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

Scotland SC037654

GROUP LEADER’S REPORT Congratulations! It is both necessary and very pleasing to take much of the space allocated for my leader’s article in this winter newsletter to congratulate our very own Jill Jordan on her 40 years Volunteer Service Award. This was presented before the commencement of our monthly talk on Thursday 8 December 2016 at our usual meeting venue at the Northumberland Theatre, Writtle College (see photo below). Present at the award ceremony were two members of staff from the Norwich RSPB regional office, Martin Bull, the Volunteering Development Officer and a new appointee, Drew Lyness, the Local Groups and Volunteering Support Officer.

Many members of our current local RSPB group will be aware of the enormous contributions both in terms of fundraising and in promoting the aims and objectives of the RSPB made by Jill and her late husband Roger. Indeed, many reading this article will have actively and happily participated in these activities over these past 40 years. Several, including Jill herself, are still serving in their various volunteer roles, without which the RSPB would find it hard to function as efficiently as it does at the present time.

L – R: Sue McClellan (Talks Organiser), Martin Bull, Drew Lyness, Jill Jordan, Alan Thorpe (Local Group Leader)

Without naming the names of all our past and present little band of volunteers, I would like to present to our newsletter readers just a few of the fantastic projects that have been supported by our group. This should be seen as a testament to Jill as the focal point of these incredible achievements, but I hope also that the other volunteers who have played major, or even minor, roles will accept the thanks of all of us who enjoy nature and wish to see it supported over present and future generations.

Jill’s story of volunteering service began when she and Roger joined the RSPB in 1973. Following this, they attended an RSPB film show at Chelmsford’s Chancellor Hall presented by a development section from the RSPB. After the film show the audience was asked if any people were interested in forming a local RSPB group. Jill & Roger agreed to this and the first committee of the Chelmsford group was held one week afterwards! At a later stage Roger became the leader of the group and Jill became treasurer, a post she held for over 10 years. From the inception of the group the main aims were fundraising, and promoting the aims and objectives of the RSPB in its conservation work with both young and old, nationally and internationally.

Here are just a few of their major achievements:

In 1991 Chelmsford became the very first RSPB local group in the country to raise the grand total of £100,000 for the Society; in 1995 the sum had risen to £130,000, and in 2000, after 25 years, the sum that had been raised amounted to £216,000. A truly phenomenal achievement!

Raising the money is one thing, but distributing it wisely and strategically to further the aims of RSPB is another. Here are a few examples from an extremely eclectic mix of donations for outstanding conservation ventures:

CHELMSFORD & CENTRAL ESSEX GROUP NEWS

Winter 2016/17

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a) £4,000 for a tractor for the Loch Garten reserve;

b) £1,000 for the RSPB library; c) £1,000 for species protection (red kite); d) £2,300 for species protection (stone

curlew and brent goose); e) £10,000 for the RSPB woodland appeal; f) £4,500 for honey buzzard protection in

Italy; g) £12,000 for work at Old Hall Marshes

reserve in Essex; h) £20,000 for establishing LIPU Giovani

(juniors protecting birdlife in Italy); i) £10,000 for the red kite reintroduction

project; j) £10,000 for barn owl research; k) £5,000 for the RSPB estuaries appeal; l) £5,130 for bird protection in Spain.

In addition to setting up the junior branch of LIPU in Italy, Roger and Jill actually initiated the formation of LIPU, U.K. and Roger led this branch for a good number of years. This formalised connection between RSPB and LIPU has been maintained to the present day and has helped greatly in the protection of birds that move between Italy and other countries, including the U.K.

RED KITE

The financial and practical support of a wide variety of people, nature reserves in the UK and abroad, and especially birds, as listed here, is surely highly gratifying and beneficial to everyone. Thank you Jill and everyone else concerned. I hope that we can go forward as a local group and try to emulate this level of success. The world would be a better place for our help.

Monthly talks I would just like to use a few lines to express my slight disappointment that the number of people attending our monthly talks appears to be falling. As an example, the audience for the 8 December meeting, at which Jill was presented with her award, numbered less than 50. The presentation, made by two RSPB officers who had travelled down from

Norwich for the occasion, was followed by an excellent, entertaining and beautifully illustrated talk entitled “A Polar Odyssey” given by Brenda & Ralph Todd and it was a real shame that so few people were present.

