The RSPB North Staffs Local Group

The Ouzel May 2016

Space is available for advertising within The Ouzel, which can be accessed via the Group’s website as well as in hardcopy format.

Hello and welcome to a late spring edition of The Ouzel.

In response to being asked about his interest in ‘orthinology’ (sic), “Oh, you mean word-botching!” Humphrey Lyttleton, 1921- 2008

Red Letter Days

It’s still much too early to start thinking about our local bird of the year for 2016 but the juvenile red-necked grebe that drew crowds of birdwatchers to the lake at Trentham Gardens in January must be a strong contender. Red kites making a return, red-footed falcon last summer, now red-necked grebe – anyone else spotting a trend?

Red-necked grebe photo credit – John Berrington

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Staffordshire Birders’ Conference, 5 March 2016

When a red-footed falcon made its unexpected appearance at Chatterley Whitfield last July not too many people would have foreseen that it would lead to the majority of the birding organizations within Staffordshire coming together in the interests of the county’s birdlife. The various threats to the raptor during its short stay and the recognition that more needed to be done to ensure the safety of our rare and endangered avian visitors as and when they appear were, however, the basic catalysts for the Staffordshire Birders’ Conference at Oulton Village Hall near Stone on Saturday, 5 March.

An eagle-eyed audience - photo credit Don McLauchlan

In the absence of any scopes and pagers, the day proved to be an occasion when everyone was happy to pool their birding knowledge and ideas, resulting in a deeper understanding and appreciation of the protection work being performed across the county and the ongoing fortunes of many of our local birds. Cetti’s warblers are, for example, apparently doing quite well at RSPB Middleton Lakes but red kites are still refusing to breed in our area despite being seen with increasing regularity.

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Through their informative, engaging and often quite humorous talks the four morning speakers provided insights into: the operation and running of the RSPB Middleton Lakes reserve (Kate Thorpe); the work of the County Bird Recorder and his associates (Nick Pomiankowski); the benefits of belonging to a birding club, (David Dodd, West Midland Bird Club); and the conservation and educational work being performed by Brewood Ringers group (Colin McShane).

The afternoon session continued at an equally high standard with our very own award-winning filmmaker, Peter Durnall, presenting two of his excellent bird films; an overview of the woodland management challenges at RSPB Coombes Valley (Paul Bennett); an introduction to Staffordshire Bird News (Chris Waring); and a glimpse into the world of BTO surveys (Gerald Gittens).

It’s difficult to pick out specific highlights from the event given that it was the first of its kind and no one fully knew quite what to expect. If pressed, however, I’d go for Kate referring to the difficulties encountered by the RSPB when reclaiming the Middleton Lakes site for birds and other wildlife with inadequate funding whilst a photograph of a toy digger was being displayed on the projector screen. Or there again, possibly Colin divulging that Severn Trent Water Authority has recently put an end to Brewood Bell Ringers’ activities at the County’s sewage farms on the grounds that he and his colleagues could be terrorists! I think I’ve got that last part right. No doubt other people have differing views on the key moments from the day but that’s the problem with an event that had so many. Incidentally, the Brewood group are running free ringing demonstrations at a number of locations this year, (please check their website www.brewoodringers.com for details) and the County Bird Recorder and Staffordshire Bird News would both welcome details of any unusual bird sightings you make when you are out and about in Staffordshire. I could go on but, as usual with the Ouzel, there is insufficient space.

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Our thanks go to all the speakers on the day and also to those people who made it run so smoothly: Sandy McLauchlan for doing her usual fine job as compère and for baking all the cakes and biscuits; Val Lucking and Lee Parkes for all their hard work in the kitchen; Peter Durnall (again) for letting us use his technical equipment throughout the morning and afternoon and, as we don’t want to cause any ructions in the McLauchlan household, we’ll also put in a quick word for Don, who ran the front desk.

And we have also got to give a very large thank you to our Group Leader, Geoff Sales, for having the foresight to see that protecting the birdlife in Staffordshire necessitates everyone working together and our Group had to be more pro-active on that score back at the beginning, with that red-footed falcon; arranging the conference; and, no doubt, enduring countless sleepless nights thinking about ticket sales. He needn’t have worried. Thanks to his valiant efforts, 80 birders allowed themselves to be pulled away from their local patches and further afield for the day, in order to learn more about the birdlife on our doorsteps and the hard work being done to protect it.

And there will be even more next time, because there is definitely going to be another conference given the resounding calls for one at the end of this year’s event. Thanks Geoff.

