GROUP LEADER’S REPORT

Dear Members

As many of you will know my husband Charles passed

away on 6th July after his cancer suddenly reappeared.

A contributory factor was the heart failure from which he

had suffered since February. He had been the group's

newsletter editor for over ten years until the autumn of

2007. His knowledge of birds and their habitats far

exceeded mine which was evident on our walks in the

countryside and on the hills, something denied to him

during the last three years. I hope some of that knowledge

has stayed in my memory. My heartfelt thanks to the

committee and other members for all the kind messages

of sympathy I received.

Another recent death was that of Lady Henderson on 18th

July. She was the group's president for a number of years

and gave a great deal of her time, energy and wisdom to

the local RSPB. An obituary appears next in this news-

letter.

I apologise for starting on such a gloomy note so shall

now turn to the notes I had made some time ago relating

to happenings earlier in the year. In the last newsletter

I referred to the starling roost at Mersehead. On 12th

February I had the pleasure of watching the starlings at

Gretna Green which were truly spectacular: thousands of

birds in great clouds weaving patterns in the sky like

smoke curling around. This lasted about twenty minutes.

Those who had been before declared it was the best they

had ever seen. Well worth the journey. Another sight

worth seeing later in the same month, and quite by

chance, was that of hundreds of geese in flight while we

were en route to and from Dumfries.

February is also the month for beautiful displays of snow-

drops. Usually we go to St Mary's Isle in Kirkcudbright

but this year we visited Cally Woods at Gatehouse, which

offered an equally good show. The previous night our

thermometer had recorded minus 11 degrees at ground

level so it was a very frosty morning but nonetheless we

enjoyed a picnic lunch in the winter sunshine. Walking

further down the track I was rewarded by seeing forty

curlews fly past and land in a field which they shared

with the same number of greylag geese.

In early March Brian Nolan and I attended the Environ-

ment Fair at DGOne where we took a turn on the group's

sales stall so ably run, as usual, by Rhona and Jill. It was

very busy, lots of families there enjoying all the children's

activities offered by the various organisations and a really

good atmosphere. Rhona and Jill are still hoping someone

(or preferably two) will offer to take over the sales.

Although it had been such a cold winter and spring which

led us to think that the swallows might be late arriving,

in fact, “our birds” arrived on the 19th April, four days

earlier than in many years which just proves you never

can tell! So far they have had two broods.

And so came the merry month of May bringing a cuckoo

my way on Benniguinea Hill near Clatteringshaws but

I didn‟t hear many more this summer. We used to have

several calling around the house but sadly not any

more, nor lapwings, and fewer curlews. Ten of us went

on the group's minibus trip to the RSPB reserve at

Lochwinnoch. You can read a report of this further on in

this issue and also on the group's website at

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/galloway

May is the month for bluebells but, disappointingly,

nobody went to Brian's Open Days to see those growing

in his local wood. We could also have done with more

people coming to our joint fundraising effort with SWT at

Clonyard Farm on 27th June. The weather was good but

we were competing with the World Cup and perhaps

other events too. Many, many thanks to our hosts Pam

and Matthew Pumphrey and all the helpers who gave

so generously of their time.

If you have any suggestions for future fundraising or

indeed relating to any other aspect of the group's

activities, please do telephone me or any of the committee

members. We would welcome any feedback.

Cynthia Douglas,

Group Leader

LADY HENDERSON The recent death of Lady Catherine

Henderson, peacefully at Hensol,

shortly after a very happy and

congenial 96th birthday with her

family, ended a remarkable and

highly fulfilling life, a worthy

account of which would take up

more than this entire newsletter.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity:

England and Wales No 207076; Scotland Charity No SC037654

GALLOWAY LOCAL GROUP

NEWSLETTER 47

FAIRY TERN IN FLIGHT

AUTUMN 2010 Editor: Stephanie Dewhurst

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our environment.

Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way.

a million voices for nature

2

Born and brought up at Cumstoun, Kirkcudbright, she

was bequeathed Hensol by her godmother. She and

Sir Nigel loved its ancient woodland with its rich

birdlife (including honey buzzards!) its peaty river and its

meadows and famous garden.