POLAR BEAR

We need a minimum of 50 in attendance to pay for certain speakers and the venue, and without the raffles that we now hold monthly, we would probably be making a loss. This, of course, is exactly the opposite of what we consider it to be i.e. a fundraising as well as an entertaining and educational event. It may be that the fall in numbers is due to a range of several different factors that coincide on the specific dates of the talks, rather than a general dislike of the subject, content or speakers. As I write this we have three further scheduled talks over the next three months and it would be very good if you could make a date to attend one or two of these.

Your committee would welcome any feedback on the talks, either positive or negative. Equally, we would like to know the types of topics you would like us to try and cover. You will see the details of the scheduled talks for 2017 and email addresses for correspondence on our website – www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chelmsford/events

The illustrated talk that I am giving on Thursday 9 March entitled “Mediterranean Island Birdwatching: Highlights from Southern Cyprus and Sardinia” includes an interesting link between Jill & Roger Jordan’s role in promoting bird conservation efforts in Sardinia and the remarkable story of the saving of Eleonora’s falcon on some of its outlying islands.

I hope to see a good number of our newsletter readers (and their friends and relatives!) on 9 March. I’m pretty sure you will be entertained.

Alan Thorpe January 2017

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OUR LOCAL GROUP WALKS In October we went to the Naze at Walton. Unfortunately we have not got a formal trip report from this event, but we had an enjoyable walk and spent some time seeing if a bird we had spotted in a bush was a redstart (the conclusion being that it probably wasn’t, but it kept us all amused for quite some while).

Our walk in November was to Canvey Marsh, which is part of the RSPB South Essex network of reserves. It was a warm sunny morning when six of us walked round this relatively new reserve.

We started off in the first hide where numerous gulls and waterfowl were preening and feeding. We couldn’t help but notice how smart the drakes looked in the winter sunshine. Suddenly we heard a whistle behind us – it was a kingfisher! It flew past the hide giving us great views of the

iridescent blue back then perched on a fence post showing us its orange belly. After diving briefly into a nearby bush it then flew back the way it had come.

KINGFISHER

We continued up the main path and checked out the next hide where we saw a grey heron and cormorants. Hoping for something exciting we climbed the bank to the sea wall where we could see ….. a grey heron! We spotted some small birds in a distant bush but despite looking through several scopes we couldn’t work out what they were and just left them as LBJs (Little Brown Jobs).

We saw several blackbirds on the way back to the car park but no other thrushes which we thought odd considering the amount of berries on the bushes – presumably being saved until the weather gets really cold.

Raptors seen included a marsh harrier, a sparrowhawk and a kestrel, and it was pleasing to see a pair of stonechats.

We had been speculating as to what kept spooking the gulls. Eventually we spotted the culprit – a fine fox running through their field.

37 species were seen and two heard (including a Cetti’s warbler – you can hardly miss them with their explosive outbursts of song).

Our final trip of the year was the weekend before Christmas so it was a good opportunity to escape the hurly-burly and enjoy the great outdoors for a while. We went to Whetmead nature reserve in Witham. Although grey and overcast it did not deter eight of us from exploring this little known reserve run by Witham Town Council situated near Witham sewage works.

The sewage works was our first port of call (sewage works often seem to be good places to see birds) and we were amazed at the number of pied wagtails flitting around catching flies. We continued on and met a dog walker who had just seen an otter in the river. Unfortunately this was not visible when we got there. However, it is encouraging to know that these wonderful mammals can be seen so locally.

Several fieldfares and redwings were in the tops of the trees as we continued on. We were hoping for siskins as this is a frequent spot for them at this time of year but none were to be found today. We did have good sightings of a kestrel and a common buzzard.

Smaller passerines were frequent along the hawthorn hedges although nothing rare.

We returned to the sewage works and were delighted to see several grey wagtails had joined the earlier flock of pied wagtails flycatching. Sadly, however, the resident kingfisher did not put in an appearance – must have been off visiting elsewhere.

GREY WAGTAIL

We then walked along the river path for a little while – this continues through the town and is a very pleasant walk. We did not go very far but just beyond where we stopped is a pond which regularly contains Mandarin ducks in the winter (Tim and I saw these at the beginning of 2017) and the walk itself tags nicely on to a stroll around the reserve.

