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________________________________________________________________
CHESTER RSPB GROUP
Website: www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chester
NEWSLETTER NO. 78
August 2013 _________________________________________
RAMBLINGS FROM THE GROUP LEADER
Welcome members, and particularly new members. By the time you read this, we will
have started our new season, and have launched our local group offerings of great
speakers and very interesting outdoor events. Regrettably we have had to raise
subscription fees by a modest amount for the first time in several years, as running
costs for the group have continued to rise. I trust you still find it value for money.
Your national RSPB have collaborated with over twenty other wildlife conservation
organisations in the UK to produce a report entitled “The State of Nature”. This
actually makes for quite depressing reading when you think it not only covers birds
(house sparrows on the red data list!), but declines in numbers of butterflies,
amphibians, fish, woodlands, other insects as well as mammals such as hedgehogs, and
more. This report was launched by all the contributors at a major event in London in
June. Sir David Attenborough gave an inspiring keynote address, as did Mike Clarke.
The overall thrust of this report is mainly towards getting politicians to think outside
2
of their four year next election horizon, and realise things need changing and
supporting for the long term. Starting NOW. We have a hard copy in the group if you
want to borrow it, or it is available on the internet. There is certainly a video of the
launch speeches on the websites. It is quite technical, but the messages are stark. We
have to effect change, starting now. Being a member of the RSPB is a great start.
You may also be aware that the RSPB has launched a rebranding. The logo has subtly
changed, and there is a new strap line “giving nature a home”. This is to be combined
with a TV advertising campaign over the summer; you may have already seen it. The
intention is to boost national membership recruitment, which has remained fairly flat
over the past year or so. Your committee have already contributed to the debate on
how to recruit and retain members at a local level. Further views are welcome.
On a personal level, my professional
work currently means I am weekend
commuting to Windsor/Egham. So I
will not be around for the first few
indoor meetings of the new season,
and the outdoor meeting I was due to
lead will be taken over by others.
Still, your stalwart committee did
outstanding work in the interregnum
between Roger and myself, and have rallied round to step into the breach again. I
should be back to torment you in the New Year. In the meantime I’ll be staying in
touch by email and phone, even dialling into the last committee meeting via Liz’s
speakerphone! Apart from living right under the landing zone into Heathrow from
which I’m getting a glow from unburnt Jet A kerosene, and rapidly going deaf, there
are some positives. Red kites are regularly (daily) seen over Windsor town centre, and
there is a large colony of squawking ring necked parakeets in the grounds of where
I’m currently gainfully employed. As I write this (July), you may think it is hot in
Chester. It is absolutely steaming down here in Surrey!
Norman Sadler
Disclaimer: For reasons of legal compliance, RSPB at ‘The Lodge’ has asked all
Groups to include in their Newsletters the following disclaimer: “The advertisements
in this Newsletter are not specifically endorsed by the Chester Group or the RSPB” 'The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654
3
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS- AUTUMN 2013
Outdoor events
Saturday 14th September – Thurstaston Common
Thurstaston Common is a fascinating mix of woodland and lowland heath with a
resulting distinctive spread of birds, butterflies and other wildlife plus wide vistas
across the Dee estuary to the Welsh hills. Which woodpeckers will we see?
The leader for this trip is Peter Stevenson on 01352 716886
Meet Caldy Valley 9am
Saturday 12th
October- River Clwyd
A walk along the quiet banks of the
river Clwyd near Rhuddlan. Close
views of mudflats and river channel
for waders and wildfowl on the
rising tide.
Greenshank, spotted redshank and
ruff are all possible.
The leader for this trip is Barbara Cooper-Poole on 01244 571557
Meet Caldy Valley 11am
Sunday 8th
December- Mere Sands Wood and Marshside
Mere Sands Wood near Southport is an interesting new venue for us. It is a Site of
Special Scientific Interest for its geological features of ancient sand and peat but also
has a wide variety of bird habitats and has had some rarities (e.g. night heron) in the
past.