Where it all began...

Red-footed falcon photo credit – Ian Worden

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Conference Update

There is still some way to go before the arrangements for next year’s conference are in place but it might be a good idea to keep Sunday, 5 March 2017 free.

Committee Change

A change will be taking place as regards the Committee at the end of next season, 2016-17, when our current Treasurer, Richard Moth, steps down from post after performing five years’ service. The Group obviously needs to fill the position for 2017-18 onwards and would love to hear from you if you fancy taking on the role.

Conservation Matters

(1) Hen Harrier Day, 2016

Last September’s edition of the Ouzel contained the suggestion that we might want to consider taking part in national Hen Harrier Day this coming August, as a response to the continuing persecution of this bird of prey, which used to grace the Staffordshire moorlands. There were no more details at the time but we can now confirm that Hen Harrier Day 2016, which is supported by the RSPB, will be taking place on Sunday, 7 August. Regrettably there is still no information about where our nearest rallying point in the Peak District will be but you can keep up to date with developments about the peaceful protest and also view images of the event in previous years by going online to http:// henharrierday.org/2016.

Throughout 2016 the RSPB is running a hotline where you can report details of any hen harrier sightings you make. The telephone phone for England and Wales is 0845 4600121 changing to 07767 671973 in Scotland. Alternatively, you can

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submit reports online via henharrier@rspb.org.uk/Hen Harrier@snh.gov.uk

(2) Marine Conservation Zones

In view of the Group’s support for the RSPB’s marine protection campaign we are duty bound to report that, in January, the Government announced that it would be setting up a further 23 marine conservation zones (MCZs) even though you have probably already read about it. That sounds like good news for once but it needs to be tempered against the fact that the 50 MCZs that have so far been designated by the Government only cover just 20% of English waters – separate roll-out schemes are in operation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and the next and final tranche of conservation zones will not be designated until 2018, following public consultation next year.

(3) Big Garden Birdwatch

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in January showed that Staffordshire’s commonest garden birds were basically in line with the national picture, with the top ten local species being house sparrow, starling, blue tit, blackbird, woodpigeon, goldfinch, great tit, long tailed tit, robin and magpie.

Coombes Valley – In Memoriam, Ben Bentley and Brenda Kemp, absent friends

It was pleasing to see Coombes Valley near Leek so high up on the listing of RSPB reserves with the largest number of wildlife species in the latest edition of the Society’s magazine, ’Nature’s Home’. Group members may, however, also care to note that a sturdy wooden bench has recently been erected there in memory of two of our former members and volunteers, Ben Bentley and Brenda Kemp, not far from the visitor centre and children’s play area.

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Memorial Bench photo credit – Rob Lucking

‘A group of family and friends “christened” the bench at the end of April and drank a toast to absent friends.

When you visit the reserve, please sit a while and think about Brenda and Ben – the seat provides a welcome resting place after the climb up out of the valley. It and the new path nearby were funded from donations at Ben’s funeral last July’ (Jenny Wright).

Slimbridge

Since our visit to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s Slimbridge reserve in February, Roger Birch has been thinking about its founder, Peter Scott, writing: ‘Robert Falcon Scott, in a last letter to his wife Kathleen, advised her to "make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games."This obviously had a profound effect in shaping the life of their only child, Peter.”

Sir Peter Scott’s Slimbridge – Roger Birch

‘Make the boy interested in Nature’ At first looking down a barrel,

He potted a brace or two, Then enlightened, changed his view.

From Siberia’s freeze Bewick’s swans arrived, With Peter’s favoured pintail duck,

Amid wintering geese from Greenland’s shores, Protected here - for evermore.

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Bewick’s (and whooper) Swans

photo credit - Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

And still the work goes on apace, To give the Levels back their cranes. Now returning to their place of birth,

Enhancing Slimbridge’s faunal worth.

Let the reserve remain forever wild, Wildfowl Trust – in memoriam,

A father’s last wish from Polar hell, Well done Kathleen, you taught him well.

An East Anglia update – Rob Lucking

It’s been a while since I last wrote anything for The Ouzel and so much has happened over the past year that the challenge I’ve had this time round has been deciding what to leave out!

Our reserve at RSPB Frampton Marsh continues to go from strength to strength and hopefully the North Staffs Group will have had a fantastic time there in April. Over the course of the winter, the

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bearded tits: photo credit - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

bird spectacle at Frampton was incredible with thousands of golden plover, lapwing, brent geese and wigeon on the reserve. We’ve also had bittern, bearded tit and Cetti’s warbler staying for long periods over the winter indicating that the reed bed we planted seven years ago is starting to become mature.

