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EAST DORSET LOCAL GROUP
NEWSLETTER N 90 : MAY 2012
The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our
environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Registered Charity, England and
Wales Number 207276, Scotland SC037654
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Dear Members
It’s hard to believe that we are at the end
of another season already. It was good
to hear from our Treasurer, Tony Hartle,
at the AGM that our finances were in a
far better state than had been the case
the previous year, so much so, in fact,
that we had been able to make a
donation of £500 to the Society.
We have only two more events before
the season closes - our field trip to
Hengistbury Head on 19 May and the
Nightjar evening, this year at Burton
Common on Friday 1 June. Do come
along if you can.
Jill Bale
Newsletter Editor/Programme Co-
ordinator ********************************
GROUP LEADER’S MESSAGE
Dear Members
As I am sure you all know by now, the
cost of postage has rocketed. It would
be a great help to Lyn and Gerry Traves
and to our local Group if we could
deliver the bulk of our newsletters by
hand, thus saving the Group postage.
The South West Regional Office have
been running a scheme in which new
RSPB members receive emails giving
them basic information on their local
RSPB Groups. We have had some
success with this process, but there still
seem a lot of RSPB members and non
members who are completely unaware
of our local Group. Therefore it is
important for us to publicise it, to our
friends and relatives, and bring them
along to our excellent meetings and
walks.
Hugh Clark
Group Leader
********************************
GROUP NOTICES
Subscriptions. Subs were due in
September; the rate remains unchanged
at £3 single, £5 joint. If you have not
paid, this will be your last newsletter.
Group meetings. Due to the church
allocating the hall to other groups on
some of the evenings that we had hoped
to book, some dates have had to be
changed for next season. A provisional
programme appears in this newsletter,
but the main changes are listed:
2012 The September meeting will be
on Friday 7 September
November - Thursday 15th
December - Wednesday 19th
.
2013 February - Thursday 14th
********************************
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Newsletters. As Hugh has mentioned
above, the cost of postage was raised in
April. At present almost half the
Group’s newsletters have to be posted
and before the increases about £100 was
being spent each season. The new rates
will increase this amount dramatically.
The Committee would be very grateful
if members would be willing to deliver
newsletters in their areas in an effort to
offset this expense. Also, perhaps some
of you might care to donate postage
stamps towards the cost. Please let
Hugh or one of the Committee know if
you could help in either of these ways.
Any offers of help will be greatly
appreciated.
********************************
Honorary Treasurer. Tony Hartle will
step down as Honorary Treasurer in July
2013 at the latest. The Group cannot
function without a Treasurer, so the
Committee is asking members to
consider taking on the post. Tony says
that the work involved could be
undertaken by anyone with a knowledge
of accounting practices. He would be
happy to help and advise anyone willing
to take on the job; let Tony or another
Committee member know if you feel
you can do so. I cannot stress too
strongly the importance of our finding a
new Treasurer. No Treasurer, no
Group; it’s as simple as that.
********************************
A very important date for your diary.
On Saturday 21 July from 1 to 4 pm
Hugh and Jan are hosting another cream
tea at 32 Braishfield Gardens,
Bournemouth (almost next door to
Castlepoint). Apart from the goodies to
eat there will be a raffle and quizzes.
Entry will be £3 per head, with children
under five free. Those who attended last
year had a very good time, so do come
and support Hugh and Jan; all proceeds
go to RSPB funds.
********************************
SNIPPETS
Spanish Sparrow. In January an unusual
sighting of a Spanish Sparrow caused
great excitement in Calshot, Hampshire,
which brought birders from many parts
of the UK and beyond. This species had
not been seen in Britain since 2000. I
must admit I viewed the bird from the
comfort of my armchair via the
television.
Bird feeding. All of us, I am sure, are
into feeding the birds in our gardens.
Throughout the year we all probably
spend a tremendous amount of money
on peanuts, seed and all manner of other
food to keep our garden visitors happy.
