harrier #170

The

HarrierOctober 2012 Magazine No.170

Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group

Inside:• Barn Owl conservation• Reedbed creation• BTO’s BirdTrack– Getting started

24997 The Harrier No.170_SR v4_The Harrier No.167 DECt 2011_SR 09/10/2012 12:58

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Editorial .......................................................................................................................................................1

Barn Owl conservation ..........................................................Alec Hillier ................................................3

Reedbed creation at Titchwell .............................................Paul Eele.................................................10

Summer BINS .........................................................................Roy Marsh ..............................................12

Osprey and Red Kite ..............................................................David Carter ...........................................14

Yarn Hill confirmation? ..........................................................Phil Brown..............................................15

Log it or lose it........................................................................Phil Brown..............................................16

Colour supplementCS 1 Log it or lose it BirdTrack screen dumpsCS 2 & 3 and 6 & 7 BINS Summer SpecialsCS 4 & 5 Suffolk Community Barn Owl ProjectCS 8 Our regular artists

BirdTrack Getting started Tutorial #1...................................Nick Moran.............................................17

SORC – logging rarities...........................................................Steve Abbott ..........................................19

Meet SORC ...............................................................................Scott Mayson .........................................21

Field TripsSTANTA ..................................................................................................................................................23Minsmere ............................................................................Steve Fryett ............................................25

Looking back ...........................................................................Philip Murphy.........................................26

NewsStonies’ 2012 Cavenham roost ........................................Mike Taylor.............................................29SOG call-in at a call-centre’s charity day .......................Phil Brown..............................................29Minsmere access developments .....................................Robin Harvey & Phil Brown..................30Bird Race Results................................................................Roy Marsh ..............................................30Tree Sparrow update .........................................................David Tomlinson ....................................32

AnnouncementsNew Treasurer appointed ..................................................................................................................32Birdwatch back numbers available..................................................................................................32November ‘Crow Country’ Talk .........................................................................................................32

Cover photograph – Hen HarrierPhotographer: Carl Wright. Shot from the ‘double-decker’ hide overlooking Jason’s Pool at Lackford Lakes, SWT on 25February 2012. Using a Nikon D300 with 500mm Prime Lens at ISO 320, F#4, 1/2000. This shot won Birdguides’ Photoof the Week and a copy of it is displayed in the foyer of the Lackford Lakes Visitor Centre.

Contact details for articles and observations, etc are:Phil Brown, Editor, c/o The Coach House, Denham Road, Dalham, Suffolk CB8 8UB [email protected]

All material for the December 2012 Harrier should be with the Editor no later than 9 November

Subscription rates (2012)SOG: Adults – £15.00; Family £17.00

Joint SOG/Suffolk Naturalists’ Society: Adults – £28.00; Family – £32.00

Website: www.sogonline.org.uk Email: [email protected]

Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group Registered Charity No. 801446

Contents




1THE HARR I ER – O c tobe r 2012

It takes a great deal of effort to propel theGroup forward, but that is what the Council’sactivity this year continues to do.

Improved presentationFirst up, you’ll have noted a number ofinitiatives. The Group’s standard of presentationhas come on apace with a new set of displayboards, a flier, a PowerPoint presentation and,of course, the business card/presenter (aspreviously included in the Harrier) – whichwill be re-printed early next year. Every itemfeatures the same new slogan – SOG ‘For birds& for birders’ – that neatly summarises theGroup’s role.

Articles about us have appeared in LocalWildlife News and the Suffolk BiodiversityPartnership newsletter. We hope to soonappear in the Suffolk Norfolk Life magazinetoo. There have also been regular articles inthe Ipswich Evening Star and news about uson the SOG Twitter feed. Then the SOG displayhas been seen at Chantry Park, Legal &General’s call centre in Ipswich and fundraising at Sainsbury’s Warren Heath. So it issafe to say our presence is not only improved,but increasing too.

Added fund-raisingThen there has been successful fund-raising

The

HarrierSuffolk Ornithologists’ Group

October 2012 Magazine No.170

activity too. Along with several generousdonations from Legal and General we havealso pitched for funding from the SuffolkNaturalist’s Society. This was successful andwe’re very grateful to SNS for supplyingsufficient monies to allow us to purchase anew SOG laptop. Once that arrives ourwebmaster will then make a start on our longoverdue website ‘spring-clean’ – so look outfor the results over the next three months orso. Next there was the sponsored bird race inwhich ten teams participated on September15th. All achieved very respectable scores(see the article), but more importantly a four-figure sum was secured (we’ll publish the finalfigures in December) allowing us to purchaseequipment for the county recorders.

Upon the completion of a biodiversity survey,monies are also expected from Viridor for theirsite at Lackford. This report has been wellreceived and we have been asked to continuenext year. If any members want to help withour surveys or to engage our surveyingservices, in return for a small fee and ourexpenses, do get in touch with the Editor.

Our departing Treasurer, Bill Stone, who standsdown at the end of the year, has also beenworking with SNS to secure our share of themembership Gift Aid monies. In effect this

Editorial

In the last Harrier I dwelt on some conservation issues – this time I’m closer tohome, but I trust I’m not being self indulgent when I say, I want to talk about

Council’s efforts on your behalf.


2 THE HARR I ER – O c tobe r 2012

Views expressed in The Harrier are not necessarily those of the editor or the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group

means for every pound we collect, we receivean additional 20% if the donor is a UKtaxpayer – so this is a very worthwhile effort.As a result Bill’s final act has been to havevery impressively turned a potential Groupdeficit into a surplus. Well done Bill!

On a separate note, sadly I have to report thatPaul Gowen, another stalwart of SOG for manyyears in a variety of roles, has also decided tostep down. We all wish Paul the best in hisretirement and that his golf handicapimproves commensurately!

A number of other initiatives are about toget underway with more fund-raising atsupermarkets across the county, as well aschasing additional sources of funding. All ofwhich is designed to improve our presence andperceived value to the wider community. Tothat end we are also scheduled to co-operatewith SWT and large commercial organisationsthat undertake community-based activities, toprovide their participating staff with a betterawareness of nature and wildlife as theyundertake volunteer work on reserves.

Reduced costsIn an effort to reduce our printing costs, wehave begun to produce an electronic versionof the Harrier. Let the Editor know if you’dprefer to receive this publication that way.

We are also embarking on a programme ofimproving our communications to you. Havingto wait three months for the next issue ofHarrier for us to deliver messages is slow andcan be frustrating. So instead we’ve decidedto investigate introducing an email

communications programme, enablingeveryone who participates to quickly getfeedback on various events. Just let us haveyour email addresses and we will add you tothe official email list.

Volunteers neededSo, apart from the extra funding, what elsehas been achieved? Most important of all hasbeen a slew of new members and the returnof several lapsed ones – welcome to all ofyou. But, to maintain this wide range of effortwe are definitely in need of volunteers – asCouncil is being stretched thin.

This issueFinally, what have we got for all of you inthis issue? First, there’s a detailed report onthe important Suffolk Community Barn OwlProject. This is followed by a short article thatcompletes the Titchwell Marsh ‘counteractingsea erosion’ story, then BINS run us throughthis summer’s and the early autumn’s rarities.Next, there is a short piece that describes anattempt at kleptoparasitism among raptors.Then there is our ‘Improving record keeping’feature – ‘Log it or lose it’, which includesthe first of two BirdTrack tutorials and areminder piece from SORC. We then introduceyou to a SORC committee member, followedby ‘Looking back’, which continues to provideus with reminders of some of the moresignificant Suffolk bird records – twenty-fiveand fifty years ago, then some newsabout trail developments at Minsmere,plus much more.

Enjoy the magazine and good birding for theremainder of this autumn.



Alec Hillier

Stemming thedecline in an iconicspecies – SuffolkCommunity BarnOwl Project Results

The Suffolk Community Barn OwlProject is seven years on from its

inception with the initial installation ofBarn Owl nest boxes by Steve Piotrowskiand Colin Carter in 2005. Formalised intoa project managed by SOG in June 20061

its initial aim was to erect 90 nest boxesin north-east Suffolk over a five-yearperiod with the possibility of coveringthe rest of the county in later years.

The response from the community was soenthusiastic that by February 2007 the projectteam had erected 150 boxes and becomeresponsible for another 90 existing boxes. Thisrapid expansion led to the management of theproject being transferred to Suffolk WildlifeTrust later in 2007 and the aims revised to:

• Erect over 500 Barn Owl boxes in Suffolk by 2010

• Increase the number of Barn Owls in Suffolk

• Advise landowners on habitat management for Barn Owls

• Increase awareness of the Barn Owl • Monitor Barn Owl populations

Box distributionFrom the beginning of the project, the supplyand installation of Barn Owl nest boxes wasthe first objective. Boxes were built usingsustainable timber and the work contracted toa local charity, providing work for disabledpeople, and later to a local prison. The boxesare installed by the landowners, or trainedtree surgeons as shown in figure 1 below.

1 Harrier #146 June 2006

Editor: The Suffolk Community Barn Owls Project (SCBOP) is one of the most importantconservation projects currently underway in the county. Suffolk’s population of Barn Owls hadbeen in steady decline since the last war and, by the mid 90’s, it was estimated to have shrunkto between 50 and 90 pairs. Urgent countywide action was clearly required and SOG proposedthere be an effort to stem this decline.

In his detailed report Alec Hillier, Recorder and Ringing Secretary of the SCBOP, brings us up tospeed with a project that SOG originally instigated.

Figure 1 Project Barn Owl box being installed by treesurgeon



The project started in the north-east of thecounty and has now extended to cover all ofSuffolk, but with a higher density of boxes inthe north-east. Figures 2 and 3 below showthe distribution of boxes in 2007 and 2012. Itincludes not only boxes set up by the project,but also many existing boxes and projects,particularly those of David Wilkin on the StourValley and Roger Buxton on the UpperWaveney, all now reported by SCBOP.

Data gathering and reportingThe large number of boxes, now about1400, spread over the county, requires awell-coordinated monitoring policy. Thecounty has been divided into 12 geographicareas where data gathering is headed by anexperienced monitor, known as the AreaCoordinator, who controls the activities of themonitors and ringers living and active withinthe area. There are currently 127 monitors

trained by Suffolk WildlifeTrust who are all covered bya Schedule 1 licence whichpermits disturbing BarnOwls in order to monitortheir breeding.

The large number of boxesresults in many boxes onlybeing monitored once in aseason and, unfortunately,some do get missed. A fewboxes have been fitted withcameras so very detailedrecords can be kept in thesecases. The results aretransferred to the ProjectRecorder who maintains anExcel spreadsheet with 25columns and 1400 rows whereall the data are compiled.