They bequeathed ground to the RSPB for Hensol‟s public

bird hides and for some years housed a well-hidden

aviary for the nurture and release of red kites, which later

helped form the nucleus of Galloway‟s now famous kite

population. As Honorary President of our local RSPB

group she meticulously chaired our AGMs until beyond

her 90th birthday. Quick-witted, charming, distinguished

yet unassuming, she epitomised the ideals of public

service and private friendship to her “chums” as she

called them.

For more than 50 years she raised funds tirelessly for the

RNLI and was twice awarded its highest accolade. She

and Sir Nigel held annual open days at Hensol to raise

funds for this and other charities.

The Hendersons travelled the world on official engage-

ments and through Sir Nigel fulfilled high level naval

missions. Whilst serving in Paris they lived on a seventy-

foot barge on the Seine. It is perhaps trite to end with the

hackneyed, “We shall not see her like again” but, trite or

not, it is true.

Bryan Nelson

FAREWELL TO NETHER LINKINS

Nether Linkins is the name of our farm, nestling at the

foot of the hills that make up the Ben Gairn/Screel

feature. It has been the centre for my bird-watching for 16

years – my “ patch”. In fact the farming came by accident

as I‟d intended to buy only enough land for a nature

reserve, but the amount and nature of the land dictated

otherwise!

I‟ve tried to improve the habitat by planting about 4000

broadleaf trees - three hectares-worth plus several hedges

- and by making a large pond in one of the fields. Keith

Kirk put up a barn owl box for me and we‟ve had a pair

nesting there for the last eight or nine years. We have a

bit of “unimproved” pasture with lots of wild flowers,

especially this year, and butterflies including the small

pearl bordered fritillary. There is a mill dam which

attracts lots of dragonflies and once only a kingfisher.

Our bird-list totals 81, but with only solitary additions for

each of the last four years: it is the last one for February

2010, however, which is the prize - a little egret! This

was in the midst of our severe winter, but the water was

unfrozen for most of the pond where my wife spotted it -

with good views even to its black legs and yellow feet as

it picked its way. The pond also hosted our second “best

bird” - a female marsh harrier on 2nd November 2002,

which struck and carried off one of our moorhens. I tend

to dismiss both the rare and the less likely in my

bird-watching, but consultation confirmed it.

Our first entry is also our saddest - curlew; sad, in that

their habitat neighboured ours and was planted with

Sitka in the year we arrived. Their nest site lasted for

about four years and then was abandoned. Meadow pipits,

skylarks and whinchats went at about the same time.

Birds though come and go for various reasons - in 1994

we had green woodpeckers, 15 pairs of swallows nesting

and a pair of spotted flycatchers nesting in the garden:

now we have one or two swallow nests if we are lucky

and no sign of the other two species. Nature though

makes up for things: nuthatches reached us in 2008 and

I saw a pair together this year; a couple of pairs of white-

throats nest each year in one of our woods and a pair of

redstarts started coming from 1998 onwards and I saw

their fledged young this summer; a pair of grey wagtails

have nested around the steading for some years now; teal

come every winter to the pond and we have had a pair of

wintering goldeneye and also goosanders on occasion.

The winter has also brought us hen harriers now and

again, and redpoll and brambling, whilst the number of

ravens has increased considerably - I counted 35 together

one January morning. Even the Sitka has produced

nesting willow warblers and chiffchaffs and a regular pair

of mavises, whose singing is such a delight.

We are going to a small village near Kelso in September

and it will be hard to part with all this. We are lucky in

that our successors are also aware of the environment in

which they will be living and we think we are leaving

what we have helped to create in good hands.

We will of course miss the RSPB group and all

the familiar and friendly faces. Looking back at my time

as Leader I think of fine visiting speakers - Roy Dennis‟

visit and also that of David Lingard of the British support

for the Italian Bird Society, LIPU. This resulted in

me and others joining LIPU-UK and a final plea would

be for more members to do so. They are so brave in

confronting those who shoot our summer birds and have

just been mourning two of their volunteers who were shot

by a deranged gunman. It suddenly put my efforts at

conservation into perspective.