Many of us will recall the days when
our birds and other wildlife were fed
scraps from table leftovers. Many
people kept chickens, which were also
fed scraps, scattered on the ground, and
a mixture of bran was put out, which
also attracted a host of bird life, as well
as rodents occasionally. Bird boxes
were sometimes made up of rough
wood, but in the main the birds lived in
the wild and nested in trees and hedges,
as they have done for many years.
At some stage some bright spark
twigged (pardon the pun) that a fortune
could be made from selling seed and
manufacturing bird boxes and so this is
how we see the situation today.
Mucky windscreens. Do you remember
a few years ago that the RSPB asked
members to take part in an experiment
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to find out how many bugs were stuck
to a vehicle number plate after a drive in
the car? We were each issued with a
template which, when placed over the
number plate, allowed us to count the
number of insects that adhered to the
plate during the drive. The RSPB were
concerned about the lack of insects
around at that time, which obviously
affected bird life.
Recently Audrey and I made a trip to
Devon by coach and we noticed that at
the end of the trip the windscreen was
covered in flattened insects, so
hopefully maybe we are getting more
insect life again.
Have we learned our lesson? Lastly,
Audrey is a member of The Old
Bartonians Association, where she
attended school quite a few years ago,
and the following was in the regular
newsletter to members:-
“The budget should be balanced, the
Treasury should be refilled, public debt
should be reduced, the arrogance of
officialdom should be tempered and the
assistance of foreign lands should be
curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must learn to work, instead of
living on public assistance.”
Who said this? Cicero in 55BC… We
have a lot to learn!
Stan Cresswell
********************************
PAST SPEAKERS
January. For the first meeting of the
year we had Bob Gibbons as our guest
speaker. On this occasion we were
shown some beautiful slides from some
of the many parts of the world that Bob
has visited in his 30 years as a
photographer. In this talk entitled “The
Most Flowery Places on Earth” we were
shown flowers as well as animals and
birds, accompanied by an informative
commentary. A very pleasant evening
was had by all.
February. Our old friend Dominic
Couzens visited the meeting and gave
an interesting illustrated talk entitled
“Birds Across the Channel”, in which he
followed the passage of birds from this
country across the Channel and what
they got up to in Europe. Dominic is
always humorous with his talks and this
one was no exception and very
enjoyable.
March. Another frequent visitor who is
also welcome to our meetings is Mike
Read, ably assisted by his wife Liz, and
he gave an excellent talk on their
experiences travelling in New Zealand.
It had a beautiful title “Aotearoa: The
Land of the Long White Cloud”. The
views and photography were stunning
and gave everyone an idea of what it is
like in that wonderful country. A great
evening.
April. It is a while since we have
welcomed Terry Bond to the Group. His
talk on the Isles of Scilly was much
enjoyed, giving us lovely pictures of
birds and scenery, together with facts
and figures about the bird population.
Stan ********************************
MAN’S LOVE-AFFAIR WITH
BIRDS
John Cresswell, the Curator of
Bournemouth Natural Science Society
(BNSS), has given me details of an
exhibition to be held at BNSS HQ from
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9 to 15 July. The details are given
below, exactly as on the flyer.
“Man’s Love-affair with Birds An Exploration of the History of
Ornithology
July 9th
-15th
2012
10.30 a.m.-4.00 p.m.
Bournemouth Natural Science Society
39 Christchurch Road, Bournemouth,
BH1 3NS
The study of birds was a long, drawn-
out affair before it achieved the high
popularity amongst the public that it
holds today (RSPB claims over a
million members). The present-day
glossy journals and coffee-table books
and dazzling TV documentaries are
testimony of how far ornithology has
come, yet this slickness can conceal the
centuries of discovery. The fascinating
story has been charted in Peter
Bircham’s A History of Ornithology
(New Naturalist, 2007).
The strands include the dedicated
observations by remarkable individuals
and the rise of amateur groups and
conservation organisations. Their work
is paralleled with improved printing
techniques, better observational and
recording equipment, and a clearer
understanding of the world at large. The
story of ornithology as a science is also
the story of Man’s intellectual journey,
involving Gutenberg, Captain Cook,
Darwin, Thomas Edison, Alfred
Wegener, and Crick and Watson,
amongst countless others.