ResultsThis report covers the yearsfrom 2007, when monitoringwas formalised, up to 2011,the last year with fullreporting. Results of 2012 arestill coming in but, from theinformation received so far, itlooks like being an excellentyear for the Barn Owl in theproject area, with more BarnOwls being ringed than everbefore – 500 plus to date. Asuccessful brood of Barn Owlchicks that have been ringed

Figure 2 Location of SCBOP boxes and nest sites 2007

Figure 3Location of SCBOP boxes and nest sites 2012


pellets that is probably a roost site.“Adult” refers to a nest where live adults havebeen seen but no eggs or young, again a roostsite or perhaps a site monitored before abreeding attempt took place.“Egg Live” refers to a nest where live eggswere found but the box was not rechecked.“Egg Failed” refers to a nest where eggs werefound which were re-found at a later dateafter the end of the brooding period andhence were unfertile or deserted.“Young Live” refers to a nest where live youngwere found in the nest, these are often ringed.“Young Failed” refers to a nest where theyoung were found dead or rechecked beforethe possible fledging date and found to havedisappeared, probably as a result of predation.

The minimum number of pairs of Barn Owls inthe project in 2011 is more than 200, whichcompares very favourably with the estimate of51 – 90 pairs for 1995-98 (Wright 2001)2. Thetotal number of boxes with Barn Owl evidencerose from 108 to 314 over the same period.

The distribution of boxes with evidence ofBarn Owls is shown for 2007 and 2011 infigures 6 and 7 on page 6.


and are almost ready to leave the nest isshown in figure 4.

Barn OwlsOver the period there has been a year on yearincrease in the number of Barn Owl nest sitesfound and, importantly, an increase in thenumber of nests successfully producing liveyoung – from 76 in 2007 to 200 in 2011, withbreeding attempts rising from 89 boxes to225, see figure 5 below.

In the chart below:“Pellet” refers to a nest with fresh Barn Owl

Figure 4 What it is all about – three Barn Owl chicksringed and ready to fledge

Figure 5Barn Owlnest finalstatus

2 Cited in “The Birds of Suffolk” Piotrowski 2003


Figure 8 Box occupation by species in 2011

Although this is a very obvious rise, thenumber of boxes has risen considerably andthe percentage of monitored boxes containingBarn Owls has fluctuated over the years asshown in table 1 below.

Other speciesAlthough designed for Barn Owls the boxeshave been adopted by several other speciesof birds, mammals and insects, as shown infigure 8 right and repeated and enlarged in

6 T H E H A R R I E R – O c to b e r 2 0 1 2

the Harrier’s centrespread (CS4&5). Note thatin a few boxes more than one species can befound in a single season. To aid mappingmultiple species occupation of boxes has notbeen shown here. Barn Owls are givenprecedence, as this after all is a Barn Owlproject, followed by Tawny and Little Owls,Kestrels, Stock Doves, Jackdaws and finallyother species.

The chart figure 9 opposite shows the primespecies occupying boxes each year.

Small but significant numbers of boxes wereoccupied by Tawny Owls, Little Owls, Kestrelsand Grey Squirrels.

The “Other Species” category comprises FeralPigeon, Wood Pigeon (nest on top of box),Mallard, Mandarin Duck, Shelduck, Robin,Great Tit, wasp species, Hornet, Stoat, FieldMouse and even a Cat, found in one box twoyears in a row.

As is obvious from the chart, the second mostfrequent occupant of the boxes over the yearsis the Stock Dove, an amber listed species,which does not disturb the Barn Owls. A mapshowing the distribution of Stock Doveoccupied nest sites in 2011 is shown as figure10 opposite.

The next most common occupant, the

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Checked Boxes 363 572 913 1018 1164Barn Owl Occupied boxes 108 197 256 255 314Barn Owl % Occupancy 30% 34% 28% 25% 27%Barn Owl % increase 82% 137% 136% 191%since 2007Checked Box % increase 58% 152% 180% 221%since 2007

Table 1 Proportion of monitored boxes occupied byBarn Owls

Figure 6 2007 Barn Owl nest distribution

Figure 7 2011 Barn Owl nest distribution


eggs. Two dayslater again therewere sticksprotruding from thehole and this time Ifound both the maleand female BarnOwls stuck in thebox with their eggs.On release the owlsthen deserted thenest and eggs andmoved into a box ina barn about 100 maway. This box had

a web cam installed, which enabledcontinuous monitoring without disturbance.The pair producedsix eggs, resultingin five young, ofwhich two failedto grow and wereeaten by thefemale, leavingthree healthychicks that fledgedin August. TheJackdaws laid asingle egg thatresulted in a largechick that died inthe box, probablyas a result of

7T H E H A R R I E R – O c to b e r 2 0 1 2

Jackdaw, does cause a severe problem byfilling the box with sticks, in some casesleaving no space and in others remarkablyleading to the Barn Owls being blocked intotheir nest and starving to death, or beingforced to desert their eggs.

An example of this behaviour this yearinvolved a tree box on my own land. A BarnOwl pair had started brooding eggs, identifiedby observation of the male bringing food intothe box when, after some days, I observedsticks protruding from the entrance hole, seephoto figure 11.

I removed the sticks to find the female BarnOwl sitting on six eggs totally blocked in. Thenext day she was again sitting happily on the

Figure 10 2011 Stock Dove nest distribution

Figure 11 View into BarnOwl nest Box showingblocked entrance hole

Figure 12 2011 Jackdaw nest distribution

Figure 9 Box occupancy by year


8 T H E H A R R I E R – O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2

the bad weather causing it to be chilled; itwas fat and naked when found dead.The distribution of Jackdaw nests in 2011 isshown in figure 12 on page 7.

External reportingReporting of the results to BTO takes placethrough their nest recording and ringingschemes. The effect of the project on thenumbers of these reports in Suffolk is shownin the tables 2 and 3 below for Barn Owls.

Figure 13 Number of large cavity nesting birds ringed in Suffolk

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Submitted by SCBOP 0 0 57 121 73 129 150Submitted by others 10 4 31 0 16 6 6Total 10 4 88 121 89 135 156

Table 2 Barn Owl nest records in Suffolk

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Submitted Pulli 0 40 161 142 164 246 368by SCBOP Juvenile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Adult 0 3 14 19 22 12 21

Submitted Pulli 24 49 51 33 50 50by others Juvenile 4 0 0 1 5 4

Adult 1 1 0 2 2 1

Total Pulli 64 210 193 197 296 418Juvenile 4 0 0 1 5 4Adult 4 15 19 24 14 22

Table 3 Barn Owl ringing records in Suffolk

From these tables the large effect on datagathering in the county by the project can beclearly seen. On a national scale the SuffolkBarn Owl pulli made up 1.6%, 2.1%, 3.5%,2.7%, 4.3% and 5.1% of the total ringednationally in the years 2006 to 2011 inclusive.

For other large cavity nesting birds recorded inthe project sites, the ringing totals for Suffolkper year of the project activity are given inFigure 10.

This shows an increase in all species exceptJackdaws, which tend to nest early in the yearbefore monitors visit to check for Barn Owlsand hence are not found as often in the nestboxes. Most Jackdaw reports are based onfinding the empty nests following fledging.These old nests are removed and so thefinding of a new nest signifies activity in thecurrent breeding year.

Conclusions and the futureThe project has been successful almost beyondthe dreams of its founders. The monitoring of1400 nest sites in the county, some 650 beingproject-supplied boxes, easily exceeds the firstaim.


9T H E H A R R I E R – O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2

The year-on-year increase in the number ofBarn Owls reported and being raised tofledging in the monitored nests, together withthe increase in the numbers of Barn Owlsringed, strongly suggests that the populationhas indeed increased, and certainly thepopulation is well monitored.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s team of VolunteerConservation Advisors have carried outhundreds of site visits to work with landownersand communities on habitat management andnest box siting for Barn Owls. The advisorsfocus on influencing the creation of wildlife-rich feeding habitats that also benefit manyother species. In many cases the host farmshave been encouraged to enter agri-environment (ELS/HLS) agreements, wherenot already in such schemes.

Press reports in both local and nationalnewspapers and TV programmes, togetherwith many local talks about the project andthe Suffolk Wildlife Trust Barn Owl website,which includes the interactive “iSpy a BarnOwl” mapping system to plot public Barn Owlsightings, ensures that awareness of the BarnOwl is increased.

In the future the aim is to bring back Suffolk’sBarn Owls to the whole of the county, with apush to extend the number of nest boxes in

the west being a priority. Management of themonitors will need to be upgraded to ensurea better distribution of the workload and toimprove the recording process.

The history of the current boxes will bechecked to see if unsuccessful boxes can berelocated or the habitat improved. There is awealth of information that can be analysed todetermine the reasons for the acceptability ofindividual nest boxes to Barn Owls and to tryand quantify the reasons for change inoccupation of particular boxes. Older boxeswill need to be maintained. Although theproject supplied boxes are made of verydurable ply, some of the “found” boxes arein need of refurbishment.

The project initially conceived as benefiting asingle species, has shown that wildlife cannotbe considered in isolation:

• The provision of the nest sites has aided many other cavity-nesting birds and animals.

• The habitat management has increased the numbers of voles, shrews and mice.

• The collection of Barn Owl pellets at the nest sites has greatly increased the knowledge of the distribution of Harvest Mice in the county.

Thus it appears clear that SCBOP is not onlygood for Barn Owls but for nature in general.

AcknowledgementsThis article is based on the activities of the 127 monitors coordinated by the area coordinators, in alphabetic order of surnames, Ian Archer, PatrickBarker, Colin Carter, Simon Evans, John Glazebrook, Chris McIntyre, Sandy Jackson (now retired from the coordinator role but still very active inmonitoring and publicising the project in the west), Alan Miller, Dave Pearsons, Carl Powell, Etienne Swartz, Mike Swindells (also now retired fromcoordinating but still monitoring and ringing), Janette Troop, and John Walshe.

Oka Last of the SWT keeps the office side running, coordinating the actions of the SWT Barn Owl conservation advisors, ordering and arranginginstallation of new boxes, and publicity as well as acting as a monitor.

Steve Piotrowski and Colin Carter continue to manage the project that they instigated. Felicity Hillier produced the maps and assisted in thecompilation of this report.

Editor: So now you can clearly see that a massive and valuable effort by over a hundredindividuals has helped to arrest this iconic species’ decline. Everyone connected with thisproject should be warmly congratulated. Perhaps the most telling evidence for this project’ssuccess is indicated by the tongue-in-cheek proposal that the Barn Owl in Suffolk might now bere-named the Box Owl!



hole in the southern edge of the reserve, theydecided to turn this potential negative into apositive and create a new reedbed.

Today Patsy’s Reedbed testifies to thatdecisive thinking – a two and a half hectaremere of water plus scrub margins, fed bysprings to form the new and accessiblesouthern border of Titchwell Marsh.

The £1.4 million pound Titchwell CoastalChange Project had demanded the re-buildingof the freshwater marsh’s north seawall (nowknown as the Parrinder Bank) as well asstrengthening the West Bank to protect bothfrom the encroaching sea when the BrackishMarsh was breached. The rebuilding of thesebanks would require considerable quantities ofclay to reinforce their foundations.

