The

HarrierJuly 2012 Magazine No.169

Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group

Inside:• RSPB & heathland habitat creation

• BTO’s BirdTrack – its value

• Encouraging Tree Sparrows

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Editorial .......................................................................................................................................................1

Suffolk coast Stone Curlews..................................................Phil Brown & Mel Kemp .........................2

BirdTrack innovations.............................................................Nick Moran ...............................................6

Encouraging Tree Sparrows...................................................David Tomlinson ......................................8

Pink-footed Goose records ....................................................Nigel Odin ..............................................10

Unusual Pochard behaviour..................................................David Cawdron ......................................11

BINS Spring..............................................................................Roy Marsh ..............................................12

Field TripsDeben boat trip ..................................................................Gi Grieco .................................................14Shingle Street .....................................................................Steve Fryett ............................................15Lackford & Lakenheath......................................................Gi Grieco .................................................16

The Deben from the bank side ............................................Nick Sibbett............................................17

What’s in a name? .................................................................Clive Collins ............................................18

Looking back ...........................................................................Philip Murphy.........................................19

SOG AGMMinutes ................................................................................Paul Gowen............................................22Denis Ockelton Award .......................................................Steve Piotrowski ....................................24

NewsPeregrines nesting in Bury ...............................................Chris Gregory .........................................25Lakenheath Cranes breeding ...........................................Katherine Puttick ...................................26Minsmere developments..................................................Robin Harvey..........................................26SOG attends community event ........................................Phil Brown..............................................27

AnnouncementsSeptember Sponsored Bird Race .....................................Craig Fulcher ..........................................27Twitter update ....................................................................Phil Whittaker ........................................28Volunteers needed.............................................................Mick Wright ............................................28Treasurer post .....................................................................Roy Marsh ..............................................28

Cover photograph – ‘A Little Owlet, with attitude’Photographer: Bill Baston. Shot taken in August 2006 at Lower Layham, near Hadleigh using a Canon EOS-1D Mark II.Focal length 500, F# 5 with an exposure of 1/800

Contact details for articles and observations, etc are:Phil Brown, Editor, c/o The Coach House, Denham Road, Dalham, Suffolk CB8 8UB p.brown@doc-doc.com

All material for the October 2012 Harrier should be with the Editor no later than w/e 14 September

Subscription rates (2012)SOG: Adults – £15.00; Family £17.00

Joint SOG/Suffolk Naturalists’ Society: Adults – £28.00; Family – £32.00

Website: www.sogonline.org.uk Email: info@sogonline.org.uk

Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group Registered Charity No. 801446

Contents

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For on top of this region suffering drought1, to befollowed by ‘floods’ in May (both weather eventsprobably impacting negatively on this year’s birdbreeding season), it is reported that farmlandbird numbers have plummeted by 300 million(50%) since 1980 across Europe2. Yet, whileRome burns, all3 Defra could think of doing in theway of ‘conservation’ was proposing spending upto £375,000 on investigating a policy to destroyBuzzard nests to appease the shooting fraternity.

I don’t make a habit of getting political, but . . .No doubt the hunting and shooting pressuregroup could argue (unfortunately legitimately Imight add) that species such as the Pheasantand their ilk do actually indirectly contributemillions4 of pounds to this region’s ruraleconomy, while the Buzzard merely negativelycontributes to this. True, but is the Buzzard’sfrankly marginal impact on a thriving businesssufficient justification for Defra attacking thisattractive species and one of the few to beresponding well5, in spite of the region’sintensive farming methods? As a committedornithologist my answer, like many of you I hope,is a resounding no.

Fortunately, because of the scale of the protest(very reminiscent of the level of reaction to the

The

HarrierSuffolk Ornithologists’ Group

July 2012 Magazine No.169

1 The drought officially ended with the removal of the hosepipe ban across Suffolk in June. 2 Source, the Pan-European Common Bird MonitoringScheme, cited in The Observer 27 May 2012, which noted that losses of British birds tended to be higher than elsewhere in the EU.3 Admittedly a harsh verdict (but I got emotional over this issue) given that Defra annually spends over £400m on agri-environment schemeswith farmland birds as one priority target. 4 The 2010 Woodland Wealth Appraisal estimate suggested this contribution to the regional economywas around £81 million p.a. for shooting and deer stalking. 5 Ironically this species was featured as a Bird Atlas success story.

Government instigated 2010 assault on the ForestryCommission’s public forest estate – now safe-guarded), Defra backed down this time – emphasison ‘this time’. Our job as birders ought to be tosee to it that they do so the next time as well,when they come up with a similarly unenlightenedproposal – and they probably will. So keep sendingthose Twitter messages and letters to Ministers,MPs and councillors, or sign the petitions toensure that the ornithological community’svoice continues to be heard – loud and clear!

Sadly these are troubling times for SOG’sfinances too. They are not as robust as we wouldwish – which is why the current edition of theHarrier is thinner and less colourful. But needsmust, for while membership is slowly recovering,our costs are rising more steeply (both printingcost and postage have risen significantly thisyear). To offset these rises we have beencontemplating just producing PDF copies of thismagazine, that would help reduce our printingand postage costs – so, if you’d be happy to viewyour Harrier on screen only, just drop me a line.But we expect most of you will prefer to stickwith having a hard copy – I certainly shall.

We also have a membership drive underway. Tothis end we have produced a wholly new set of

Troubling times

These are troubling times indeed – not only a double-dip recession, with theprospect of yet tougher economic conditions to come, but there are increasingly

profound environmental problems too.

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Editor: In the last issue of the Harrier a small population of Suffolk coast Stone Curlews was mentioned. In this issue MelKemp, Heathland Manager at Minsmere explains how the RSPB’s 16-year programme of work at this reserve brought thiscoastal population back from the brink.

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6 Sadly these show panels are now reaching their ‘use by date’, so if anyone can donate some standard-sized panels to us we’d be very happy toreceive them.

Views expressed in The Harrier are not necessarily those of theeditor or the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group

boards for our show panels6, plus a flyer and aPowerPoint presentation, all designed to get ourmessage across more powerfully at communityevents/exhibitions.

We have also begun to offer our services as birdsurveyors who can make biodiversityrecommendations to environmental wastecompanies, in return for donations to SOG. Ourfirst project is just coming to an end and we’vealready managed to save several pairs ofSkylarks from the gang mower!

All of this activity requires a great deal of timeand effort from an already stretched Council, allof whom are striving to see to it that SOG thrives.So we’re very eager to hear from any othermembers prepared to help us out – manningstands, hosting walks, conducting surveys and,most vital of all, someone volunteering to serveas Treasurer.

As a result of all of this heightened activity we’reslowly capturing more membership dues,receiving valuable charity donations andbenefitting from a modest survey income. Tosuch an extent that we’re hoping at least one ofthe next two issues will be bigger and will againfeature a colour supplement.

So what of this Harrier? In #169, we open withan interesting story revealing how the RSPB havebrought, through habitat restoration, the Suffolkcoastal population of Stone Curlews back from

the brink. Second up, Nick Moran of the BTO haskindly provided us with the first of a series ofarticles, which will include three tutorials,introducing the up-rated BirdTrack facility andshowing how birders can usefully exploit it fortheir own purposes. Next is a fascinating articleby David Tomlinson detailing his efforts toencourage Tree Sparrows into his garden. Thenthere are field reports, short articles on a widerange of other topics, the AGM minutes, plus anumber of interesting news stories. So you cansee, while we might now be a little light oncolour, we remain heavy on content!

Because of pagination limitations #170 will befeaturing one story carried over from this edition– nevertheless do keep your articles rolling, in asthis one story won’t be enough, but bear withme while I wrestle with the ‘fallout’ triggered byour present budget constraints.

Have a great summer, and let’s catch up again inthe autumn.

Roy Marsh asked to add:I would like to pass on my own personal thanksto all who took part in the Nightingale surveythis spring (Mick Wright tells me over 40members assisted him). This was a veryimportant survey, and one that was wellsupported – a big thank you to you all.

Phil Brown & Mel Kemp

How habitatconversion restored the Stone Curlew tothe Suffolk coast

Although Stone Curlews had notbred in the Minsmere area since

1969, this habitat conversion storyactually begins almost two decadeslater in the 1980s when two parcelsof land, totalling almost 200 hectaresadjacent to the RSPB’s Minsmerereserve, came onto the market.

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The reserve’s management appreciated that if itwere possible to convert this land (plus severalsmaller plots subsequently purchased in the earlynoughties) into Stone Curlew-friendly heathland,Minsmere could be substantially enlarged tobecome a solid 650 hectares block of valuablehabitat (see aerial map below).

The conversion of this added 250 hectares ofarable fields into a mixture of heathland and acidgrassland is probably the largest single suchproject yet undertaken in the UK.

First the history, then the scienceCreating this beneficial habitat was not just amatter of physical hard graft. First came somemental graft – an examination of the land’shistory. When the legal records were examinedthey indicated the land concerned had beenfarmed since the 1840s, although archaeologysuggested that it might not have been heathlandsince the 1750 programme of land enclosure.This 250-year delay was problematic for the factis, the longer it had been farmed, the harder itwould be to restore the original heathland habitat.

Next came the science. Converting arable into amore nature-friendly habitat required:

– suitable soil conditions– a source of desired plant species seed– appropriate vegetation management

In the 1990s scientists and students werecommissioned to carefully assess the RSPB’snewly acquired fields and determine howappropriate the soil actually was for conversionto heathland, the composition of the seedbankand to offer suggestions as to the type ofvegetation that could be established in the fields.

Dry heathland requires nutrient poor, acidicfree-draining soils. So agriculturally improvedsoils are far from an ideal starting point as theyoften prove to be excessively fertile, tend tohave a pH close to neutral and further, throughthe process of repeatedly deep ploughing, theresidual heathland seedbed is steadily depletedso that the growth of undesirable1 annuals is,in effect, encouraged.

The examination of the new fields found thesoil’s phosphorous levels to be high, while theheathland seedbed was virtually non-existent.As a consequence the options open to the RSPBteam were limited. Topsoil stripping was deemedunlikely to be effective. Deep ploughing wasadjudged unlikely to resolve matters either.And growing crops to steadily deplete the soil’sfertility, though a possible route (involving addingammonium sulphate to improve the soil’sacidity), research indicated it was likely to takeabout 80 years before heathland naturalregeneration would be possible – which wasfar too long a timeframe.

In the course of the examination, and as a resultof several trials, it also became apparent that theambition to create solely heather heathland wasnot only unduly optimistic, but also likely to beexpensive, somewhat impractical and, in themeantime, the decline of the coastal StoneCurlews had emerged as a priority issue as well.Accordingly the RSPB adjusted its goals to aim atcreating a combination of 80% dry acid grasslandand around 20% heather heath – the latter beinglargely confined to the field’s previous margins

The three additional areas expanded Minsmere to 1000ha

1 Undesirable in so far as such annuals are more vigorous than the slow-growing grasses, ‘forbs’ and dwarf shrubs that characterise heathland andacidic grasslands.

