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The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 207076, in Scotland

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Local Group AGM 24 April 2014

At the AGM, Viv Connett gave this report on the group’s activities over the past year

Welcome to our new venue. We've settled in nicely, and apart from a few teething problems, feedback so far has been generally positive. There is a "but" though. We won't be able to sustain the current arrangements financially unless we attract more paying guests. With no other significant income source, we need more visitors if we are to cover venue and speaker costs.

We remain optimistic, but it would be good if you could encourage new people to come along in the future. In the meantime, a hearty thanks for your continued loyal support. As always, comments and ideas would be very welcome.

Overall, I would summarise our local group’s past year as being a further period of consolidation. Membership of the local group has remained pretty well stable in net terms although fundraising is down.

On behalf of everyone here, I wish to congratulate our entire fundraising team on outperforming most other local groups in the region, and offer all concerned a very big thank you for working so tirelessly on behalf of our local group. Regretfully the Fayres have had to cease as some of our volunteers have been unable to continue for various reasons, therefore from now on, walks, talks and quizzes will now be the only activities unless more volunteers come forward.

Should anyone wish to take on the mantle then please do not hesitate to contact one of the committee.

While fundraising is the main aim of our local group, we are also here to inform and educate the local community about wildlife and conservation. In terms of these objectives, Tim and I have been pleased to welcome both regular victims and some new

ones on our regular walks. Another excellent season of speakers has also been enjoyed. We have also continued to place more emphasis on the local group’s education role by supplementing Mike Logan-Wood’s extensive programme of talks with occasional events at local schools, and of course I must thank him for his continued efforts.

Other developments over the past year included the further enhancement of our website and the full restoration of a regular quarterly newsletter for our members, in either electronic or hard-copy format. We also held a Fun Quiz – many thanks to Robin Heafford for coordinating that event – and, given the revenue-raising potential of quizzes, we plan to run more in future. This one raised £195! Tim and I tried the Christmas one and found it very entertaining albeit very difficult. It passed a few long winter evenings trying to work out the more obscure clues. And no, we didn’t manage to finish it! We also now have a Facebook page – our thanks to Alexandria Hickman for creating this – which we hope will attract younger people to join in our events.

Despite several appeals, we have still received no nominations either for new committee members or for anyone willing to take on the role as group leader. However, we have been advised by Regional HQ that the local group can continue to operate without a formal group leader, provided that the committee has members able to carry out its key functions (e.g. managing finance and monthly speakers) – which we do – and provided that the committee has a nominated central point of contact between the group and the outside world. I have tried to perform this function as well as

CHELMSFORD & CENTRAL ESSEX GROUP NEWS

Spring 2014

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possible but working full time does not give me much time. I would therefore like to thank my fellow committee members for their efforts and for making my life much easier.

Viv Connett

Note from the rest of the committee – Viv has acted as point of contact very ably and we are grateful to her for taking this on.

REPORT FROM THE AGM At the AGM, the Treasurer presented her report on the year’s finances. Income from sales goods was £1,377. £3,500 from fundraising and donations, together with last year’s sales goods figure of £1,402, was sent to RSPB HQ to be used on international projects. The cost of the talks was £1,440 and the receipts from entry fees were £1,290. At the end of the year cash balances stood at £1,558.

All the existing committee members stood again without any new nominations, and were re-elected en bloc. Their contact details can be found at the end of the newsletter.

A member suggested we put reports of our activities in the “Community News” section of the Essex Chronicle as a way of reaching new people, and we will look at this possibility.

OTTERS RETURN Following the AGM, Darren Tansley of Essex Wildlife Trust gave us a presentation about otters in Essex. It was very interesting to see the maps showing their distribution over time and how the population has increased in Essex. The video clips he showed were a joy to behold, especially the bit where a curious otter came right up to the camera and licked the lens to see if it was edible! Mink, which are unfortunately common in Essex, are frequently confused with otters, and

Darren pointed out the salient differences.

After the break, we got a bonus as Darren talked to us about badgers and the bovine TB issue, backed up by facts and statistics. It is a very difficult subject to tackle and Darren told us about EWT’s policy and how it is proposing to deal with the potential problem on its reserves.

Darren is an interesting, informative and entertaining speaker and we all enjoyed his visit very much.

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH

January 2014 Were you one of the nearly-half-a-million people who took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch this year?