If time permits we shall also go on to Marshside on the coast for ducks, waders and
4
geese. HT approx 3pm 9.2 metres
The leader for this trip is John Dawson on 01244 675929
Meet Caldy Valley 9am
All the trips meet at the Caldy valley church car park. Newcomers and beginners are
particularly welcome on these trips. Please contact the leader at least three days
beforehand to confirm arrangements. If the leaders does not know you are coming
they cannot let you know of any last minute changes to the trip. Wherever possible, car
sharing is encouraged. If you would like a lift or you can offer someone else one, let
the leader know.
Indoor Events
Wed 18 September at St Mary’s Centre, 7-30pm
"The snowy owl of the Arctic” – Gordon Yates
Gordon is a regular visitor to us. He is a “veteran” wild life photographer with a
particular specialism of cine film – he has made over 30; his latest film and talk will
give us a taste of an early winter but also an appreciation of the harsh conditions in
which these remarkable birds live.
Wed 16 October at St Mary’s Centre, 7-30pm
"Birds of Avalon" – Mike Roberts
Mike is a widely travelled birder but for
this talk he takes us to the more
congenial setting of the Somerset
Levels which hosts a wide variety of
birds and tells the story of the
reintroduction of the breeding common
crane, a bird which used to feature
highly on the menus of the medieval
feudal lords. A fascinating saga.
5
Wed 20 November at St. Mary’s Centre, 7-30pm
“Birds of coast and island” - Paul Hobson
Paul has a lifelong interest in nature but was a teacher for 20 years until a top placing
in an international wildlife photography competition spurred him to “give up the day
job” and pursue his hobby full time. Be prepared for some stunning photography.
Wed 4 December, 7-30pm “Members’ Evening and Quiz”
N.B. VENUE CHANGE to the Guildhall
A members’ night with pre Christmas mince pies which for the last few years has been
highly acclaimed. If you have half of a dozen photos you wish to share with fellow
members contact Liz McClure (01244 409414 or [email protected])
by 31 October. Slots limited to 6-8; book early to reserve your chance for fame and
fortune.
Ian G Ashworth BSc (Hons) MChS
Vanessa Wise BSc (Hons) MChS
Professional treatment and advice on all foot health conditions.
Ground floor clinic with local parking.
Evening and weekend appointments available.
Home visits on request.
Bache House, 9c Mill Lane, Bache, Chester CH2 1BS
Tel: (01244) 381350
BACHE CHIROPODY
& PODIATRY
HPC REGISTERED
CHIROPODISTS/PODIATRISTS
6
UP THE PECOS
On March 15th Pete Rowland, a friend at Fort Clark, invited me on a trip in his small
boat along the wild and spectacular Pecos River in West Texas.
Shortly after crossing the US 90 highway bridge over the river canyon, the highest
road bridge in Texas, one arrives in Langtry. Now almost a ghost town, this town was
once the thriving HQ of Judge Roy Bean “THE ONLY LAW WEST OF THE
PECOS”.
Judge Bean was originally a saloon owner/whisky trader, serving the huge railroad
construction gangs building the new Southern US trans-continental railroad. He just
happened to possess an old law book, which was back then a quite adequate
qualification to become the only official Federal Judge in this vast wild frontier area.
Hence his un-official title “the Only Law West of the Pecos” His brand of justice was
raw and simple. His court was often held on the porch of his saloon and the sentence
was usually a $10 fine and a round of drinks for the house. He was besotted with the
English music hall sensation Lily Langtry, whose husband Edward Langtry is buried
in Overleigh Cemetery in Chester.
After parking the boat trailer I walked down the boat ramp, spotting an osprey, a more
common ringed kingfisher, together with a much rarer green kingfisher, perched along
the river side. Travelling about 7 – 8 miles up-stream I saw bald eagles, red shouldered
hawks, also a number of black and turkey vultures were just starting to nest along the
high cliffs that line the Pecos River Canyon walls.
Stopping for lunch in Dead Man’s Canyon, (the Comanche had killed 3 settlers here),
we were amazed by the thousands of tiny cliff swallows that were nesting along the
cliffs under a huge overhang. The smallest of the American swallows, the cliff
Swallow can nest solitarily, but it usually nests in colonies. Colonies tend to be small
in the Eastern USA, but further West they can number up to 3,500 nests in one spot,
usually on buildings, cliffs, and under bridges. Their gourd-shaped mud nests easily
numbered well over a thousand in this single location. Within a colony sometimes cliff
swallows may lay eggs in their own nest, then carry one egg in their bill and put it in
another nest.