A novel traffic-reduction measureIn order to reduce the numbers of lorries usingthe busy A149 coast road transporting the vastquantities of material the project required tostrengthen the banks, it was hoped insteadthat the necessary material could be mined onsite. Once the landscape company’s engineershad confirmed that the proposed sourcematerial would be fit for purpose, approval

was given to extract tonnes of clayfrom beneath the grassland to thesouth of the present reedbeds.This did not constitute a loss towildlife as the grassland foundabove the clay was of lowbiodiversity value.

Editor: Last year Robert Coleman ofTitchwell Marsh presented the RSPB’sadaptation to coastal erosion at this reserve.At that stage one aspect of the project wasincomplete – the development of a newreedbed habitat. Now we can finish thestory with an overview of this reedbed’screation.

Of course the creation of new reedbeds isnot news, what is news here is the positivenature of the thinking that led to itsdevelopment. Hopefully, this will serve toencourage Suffolk’s coastal reserves’managements to be equally visionary whenthe time comes again for them to createfurther replacement habitat too.

Phil Brown with Paul Eele, RSPB Reserve Warden

Turning a deficitinto an assetA new reedbed for Titchwell MarshIn 2009, when Robert Coleman and his sitemanagement team were faced with a gaping

Island Hide

Freshwater reeds

Freshwater marsh

Saltmarsh

Wet grazingmeadow(private)

West Bank path

Willowcarr

Fen Hide

Wet grazingmeadow

Map: © Crown copyright. All rights reserved.

RSPB licence 100021787.



Habitat creationThe clay was duly excavated in 2009. A seriesof ditches connecting two 3m deep poolswere then dug into the residual clay floor ofthe reedbed in order to facilitate subsequentwater and fish movement once the ‘hole’ wasflooded around the new reedbed. While thetwo banks were created and strengthenedwith this clay over the course of 2010–2011,the natural springs located under thisgrassland ensured that the ‘hole’ quickly filledwith water.

Signs of natural reed regeneration wereswiftly noted – although some supplementaryreed planting was required in early 2012. Inthe course of late 2011 and spring 2012 nativescrub was planted around the margins.Species included Hawthorn, Blackthorn,plus some Hazel, Rowan and GuelderRose. This area of scrub will not befully mature until much later inthis decade.

The margins of this new wet habitat havealready attracted breeding Little RingedPlovers, in both 2011 and 2012, and Lapwingearlier this year. While it is hoped the surroundingscrub should increasingly act as a magnet forspring and autumn migrating passerines.

New trailsFinally, in the autumn of 2012, two new trails(the East trail and the Autumn Trail) were

added to make the new reedbed accessible, aswell as affording additional viewing access tothe south-east corner of the Freshwater Marsh.

The East Trail is in effect a continuation of thepresent Fen Trail and will provide birders withgood viewing access to the dense scrub areajust beyond the current Fen Hide. This scrub isalready beloved by passerine migrants alike,such as Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers in thespring and Yellow-browed Warblers in theautumn. From the hide it is now possible tocontinue east, via the Tank Track, to thesouthern edge of Patsy’s Reedbed, wherethere are now two viewing points overlookingthe deep pools in which autumn waders areexpected to congregate.

During August, September and October thistrail then temporarily extends further east,before bearing north (just past the Willow

The ‘hole’, before becoming Patsy’s Reedbed.

New view into the Freshwater Marsh.



Roy Marsh

Suffolk BINS –‘A summer toremember?’With the spring now long behind us and as welooked forward to a scorching summer, itseemed with disbelief that the early part of itseemed more like the monsoon season in theFar East, with June 2012, officially becomingthe wettest June in history. We can at leastrely on the British Summers, I thought . . . butcould we rely on the birds to deliver awelcomed uplift to the spirits?

Potential first?June – The month opened in good style with aWhite Stork noted in fields just north of Sudburyon the 1st, while the Wood Warbler continuedto please, as does a Serin at LBO, and a Ravenseen over Wangford, a female Red-backedShrike on Westleton Heath on the 5th with thetwo Glossy Ibis noted on the levels at Minsmerethroughout the month. The 8th saw thediscovery of a mobile adult Rose-colouredStarling on Upper Hollesley Common. The

10th saw a Woodchat Shrike on WalberswickCommon, a Bee-eater circled over Dingle, whilea male Red-backed Shrike was found at LBO onthe Butts. The 11th saw a probable AmericanGolden Plover briefly on the Common at LBO,while a male Red-backed Shrike was noted atMinsmere on the 17th. The 19th saw a moveaway from birds, with a male Yellow-spottedWhite-faced Darter (dragonfly) a probable firstfor the UK being seen early morning in Docwra’sDitch, Dunwich Heath, for its third day, while aWoodchat Shrike was noted on GuntonWarren, and a soaring Raven over Melton Parkon the 28th made up the month’s highlights.

A Summer of Fun?July – A Glossy Ibis was seen to fly over theAlde towards Orfordness on the 1st, while theGlossy remained at Minsmere until the 15th,a further bird was also noted at Southwoldon the town marsh in the afternoon only and,possibly, the same bird then flew south overMinsmere that evening. The 2nd saw a Red-necked Phalarope on South Scrape Minsmerefor the afternoon and evening only, with SouthScrape coming up trumps again on the 6thwith a Caspian Tern present 15:12 – 15:50 only.An early Wryneck was noted on North Wallon the 10th and the 15th saw an impressivecount of 188 Mediterranean Gulls on the

Editor: This new freedom, plus the reedbedwith its accompanying trails, has in myopinion transformed Titchwell Marsh from a‘one-track’ reserve into a full day’s birdingexperience – thanks to the vision of thesite’s management team. The team’s visioninspired the conversion of a potential sitedeficit into a real reserve asset, withoutinvolving any additional investment – a realwin-win. For in tough times, as the seacontinues to invade some of our presentcoastal reserves, replacement habitat willneed to be created in an equally economicfashion.

Wood) to intersect with the south-east cornerof the Freshwater Marsh. This is known as theAutumn Trail and, at its termination, theviewing point is a perfect birding spot duringautumnal mornings for passage waders – butit will be off-limits for the rest of the yearwhen the Marsh Harriers and Bitterns breed inthe adjacent reedbed and saltmarsh.

A valuable additional assetImportantly the provision of this new areaintroduces a more relaxed and informal airinto birding at Titchwell Marsh, as there willnow be an opportunity to wander off the trailsaround Patsy’s Reedbed.



practice green, Southwold. Three adult and upto four juvenile Cranes were seen on the 21st,while two Orioles, one male remained. The22nd saw a White-rumped Sandpiper spendjust 35 minutes on Havergate Island beforemoving on. A Caspian Tern was noted 100moffshore flying south on the 25th, possibly thefar-ranging individual which had alsofrequented Strumpshaw and BuckenhamMarsh, as well as being noted at BreydonWater on the 18th and 19th. The 28th saw ashort-staying White-winged Black Tern drop inon Minsmere on the aptly named ‘Lucky Pool’just ahead of the obliging individual at AltonWater on the 29th, which was happy to pleaseall-comers with some fantastic views. A furtherWhite-winged Black Tern was present all dayon Orfordness on the 29th and a FerruginousDuck was noted on Island Mere on the 31strounding off the month in good style.

Something to shout about?August – The month kicked off in good shape,with the Ferruginous Duck still showing onIsland Mere from the 1st, and a PectoralSandpiper noted briefly on Lucky Pool on the8th and again on the 10th. The 9th saw aPectoral Sandpiper on Orfordness, while the12th produced a Barred Warbler briefly at LBO,and a Montagu’s Harrier was seen to headwest over Sizewell at 16:00 hours. A Red-spotted Bluethroat was trapped and ringed atHollesley on the 19th. Mid-month saw theusual increase in wader movements withgood numbers of Green, Common and WoodSandpipers being noted, with a great count ofeight Curlew Sandpipers seen on Orfordnesson the 14th. A Honey Buzzard was observedto drift SE over the Blyth on the 20th.

County firstOn a personal note, August produced the birdof the period for me, with a cracking first forthe county on the 24th in the form of a maleSpanish Sparrow at Landguard, although I didhave to say a special ‘hola’ when I eventuallyconnected a full week later. It had been

photographed on the 24th, although was notrelocated for a further week, when it broughtgreat pleasure to many from the 1stSeptember onwards, proving best in thewarmer still evenings. The 30th produced ajuvenile Montagu’s Harrier low south overBawdsey with the 31st seeing two HoneyBuzzards – the first flew south over Bawdseyin the morning, with the other noted northover Thorpeness at 16:15, to complete theAugust highlights.

The ‘French’ Connection!September – With geography clearly not astrong point of mine (thank goodness for SatNavs!), and as outlined above, the SpanishSparrow having now been relocated on the1st opposite the Butts at LBO, amongst theSparrow roost just inside the dock complexoff View Point Road, it continued to performfor county and out-of-county birders on andoff until the 14th, but not again by the 25that least, although the Sparrow roost haddecreased significantly. Other news: aCommon Rosefinch was on Orfordness on the1st, with a further Rosefinch seen in Hollesleyon the 2nd, along with a Montagu’s Harrier,again on Orfordness also on the 2nd. The 4thsaw an Icterine Warbler discovered behind StPeters Church, Kirkley, Lowestoft. A PectoralSandpiper was noted around Minsmere fromthe 7th and remained until the 11th at least.A Great White Egret was seen to fly NE overBawdsey Hall on the 8th at 11:20, and with ajuvenile Montagu’s Harrier being noted overMinsmere levels, having probably beenpresent for several days, makes up theSeptember highlights to date.

So as we look forward to an exciting autumn,and one where, hopefully, the best bird of theyear does turn up when I am on Shetland,let’s us hope for an oddity or two! May I alsoremind you to submit those all-importantrecords via your area recorders, including thecompletion of any SORC forms for the countyrarities, and BBRC forms for any national


David Carter

Osprey and Red Kite

Occasionally we get Red Kite driftingthrough Brettenham and, on a

Saturday morning in June, one appearedto land in a wooded area about a mileaway from the house, so we jumpedin the car and went to investigate.

Much to our surprise thefirst bird we encounteredwas an Osprey sitting inan oak tree with a fish.It flew off with the fishand, after walking downa nearby footpath, wemanaged to relocate itin another tree. As I wastaking a few photos ofthe bird (see left) a RedKite reappeared andflew close to the Osprey,

maybe attempting torob it of the fish

before flying off.

From my photographs I was able to read theletters on the leg ring of the Osprey and thesewere sent, via the BTO, to Roy Dennis whowas featuring the Osprey Project on SpringWatch this year. Below is the reply I received:

David Carter“Many thanks for your report andexcellent picture of the Osprey BNwhich Roy Dennis forwarded tome. The BTO ring that you saw is No.1408262.

It is one of the Ospreys ringed by CirilOstroznik of North Solway RingingGroup and it is a delight to hear of it.The bird (a male) is one of a brood ofthree ringed near Crawford, SouthLanarkshire on 24 July 2010 in a nestthat Ciril constructed.