A

B

C

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where the soils tended to be sandier, stonier andthus drier and thereby constituting perfectconditions for creating a heathland habitat.

The team also decided that, by adding elementalsulphur, the soil’s pH could be reduced below aneutral 7 (i.e. rendering it more acidic) whilst,through provision of bracken litter containingheathland seeds and spores, the seedbed couldbe topped up too. A series of trials was thenundertaken to test out different recipes ofsulphur, bracken and woodchip. These trialsduly indicated that the best application ofsulphur would be around 4 tonnes per hectare,accompanied by a mixture of bracken litterand other heather detritus.

The process of kick-starting the naturalregeneration of the heath and grassland wasundertaken in three phases, starting in 1996 withthe northern arable parcel (A). Next, in 2000,work began to stimulate acidic grassland growthon the southern parcel of land (B), with thesmaller Mount Pleasant parcel (C) being tackledfrom 2004. Through a combination of natural

regeneration and intervention the desired grassand heath plants began to appear soon after thereversion works began.

Not just chemistry, but animal husbandry tooBut it was not to be a matter of chemistry alone.It emerged that a deal of animal husbandrywould also be required.

Red Deer were already happily grazing the area– but they alone were not sufficient to create thevital sward conditions. So the RSPB summonedthe Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s ‘flying flock’ of sheep –once the poisonous ragwort was under control.But even together these two species were notenough to create the right conditions. It turnedout that the key to securing the 2cm grass swardbeloved of breeding Stone Curlews was the

Applying heather litter – Autumn 2005

Early growth of heather on ‘North Arable’ (A), 2003

Grazing by a combination of different species is vital

Acid grassland on ‘North Arable’ (A), largely throughnatural regeneration, 2008

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rabbit. But there weren’t enough in the area so,unusually, the RSPB had to find a way to lurethem back. Mounds of cut gorse (‘brash piles’), aby-product of heathland management, wereplaced in the centre of the various fields to act ascover and to encourage rabbits to occupy the siteand burrow beneath it. This in time they did andthe sward target height began to be met.

In addition to getting the ground conditions intothe right state, the food supply for the ‘Stonies’had to be secured as well. Sampling showedthere was abundant ground beetle prey for StoneCurlews on the fields, and that soil acidificationdid not unduly reduce the biomass of soilmacroinvertebrates (chiefly earthworms).

Did these changesimpact on theStone Curlews?So all of theconditions for theStone Curlewswere now in place.They duly re-appeared2 duringthe 2002-breedingseason. But it wasnot until 2003 thatthe first nesting attempt took place on thenorthern parcel (A). In 2004 this same pairmade three nesting attempts on this area andmanaged to fledge two young. Their attemptsin 2005 were unsuccessful but, in 2006, twonesting attempts led to four fledged young.

Thereafter more pairs have arrived on both thenorthern and southern areas (so that by 2011the total number of pairs was up to nine), withthe number of nesting attempts increasingcommensurately.

In addition to the habitat creation efforts, theRSPB have protected nests from foxes andaccidental trampling of deer and sheep byusing electric fencing.

By 2011 up to nine young were fledged on theRSPB landholding – i.e. one per pair. This translatesinto a healthy productivity of 1.0, where a mere0.7 will ensure population growth. So there isevery reason to believe the Suffolk coastalpopulation may now have turned the corner.

On the adjacent non-RSPB landholdings therehave been additional pairs nesting over the latterstages of this project too (three in 2011 – theother two in the table above also nested on theRSPB landholding), but their breeding success hasfluctuated and almost consistently, been muchlower than that of the Minsmere nesting birds.

So what of the prospects?Because of their productivity, “brilliant” was theword used by Mel Kemp in answer to thisquestion, as double-broods are often possible onopen habitats such as the arable reversion

2 They had previously been recorded during the 1995-breeding season.

Brash piles to encourage Rabbits

Year Pairs Pairs Total Nesting Fledged Chicks– Non RSPB – RSPB pairs attempts young per pair

– coast – coast – coast

2003 4 1 5 7 3 0.62004 5 1 6 12 2 0.32005 5 1 6 10 1 0.22006 6 1 7 13 6 0.92007 4 2 6 11 12 2.02008 5 3 8 11 6 0.82009 2 5 7 12 9 1.32010 2 8 10 17 10 1.02011 5 9 12 23 10 0.8

A ringed adult Stonie returnsto Minsmere – demonstratingsite fidelity

point from which a nesting pair can be viewed.So let’s hope for a favourable 2012 breedingseason and then savour the prospect of thisexciting viewing opportunity in 2013.

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project area. However, in and around naturereserves, human disturbance can be a problem,so it is ironic that whilst productivity may belower on agricultural land (as crop growth oftenmilitates against the opportunity for a secondbrood) they are so much less susceptible todisturbance. Stone Curlew’s long-term future, asit is in the Brecks too, probably lies in encouragingthem to nest on semi-natural grassland wherethey have higher productivity, but backed up byfunding from Government sources such asEnvironmental Stewardship.

Meantime, once any of the Minsmere birds obligeby settling in a good spot and appear to be capableof habituating to visitor presence, the Reserve’steam is hoping to set up a temporary viewing

Nick Moran

BirdTrack: What isit and why shouldI use it?

Although BirdTrack has been on thescene since 2004 (or 2002, if you

include its predecessor, Migration Watch),it is continually being developed. Lately ithas undergone a makeover that enhancesits performance and increases its valueto users. Yet, in some quarters at least,it is still something of a best-kept secret.

In this short series of articles for The Harrier, I aimto bring BirdTrack to the forefront of the minds ofSOG members by covering a selection of the ‘bestbits’ of its functionality, give some ‘how to use’guidance in the form of three tutorials andthereby I hope to inspire you to get as hooked onusing the system as I am!

This introductory piece outlines the general goalsof BirdTrack, provides some specific examples ofhow the data are used in conservation science,and explains the value of increasing the volumeof data submitted to BirdTrack.

BirdTrack backgroundBirdTrack has the underlying scientific goal ofcollecting data on migration movements anddistributions of birds throughout Britain andIreland. It thereby supports species conservationat the local, regional, national and internationalscales. As a free online bird recording system,

Stop press Mel tells me they again have nine nestingStone Curlews this year – so perhaps there will be aviewing area by the time this article is published?

Editor: I have to admit that the above is a somewhatsimplified review of what was in reality a much morecomplex and thorough scientific investigation into thedevelopment of arable fields to secure the naturalregeneration of species-rich, acid grassland. For those ofyou wishing to read about this project in more detail Melrecommends you look at the following paper: M. Ausden,M. Allison, P. Bradley, M. Coates, M. Kemp and N. Phillips‘Increasing the resilience of our lowland dry heaths andacid grasslands’, British Wildlife #22, pp101 – 109, 2010.

Editor: When Roy Marsh and I attended the BTO’s regional Birdwatcher’s Conference in mid-April we were both impressedby Nick Moran’s reveal of their up-rated BirdTrack service. Here, in the first of a series of articles, Nick (who is the BTO’sBirdTrack Organiser) brings us up to speed with Bird Track’s role and value.

7THE HARR I ER – J u l y 2012

* Complete lists will be explained in ‘What can BirdTrack do for me? [Tutorial #I]’ in the September issue of the Harrier.1 Like BirdTrack, this survey collected migration data from around the UK. Should you like to learn more about this pre-computer project then youcan refer to this document: http://www.bto.org/survey/special/iop/index.htm

The precise way BirdTrack records are usedobviously depends on the nature of the questionbeing addressed. Bird Atlas 2007–11 usesBirdTrack records from sites defined at the 10kmsquare resolution (or finer), for example, whilstlocal atlases require sites to be defined as tetradsor 1km squares. Where BirdTrack data are used tohelp inform population estimates, the highesttotal count of a species on a particular date isused, rather than a cumulative total of all countsmade on that date.

Increased volume of records improves its valueThe real power of BirdTrack data comes from itsvolume. Thus there are obvious benefits to bederived from more observers ‘BirdTracking’ theirrecords for atlases and local bird reports. Perhapsthe best illustration of the value of lots of datacan be seen in the reporting rates (the proportionof complete lists featuring a certain species)? Forexample, compare the reporting rates of SandMartin from Britain & Ireland with those for theEast of England:

The more acute and frequent peaks and troughsin the data for the East of England (note the lightgrey line above) highlights the simple fact thatmore is better when it comes to data quantity!The more observers submitting complete lists toBirdTrack, the greater the number of species –and the smaller the geographic area – for whichreliable reporting rates can be produced, which inturn, can only improve our understanding of bothbird migration and distributions.

the functionality BirdTrack offers birders, localbird recorders and the wider interested publichas been developed with the needs of all thesegroups in mind.

BirdTrack rolesi. MigrationA key role of BirdTrack is to monitor the timingand duration of migration, by analysing thepresence or absence of each species on completelists* over the course of each year. On-goingresearch to compare BirdTrack records with datacollected during the Inland Observation PointsSurvey1 of the 1960s is already beginning toreveal some marked changes in this area overthe last 50 years.

ii. Species statusBirdTrack records have also proved valuable torecent status reviews of a number of species.Although the status of our most numerous speciesare well understood from large-scale monitoringschemes such as the Breeding Bird Survey, WetlandBird Survey (WeBS) and Bird Atlas 2007–11,BirdTrack records can add a great deal ofinformation for the next ‘tier’ of scarcer species.

For example, BirdTrack records made a significantcontribution to a recent paper estimating thenumber of Bitterns in the UK (Wotton et al.,2011). During the harsh winters of 2009/10 and2010/11, when Bitterns dispersed more widelythan usual, the broad geographical cover of theBirdTrack records proved invaluable. They werealso beneficial for a recent update of WaterbirdPopulation Estimates. Normally these are largelybased on WeBS data, but here benefitted fromBirdTrack data as it allowed the authors toascertain if WeBS overlooked any key areas forscarce species such as Ruff, Smew and SnowGoose (Musgrove et al., 2011). The Rare BreedingBirds Panel annually reports the populations of asuite of the scarcest breeding species; BirdTrackrecords are available for this purpose too, via thecounty bird recorder network. Increasingly,BirdTrack data is also contributing to local-leveldata requests for conservation and research uses.

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David Tomlinson

Tree Sparrows –encouraging ascarce species

There’s something irresistibly charmingabout the dapper Tree Sparrow. I expect

many birdwatchers of my age took TreeSparrows more or less for granted upuntil the 1970s, when they were stillcommon and widespread, and were abird you expected to see on most outings.

Then came the population crash and suddenly aonce familiar species became a minor rarity, oneyou were always pleased to see, and made anote of when you did so.