After lunch we had 15 heart-stopping few minutes, as Pete could not get the boat
engine started. This was NOT a place to breakdown. Un-inhabited, many miles from
anywhere and no phone signal because we were in a deep canyon. Imagine our relief
when the engine finally started up again.
7
Returning to the boat ramp late in the afternoon, we looked on in awe as a very heavily
armed US Border Patrol Air-boat came up onto the ramp. It patrols the Rio Grande
River and is used to ambush Mexican drug and people smugglers trying to get into the
USA. Even in the 21st Century West Texas can still be considered a “Wild Frontier”
Brian Gresty
MYSTERY BIRD
.
The above bird was photographed by one of our members, Brian Gresty, near the
Llangollen canal in July and sparked a big debate. All were agreed it was an ibis,
either an escapee or just far from home. Every continent was offered as its home;
Australia – white ibis is common in the eastern half ; Africa – there is a small flock of
sacred ibis in Morocco and historically Egypt ; America – but they only have white or
glossy; Asia has the sacred ibis in Iraq and parts of Europe have introduced sacred
ibises. Any thoughts?
The Editor
8
Mill Lane, Kingsley, Cheshire
Tel. 01928 788210 Fax. 01928 788924
e-mail [email protected]
www.wtgibson.co.uk
Open Mon - Fri 9.00 -5.30 Sat 9.00 -5.00
Sun 11.00 - 4.00
Manufacturers & Suppliers
of Animal Feeds
Suppliers of Quality
Country Clothing & Riding
Wear A Very Large Range of Wildbird Food & Feeders Always on Stock including Gibson’s Own Mixes +
Straight Seeds Including Sunflower, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts, Nigerseed, etc, etc.
Feeders from Gardman & Burgess.
Food & bedding for every animal, from hamsters to horses & everything in between! All at ‘direct from the
mill’ prices Own Brand Feeds at Very Competitive Prices.
9
CONSERVATION
Most of you will know that the RSPB is the UK Partner of BirdLife International. You
can find a short note on the 90th anniversary of the founding of BirdLife – then known
as the International Council for Bird Preservation – in the Spring issue of “Birds”
magazine. Most of the overseas work that the RSPB undertakes is under the umbrella
of BirdLife.
In 1922 a network of individuals and organizations, brought together by their passion
for birds and concerns over the decline of species and habitats, formed the
international Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). They appreciated that international
cooperation was vitally important if their efforts were to be successful. Early
campaigns targeted the trade in bird feathers, oil pollution, hunting and shooting
during the spring migration period and emphasized the need for bird sanctuaries.
Although the Council was a purely voluntary and had no permanent staff, it included
individuals with good contacts and lobbying skills, and so was surprisingly effective.
In 1952 ICBP started to compile data on threatened birds and eventually in 1966, in
cooperation with IUCN (international Union for the Conservation of Nature), it
produced the first Red Data Book of Threatened Birds. Red Data Books and Lists have
subsequently had a profound effect on the global conservation agenda. The first
comprehensive IUCN Red List for birds was produced by ICBP in 1988 and in 1994
threat criteria for each species was added. A publication from 1994 – “Birds to Watch
2” - is particularly well produced and covers all species at risk. The latest information
on Red Lists is available at www.iucn.org/redlist.
From the 1960’s onward, ICBP expanded its role from research and lobbying to direct
involvement in conservation action. A notable example of this was the purchase, in
1968, of Cousin Island in the Seychelles. This purchase was designed to save the
Seychelles warbler – an acrocephalus warbler – from extinction. The species occurred
nowhere else and numbers had fallen to just 20 to 30 individuals because of habitat
degradation. Careful management of the habitat allowed the warbler to recover and by
1987, when the population reached 450, it was possible to transfer birds to nearby
Aride Island where it flourished and, by 1997, Aride held 1,600 birds.