Good-bye and good luck to the group in the future

from Alison and me.

Robert Greenshields

3

ARTISTS FOR NATURE FOUNDATION

INDIA - MARCH 2010 I was honoured to be invited to join an international

group of artists on a visit to India in March of this year.

The Artists for Nature Foundation (ANF) is a unique

organisation that acts as a catalyst between the public and

nature conservation organisations using the arts to present

the message in a variety of forms. By showing nature

through the arts the ANF hopes to persuade decision

makers of the importance of the natural and cultural

heritage of the places over which they influence.

A long-running project that the ANF is involved in is the

sponsorship of an Environmental Education Centre and

Eco Lodge on the outskirts of Bandhavgarh National Park

and Tiger Reserve in the heart of Madhya Pradesh. This is

to the benefit of the local population and visitors alike

and was to be our base for eight days.

It has to be said that the tiger‟s presence permeates all

aspects of the landscape of place and the landscape of the

mind, whether you see one or not. Bandhavgarh however

is a beautiful park, hosting a wealth of other wildlife and

to appreciate the flora and fauna in all its forms is to truly

enter into the spirit of the forest.

The birdlife particularly was spectacular, from the small,

but extravagantly-tailed, paradise flycatcher to the large

and impressively adorned Malabar pied hornbill. They

don‟t come more impressively adorned than the male

peacock of course and it was satisfying to see and hear

them in their natural habitat.

In the shimmering blue colour stakes, the Indian roller

appears to take umbrage with the whitethroated

kingfisher, who had the audacity to display an equally

stunning hue on its wings, to the extent that the roller

frequently dive bombed the kingfisher. The blue on

Tickell‟s blue flycatcher was no less remarkable though

the bird was small enough and wise enough to keep out of

the way!

The plight of the Indian vultures has received much

publicity in RSPB press and for those on the trip who had

been to India before the vulture‟s demise was glaringly

obvious. In spite of this Bandhavgarh maintains a healthy

population of four species of vulture. As we climbed a

precariously steep track hewn from the rocks ascending to

Bandhavgarh Fort these magnificent birds soared high

above our heads.

On our first day in camp I was pleased with myself to

find a jungle owlet, smaller even than our little owl, and

alerted everyone to my discovery. Little did I know that

we would be then seeing them on a very frequent basis!

The same could be said of three raptors, the sparrowhawk

-like shikra, the crested hawk eagle and the crested

serpent eagle. All of them were quite confiding and

enabled the artists to get some good sketches down.

Nothing was quite as confiding however as the Indian

nightjar that the eagle eyed Keith Brockie managed to

locate. We were able to walk up to within feet of it. The

calling nightjars were a perfect accompaniment to our

evening meals round the fire beneath the stars, fruit bats

silhouetted against the sky, mottled wood owls joining the

chorus, periodically jackals and wolves, maybe a leopard

and just occasionally the distant roar of the tiger. The

chance of a lifetime? Maybe, but I do so hope to go back

again. The land of Mowgli, Balou and Sheerkhan really

does grasp the imagination and I don‟t think it‟s going to

let up in a hurry.

John Threlfall

REPORTS FROM GALLOWAY RESERVES At Barclye, the second phase of tree planting was

completed in late May. This will link the Wood of Cree

to Knockman Wood (FCS), part of the Cree Valley

Community Woodland Trust‟s vision to link existing

native woodland throughout the Cree valley. In total we

have now planted over 170,000 trees on the site ranging

through oak, ash, birch, willow, hazel and other native

species. This ambitious habitat creation project could

not have been possible without funding from the

Scottish Forest Alliance (SFA) and the Scottish Rural

Development Program (SRDP). We are currently

constructing new trails and installing visitor information

boards to interpret the rich natural and archaeological

history of Barclye. We hope to have the trails open by the

end of autumn.