Our (un)official recorder, Steve, had fulfilled his usual pre-Christmas rôle and brought mince pies for our delectation, which were much enjoyed.

32 species were seen.

Viv Connett

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FUTURE WALKS PROGRAMME Our walk leaders, Viv and Tim Connett, having led the walks for a number of years, have decided to step down from the rôle after the January walk to Fishers Green. Viv also acted as group point of contact for some while when we had no group leader, allowing the group to continue in existence, and we are very grateful to them both for their work with the local RSPB group.

Meantime, if anyone would like to step up to the plate and organise and lead our future walks, we would be very pleased to hear from you. The burden is not onerous; you would set a programme of walks, roughly monthly from September to April, on weekend days. Venues chosen are usually in Essex although we have been known to venture into Suffolk. People use their own transport so you would not need to worry about organising anything like that. Then you would lead the walk, welcoming people attending, especially those coming on our walks for the first time, helping with bird identification, ensuring that everyone sees the birds we find, and generally promoting the group’s activities and the RSPB. Subsequently, we would like you to write up a short trip report for our website and newsletter (we will help you with this if you feel you are better at the outdoor activities than writing reports). Good birding skills are important but so are people skills as you will be the public face of the local RSPB group. The walks are publicised in our quarterly newsletter (this publication), on our website, and by monthly emails to our e-mailing list members which inform them about events coming up that month; this is all

carried out by other members of the committee so the work would not fall to you.

If you think this would suit you, please contact Group Leader Alan Thorpe for a chat. His contact details are on the committee members panel on page 9.

WINTER BIRDING IN PORTUGAL A birding friend of mine has a house beautifully situated on the outskirts of Faro in Portugal. Faro is located by the sea about halfway along the country’s southern coastline. It is sheltered from the sea by banks of sand, some of which are occupied. These sand bars shelter salt pans, which are rectangular, walled ponds. Some of them are unused, but they make a wonderful area for birds.

We wondered what the birding there would be like in deep winter, having enjoyed wonderful birding at all the other seasons. So off we flew to Faro from Southend on 3 January, returning on the seventh. The weather was wonderful. Sunshine from dawn to dusk and temperatures up to 18°C but with colder nights, down to 8°C. Ten miles inland, in the rising hills, the weather was awful, mist and continuous drizzle.

Harry and I always tried to take a local expert ornithologist, Georg, with us. He knew every bird and every birding spot in the area so it was a good plan. But we always started at Harry’s home which was beautifully located by a large freshwater pond. Here we began with the sight of eight purple swamp hens with their shimmering dark blue and purple plumage and red bills and legs. We reckon that there are 25 resident there – what a sight. Other birds on the pond included shovelers, gadwalls, wigeons, teals, mallards, great crested grebes, little grebes and coots. Chiffchaffs were everywhere in the shrubs around the pond and sand and crag martins, barn and red-rumped swallows swooped above. Not a bad start.

PURPLE SWAMP HEN

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With this flavour of the area, rather than ploughing through the 117 species we saw in these days, I ought to pick out some highlights. For example, we enjoyed a great lunch by a creek and were able to watch an unusual sight, that of some 300 birds attacking a release of some food in the water.

Involved were little egrets, spoonbills, avocets, black-winged stilts and flamingos – great to watch in bright sunshine. Another group-feeding-frenzy occurred in Harry’s pond where 150-200 shovelers were fighting over something rising out of the base of the pond. We stood

SPOONBILL 20ft away watching.

One morning we rose early and went to view booted eagles leaving their roost. We were lucky enough to count 26 rising to start the day’s hunting. Birds of prey were not very common but we did find an osprey, a black-winged kite, a marsh harrier and three peregrines.

We came across 21 different waders. Nothing terribly unusual, but black-winged stilts in good numbers, small flocks of bar-tailed godwits, a ruff and a snipe stand out. We did however spend a long time in trying to identify the mass of gulls with the help of Georg. The main birds were black-headed, Mediterranean, yellow-legged and lesser black-backed but we did identify also a great skua, some slender-billed gulls and an Audouin’s gull.

To close this epistle, just two more. How about an eagle owl, the bird of the trip? Secretly found by Georg and seen on its nest at dusk after haunting the area with its call. Also a single redwing! What on earth was he doing down there?