In 1970 ICBP European members were influential in getting the EU Birds Directive,
the first environmental directive, approved. Today around 25,000 sites throughout
Europe are protected under the Natura 2000 network of reserves for the Birds and the
Habitats Directives. From 1980 ICBP employed a professional secretariat and
activities increased. In 1989 ICBP published its biggest book yet, a directory of
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Europe. The concept of a single reference book for
10
important sites for birds across an entire continent was ground-breaking and of great
importance for conservation. The publication set out to make the information
accessible to non-specialist decision makers in government and elsewhere. Work on
IBAs for the other continents followed and by 2009 some 9,500 sites had been
identified and documented - this figure has now grown to about 12,000. To make the
information more relevant at the local level, 129 publications covering all or part of 83
countries had also been produced by 2011. Details of all directories can be found on
www.birdlife.org/datazone/info/ibainventories .
In 1992 ICBP decided that its structure as a federation of many groups, often several
in each country, with somewhat varying philosophies was not appropriate. The
replacement structure has one representative organization per country – a Partner in
the BirdLife Partnership. The Partnership now has over 110 partners and is present in
all continents uniting over 7,500 staff and representing 2.7 million members.
ICBP/BirdLife has always depended on fees, donations and grants. The success of its
work and the projects that it has sponsored has ensured that it has benefited from
grants from a wide range of donors over the years. The scope of its work is amazing; a
few examples follow.
From 1990 it has sponsored conservation expeditions in many parts of the world.
Recently it has concentrated on sponsoring individuals from developing countries who
are keen on becoming conservation professionals.
Birds on small islands have fared particularly badly in recent history. Alien plant and
animal species, notably the black rat, have had a serious effect on many birds and have
led to the extinction of some. BirdLife, with its New Zealand partner to the fore, has
pioneered rat eradication programmes.
ICBP/BirdLife have devised and monitored management plans for forest and wetland
areas, starting in 1983 with the Arabuko – Sokoke Forest in Kenya. A recent example
is the Harapan forest in Indonesia where the RSPB has a major involvement.
In 2008 BirdLife instituted the Preventing Extinction Programme targeting 75
critically endangered species. Management plans for each species has been prepared
and a major fund-raising effort has been undertaken.
Seabirds have suffered greatly in recent decades from the intensification of fishing.
Most albatross species are endangered because of losses at the hands of the long-line
fishing industry. BirdLife have been in the forefront of efforts to reduce losses and
11
recent measures introduced on boats appear to be having some success. BirdLife are
also presently involved in the designation of marine IBAs.
Other topics that BirdLife are researching include climate change, the protection of
flyways for migrating birds and the close involvement of local people in conservation
projects.
ICBP/BirdLife was an early supporter of the concept of a single multi-volume
publication describing and documenting all the birds of the world. It endorsed the first
volume of the Handbook of the Birds of the World in 1992 and has continued its
support through to volume 16 in 2011. The Handbook is an amazing source of
information on ornithology, for details see www.lynxeds.com
John Chapman
Chester Osteopathy Christopher Holroyd GOsC Registered
Osteopath
42, Stocks Lane, Boughton, Chester. CH3 5TF
tel: 01244 478700 or 07800 801427
www.chesterosteopathy.co.uk
For aches and pains at all stages of life; from new-borns to those more advanced
in years. Just some of the most common problems that osteopathy can help with:
Low back and sciatic pain, “Trapped nerve” , Neck pain, Shoulder pain and
“frozen shoulder”, Sports injuries, Tennis elbow, Arthritic pain ,
Tension headaches, Aches and pains during pregnancy, Irritable
babies.
Appointments available Monday to Saturday inc. evenings and home
visits. Massage also available
12
FIELD TRIP TO HOCKENHULL PLATTS , APRIL 2013
On a very pleasant spring evening (remember those) around twenty folk turned up to
have a gentle stroll through the Hockenhull Platts nature reserve.
Some folk call it Roman Bridges; others call it Pack Horse Bridges. Either way this is
a local nature reserve run by the Wildlife Trust, with a bridleway running through it.
David Cummings is the warden, and has been as long as I can remember. It is my
local “patch” as I can walk to it from Waverton. In fact, some years ago, your local
group published a booklet with bird walks around Chester, and I authored the
Hockenhull entry.