Another of the Ospreys ringed thatyear – near Castle Douglas - wasphotographed in September 2010 inBrittany, France. These sightings justshow the value of the darvc rings withtheir large letters and the increasedreports that come from them.”Derek Skilling, Dumfries.

rarities, they really are vital!

My ongoing thanks goes out to our BINSmembers for their prodigious efforts in helpingto provide Suffolk with such a fantastic service.For SOG members wanting to enjoy dailyupdates, superb photography and much more,please visit Suffolk BINS at:http://www.freewebs.com/suffolkbirding/

Finally, with my SOG hat on, I would like topass on my own personal thanks to all who

took part in the SOG Sponsored Bird Race,and to those who sponsored us, or madedonations. This was a critical event for theGroup, and I have been overwhelmed bythe generosity of the general public, friends,families, work colleagues, members andexternal organisations, who have all helped usraise some well-needed funds. So a big thankyou goes out to one and all, and I very muchlook forward to catching up with many of youat the forthcoming indoor events betweennow and Christmas.




Phil Brown & Clive Collins

Adam Gretton’s comment in #167that Yarn Hill, not far from Snape,

might be a contender as evidence ofWhite-tailed Eagle’s presencein the area during earliertimes might have beenborne out by a recent article.

This article appeared in Bird Study, and wasentitled ‘The history of eagles in Britain andIreland: an ecological review of placenameand documentary evidence from the last 1500years’ (Bird Study Vol. 59 number 3 pp.335 –349). The authors utilised placenames to inferevidence for the presence of both Golden andWhite-tailed Eagle in Britain and Ireland.

The supplementary evidence table attached tothis article only revealed three such namesacross Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk – all were OldEnglish (i.e. pre 1150) and were suggestive ofWhite-tailed Eagles’ presence more than 900years ago. The three were Arnold’s Farm inEssex, Erneford in Norfolk and, last but notleast, Yarn Hill at Iken in Suffolk.

But Clive Collins raises some reservationsabout this ‘evidence’. He wrote “ There wouldhave to be a question-mark over the Essex‘Arnold’s Farm’ at TQ4997. According to thestandard reference work ‘The Place-names ofEssex’ by P. H. Reaney, published as Volume XIIin the English Place-name Society series (CUP1935), ‘Arnold’s Farm’ in the ChelmsfordHundred (which is in the TQ4997 grid square)took its name from the family of a JohnArnold, recorded as living in the area in 1289.”So the inference drawn in the Bird Studyarticle from the name may have been wrongand the assertion that it was from Old Englishpossibly incorrect too.

Clive then continued, stating that he’d “had alook at ‘The older history of the White-tailedEagle in Britain’ by Derek Yalden (British Birds100, August 2007 pp.471 – 480). His map –Fig. 1 ‘Map of place-names including theelement ‘earn’ ‘ – shows nothing for Essex orSuffolk, and one dot for Norfolk, somewherenear Lowestoft . . . but nowhere near Erneford,which is inland near Swaffham. Theaccompanying Table 1, a list of place-nameswith ‘earn’ elements, has nothing for EastAnglia at all, although it does include a YarnsHill in West Riding Yorkshire, and many otherswith ‘Yarn’ in various compounds, mostly inthe south-west.” Then Clive added “MaryGelling in ‘Anglo-Saxon Eagles’ (Leeds Studiesin English Vol. 18, pages 173-181) lists nine‘yarn’ place-names but not a Suffolk ‘YarnHill’, and nothing at all for Norfolk, Suffolkand Essex.”

What are we to make of this? PersonallyI’d like to congratulate Adam for recallingYalden’s article and raising the entire subject.On balance, given the habitat, it was certainlypossible that White-tailed Eagle were presentin Suffolk, but perhaps not in great numbers.

Yarn Hill confirmation?



Phil Brown

Log it or lose it!

This is the theme of our latest SOGinitiative.

This slogan aims to capture the idea that, ifwe do not regularly log even everyday birds(let alone rarities), we won't obtain anaccurate picture of bird life across the county.Then there are two senses to the ‘loseit’ part of the slogan.

The first refers to that very humanfrailty that, as we get older, so weprogressively forget things. As a result, unlesswe quickly record an interesting bird sightingthen the details dissipate and, in time, wecome to forget altogether. So if we don't log itwe lose the record.

The second sense arises from theconsequence of a lack of records. Withoutadequate bird records our understanding ofbird populations is diminished. Ultimately, ifthat picture remains inadequate, then we caninevitably struggle to really understand whatis going on. In due course this lack ofknowledge will mean we are less able toappreciate what is happening to certain birdsand are less capable of coming up withmeasures to save them. Thus, if we don’t logbirds better, we are more likely to lose them –so let’s log them, not lose them.

This is why SOG and SORC are backing theBirdTrack partnership in its efforts toencourage more individuals and localrecorders to put their patch and roamingrecords onto BirdTrack. Because BirdTrack canthen add value to that local data by providingregional and national-scale analyses of it.While BirdTrack was originally created toexamine arrival and departure dates formigrants, now it is beginning to be used

to provide 'trends' for some poorly monitoredspecies. So, to put it simply, the more dataBirdTrack has to work with, the better the jobit can do in helping to guide the developmentof conservation measures.

So let's log it and not lose it!

The challengeWhile Suffolk is already doing wellcontributing to structured surveys, such asWeBS and the BBS, the addition of yet moreday-to-day records would help to fill in gapsand/or provide early warnings for somespecies.

When considering BirdTrack records, comparedwith Norfolk (which is probably already themost ‘BirdTracked’ county) Suffolk is presentlybeing out-performed. According to 2011BirdTrack data 95 Suffolk residents submitted85,312 records, whereas Norfolk’s 175resident ‘recorders’ provided 154,327 records –that's still at about the same rate per observer,it's just there are more of them.

This then is the challenge we have setourselves over the next twelve months or so.Simply to encourage more Suffolk residents(and SOG members in particular) to recordbirds on BirdTrack and raise the overallnumbers of records. In return users ofBirdTrack will benefit from having access toBirdTrack analysis tools that can readily revealinteresting facts about their own patch, aswell as having the satisfaction of knowing thatthis patch data is contributing to our overallknowledge of bird populations.


Above: The BirdTrack Home Page withOptions button inset.

Below: Adding Casual Records.

Recording birds across Britain and Ireland

CS1




BINS Summ

1

2

3

Spanish Sparrow, a county first at Landguard, Jack Levene

Adult Red-backed Shrike, Felixstowe, Chris Baines

Pectoral Sandpiper, Minsmere, Dick Walden

1

CS2




mer Specials

2

3

3CS3




The Suffolk Community Bar

Inevitably, asmore boxeswere installed,so the numbersoccupied byother specieshas increasedtoo. By 2011,with an installedbase then ofalmost 1300, ofwhich two-thirdswere occupied,21% unoccupiedand almost 10%had not beenchecked.

As the map right makes plain, Barn Owls andStock Doves represented approaching 50% ofthese occupied boxes, Jackdaws about 13%,while other Owls constituted another 2%.

The map also shows that the distributionof boxes is distinctly biased towards thenorth-east. In future more effort will bededicated to increasing the westernpopulation of Barn Owls.

Figure 8, from page 6, box occupationby species in 2011

Editor: Thanks to the efforts of over ahundred enthusiasts and expertssacrificing hours of their time over manyyears we may have turned the corner forBarn Owl survival in Suffolk. Well doneto everyone concerned.

Hopefully others will be inspired by thisexample to help with another equallypressing problem – the plight offarmland birds.

CS4




arn Owl Project 2007 – 2011

Barn Owl (314)

Tawny Owl (21)

Little Owl (11)

Stock Dove (318)

Jackdaw (188)

Kestrel (17)

Grey Squirrel (9)

Other species (6)

Empty (280)

Not checked (120)

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BINS Summer Specials

4 White-winged Black Terns,Alton Water, Bill Baston

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5

6

Male Yellow-spotted White-facedDarter, a possible UK first at DunwichHeath, Dave Fairhurst

Adult Spoonbill, Minsmere, Lee Woods 7

8

Bearded Tit, Barry Woodhouse

Grey Partridge, another denizenof David Tomlinson’s garden

6

5

7

8

CS7




H & A Designs

(Hoopoe on Olive, Andalucia. Acrylic)

www.handadesigns.co.uk

Artwork by Su Gough, Photography by Luke DelvePet Portraits a speciality. Commissions welcome.Illustrations available for use or sale.

(Hooded Wheatear, UAE)

Birds and other wildlife in a range of media *as seen in The Harrier and Su�olk Birds*

Available for private or commercial commissions – black and white illustrations, high quality paintings and even murals, contact Szabolcs Kokay.

www.kokay.hu email: [email protected]

Wildlife Art by Birdwatch artist of the year 2008

COMBINING A PASSION FOR NATURE WITH GREAT ARTISTIC SKILL

CS8





Nick Moran

BirdTrack: Tutorial #1Getting started

BirdTrack is designed to capture yourrecords in a way that is relevant,

interesting and meaningful to you.

At the same time your records feed intoa national database being used to studymigration movements and distribution of birdsthroughout Britain and Ireland, therebysupporting species conservation and, withyour permission, the data may also be madeavailable for use by the local bird recorder(s)and bird report writer(s).

Register/loginBird records are most valuable when they arelinked to a named, contactable observer. Forthis reason, you are asked to provide somedetails when you register for BirdTrack via the‘Register’ button on the BirdTrack Home page(www.birdtrack.net). Existing BirdTrack userscan login with their username and password.Anyone who has used the online data entrysystems for Bird Atlas 2007–11, the BreedingBird Survey, the Wetland Bird Survey, GardenBirdWatch or any other BTO online survey canset up BirdTrack using the same username andpassword, via the relevant ‘setup’ button onthe BTO Survey Home page.

Creating sitesBirdTrack has a strong site-based component.The idea is to encourage birdwatchers to keepan eye on their local patch(es) and submitrecords from them on a regular basis. Settingup a site is easy: just click the ‘Create NewSite’ button on the BirdTrack Data Home page(the page we’ve illustrated in the coloursupplement and which you see once loggedin) then either point the cursor over the rightplace then hold down the shift key (openup-arrow) and left-click with your mouse (ifyou’ve a Mac, just double-click the mouse),or enter the postcode or grid reference if youknow it. There is also a pre-populated list of‘Top County Birding Sites’, where you can findsome of the better-known birding sites in yourarea – by using this route to set up sites for

Editor: Almost every birder keeps records.Some, like me, now and again in a prettydesultory fashion – whilst others maintainimmaculate records stretching over decades.Whichever type of record keeper you are,BirdTrack and its partners would bedelighted to receive records from you.

This is one of the reasons why the BTO andits partners have been re-vamping theentire BirdTrack system. Consequently, onceyou have uploaded your records to BirdTrackyou can then access all of them andmanipulate the data as you require.

From our 2011 members’ survey we knowthat possibly around 10% of SOG membersdidn’t have access to a computer at thattime. Whilst we hope this figure has sincedropped, we appreciate that the followingarticle may not apply to you, howeverperhaps it will provide the impetus for someto take the plunge into the digital age.