House sparrows retained their position in the number one spot. Although this is good news, sparrows remain on the “red” list of birds of conservation importance. We used to see a lot in our

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garden, and the numbers seem to be creeping back up recently, so I hope that pattern is repeated throughout the country. Our walks leader, Viv Connett, looked at the Birdwatch results on the BBC website and found they had illustrated the story with a picture of a tree sparrow, so she gave up in disgust!

Number two bird is the blue tit. Starlings came in at number three but, like the sparrow, this bird is also on the red list. Numbers have plummeted by 84% since the first Birdwatch in 1979.

Goldfinches seem to be benefiting from the food put out in gardens, and they climbed one place from last year to come in at number seven.

We have sometimes seen a great spotted woodpecker in our garden (although only once this year) and for the first time, this species has got into the top 20, at number 20.

It is thought that some of the birds recorded in lower numbers than previous years are not necessarily in decline, but took advantage of the mild weather to seek natural food in the wider countryside rather than in gardens.

This year the survey included some animals as well. Here in Essex, the most common creature was the grey squirrel, seen by 42.5% of respondents on a daily basis.

Full results can be seen on the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/

Louise Fuller

OUR LOCAL GROUP WALKS In January we went to Wallasea Island. As this is a fairly new reserve and still under construction it was no surprise to find 19 of us setting out on this walk. The terrain wasn’t as muddy as we had expected bearing in mind the recent rain, and the sun shone.

Very little was seen on the estuary as we walked up the sea wall but very soon a raptor was spotted – a hen harrier (ringtail – female or immature) which was a lifer for many of the party (Ed: jargon alert – a “lifer” for someone is the first time they have seen that bird in their life). It flew slowly past us along the sea wall enabling those of us with cameras to get some really good shots (one of which earned a “Notable” award in the BirdGuides Photo of the Week review. No, not mine, I didn’t submit it as someone else got there first).

We continued along and had good views of the many wildfowl present on the inshore lagoons, including three shovelers which, according to the local expert, are a Wallasea rarity. We walked as far as the conveyor belt which was of interest, showing the soil being delivered by boat from the Crossrail project to Wallasea to be used in the construction of the inshore lagoons.

However, we didn’t linger for too long as the time was getting on and the plan was to be back at the car park in the hope of seeing owls. Once we got there we discovered we were looking straight into the sun so relocated to the “White Gate”. It wasn’t long before one of the party spotted a short-eared owl hunting over the reptile area – right by the car park which we had just left! Then another appeared and both were at one point mobbing a kestrel. We did agree that, although the car park would have been closer, the birds would have been silhouettes due to the sun.

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Although we missed any barn owls and the merlin which had been seen earlier, a good walk was had by all. 30 species were seen.

In February we met at Rainham Stone Barges. The wind was so strong it nearly blew us over. We set off along the riverside path with the best of intentions, but the weather conditions were such that there were virtually no birds to be seen. We decided that as we weren’t really enjoying the walk we might as well call it a day for that site and go to the café at Rainham Marshes for cheese scones. This was accomplished very satisfactorily and many more birds were seen from the visitor centre window than had been seen at the barges. Many of the reserve paths were submerged to quite a depth so only the very bravest donned their wellies for a sortie.

The following month, thirteen of us set off on a much more pleasant day to explore the new EWT reserve at Thurrock Thameside Nature Park. It was suggested by the Visitor Centre staff that kingfishers, owls and peregrines had all been seen the day before but unfortunately didn’t show for us despite extensive searching. Some of this may have been due to the presence of a sparrowhawk near the kingfisher site! However we did see a reasonable selection of birds and we all enjoyed the catering services (you may have noticed food is becoming a recurring theme in our trip reports ….). 30 species were seen and two heard; we also saw small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies.

The site itself is very new and will take time to bed in. However, I think it has great potential and we shall be revisiting it before very long.

In April we went to Two Tree Island. A pleasant day, and ten of us set off on our walk round the island. We started at the EWT reserve at the east end and although nightingale and redstart had been reported recently neither of them had remained for us to spot. However, we did find several blackcaps and a very obliging Cetti’s warbler which sat up nicely for us to see, much to the delight of several members of the group. Unfortunately he always sat behind twigs so a decent photo wasn’t forthcoming (this one wasn’t taken here).

We walked back and a pair of Mediterranean gulls flew over us, calling.

Despite the noise of the toy aircraft being flown we decided to check out the west end. There were numerous black-headed gulls nesting on the scrape but only a couple of avocets. Walking back (we were now hot and tired) we were pleased to find a whitethroat singing and flying from bush to bush. 33 species were seen and one heard. We also saw three butterfly and two moth species.

