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THE KNOT NOTTINGHAM RSPB GROUP NEWSLETTER

Volume 10 Number 3 April 2016

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Editor’s Notes

A touch of apprehension

Now that spring is in full swing I expect that you are looking out for arriving summer migrants. The questions we all ask are ‘Will the numbers of migrants continue to decline? Will we see a cuckoo this year? What about turtle doves?’ We realise that we cannot stand alone, that what happens in countries from sub-Saharan Africa to the English Channel has a profound effect on our summer birding.

It is therefore vital that we fully support the RSPB and its partners in Birdlife International in their efforts to preserve habitat, control the shooting of songbirds and other international co-operations to at first slow, and then reverse the fall in the number of migrant birds which give us such pleasure during the summer months. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is a registered charity: England and Wales no 207076, Scotland no SC037654.

Articles, photos and adverts should be e- mailed to me at pgdaft@yahoo.co.uk or posted to my address, 39, Forester Street, Netherfield, NG4 2LJ. The deadline for the July edition is 1st June 2016.

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Outings Coach Outing to Potteric Carr on Sunday 19th June This reserve is run by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is familiar to group members who were on previous trips. The number of species seen here totals 230 of which 102 have bred. Habitats are flood plain, reed fen, subsidence pools, grass and wood land. Star birds include Water Rail, Kingfisher, all three Woodpeckers, Willow Tit and many warblers. It also hosts twenty species of dragonfly and twenty-eight species of butterfly including Dingy Skipper and Purple Hairstreak. Facilities: Toilets, tea room, visitor centre and 14 hides Bookings: From 1st May Cost: £15.50 adults, £13 Wildlife Trust members (NOT

Norfolk) Coach Outing to Bempton Cliffs on Sunday 17th July The largest mainland seabird colony in the UK and only Gannet colony in England. Experience the sights, sounds and smells of seabird city. Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills and Fulmars pack the cliffs, along with more Gannets than you can shake a stick at and, hopefully, some Puffins. Other birds seen here are Tree Sparrows, Corn Buntings and the chance of passing Skuas. Facilities: NEW! Toilets, café and shop Bookings: From 1st June Cost: £18

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Coach Outing to Frampton Marsh on Sunday 21st August Fast becoming a favourite reserve for the group and not too far away. This August visit was on the recommendation of the Warden. Look out for returning waders and a good collection of breeding species. Habitats include saltmarsh, wet grassland and freshwater scrapes. Facilities: Visitor centre, toilets and hides Bookings: From 1st July Cost: £14 Cheques made payable to ‘Nottingham RSPB Local Group.’ Paid at the indoor meetings or sent to Jan & Dave Goodwin at 22 Wray Close, St Ann’s, Nottingham, NG3 2FS. If after booking for one of the trips you find you cannot make it for any reason please let us know as soon as possible as we may be able to let someone else have the seat. Please note that stout footwear and all weather clothing should be worn on all trips. In emergency please phone 0751 097816. Please note that personal possessions such as bins, scopes etc. are only covered by personal insurance. Children are welcome though the trips are not suitable for children under seven years old. Please note that, as we have to pay for the bus, booking fees are NOT REFUNDABLE. Pick up points are as follows.

Lowdham 7.10am Burton Joyce 7.15am Carlton Square 7.20am Mount Street (by Gala Casino) 7.30am

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Following the introduction of car parking charges on Sundays in Nottingham, though free parking is available at Carlton Square and there are streets near Mount Street with limited space at £1, people have wondered if other pick up points can be arranged. The following will now be REQUEST stops only. Requests must be made to Jan and Dave before the trip date and it is YOUR responsibility to be at the stop on time. If you are not there the coach will not stop and wait.

For trips leaving Nottingham eastwards by the A52 the coach will stop by request at Trent Bridge. For trips leaving Nottingham southwards by the A453 the coach will stop by request at the Man of Trent, Clifton. For trips leaving Nottingham northwards by the A60/A614 the coach will stop by request at the Vale Hotel. For trips leaving Nottingham westwards by the A52 the coach will stop by request at the Priory Island.