Having introduced you to the revisedBirdTrack in the last issue of the Harrier, NickMoran of the BTO has prepared a series ofBirdTrack tutorials for those with computersand internet access. This, the first, guidesyou through getting started with BirdTrack.



better-known spots, you can help the localbird recorders by using the agreed names forparticular sites.

Once you have located the site, you will beasked whether the whole site fits into a 1-km,tetrad or 10-km square. This is just so that weknow whether all of your records from aparticular site can be allocated toan OS grid square, for mappingpurposes. Don’t worry if the siteoverlaps one or more squareboundaries; simply chose theappropriate size of square thatencompasses your entire site.

With the site created, it will beavailable in a dropdown menuwhen you come to add records.

Adding recordsYou can add Species Lists andCausal Records for visits to yourbirdwatching site(s). SpeciesLists are for easily recording all ofthe species you identified whilstbirdwatching at a site, whileCasual Records allow you torecord one or a few of the more interestingrecords, or any highlights of a short visit to asite.

For either method, you can include as muchdetail as you like; present-only can beindicated with a tick, or you can add extrainformation by clicking the ‘+’ button to reveala selection of optional details such asage/sex/plumage, habitat notes and directionof flight. Adding a count is worth doingwherever possible, as it can give you a roughidea of the relative abundance of differentspecies at the sites you visit.

‘Complete lists’ are Species Lists that featureall the species you positively identified andrecorded during your visit. These lists areparticularly valuable because they offer a

measure of absence as well as presence,providing a powerful tool for looking at botharrival and departure times of migratoryspecies. You can mark a list as complete byticking the box at the top or bottom of the list,marked “Please check this box if the list youare submitting includes ALL the bird speciesyou saw or heard during your visit”.

When you’re ready to get started, simply clickthe prominent ‘Add Records’ button on yourBirdTrack Data Home page, then choose either‘Add Species List’ or ‘Add Casual Record’.

The Roving record tool is the ‘no frills’ way tolog your sightings, designed to capture yoursightings from one-off locations, such as a RedKite flying over the road (when someone elseis driving, of course!). The records are notlinked to one of your existing sites, and arelocated by moving the cursor over the rightspot on a map, then holding down the shiftkey (open up-arrow) and left-clicking withyour mouse. Hey presto, the grid reference iscaptured; all you need to do is give the placea name, add the date and species, and acount if you wish.

DataHome

RRoving Record C

C

R

L Createnew site

LCasual Record / Species List

yes no

existing site?

C Lselect your sitefrom dropdown

enter record detailsand submit


SHIFT+CLICKon map

select your sitefrom dropdown


or

or



Finally, if you already use another piece ofsoftware or a spreadsheet to store your birdrecords, there is an upload tool with whichyou can import up to 5,000 records at a timeinto BirdTrack. All you need to do is put yourrecords into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet,standardise the format to match the BirdTrackfields, then follow the online instructions.

Don’t forget: Log it or lose it!

BirdTrack is organised by the BTO, on behalf ofthe BTO, the Royal Society for the Protection ofBirds (RSPB), BirdWatch Ireland, the ScottishOrnithologists’ Club (SOC) and the WelshOrnithological Society (WOS).

Editor: As you can now see there are some real benefits in using BirdTrack to record your patchdata. First, your input can be automatically routed if you agree to the county recorders and allother authorities analysing this bird data. Second, you can easily reveal more about what’sgoing on in your local patch by analysing your data using the BirdTrack systems. Third, you havethe satisfaction of knowing your BirdTrack patch data is contributing to everyone’sunderstanding of Suffolk birds’ status.

In the next issue Nick will review some simple ways of analysing and presenting your patchdata using BirdTrack tools. SOG are co-operating with the BirdTrack team to assist with pilotingof the re-vamped BirdTrack system in the county. With this team we are currently hoping earlynext year to hold at least one workshop at which we will take members through the systemand its tools on your own laptops. It is also planned by BirdTrack to have a couple ofexplanatory web videos available on their site as well as, possibly, a detailed down-loadableuser manual. We’ll keep you abreast of these developments.

By the time we publish Harrier #171 we hope to have finalised all of these developments.

Steve Abbott

SORC – Loggingrarities

As has already been made plain, thekeeping and distribution of records

is central to bird conservation.

Responsibility for recording the county’savifauna recording lies with the SuffolkNaturalists’ Society (SNS), although SOGcompiles the report, which SNS then publish,

to deliver a comprehensive account ofSuffolk’s birds every year (a.k.a. the SuffolkBirds report, which is free to all joint SOG/SNSmembers and due in November/December).

At the heart of this report are records for theyear concerned that have been passed to therelevant county recorders. Rather than dwellon these I’d like to talk here about recordingthe more unusual birds. The form illustratedbelow (which can be down-loaded from theSOG website) clearly indicates the informationtypically required to report a rarity or avagrant. All such records are scrutinised bySORC and, in the case of rarities or scarespecies, verification will be additionally


Species: BEE-EATER

Number of birds: 1 Age / Sex: ‘ADULT’

Locality: BOYTON MARSHES

Date(s): 08/07/08 Time(s): 1930-1940 HOURS Duration: TEN MINUTES

Earlier / later dates

by others, if known:

First / last dates

if known:

Observer: STEVE ABBOTT

Address:

Optical aids used: LEICA 8X32 ULTRAVID, LEICA 8X30 TRINOVID AND SWAROVSKI 80 HD X 20-60.

Distance from bird: INITIALLY PERCHED AT c.100M, THEN FEEDING OVER HEAD AT c. 20M, THEN

LOST TO VIEW.

Weather conditions: OVERCAST WITH A LIGHT SSW THEN BECAME ALMOST CALM LATER.

Previous experience: EXTENSIVE IN FRANCE, SPAIN AND CYPRUS PLUS SEVERAL ENCOUNTERS IN

BRITAIN OVER THE YEARS.

Experience of

similar species: NONE!

Who found it: I DID Who identified it: I DID

Other Observers: NONE

Was it photographed: NO

Name of photographer: N/A

Was it trapped / ringed: NO

Name of ringer: N/A

Calls: WHILST FLYING AND FEEDING OVER HEAD IT WAS CALLING MOST OF THE TIME.

THE VOICE WAS THE CLASSIC BEE-EATER RINGING/ROLLING ‘PRRUP PRRUP’

Is this record

100% certain: YES Any who disagree: N/A


sought. The list of species considered by SORC,in effect the Suffolk Checklist, can be found inSuffolk Birds – in the 2011 edition it’sexpected to appear around page 165.

So that you have a better appreciation of whatis needed, here’s an example of a completedSORC form ‘I prepared earlier’:

Description: Please include an account of the relevant circumstances of the observation and a detailed description of the bird(s), preferablybased on notes taken at the time of the observation before reference to any literature. Please attach copies of the original field notes /photographs where possible.AS I WALKED OUT ONTO THE MARSH I VIEWED THE SMALL DEAD/DYING OAKS JUST SE OF BUNTER’S BARN AS PER NORMAL AND SAW AT ONCE ABIRD PERCHED ON THE TOP OF THE CLOSER TREE. THROUGH THE BINS IT WAS OBVIOSLY A BEE-EATER!! PUTTING THE SCOPE ONTO IT X 60 REVEALEDTHE CLASSIC BEE-EATER PLUMAGE AND FINER STRUCTURAL DETAIL – INCLUDING VERY LONG CENTRAL TAIL FEATHERS. THE BEAUTIFUL YELLOW THROATCONTRASTING WITH THE BRIGHT TURQUOISE BLUE UNDERPARTS WAS STRIKING. THE LONG DOWN CURVED BILL WAS NOTED, AS WAS THE DARK MASKTHROUGH THE EYE. THE BIRD APPEARED SETTLED AND HAVING ENJOYED IT FOR c. FIVE MINUTES I PHONED BINS TO ALERT OTHER BIRDERS. WITH IN SECONDS OFMAKING THE CALL THE BIRD TOOK TO THE WING AND FLEW STRAIGHT TOWARDS ME! IT PROCEECED TO CIRCLE OVERHEAD, CALLING AND TAKINGINSECTS. DURING THIS BRIEF CLOSE RANGE SHOW IT DISPLAYED THE CLASSIC BEE-EATER FLIGHT DYNAMICS OF RAPID PURSUIT ALTERNATING WITHSLOW GLIDES ON FLAT ALMOST TRIANGULAR WINGS. AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO THE BIRD DRIFTED SLOWLY NNW TOWARDS BUTLEY FERRY FARMWHERE IT JOINED A LARGE FEEDING FLOCK OF SWIFTS. AFTER A FURTHER MINUTE OR TWO I LOST THE BIRD AMONGST THE SWIFTS AS THE FEEDINGFLOCK DRIFTED AWAY NW.UNFORTUNATELY THE BIRD WAS LOST TO VIEW BEFORE THE FIRST BIRDERS ARRIVED AND COULD NOT BE RELOCATED THAT EVENING.



Editor: As many of you know, Steve Abbott is SOG Vice-chairman, as well as Chair of the SuffolkOrnithological Records Committee (SORC), where several committee members ably supporthim. So you get an idea of who these individuals are, we thought (from time to time) you’d beinterested in seeing some biographical notes about them.

Today we kick-off by introducingyou to the Committee’s

youngest member, Scott Maysonof Woodbridge, who is also oneof our county bird recorders.

Meet ScottMaysonBiographical notes:Scott is 35, married and isSuffolk born and bred. Nowliving in Woodbridge, havingmoved there from Leiston wherehe’d spent the previous 27 years.

How did I get into birding?My interest started when I was quite youngwhile visiting my grandparents when, throughboredom, I watched the birds outside theirkitchen window. But my interest probably onlyreally got going when my father, who was akeen birder, took me out bird watching. Istarted regularly birding aged about eight ornine, so that is about 27 years so far . . .

Earliest birding memory?My first exciting birding memory was visitingMinsmere one evening, when I was aboutten, where we saw a Spoonbill asleep on theScrape from the old public hide. This was thestart of a lifelong love for this reserve and ofbirds in general.

Places birded?In 2005 I birded in Kazakhstan, then the nextyear on Lesvos and in the Bay of Biscay, to befollowed by Cyprus in 2011. Currently I’mplanning a trip to Thailand in 2014.

Favourite place to go birding?This is a difficult one, I spent a large portion ofmy birding life at Minsmere and this is whereI learnt my trade. I have seen many greatbirds there, in fact my Minsmere list is 269,so it does hold a special place in my heart.However, I think Thorpeness Caravan park hasknocked it into second place. Minsmere wasalways something of a local patch, as I lived inLeiston at the time, but on passing my drivingtest I spread my wings and soon found the oldcaravan park at Thorpeness. This was the startof a change in my birding career, I started torealise the potential the site had and began todream of finding my own birds.