In July this year we are going to do something a bit different – a butterfly walk at Marks Hall Arboretum,

Coggeshall. This site is renowned for butterflies and silver-washed fritillary, purple emperor and white admiral have all been seen here. The trip is dependent upon good weather conditions so check the website before you come or call me on 07985 796657 the evening before.

Viv Connett

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BLUE HOUSE FARM OWLCAM You may remember that last year I wrote about my fascination with the owlcam at EWT Blue House Farm reserve, and how I would sit at my desk at home watching as the barn owls hatched, raised and fledged a brood of three chicks. Sadly this year only one of the parent birds has returned and there is no sign of nesting activity. The camera has instead been turned on a stock dove nest, where there are two young birds. I have had a soft spot for stock doves ever since someone showed me how to identify them, and we have had a pair feeding in our garden for the past year.

Louise Fuller

THE WONDERS OF MIGRATION I have recently been revising my talk on bird migration and came across a host of extraordinary stories. I thought that you would be interested in a few of the gems.

ARCTIC TERN As you know, this tern nests close to or beyond the Arctic Circle and migrates to the Antarctic. This amounts to a return journey of 43,000 miles and in the process it enjoys 8 to 9 months of continuous sunshine. The longest individual journey recorded was a bird that was ringed in the Farne Isles in England as a chick in the summer of 1982, and which reached Melbourne, Australia in October the same year – a distance of 14,000 miles in 3 months.

MANX SHEARWATER These birds, about the size of a jackdaw, live mainly on Skokholm, Skomer and the islands off the west coast of Scotland. There has been much interest in their ability to navigate and, in one experiment, one was taken from Skokholm and flown by plane to Boston USA where it was released. It returned to its burrow, 3,000 miles away in just 12.5 days!

Another, ringed in Northern Ireland in July 1953 when he was 5 years old, was re-trapped in July 2003 when he was 55 years old. It has been calculated to fly 12,000 miles in its annual migration, so this bird would have flown 620,000 miles in its lifetime when trapped for the second time, on migration flights alone.

BLACK-HEADED GULL This bird, very common in the UK, does migrate in the winter. One ringed as a chick in Finland in June 1996 was spotted in Fort Worth, Texas, 5,000 miles away, in January 2000 and again in November 2000. Fort Worth is 300 miles from the coast. Perhaps he was fond of beef burgers!

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WHOOPER SWAN These birds nest in Iceland and migrate to the UK in winter. They usually do the 600 to 800 mile trip in one go. One day in October an airliner was flying to Glasgow Airport and the air controller called up the pilot to give his usual directions, and then asked the pilot if he could make a short diversion to investigate an object close by that he was viewing on his radar screen. He received a call back to say that this was in fact a family of whooper swans. They were flying at more than 26,000 feet, over 5 miles high.

At this height, the air is desperately thin and temperatures can be as low as -50 degrees centigrade. They must have been taking advantage of a jet stream – a wind which could be blowing at over 100mph. How could they manage that?

SWIFT A bird which migrates to spend its winter in South Africa and which lives in the air the whole time, except when nesting. They drink, feed, mate, and sleep in the air. It has been suggested that a bird will fly about 500 miles each day, or 182,000 miles a year, and they can live for over 20 years!

SWALLOW A bird with similar habits to the swift with one recorded as taking 27 days to fly the 6,200 miles from Natal to Whitley Bay.

SEDGE WARBLER The warblers all have extraordinary tales to tell, but the sedge warbler is a bit special. In July and August, prior to migrating, they feed avidly on plum-reed aphids and double their weight from 10gms to 20gms (15gms is about half an ounce, so you can see how tiny these birds are). Having fattened up, they wait for a suitable wind and these miniscule birds then fly high, without stopping, for three days and nights to arrive 2,500 miles away at their wintering home.

CRANE These magnificent birds, larger than a heron, are gradually starting to nest in the UK. The European birds migrate from their north European nesting grounds to spend the winter in southern Europe and North Africa. Many have been seen migrating over the top of Mount Everest at up to 29,500ft. We would need an oxygen mask and very warm clothing to do this!

Who says that birds are boring?

Mike Logan Wood March 2014

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BUZZARDS – IS THIS A COMPETITION?

Janet Hawkes, our local group secretary, wondered if I would be interested in a snippet for the newsletter; she had seen EIGHT buzzards soaring together over Danbury and was quite amazed to see this number. I myself had recently seen seven buzzards in a group at Stapleford Abbotts, which I found very striking at the time. This bird might soon almost be common in Essex! Do you have a buzzard story you can tell us? Can you cap Janet’s figure of eight at a time? Email me on rspbchelmsford@gmail.com.

