Inspire Winter 13 1 final2 - The RSPB

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Next trips: Winter visitors, West and East

RSPB Oxford Local Group Newsletter Volume 7, Issue 1

The group has lots to look forward to: stimulating

talks and interesting places to visit. Thanks to all

who helped to make the December Social another

great success. I am sure we will run another next

year; let me have any suggestions for talks or other

contributions.

The Christmas period saw me at home, which

allowed me more opportunities to watch the wildlife

in my garden. The working week means I’m never

sure what eats all the bird food that I put out. I had

a few surprises - a family of mice and, when visiting

my vegetable patch, a fox walked past me before

running off. Blackcaps (this year a male and

female) have returned for a sixth year. They

normally stay until April; it’s interesting to see how

possessive they are of the food. Visits by a jay were

also different and there do seem to be more around

this year.

Why not take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch on

26 and 27 January to find out just what is around in

your garden? I hope that we will see you at our

event at Waterperry (see page 4) or on one of our

trips but whatever you do -

Happy birding

RSPB Oxford Local Group Leader

a million

voices for

nature

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope that you all had a

good Christmas and are looking forward to another good bird watching year.

InspireInspireInspireInspire

Winter Oxford skyline © Seth Lazar

Sunday 13 Jan 2013, 7.30 am

Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve, Essex.

Rainham is the site of medieval marshes right next to the River Thames. The former military firing range has wide open skies, making it an ideal place to view the large flocks of wild ducks it attracts in winter.

There is a network of nature trails connecting to two bird hides. If the weather is wild, the innovative visitor centre, with a shop and café, has huge picture-windows that look out across the marshes. Some of the winter birding highlights include bullfinches, ringed plovers, oystercatchers, golden plovers, water and rock pipits, little egrets, snipe, chiffchaffs, curlews, lapwings, dunlins, redshanks, shelducks, peregrines, kingfishers and short-eared owls.

Sunday 17 Feb 2013, 7.30 am

Chew Valley Lake, Somerset.

Chew Valley Lake is a semi-natural reservoir ten miles south of Bristol, and is the largest lake in south-west England. The Avon Wildlife Trust

manages a reserve at the southern end, Herriott's Pool. Today the lake is internationally important for the wildfowl population that occurs towards the end of the winter. You can see large numbers of shovelers, gadwalls and great crested grebes along with other winter species such as pochard, tufted duck, goldeneye, goosander, lapwing, snipe and peregrine. There is also a gull roost of over 50,000 birds, mostly of black-headed, common and Mediterranean gulls.

Lapwing at Rainham Marshes Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

RoyRoyRoyRoy


Inspire

Migration isn’t just a spring event and

the comparatively mild climate of the

British Isles makes them an ideal

winter destination for birds that breed

further north and

east. Swans and geese are

obvious long distance flyers but

it is the journeys made by some

of the smaller birds that really

impress. Winter visitors to

gardens, such as siskins and

redpolls, are part of this regular

movement south and west of

birds both within and from

outside the British Isles. We

also expect to see the winter

thrushes – fieldfares and

redwings – if not in our gardens,

certainly feeding on berries in

roadside trees and hedges.

What really causes excitement is when, as in 2012,

we have a waxwing winter. I can’t do better than to

quote from the Migration Atlas*: “There is an almost

mystical unpredictability about the movements of

waxwings. This combined with the species’ beautiful

plumage, confiding nature and inextricable

association with berries and human habitation

makes the waxwing a bird that few will tire of

seeing.”

In appearance, the waxwing is

a plump bird, slightly smaller

than a starling, with a prominent

crest. It is reddish-brown with a

black throat, a small black mask

round its eye, yellow and white

in the wings and a yellow-tipped

tail.

When the supply of the

waxwings’ favourite rowan

berries in their European

breeding ground is inadequate

to sustain the population over

winter they spread out south and west, appearing in

the UK. Their winter visits, in years like 2012-13,

when they appear in large numbers, are called

irruptions.

*C Wernham et al (eds). (2002) The Migration Atlas: movements of the

birds of Britain and Ireland. T & AD Poyser, London.

Focus on winter visitors

It is something of a privilege when birds opt to nest in your garden. They may make use of natural features, such as an ivy-

clad wall. You may have provided them with nest boxes. Or they may do

something quite bird-brained and raise a family in an open bag of garden compost, like robins did in our garden a few years ago.

If you have nest boxes in place and haven’t already done so, you should aim to clean the boxes out by the end of January. The nests of most birds harbour fleas and other parasites, which remain to infest young birds that hatch the following year. Use boiling water to kill any remaining parasites, and let the box dry out thoroughly before replacing the lid.