Favourite bird?In the UK it has to be the Firecrest. Theybrighten any day and, even when things areslow, a Firecrest popping up in a bush alwaysmakes the trip worthwhile. While, on a globalscale, Banded Pitta is top, which I hope to seewhen the Thailand trip comes off – I evenhave a picture of one on my bankcard!



Best birding moment?That’s another difficult one. As I have begun totwitch more and more over the last few yearsI have seen some great birds both around theUK and in Suffolk. So, to give you an answer Iwill have to give you two!First, seeing the Black-and-white Warbler onthe Scilly Isles last year was special for anumber of reasons: one, we had twitched theIsles for a Solitary Sandpiper and it was onlymid-morning after seeing the Sandpiper thatthe pager danced to the tune of a Black-and-white Warbler just down the road. Two, I havealways wanted to twitch a bird on an island.Three, I had always wanted to fly in ahelicopter (Editor: Sadly this service is nowthreatened). And, finally, Black-and-whiteWarbler is a bird I have long wanted to see, sothis trip combined all four factors.

However for Suffolk I think it has to be thethrill of finding birds at Thorpeness CaravanPark – in particular the Greenish Warbler acouple of years ago, two days after I gotmarried, a great wedding present andhopefully the start of things to come.

Favourite sort of birding?Seawatching is a bit like Marmite – you eitherlove it or hate it. I love both Marmite and

seawatching! You never know what is going togo past your eyes – I have seen all sorts ofbirds whilst staring at the grey North Sea ingale force winds (I’m not selling it am I?). Partof the love is trying to advance my ID skillswhile I’m being battered by wind and/or rainas a bird shears and dips in and out of troughs.It is really rewarding when you spot a bird along way off and, based on ‘jizz’ alone, youhave a pretty good idea of what the bird isand, as it approaches, more and more parts ofthe jigsaw fall into place, a wing flash here, ora dark cap there, and the ID is confirmed.

Seawatching is also a great way to viewmigration in action, be it duck or wadersheading south, or owls, thrushes and finchesarriving en masse in the autumn. Satisfyinglythey all bring the whole wonder of migrationhome to you.

Why did I become county recorder?I was asked if I was interested in taking theposition and, to be honest, I jumped at thechance. As already mentioned, much of mybirding career was spent at Minsmere andmost of it was done alone, my father havingdied when I was 18 and, because I didn’tknow any other birders, I spent many of thesubsequent years solo birding. I saw thisposition as an opportunity to become moreinvolved in the Suffolk birding scene. I havebeen doing the job for three years now andlove it. It can be a labour of love, but it is alsovery rewarding. Strange as it may seem I havenever been one of those birders that recordsevery sighting I make, however I have begunto see the importance of recording specieshowever common they are; do we needreminding of the population crash of thehumble House Sparrow?

Do you have any birding hates?As I have spent more and more time in therecording role I have come to appreciate theimportance of keeping a record of the birdsseen within the county. Information services



can only go so far in providing a record ofwhat is seen and it is up to groups such as theSuffolk Ornithological Records Committee(SORC) to produce as accurate a representationof the birding year as possible.

What gets my goat is people who go to thetrouble to report birds to a news service, butfail to send their records to the countyrecorder – be that directly or via services suchas BirdTrack. These records can be asextensive as they wish, not everything needsto be reported (although that would be nice),it’s enough to send in high counts, unseasonalrecords or records of species that are showingpopulation declines such as Turtle Dove orSpotted Flycatcher. The more records wereceive the more accurate the picture ofSuffolk birds we can produce and the betterour understanding of the county situation.

With all of your birding experience, have yougot any ‘hot’ ID tips you’d like to pass on toreaders?

First is a seawatching ID tip. The BalearicShearwater is a rare visitor to Suffolk watersbut, in my opinion, is probably under-recorded. A helpful way of picking them outwhen plumage details are hard to see, is thatthey appear dumpier and often just glide lowover the water surface undertaking much lessshearing than Manx Shearwaters.

The second ID tip is being familiar withbirdcalls. Birders generally locate far morebirds through hearing them first, the MarshWarbler being a typical example. Most of mybirding is done using my ears, especially atThorpeness where the cover is thick and,typically, birds only show briefly. I find using arecording of a bird that has the bird introducedby a narrator helpful as, when you hear a birdcall or sing, the narrator’s voice often comesinto my head telling me what it is. Anotherway is to relate the call to another call you arefamiliar with, for instance a Richard’s Pipitflight call is similar to that of a House Sparrow.

Field Trip ReportsPhil Brown, Jonathan Lawley & Adam Scott

STANTA TripJuly 14thLeader: Paul Holness

SOG on Parade

As much of Suffolk experienced heavyrain early in the day, this did not

bode well for SOG’s annual pilgrimageto the Army’s battle area. SOG by name,soggy by nature? But we were to belucky, as it stayed dry, though oftenovercast.

This year a party of 14 departed by coach fromBury St Edmunds and en route a Barn Owlwas encountered near Barnham. At the EastWretham gate of the STANTA army trainingarea Paul Holness, who has led all the SOGexpeditions into the battle area and knows itintimately, greeted us. Besides six moremembers of the SOG party, also waiting for uswas Regimental Sergeant Major Trevor Gedgeof the STANTA HQ staff. Once all were aboard

Stanta Facts:26,000 acres of unspoilt English countryside.Grazed by 8000 sheep. Fences and hedgesnoticeably absent. At the time of the tripthe water levels in the meres, scatteredacross STANTA, were low but filling slowlyfrom the north.

Key target species for the trip:Stone CurlewRedstart



the coach we set off at around 10am for ourfirst stop of the day, Frog Hill where theintroductory shots of the TV series Dad’s Armywere filmed.

A spectacular vistaThe view from this vantage point isspectacular – a vast vista (much grander thana view) of open countryside uninterruptedlystretching north to Swaffham’s wind turbineson the horizon. Intensely attractive, rollingBreckland grassland, dotted with sheep, whilein the background Goldfinches were calling inthe nearby pines. The entire party paused totake it all in.

Following a brief sortie into a scrub/deciduouswoodland area that turned up someYellowhammer and a Linnet, the coach thencarried the party down the hill and deeperinto STANTA. First was a brief stop at SmokersHole where Stonechat and singing MeadowPipit were turned up, along with masses ofWild Thyme.

Stone Curlews no-showReturning to the coach the party weretransported across the battle area, hopefully tosee Stone Curlew chicks being ringed. Sadlythe breeding performance of the Stonies thisyear has been disappointing and the ringer, a

formidable Italian ladycalled Flavia for whom wewaited for some time, didnot show up. Despitecareful scrutiny of thesurrounding area the partyfailed to reveal any StoneCurlew lurking in the tallgrassland.

Next, lunch was takenbesides the River Wisseyat Langford, gin clear andteeming with trout. Herea mixture of birds wereencountered, including a

party of Mistle Thrushes that passed over, aHobby also overhead, Grey Wagtail, a shyReed Bunting heard, along with Kestrel,Blackcap, Chiffchaff, House Martins (it wasthought there was a colony on a nearbyderelict church), five Swifts and a BandedDemoiselle being spotted. Some of the partyalso sighted a possible Kingfisher.

With our repast complete, from there thecoach carried the party onto the aptly namedHarrier Strip – of the military aviation ratherthan avian variety. To the delight of thebotanists with us this abandoned section ofrunway was surrounded by ranks of Viper’sBugloss and surprisingly extensive displays ofother flora, including Common and GreaterKnapweed, two dead Broomrapes (thoughtto be Knapweed Broomrape), Kidney Vetch,Eyebright, Dark Mullein, Common Centaury,Sickle Medick (a Breckland speciality), WhiteMelilot, and Basil Thyme. It was here thatin previous years we have seen the rareHummingbird Hawkmoth, but this wasanother no-show this year.

Entering a ride in the adjacent largely coniferouswoodland a Garden Warbler was spotted andtwo Woodlarks in an adjacent field, a Siskinpassed over, plus a raucous Jay calling andmore Linnet and Blackcap.



On the return journey, at Hole Point, the firstCommon Buzzard of the day was at last put upand then around Stanford Water the party tickedoff Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker, twoGreen Woodpeckers and at the sandpits thelast of this year’s Sand Martins – a total of three.

RedstartsNext up, Redstarts – STANTA is the East Anglianstronghold of this attractive species – in fact itis estimated around 100 pairs breed here.They proved to be still resident in smallnumbers and all of the party obtainedreasonable, though sometimes fleeting, views.

Then a short walk down the hill to the RiverWissey where Marsh Tit, Long-tailed Tit,Nuthatch, Goldcrest, and Kingfisher were all

spotted and the entire party was entertainedby a goodly number of Banded Desmoiselle.

On the return to East Wretham three Curlews,two Stock Doves, two Roe Deer with a fawn, aBrown Hare and yet another Common Buzzardcompleted the day’s list.

A very worthwhile tripAll thanked Paul Holness and the RSM for theirefforts. While birding-wise the field trip turnedup nothing spectacular, the wonderful viewsof the Brecks countryside and the excellentflora more than made up for the ‘dips’.Hopefully training commitments will allow usto visit again next year, even if the trip takesplace later than the ideal time for seeingbreeding birds.

Steve Fryett

Around Minsmerefrom EastbridgeSeptember 22Leader: Steve Fryett

I must have had a senior momentwhen I penned this meeting in

October last year, how did I agree a startof 8.30am as I am not an early riserthese days.

So I arrived bleary eyed about 8.10am at theappointed venue in Eastbridge and, with a bitof time, I wandered around to check what ourfirst birds might be. It occurred to me that asthe time was now 8.20 with no othermembers having arrived I should have to gohome and decorate! 8.25, thank the Lord forthe Welsh as Bronwen and Terry arrived, then8.31 a tad late, but I was pleased to be joinedby Brian & Ian.

Just five of us set off towards Eastbridgevillage on a glorious sunny but coldSeptember morning, perfect for migrants aswe had had a lot of overnight rain. By thebridge over the Hundred River we took delightin seeing about 100 Swallows resting onoverhead wires getting ready to complete therest of their marathon journey south. Close by60 House Martins busily fed on the wingaround a large Willow tree.



Philip Murphy

Looking Back– July to September 1962and 1987

Selected highlights from the 1962 and1987 Suffolk Bird reports for the

period July to September.

50 years agoWader passage was the highlight of arelatively quiet three months in late summerand early autumn in 1962. An addition to thecounty list came in the form of a White-rumped Sandpiper in theMinsmere/Walberswick area from 20thAugust to 7th September; it was trapped andringed at the latter site on 25th August, sobecoming only the second individual of thespecies to be trapped in Britain. The Nearctic

This was quite a unique experience watchingthe Martins momentarily alighting on theupper branches of the Willow to pick offinsects and, on occasions, also flying right intothe leaves. Presumably the warm morning sunhad attracted the insects to this side of thetree. The sun had also warmed up a Commaand Speckled Wood. Continuing to make ourway to the Minsmere sluice on the beachalongside the River Hundredwe noted many calling Chiffchaffsand a female Marsh Harrier over thereedbeds. Near the sluice a flock of 22Goldfinches was noteworthy. The sluicebushes were surprisingly quiet withjust the tail end of a CommonWhitethroat noted.