First sightingsI moved to Suffolk from Kent in October 2004.During the following 12 months not a singlemember of the genus Passer was seen here atBowbeck (on the edge of the 10,000-acre Eustonestate), but then on 21st October 2005 a singleTree Sparrow alighted on one of my gardenfeeders. I was delighted, and I even managed to

get a couple of reasonable photographs, but thebird only stayed for half an hour and wasn’t seenagain. It was nearly three years before the nextrecord, on 5th October 2008, but again the singlebird only paused briefly.

However, on 20th October 2009 the pair of TreeSparrows that arrived must have liked what theyfound, for this time they remained all winter, andI saw them regularly, if not daily. Encouragingly,their numbers increased to four in January, and Icontinued to record them into March, when theydisappeared.

Numbers growOn 20th October 2010 I was looking out for theTree Sparrows once again, and sure enough theyarrived exactly on cue. This time numbers soonstarted to build up, with eight individuals in earlyNovember. By late February I reckoned that at

BirdTrack is organised by the BTO, on behalf of the BTO, the RoyalSociety for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), BirdWatch Ireland and theScottish Ornithologists’ Club.The Breeding Bird Survey is run by the BTO and is jointly funded byBTO, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the RSPB.The Wetland Bird Survey is a partnership between the BTO, the RSPBand the JNCC in association with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

So there is real value in you supplying BirdTrackwith more data. Next time I’ll drill down intoBirdTrack and look at adding records (see flow-chart right) and then, subsequently, I’ll showyou how you can use these records for yourown purposes!

DataHome

RRoving Record C

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LCasual Record / Species List

yes no

existing site?

C Lselect your sitefrom dropdown

enter record detailsand submit

enter record detailsand submit

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select your sitefrom dropdown

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ReferencesA.J. Musgrove, G.E. Austin, R.D. Hearn, C.A. Holt, Stroud & Wotton, S.R. 2011.’ Overwinter population estimates of British waterbirds’. British Birds,104, pp 364–397.S.R. Wotton, M.J. Grantham, N.J. Moran & G. Gilbert, 2011.’ Eurasian Bittern distribution and abundance in the UK during the 2009/10 winter’.British Birds, 104, pp 636–641.

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least 15 birds were coming to one of my feedingstations – set up in the hedge at the far end ofour field, but easily viewable with a telescopefrom the house. This particular feeding stationhas proved to be their favourite, and last winterI encouraged them there by feeding a specialTree Sparrow mixture of canary seed and millet,which Joe Reed from Lackford gave me. This waspart of a sponsorship project with the D’OylyCarte Charitable Trust. Unlike the previous winter,I saw them daily, but wasn’t able to note theirexact date of departure as I was away in Cyprusat the end of March.

A second trip to Cyprus in October meant I wouldbe away on the 20th, so I was a little worried Iwouldn’t be able to note the sparrows arrival, ifindeed they decided to return. Fortunately therewas no need for such concern, as the firstsparrow turned up 11 days early, on the 9th.Unlike the previous winter, numbers were slowto build up, and it wasn’t until the freeze of lateJanuary that double figures were reached.Counting was difficult, as they are active littlebirds, but numbers peaked at around 25individuals in late February.

Intriguingly, I covered much of the surroundingfarmland for my BTO Atlas survey work, butfailed to see a single Tree Sparrow away frommy feeders. I’m pretty sure that no one else hasseen or reported my birds, which makes mesuspect that there must be a number ofunreported flocks in this part of West Suffolk.

FeedingThough I continue to feed a canary seed/milletmix (available from Trevor Kerridge at £15 fora 20 kilo sack), I find my sparrows are equallyhappy with a cheap, basic wildbird mix I buyfrom CWG in Bury. A mixture of Wood Pigeons,Pheasants, Yellowhammers and both Red-leggedand Grey Partridges eagerly consumes the seedthe sparrows spill. The sparrows are also verywasteful with the canary seed, dropping as muchas they eat. My feeders closer to the house arefilled with a far superior wildbird mixture from

Jacobi Jayne (mainly black Sunflower hearts);though the sparrows make occasional visits for achange of diet, they much prefer the more ruralhedgerow feeder, even if the food isn’t as good.

Many Tree Sparrows have been ringed in WestSuffolk (most notably at Lackford and Ampton).Patrick Barker made two determined attemptsto catch and ring the sparrows here. The firsteffort, in February, produced a bag of 60 birdsof a variety of species, but only one Tree Sparrowwas caught and ringed. They are notoriouslydifficult to net; a second attempt two weeks lateralso resulted in a single sparrow being ringed.

NestingAs usual, the wintering flock dispersed at theend of March (where do they go?), but one pairhas remained to nest in a Schwegler box in thegarden. Intriguingly, the cock carries a ring, sopresumably it is one of the two birds ringedhere. It would be great to establish a colonyat Bowbeck – I now have numerous Schweglerboxes in place – but at least one pair is a start.

Editor: I think David’s suspicion that Tree Sparrows are furtive is right. They are easily overlooked, as I too failed to log anywhile surveying around Dalham for the Bird Atlas. Yet earlier this year, whilst birding the patch with fellow SOG memberJohn Owen, we quickly located a flock of 30+ Tree Sparrows on the edge of the village.

rest of the records arein the period September25th to November 14th,with the largest flock onrecord being 35 on October27th 1997. Records of flocks aremostly in the autumn and are ofbirds going in a northerly direction.These are presumed to be part of the vastnumbers now wintering in Norfolk that haveovershot their wintering grounds and arerelocating back to their intended destination.Smaller numbers of birds can be seen to begoing either in a northerly or southerly direction,with singletons normally mixed in with flocksof Brent Geese or other wildfowl; these werepresumably lost waifs tagging onto others forcompany.

Increasing recordsThis mirrors the general increase in records inSuffolk in recent years. Just using the Suffolk BirdReports covering the years 1980 (Moore 1981),1990 (Piotrowski 1991), 2000 (Lowe 2002) and2010 (Mason 2011) as examples to illustrate thisincrease produces the following approximatetotals (Table 2):

Steve Piotrowski in “The Birds of Suffolk”summarises the history of this species andgives it a status at the time of writing as “Anuncommon winter visitor and passage migrant”.This was clearly the case at that time. The SuffolkBird Report covering the year 2000 also givesthe same status. The more recent increase innumbers has yet to be reflected in the statusgiven in the most recent reports.

Two populationsThe British wintering population has trebledin size over the last thirty years and originates

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Nigel Odin

Pink-footedGoose recordsat Landguard

Whilst recording at Landguard BirdObservatory began formally from

its inception in 1982, it had been goingon for many years prior to this. Despiteall of these observations, the first siterecord of Pink-footed Goose was notuntil one was found walking aroundthe beach of the aggregate yard onApril 3rd 1995.

Due to its tameness this was suspected of beingan escapee. Not an auspicious start, though aflock of 12 on October 20th of the same yearwas a much more acceptable addition to theLandguard list. Since then the number of annualsightings has ranged from zero to three until asharper rise in 2011 (see table below).

Now a Landguard regularSightings have become annual in the past tenyears. There are two January records of 36 onJanuary 22nd 2008 and two north followed aboutan hour later by two south (which may, or maynot have been the same birds) on January 26thof the same year. Four spring records are in theperiod March 7th to April 9th in 2000 and 2002plus another spring one on May 3rd 2004. Thislast had missing flight feathers and waspresumably a bird injured by a wildfowler. The

Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003Records 2 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 0Total 13 0 61 0 0 19 0 4 0

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Records 2 1 2 2 3 2 3 7Total 27 3 16 8 48 42 15 52

Table 1: Number of records & the total number ofPink-footed Geese recorded annually at LandguardBird Observatory

Year 1980 1990 2000 2010Total c.35 c.35 c.36 c.4000

Table 2: Approximate numbers of Pink-footed Geeserecorded in Suffolk

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11T H E H A R R I E R – J u l y 2 0 1 2

Acknowledgement:Many thanks to Steve Goddard for comments on drafts of this note.

References:C.A. Holt, G.E. Austin, N.A. Calbrade, H.J. Mellan, C. Mitchell, D.A Stroud, S.R. Wotton, & A.J. Musgrove ‘Waterbirds in the UK 2009/ 2010: TheWetland Bird Survey’ 2011 BTO/RSPB/JNCC, Thetford. G. Lowe, ed. 2002 Suffolk Birds. Vol. 50. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich. N. Mason ed.2011 Suffolk Birds 2010. Vol. 60. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich. D.R. Moore, ed. 1981 Suffolk Birds 1980. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society,Ipswich. S.H.Piotrowski ed. 1991 Suffolk Birds 1991. Vol.40. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich. S.H. Piotrowski, 2003 The Birds of Suffolk.Christopher Helm, London.

Nigel Odin, Landguard Bird Observatory, View Point, Felixstowe, Suffolk, IP11 3TW E.mail: landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

largely in Greenland and Iceland. A muchsmaller population wintering in the low-countriesoriginates in Svalbard (Holt, C.A. et al 2011). Dueto Landguard’s position, while it is possible thatsome records may originate from the Svalbardpopulation, the bulk of birds are presumed to

have come from the Icelandic and Greenlandpopulations. It is predicted that Landguard willreceive more records over time if the populationof Pink-footed Geese continues to increase at itscurrent rate, or if population pressure in Norfolkforces flocks further south to winter in Suffolk.

David Cawdron

Unusual Pochardbreeding behaviour

The moment I knew that I had foundsomething very unusual

was when I viewedthe nest froma differentposition andsaw that ithad beenlined withfeathers.

I first found the nest on 11th May 2009 whentwo Great Crested Grebe at a Breckland site inSuffolk occupied it. It was a typical Great CrestedGrebe’s nest built of vegetation and attached tothe base of a tree standing in water. On my nextvisit on 19th May, both adults were away fromthe nest and one of the adults had two smallyoung sitting on its back. However, when Ichecked the nest site that I’d previously found tosee whether these birds had used that nest, Ifound a female Pochard1 sitting very low in it,

only just visible above the top of the nest. Onfour subsequent visits, the female remainedsitting on the nest, until 20th June when afemale and two small young were found nearthe nest, which was now unoccupied.

Unusual nesting behaviourPochards are rare breeding birds2. I viewed thenest from a distance during the nesting periodand subsequently completed a partial BTO nestrecord. The nest contents were not examinedand so it is not possible to say how many eggswere present at any given time or precisely whatthe overall productivity of the nest was. Thatsaid, after leaving the nest, the young continuedto grow and were found to be fully grown on29th July. The female and two juveniles were lastseen at this site in early August.

In 2011, I found a female Pochard making abreeding attempt at the same site in similarcircumstances. This time a recently vacatedCoot’s nest was used. This nest had originallybeen made in the branches of a tree at waterlevel on a small island and was partially hidden.A female Pochard was seen sitting on the neston 1st June and, as in the previous case, wassitting very low in it and was only just visibleabove the nest’s top. However, on 9th June thenest appeared to be unoccupied and by 15thJune had been destroyed. As in 2009, the nest

1 Pochards have bred in Breckland sites in Suffolk since the 1950’s but have declined in recent years. In 2009 broods were located at threeBreckland sites, while in 2010 at just one. 2 The BB's 2010 Rare Breeding Bird report states that the UK five-year mean was 632 pairs.