David Elliston Allen (The Naturalist in
Britain), describes the common aims of
the growing numbers of Victorian
Natural History Societies as: a meeting
place for mutual discussions, the
production of transactions wherein to
record their deliberations, the
accumulation of natural “curiosities” to
form a museum, and a library of rare
and expensive books.
During the following century these
centres of activity were absorbed into
county museums and libraries.
However, modern sensitivities have
meant the stuffed creatures have
vanished from display through
ignorance of the role they played in our
struggle to understand Nature.
Very few local natural history societies
now exist with a testimony of specimens
and objects of their heritage. The
Bournemouth Natural Science Society –
an Edwardian late-comer to the scene,
yet with the tradition of earlier societies
– is fortunate to hold a varied collection
that can illustrate the past history of
ornithological awareness covering
35,000 years.
A week-long exhibition is arranged for
July, bringing together items from the
BNSS collections and library (and
supplemented by additional material)
that will attempt to tell the story of
man’s love affair with birds. It intends
to explore the world of Ornithology,
incorporating science with art,
technology, literature, gastronomy,
bringing in geology, archaeology and
other sciences – and compassion. It will
also highlight some of the local
contributions and associations. The
exhibition will be free.”
As members will realise, a great deal of
time and research has gone into
preparing what will undoubtedly be an
inspiring and informative experience. I
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shall certainly be attending and hope
that as many of you as possible will also
go along to enjoy this rare opportunity
of visiting the BNSS Headquarters. If
you are not sure of their situation, just
follow Christchurch Road from the
Lansdowne, going towards Boscombe,
and BNSS will be found on the right-
hand side at Nº 39.
********************************
FIELD TRIP REPORTS
The first trip of the year was to
Longham Lakes, attended by a very
respectable total of 20 members.
Battling the wind as we walked up the
causeway, we were delighted to find a
pair of Smew; for some of us the
sighting of a drake was a rarity, as the
females and young ones, nicknamed
“redheads”, are far more commonly
seen. Other ducks were seen, including
at least two “redhead” Goosanders and
large numbers of Tufted Ducks. No
sign being found of any Shovelers, we
realised that they, and their companion
the Blue-winged Teal, would not be
added to the day’s list.
The sun shone brightly, but the wind
was so fierce that on the return part of
the walk we could hardly keep our feet.
So severe was the problem that the field
trip was abandoned mid-morning.
Portland Bill on a sunny, windy
morning demanded stamina, but
provided some decent birds, including a
Red-throated Diver and two Purple
Sandpipers. Gannets flew by in a
constant stream, Kittiwakes and Fulmars
appeared in lesser numbers and there
were many auks, mainly Guillemots but
also a good number of Razorbills.
As the wind was cold, we decided half
way through the morning to leave the
Bill and give Lodmoor a try. Some
goodies had been reported there,
including Iceland and Ring-billed Gulls
and a Firecrest, but alas none obliged.
The weather was very different at the
end of February, when the largest group
of the season assembled at Middlebere.
A pair of Dartford Warblers were seen
by all, but they turned out to be the best
birds of the morning, as the Hen Harrier
declined to show. A large flock of
Black-tailed Godwits was joined by a
few Avocets and some Dunlin.
Lapwings were restless, as usual, but the
high tide was not the best situation for
wader watching. We climbed the hill to
the Harrier Hide, but did not find
anything of great note, and Hartland
Moor was also quiet.
Only five of us turned up at Durlston
Country Park on the first day of March.
Perhaps the early fog had deterred some
members, but this dispersed to give a
fine, sunny and very pleasant morning.
Almost as soon as we arrived at the
lookout a flock of Jackdaws took to the
air, agitated and noisy, and seconds later
a Peregrine Falcon flew past us and
perched on a rock, where it could be
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watched for a quarter of an hour.
Guillemots and Razorbills floated on the
sea and Shags were flying in and out.
