OC.Once again we totally took over all available parking at the meeting point, with twelve members and five visitors for a totalof 17. We believe that this is now the new record to beat for the mid-week walks!

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RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

As we walked along the footpath to the main area we could seea large party of Canada geese feeding in the corner of a partlyflooded field along with a crow or two and a female mallard.Getting to the start of the walk proper, Geoff spotted a nuthatchon a garden feeder and this obligingly gave good long viewsthrough the ‘scope. Moving on, we started picking up goodnumbers of redwing at the top of trees and these were joined bythe occasional fieldfare. With views of blackbird and a not veryobliging mistle thrush we only missed out on song thrush of themore common thrushes. Joining them in the treetops were quitea few starlings and a few goldfinches and greenfinches. A femalekestrel gave good ‘scope views as it also sat up in a tree, lookingfor potential prey. A skylark was also heard over the roughground.Arriving at the viewing point for the main flooded pit we foundanother group of Canadas, plus a pair of greylags, tufted ducks,a female pochard and several little grebes, while others of thelatter could be heard calling in the flooded scrub where they nest.A group of black-headed gulls also contained several commongulls.Moving on towards the river Wey, it soon became apparent thatit would not be too productive as it was running fast and was verymuddy.This didn’t concern a large party of siskins that were busilyfeeding on the alder seeds and could be heard some distanceaway – enchanting little birds. The final bird along the river wasa mute swan that powered towards us in ‘Spanish Galleon’mode, hoping for some grub, sadly it was unlucky.There was also a great spotted woodpecker on a dead tree, acouple of jays flew along a hedge line and several cormorantsand a grey heron flew over. As the short cut to the canal has nowbeen blocked off we had to do a bit of mountaineering over two

stiles and some steep steps to cross the embanked railway line and pick up the ‘approved’ footpath through the mobilehome site. This took us to the Wey Navigation at Coxes Lock where, relatively rarely for our walks, we found some feralpigeons plus some squabbling mallards. Coxes Mill Pond was fairly boring and had virtually become part of the canal dueto the high water levels but a gull pretending to be a peregrine did get me going briefly until my error was pointed out. Oops!We now started to head back to the car park along the unusually muddy tow path, at which point we were engaged inconversation by a volunteer warden for the local fishermen who was keen to recruit us as extra pairs of eyes to catch thosefishing during the closed season. While talking to him a great crested grebe appeared out of the pond-side vegetation andshortly afterwards we came across a mute swan on a nest on the opposite bank – quite an early start to my mind. Finalbirds of the day were a fairly distant buzzard and an Egyptian goose at the end of someone’s garden.Geoff totted up 42 species in all for the morning – not bad for an ‘in between’ month like March.

Photo of a male Siskin and words by Peter Hambrook

Trip to Welney WWTSunday 24th March 2013

With regret, this trip was cancelled at the last moment due to inclement weather.Perhaps this was only to be expected due to the excessive amount of rain that had fallen.Nevertheless it does remind us that it is always in your own interest to liaise with the organiser that the event is stillhappening. If you express an interest beforehand, the organiser is then usually able to contact you should the event becancelled at the last moment.

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Sometimes outdoor and indoor meetings have tobe cancelled at short notice due to bad weather.Welney is an example where we had to cancel theday before because of snow and floods. If theweather forecast is not good please remember tocheck with the outdoor or indoor leader to makesure the event is going ahead. This will save youmaking a journey and finding that no one is there.

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Indoor meeting, Sir William Perkins’s School, Chertsey.China’s Bear Cats, by Mike Leach

Wednesday 27th March 2013Arriving at the school at 7.10 pm, I was met by Brian who looked at me quizzicallyand after pleasantries were exchanged he asked if he knew me. Good man - heremembered my photo from the newsletters. Now it was my turn and the intros to theCommittee and Members inside the hall were made.