So there you are. 117 different birds, glorious weather, great company, excellent local food and wine (brilliant white wine and very cheap). What more could one want?

If you would like more information about this trip or about Georg and his short holidays then please email me: mike@loganwood.co.uk

Mike Logan Wood January 2017

ASIO OTUS ... IN THEIR HUNDREDS!

“When we reach the town, it’s important not to walk too close to the trees, make sudden noises or use camera flash. I also strongly advise you not to stand directly beneath the owls”. These were the wise words of local guide Milan Ružić on day 1 of my recent trip to Northern Serbia. The anticipation was immense!

Readers who attended “Urban Birder” David Lindo’s illustrated talk in November 2015 will recall, near the end of his presentation, a few pictures of trees with dozens of long-eared owls perched amongst the entwined branches. At the time, many in the audience let out a “Wow!” as the images were so amazing. From that moment, I wanted to see the owls for myself one day.

That day arrived in mid December when Margot, ex-local group treasurer, and myself joined David and Milan for some very interesting experiences. It was cold (4°C), crisp and still, with lots of bright sunlight. Ideal for observing long-eared owls in sleepy (it was Sunday) Kikinda ... famous for the 700+ birds that roost in its town square in winter. We found it difficult to comprehend how content these beautiful creatures were as they perched high in the thick foliage of mostly coniferous trees, either ignoring us completely or looking at us with their round beady eyes. It was bird lovers’ and photographers’ paradise. David snapped away, adding to his undoubtedly huge library of photos from previous visits. I took lots too, the first being this one which I was very pleased with:-

Long-eared owls roost in winter during the day in the relative warmth of Serbian towns and villages, then fly off at night to hunt for small mammals. Most migrate north for the summer whilst some remain in Serbia all year. They are a Strictly Protected Species under Serbia’s Environmental Protection Law, where harassment, capture and killing carries

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a hefty fine. The owls are also protected by a permanent hunting ban.

Milan is also a remarkable character. President of the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia (and passionate member of other wildlife organisations), he is very active in the research and protection of birds and their habitats, particularly owls. His knowledge of birds and his ability to identify them at long range were truly impressive. What he didn’t know about birds and where to expect each species wasn’t worth knowing. He was always on the look out for evidence of illegal land use, including large scale ploughing (common in Serbia, sadly), which he recorded the moment he spotted it. He also transmitted data electronically on rare winter bird sightings (our ruff, little egret and three avocets) immediately his excitement subsided. Known as David’s Serbian brother (!), Milan really demonstrated his commitment and value to Serbian wildlife conservation.

I finish with a couple more pictures, including David’s owl perched on a washing line...the Urban Birder’s favourite, naturally.

Overall, a truly memorable experience.

Sue McClellan – Local Group Meetings Co-ordinator

FIRST SIGHTINGS I have been weighing up which kind of first sighting of a species gives me more pleasure: to see a bird I know well from illustrations but have never seen before, or to come across a bird I didn't know existed and identify it later. My best example of the first kind is probably the stone curlew, a bird I longed to see. We went to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Weetings Heath reserve, paid the entry fee, and duly saw plenty of stone curlews. Brilliant!

I certainly wouldn't claim to know every British bird, but the examples that come to mind of the second kind of sighting all happened on holidays in Europe. (When looking at bird guides, I obviously pay less attention to those not normally seen in Britain!) Three months ago, on a surprise late holiday in Lanzarote, we spotted a pipit-

like bird in a car park in the volcanic nature reserve, from our coach window. With the aid of Collins' Bird Guide's description of it as '[breeding as the] only pipit commonly in Canary Islands and Madeira on dry plains, stony and sandy terrain with low vegetation and also mountain slopes. Resident', we later identified it as almost certainly a Berthelot's pipit. Interesting and a modest thrill. Azure-winged magpies, which I also hadn’t known existed, provided a much bigger thrill, zooming in a blue haze ahead of us as we walked by a golf course in southern Spain.

AZURE-WINGED MAGPIE

Which brings me to ponder which birds I most like to see: the more spectacular, readily identifiable ones or the modest and difficult to distinguish? I recall our Group Leader Alan, in his talk on the birds of three Mediterranean deltas last year, describing the distinguishing and memorising of fine detail as one of the joys of birdwatching. Less so in my case, I fear! Thinking back to my holiday in Portugal described in last January’s newsletter, it's the hoopoes and purple swamp hens that stand out in my memory, far more than the western Bonelli's warblers – but then again, I have a lot more difficulty focusing on the fine distinguishing marks.