Small birds were scarce, but included
numbers of Chaffinches and Robins. A
Skylark sang and parachuted down into
a field.
On the last day of March an excellent
visit to Radipole was enjoyed by eight
members. The North Hide was the place
to be and here we had good views of an
immature Glossy Ibis, a bird that some
members had never seen before. A
Kingfisher perched in front of its nest
near the Sand Martin wall and a Marsh
Harrier flew over. A Wheatear shared
the small island opposite the viewing
area with some immature Cormorants,
but the most unexpected bird was a
Sedge Warbler, the earliest ever
recorded by any of the keen birders in
the party. A walk round Lodmoor was
somewhat less exciting, but we did find
another Wheatear and were sent on our
way by a Willow Warbler that perched
on a twig in front of us and sang.
April saw just eight members at
Shatterford, which was rather quiet.
Woodland birds included Great Spotted
Woodpecker and Nuthatch, while
migrant Chiffchaffs and Willow
Warblers sang.
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REMAINING PROGRAMME FOR
2011/12
May
Sat 19 Field trip: Hengistbury Head
June
Fri 1 Group meeting, outdoor
(evening): Burton (Guss) Common
******************************
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
2012/13
All field trips by car unless stated.
2012 September
Thur 6 Field trip: Arne
Fri 7 Group meeting. David Kjaer.
“Highlands and Islands”
Sat 29 Field trip: Portland
October
Thur 4 Field trip: Radipole and
Lodmoor
Wed 10 Group meeting. Andy Tucker of
Naturetrek: “Birds of Peru”
Sat 27 Field trip: Keyhaven
November
Thur 1 Field trip: Swineham
Thur 15 Group meeting. Brian Pettit.
“”Wildlife of Hants and Droset”
Sat 24 Field trip: Middlebere
December
Thur 6 Field trip: Normandy Marsh and
Blackwater Arboretum
Wed 19 Group meeting and AGM.
Robert Farrington, RSPB speaker:
“Radipole and Lodmoor”
2013 January
Thur 3 Field trip: Longham Lakes
Wed 9 Group meeting. Ian Lewis.
“Birds of New Guinea”
Sat 26 Field trip: Blashford Lakes
February
Thur 7 Field trip: Portland
Thur 14 Group meeting. Neil
Gartshore: “Birds of the Antarctic”
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Sat 23 Field trip: Testwood Lakes
March
Thur 7 Field trip: Sherford Bridge
Wed 13 Group meeting. Peter Holden.
“The RSPB’s Natural Secrets”
Sat 30 Field trip: The Fleet from
Langton Herring
April
Thur 4 Field trip: Keyhaven
Wed 10 Group meeting. Brian Dicker.
“British Butterflies”
Sat 27 Field trip: Shatterford
May
Thur 2 Field trip: Hengistbury Head
Wed 8 Group meeting. Peter Allen:
“British Dragonflies”
Sat 25 Field trip: Martin Down
June
Fri 7 Outdoor Group meeting:
Whitesheet Plantation.
Please note that this is a provisional
programme and subject to changes. A full programme will be enclosed with
the September newsletter.
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NEWS FROM BRITAIN AND
AROUND THE WORLD
Are you one of us? The RSPB has
announced that last year volunteers gave
over one million hours for the first time.
This achievement was made by some
17,000 individuals. The variety of work
undertaken by volunteers covers every
conceivable area from conservation days
to professional services. If you are a
volunteer, well done! If not, and you
feel you could give some of your spare
time, however little or infrequent, the
Society would love to have you aboard.
European Concerns. When the Autumn
Budget Statement by the Chancellor of
the Exchequer announced a review of
the European Habitats Regulations the
Society reacted swiftly to condemn this
as an attack on environmental
protection. Another area of concern was
the Government’s plans for a
consultation on an airport in the Thames
Estuary. Media Manager Gemma Butlin
stressed that the environment must not
be sacrificed for economic growth.
Serious concerns were also voiced by
the Society at the end of the year that
farmland birds and other countryside
wildlife would be put at increased risk
by the new Common Agricultural
Policy.