Mary opened the evening with her general update on group activities and what’scoming up. She asked how many of those present used Facebook. A few do itseemed, and Mary said the RSPB use it to target the 'younger' generation and to gettheir info out quick. Thanks to Marion and her team at Longacres. £262 raised - welldone! A brilliant job and thank you.

Welney had been cancelled at the last moment, Frank commented about theMembers need to check if any event is still running, most especially if there is badweather.

Four people went to Welney anyway, to stop people going into the site as theconditions really were so bad.

Mick was invited to speak - Spring Fayre is coming up and items were needed.

Mary then advised the Members present that the Newsletter Editor was visiting tonight.

Peter Hambrook was asked about WeBS - he is in need of counters for the WeBS count at Thorpe Park for next winter -2013-2014. Around four or five people are sought. This is really valuable to the recording of bird life in certain areas. It isheld at Thorpe Park and it would be a ‘crime’ if the counts here had to stop due to lack of people. Please enquire if you feelyou can help.

Then came the introduction to Mike Leach for the talk.

Mike said he had to drive through snow drifts to get here today - 14 feet high. On his way here he enjoyed the M25 - he'dactually prefer his 14 feet drifts to that! Fresh from his snowbound village in the Peak District – the climate clearly not toodissimilar at the time to that of the antarctic where he had been working recently – Mike began by reminding us that wildlifephotography as a business can be hard work. Perhaps ten seconds of usable TV film for a week’s hard graft in the bush.

Equally hard, according to Mike’s information on its lifestyle, is the life of the giant panda. A full grown male, for instance,may reach over 140 kg in weight but with its inefficient digestive system needs to spend about 14 hours each dayconsuming almost one third of its weight in bamboo washed down with about 25 litres of water.

Pandas are also short-sighted and the female is receptive to the breeding male for only three days in two years. Many dieof starvation before the age of 35 years because by then their teeth are too worn down to eat. It is estimated that only about1400 are left in the wild.

However, in spite of their low population density, pandas are probably the most identifiable animals on earth, their appealbeing due to the fact that as humans we identify with their small baby-like head and seemingly big eyes (actually quite smallbut the large eye patches are what we notice).

Mike said that they have few natural enemies, the most important being packs of golden jackals.

Another interesting fact is that their name does not appear in ancient Chinese lore, but is thought by some to relate to theirdiscovery in 1869 by Pere Armand Davide, the word “panda” most likely being a composite from his three names.

It was a surprise to me and perhaps to others in the audience to be told that they did not make their appearance in the Westuntil 1936. Sadly, as its habitat is destroyed (it is even now confined to mountainous areas) this most attractive creatureseems doomed to extinction. The well intentioned but politically motivated breeding programme has been very successful,but the young pandas are kept in groups which does not prepare them for their normal solitary life in the wild, and nonehave yet been released and survived long enough to breed.

It really is just a question of time, but the panda could well become extinct in the wild in as little as 10 to 20 years.

A sobering thought on which to end a captivating talk.Preamble and photo by Geoff Porter

Main report by Brian Shreeve

9

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

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He writes… She writes…This is intended to be your ‘letters’ section, andprimarily for items not covered under the mainsections (Group News and Achievements, SUFN,

Events) or for comments you would like raised or answered.The intention is not to use names for this section, just initialsunless you expressly specify otherwise.No comments by email or post have been received since thelast news letter, so here’s some more waffle…I did receive general comments when I visited the school forthe Bear Cat presentation. All favourable, which pleased meno end, and thank you. I did find out that a couple of themembers taking the news letter by electronic means havestill not worked out where the ‘hotspots’ are. If you are notsure what a hot spot is, try hovering your mouse/pointerover the internet addresses on the next page under‘Snippets from the BBC’ section. Also on the same page,hover over the Visit section ‘Brownsea Island’. In all casesyou should see the pointer change and an info box shouldopen giving the web page or email linked on that hotspot.Clicking on the hotspot will open your browser or emailpackage and take you straight to that link.Hotspots are also on certain photos and other items whichare sprinkled throughout the newsletter. Try the photos ofDave and Mary on the cover, the logos in the newsletter andeven the editor’s photo in the ‘Spiel Chucker’ section.