At the Mull of Galloway we are currently replacing all

interpretation displays inside the visitor centre and we

hope this work might be completed by the end of July.

The visitor centre will remain open throughout the refur-

bishment. Work to replace the CCTV equipment will also

begin during August, continuing to ensure a great visitor

experience through magnificent live seabird footage on

the cliffs.

At Ken-Dee Marshes efforts are ongoing to remove scrub

in the lagoon area and, once completed, this will give

visitors improved views out to the open water. We are

also constructing a new turning area, through funding

from Sulwath Connections, for visitors less able to walk

to the new hide.

Will Cranstoun

Assistant Warden, Galloway Reserves

MERSEHEAD RSPB RESERVE: JULY UPDATE

Wings and Things!

The inaugural meeting of the Dumfries & Galloway

Branch of Butterfly Conservation was held at the Sulwath

Centre/reserve in late June and with 35 attendees, was a

huge success. Five moth traps had been set up the night

before and 90 species were recorded, the most notable

being Peach Blossom and July Belle. There were also

good numbers of Brussels Lace and Red-necked Footman

in attendance and with some micro-moth species still to

identify, there may be other gems yet! Though they

would have to compete with our first record of Wool

Carder Bee in the Sulwath Centre gardens, found by

Alison Robertson, to steal the show.

4

It was a fairly lack-lustre spring migration for birds, but

there were the usual waders passing through including

whimbrels, black-tailed godwits, greenshanks, green

sandpipers and up to 200 golden plovers well into June.

Up to three little egrets and both male and female marsh

harriers graced the wetland and up to three red kites

hunted over the reserve. Water rails and otters were very

evident from the Meida Hide and warblers seemed to be

everywhere, with at least seven singing reed warblers in

the reedbed and lesser whitethroat now becoming annual.

Heading South & Heading Out

We said a fond farewell to Keeley Spate, our Visitor and

Community Liaison Officer, in June as she left to take up

a permanent post with the Forestry Commission in the

New Forest. We all wish Keeley the very best in her new

job. Interviews to find Keeley's replacement will take

place in July, with a view to appointing her successor

in August. Apart from various off-site RSPB regional

meetings, Mersehead staff and volunteers attended World

Oceans Week events at Rockcliffe and Port William,

Colvend School Fete, Bird Group talks and a Wild Goose

Chase review.

Back at Home

The growing trend of RSPB local groups visiting in

spring continued, with Edinburgh and North Ayrshire

on organised trips, and of course, the Galloway Group

continued with their monthly afternoon meetings and

walks. Ben led a successful Natterjack Night and other

events included a Treasure Hunt for the local Leader

funding teams, a Beach Clean and our annual Spring

Birdathon which produced over 50 species of birds seen

on the reserve in just six hours.

Education, Phoenix and WEX

With the Sulwath Centre and Wildlife gardens now in

full swing, it was wonderful to see us having our busiest

June ever for visiting school groups. Ella, Jacqui and

Kirsty also visited schools for Bird-Friendly Schools and

Outreach work as well attending the inaugural Science

Mayhem event in Dumfries and running a Beach Art

event and a Brownie session at Mersehead. Judy Paul,

Scotland Youth Officer, was down from SHQ to catch up

on how the recently formed Phoenix group was going

(from strength to strength, including a visit to the

Galloway Kite Trail), and to run a WEX leaders training

day with Jacqui, with a view to this group launching in

the summer, run by three local volunteers.

Dave Fairlamb

Manager, Mersehead

RSPB LOCAL GROUP OUTING TO

LOCHWINNOCH RESERVE On 8th May 2010, a beautiful sunny day, ten of us met up

at New Galloway and set off on a very pleasant journey to

Lochwinnoch.

Paula Baker met us on arrival, just before 11.00am, and

on the feeders by the visitor centre we were able to see

siskin, redpoll and reed bunting at close quarters. Over

coffee we received a short history of the reserve and

thoughts for future plans. These include a new visitor

centre, as the present one was built in 1973 and is in need

of upgrading. Paula then took us along the southern path

of the reserve, where we saw willow and sedge warblers,

orange tip and green-veined white butterflies and great

pond snails. We visited two hides from which were seen

nesting swans, a great crested grebe and the third visit to

the reserve of an osprey.