On Lucky Pool we fared much betterwith three Grey Plover, two Bar-tailedGodwits, three Dunlin, one Snipe and alone Curlew Sandpiper. A family of fourKestrels were noted over the south levels. About of seawatching was next, as the windfrom the north-west was increasing, but wemanaged only a couple of Common Scoter andGannets, and grudgingly we agreed a bettersea passage was likely tomorrow. In fact astupendous sea passage occurred thefollowing day all along the Suffolk coast.

We continued a walk north to the public hidewhere a very obliging male Common Redstartwas recorded. From the hide amongst

numerous geese and ducks a few waderswere noted including Ringed Plover, Dunlinand a very well found Little Stint. The Northbushes were out of bounds due to ringingactivities by Waveney Bird Club, which we hadhoped to check for migrants, but we bumpedinto one of the ringers who promptly pulledfrom his bag a juvenile Brambling anddescribed the young bird’s features.

We decided to take the woodland walk behindScotts Hall and over the Westleton road backto the cars. A good choice as we noted threeStone Curlews sitting typically in a sandyscrape beside a bed of nettles. We agreedthese were the best views of Stone Curlewswe had seen for years. Scanning for more wenoted the resident herd of Red Deer preparingfor the oncoming rutting season with the stagslooking in fine fettle. Finally we arrived backat the cars and there closed a very interestingday in the field.



was also represented by Pectoral Sandpipers atMinsmere, 27th July, Easton Broad, 23rd Augustand Aldeburgh, 27th September – but it isconceivable that just one wandering individualwas involved in all of these sightings.

Kentish Plovers regular visitorsKentish Plovers, now verging almost onnational rarity status, were of regularoccurrence 50 years ago – singles were notedin this period at Minsmere, 22nd July and26th/27th August. Additional wader highlightsat Minsmere in August included ten WoodSandpipers, 50 Spotted Redshanks and 15Little Stints. Early returning Purple Sandpiperswere at Walberswick, 30th August and 6th to10th September and, at Iken, on 21st July,fourteen Avocets was an exceptional record forthe early 1960s.

Also exceptional was a Whooper Swan onOrfordness, 21st August – perhaps it had over-summered at this remote site, to which accesswas severely restricted in the 1960s? Anotherearly arrival was a Goosander at Minsmere,20th September, but the principal wildfowlsighting involved up to 1000 Common Scotersoff Walberswick at the end of July.

Shotley CorncrakeCorncrakes were scarce even 50 years ago,so the occurrence of one at Shotley, 15thSeptember was noteworthy.

The years’s only Great Skua was, perhapssurprisingly, at Havergate, 27th September, andup to four Roseate Terns were noted in Julyand August at both Havergate and Minsmere.

Notable near-passerines involved an AlpineSwift over Minsmere, 12th July and an injuredHoopoe found at Westleton, 15th August.

The rarest passerine to be reported was aTawny Pipit at Walberswick, 7th September,only the fourth Suffolk record. Additionalpasserines were few and far between but did

include as many as 500 Bearded Tits in theWalberswick reedbed in September and anexceptionally early Fieldfare at Aldeburgh,15th August.

25 years agoThe immense effort put into seawatching offthe Suffolk coast in 1987, principally atCovehithe, really began to pay dividends inlate summer and early autumn. A low-pressure system stationary over the easternNorth Sea produced a period of northerlywinds between 24th and 27th August.

A ‘surf-it’ of skuasOn 26th August observers at Covehitherecorded 26 Arctic Skuas, four Great Skuas,three Manx Shearwaters and Suffolk’s 13threcord of Long-tailed Skua. What was, at thetime, a county record movement of skuas wasnoted off Covehithe on 27th August when 88Arctic Skuas, seven Great Skuas and twoPomarine Skuas were noted moving southahead of torrential rain.

Northerly winds and heavy overnight rain on30th September produced one of Suffolk’sbest-ever seawatches as seabirds were forcedclose inshore. The highlights off Covehitheinvolved four Leach’s Petrels, 16 SootyShearwaters (part of what was at the time arecord annual Suffolk total of 94), 12 ArcticSkuas, 1500 Kittiwakes and fourteen LittleGulls, while off Ness Point the fifth countyrecord of Cory’s Shearwater flew north.



An unexpected occurrence was that of sixpale-bellied Brent Geese in the Orford andSudbourne area as early as 12th September,with at least 20, and possibly as many as 36,there the next day – the presence of thesegeese coincided with a marked arrival ofNearctic wildfowl into Britain. One of theseNearctic wildfowl was Suffolk’s third record ofBlue-winged Teal, a female, which gracedMinsmere from 13th to 15th September andagain 24th to 27th September.

A Spotted Crake, which was evidently in nohurry to move on elsewhere, remained atMinsmere during 12th August to 14thSeptember; on one occasion it was watchedfollowing a rat on the path behind West Hidein broad daylight.

Autumn Wader passage – coastal & inlandNo major rarities were located during autumnwader passage, the highlights of which weretwo Red-necked Phalaropes at Walberswick inlate September, Dotterel, Covehithe, 5thSeptember and single Pectoral Sandpipers atMinsmere, 8th to 17th September andWalberswick, 25th September. Temminck’sStints have been very scarce on autumnpassage in Suffolk in the 21st century but in1987 three were located at Minsmere – one,30th July and two, 12th and 13th September.

Inland wader highlights included a Knot,at Cavenham gravel pit, 23rd July, CurlewSandpiper, Lackford, 22nd August and SpottedRedshank, Lackford, 22nd August.

There were two reports of atypical behaviourby Common Sandpipers; at least five fed onfloating weed on the River Lark at Mildenhallduring torrential rain on 25th August and twowere feeding in a ploughed field at Benacre,27th August.

The most unexpected report of an Arctic Skuainvolved a dark-phase immature in a field atEast Bergholt, 4th September. The over-

summering GlaucousGull remained atFelixstowe Ferrythroughout this period.

Cavenham and Lackford wereboth graced by a Caspian Ternduring 21st and 22nd August, onlySuffolk’s second inland record. Other notabletern records included up to five Sandwich Ternsat Lackford in late summer, 839 Common Ternssouth off Landguard, 20th August and 100Arctic Terns off Sizewell, 10th August.

Turtle Dove gatheringsPost-breeding gatherings of Turtle Doves werestill to be expected in the late 1980s; thelargest to be recorded in 1987 were 150,Hollesley, 12th September and 58, Mendham,2nd September – such sights are nowbecoming a distant memory. Likewise with theCuckoo, of which as many as eight were atBawdsey, 13th September, Landguard had itsfirst site record of Hoopoe, 1st September andanother was at Rendlesham, 19th September.

North-easterly winds in the last week ofAugust resulted in above-average totals ofWrynecks including six at Benacre, 30th, five,Gunton, 29th and four, Landguard, 28th to31st; inland, two were at Bradfield St Clare,5th and 6th September.

The harsh winter of 1986/87 was consideredto have wiped out Suffolk’s residentpopulation of Cetti’s Warblers, so the year’sonly record at Minsmere, 27th September to10th October, was considered to have been amigrant from elsewhere. [Editor: It is good tosee from the latest Bird Atlas findings howwell this species has recovered]

Rare warblers a plentyLowestoft and Landguard dominated the rarewarbler scene during this period. Lowestoft’shighlights were Suffolk’s fifth record of AquaticWarbler, 26th August, Icterine Warbler, 26th



August and the autumn’s first Yellow-browedWarbler, 27th to 29th September.

Landguard recorded four Icterine Warblersduring 29th August to 18th September, BarredWarbler, 29th September and as many aseight Wood Warblers between 25th July andlate August.

Willow Warblers featured very strongly atLandguard in August, during which month thesite’s ringers trapped as many as 416 – thepeak day was 23rd when about 500 were onsite. By contrast, the peak day-total for thisspecies at Landguard in the autumns of 2009and 2010 was only 30 in both years.

Accompanying the Willow Warblers cameimpressive totals of Pied Flycatchers with atleast 100 on the coast in late August and earlySeptember; site totals included up to 16 atLowestoft and ten at Landguard.

Landguard’s first record of Treecreeperoccurred on 31st July and 1st August – this sitealso hosted a male Serin, 24th August and avery early Twite on 1st September. Signs ofthe approaching winter included twoBramblings, Landguard, 29th September, fourLapland Buntings, Havergate, 15th Septemberand a Snow Bunting, Benacre, 26thSeptember.

NewsStonies’ 2012 Cavenham roostMike Taylor advises that the annual autumnroost at Cavenham Heath for Stone Curlews isonce again into three figures – though lowerthan last year. The full list of results are:

The highest count on 4 September indicated atleast 109 birds were present – but it isacknowledged that this year the heather's heighthas made accurate counting difficult. The 24September count revealed a zero suggesting thatfor some Stonies migration to Africa wasunderway before the end of the month. However,

with the most recent figures revealing laggardmigrants or potential over-winterers? The earlierzero count was surprising, but the weather waspoor and the roost appears to have shiftedtemporarily in the Heath area. Mike Taylor felt,“Just speculation on my part, but perhaps they[Stonies] are less predictable at Cavenham asmigration approaches as they are moving aroundmore locally to find the best feeding sites –feeding-up prior to migration.” Time will tell.

SOG calls-in at a call-centre’scharity dayWith the support of Yvette Marsh, SOG wereinvited to attend the Legal & General callcentre’s charity day on 26 July in Ipswich.Around twenty charities attended and had theopportunity to present their benefits to staff.The SOG display was manned by Councilmembers and proved of interest for many. Aprize draw secured additional funding and the‘Bill Oddly’s Bird ID Clinic’ went down well.

As a result of this exercise SOG were invited,as part of community engagement andeducation activities, to run bird walks at avolunteer day on SWT’s Knettishall Heath forLegal & General later in the autumn.

Jul 4 14 M Taylor (NE)Jul 9 19 Martin PeersJul 11 26 M Taylor (NE)Jul 24 41 J Jones (RSPB)Aug 1 47 J Jones (RSPB)Aug 8 79 J Jones (RSPB)Aug 12 82+ B WoodhouseSep 4 109 J Jones (RSPB)Sep 8 95+ D CarterSep 15 50+ SOG bird race teamSep 16 58+ Nick Moran (BTO)Sep 18 70+ Tim Cowan (RSPB)Sep 24 None! Roost walkOct 1 13 Jonny RankinOct 4 52 M Taylor (NE)


Reedbed – about 1/2 mile longloop off the Scrape trail.

Chapel viewpoint, a short200m ‘there and back’ pathoffering good views over the

South Levels.

As this map indicates,along with the year-roundfootpaths, bridleways andthe permissive path, thisautumn and for the earlypart of the winterMinsmere’s access isconsiderably enlarged.Taken together you cansee that the RSPB trailsnetwork is substantial.