What was my reasoning for doing this? As the news letter isprinted as well as being sent by email and later available asa download from the website, it is a waste of time and effortto create two versions. As it is printed in black, there’s nopoint using straightforward internet type links which giveunderlined text in blue. On printing this comes out as greyor at least a different shade of black. I’m trying to keep aconsistent reading experience for you. Also by using hotspots as opposed to hyperlinks. pictures can also be madeto link. Hopefully this will make things easier and moreenjoyable for the electronic version viewer, but not to thedetriment of readers of the printed news letter.Please don’t be shy. Send in any comments or suggestions,or even criticisms you may have.Please send in any articles or photos you might wish toshare with the group. Even if an ‘official’ report is beingwritten, your viewpoint will give perhaps a different ‘flavour’to the usual style, and an extra photo or two will be mosthelpful.My Spiel section (page 13) looks like an article, but it isn’t.It’s a series of thoughts and comments that can be gelledtogether and if written sensibly and with an odd photo canactually get a sensible read. I hope you agree. Don’t forgetthat there are three months of observations in this piece!Why not take the plunge and see if you can get a similareffect.

Geoff Porter

MICK’S JAM ROLY POLYIngredients -75 g Suet150 g Flour1 tsp Baking PowderCold Water4 tbsp Seedless Jam (Raspberry or Strawberry)

Method -1 Preheat the oven to 200OC / Gas Mark 6.2 Mix together the dry ingredients, adding a little water at a time to form a soft dough. Shape gently into a ball.3 Pat out the dough until it is a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches.4 Spread the dough with jam. Dampen edges with water or milk.5 Roll into a log shape and place in a lightly buttered baking tin.6 Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until risen and golden.7 Allow to cool and take round to Mick… (well, he can hope…) Michael Cooper

Is your recipe for publication as a start of a new Cookery series, Mick?And have you saved enough cash by not eating to fund your new outfits, should Alan's utilities recommendation on page 3be unsuitable or unacceptable? Well done so far. Just remember you need to keep that weight off.

Geoff PorterThe recipe was for Alan's benefit. I am hoping that when he sees me in that state he will rush into the kitchen, give Marionthe recipe and demand that she makes one for me right away.

Michael Cooper

PUBLIC SERVICE - WATCH OUT FOR THISForwarded via Facebook. All dog owners beware, and leaflet droppers or indeed anyone walking around housing estates.Keep your eye out for small coloured STICKERS on gates or doors. Gangs are apparently marking how many dogs livethere to steal. These stolen dogs are being used as dog bait for fighting, or possibly for breeding.Should you observe this, ring the Police immediately, inform the house owners. Remove the stickers immediately!Red stickers are for big dogs, Yellow for medium and Pink for small breeds. Also, stone or twig piles have been found nearproperties, including in the south east. The reason is unknown but no doubt is for nefarious reasons.The stickers have been noted as happening in the Goole, Yorkshire area and may well spread across the UK.Reports questioning the labels were on BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21931693.

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

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Smilers…What has six legs and can fly long distances ?

I’ll bet you can do better - send your Smiler in to the Ed.

Three swallows !

Invite-a-Guest vouchersIn November 2012 the free trial meeting form became active on our web site.

You will all have received a full size copy with a previous newsletter, in the hopeyou have a friend or colleague who might wish to come along and perhaps join the

group.More copies are available by request from Dave. Alternatively, the pdf page can be downloaded

direct from the web site at - http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey/news/322548/.

Contributing towards Citizen ScienceThe BTO are organising a survey this summer of Woodcock, and quite a few sites in Surrey have beenselected for the survey.