David met us all and led a fascinating evening of history and wildlife. Although the
actual reserve is small, and not open to the public, it can all be viewed with binoculars
from the bridleway that formed the original packhorse route from Chester to London,
or the permissive footpath alongside the river. With the introduction of the
stagecoach, the bridges over the Gowy were too narrow and too expensive to widen,
so the new road (now the A51) was developed.
Otters are back in the Gowy. Spraints and footprints have been detected, and motion
sensors with infrared cameras have captured images of this mammal under the bridge
over the Gowy itself. Some years ago, David secreted an artificial otter holt on the
banks of the river on the reserve, and it seems to be paying off.
Anyway, lots of birds were seen. My species count totalled 31, including two I had
not seen in all the years I’ve been visiting there (wheatear and grasshopper warbler).
There was a report of lesser spotted woodpecker, and if confirmed, would be a first for
the reserve. Believe me, David has very good records, so if anyone can corroborate
that sighting, please let us know.
Word of warning. If you visit, do not stray off the path onto the reserve without being
accompanied. It is lowland wet heath land, there are very rare plants (e.g. orchids) that
could get trampled underfoot, and there are some hidden, overgrown ditches where
one could get seriously wet and stuck. Enjoy the reserve from the bridleway over the
bridges, or the permissive footpath along the bank of the Gowy towards Walk Mill.
I’m glad to say this was one of our more popular evening outings, well attended, and
very well hosted. Many thanks are due to David Cummings for his time, knowledge
and enthusiasm.
Norman Sadler
13
THE “REAL”FIELD TRIP TO STIPERSTONES, MAY 2013
At 7am sharp saw 8 intrepid souls gathered in Caldy Valley. Destination Stiperstones -
an exposed ridge in Shropshire, and the weather forecast? - Horrendous!
We arrived at the Stiperstones Inn and were soon on our way up the track to ascend the
valley to the ridge. Chiff chaff was heard singing and then Roger made the first good
spot - sparrowhawk. A lovely patch of wood sorrel, and willow warblers singing their
sweet song. We had a tantalising glimpse of redstart and soon gained the ridge to see
red grouse flying away.
Over the ridge and
round Shepherds' Rock
we headed towards the
reserve of Brook
Vessons, with its old
gnarled trees. Two
curlews in the fields
below, and a red kite
were spotted. We could
hear redstart calling,
then singing, and finally
great views! A tree pipit shot up and landed in another tree. Further on and we heard
and finally saw whitethroat and blackcap in the same small tree. Confusing at first, as
the blackcap song was not particularly fluty, and could have been garden warbler. In
the end though, visual confirmation of blackcap was achieved. We then turned back
towards the ridge and great views of two cuckoos in flight, and more redstarts flitting
between the path and the adjacent trees. Skylarks sang overhead.
We were going to walk right along the ridge, but finally rain arrived with very blustery
strong wind, and it seemed wiser to descend the way we had come up. We soon
reached the Inn, real ale and coffee, and Rod and Jeannie succumbed to a sticky toffee
pudding!
Then on to Venus Pool, which gave us a lot of additional species. I immediately had
little ringed plover and ringed plover in the same telescope view, with lapwing and
common sandpiper nearby, and dunlin joining the party soon after. Other birds
included oyster catcher, great crested grebe and tufted duck. Over the water were
swallows, house martins, and sand martins, with swifts above the trees at the back. A
marsh harrier flew over, and we moved to the adjacent hide. Female and then male
14
great spotted woodpecker were seen well with finches and tits.
We walked round the paths leading to another hide the other side of the pool, and still
more birds including a singing garden warbler - stock doves, buzzard and a linnet
singing on the return. We also spotted quite a few flowering plants, lady's smock,
orchids (? early purple), white and red campion, garlic mustard to name but a few.
Finally on the way home, a kestrel hovering at the roadside.
We were very lucky with the weather, avoiding most of the rain and showers and had a
list in the end of around 60 species - and a fair few flowering plants.
Peter Stevenson
THE BREEDING BIRDS OF NORTH WALES
This excellent publication will
shortly become available from
Liverpool Press and there is a
special pre-publication offer of £20
( instead of £45).
Why not give a loved one (or
yourself) an early special Christmas
present this year!! To avail yourself
of the pre- publication email Janet
McDermott via [email protected]
before 1 October.