We arrived back at the visitor centre having passed an

array of alternative nest sites: hats, teapots and even a

teddy bear nailed to a tree with lots of fleece available to

birds as nest lining material! These were all designed by

the local RSPB Wildlife Explorers Group, as was an

impressive „mini-beast hotel‟ comprising stacked wooden

pallets, ventilation bricks, drain pipes, straw, etc.

It was a little after 1.00pm and we were glad to find our

way to picnic tables where we spent an hour over lunch.

Paula introduced us to Erica, who was our afternoon

guide on the river path towards the town. There were

more nesting swans and black-headed gulls as well as

blackcaps and goldfinches. We saw peacock and small

BRIAN, JOHN, JANE, CYNTHIA, NICK, ANNA, JOYCE, CALLUM, PAULA GOLDEN PLOVER IN BREEDING PLUMAGE

A MULTI-STOREY ‘MINI-BEAST HOTEL’

5

tortoiseshell butterflies around the reedbed. The marsh

marigolds were looking at their best and, in one area,

pick-a-back plant was plentiful, carpeting the ground

below the willows. Coot and heron were seen in the reed

bed. We walked till mid-afternoon, returning to the visitor

centre to say our goodbyes, and enjoyed a lovely return

journey.

Thanks to all who arranged this trip - I, for one, had never

been to Lochwinnoch before. It was also good to see how

many families with young children were enjoying the

reserve while we were there.

Anna White

FROM BLACK GROUSE TO WHITE-TAILED

TROPICBIRDS

It‟s 8.00am Seychelles time and it‟s early May. So that

means it‟s 5.00am back home, somewhere between first

light and sunrise. Usually at this time I would be up a hill

in Dumfries and Galloway, crouched behind some

Molinia tussocks, scanning the landscape for black

grouse. Instead, I‟m wandering through dense forest on

Aride Island, looking for nesting white-tailed tropicbirds.

Nesting tropicbirds are a whole lot easier to come by than

lekking black grouse, it turns out, because they tend not

to be the least bit bothered by humans. If you get a bit too

close, they might eye you suspiciously, or at most look a

little disgruntled when you poke a stick under them to

check for an egg. Aride is rare compared to many islands

in the Seychelles in that it has never been invaded by non-

native predators. Rats and cats have wreaked havoc on

nearby islands, wiping out native species at an incredible

rate, but here, by luck it seems more than foresight, the

wildlife has been spared. As a result, ground-nesters such

as the tropicbirds, and burrow-nesters like wedge-tailed

and Audubon‟s shearwaters, have never learnt to be

terribly concerned about anything that wanders up to

them, including me.

However, that‟s not to say that Aride has always been

a haven for wildlife. Many Seychelles endemics were

lost from Aride, not through predation, but as a result of

habitat loss as the island‟s native vegetation was cleared

to make way for a coconut plantation. Aride‟s twenty

Seychelles magpie robins, 4000 Seychelles warblers and

500 Seychelles fodies only live here as a result of some

highly successful reintroduction programmes. (I still feel

so privileged every time I‟m out monitoring the magpie

robins, being part of one of the most famous conservation

success stories in the world: one which I learnt about as a

zoology undergraduate in fact!) Luckily, the importance

of this island was recognised by Christopher Cadbury,

who purchased the island in 1973 on behalf of the Royal

Society for Nature Conservation. Within two years, the

majority of the coconut palms had been removed and the

native vegetation began to regenerate at an incredible

rate.

Nowadays, Aride is a beautifully lush island. As you

arrive by boat from the south, the steep hill rises

before you imposingly, carpeted in vegetation, broken

only by towering granite outcrops and a long white sliver

of beach. At this time of year, more than 200,000 sooty

terns are whirling around on thermals above the island,

accompanied by great frigatebirds flying so high you can

see them gliding in and out of the clouds.