Louise Fuller

BIRDS OF PREY CONSERVATION CONFERENCE & WILDLIFE EXHIBITION

The lively opening lecture about “The Kestrel” by Roger Tabor set the trend for the day. Some possible reasons for the kestrel’s decline over recent years were suggested and it was thought provoking in many ways.

The next guest speaker, Graham Ekins, delivered a stunning lecture about “South Asian Vultures”. The photographs were first class and the enthusiastic commentary was crammed full with information about why vulture numbers have fallen so dramatically over recent decades and what needs to happen to change this trend for the future.

Next was Adam Rowlands, RSPB Senior Site Manager, North Suffolk Coast Reserves, speaking about “Marsh Harrier Conservation in the UK”. Only through the dedicated work carried out by the RSPB staff and volunteers at Minsmere and at other UK sites, is it possible for us to see the success of their labours today.

During the lunch break there was adequate time to look at the Wildlife Exhibition displays covering many other organisations with an interest in wildlife and conservation. A large photographic display by John Sykes was particularly striking with the traffic-light indication to show which species are doing well, those that are stable and those that are declining, like the kestrel, and need urgent help.

The afternoon commenced with Colin Shawyer and a splendid presentation “Bringing Barn Owls back from the Brink”. During the latter part of the twentieth century barn owl numbers declined to a level approaching extinction in some areas. However through dedicated conservation measures, monitoring and nest box erection this trend has been reversed.

Next Simon Tonkin, RSPB Senior Farmland Conservation Officer, now working with Conservation Grade, provided a very informative lecture covering “Pioneers of Migration in the Straits of Gibraltar”.

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The narrow Straits of Gibraltar is where many raptor species cross from Europe into Africa on an annual basis in the autumn, returning in spring. A brilliant sight and a fantastic experience!

All too soon it was the final lecture of the day with Paul Stammers from Rutland Water informing us all about “Reintroduction of the Osprey to Rutland Water”, and how the success is monitored at all stages of breeding and during migration down to the west coast of Africa for the winter.

While there were elements of gloom in some of the lectures regarding what has happened before, there was nothing depressing as solutions to many problems were now available and being implemented. Very up-to-date information was displayed by each speaker with specific information about many raptors and gave considerable food for thought for the future.

The proceeds from the conference are all going to kestrel conservation in Essex, by building special robust nest boxes to replace traditional sites lost for one reason or another. If you think that you know of a site in Essex

where kestrels might benefit from having a nest box erected, please contact Gerry Johnson by telephone (07775 663166) or by e-mail gerry2johnson@aol.com

We would like to thank all the excellent speakers; the session chairs for maintaining the time table; our hosts Writtle College and the caterers for the refreshments and lunch. Also grateful thanks to Crouch Brothers (Metal Fabrications) Ltd., Romford, the RSPB, Norwich and WEG Electric Motors Ltd., Redditch for their sponsorship. Thanks to Scrufts K9 Dog Grooming, Chelmsford and Perrywood Nursery & Garden Centre, Tiptree for their support.

Not forgetting Richard Allen for donating a splendid original water colour artwork of a kestrel for the silent auction; the members of the Essex Birdwatching Society committee for arranging this event with the RSPB and to all of the local organisations for donating many of the raffle prizes. From the feed back, all the delegates look forward to the next conference with keen interest.

Gerry Johnson

MORE LOCAL KESTREL NEWS FROM STEVE BAINES Steve has been busy monitoring the kestrel boxes he has in place around Chelmsford. So far things are looking very good; many of the boxes already have clutches of eggs and others have had birds seen in the box or flying nearby. One box has been taken over by tawny owls and has three chicks in it, but we don’t begrudge them the accommodation!

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WINTER STORMS CAUSE DAMAGE TO RSPB RESERVES Those of us who are regular visitors to our East Anglian coastal reserves may already know about the serious damage which was caused by the winter storms.

The most extensive damage was at the Snettisham and Havergate nature reserves, but other reserves didn't escape.

At Snettisham, the concrete access track and shingle beach were completely stripped away. Usually, Snettisham is two gravel pits separated by a causeway footpath. Having been topped up with millions of gallons of seawater it became one massive lake. The big task was to get rid of the seawater for when the breeding birds returned in spring.