I suppose what really makes my birdwatching day/month/year is a great view of any of the less common species, so long as I can see enough to identify them from my own knowledge or from that of a fellow birder or a bird guide. It won't be easy to better the fantastic views of eleven redwings, two mistle thrushes, a song thrush, a fieldfare and a nuthatch I had last weekend at Hylands Park! NUTHATCH

Janet Hawkes – Local Group Secretary

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LOCAL GROUP AGM Our local group AGM takes place at 7.30pm on Thursday 27 April, prior to the talk at 8pm. Do please come and join us, as this is your opportunity to hear about the work of the group, ask questions and express your views about the group’s activities.

If you would like to join the committee, we would welcome you; please contact Group Leader Alan Thorpe to talk about this. If you are not a committee-type person, please come to the AGM anyway; you won’t be dragooned onto the committee but we will be very pleased to see you.

The local group recently received this certificate in recognition of £3,187.20 raised in 2015-2016 towards the work of the RSPB. Well done to everyone involved in reaching this great total.

RSPB MEMBERS’ WEEKEND From 2017, this event is now open to both members and people who support the RSPB in other ways. This year it takes place from 21-23 April, and is to be held at the University of Nottingham, which is not all that far away from us here in Essex. You can go for the whole weekend or just one day, and there are residential and non-residential options. Activities include workshops, seminars, excursions, networking and shopping! Go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/events-dates-and-inspiration/events/rspb-weekend/index.aspx to find out more and book your place.

2016 FUN QUIZ We're pleased to tell you that Robin

Sinden of Waltham Abbey is the happy winner, and has received his £25 prize. There were 28 entries in total, and the scores ranged from a relatively high 41 correct answers (out of 50 questions) to 100% correct (50/50). This indicates that entrants found the clues a little

easier to resolve than in previous years – the quiz master's intention! Despite this,

sales were rather disappointing, particularly as the theme was BIRDS! The profit from the quiz was £131.36.

Many thanks again to: Robin Heafford for creating the quiz, distributing bundles to several RSPB

reserves, cajoling his various friends and acquaintances into buying copies, and

collecting the proceeds. Those who bought a quiz sheet and spent many hours puzzling over the

festive period. Sue McClellan for her administrative

assistance and technical support. Robin already has an idea for his next quiz which will be available later this year. Enthusiastic competitors can

therefore have another go! Sue McClellan

RSPB BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH I am not sure if this newsletter will reach you in time to remind you about the Big Garden Birdwatch. This year, it has been extended to cover three days, Saturday 28 to Monday 30 January, so you have got even more time to fit in your hour of birdwatching, and you will be one of more than half a million people taking part. If you do the BGW, don’t forget to send in your results, as they are all valuable data in the survey. Even a “nil” return, depressing as it may be to you, helps in the collection of useful information. If you are lucky enough to see several different species during your hour’s watch, then the RSPB will add them to the numbers submitted from all over the country to see if numbers are going up or down. This helps give the RSPB an evidence-based approach to its various campaigns.

HOUSE SPARROW

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RARE BREEDING BIRDS PANEL – what’s that, then?

The Panel has been monitoring the UK’s birds since 1973; it tracks the status of some of our most valued birds. It is an independent organisation, supported by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the British Trust for Ornithology and the RSPB.

Where does the information come from? Most reports are from birdwatchers who submit them via the County Bird Recorder network. More reports come from monitoring on reserves, returns from activities carried out under licence such as bird ringing, and the work of dedicated experts in raptor study groups and other networks.

Over the years the Panel has seen some heartening species recoveries, such as red kites, numbers of which increased from 26 pairs in 1973 to over 2000 in 2011. At that point it was dropped from the Panel’s list of birds as it was no longer considered rare. New breeding birds have also been documented and some are now well established in the UK, such as Mediterranean gulls and little egrets. Others such as great white egrets, little bitterns and black-winged stilts may be on their way. In autumn 2015,

the Panel was protecting nesting bee-eaters in Cumbria – now that would be a welcome splash of exotic colour in the landscape.