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Roy Marsh

Suffolk BINS – ‘Witha Spring in our step?’

Now the cold winter period isseemingly forgotten, it’s time to

reflect upon the spring. But was it a‘Hot Spell’ or more of a ‘Damp Squib’?

One thing was for sure, as we moved throughmid/late March, temperatures were soaring tothe dizzy heights of twenty degrees, and with afew early migrants on the move all of us hopedthe scene was set for a cracking period. But howwas it in reality?

Suffolk, still delivering? . . .March – We ended my last report with a GlossyIbis remaining at Minsmere. This visitor continuedto please at Eastbridge and, at times, provided

some cracking views, as did the secondGreenland White-front at Boyton (both remainingthroughout the month), whilst the Red-breastedGoose stayed until the 9th on Kirton Marsh. AHoopoe was discovered on the 14th and wasagain present on the 15th at Brooke IndustrialEstate, Lowestoft, probably the overwinteringindividual from 1st January with it or anotherseen along the Gorleston Road on the 28th. AHooded Crow was found at Boyton on the 11th,giving many a chance to connect through untilthe 20th, a couple of Ravens were notedthroughout the month, with a drake Green-winged Teal discovered at Minsmere on the 25th,and seen again on the levels on the 28th makingup the month’s highlights.

Other March Highlights: The Great Grey Shrikecontinues to perform at Layham, Rough-leggedBuzzard over Stutton Mill, Black Brant on Orwellestuary and Great White Egret at Minsmere on6th. A Yellow-browed Warbler was reported fromthe ravine, Lowestoft on the 12th, two Common

was viewed from a distance and so the nestcontents on the first two visits remain unknown.

According to BWP, Pochard nest in dense reedsand vegetation either very close to water oron platforms built up in water. In high breedingdensities, there have been instances where nestsites have been found on small pools as wellas man made water bodies such as reservoirs,ornamental ponds and fishponds. The nest ismade of reed stems, leaves and other vegetation,and the shallow cup made in it is then lined withdown. The female uses material within reach ofthe nest to make it and the movement of thefemale’s body moulds the cup.

One-off, or a new trend?There is no mention in BWP of nests of otherspecies being used by Pochard. I have contactedCarl Barimore at the Nest Record Scheme at theBTO, to see if this breeding behaviour has beennoted before. He in turn has made contact withthe country’s most prolific Pochard nest recorderwho records about ten nests annually and also

posted a request on the Nest Record SchemeYahoo forum for more information aboutPochard using nests of other species, but noinformation concerning any other suchbreeding attempts has been forthcoming.

The Pochard is a secretive breeder. Thebreeding information in BWP is sparse incomparison with other species and sopresumably much remains unknown.

Given my experience it would be worthwhilekeeping an eye on the nests of species suchas Great Crested Grebes and Coots, after theirnesting attempt has finished, at sites whichare frequented by Pochard to see if theybecome occupied by this species, in casethis behaviour is replicated elsewhere.

References:Cramp & Perrins ‘The Birds of the Western Palearctic’ Vol. 1, 1977S.H. Piotrowski ‘The Birds of Suffolk’ Christopher Helm, London 2003Suffolk Birds reports 2009 and 2010

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Crane over Covehithe 21st, good numbers ofCrossbills remained at Hollesley, providingstunning views, with a smattering of earlycommon migrants and three additional GreatGrey Shrikes concluding the month’s recap.

(No) Surprise surprises then? . . .April – A Penduline Tit was heard briefly byIsland Mere, Minsmere on the 6th, with thehighlight of the month being the 28th and 29thwith the two White Storks noted on marshes atDagmate Lane, near Acle, and an Alpine Swiftaround the grain silo near ASDA. The 24thprovided a day of possibles – with a possibleAlpine Swift noted at Minsmere, and a possibleLittle Bunting seen very briefly at Landguard BirdObservatory (LBO) before flying south. LBO didcome up trumps on the 10th, with a male Serinsinging and seen in the Holm Oaks, then on the30th a female Serin was found on the commonand remained until early June at least, while amale Serin was also noted at the Denes Oval onthe 11th – 12th.

Other April Highlights: Four Common Cranes werenoted over Orfordness and then Lowestoft on the1st, Great Grey Shrikes remained at Carlton &Hollesley, with the Glossy Ibis continuing toperform well at Eastbridge till 13th. A HoodedCrow was noted displaying over Town Marshes,Southwold on the 3rd, then one at Ness Point onthe 8th. A Rough-legged Buzzard was seen overBenacre on the 16th. The 25th saw a report of aRoseate Tern from Minsmere concluding whatwas, in the main, a very quiet month for theCounty. Surely things would improve?

May-be or May-be not? . . .May – May proved to be a bit more like it! Bird ofthe spring for many, and a possible contender forbird of the year, was the cracking summerplumage Long-billed Dowitcher – a fifth for thecounty, found at Great Livermere on the eveningof the 4th, but only remained until the 5th. ATawny Pipit was present mid pm – evening onlyon the 6th at LBO, two Black-winged Stilts wereheard over Minsmere on the 7th before beinglocated on the levels where they showeddistantly for the day. A White Stork was on rooftops in Sudbury on the 10th only; a Savi’s

Warbler was heard singing at Dingle on the 12th;an aberrant Common Swift initially causing apanic as it distantly displayed a white rump; twoRed-rumped Swallows were seen over pools justsouth of the Abbey at Minsmere mid-morning,and a single bird noted early morning at EastLane on the 13th. Female Serin on the Icky ridgeat LBO was noted on the 14th, possibly the samebird remaining into June?

The 26th was the purple day of May, with LBOproducing a Greenish and Marsh Warbler, bothtrapped and ringed, a further Marsh Warbler wason Orfordness, and a singing Icterine Warbler wasfound along the disused railway track, Corton,plus a male Pied Flycatcher. A Marsh Warbler wasnoted at Boyton on 27th, plus Honey Buzzardthrough Sizewell, while a further Marsh Warbler,was singing and showing well at Great Livermerefrom 28th to 29th. The 28th also saw five Bee-eaters north over Minsmere at 05:30 with thefirst-ever Dutch re-trap of a Marsh Warbler,discovered in the nets at LBO that day too. The28th also saw Purple Heron over Lakenheath andfour White Storks that evening. A Red-footedFalcon was reported from Elmswell on 28th, andseen again on the 29th. Also on the 29th twoGlossy Ibis were noted at North Warren in theafternoon then, presumably the same birds,roosting at Minsmere in the evening, while LBOtrapped its 3rd Marsh Warbler in four days! ARed-footed Falcon was found at Minsmere on the30th and remained through to 31st at least, asdid the two Glossy Ibis on the levels, making upthe May highlights.

Other May Highlights: A Hoopoe was at ShingleStreet in the evening of the 2nd, Serin heard onlyearly morning at the Customs House, Felixstoweon the 5th, with a ring-tailed Monty’s notednorth at LBO on the 10th, and one overOrfordness on the 7th. A cracking singing WoodWarbler was found on Sutton Heath on the 10thand continued to sing and show well through toJune at least. The 11th proved a good day, withLBO producing Red-rumped Swallow, WoodWarbler, singing Serin, plus 11 SpottedFlycatchers on site, with Montagu’s Harrier and

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Down river disturbed by wildfowlersThe 11 members met at Ramsholt quay, wherewe first boarded a skiff to take us out to the boatmoored mid-channel. The plan was to headdown river as the tide was low, before retracingour route and continuing up to Woodbridge asthe tide rose.

Initially lots of waders were noted along theshore including Avocet, Dunlin, Grey Plover,Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew, a few Black-tailed Godwit and a good number of Bar-tailedGodwit, including a flock of 30. Duck numbersseemed lower than the previous trip with someTeal, Mallard and Wigeon seen, the reasonbecame clear when, opposite Falkenham Creek,a punt boat was seen and two wildfowlers werenoted on the saltmarsh. We carried ontoFelixstowe Ferry noting a large flock of BrentGeese fly up from the adjacent farmland alongwith a group of Lapwings plus accompanyingGolden Plover and we saw the first of at leastthree Grey Seals. At the Ferry we went out to themouth of the river noting a few different gullspecies, Cormorant and Turnstone.

Then back up riverWe then headed back up river, this time seeing aMarsh Harrier and Buzzard just before reachingRamsholt and, on the next stretch up to KirtonCreek, a couple of ducks were found aheadwhich turned out to be two female CommonScoter. We were surprised to see these moremaritime ducks, which flew up river as weapproached. Similar duck and wader species as

Field Trip ReportsGi Grieco

Deben Boat TripFebruary 15thLeader: Gi Grieco

After successfully completing thisboat trip three years previously, and

then being asked if it could be doneagain, I contacted Richard, the skipperof the Will Laud, to organise a repeatwinter trip. He normally runs trips in thesummer, but we wanted to optimise theriver trip for when it is most productivewith its wintering waders and wildfowl.

14 THE HARR I ER – J u l y 2012

Honey Buzzard through Minsmere and StoneCurlew noted in cliff top fields at Corton. ThreeTemminck’s Stints showed very well at Tinkerson the 20th, with Red-backed Shrike noted atDunwich on 22nd. A probable 1st summer RosyStarling was seen briefly at LBO on 25th and aGreat White Egret noted at Burgh Castle on 29th.

So as we look forward to a sultry summer period(if only I hear you cry), and the exciting autumnperiod just around the corner – let us hope for anoddity or two! Please also let me remind you tosubmit those all-important records via your area

recorders, including the completion of any SORCforms for the county rarities, and BBRC forms forany national rarities.

As always, I want to pass on my thanks to ourBINS members for their tremendous ongoingefforts, and helping to provide Suffolk with afantastic service. For SOG members wanting toenjoy daily updates, superb photography andmuch more, visit Suffolk BINS at:http://www.freewebs.com/suffolkbirding/

Editor: And don’t forget BirdTrack!

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before were seen along the shore as we passedShottisham Creek and we started to see our firstLittle and Great Crested Grebes. The CommonScoter could be seen flying ahead and, havingmy patch on the Deben that goes down toWaldringfield, I was hoping they would reach there.

Time for a break, Richard offered us either acup of tea, coffee or cup of soup, which waswelcome as the temperature was low and theforecast sun never materialised! As a treat I hadbrought a couple of packs of hot cross buns togo with the drinks, and it was remarked that itwould set a precedent for all leaders in thefuture to follow suit!