The Editor
15
THE “ALTERNATIVE” FIELD TRIP TO STIPERSTONES MAY 2013
As this part of Shropshire is one of our favourite places, Ron and I decided to go
anyway, even if the Stiperstones ridge in the rain was a bit much to ask. We left at a
more civilised hour, going via the A5, beautiful with cowslips and primroses and
cherry blossom, to find with only minor difficulty, Venus Pool off the A458 near
Cross Houses. Bird count had been minimal so far crow, magpie, pigeons varied,
blackbird and one peewit.
Venus Pool was an
enchanted place in the
morning sunshine (we
stayed in the hides
during the showers),
the beauty added to
by Hebridean
black/brown sheep,
and a plenitude of
teasels. Goldfinch
was about, chaffinch
of course, Canada
geese, mute swans,
oystercatcher, coot nesting, lots more peewit nesting on the sandy spits, mallard,
sandpiper (but which!!) and little ringed plover. We were please to find a great crested
grebe pair very close to the hide to the right, the female incubating while the male
circled protectively. Sand and house martin wheeled about, interspersed with
swallows. The small bird hide was attended by blue and great tit, hedge sparrow and
chaffinch and one female siskin. This would have been better had the feeders not been
virtually empty!
After a quick dog outing, we thought it must be lunch time and made a further foray
over the deep and fast Severn to Atcham, where we had fantastic smoked salmon
sandwiches at the Mytton and Mermaid, while overlooking the old bridge and the
river. Also entertaining was an array of different birds, wedding guests in ridiculous
heels and all sorts of feathers! We visited St Eata's 11th century church next door,
admiring the ancient stained glass. Thus refreshed, we felt able for the Stiperstones!
We had evaded the rain so far and felt very pleased with ourselves....
A circuitous route, charmed by goldfinches, took us to the southern part of the Nature
reserve, with stunning views of the Brythen, the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc. One
buzzard the only new one! We found the access for all routes, a good 750 metres from
16
the Knolls car park. One wheatear and a pheasant were the only birds ill advised to
appear, as Liz tried her best to ignore the clouds coming up behind the Stiperstones
ridge. We turned tail and ran for the car park but not of course in time. We were really
frozen by heavy and painful hail accompanied by a high wind driving it into us. If
there were birds, we didn't care!! (But I thought I saw a ring ouzel all the same). We
retreated down the hill and back towards Shrewsbury, with snow at the edge of the
road.
A short visit to the McClure parents' grave in Wellington with some primrose plants
was a lovely thing to have done and a fish supper en route revived us enough to make
it back to Chester.
Liz and Ron McClure
GIVING NATURE A HOME
Most of you will be aware that RSPB has just undergone a re-branding. You might
have been reading the Autumn issue of Birds or visited the RSPB website, or seen the
TV advert. In case you’re wondering what it’s all about, here is some (distilled)
information from HQ on the new strategy.
What RSPB has always done and will continue do is to save threatened species and
habitats. When you protect habitat, you’re supporting all that biodiversity around the
birds, e.g. vegetation to nest in and food to eat, so all of the flora and fauna benefit, not
just birds. However, many people aren’t aware of this wider benefit for nature, or that
nature is in trouble in the UK. Norman’s front page article mentions the State of
Nature report, which shows us the extent of the problem. This shows that the need to
protect habitat for all of nature is becoming more crucial. You can read the report
online at http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/science/stateofnature/
The report makes it clear that the work of RSPB and other conservation organisations
may have helped to achieve some successes, such as avocets, corncrakes, red kites, and
so on. But we have much more to do: we have lost 2/3 of our cuckoos, 44 million
birds, and 95% of hedgehogs since the 1950s, and one in ten British species of wildlife
are threatened with extinction.
Moreover, research shows that support for nature is in gradual decline, and fewer
people are concerned about threats to nature. Adult RSPB membership is at its lowest
for 10 years. The lost income hampers the ability do the vital work, but RSPB is also
17
concerned about losing the ‘reach’ that members have, i.e. the people they speak to
and the volunteers we have.
So the objective of the new branding is to make ourselves relevant to more people by
showing we can make a difference in helping threatened wildlife, and encourage them
to support us by joining the organisation. The re-branding is targeting people who are
already interested in wildlife, e.g. those who might visit a nature reserve with the
family, or who watch nature documentaries on the TV.