If you would like to help you can see more information about the survey methods and a list of the sites onthe website of the Surrey Regional Rep for the BTO by clicking the link below.

If you do not have internet access then please contact directly. She is Penny Williams and her telephone number is01276 857736. There is also information on her website about other surveys in which you can also participate.

http://www.surreybtorep.co.uk/html/woodcock__2013_.html.

Brownsea Island Trip - now confirmed on!For those who haven’t decided what to do at the end of September, it’s been confirmed the Group

will be visiting Brownsea Island in Dorset. Why not join us? Apart from the birds you will definitely see,almost guaranteed will be the sight of one of the UK’s rarest creatures - the red squirrel.

This trip is bound to be popular so please get your reservations in to Frank as soon as possible.Brownsea Island is a National Trust property with admission cost per adult of £5.80, or £6.40 if Gift Aid is given. If you

are an NT Member, don’t forget to take your membership card to get in free. The ferry cost is chargeable to everyone.

Snippets from the BBC…Rescue for palm oil-covered birds in the south west

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-21275648The RSPCA said it had rescued more than 100 birds covered in the white waxy substance.

Slime in Somersethttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-21498062

Scientists at a nature reserve in Somerset have been baffled by a jelly-like slime whichhas appeared in a number of locations at the site.

Lost Antarctic Royal penguin found in New Zealandhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21519560

A royal penguin is being cared for at a New Zealand zoo after being found stranded on abeach 2,000km (1,240 miles) from home its Antarctic.

Struggling seabirds 'just starve to death'http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21724767

Hundreds of shags, a seabird that breeds on cliffs around Britain, are washing up deadon Scottish shores in an event known as a 'wreck'.

Photos from corresponding BBC article / page. Shag illustration from RSPB identification web site.

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

European Water Vole by Dave BraddockWater voles (Arvicola Amphibius formerly classsified as Arvicola Terrestris) are in general, widespread throughout Europe.Water voles only live for around one year on average in the wild, but this can be as short as five months, whilst up to twoand a half years has been recorded for a water vole in captivity. They are usually to be found along slow moving streamsand rivers and in ditches with lots of vegetated banks for protection and food. They tend to avoid heavily trampled areas.They can have an extensive network of runs and tunnels with some underwater, as they are good swimmers and divers.They are vegetarian and found throughout Great Britain but in low numbers in Scotland. Their main claim to fame is as"Ratty" in The Wind In The Willows but they are not rats, they are actually a semi-aquatic rodent.Water voles have noses that are rounder than rats. They have deep brown fur, faces that appear chubby and short ‘fuzzy’ears. Unlike rats, their ears, paws and tails are all covered by hair.The water voles size is usually between 140 - 220 mm (5.5 to 8.7 inches). Adults can weigh between 160 to 350 grams(5.6 to 12.3 ounces), although juveniles must reach around 140 - 170 gm (4.9 - 6 ounces) in order to be able to survivetheir first winter.They can have three or four litters a year starting from mid March until late autumn, and will usually have less than six perlitter, but up to eight have been recorded. The young grow quickly and are usually weaned after around three weeks.Water vole numbers are falling at an alarming rate due to predation by mink, poor water quality and habitat loss due todredging and bank clearance, along with their short life span.Hopefully now that the water vole has total protection by law, and with successful reintroduction programmes this cutemammal will once again become a common sight along our waterways during summer.So, why the change of name for the water vole from A.terrestris to A.amphibius? This is recorded within Wikipedia as beingdue to two species being recorded on the same page by Linnaeus in 1758. The two species are now universally consideredto be the same species under the amphibius name.

Photo and text by Dave BraddockFurther info and text sourced from BBC and Wikipedia websites.