We had noted the two wildfowlers again alsoheading up river on the far shore and were worriedthey would shoot or scare any of the birds. AtWaldringfield we saw the Scoter again, a nicepatch tick for me – honestly we did not flush themthere! We also saw eight Goldeneye includingthree males. Earlier in the winter some Twite hadbeen present on the island off Waldringfield butunfortunately we could not find any.

Carrying on up to Methersgate we spotted lotsof wildfowl, including several Pintail and Shelduckand a further Buzzard. Opposite Kyson Point wecould go no further as the tide was not high

enough and the boat would be grounded – it wasgetting close! The on-board sonar could gaugethe depth and pinpoint fish, which Richard pointedout in this case were Grey Mullet and Herring.Some further Golden Plover were noted here andso we headed back down to Ramsholt againseeing small groups of Little Grebe. The CommonScoter were again seen, this time off Kirton Creek.As Richard ferried us ashore we thanked him foran enjoyable trip and the hot drinks.

On to East LaneWe decided to end the day by heading to EastLane, stopping en route to have a look at a finchflock I’d seen earlier in the morning. We noted aflock of Linnet and Chaffinch and saw severalRed-legged Partridge. On the opposite side of theroad a quartering female Marsh Harrier was seenand I was lucky to briefly see a ring-tail Hen Harrierbefore it disappeared below a rise. At East Laneseveral ducks could be seen on the sea that turnedout to be a mixture of Wigeon, Tufted Duck andMallard. Along the shore beyond the lagoons ourquarry of Snow Bunting was found, with a niceflock of nine showing well. Returning along thefootpath a good count of 50 Mute Swans in theadjacent field ended a pleasant day. My thanksto all the members who attended and to Richardand, maybe next time, I will have to do two trips,as there were a few members on a waiting list.

Steve Fryett

Shingle Street &Upper HollesleyCommonApril 21stLeader: Steve Fryett

Predictably the weather remainedentrenched in a cold south-easterly,

which had set in during the previousweek, but none the less we expectedto see some migrants.

We kicked off with a flurry ofraptors, with at least five or moreCommon Buzzards seen overHollesley. A pair of Meadow Pipitswas noted with food for an earlybrood. Always worth a note,although still common here,are Linnets with the males insplendid plumage and song.

William Wordsworth argued that thesong of the Linnet provides morewisdom than books in the thirdverse of The Tables Turned . . .

“Books! tis a dull and endless strife.Come, hear the woodland Linnet.How sweet his music! on my life.There’s more of wisdom in it.”

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Gi Grieco

Lackford &Lakenheath May 20thLeaders: Gi Grieco and Dave Pearson

Arriving at Lakenheath, despite itbeing blustery and cold, it was

hoped that the viewing would be betterthan last year, when the very windyconditions had made birding difficultand the birds scarce.

We welcomed new member Stef and a group of11 of us headed to the wash where a couple of

Common Terns were hunting with Great CrestedGrebe noted amongst the vegetation. An excitedshout from one of the leaders of an Otter in thewater was a bit too keen, as it turned out to bespawning fish!

Crane careOne of the wardens came up to us and spokeabout one of the pairs of crane present this yearthat are visible from the footpath. Due to beingdistracted as people walk past and making theyoung vulnerable from predators like fox, wewere asked to minimise viewing times, withwhich we completely agreed.

We started along the footpath adjacent to therailway line and it was noticeable that theweather conditions were keeping small birdsdown with Whitethroat and Garden, Reed andSedge Warblers present in low numbers. Weheard our first Cuckoo, which we got good views

The raptors continued with an excellent showingfrom a male Hen Harrier hunting at ground levelbefore rising up high in the sky to be joined bytwo Common Buzzards. Not long after this weencountered a female Hen Harrier hunting thesouth end of Oxley Marsh. Two individuals hadbeen overwintering in the area and must havebeen due to leave any day. A single NorthernWheatear was located in the garden of ShingleStreet’s most southerly house to provide the firstmigrant passerine of the day.

Following a good skua passage during the weekwe only located a single Great Crested Grebe onthe sea. As we returned to the car park a loneSwallow added some excitement, as did theday's first butterfly, a male Orange Tip. At theCoastguard cottages we saw five Common Sealson the spit at the mouth of the river with anotherGreat Crested Grebe nearby.

Then onto HollesleyWe then headed for Upper Hollesley Commonwhere we took a lunch break with much warmerconditions. The first warbler noted was a singingChiffchaff in the car park. One often encountersRobins having territorial fights, but to see twomale Chaffinches having a right old scrap was

intriguing. A long distance sighting of a birdperched at the top of a dead tree was finallyaccepted as a Woodlark, but we really wouldhave preferred better views. Reaching the centrearea, where there remains a good stand ofpines, we noted considerable avian activity bothon the ground and in the trees. Eventually wemanaged to pick out several Redpoll, Siskin, andGoldfinch with a 70 strong flock of Linnets. Justhow many were not Linnets was difficult toassess and we could not be sure of havingoverlooked Crossbill.

Moving off, and skirting the cleared area, we hada brief glimpse of Firecrest that had also beenheard calling, but unfortunately it could not berelocated. The cleared area not only providesexcellent habitat for Woodlark, but the CommonLizard also like it. We noted one out for a sunbathbefore finding a pair of Woodlarks close byaffording fine views, we also noted a furthertwo singing. Willow Warbler was a typical findwith another singing close by. Treecreeper,Yellowhammer, Stonechat and Mistle Thrushmade up the rest of the species here. Once again,as we ended the meeting we did not recordDartford Warbler, however I am sure they continueto thrive in other parts of this excellent area.

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of later when a couple kept flying back and forthbetween plantations. In the same area we heardour first Golden Oriole but could not locate it. Wecarried on to the next plantation where a secondGolden Oriole could be heard and, with patience,especially as there were many people present,we all eventually had excellent views. With theswaying branches and their surprisingly crypticplumage it did take ‘Camo’ Chris quite a while toview it, even when the bird was lined up in ascope – hopefully he learned some tips oncamouflage!

Also in the area Hobby was seen, one of onlyfour we saw, when normally good numbersare viewable at this time of year. Not surprisingconsidering we did not see a single damsel/dragon/butterfly so we did wonder what theones we did see were feeding on. In the reedbeds nearby Bearded Tit were heard by a few butall got great views of a Bittern that flew by. At

the far point at Joist Fen good numbers of MarshHarrier were in the air and a Water Rail was heard.Heading back along the river path amongst agroup of Mute Swans was a single Whooper Swan.It turns out it had a damaged wing and so wasunable to migrate north for the summer.

Cranes glimpsedWe came to the point where the Cranes werevisible so we had a quick look at these wonderfulbirds before moving off, with some of the grouphaving good views of another Bittern as it flew by.Back to the wash and two male Garganey werenow viewable, although they had somehowdisappeared as we went further along and, by now,there were five Common Terns present. We hadlunch in the car park before moving on to Lackford.

And then on to LackfordNear the car park we heard a Nightingale singingand a Bullfinch was seen briefly. Over the sailinglake large numbers of hirundines and Swifts and,along one edge, a couple of hunting Hobbies. AtBill’s Hide there were a selection of ducks andgeese including Pochard, Gadwall and TuftedDuck along with Canada Geese with goslings,and a Muntjac was noted on the far shore. Aninteresting sight was a big patch of a bracketfungus on the trunk of Willow. This was identifiedas ‘Chicken of the wood’.

The group agreed that it was an excellent daywith great views of some of Suffolk’s special birds.

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Editor: Now, back to the River Deben with an interesting view from the bank.

Nick Sibbett

Feeding the swansmay enhance waderforaging

The Deben Estuary is a European-designated Special Protection Areafor the vast numbers of waterbirds itsupports, especially in winter. At

Woodbridge, the estuary is adjacent toa popular and busy estuary-side walk,which offers easy views of waders.

The public, whilst not always appreciating thespecial nature of the estuary, enjoy the birdsand it is not unusual to see small children andaccompanying adults feeding bread to them.Approaching these waterbirds can be tricky;Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) tolerate a distancedown to 2 metres separation, whereas Redshank(Tringa totanus) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina) rarelyventure within 5m – 10m of humans.

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Mute swans impact on feedingThe most common species to eat the bread areMute Swan (Cygnus olor) and Black-headed Gull(Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Mute Swans walkfrom the water’s edge across intertidal mud tobe fed, leaving a trail of footprints in this mud.Whereas Black-headed Gulls eat bread from themud, water or, when it is airborne, after beingthrown. While Turnstones are regularly seeneating bread and foraging close to the concreteestuary wall, where they normally seekinvertebrates – especially when the larger birdsare temporarily not present in abundance.On 19th December 2011, a Redshank appearedto be benefitting from members of the publicearlier feeding Mute Swans. This Redshank, outof a group of six, was clearly using the MuteSwans’ footprints in the mud leading to and fromthe water’s edge. It walked along one track of

footprints, probing with its long bill into eachindividual footprint and not into the adjacent mud.This behaviour continued for several minutes.

Redshank – reaching the parts others could notIt was not clear if foraging in swan footprintsbenefitted the Redshank with a greater rate ofprey intake than other Redshanks foraging closeby. It is tempting to speculate that the 2 – 3mmdepression of each swan footprint meant that thisRedshank could probe just that little bit deeper toreach the worms that other birds could not reach1.

Although some birdwatchers may feeluncomfortable with the Deben Estuary being usedfor the rather urban activity of ‘feeding the birds’,it appears that at least part of the internationallyimportant bird populations also benefit from thisactivity – admittedly to a very minor extent.

1 Proof-reader observation: Or, as occurs with Little Egrets’ paddling, had the pressure encouraged worms higher?

Clive Collins

What’s in a name?i. Place names:

More on Suffolk place names

Adam Gretton’s suggestion re YarnHill in Harrier #167 prompted me

to go back to consult the ‘Bible’ – “ThePlace-names of Suffolk” by ProfessorWalter Skeat, published posthumouslyin 1913, for a further look.

He makes no mention of Yarn Hill, but I suspectthat Adam is probably correct. A couple ofadditional bird-related place names alsoemerged from this foray. Skeat identifies Spexhallas “corner of land frequented by woodpeckers”from the Old English “speight” for woodpecker(the modern German is “Specht”) and alsosuggests Falkenham as an “enclosure for falcons”(presumably used to train them to return to thelure) and Ramsholt as a derivation from the OldEnglish “hraem’s holt” – raven’s wood. This last

would be significant, as it represents anotherspecies that has disappeared from our county asa breeding bird1. Hawkedon is from “hawk”, hesays, but as a personal name, which apparentlywas quite common among Norse settlers. And,finally, he dismisses Finborough as a derivationfrom the Old English “fina”, meaning woodpecker,as I had claimed, and says its origin is “fin” – aheap, or burial mound, a hypothesis supported bythe nearby prehistoric tumulus known locally as“Devil’s Hill”. “Fina” for woodpecker is found inOld English, so remains a possibility.