EUROPEAN BEE-EATERS

Sadly, there are some species for which the news is not so good. Golden orioles, marsh warblers and red-backed shrikes maintain only a tenuous hold on their status as breeding birds. New species, such as hawfinches, willow tits and lesser spotted woodpeckers, have been added to the list of rare birds, as once common species have dwindled in number. It is feared turtle doves may be heading in the same direction.

The RBBP uses the resulting database to provide annual updates on the populations of more than 80 species. In turn, the information can be used by the RSPB to guide its conservation work and assess the success of that work.

Go to www.rbbp.org.uk to find out more.

Based on an article by Dr Mark Eaton, RSPB Senior Conservation Scientist

USED POSTAGE STAMPS Used postage stamps can be used to help raise funds for the RSPB. Cut them off the envelopes leaving a border of about ¼ inch (7mm), and send them to RSPB Stamps, PO Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 9XT (this is the stamp company’s warehouse so don’t include any other correspondence to the RSPB in your package). Large amounts of stamps can be left at a reserve or local RSPB office. Albums, first day covers and rare stamps should be sent to Community Fundraising Dept, RSPB, The Lodge, Potton Road, Sandy, SG19 2DL. They will be sent to a specialist auction house to achieve the best market value.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM MIKE CLARKE,

RSPB CHIEF EXECUTIVE Mike’s Christmas message included some highlights from 2016. He told us that over 16,000 species had been recorded on RSPB reserves. This huge figure incorporated birds, mammals, plants, insects and more. And this is only the ones that have been found – there are plenty more yet to be researched and surveyed. The rarest must be the Dungeness leafhopper – a tiny insect that lives on the shingle at Dungeness and is found nowhere else in the world. Here in Essex, RSPB Rainham Marshes reserve has one of the densest populations of water voles in the UK. And, also in Essex, the RSPB is working with the Land Trust and Buglife to manage Canvey Wick, an ex-industrial site, for its endangered invertebrates. In the RSPB’s own back yard (HQ at The Lodge), natterjack toads bred at two newly created ponds.

NATTERJACK TOAD

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RSPB LOCAL GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2016/17

Alan Thorpe Group Leader 01245 222029 alan.thorpe.1@btinternet.com

Diane Thorpe Treasurer/Joint Membership Secretary

01245 222029 diane.lay@btinternet.com

Janet Hawkes Secretary 01376 512628 janhma@aol.com

Sue McClellan Meetings (Talks) Secretary

01245 471576 suem@idnet.com

Vacant Field Trips Organiser Could you be this person? See page 4

Louise Fuller Newsletter Editor/Joint Membership Secretary

01245 421614 louiserfuller@hotmail.com

Gerry Johnson Pin Badge Sales Co-ordinator

01245 356633 gerry2johnson@aol.com

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 8.00pm

and finishing about 9.50pm, 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 there is

free parking on site.

Entry £3.50 adults. No discount for postal group

members.

Walks are all “own car” outings, suitable for all

ages and birding abilities; help with bird ID will be

available. They usually last about 2 – 2.5 hours

and involve walking some distance, although not

at speed. Wear suitable clothing and footwear

and bring your own refreshments. Walking boots

are advised for our walks as the terrain could be

wet and uneven. The sites are often exposed and

you may need warm and waterproof clothing,

especially for our winter trips. 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/events/

If you are planning to attend any of our events,

please check the website in case of any last

minute changes, rather than calling the

organisers.

Cancellation of January’s talk

We apologise for cancelling the talk planned for

January, especially as it was rather short notice.

It is always hard to take the decision to cancel an

event, but in the end we decided we did not want

to risk our members venturing out into the snow.

We hope you all got the message and stayed at

home in the warm and dry. The speaker herself,

Liz Huxley, having set out, was unable to make

the journey either and had to turn back. She has

been rebooked for September and we look

forward to seeing her, hopefully in better

weather conditions.

FEBRUARY

No walk in February.

TALK – Thursday 9

SAVING THE ALBATROSS – CONSERVATION

ACTION ON THE HIGH SEAS. Oli Yates from the

RSPB will give us an enlightening presentation to

explain what the RSPB is doing in the fight to save

the albatross.