It’s Not Just Birds! The Society was
delighted to announce that after 40 years
of ownership of Wolves Wood sightings
have been made of Dormice in the
reserve. A survey in 2004 had found
none of these delightful little creatures.
Hen Harrier situation worsens. The
decline of the Hen Harrier has continued
to the extent that only four successful
nests were found in 2011, all on the
estate of the Forest of Bowland,
Lancashire, managed in partnership with
United Utilities. Illegal persecution is
given as the principal reason, primarily
on land managed for intensive shooting
of Red Grouse.
Incorrigible Egg Collector. A man from
Bow in London has been jailed for the
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fourth time following a raid on his home
by the Metropolitan Police Wildlife
Crime Unit, assisted by RSPB
investigators. Over 700 eggs were
found at his house, including seven
Golden Eagle, eight Osprey, six
Redwing, three Dotterel, three Peregrine
Falcon and 12 Avocet eggs. Among
them were two clutches of eagle eggs
from the Isle of Lewis in 2012,
including the first ever clutch of three
eggs laid by an eagle in the Hebrides,
and which were just days from hatching.
Jailed for the maximum six months, he
is likely to receive an ASBO, which
could result in tougher penalties for a
further offence.
Turtle Dove in Free-fall. The Society
has announced that the Turtle Dove is
the most threatened farmland bird in the
UK. RSPB scientists are working with
farmers to test specially planted plots of
seed-rich plants and monitoring Turtle
Doves on the land. Results so far are
promising. A new project was launched
this month to increase the area of Turtle
Dove feeding habitat across their
remaining populations.
Martin Harper, the Society’s Director of
Conservation, likens the Turtle Dove’s
decline to that of the Passenger Pigeon
in North America and says that without
this project we could be facing the
prospect of Europe’s own Passenger
Pigeon.
Help for Wirebirds. The British
Government’s plans for an airport on St
Helena will affect one of the breeding
areas of the critically endangered St
Helena Plover, known locally as the
Wirebird. The birds are already prey for
introduced cats and rats. The RSPB is
working with St Helena National Trust
and the local government to provide
alternative nesting areas.
Helicopter ride for warblers. Habitat
destruction and the introduction of non-
native species in the Seychelles has
brought the endangered Seychelles
Warbler to the brink of extinction
everywhere except on Cousin Island. In
an effort to halt the decline, 59 of the
birds were taken by helicopter to a safe
new home on Frégate Island. It is hoped
that the transfer will help to have one of
the world’s rarest birds removed from
the Red List. A grant of $18,000 from
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
paid for the project.
Frigatebird Dummies. The Ascension
Island Frigatebird breeds only on
Boatswainbird Island, an offshore islet.
At the end of 2011 the Society created
two colonies of decoy Frigatebirds in
the hope of attracting immature birds of
this very rare species to new breeding
areas. Sound recordings of Frigatebird
calls play throughout the day as an
added attraction.
Good news from Sierra Leone. The
President of Sierra Leone, one of the
world’s poorest countries, has launched
the Gola Rainforest National Park to
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conserve the country’s most important
forest. This vital area is home to
hundreds of bird species, Chimpanzees
and a very important population of
Pygmy Hippos.
And from Madagascar. A captive
breeding programme has hatched 18
ducklings of the Madagascar Pochard,
one of the world’s rarest ducks, which
will give the species a chance of
avoiding extinction.
********************************
FROM OUR FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENT
Judy Skerman has given me the
following article by James Clarke of
Stoep Talk, South Africa. I hope you
will find it as amusing and entertaining
as I did.
Couch potatoes welcome on Birding
Day
It’s Birding Day on Saturday. I’ll be
there with my bins. Bins are bird talk
for binoculars, don’t y’know? Some
call them “nocks” but that’s pure
affectation.
The annual BBD has become very
competitive with teams of four, some
full of performance-enhancing
substances like laced coffee, starting at
midnight to pick out calls of nocturnal
birds. The idea of BBD is to “pi”
(birding talk for “positively identify”) as
many different kinds of birds as possible
within 24 hours and within a 50km
radius of any chosen point. There’s
even a category for those who would
prefer to stay at home and just count the
birds in their garden.