And Mark Cocker might like to know that Cockfieldis named after an Anglo-Saxon called “Cocca”!

ii. Birds’ names:

Puzzling translations

The problem with English-languagebird names extends beyond theEnglish-speaking world, as anyone whohas birded on the Continent has possiblydiscovered. Don’t try just translating theEnglish name into another Europeanlanguage, or confusion can arise.

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1 Though it does appear recently to be returning to this region, albeit slowly. 2 Proof-reader observation: This dialect variation is stillpreserved in the US species name Mew Gull (Larus canus, i.e. what we call the Common Gull).

For example, in France a Bee-eater doesn’t eatbees; it is a “Guêpier” – a wasper. And a Honey-buzzard doesn’t eat honey; it too eats wasps, inDutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Hungarianand Russian; but in French, Spanish, Italian,Swedish, Icelandic, Finnish, Czech and Greek iteats bees.

With gulls it is even worse, because thetranslated English name often refers to acompletely different species. The MediterraneanGull in most European languages is the Black-headed Gull: Mouette mélanocéphale;Zvartkopmeeuw; Schwarzkopfmöwe; Gaviotacabacinegra, Svarthuvad mås – as is the scientific

name Larus melanocephalus. But the Black-headedGull in French is the Laughing Gull – Mouetterieuse – as it is in German – Lachmöwe. Moreovera German Heringsmöwe is not a Herring Gull, buta Lesser Black-backed Gull. For Herring Gull thinksilver: Goéland argenté, Silbermöwe, Zilvermeeuw,Gaviota argentea. “Gull”, incidentally, is the onlyEnglish bird-name that has entered modernEnglish from the old Cornish Gaelic language,displacing the Anglo-Saxon (and commonGermanic) “mew”12 sometime in the MiddleAges, which survives now only as an elementof “Fulmar” – the foul mew, so-called from itscharming habit of regurgitating the contents ofits stomach at anything that disturbs it on the nest.

Philip Murphy

Looking back– April to June 1962 and 1987

Selected highlights from the 1962and 1987 Suffolk Bird reports for the

period April to June.

50 years agoThe 1962 breeding season produced somefascinating observations. Minsmere, perhapsnot surprisingly, hosted several notable species;particularly noteworthy were the county’s onlybreeding Marsh Harriers with three nests producingup to ten young, one, possibly two, pairs ofGarganey, a pair of Stone Curlews which failed tobreed because of disturbance by birdwatchers,two pairs of Common Terns which bred on anartificial island on the Scrape (the first recordedinstance of such behaviour at Minsmere), and apair of Montagu’s Harriers on site, 10th to 22ndJune which raised expectations but failed tobreed, and as many as 35 Cuckoos, 30th May.

Havergate specialitiesElsewhere, Havergate remained the sole Britishbreeding site for Avocets with 77 pairs, although

only 25 young fledged; theisland also hosted as manyas 800 pairs of SandwichTerns, the highest totalsince the species firstcolonised the site in 1951. Up tofour Stone Curlews were in theHavergate/Orfordness area fromlate April to June, but with noproven breeding. Havergate wasalso Suffolk’s only site to hostbreeding Short-eared Owls with threepairs being located.

It was the fifth consecutive year that Kittiwakeshad bred on the South Pier Pavilion at Lowestoft.However, inclement weather in the summer of1962 and “the inadequacy of the nesting-ledge”resulted in only three juveniles being fledged.

An early Red-backed Shrike was at Minsmere,1st May – an overall total of 35 pairs werelocated at four coastal sites, with 12 – 20 pairs“known on Breck”.

Coypu problemThe presence of Coypu in our coastal reedbedswas having a detrimental effect on at least twospecies; we read of Little Grebe that “breedingnumbers at Minsmere were down from 12 pairs

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to three, probably due to destruction of nests byCoypu”. Further up the coast at Walberswick, theMarsh Harrier was described as being a recentlylost breeding species “presumably as a result ofthe coypu invasion”.

How times change!Also on the breeding scene we read of theCollared Dove that it “continues to spread andincrease along the coast but there is very littleevidence that it is spreading inland”. As a resultof dry, cold and sunless conditions during Mayand June, breeding results of most insectivorousspecies were very poor – “many observersreported broods of thrushes and blackbirds, tits,robins, wrens, swallows, hedge-sparrows andlarks being found dead in the nest apparentlyfrom lack of food”.

Laggard winter birds at Minsmere includedWhooper Swan, 4th April, Bewick’s Swan, 8thApril, Rough-legged Buzzard, 22nd April and HenHarrier, 19th May. What was possibly the sameHooded Crow was noted on 2nd June at Havergateand 10th June at Minsmere where it remaineduntil 4th July “when bird was shot by keeper”.

Lord Tollemache recorded a Hoopoe atHelmingham “for a few days in April”, andanother was on Orfordness in early June. AWryneck at Minsmere, 22nd April was,remarkably, the year’s only record – just sixyears before, in 1956, up to ten pairs had bredin Suffolk. A male Red-spotted Bluethroat wasseen and heard singing in an Aldeburgh garden,5th May. The period’s only national rarity wasa Caspian Tern on 6th June at Minsmere, thesecond site record following one there in July1961. As many as five Roseate Terns were atMinsmere, 21st and 24th June.

Spring wader passage was mediocre. The mostunexpected sighting was of about 120 Bar-tailedGodwits heading ENE over Risby, BurySt.Edmunds, 29th April on which date 116 (thesame birds?) were on Breydon Water. SingleKentish Plovers were on Havergate, 22nd Apriland 1st June, and up to two at Walberswick, 26thto 28th April. Whimbrel passage peaked on 14thMay when 100 were on Havergate, where alsoup to four Little Stints were present, 14th to 28th

May. The year’s only Temminck’s Stint was seenat Minsmere, 9th and 10th May. As many as sixWood Sandpipers at Walberswick, 26th Junewere probably early autumn birds.

Sea-watchers at Minsmere, 7th April, must havebeen somewhat surprised to observe a Bitternflying north at least a kilometre offshore.

A strong southerly passage of Linnets is a featureof spring in Suffolk; in 1962 it peakedspectacularly on 20th April when it wasestimated that at least 12,000, still the county’srecord day-total, flew south over Minsmere.

But some things don’t changeSome aspects of ornithology have not changed in50 years; single Red-headed Buntings were atLakenheath, 13th April and Walberswick, 29thMay but we read that “All examples of thisspecies are of course suspect as possible‘escapes’” – this situation remains unchangedhalf a century later.

25 years agoBirding in Suffolk stepped up a gear in 1987 withincreased effort, particularly at Landguard andthe county’s principal seawatching sites, resultingin a wealth of outstanding observations. In hiseditorial, Steve Piotrowski wrote, “ornithologistswere treated to a spectacular avian display,which almost spanned the year.”

A long-overdue addition to the Suffolk listoccurred during this period when a Red-rumpedSwallow was found perched on telephone wiresat the Eel’s Foot Inn, Eastbridge on 21st April –four more were to be located in late autumn.Additional outstanding sightings in April includedAlpine Swift, Minsmere, 18th (at the time, theearliest-ever in Suffolk), Bluethroats on 5th atMinsmere (male White-spotted) and Havergate,Suffolk’s earliest-ever Golden Oriole, Badley, 19thand two male Ortolan Buntings, Lowestoft, 30thApril to 9th May.

May’s principal reports were of a Broad-billedSandpiper, Walberswick, 29th to 1st June, and aCaspian Tern, 8th to 11th at Minsmere, while inJune birders were treated to a third-year NightHeron, Holbrook, 14th to 21st, Gull-billed Tern

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north off Benacre, 24th and a Bee-eater overCovehithe Cliffs, 14th.

Warblers were the star attraction at Landguard inlate spring with Suffolk’s second record of MarshWarbler, 9th and 10th June, second SubalpineWarbler, 8th to 10th June and second springrecord of Barred Warbler, 30th May to 1st June –Suffolk’s first spring record of Barred Warbleroccurred at Minsmere on 22nd May 1960.

Winter laggardsThere were several unexpected sightings ofspecies more typically associated with the wintermonths. These included Bewick’s Swan, Benacre,2nd to 11th May, “redhead“ Smew, Flatford, to28th May, Purple Sandpiper, Landguard, 5th June,Rough-legged Buzzard, Ashby/Fritton, 22nd to26th June and, perhaps most remarkably, a ShoreLark at Lowestoft, 4th June – not surprisingly, thisremains as Suffolk’s sole June record of ShoreLark. In addition, a Fieldfare was trapped atSizewell, 28th June and single Redwings were atMinsmere, 13th June and “an inland site”(singing male), 14th June.

It was also an excellent breeding season. Fulmarsincreased to ten pairs at Bawdsey Cliffs, althoughonly five young were reared, but the Bitternpopulation declined further to only ten“boomers”. A pair of Pintail almost certainly bredat one site and 35 Marsh Harrier juvenilesfledged from 13 nests. Two pairs of Goshawksbred – one nest was robbed by falconers/egg-collectors but three young were reared from thesecond nest.

It was the best year for Quail since 1964 withreports of 35 calling birds and at least six singingSpotted Crakes were located.

WadersBreeding waders included four pairs ofOystercatchers in the Breck, the first-everbreeding records in west Suffolk. There were 50pairs of Stone Curlews in the Breck but only oneon the coast, 25 pairs of Little Ringed Plovers atnine sites, an overall total of 40 “roding”Woodcock, “lekking” Ruff at one site and up tofive pairs of Black-tailed Godwits on the coast. Upto 20 pairs of Common Snipe were recorded and

we read that “if this is anything like a trueassessment there is serious cause for concern.”

Gulls and terns also had an excellent season withas many as 350 pairs of Little Terns that reared atleast 162 young (133 pairs and 15 young in2010), 200 pairs of Sandwich Terns on Havergate(none in 2010) and a record total, at the time, of142 juvenile Kittiwakes reared at Lowestoft.

Chats and redstarts are struggling in the 21stcentury but fared well in 1987. Impressive totalsof breeding pairs included 15 Black Redstarts, 43Common Redstarts, 20 Whinchats (two on coast)and 18 Wheatears (six on coast). The first-everinstance of over-summering by Ring Ouzels inSuffolk involved one at Minsmere from 18th Juneonwards into the autumn – a second bird joinedit on 19th June, but there was no evidence of anesting attempt.

Stone Curlewnumbers up,yet “only oneon the coast”

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Paul Gowen

SOG AGMMinutes of the AGM for theSuffolk Ornithologists’ Group

16 February 2012 held at IpswichHoliday Inn

Welcome from the AGM ChairmanThe President (Steve Piotrowski) offered a verywarm welcome to the 40 members attendingthe AGM.

ApologiesThese were received from Jean Garrod, KenGarrod and Phil Whittaker.

Minutes of the 2011 AGMThe President explained the 2011 AGM Minuteshad not been published in The Harrier during2011, however, SOG Council had certified theiraccuracy and a copy was available for members’

inspection if desired. There were no mattersarising from the Minutes and those presentapproved these.