If you don’t already have nest boxes, you might want to consider helping out some previously common garden birds, like starlings or house sparrows, which are now in serious decline. In our neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire people were known to put up sparrow nest boxes as long ago as the 1520s*. They took the form of clay pots and were not exactly put up for the benefit of the

birds. They were there to provide a source of fresh meat for the householder. Young sparrows were considered a delicacy around this time, as well as being a good source of protein. Please don’t try this at home!

*From the ‘Did You Know’ page of the BTO website: www.bto.org/news-events/e-newsletter/e-newsletter-library/story-archive/did-you-know

More information about making or buying nest boxes can be found on the RSPB’s website: www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/nestboxes

Step Up For Nature… Finding homes for your garden birds

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Otmoor from the air

Volume 7, Issue 1

One of the reserve staff at RSPB Otmoor, Estate Worker, Zoe Edwards was

lucky enough to get the opportunity to see her workplace from an unusual

angle last November. One of the Otmoor volunteers arranged a

photographic trip in a light aircraft over the reserve, allowing Zoe to

experience the kind of views that are normally the privilege of the reserve’s

feathered visitors.

The photos here are just a sample of the many that she took, there are more

to see online. Look on the Links page of our website, follow the link to

Otmoor RSPB Reserve and you will find the route to the Blog on the right of

the page. There are also aerial views from 1999 and 2002 which illustrate

the huge amount of work that the RSPB has put into developing the reserve

into the superb wetland that has become today.

Big Otmoor

Greenaways

Ashgrave

Closes

Moorleys

Visitor trail

Hide

Aerial view - Closes © Zoe Edwards

Big Otmoor

Greenaways

Visitor trail

Flood Field

Reedbeds

Barn Field

Aerial view - Big Otmoor © Zoe Edwards

Old River Ray channel


RSPB Oxford Local Group Committee

President

John Wyatt

Group Leader

Roy Grant

Treasurer

Peter Wilkinson

Secretary

Anne Clark

Membership

Secretary

Keith Neale

Talks Organisers

Wendy Black

Linda Neal

Birdwatching Trips

Organiser

Anne Clark

Birdwatching Trips

Leader

David Rolfe

Group Holidays

Reg Cox

Publicity

Lyn Ebbs

Raffle

Alan Sherman

Catering

Charles Merry

Group Website

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/

oxford

Reg Cox

Lyn Ebbs

Inspire Editor

Lyn Ebbs

Email:

[email protected]

Big Garden Birdwatch The more people involved, the better the RSPB can understand how birds are doing. So as well as checking your own garden, please encourage your friends and family to take part. The Big Garden Birdwatch of 2013 is on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 January. Even if some of your regulars don’t turn up or you don’t see as many birds as you expect (or any birds at all!), it is still important to submit your results.

Website news Our New Year’s Resolution is to review our ‘Places to see birds’ pages to make sure the information is current. We have already updated the Farmoor

page with new access details. Take a look at the existing pages - comments and corrections are welcome. Also if you know of other, public birdwatching spots in the county that you think we should include, please let us know.

Oxford skyline pictures Did you notice the lovely winter scene behind our Inspire banner? We were kindly given permission to use it by Seth Lazar. Seth’s panoramic pictures of Oxford are for sale via his website: www.oxford-panoramas.co.uk or from the Framing Shop in Oxford’s Covered Market. If you are looking for a present or know someone who would like a souvenir of the city, please take a look.

Snippets

About us…

we speak out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our environment. Nature is amazing – help us keep it that way. www.rspb.org.uk

After giving totally unnecessary advice last spring on plants that could tolerate drought, I’m less keen to offer further

gardening tips, but here goes. With milder winters, bees and other insects appear to be on the move earlier than previously thought. Out of kindness to them and to brighten the January gloom, why not grow something to attract early pollinators?

Pulmonaria has flowers that open blue and change to pink, with attractive, slug-resistant foliage in summer. Snowdrops and primroses also appeal to early bumble bees.

If you want more inspiration you can join us between 10am and 4pm on 19 and 20 January at Waterperry Garden Centre for Waterperry’s free open weekend. You will have the chance to see behind the scenes with free tours of their nurseries and orchards as well as the gardens. If you have a gardening query, it’s the perfect opportunity to get expert advice. Tour times are at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm each day.

RSPB volunteers will also be there on both days offering guided bird walks in the grounds at 11am and 2pm. They

will be on hand in the classroom to give advice and information; there will also be talks at 12.30pm.

There will be the chance for children to have fun with a garden wildlife trail and various organised indoor activities.

If you spend more than £30 in the shop or Gift Barn on either day, you can get a free bird box (while stocks last). You also shouldn’t miss the opportunity to warm up in the teashop, Miss H’s, with hot drinks, delicious cakes and roast lunches available. More information at: www.waterperrygardens.co.uk

Free Open

Weekend at

Waterperry

Snowdrops at Waterperry ©

Inspire Winter 13 1 final2 - The RSPB

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