Keep in touch with all our activities via our excellent web-site at notts-rspb.org.uk/

Walks Wednesday June 1st, Nightjar Walk at Budby Common. Meet at 9pm in the lane by the pumping station at SK604702. To get there from Nottingham take the A616 from the Ollerton roundabout then, just after Budby, bear left at the first of the mini-roundabouts then immediately left onto Netherfield Lane, finally turning left again after the solar farm. There is to be an evening walk round Rushcliffe Country Park on Wednesday 3rd August. The park is off the A60 near Ruddington. Meet at the Environment Education Centre overlooking the lake at 7pm.

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Booking Forms

Please reserve seat(s) on the trip to Potteric Carr on Sunday 19th June

Name

Address

Postcode Telephone

Pick up point

Bookings commence 1st May Cost £15.50 adults, £13 Wildlife Trust members (Not Norfolk)

Please reserve seat(s) on the trip to Bempton Cliffs on Sunday 17th July

Name

Address

Postcode Telephone

Pick up point

Booking commence 1st June Cost £18

Please reserve seat(s) on the trip to Frampton Marsh on Sunday 21st August

Name

Address

Postcode Telephone

Pick up point

Bookings commence 1st July Cost £14

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Bird of the Day

December 2015, Blacktoft Sands There are some birds that everyone wants on their lists. Over the years I have found that raptors feature heavily on the favourites of Nottingham group members. Every vote this month was for a raptor and the only surprise was that a beautiful Barn Owl came third. Second was that dashing little falcon the Merlin but the overwhelming winner was an elegant female Hen Harrier.

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January 2016 This trip was cancelled but some members found something to do. You can read about their day in Barry Nelson’s article. February 2016, Tophill Low Very often our ‘Bird of the Day’ favourites are comparative rarities which we are less likely to see on our local patch. On a day of strong winds and persistent drizzle both Willow Tit and Scaup came into that category. They were, however, defeated by a bird which was in larger numbers than many of us had seen for some time. This was the Goldeneye with the handsome black and white plumage of the drakes being particularly prominent. A bright spot on a winter’s day.

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A letter from your Leader

Many thanks to all those who contributed to making the Big Garden Birdwatch a real event in Nottingham. We distributed some 200 survey forms, had stands in two locations, collected funds and provided interviews and articles for the local media. Well done! Climate change seems to be on us with so many events occurring at the ‘wrong’ time such as spring flowers in January and nest building in February. The danger is that we have upset nature’s schedule. Food won’t be there for the baby birds, the insects won’t be there to pollinate our plants and so on. What can we do? We can care for the birds in our gardens, hope our leaders respect the commitments made at the climate conference COP21, and support the RSPB in its endeavour to protect Europe’s Nature Directives. Our next meeting in May will be our AGM and I hope as many of you as possible will attend. There are matters we need to discuss, and it is an opportunity for you to express your views and participate in group decision making. We end the evening with an ‘own slide’ show, which is always most entertaining. I hope you’ll be there. Enjoy spring bird watching - it’s the time when the birds are at their liveliest and brightest.

Doreen Markam

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The RSPB

The RSPB is the country’s largest conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. We also play a leading role in a worldwide partnership of Nature conservation organisations. All articles in this newsletter convey the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the RSPB. Similarly, any advertisements enclosed with this newsletter are not specifically endorsed by the RSPB or the Nottingham Group.

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The Barn Owl at Blacktoft, photographed by Brian Smith

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A drake Pintail like this was seen on the walk round

Attenborough

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The Garganey at Eakring, dwarfed by Mallards

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Many Goldeneye like these were seen at Tophill Low. Photo by

Brian Smith

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A Passage to India

Fourteen of us, some I’d met before, arrived at Gatwick for eight days birding in India. Our initial exhilaration was dampened slightly by a two hour flight delay caused by a broken part of the plane. The final fitting took place when we had boarded and settled in our seats. I expect boarding when we did might have been to stop any three hour insurance claims arising. However, the beautiful Thomson Dreamliner was awesome. Our Indian guide and his driver met us at Goa and we travelled to the Marinha Dourada hotel in Arpora. There it was a ten minute walk for me to reach my rooms but it meant passing the swimming pools and a small fishing lake where I was amazed to see two kingfishers facing me on a low perch just above my head. Wave after wave of big flying foxes also flew low overhead at dusk and dawn. The first day was in Goa and Baga Hill where I was nick-named ‘The Special One’ after I spotted the first gold-fronted leafbird. It wasn’t difficult as its bright iridescent feathers lit it up like a beacon. Most birds are easy to see and today those included woolly-necked stork, Amur falcon, red-whiskered bulbul and Jerdon’s leafbird.