All the data are collected by BirdLife
South Africa and then analysed by
scientists, who can tell all sorts of things
by examining bird densities and
distribution.
There are categories - and prizes - for
amateurs as well as serious birders.
The recent and aggravating changes in
bird names needn’t be a handicap. I just
use the old ones and to hell with the
birding police.
Changing the names of birds has
become something of a fad among
scientists. Officially the dikkop is now
the thick-knee and so on.
Years ago Canadian birders had a bit of
fun with bird names - they were invited
to alter a letter in the name of a bird and
then suggest an appropriate diet, habitat
or behaviour pattern for it. They came
up with Long-billed Curfew (instead of
Curlew) - a “quiet bird rarely seen after
nightfall” - and the Vowl (instead of
Owl) – a night hunter identified by its
call of “Aeiou!”
Two or three years ago I invited readers
to do the same and Andy Rice came
back with a dozen quite brilliant ones.
Three of our four species of ibis - the
Hadeda Ibis, Sacred Ibis and Bald Ibis –
became “Ladeda Ibis” - a toffee-nosed
bird that thinks it is infinitely superior to
the cowardly Scared Ibis - and the very
much braver Bold Ibis.
I liked most the Fiscal Shrike and the
Waxbill, which became Fiscal Shriek - a
bird that cries out in alarm on
encountering the common Taxbill. The
Giant Eagle Owl became the Giant
Beagle Owl - often seen circling
menacingly over the SPCA kennels.
The Karoo Bustard became the Karoo
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Bastard - common name for a very
large, chronically incontinent bird that
navigates by flying directly above busy
highways. Another amusing one was the
Weaver Bird, which became “the
Beaver Bird that builds it nest over
water by chopping down entire trees and
damming up streams”.
To help you on BBD, here is the latest
birding jargon (seriously):
Burn up: to scour an area intensively.
Dip out: to stand there like a fool when
everybody shouts, “But can’t you see
that Flatfooted Bog-creeper, for Pete’s
sake? Anyway, it’s gone!” (You have
dipped out.)
Dross: very common species
Dude: birder who is not prepared to
wade through marshland to pi a bird and
puts his bins back in the case each time
he uses them.
Flatties: road kills. Real birders will not
count flatties. I do.
Grip: to pi a bird.
LBJ: unidentified “little brown job”.
Lifer: to see a species of bird for the
first time. Never dismiss an enthusiastic
birder’s “lifer” by calling it “dross”.
Megatick: identifying a really rare bird.
Ticker: birder who is not interested in a
bird once he has it ticked.
Ultimate: more than a megatick -
something so rare that it could cause
you to keel over and die with a smile.
********************************
A-Z OF BIRDING: U, V
Umbrella Bird. A bird of Central and
South America in the Cotinga family,
related to the Cock-of-the-Rock. This
species has a black umbrella-like crest
and a body-length feather wattle
dangling from its throat.
Uropygium. You can impress your
birding friends by using this word
instead of “rump”!
Vagrant. A bird found outside its usual
migration range. Vagrants are the
species that have Twitchers (see January
Newsletter) racing round the country.
Vanga. A family of some 12 species of
birds, sometimes called Vanga Shrikes,
living only in Madagascar. They vary
from small to medium in size, are
brightly coloured and have heavy bills,
often with a hooked tip.
Veery. A dainty, shy American thrush,
which is very occasionally the cause of
a twitch in Britain. Its name comes from
its “vee-r, vee-r” song.
Vireo. A family of smallish, often rather
drab North American birds, whose
relationships are disputed by
taxonomists, some regarding them as
relatives of the American Wood
Warblers and others as related to
shrikes. The family contains about 40
species and includes the Peppershrikes
and Greenlets. The Red-eyed Vireo is a
rare visitor to Britain, but very
occasionally an even rarer species
causes a stir among the twitching
fraternity.