When you land on the beach and wander through the

plateau, you‟re surrounded by pure white fairy terns

perched neatly on branches, or perhaps fluttering down to

take a closer look at you. You have to remember to keep

one eye on the ground as well though as you walk along

the paths, as skinks and ghost crabs zig-zag under your

feet.

But it‟s the hilly interior that‟s my favourite part of the

island. After a scramble up the hill, through ferns and

over boulders, the sound of crashing waves fades away

and you hear that the forest is filled with warblers. The

branches around you are dotted with austere-looking

brown noddies, some close enough to touch, and usually

several of Aride‟s half a million breeding lesser noddies

building their nests out of wilted leaves. As you push

further through the forest you pop out at one of the rocky

viewpoints, where you can see down to the turquoise sea

at the base of the northern cliffs, where you‟re sometimes

lucky enough to spot turtles and rays swimming under the

surface of the water. From here you look north and see

absolutely nothing, just blue sky and blue sea, and you

suddenly remember that you‟re just a tiny dot in the vast

Indian Ocean.

My time here is nearly at an end and soon someone else

will have the chance to spend three months here, working

FAIRY TERNS

GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS

6

with all this fantastic wildlife. I‟m moving on to new

adventures in Mauritius and Madagascar, but I‟ll never

forget the experience of living here on Aride – beautifully

isolated and bursting with life.

Rebecca Johnson

BIRDS, BEASTS AND BOTANY Reports on the joint RSPB Galloway Local Group and

Scottish Wildlife Trust Summer Fundraising Event

held on Sunday 27th June at Clonyard Farm, Colvend

On a bright and breezy day, there was a veritable army of

people on hand to share their wildlife knowledge with the

visitors who came to enjoy a visit to Clonyard Farm and

all its varied habitats. Below are brief reports from some

of those involved, but there were many others whose

contributions were equally valuable, not least those

making the preparations beforehand, directing the car

parking, greeting people as they arrived, manning all the

various stalls, and serving refreshments. And our especial

thanks go to Pam and Matthew for hosting the event.

Graham Smith, Secretary of Galloway SWT, reported:

It wasn‟t perhaps the best day for dragonflies. The sun

was hiding behind the clouds and it was quite windy.

Dragonflies need warm and calm days if they are going

to perform. It was therefore with some uncertainty that

I took up my station by the loch side to show off the

dragonflies and damselflies to the visiting public. I had a

good look round and eventually discovered a couple of

common blue damselflies skulking in the grass, but that

was all. However, the weather slowly improved and

during the afternoon more and more damselflies made an

appearance. When the sun came out, the male damselflies

staked a territory near the water‟s edge and we had good

views of the common blue damselfly, the blue-tailed

damselfly and the large red damselfly. People are always

amazed when they see these delicate but brightly-

coloured creatures close-up. Later in the afternoon we

were greeted by the rather gruesome sight of a blue-tailed

damselfly chewing on a fly.

Butterflies were also few in number because of the

indifferent weather, but we did find a small pearl-

bordered fritillary in the meadow. The butterfly was very

reluctant to fly and was clinging to the top of a thistle.

Occasionally it opened its wings and gave us a good view

of its orange and black upper wing, and occasionally it

closed its wings and showed off its intricate markings

underneath. Sadly, my camera was in the car!

The pond dipping event was well received by those who

attended. Although the water level in the pond was very

low, there was plenty of life in and around. We caught

tadpoles at various stages of development, and it was

great fun looking for newly emerged froglets in the damp

grass by the pond so we could see 'the finished

product'! We found newt tadpoles too. There were plenty

of water invertebrates to look at: water boatmen, diving

beetles, mayfly and midge larvae, but the star was

definitely the dragonfly larvae. It was very popular, but

could be a devil to find - amazing how well they can hide

even in a white tray! A very enjoyable day, except for the

fact that England lost in the afternoon!

Mark Pollitt (DGERC Manager)

I had a most enjoyable

afternoon with sketchbook

in hand, pencil or brush

poised for that moment

when a bird would be in

view through the scope just

long enough to get a few

lines down and flesh it out

with some colour.