Last year’s breeding season at RSPB Titchwell was a mixture of success and disappointment. The success was the presence of otters, including two cubs, suggesting that they had bred on the reserve. The recovery of the UK’s otter population since the 1970s has surely been one of the greatest conservation success stories of my generation but unfortunately, at Titchwell, we suspect the colonisation by otters contributed to the predation of some of our breeding birds’ nests, such as avocet and black-headed gull. Who said nature conservation was easy?

This year, we are experimenting with an ‘anti predator’ fence around the main nesting island in the fresh marsh. It has a ‘floppy top’, that will hopefully prevent predators from climbing over it, and mesh large enough to allow birds through but small enough to keep unwanted mammalian predators out. You’ll be able to see for yourselves how successful it has been when the Group visits the reserve in June!

Ironically, although we had very few breeding avocets last year at Titchwell, we had record counts of over 600 during the post breeding season! We also recorded some very early returning waders from the high Arctic in July, such as curlew sandpipers and little stints. This can suggest a poor breeding season in the Arctic, often linked with low lemming numbers - the main food source of arctic foxes which then predate breeding birds. There

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have been very few young brent geese around this winter which again suggests heavy predation during the breeding season.

The extraordinarily mild winter we’ve had has caused a few surprises in the natural world. In the Brecks, there have been records of stone-curlews over-wintering and at Titchwell, blackthorn was flowering in early February. Some keen birders even saw a red-rumped swallow on Christmas Day.

Editor’s Note: Thanks Rob. (Rob Lucking is the RSPB Area Manager for Norfolk, Lincolnshire and the Brecks and, thankfully for us, a frequent and much appreciated contributor to the Ouzel.)

Local Birding Trips

As mentioned in the December Ouzel, the Group is currently short of leaders for its Bins and Boots walks and Car Sharing trips. Please speak to either Peter Durnall on 01782-515591 (Bins and Boots) or Geoff Sales on 01782-618152 (Car-sharing trips) if you think you could help.

Super Ouzel

The mixed emotions I regularly experience whenever I’m working on The Ouzel went into overdrive recently, when I came across a reference to a Super Ouzel in the latest edition of Nature’s Home. Just for a moment, I dared to imagine I’d finally got something right but those thoughts faded fairly rapidly when I discovered that the magazine was talking about a Scottish ring ouzel that has had seven years of breeding success, clocking up 31,000 migration air miles in the process. Actually, I should have known better in any case, as turning the Ouzel into something we can all be proud of really does need your help. If you’d like to contribute articles, cartoons, poems or anything else please get them to me via pandacartwright@gmail.com, telephoning 01630-296126, or grabbing me, Alan Cartwright, the next time you see me.

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Swallows photo credit - Andy Hay

(rspb-images.com)

‘Let’s go to the countryside this year you said, it will be easy to get there you said and where are we, Hanley Bus Station, that’s where..... ‘

Now it’s Beyond a Joke

Two guys were working for the local council. One was digging a hole in the pavement with the other one immediately coming up behind him and filling it in. The two guys were working rather furiously, one digging a hole and his colleague filling it in again.

A man was watching from a short distance away and couldn’t believe how hard the two guys were working or understand what they were doing. Finally he simply had to ask them.

He said to the hole digger,”I appreciate how hard you are working but what are you doing? You dig a hole and your partner comes up behind you and automatically fills it in again.”

The hole digger replied, “Oh yeah, it must look funny but the guy who plants the trees is ill today.”

Two vultures were eating a dead clown in the desert. One asks the other, “Does this taste funny to you?”

The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.

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

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Why do hummingbirds hum? Because they don’t know the words.

What flies through the jungle singing opera? The parrots of Penzance.

Why do woodpeckers drum? Because they can’t play the guitar. (Supplied by Don McLauchlan, who got it from a ‘musical colleague’ in a birding class and really should know better.)

A Final Thank You

My many thanks to everyone who has contributed not just to this edition of The Ouzel but also to the newsletter over the course of this season. They can all take a well earned break now, including Val Lucking who has asked me to express her thanks to everyone who has provided her with used postage stamps and who are, hopefully, continuing to collect them for her.

Have a great summer and don’t forget that the Group has its

first ever butterfly walk and picnic on Friday 22 July 2016.

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