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Vulture. There are two families of
vulture in the world, the larger group
being the Old World Vultures of
Europe, Africa and Asia. They vary in
size from the relatively small pale
coloured Egyptian Vulture to the large
Black (or Cinereous) Vulture. The last-
named species has been the subject of a
re-introduction programme in parts of
Europe following a severe decline, but
Griffon Vultures often make a
spectacular sight as they fly over the
mountains. Although they have large,
hooked beaks, Vultures generally eat
carrion. The Lammergeier, or Bearded
Vulture, has a habit of flying high with a
bone in its bill, dropping the bone to the
rocks below and then eating the marrow
when the bone has split.
Members will have read in previous
newsletters of the devastating decline in
vulture numbers on the Indian sub-
continent and the desperate measures
being taken to avoid the extinction of
three species.
The New World Vultures are a different
group. Any visitor to the USA will have
become familiar with the Turkey
Vulture (or “TV”), which people in
some parts of America confusingly call
“Turkey Buzzard”.
The American Black Vulture is less
widespread, but not uncommon. The
largest members of the family in the
Americas are the Condors, Andean and
Californian. Again, members will know
of the conservation measures taken to
save the latter species from extinction.
What an amazing sight it is to stand by
the Grand Canyon, watching these huge,
majestic birds flying in their introduced
home.
********************************
DORSET BIRDS: WINTER AND
EARLY SPRING
The Richard’s Pipit and Hume’s
Warbler on the Fleet lingered into
spring.
The long-staying Spotted Sandpiper at
Stanpit disappeared a couple of days
before your reporter went to look for it.
The county has had its fair share of
Glossy Ibis sightings. An adult at
Wareham Common and two at Radipole
were among the easiest to see. In the
Weymouth area two Great White Egrets
and a long-billed Dowitcher were found.
Iceland and Ring-billed Gulls were seen
by some lucky birders
By late March Garganeys were
beginning to appear in small numbers,
with one at Radipole. The closure of the
visitor centre for its makeover has meant
less information, although the local
websites have contained many of the
sightings.
A Black-winged Stilt popped in at
Radipole briefly, but then moved to
Abbotsbury.
14
The cold, windy and often wet weather
in April slowed migration, with birds
trickling rather than streaming in.
“Swift”
*****************************
Answers to quiz in January
Newsletter
1. Robin.
2. Blackbird
3. Peregrine Falcon.
4. Goose
5. Stork.
6. Kite.
7. Eagle
8. Merlin.
9. Hobby.
10. Crow
11. Crane.
12. Grouse.
13. Pigeon
14. Dove.
15. Cuckoo.
16. Toucan
17. Nightingale.
18. Swift
19. Kingfisher.
20. Woodpecker
21. Lark.
22. Swallow.
23. Wagtail
24. Yellowhammer.
25. Wren
26. Jay.
27. Magpie.
28. Knot
29. Penguin.
30. Coot
********************************
AND FINALLY…
Father Christmas brought me a
fascinating book by David Turner called
“Was Beethoven a Birdwatcher?” The
author surmises that the composer may
have heard a Cetti’s Warbler singing
and incorporated part of the distinctive
song at the beginning of the fourth
movement of his second symphony.
I remember a case in reverse. Some
years ago, when camping beside Loch
Lomond, we would regularly hear a
Blackbird whistle the first five notes of
“The Shepherd’s Hymn” from
Beethoven’s sixth, or pastoral,
symphony.
15
16
COMMITTEE 2011-12
Group Leader: Hugh Clark
Tel: 01202 532595
e-mail: [email protected]
Membership: Lyn and Gerry Traves
Tel: 01202 871881
e-mail: [email protected]
Newsletter Editor/ Jillian Bale
Programme Co-ordinator: Tel: 01202 680134
Honorary Treasurer: Tony Hartle
Tel: 01425 273196
e-mail: [email protected]
Field Trips and David Masser
Excursions: Tel: 01202 476334
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Secretary: Jan Clark
Tel: 01202 532595
e-mail: [email protected]
Group Indoor Meetings: Vacant
Website: www.rspb.org.uk/groups