In the summer, the shingle beach is a profusion of yellows, pinks and blues from shingle plants, but seaweed was strewn up where shingle once was, and silt mud covered the path. The flowers were replaced with plastic barrels, bottles and rope. One hide was tottering on the edge of the lake, at 45 degrees; another was lost altogether.

As the waters receded more damage was uncovered. The RSPB is taking the opportunity to review what it does at Snettisham, and whether to replace like for like, or whether it can improve the habitats within the lagoons and the accompanying infrastructure.

The good news was that in January, the Site Manager for the North West Norfolk reserves completed the most recent count since the storm and the birds did not seem to be too badly affected. Despite the roost bank being badly damaged, 25,000 knots and 3,000 oystercatchers roosted on 5 January. Although the pink-footed geese were temporarily displaced by the storm, they had now returned. Over 43,000 were counted over the weekend before.

At Havergate Island there were several holes in the sea walls and the hides were badly damaged. At Titchwell Marsh, the seawall held firm, but the boardwalk from the reserve path to the beach buckled and was broken. The sand dunes were flattened.

RSPB LOCAL GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2014/15

Viv Connett Point of Contact & Field Trips Organiser

07985 796657 vivconnett@mail.com

Tim Connett Field Trips Organiser 07913 896020 timconnett@mail.com

Margot Grice Treasurer 01245 248651 mandmdragons@tiscali.co.uk

Janet Hawkes Secretary 01376 512628 janhma@aol.com

Louise Fuller Newsletter Editor 01245 421614 louiserfuller@hotmail.com

Gerry Johnson Pin Badge Sales Co-ordinator

01245 356633 gerry2johnson@aol.com

Sue McClellan Meetings (Talks) Secretary

01245 471576 suem@idnet.com

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EVENTS DIARY

Non-members are welcome at all events.

Talks are held at the Northumberland Theatre, Writtle College, Lordship Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1

3RP, commencing at 8pm and finishing about 9.45pm, with an interval for refreshments. The lecture

theatre is across Lordship Road from the main college building, to the right of the Wilkins tea room and

shop, and there is free parking on site.

Entry £2.50 adults, £1 children. No discount for postal group members.

Walks are all “own car” outings, suitable for all abilities; help with bird ID will be available. Wear suitable

clothing and footwear and bring your own refreshments. There are no toilet facilities at most of the walk

venues.

For further details of all events please see our web site www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chelmsford

SUMMER RECESS

Talks have now stopped for the summer and will resume in September. There are no walks in May or June.

JULY

Walk – Sunday 6

MARKS HALL GARDENS AND ARBORETUM, COGGESHALL CO6 1TG. 11.00am. Meet in the car park. This is

a new venture for us, a butterfly walk in a lovely location. We hope to see a wide variety of attractive

species. Their appearance is very weather-dependent so the walk will only take place if conditions are

favourable.

Check the website or call Viv the evening before on 07985 796657 if you want to confirm.

Please note there is no charge for the walk itself but there is an entry charge to Marks Hall. There is a

visitor centre on site.

Sunday 17 August– British Bird Watching Fair, Egleton Centre, Rutland Water

The RSPB/EBwS propose to run a luxury coach to the above annual event. The coach will leave Chelmsford

(from opposite the County Hotel, free parking available) at 7.00am and return from Rutland at 5.15pm. The

coach cost will be between £18-£20 each, subject to numbers attending. Entrance to the Fair is extra at

£11.50 for RSPB/Wildlife Trust members (a saving of £2). Places will be limited to the coach capacity of 53

and booked on a first come basis. To book your place please contact Gerry Johnson on 07775 663166

Full details of the events below are on our website and will be in the next newsletter. Meanwhile, you can

put the dates in your diaries to keep them free.

AUGUST

Walk – Saturday 16

OLD HALL MARSHES. 5.00pm

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SEPTEMBER

Talk – Thursday 11

THE RSPB’S KEY ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION

Walk – Sunday 28

THE NAZE. 10.00am

OCTOBER

Talk – Thursday 9

BIRDS AND OTHER FAUNA OF THE NEPALI TERRAI

Walk – Saturday 11

MINSMERE. 1.00pm

NOVEMBER

Talk – Thursday 13

YELLOWSTONE – WHERE WILD AMERICA STILL THRIVES

Walk – Sunday 16

BEDFORDS PARK. 10.00am

DECEMBER

Talk – Thursday 11

MINSMERE – PORTRAIT OF A NATURE RESERVE

Walk – Sunday 21

STOUR ESTUARY. 10.00am