I managed to combine this

activity with the 'Name

the Bullocks’ competition

(manned during the after-

noon by good friend

John Maxwell, who was knowledgeably passionate

about the Longhorn cattle) by endeavouring to sketch the

aforementioned calves with ever swooping swallows, the

whole scene dotted with buttercups. Couldn't resist!

John Threlfall (Wildlife Artist)

RSPB GALLOWAY LOCAL GROUP

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The date for the AGM and the first meeting of the autumn is Tuesday 21 September 2010 at

7.30pm in Castle Douglas High School.

For further information about the RSPB Galloway Local Group

please contact Cynthia Douglas on 01644 420605

7

Alison Robertson, RSPB Area Administrator: We put

out four moth traps the night before the event and caught

so many moths in Pam's varying habitats that, despite an

early start, we were still going through them when the

public started to arrive. Four folk sitting round a small

flying saucer intoning "White Ermine ... Tawny-barred

Angle ... Ringed Carpet..." may have caused eyebrows to

be raised, but the gorgeous Peach Blossom and striking

pink-and-green Elephant Hawkmoths never fail to thrill,

and it was a real pleasure sharing with people the

stunning creatures that fly unnoticed during the hours of

darkness.

We caught 79 species in all, County Recorder Keith

Naylor taking away several micros for a closer look.

Brian Smith (Chairman, SWT) comments:

I felt that the Clonyard Open Day was very successful in

all but numbers of visitors. The wildflower walks were

peopled by a range of enthusiasts including children.

It gave an opportunity to show the youngsters the

relationship between plants and insects. The latter in turn

were shown to be food for birds. There was a wide range

of grassland plants on view including Common Rattle and

Greater Butterfly Orchid. I would be very happy to be

involved in any similar exercise in future and I also feel

that fundraising, while important, is not the sole criterion

of an event's success.

Calum Murray adds: On the day I set up a marquee to

attract children and get them involved in a few activities.

As well as general colouring in, children could have a go

at Compost Safari (looking at bugs and minibeasts in leaf

litter) and Find the Birdy (using the telescope and some

binoculars to look for different birds living around the

farm, to discover where they live). We also managed to

sign up a Wildlife Explorer Club member on the same

day.

In summary: the event raised £550 for the RSPB and the

raffle a further £253. I‟m sure that most would agree with

Brian Smith‟s comments that it was a success, despite the

fact that fewer people than we had hoped for came to

sample the delights.

Stephanie Dewhurst, Editor

RSPB GALLOWAY LOCAL GROUP

WINNERS OF THE SUMMER DRAW - JUNE 2010

1st Prize:

2nd Prize:

3rd Prize:

4th Prize:

5th Prize:

6th Prize:

7th Prize:

8th Prize:

9th Prize:

10th Prize:

Anna White, Milton

Mrs Tavernor, Auchencairn

S Fox, Colvend

Mrs Wainwright, Kirkpatrick Durham

Raymond Finnie, Dumfries

Margaret Finnie, Dumfries

Nick Murray, Borgue

Mrs McAfee, Winster

S Nunn, Colvend

E Jaszenski, Castle Douglas

PAM’S LONGHORNS, AWAITING NAMES!

RSPB SCOTLAND DIRECTOR, STUART HOUSDEN AND PAM PUM-PHREY DISTRIBUTE THE RAFFLE PRIZES

CALUM MURRAY WITH A CAPTIVATED AUDIENCE!

8

THE GALLOWAY KITE TRAIL

This summer got off to a slow but thankfully dry start,

giving the chicks a good chance of survival at the early

stages, and thus kites had a fantastic year with 51 active

nests being discovered over an ever-increasing area.

102 chicks were recorded of which 99 were ringed and

92 tagged. We are reasonably confident that as many as

98 of these chicks will successfully fledge in July/early

August. Nests now range as far as Dunscore, Carsphairn,

Kirkcudbright and the Fleet Valley.