Nature Ramblings

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RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

From my Spiel Chucker& around my garden…

New year arrived with my frantic last-minute flourishes on your lastnews letter. I found a few of the web sites that are linked from thepages had changed their location. Problems were soon correctedthough as the web pages were found and checked. Speaking ofwhich, I hope you find all the links available and of some use!My computer crashed rather badly after completion of the lastnewsletter. So badly in fact that it had to go to a repairer who tooknearly three weeks to get it up and running, and only then bypartitioning the drive and installing a new copy of Windows(version 8 this time), and restoring my saved files. OK, it’s doingthe job, and quite well actually, but there was no reason for Win 7to have failed! As for preference, I prefer 7 but 8 is growing on me.If my computer had a touch screen it would be a much closercontest with 8 the likely victor. (Have I bored you to sleep yet ?)

Back to my garden and my visitors are now constant. Two robins,four blackbirds, fourteen collared doves, six wood pigeons,regularly 20+ starlings at any one time with another head count of40+ on 25th March, two coal tits, two great tits and three blue tits.The goldfinches have not yet reappeared nor has the woodpecker.The week before Easter we had four long tailed tits on the fatblocks - another species never seen in our garden before. Well,we’ve only been here since 1987…And at the top of our food chain? A sparrow hawk, which swoopedover the garden and landed on the shed roof. My camera, at theready, gives you the photo here, taken through double glazed anddirty windows, so not as sharp as it could be. A moment aftertaking this photo, the bird swooped off the shed roof in a tight circleinto our holly tree scaring the hiding birds out, which were mainlystarling and sparrow, and without even stopping to consider thesharpness of the holly foliage and branches, gave chase.A wonderful sight!I have also had two magpies in the garden mainly in the coldest

times, feeding on the table mixseed in the ground feederwhich I have placed on an oldgarden table.We have seen at least onehedgehog wandering around -perhaps I need to erect aHogitat? We also still havebats flying in the twilightaround our house and garden!

I had a direct email from RSPBSouth East suggesting I mightlike to attend ‘the opposition’meeting at RSPB MedwayGroup’s special night withMike Dilger’s talk. I took mywife along and we had quite anenjoyable talk. Unfortunatelyon this occasion there was nottoo much talk about wildlife.The first hour session (whichincidentally lasted for 1½hours) concerned Mike’s lifeup to that point. Interesting.We got to the coffee break anddecided to miss the secondhalf and get a relatively earlynight, especially as part twowas going to be about his newbook.

Should I talk about road kill?I will anyway.Just for the record, in myimmediate vicinity and sinceChristmas, we’ve had threebadgers, three foxes and afew pigeons recognisable inthe aftermath.We also noticed two domesticcats!So you can tell that wild life ismost certainly around - anddesperately in need of moreroad sense!

Geoff Porter

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RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

A million voices for natureThe RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife,

tackling the problems thatthreaten our environment.

Nature is amazing – help us keep it that way.

The RSPB is part ofBirdLife International, the global partnership of bird conservation

organisations.

FINAL COPY DATE FOR THE2013 - 3rd NEWSLETTER

Please let me have your items for the newsletter as soon as possible, toavoid a last minute rush.Topical items should arrive with myself well before, but no later than -

Saturday July 6th 2013.Items may be submitted in the usual ways which include, but are notlimited to :-TEXT / ARTICLES

● Written or typed items on paper via the post;● Faxed copies of your work, but not photographs;● My preferred text formats are the standard office programs and

text files (MS Word, Wordpad, Notepad, Star Office and OpenOffice) etc. I also can usually open and use files created in theseand other office systems’ own publication programs where youcan insert your photo as a guide to me for layout. I can also takeitems as a pdf file if you prefer to create one.

● I would ALWAYS ask for the photo to be sent as a separate itemand at a high resolution.

PHOTOGRAPHS● Actual photographs via the post;● Photos by email should be sent at a high resolution / size.● My preferred size is not less than 1 mb file so I can crop if

necessary. 2 mb and larger are even better, but not more than10 Mb maximum please.