Chairman’s ReportThe Chairman [Roy Marsh] reported that Councilhad met four times during 2011; there had beena full programme of indoor and outdoor eventswith a new joint meeting with Waveney BirdClub arranged for 2012. Four editions of the new-style Harrier had been published; the new Editor[Phil Brown] was thanked for his efforts. Thewebsite continued to be maintained andenhanced by Gi Grieco. The Suffolk Bird reporthad been produced again on time and the Editor[Nick Mason] was congratulated on the highstandard of the publication. The Chairmanreported that The Harrier had again been used asa communications tool for SORC and that BINScontinued to have strong links with SOG. TheTreasurer [Bill Stone] was to be congratulated onthe recovery of monies from the Gift AidScheme; this had involved much hard work butwas most important to the Group’s finances. JeanGarrod was thanked for her continued efforts inorganising the outdoor events and the field trip

Warblers’ mixed fortunesJanuary’s severe weather was presumablyresponsible for there being no breeding seasonrecords of Cetti’s Warbler at any of the species’former breeding sites. However, in the summermonths the coastal reedbeds hosted four reelingSavi’s Warblers and across the county there werereports of 49 reeling Grasshopper Warblers.

The Lakenheath poplars attracted six singingmale Golden Orioles but only two pairs bredsuccessfully at this site; however, a pair bredsuccessfully at a second site rearing threejuveniles. A pair of Red-backed Shrikes bredunsuccessfully at an undisclosed site, but manyof Suffolk’s birders were attracted to a well-publicised pair just across the county boundaryfrom Santon Downham at St.Helen’s Well. Anunprecedented discovery involved a pair of Serinat a potential breeding site in Mildenhall butthere was no known nesting attempt. Willow Titswere present at 20 potential breeding sites of

which at least five were on the coast, whereas in2010 none was located.

Waders’ passageIn amongst all of the above highlights there wasalso a wader passage, of which the principalfeatures were as many as 71 Ruff, Walberswick,16th April, two early Dotterels, Benacre, 21stApril and a trip of 12 Dotterels inland atIcklingham, 11th May – this latter gatheringwas the largest in Suffolk since August 1967when 14 were found on Orfordness.

Two of the most unexpected sightings involved aManx Shearwater and a Bittern. The shearwaterwas found “wrecked” on 22nd June inland atHaverhill where it subsequently died. The Bitternwas found on the Esbjerg to Harwich ferry on30th June, about 250 kilometres north-east ofFelixstowe; it was an aggressive individual andupon leaving the ship flew off in the generaldirection of Orfordness.

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leaders were also thanked. Thanks were alsogiven to Jean & Richard Attenborrow for theirsmooth handling of the enveloping and postingof The Harrier each quarter. SOG had recentlyrequested funds from SNS for display equipmentand a laptop & projector. Thanks were given toBill Baston for the kind loan of his projector atthe indoor meetings.

Roy finally thanked all Council Members forenduring some late meeting finishes as theCouncil had tackled a significant number of tasksduring his first year in office.

Officers ReportsProjects Officer [Mick Wright] thanked all thosemembers who had participated in the surveysduring 2011. All 1100 tetrads had been coveredfor the BTO Atlas, which was a wonderfulachievement for the county. A plea was made fornew volunteers for the estuary counts as manyof the current surveyors had completed morethan 20 years each and were “dying on theirfeet”. The Nightingale survey in 2012 will cover300 tetrads [the largest of all counties] andwould involve nighttimes visits, again volunteerswere sought.

Presentation of AccountsThe Treasurer [Bill Stone] presented the SOGAccounts for 2011 that had been audited as usualby Jean Attenborrow. A copy of the Accounts wasdistributed to all present and showed a balanceof £1449 at the year’s-end; this was similar tothe previous year. The significant figures on theexpenditure included monies spent on [a]printing The Harrier, [b] printing the members’questionnaire, [c] printing of Gift Aid forms and[d] printing new car stickers. To balance out theadditional expenditure, in addition to the increasein subscription rates for 2011 a sum of £1343had been claimed in respect of Gift Aid moniesfor 2011 and previous years for which SOG wereentitled to. The Treasurer had worked closely withSNS to ensure that SOG received their fair shareof monies jointly claimed, 2012 would see anamended system of claiming Gift Aid which wouldamount to approximately £500 for the year.

The members present unanimously adopted theaccounts.

The members present unanimously agreed withthe Treasurer’s recommendation that no increasein the subscription rates be made in 2013.

The members present unanimously agreed toJean Attenborrow auditing the 2012 Accounts.

The President gave special thanks to Bill for hisunstinting efforts in recovering the Gift Aidmonies that are so important to an organisationsuch as SOG. It was also noted that the Treasurer[Bill Stone] would not be seeking re-election in2013 and a new Treasurer would need to berecruited as soon as possible.

Election of Council Officers and Members for 2012Steve explained that, in accordance with theSOG Constitution, Adam Gretton and Roger Walshwere required to stand down from Council havingcompleted their three-year terms of office. Adamand Roger were thanked for their contributionsto Council. Two nominations [Scott Mayson andCraig Fulcher] had been received to fill the twovacancies. With no other nominations receivedmembers present were asked to elect “en bloc”the following Council Members for 2012.

Council OfficersHonorary President Steve PiotrowskiChairman Roy MarshVice Chairman Steve Abbott Secretary Phil WhittakerTreasurer/ Membership Secretary Bill StoneMagazine Editor Phil BrownProjects Officer Mick WrightWebsite Coordinator Gi GriecoBird Report Editor Nick Mason

Council MembersPaul Gowen [to 2013], Jon Warnes [to 2013], Jean Garrod[to 2014], Robin Harvey [to 2014], Scott Mayson [to 2015],Craig Fulcher [to 2015]

The above Members were unanimously electedto the posts indicated.

Steve informed the meeting that it was Council’swish that Adam Gretton be co-opted to SOGCouncil in order that he may continue in his roleas Indoor Events Organiser, this would be enactedat the next meeting of Council.

There being no “Other Business” the AGM was

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Steve Piotrowski

Mick WrightA long history of endeavour

“I’ve been honoured to present theDenis Ockelton award for many

magnificent achievements made by SOGmembers for a number of years now,but it has always struck me that someof those who plod along, performingessential tasks for the Group, aresometimes overlooked. However, thisis certainly not the case this year.

I have known this year’s nominee, SOG’s ProjectOfficer Mick Wright, for over 40 years and, to mymind, no one in Suffolk has sacrificed so much oftheir life to further wildlife interests. Mick hasbeen seen at the forefront of the founding of anumber of institutions and has faithfully served asan officer for both local and national organisationsfor longer than I have known him.

Founding of Landguard ObservatoryI first met Mick at Landguard in the late 1970swhere he shared the position of voluntarywarden for SWT. The military had just vacated thesite and SOG members had a dream oftransforming those rundown wartime buildingsinto a bird observatory.

In 1982, we met one dark November evening inthe searchlight building, which was later used asa seawatching hide at Landguard Point, withMick, Derek Moore, Bill Last and RichardWoolnough. We drew up proposals under thelight of a Tilley Lamp and it was here thatLandguard Bird Observatory was founded.

Defending the environmentMick learnt his ringing skills at the observatoryand served a term as the Observatory’sChairman. The Bird Observatory hadn’t beengoing long before the threat of the habitatdestruction of Fagbury mudflats, by theexpansion of the Port of Felixstowe, loomed overus. Mick joined the campaign, which we titledOperation Redshank, or Orwell Under Threat(OUT), and we spent countless nights catching,and marking waders to add valuable data to helpour cause. There were numerous meetings atMick’s house and we tenaciously fought theParliamentary Bill in the House of Commons andThe Lords. However, we were all to learn justhow callous politics can be when Margaret

Editor: Steve Piotrowski’s speech delivered at SOG’s February AGM follows:

formally closed at 20.00 hrs.

The meeting concluded with a presentationand awards by members of the BINS team,presentation of the Denis Ockelton Trophy, ashort presentation of the BTO Atlas project byMick Wright, a brief summary of the SOGMembers’ Survey by Phil Brown and a two-partquiz conducted by Steve Abbott – the winnersbeing Adam Gretton [feathers] and JamesDavidson [sounds].

Denis Ockelton TrophySteve Piotrowski presented the Denis OckeltonTrophy (presented every year in memory ofSOG’s former Chairman Denis Ockelton) foroutstanding achievements in Suffolk Ornithologyto Mick Wright this year in recognition of hiscontribution to SOG and conservation in generalover the past 40 years.

February 2012

25THE HARR I ER – J u l y 2012

Peregrines confirmed (?)breeding in West Suffolk

Chris Gregory writes:I now feel this is an appropriate moment for thisinformation to be made available to the widerbirding fraternity.

News A small team wereinvolved in thisproject, all SOGmembers – namelymyself, Simon Evansand Steve Piotrowski.Simon, being an ex-employee of ‘themajor company’concerned, ledthe negotiations

Thatcher’s Government duly passed the Bill. Ascompensation conservationists were to receiveTrimley Marshes Nature Reserve.

BTO Rep for over 20 yearsDuring the mid-1980s, we decided that SOGshould focus our own projects on those chosenby the BTO. To help with this aim, Mick wasasked if he would take on the role of ProjectsOfficer for SOG and BTO Rep for Suffolk. Mickagreed and initially managed the BTO Rep role in partnership with his close friend Ray Waters.Sadly, Ray passed away at a relatively young agein the early 1990s and Mick has carried on as thesole BTO Rep for Suffolk ever since.

On the OrwellAlso in the 1980s, an opportunity arose for Mickto leave his engineering job at Ransomes (whichincidentally he hated) and to take up a newcareer in conservation, working for SWT as theSite Manager for the new nature reserve atTrimley Marshes. There couldn’t have been amore fitting appointment than Mick for this job,but he was forced to make some tremendoussacrifices. The salary being offered was pitifuland I remember discussing this with him.However, Mick had just paid up his mortgage onhis home and he was determined to make thesacrifices that would enable him to do the job,but still provide for his family. I can only admiresuch dedication.

Mick is a quiet man and very humble, often notwishing to be in the limelight. He has lived in

Ipswich all his life and married his schoolsweetheart Lynn when they were bothteenagers. They have shared a home togetherever since and Lynn has provided Mick withtremendous support throughout over 40 yearsof married life.

Mick and I together have been involved withmany campaigns in the interest of preservationof wildlife on the Orwell Estuary. SWT’s reserveat Levington Lagoon was once a rubbish tip andthere are a number of developers that have beentaken to task for carrying out operations illegallyon Mick’s beloved Estuary. Opposition to theproposed link road through Pipers Vale is oneof Mick’s recent victories. Mick spends countlesshours ringing waders on the Orwell, he has formany years organised WeBS counts, low-tidecounts, monitoring of bait-digging, litter picks –you name it, Mick has done it.