Information shelters at Castle Douglas, Crossmichael,

Parton, Glenlaggan and New Galloway are now complete.

A new family activity has been created to encourage

young children to get involved during their trip around

the trail. The Kids‟ Kite Quest is hosted by six family

friendly businesses, where children can collect wax

rubbings from specially made carvings and then get a

prize. Visitors can now follow the kite trail with the help

of our new trail guide leaflet and a new audio guide soon

to be launched to enhance visitor experience as they

travel around the trail. Made by Ken Jackson of Sounds

Natural, this will be made available either as a CD, the

perfect trail souvenir, or as a downloadable file from the

trail website.

Three guided walks from Mossdale to the Secret Cages

took place during spring and summer, with people

enjoying a plethora of different fauna and flora, including

heath spotted orchids, bog asphodel, common lizards, a

slow worm, kestrels squabbling over a kill, great spotted

woodpecker, jay, whinchat, cuckoo, willow warbler, long

tailed tits, clouded border and yellow underwing moths,

ringlet, common hawkers and common blue damselflies,

as well as close encounters of buzzard and red kite. The

events proved to be very rewarding. I have never seen

people so excited at photographing hazel trees bearing

nuts! Visitor numbers, like the kite breeding success,

continue to grow, with more people being enthralled at

the feeding station and spending time in the area around

Loch Ken. To find out how the trail and red kites have

benefited the area, make sure to read the feature in your

November edition of Birds magazine.

Calum Murray,

Galloway Kite Trail Community Liaison Officer

THE CROOK OF BALDOON

As local members, you will probably be aware of how

special Wigtown Bay is. It has been an area of interest

for the RSPB for many years and local staff have worked

tirelessly to give conservation a strong voice here.

You can imagine how excited we were at the prospect

of creating a RSPB nature reserve here. Opportunities

like this are not too frequent and with the need to raise

funds in order to acquire the site, we were still uncertain

of success right up to the last minute.

Our 209th reserve, The Crook of Baldoon, has now been

bought, thanks to the support of RSPB members and

Scottish Natural Heritage. Members responded to our

appeal in April and helped us raise the much needed

funds to finalise the purchase at £725,000. In total

£351,000 was donated by our fantastic supporters, and

this, alongside one extremely generous donation and

several gifts from wills, took us over the finish line. We

are very grateful to all who helped us secure this new

stretch of coast for wildlife.

The Crook of Baldoon is an exceptional site for wildlife,

and an important addition to our family of reserves in the

area. Its wet grassland, saltmarsh and mudflats already

play host to declining wading birds such as lapwings and

snipe, and other threatened species including whooper

swans and golden plover. Now, thanks to the generous

help of our supporters, we are in the position to make it

even better, not only for wildlife, but for human visitors

as well.

Already, plans are underway to include the Crook of

Baldoon in the largest Local Nature Reserve in the

country, which borders the site. We will soon begin work

on improvements to the access and interpretation and

hope to have this ready sometime in the New Year.

Habitat work will also begin, enhancing and improving

the land for key wildlife, and a full time reserve warden

will be in post this winter.

I do hope that you can visit this reserve in the near future

and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. A local authority-run

hide is open to the public and accessible from Wigtown

Harbour. From here you can look out onto Wigtown Bay

and the Castle Bay nature reserve. The RSPB reserve is

on the opposite side of the River Bladnoch and until, we

are fully up and running on this site, this hide is the only

available facility.

We are grateful for the support of Scottish Natural

Heritage for their assistance in the purchase of this

reserve, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their

contribution to the costs of establishing and managing the

reserve over the next 3 years.

Dave Beaumont,

Regional Reserves Manager, South & West Scotland

DONATIONS BY GALLOWAY LOCAL GROUP

At its meeting in April, the Committee of the Galloway

Local Group agreed to make donations of £1,000 to the

RSPB for woodland/lowland wet grassland and £200 to

LIPU (Italian League for Protection of Birds).

AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE CROOK OF BALDOON PHOTO CREDIT: ALAN CAIRNS