Albatrosses live for over 60 years and

circumnavigate the Southern Ocean many times

over. They represent the mastery of one of the

world's wildest environments, and their beauty,

endurance and resilience have provided

inspiration for

naturalists,

explorers and

artists throughout

history. Their

graceful splendour

belies the extreme

conditions they

thrive in. ALBATROSS

By contrast, our own attempts to conquer the

high latitudes is a story of struggle and sacrifice.

As we stretch our boundaries to exploit the

oceans, the inevitable overlap with albatrosses is

threatening their existence. A dedicated team is

striving to reverse the impact.

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MARCH

TALK – Thursday 9

MEDITERRANEAN ISLAND BIRDWATCHING –

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOUTHERN CYPRUS &

SARDINIA. This illustrated talk by Alan Thorpe

gives a personal insight into some of the more

interesting birds to be seen on Cyprus and

Sardinia, two of the Mediterranean's largest

islands.

Cyprus provides relatively easy access to an array

of eastern European bird species. Paphos, on the

south-west coast of the island, is one of the two

European Capitals of Culture in 2017, and the

town makes a very good birdwatching holiday

base. It is very easy to get around and it has

some wonderful ancient monuments in seaside

locations, at which

migratory birds arrive in

large numbers in spring

and autumn. The

possibility of seeing

such birds as wrynecks,

black-eared wheatears,

WRYNECK yellow wagtails and

others, resting on 2nd

century Roman mosaics, is

very real.

Sardinia is the second largest island by area in

the Mediterranean after Sicily. It straddles one of

the main Africa–northern Europe flyways and as

such is a temporary resting and refuelling site for

birds that use a westerly route over the

Mediterranean. In addition to the mainland, it

has offshore islands, such as San Pietro, which

are specialised locations for the breeding of

Eleonora's falcons that migrate here from

Mozambique. This bird is famous for being the

subject of very early ornithological conservation

by no less a person than Queen Eleonora of

Sardinia in the 14th

C., a truly Royal (Society) for

the Protection of Birds! Details of this beautiful,

aerobatic little falcon will be given in the talk.

WALK – Sunday 12

STOW MARIES GREAT WAR AERODROME,

Hackman’s Lane, Purleigh, near Maldon

postcode for SatNav CM3 6RJ (grid reference

TL 819 001 on OS Landranger map 168).

Booking essential. There is a charge of £10 per

person, payable on the day by cash, cheque or

card. Numbers will be limited to 25 to minimise

wildlife disturbance so visitors will need to book

their place with Sue via suem@idnet.com or

01245 471576. First come, first served.

We look forward to participating in a range of

activities at this famous site; some of you may

remember the fabulous talk with stunning images

which Russell Savory gave to our group a while

ago. Russell will guide us on a walk to see,

hopefully, little owls, barn owls, great spotted

and green woodpeckers, various tits and finches,

warblers, chats, waders and hares. If we're

fortunate, some reptiles and a rarity or two may

appear as well.

Russell will also give some short talks, show

some films and (for those interested)

demonstrate some photography tips and allow us

to practise using his own cameras. The event will

last around 4 hours, ending with hot drinks,

bacon rolls and cake.

Meet in the car park at 6.30am (yes, 6.30am!

Daybreak is the time with the best chance of

seeing the wildlife. Please don’t be late or we

will proceed without you). Entry via Hackman’s

Lane ONLY; no access from Crows Lane. From

Chelmsford, proceed past Danbury on the A414.

At the roundabout take the second exit, straight

across, onto the B1010 Burnham Road. Shortly

after, take the first right turn on to Marlpits Road,

and at the cross roads continue on to Hackman’s

Lane. The road does a sharp right bend in Cock

Clarks, then keep going for about another 1.25

miles when you will see a large sign and the

entrance to the site on your right. Once through

the entrance, continue on the concrete road for

nearly a mile, through Flambirds Farm, until you

get to the aerodrome buildings and car park.

Walking boots and warm clothing required.

APRIL

TALK – Thursday 27

Please note this is not our normal second

Thursday of the month, but the fourth Thursday.

This meeting is preceded by the AGM at 7.30pm.

MAMMALS OF ESSEX – Darren Tansley, Essex

Wildlife Trust's Water for Wildlife Officer, will

return to tell us about some of the interesting

and fascinating creatures that live in our county,

from harvest mice to whales and lots in between.

He'll also share

some little

surprises about a

few of them ...

"Well I never

knew that!"

HARVEST MICE