POST, FAX OR EMAIL ?● If you have no computer access, it should be obvious - post the

items to me.● Computer created works should ideally be sent by email.● ALL items can also be placed onto a CD or DVD and posted to

me if you prefer.● Alternative storage media such as CD-RW, SD card or USB stick

are also welcome by post. (*)● I can accept faxes of your work, but please avoid sending any

photos by fax - they do not come out well and will not be used.Please note that you do not have to specify how you wish your article tobe laid out. But if you want to, you can make suggestions for paragraphsand headings etc.If you have a preferred other way to send items, please let me know andI’ll advise if I can utilise that method.(*) If you want your posted items returned, especially if sent on re-writeablemedia (CD-RW, SD card, USB stick, etc etc), please enclose a stampedSAE, or return label and stamp (as appropriate), and I will return theseitem(s) by the next available return post.I have targeted final dates for receipt of your submissions to the fourNewsletters of the first full weekends of January, April, July andOctober, preferably by the 1st Saturday of the month.

Should the newsletter become full before this dateI reserve the right to delay those later received items

until the following newsletter.I am limited to just thirteen pages for your articles plus the cover and thetwo pages for events listings, due to costs of printing and post. I cannot goabove this.

I reserve the right to hold items over as space demands or asbecomes editorially necessary. All items sent in will be utilised.

Finally, thank you all in advance for your valuable input.Geoff Porter, Editor

GROUP MEMBERSHIPS & INFORMATION● All indoor meetings are held, by kind permission of the

Governors, at the Sir William Perkins’s School, GuildfordRoad, Chertsey, KT16 9BN. These are usually held on thefourth Wednesday of each month excluding December, Julyand August. Details may be found in the programme at theback of this newsletter. Meetings commence at 7:45 pm andfinish at 10 pm. Doors open at 7:15 pm. Public transport islimited. Chertsey Station is nearby, but bus services areminimal. There is adequate parking within the school grounds.

● Non-group members and Wildlife Explorers members arewelcome to all events. Wildlife Explorers members are free.Other visitors are asked to donate £3 towards the costs of theindoor meeting. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult.

● Group Membership for the year 2012 - 2013 is £10 forindividuals or £15 for couples. Please contact the MembershipSecretary at the address at the front of the events programme.

● The membership year starts with the September indoormeeting, and membership is valid from September 1st toAugust 31st. Membership is for the current year only and fornew members is not necessarily from their joining date.

● Please renew promptly, either by post (please enclose aSSAE), or by Standing Order, or at the indoor meetings.

Please Note:- Memberships that have not been renewed bythe 31st January immediately following, will be regarded as

having ceased until the due subscription is paid.Please respect this grace period.

Please note: All articles contained in this newsletter remain the copyright of the author and cannotbe used in full or part without their expressed agreement.

14

THE NORTH WEST SURREY RSPB LOCAL GROUPThe group was established in 1974 and is run by volunteers. We holdregular monthly indoor meetings between September and June at theSir William Perkins’s School in Chertsey, Surrey.Outdoor meetings are held throughout the year, both locally andfarther afield, including holidays in Europe.Members of the public are welcome to attend both the indoormeetings and at local and regional outdoor meetings.Longer trips are available to group members only.If you would like more information, please contact our membershipsecretary at the address given or visit our web site:

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey.

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

YOUR COMMITTEE MEMBER’S & OTHER CONTACTS GROUP LEADERS: Mary and Dave Braddock20 Meadway Drive, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2DT. Tel. 01932 858692 email: marybraddock@btinternet.com OR dave.braddock@btinternet.com

TREASURER: Angela PughTel. 01784 457714 email: nwstreasurer@btinternet.com

SECRETARY: Jan Bagley

a millionvoices fornature

June 2013M 3 10 17 24T 4 11 18 25W 5 12 19 26T 6 13 20 27F 7 14 21 28S 1 8 15 22 29S 2 9 16 23 30

June 2013OUT Weds 12th Thursley Common (10:00 - 13:00) 2.5 miles. (PH)

There is a good chance of seeing hobby here if the weather is good, as well aswoodlark, common redstart and woodpeckers. Dragonflies, damselflies andbasking common lizards should also be seen. Meet at the Moat Pond car park.GR: SU 900417. No facilities on site but there are pubs in Elstead.