Alongside the established trails (Scrape andWoodland/Butterfly) serving all of thereserve’s hides the RSPB have now added:

An alternative route to walking along the access roadfrom Crossbill Corner, to the bridleway, then ScottshallCottage to Scotts Hall, then the Canopy Hide, Whin HillWatchpoint (an excellent new viewing point with skywatching seats) to the Work Centre and then onto theVisitor Centre.

There are various rights of way bordering the reserve tothe south and west, plus connections across to WestletonHeath and via Mount Pleasant to Dunwich Heath.

Several temporary seasonal trails have alsobeen opened – these will change every yearaccording to weather and ground conditions:

The ‘Powerlines’ ride – a 3/4-mile stretch of path openfrom November – February

North Bushes, a short hundred or so meters long, usuallyopen from September – February – but can be closed forringing etc.

Autumn Wader Trail – North Levels – a 3/4 mile trailrunning from the sluice on the north side of the New Cut upto North Levels Pool 1, and then on up to the SE corner ofPool 2 for passage waders (mid August to end October).

Editor: Ten teams participated, with twocategories of bird racer, the motorised andthe greens; a total of 147 species achieved.

Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. RSPB licence 100021787

Roy Marsh

Bird race resultsWith what seemed an age since deciding tohold our Group’s inaugural Autumn bird race,and having scooped some 1st division teamsto take part in the form of RSPB fromMinsmere, The Waveney Bird Club and TheLounge Lizards, alongside a number of otherteams made up of local birders, friends andfellow SOG members and committee members(and offspring in one case) the scene was set.

It was soon to become clear that this wasgoing to be much tougher than our usual raceon January 1st, as it had been impossible to

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BridlewayFootpathPermissive path

Powerlines trail

Off road

North Bushes trail

Autumn wader trail

Reedbed trail

Chapel viewpoint

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Minsmere access developments



stake any birds out, being in the middle ofmigration, which in itself added a furtherdimension and a necessity for some tacticaldecision making.

Our team of four were known as the ‘PiedTwitchers’, following an early rise before 3am,our day officially kicked off at 4am, as wecollected our final member of the team atBredfield . . . to be continued in Christmas edition!

As said, I will come back to the stories andstatistical findings from the event in ourbumper Christmas edition, but for the timebeing, we felt it important to confirm the finalresults, and to make a fewacknowledgements. Please note the tablebelow, to which in the Christmas edition, wewill also look to include sponsorships raised bythe teams, thereby providing a transparentrecord to you, our members, as well as

hopefully some day reports too. It was afantastic day, and feedback suggests enjoyedby all teams, so hopefully will be somethingwe can look to do each year, although itprobably would not be sponsored next year,more for fun and statistical analysis, oh andsome local rivalry too I’m sure!

One other thing for sure, I didn’t expect quitethe level of support from friends, family, workcolleagues and corporate sponsors, the lattertwo being in the form of my works at CSD,Customer Service Direct, Suffolk County Council,allowing me to run articles in our companypublications, litter areas with leaflets andbusiness cards, as well as allowing me tocanvas for sponsorships and put sponsor formsup around our building. Amazingly, thegenerosity of my work colleagues alone sawmy sponsorship rise by over £300. In addition,my wife, Yvette was also able to run a smallercampaign at her company, Legal & General,who again deserve special thanks, by againhelping to bolster my overall sponsorship,Yvette is also currently reviewing the datataken from the day to pull together some vitalstats for us. Corporate-wise, I know ScottMayson, part of our Pied Twitchers team wasalso able to secure some corporatesponsorship, in the form of £50 from

Swarovski, and incredibly, apair of binoculars from Viking,which will be auctioned/raffled at our AGM. It justgoes to show, that if you ask,you sometimes get; we evenmanaged to get £40 fromRare Bird Alert, and a hugethank you should go out toone and all.

I don’t think it would beright to speculate at thistime as to the true level oflikely sponsorship we willultimately raise, particularlywith many racers still out

Team Name Team Members Type – Full, Green (Non Motorised) Score

Team RSPB Robin Harvey, Jon Gibbs, Green – On foot – 114Raspberry Fools Paul Green, Ian Salkeld Walked 14 miles+

& Rachel Coombes

Pied Twitchers Roy Marsh, Craig Fulcher, Full County – 157 miles 110Scott Mayson, Craig Holden mainly coastal

Deben Dragons Phil Whittaker, Steve Full County – Restricted 110Abbott & Nick Mason themselves to Deben

Sooty & The Sweeps Gi Grieco, Eddie Bathgate Full County – Miles tbc 109& Chris Keeling

Waveney Bird Club Steve Piotrowski, Eric Patrick, Green – On foot – 108Thursday Branch Andrew Green & John Grant Walked 10 miles

Lounge Lizards tbc Andrew Easton, Rob Wilton, Lizard Land – Lowestoft and 96Paul & Jane Ferguson, surrounding areasJosh Cyprus

Hadleigh Harriers Adam Gretton & Anna Gretton Full County – River 87Orwell and Minsmere

Wild West ‘Boyz’ Phil Brown, David Collins & Green on bikes – 25 miles 75John and Georgina Owen plus 5 miles on foot

Birder Bill Bill Stone Birds rung and aroundBawdsey Manor only 59

The ‘Pied Twitchers’.



Photo credits:Carl Wright (front cover); Chris Baines (colour supplement #5); Bill Baston (colour supplement #6); Brian Buffery (pages 25 & 26); David Carter(page 5); Dave Fairhurst (colour supplement #7); Craig Fulcher (pages 21 & 22); Alec Hillier (pages 3, 5 & 7); HMSO (pages 10 & 30); Jack Levene(colour supplement #2); Roy Marsh (page 31); Mike Page (page 10); RSPB (page 11); David Tomlinson (colour supplement #7 & page 32); DickWalden (colour supplement #5); Lee Woods (colour supplement #7); Barrie Woodhouse (colour supplement #7); Illustration credits:Su Gough (pages 2, 11, 27 & 28); Szabolcs Kokay (page 15 and colour supplement #4 & 5).

AnnouncementsNew Treasurer appointedMatthew Deans, a long time SOG memberknown to many, has kindly volunteered toperform this role and, like Bill, he will also actas Membership Secretary. He will take up thispost in January. We all wish him the best ofluck in fulfilling this vital task.

Back numbers availableBirdwatch issues 3–110, 1992–2001. Freeto anyone who’ll come and collect them.Contact [email protected] orphone: 01473 213025

An evening with Mark CockerMark Cocker, the acclaimed writer, will present‘Crow Country’ on Monday 19th November atThe Fisher Theatre Bungay. Doors open at19:00. This event is being held in conjunctionwith Waveney Bird Club and all profits will begoing to support farmland bird research andconservation.

We understand tickets are going fast, so booknow to avoid disappointment. If you’d like a£5.00 ticket, they are from The Fisher Theatre,10 Broad Street, Bungay, Suffolk, NR35 1EE.With half the tickets already sold, it is probablyadvisable to phone for them direct on:(01986) 897130, or visit the FisherTheatre on-line booking system:[email protected]

collecting, or away, but needless to say, everypound really does help make a difference andhelps secure a future for our illustrious Group,so if you were unable to sponsor anyparticular team, the bank is still well and trulyopen, and all donations would be very muchwelcomed, simply send your cheques madepayable to SOG to Bill Stone at the addressgiven on the inside back cover.

Wanting to finish on a further positive note,it must be said the support that has beenreceived, has far outweighed both my ownand the SOG Council’s expectations, and I wantto take this opportunity to personally thankall members of the teams taking part; withoutthem, there would have not been an event.Also, I want to say a big thank you toeveryone who has sponsored the manyteams across the county, thank you all foryour generous support, it really will helpmake a difference!

Tree SparrowupdateDavid Tomlinson kindlygave us a follow-up tohis article published inHarrier #169. Apparently the resident pair ofTree Sparrows (with the ringed male) wasseen in the garden every day throughout theirprotracted nesting season – which started inMarch and finished in August. To hisknowledge they fledged at least two broodsfrom their Schwegler nest box. Although hesuspects it might have been more, but he wasaway a number of times in the spring whenother broods may have fledged.

The pair has not been seen since mid-August,but he is anticipating that they’ll return to thefeeders in the autumn. His hope is for twopairs next year. I’m sure everyone wishesDavid luck in this respect.


Council for 2012:Officers MembersHonorary President: Steve Piotrowski Jon Warnes [to 2013]Chairman: Roy Marsh Robin Harvey [to 2014]Vice-Chairman: Steve Abbott Jean Garrod [to 2014]Secretary: Phil Whittaker Craig Fulcher [to 2015]Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Bill Stone Scott Mayson [to 2015]Project Officer: Mick WrightMagazine Editor: Phil BrownWebsite Co-ordinator: Gi Grieco Honorary Vice-PresidentsBird Report Editor: Nick Mason Jean & Ken GarrodOutdoor Events Organiser: Jean Garrod Mike JeanesIndoor Events Organiser: Adam Gretton [co-opted] Mike Hall

Robin Hopper

Bird Recorders

North-east Area Recorder:Andrew Green, 17 Cherrywood, HARLESTON, Norfolk IP20 9LP

Tel: 07766 900063 Email: [email protected]

South-east Area Recorder:Scott Mayson, 8 St Edmunds Close, Springfields, WOODBRIDGE IP12 4UY

Tel: 01394 385595 Email: [email protected]

West Area Recorder:Colin Jakes, 7 Maltwood Avenue, BURY ST EDMUNDS IP33 3XN

Tel: 01284 702215 [email protected]

TreasurerBill Stone, 27 Draymans Close, Ipswich IP3 9JT




SuffolkOrnithologists’ Group

For birds & for birderswww.sogonline.org.uk

SOG Registered Charity No. 871446

Who we areFounded in 1973 by a group of Suffolk birdwatchers

Associated with the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

SOG remains an independent birding group andis a registered charity

What we do

NetworkingA voice for Suffolk birdwatchers

With established links to many naturalistand conservation organisations

MediaStrong web presence – www.sogonline.org.uk

Active Twitter feed – @suffolkbirds1

Quarterly magazine – The Harrier

Annual review – Suffolk Birds report

Trips and talksExtensive range (20+) of field tripsevery year – ideal for novices orexperts and young or old alike

Opportunities to visit hot spots and receive practical ID tips in the field

Programme of talks and presentations – varietyof topics (county, national, or international) with quality speakers

Protecting birdsActively lobby to protect habitats and birding amenities

Provides a county-wide field force of birdsurveyors (100+)

Organises and promotes bird surveys

Inspires and undertakes conservation projects

Numerous achievements:

– Contributed to many species breeding successes (Peregrines, Barn Owls etc.)

– Undertakes monitoring

– Involvement on community and education projects

– Organises and hosts dawn chorus walks

– Assisted with fund-raising for bird hides

– On-going participation in key bird surveys forthe BTO, such as BBS, the Bird Atlas and the recent Nightingale survey

– Provides studies for environmental waste companies etc.




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