Worthy winnerTo my mind, the biggest coordinatedconservation survey ever taken place in theworld has been the BTO Atlas Project andMick has managed this for the BTO and for allSuffolk ornithologists. I dread to think of thenumber of letters, emails, meetings andtelephone calls that Mick has had to make toensure this project was a success – and what asuccess it has been.

It is for all of these reasons that I am proudto hand over the Denis Ockelton Trophy toMick Wright.”

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RSPB’s Discovery Centre opens

2012 has been an important year for the RSPBMinsmere reserve. Not only was its revampedand enlarged visitor centre re-opened in Marchbut, in early May shortly after school holidaybreak, an important additional Minsmere facilityopened to its first group of schoolchildren – theall new Discovery Centre.

These are the major two components of a twomillion pound Minsmere investment programme– the Discover Nature Project. And these twinassets will transform this site to everyone’sbenefit.

Both buildings boast impressive environmentalcredentials. In addition, as well as two largestate-of-the-art classrooms (white boards, a/vfacilities etc.), the Discovery Centre also providesan extensive Wild Zone in which children canplay, plus a Wild Wood Adventure area. Theseplay activities are designed to link directly tothe wildlife on the reserve and will also appealto families with young children who have fullaccess to them.

The value of this new facility is it allows thereserve to dedicate more effort to teaching allyoungsters, from key stage one, up to furthereducation, as well as more mature audiencestoo, without prejudicing the site’s bird watchingexperience. The visit potential for families hasalso been considerably improved. So these twindevelopments offer an all round win-win toeveryone visiting Minsmere.

and was instrumental in getting a nest-boxerected. The same group built this box thatproduce boxes for the Suffolk Community BarnOwl Project.

My involvement has mostly been the monitoringof the birds since the prospect of nesting firstarose in 2007. Prior to this we believe the sitewas purely used as a winter roost by Peregrines,probably involving single birds and notnecessarily on a regular basis. Simon, whoworked at the site between 1997 and 2007,certainly wasn’t aware of any regular sightingsuntil this last year.

Colin Jakes, the West Area Recorder, has beenmade aware from the outset of thesedevelopments on the site, along with a handfulof local birders. They all understand that, due tothe company’s tight security, they cannot go andopenly view the birds from within the site. Pastincidents with the site’s security officers havemeant we have been cautious about goingpublic. Now that we have, can we ask fellowornithologists to respect this situation and not totrespass as it could jeopardise the negotiationsfor the placement of a further nest box that arestill ongoing.

Lakenheath Cranes breeding– latestThe two pairs of Cranes returned to Lakenheathearlier in the year and both pairs have bred,producing one chick each. One pair did have twochicks, but in the last few weeks only a singlechick has been seen with these adults. While theother pair has not been seen for several weeks,their behaviour (or rather lack of significantalternative behaviour!) suggests that they stillhave a youngster with them! The team atLakenheath hope both pairs’ chicks willimminently fledge.

Editor: Chris has written an excellent and full overview ofthis project. Because of the space constraints placed onthis issue, we were unable to carry it. Instead the fullstory has been up-loaded onto the SOG websitewww.sogonline.org.uk and you can read it there.

SOG attends community event– Chantry Park Bio-Blitz

Saturday 16th June proved to be bright and VERYbreezy. By 10:00 six different local natureorganisations, including SOG, had descended onthe Park with their stands and displays not onlyto meet the public, but also to conduct a surveyof the site’s wildlife (in case you wondered whata Bio-Blitz was!).

The SOG team had opened the proceedings witha Dawn Chorus walk at 04:30, while the batgroup closed the day with a survey in the lateevening. In between mammals, flowers, birds (ofcourse), butterflies, moths and reptiles were alsolisted. In total approaching 700 species werelogged over the 20 hours or so.

SOG’s Bio-Blitz show stand, before being ‘destroyed’by the wind

27T H E H A R R I E R – J u l y 2 0 1 2

Craig Fulcher

September sponsored Bird Race

On September 15th the Group islaunching its inaugural autumn

sponsored bird watch.

As Phil Brown has mentioned in his editorial,finances are very tight for the Group at this time.To try and raise some additional funds and

Announcements

Other highlights during the day included a visitby the Lady Mayoress, a ‘fly-past’ by the RedArrows (actually they were on their way toLondon and the Jubilee festivities) and anextremely obliging Little Owl which, once locatedby SOG’s Gi Grieco, chose to hang around formost of the day and entertainthe public and wildlife experts alike.

Although the numbers of people passingthrough was less than we would have liked,the networking with other wildlife groups, theIpswich rangers and the Suffolk Biodiversity teamwas very useful. Also the SOG show stand with itsnew boards looked highly professional too – thatis until the wind blew it over!

ensure SOG continues to thrive, we would likeas many of you as possible to participate in thisfun event.

Your participation can take whatever form youwish, whether that be a couple of hourswatching your garden, a morning on your localpatch, or all day across the county! Either on yourown or with a few friends – all we ask is that youtake part and raise as much money as possible.

If you are unable to participate, or do not knowanyone to sponsor, then you can still donate ifyou wish, just send a cheque to our Treasurer

Whooo’sobserving theobservers?

28 T H E H A R R I E R – J u l y 2 0 1 2

Photos:Malcolm Ausden (page 4), Bill Baston (front cover & page 24); Jon Evans (page 4 & 5), Gi Grieco (page 27 & back cover); Crown copyright, RSPBlicence 100021787 (page 3); Mel Kemp (pages 4 & 5), Adam Rowlands (page 5 & 26), David Tomlinson (pages 8 & 9).Illustrations:Su Gough – pages 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 & 25.

made out to SOG, the address can be foundin the front of the Harrier.

The full details of the race can be found on ourwebsite. For those of us who will be out andabout competing on the day though, thesponsorship forms are downloadable from theSOG website, so let’s get out there and see somebirds and have some fun, be as green as possible(there’s a ‘Green’ category) and, mostimportantly, raise a few pennies too! Your help isgreatly appreciated!

Phil Whittaker

The Power of Twitter

We have been running a Twitter sitefor some time and it is proving to

be a powerful way of communicatingnews and providing a social networkfor Suffolk birdwatchers.

Now we have 279 followers and we arefollowing 416 tweeters. Just glancing for aminute at the twitter stream as I write this, thereare interesting and informative tweets from:New Forest Goshawks, BTO, Rutland Ospreys andSubbuteo Books. There is also plenty of ‘wit andwitticisms’ and much serious comment from awide range of local and national birders.

Twitter as a medium is proving very useful inmany campaigns of local and national interest tothe Suffolk bird watching community and SOG isincreasingly using it to lobby local and nationalgovernment and nation bodies such as Defra. Therecent successful campaign mounted throughTwitter, to which we contributed, against the tax-payer funded research project into controllingBuzzards, by that very organisation, is anexcellent example of the power of Twitter!

Join us at @suffolkbirds1. It’s all free!

Mick Wright

Estuary counts volunteers needed

You’ll have noted in the AGM Minutes thatthere was a plea for new volunteers for theestuary counts, as many of the current surveyorshad completed more than 20 years each andwere “dying on their feet”. If you’d like tohelp please contact Mick by emailingmicktwright@btinternet.com or phoning01473 721846.

Roy Marsh

Treasurer post

As was noted in the Editorial, aswell as in the AGM’s minutes, Bill

Stone who has operated as a superbTreasurer completes his three-yearterm at the end of 2012. So the Grouphas a vacancy for this Council positionfrom the beginning of our next financialyear in January 2013.

Bill tells me that overall it’s not that demanding arole. Typically it involves him in a couple of hourseach week, except at the beginning of the yearwhen the membership list needs to be re-compiledand the year’s accounts need to be signed off.

The skills needed include being an orderlyadministrator, some mathematical/ arithmeticalcompetence and, ideally, some confidence usingExcel. Naturally, if needed, Bill will be happy toshow you the ropes to begin with.

So why not submit an application?In the first instance you could emailinfo@sogonline.org.uk, heading your message‘Treasurer post’ or write to Roy Marsh, SOGChairman, 56 Tuddenham Avenue, Ipswich,Suffolk IP4 2HF.

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Council for 2012:Officers MembersHonorary President: Steve Piotrowski Paul Gowen [to 2013]Chairman: Roy Marsh Jon Warnes [to 2013]Vice-Chairman: Steve Abbott Jean Garrod [to 2014]Secretary: Phil Whittaker Robin Harvey [to 2014]Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Bill Stone Craig Fulcher [to 2015]Project Officer: Mick Wright Scott Mayson [to 2015]Magazine Editor: Phil BrownWebsite Co-ordinator: Gi Grieco Honorary Vice-PresidentsBird Report Editor: Nick Mason Jean & Ken GarrodOutdoor Events Organiser: Jean Garrod Mike JeanesIndoor Events Organiser: Adam Gretton [co-opted] Mike Hall

Robin Hopper

Bird Recorders

North East Area Recorder:Andrew Green, 17 Cherrywood, HARLESTON, Norfolk IP20 9LP

Tel: 07766 900063 Email: andrew@waveney1.fsnet.co.uk

South East Area Recorder:Scott Mayson, 8 St Edmunds Close, Springfields, WOODBRIDGE IP12 4UY

Tel: 01394 385595 Email: smsuffolkbirder@gmail.com

West Area Recorder:Colin Jakes, 7 Maltwood Avenue, BURY ST EDMUNDS IP33 3XN

Tel: 01284 702215 colin@jakes.myzen.co.uk

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SuffolkOrnithologists’ Group

For birds & for birders

www.sogonline.org.uk

SOG Registered Charity No. 871446

Who we areFounded in 1973 by a group of Suffolk birdwatchers

Associated with the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

SOG remains an independent birding group andis a registered charity

What we doNetworking

A voice for Suffolk birdwatchers

With established links to many naturalistand conservation organisations

MediaStrong web presence – www.sogonline.org.uk

Active Twitter feed – @suffolkbirds1

Quarterly magazine – The Harrier

Annual review – Suffolk Birds report

Trips and talksExtensive range (20+) of field tripsevery year – ideal for novices orexperts and young or old alike

Opportunities to visit hot spots and receive practical ID tips in the field

Programme of talks and presentations – varietyof topics (county, national, or international) with quality speakers

Protecting birdsProvides a county-wide field force of birdsurveyors (100+)

Organises and promotes bird surveys

Inspires and undertakes conservation projects

Numerous achievements:

– Contributed to many species breeding successes (Peregrines, Barn Owls etc.)

– Undertakes monitoring

– Involvement on community and education projects

– Organises and hosts dawn chorus walks

– Assisted with fund-raising for bird hides

– On-going participation in key bird surveys forthe BTO, such as BBS, the Bird Atlas and the recent Nightingale survey, plus studies for environmental waste companies etc.

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