OUT Fri 21st Horsell Common – evening walk. (FC)Evening walk looking for Nightjar and Woodcock.Meet at Sandy Track car park at 20.30. GR: TQ 002604.

IN Weds 26th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.

OUT Sun 30th Otmoor RSPB Reserve. (FC) All day by car. We will visit this little known RSPB Reserve just seven miles northeast of Oxford, looking for warblers, Turtle Dove and Red Kite. Meet at the reserve car park at 09.30. GR: SP 570126.July 2013OUT Thur 4th Bookham Common (10:00 - 13:00) 2.5 miles. (PH)

During this quiet period for birds we will also be looking for butterflies such as theresident purple emperor and also dragonflies and damselflies. Meet in the OneHundred Pound Bridge car park (access from Downside). GR: TQ 122567.No facilities but Cobham is nearby.

OUT July 6th Simon & Sue Lumsden’s garden BBQ in Horsell, 7.30 PM.Come along to the BBQ. This is a chance to get to meet people. Advance booking

and payment will be required. Cost covers food and raffle.Bring your own drinks and seats.

OUT Sun 28th Rye Harbour Reserve. (FC)All day by car. Meet at the car park at Rye Harbour at 09.30. The autumnmigration will be under way and we hope to see waders, wildfowl and seabirds.Car park at GR: TQ 942190.

August 2013OUT Tues 27th Staines Reservoir (10:00 - 12:00) 2 miles. (PH)

A short visit to look for migrants, waterfowl and waders. Meet in the small car parkat the eastern end of the causeway. GR: TQ 056734. No facilities.

September 2013OUT Weds 18th Harmondsworth (10:00 - 12:30) 2.5 miles. (PH)

Three rivers flow through the restored parkland here and there are ponds, lakesand plantations of native trees. We shall be looking for some of the resident birds,including kingfishers, woodpeckers and wildfowl as well as migrants passingthrough. From the A3044 past Terminal 5 continue to the A4 junction and gostraight across, bear left at the roundabout before the entrance to the BA area.

Meet at the second car park after the BA entrance, on left just before the industrial estate.GR: TQ 052776. No facilities on site but there are pubs in the village. 15

THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THEPROTECTION OF BIRDS

NORTH WEST SURREY GROUP

MEMBERSHIPS: Mick Cooper 95 Station Crescent, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 3HN. Tel. 01784 251708 email: michael.cooper28@sky.com

PUBLICITY: Alan Sharps Tel. 01784 244665 email: alan.sharps@btinternet.com

COMMITTEE MEMBER: Alan Pugh Tel. 01784 457714 email: nwscommember@btinternet.com

INDOOR MEETINGS: Brian Shreeve Tel. 01932 341012 email: bjshreeve@ntlworld.com

OUTDOOR MEETINGS: Frank Clark (FC) Tel. 01784 421240 email: frank.clark1@tesco.net

MID-WEEK OUTINGS & WeBS: Peter Hambrook (PH) Tel. 01932 346565 email: hambrp@msn.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Geoff Porter c/o 12 Ashbee Close, Snodland, Kent, ME6 5HQ. Tel. 07946 419664 Fax 07092 040983 Skype - geoff.flc Email: nwseditor@hotmail.co.uk

For the latest information on group events, please visit the website athttp://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey/events

The IN’S, the OUT’S & The WeBS IN 2013-4

July 2013M 1 8 15 22 29T 2 9 16 23 30W 3 10 17 24 31T 4 11 18 25F 5 12 19 26S 6 13 20 27S 7 14 21 28