The “Giving nature a home” strapline is an extension of campaign work that RSPB
was already doing. Giving it more emphasis will let people know of the problem and
what they can do about it. RSPB wants to inspire people to build homes for nature to
bring people closer to wildlife – the focus is on common species, to make it easier for
people to get involved with nature by putting up bird feeders, building homes for bees
and hedgehogs and so on.
For more detail on this, see the new Birds issue: the editorial from RSPB’s Chief Exec,
Mike Clarke, on page 5, and the article on State of Nature starting on page 14. If you
want to help us inspire others to support this campaign, please come and talk to us at
one of our forthcoming events.
Roger Nutter
FIELD TRIP TO CLOCAENOG, MARCH 13
There were eight of us on the field trip to Clocaenog. It was bitterly cold when we met
at 7.30 but the sun was creeping over the horizon so we hoped it would warm up.
Our first stop was at the Tesco store in Ruthin, where waxwings had apparently been
spotted the previous day. We saw no sign of birds or of any berries on the trees, so we
guessed they must have had their fill and moved on. As we approached the forest car
park at Bod Petrual, there was a
welcoming party for us in the shape of
a series of three roadside posts each
topped with a buzzard. Shame one
couldn’t have been a goshawk, which
was our key target species for the day.
On the summit of Craig Bron Banog,
we were delighted to see a great grey
shrike. We watched it for quite a while as it flew from tree to tree hunting for food.
18
Unfortunately, the goshawks we hoped to see were absent; we looked and listened for
an hour or more, but had to admit defeat. I was thrilled for a moment when I thought I
saw one sitting on a branch some distance away, but it turned out to be a pale-coloured
rock showing through a bare tree.
We parked in three different places during our visit, and saw a variety of other birds
including coal and blue tits, raven, buzzard and robin, and good views of a pair of
bullfinches. The sound of siskins was all round us too, although we didn’t get good
views of them. On the way back to the cars from our final stop at Pincyn Llys, male
and female crossbills were spotted. They were quite flighty but the whole group
managed to get views of them in the binoculars and telescopes before they went deeper
into the forest.
So it was worth braving the cold in the end. Even with the sun shining all day, it didn’t
warm up!
Hilary Pritchard
A DAY OUT TO BEMPTON CLIFFS
For those who did not go to Bempton Cliffs you missed a fantastic day out. The
weather was superb. The offshore wind was a bit cold but the birds made up for that
when we got there. On the way by coach I saw and counted 23 species.
All day the total counted was 45
which consisted of gannets galore,
four different kinds of auks
including both black and bridled
guillemots. There were also
kittiwakes and fulmars; the
cacophony of noise was
tremendous. A raven was present
and a peregrine falcon flew past
lolling for a meal. A few
shearwaters passed by; also a delight for me was the tree sparrow- such a handsome
but rare bird these days.
Many thanks to the organisers of the trip and to our coach driver.
Malcolm Leigh
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CADOS PROGRAMME –AUTUMN 2013 Sat 21
st Sep North Wirral Leader: Roger Wilkinson 01244-381343
Sat 26th
Oct Migrant Mystery Tour Leader: Don Pawlett 01244-677477
INDOOR MEETINGS
Thu 3rd
Oct Madagascar Highlights by Roger Wilkinson
Thu 7
th Nov Central & South America by Steve Holmes
Thu 5th
Dec Hilbre Bird Observatory by Phil Woollen
Editor’s note
Hope you enjoy the bird photos (ex RSPB website) which our new printer can now do
in colour. My thanks to all the writers who provide such a variety of articles. I hope
that you enjoyed their contributions and perhaps will be stirred to have a go at writing
yourself. Future editions always need articles- short or long with or without
photographs. If you wish to contribute something, please do not hesitate to contact me
on 01244 675929 or by email [email protected]
Sadler Quality Ltd.
Solving Quality Problems
Reducing Scrap and Waste
Cost Saving
Quality Strategy
Culture Change
Training
Audits
2 Millers Close, Waverton,
Chester
Tel: 01244 335670
Mob: 07843 580440
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sadler-quality.co.uk
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