August 2013M 5 12 19 26T 6 13 20 27W 7 14 21 28T 1 8 15 22 29F 2 9 16 23 30S 3 10 17 24 31S 4 11 18 25

September 2013M 30 2 9 16 23T 3 10 17 24W 4 11 18 25T 5 12 19 26F 6 13 20 27S 7 14 21 28S 1 8 15 22 29

RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2013 - 2The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

NEW TO BIRDWATCHING?All are welcome at any of our outdoor meetings, but if you are newto bird watching please let the leader know if you would appreciatea little assistance.

CLOTHINGPlease ensure that you wear appropriate clothing for theconditions expected. Good walking boots are usually sufficient,unless the weather has been excessively wet. Waterproofs arestrongly recommended if rain is forecast.

FOOD & DRINKSPlease bring packed lunches on the all-day trips as we eat whereand when we can, so that we can continue to watch birds. If theweather is hot don’t forget to bring plenty to drink, as most of thereserves and sites we visit do not have catering facilities.

RESERVESAccess to most reserves is free, however some do chargeadmission and / or car parking fees. When visiting RSPB reserves(or others if you are a member of that organisation), don’t forget tobring your membership card, otherwise you will have to pay thenon-members fee, which is usually non-refundable.

SAFETYWhile most sites visited have normal public access and are wellmaintained, please do take care and do not ignore any safetynotices or instructions. Participation in outdoor meetings is at yourown risk.

TRIP LEADERSThe main field trips will usually be led by Frank Clark, butoccasionally others may lead instead.Mid-week trips will be led by Peter Hambrook and / or Geoff Allen.The leader will be there in all but extreme conditions.If in any doubt please ring the appropriate leader to check.

TRANSPORTMost trips are by car but with very occasional coach or minibusoutings. If you require a lift please contact the outdoor leader, whomay be able to arrange this for you.

LEADER CONTACTSFor mid-week meetings contact Peter Hambrook, 01932 346565.For all other meetings contact Frank Clark, 01784 421240.

Info - Last Sunday in October - BST ends - Clocks go backLast Sunday in March - BST starts - Clocks go forward

Future Events in 2014 - more details in later newsletters.

General Information

IN Weds 25th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.

OUT Sun 29th Brownsea Island (NOW CONFIRMED ON). (FC) All day by car. A chance to visit this National Trust Island in the middle of Poole harbour. Landing fees, ferry and entry charges apply. Meet at the ferry departure point at 09.30. GR: SZ 037870.October 2013IN Weds 23rd Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN..

Info Sun 27th BST ends, clocks go back an hour

November 2013IN Weds 27th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.January 2014IN Weds 22nd Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.February 2014IN Weds 26th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.March 2014IN Weds 26th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.April 2014IN Weds 23rd Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.May 2014IN Weds 28th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.June 2014IN Weds 25th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.September 2014IN Weds 24th Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.October 2014IN Weds 22nd Regular Meeting - further details awaited.

Sir William Perkins’s School, Guildford Road, Chertsey, KT16 9BN.

November 2013M 4 11 18 25T 5 12 19 26W 6 13 20 27T 7 14 21 28F 1 8 15 22 29S 2 9 16 23 30S 3 10 17 24

16

October 2013M 7 14 21 28T 1 8 15 22 29W 2 9 16 23 30T 3 10 17 24 31F 4 11 18 25S 5 12 19 26S 6 13 20 27

December 2013M 30 2 9 16 23T 31 3 10 17 24W 4 11 18 25T 5 12 19 26F 6 13 20 27S 7 14 21 28S 1 8 15 22 29

January 2014M 6 13 20 27T 7 14 21 28W 1 8 15 22 29T 2 9 16 23 30F 3 10 17 24 31S 4 11 18 25S 5 12 19 26

BSTChanges on lastSunday in March

and October.