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Morjim Beach and the Siolim Marshes were where we spent day two. On the beach we manoeuvred between meditating yoga practitioners and a large, nude, fat, male sunbather who was fortunately lying on his front! Creeping past this beached whale we were soon distracted by greater spotted eagle, booted eagle, white-bellied sea eagle, black-eared kite and an intermediate egret. On the shoreline was the discarded skin of a sea snake. As we went on our guide found us a crested goshawk, small pratincole, both bronze-winged and pheasant-tailed jacanas, a yellow-wattled lapwing and tricoloured munia. I’ve always wanted to see quail in England but they’ve always eluded me so I was amazed to see eight barred buttonquail in difficult terrain behind the beach. We were in single file so I was one of only four of us to see this species. The heat was intense with temperatures up to forty degrees centigrade and humidity of 79%, much hotter than normal. Luckily a bottle of water was only twenty rupees (about twenty pence), meals were cheap and everyone was friendly. Day three was spent in the Arpora Woods and Candolin Fort. A derelict toilet block held false vampire bats while star birds were white-eyed buzzard, Oriental turtle dove, Indian Scop’s owl, spotted owlets, black-headed ibis, paddyfield pipits and warblers and a black-headed

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cuckoo shrike. We also saw a Nilgiri woodpigeon, endemic to the Western Ghats. We travelled between sites in a boneshaking vehicle but Leo and his driver were the best, keeping us safe despite a lack of health and safety rules, few white lines, vehicle indicators or traffic lights. Every driver swerves round cows or dogs in the middle of the road and there is no road rage. Motorbikes and scooters are the main mode of transport with few drivers wearing crash helmets. They pass you on both sides at once and often come straight towards you. After the first day I stopped shutting my eyes. The Bhagwan Mahaver Wildlife Sanctuary and Backwoods Camp were our home for the next two days. After a 5.45am start we stopped on route for black-winged kite, orange minivets and mountain imperial and grey-fronted green pigeons. We arrived at camp a few minutes before breakfast at 9.30am. My ‘shack’ was recorded as being one of six independent cottages in four acres of forest. It was less than basic. No hot water just a bucket and plastic jug which I used to remove a small frog from my bed. The bed was damp, condensation ran down the walls, the bathroom floor was wet the cold shower broken and two frogs, which emerged with each flush, were living in the toilet.

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Apparently every serious birder in India wants to stay at this camp which is always fully booked up. There are additional rooms at the camp farmhouse but I wasn’t special enough to stay in one of them. Mine was literally out on a limb as a tree trunk against the roof meant that monkeys ran up the trunk and stepped onto my roof to play. They would continue up the tree to the canopy and then all leap down onto my roof again, making me jump out of my skin. I was glad it was only for one night but what a night for halfway through I visited the bathroom to see an enormous slug, three purple snails and a giant spider. I shut the door on them and blocked the gap underneath with a towel. There were some extraordinary birds here including Malabar trogon, great pied hornbill, Malabar barbet, a superb heart-spotted woodpecker, Indian pygmy woodpecker, Indian pitta, Asian fairy bluebird, jungle babbler, jungle owlet, Asian paradise flycatcher, small and purple sunbirds, a very special little spiderhunter and black-naped, black headed and Indian golden orioles. At dusk we looked for a brown hawk owl without success but did see a Ceylon frogmouth by torch light at 9.30pm. Marnie Garner

(The second part of Marnie’s account will appear in the July

‘Knot’.)

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Going, Going, ----!

If you have not yet renewed your Nottingham Group membership this is the last copy of the ‘Knot’ you will receive. To avoid this dreadful fate please make a payment of £7 by Standing Order or by a Cheque made out to ‘Nottingham RSPB Local Group’ and send the cheque to the Membership Secretary, Chris Blunsdon, 20, Elmswood Gardens, Sherwood, Nottingham, NG5 4AW.

Volunteers Needed

We are holding collections at Wheatcroft’s (Notcutts) Garden Centre, Edwalton on 7th and 8th May and at Bardill’s Garden Centre, Toton Lane on 28th May. If you can help at both or either of these events please contact Doreen Markam on 0115 9782741.

Data Protection Statement

The RSPB Nottingham Local Group would like to keep your details to send you further information about group activities and the work of the RSPB. If you want to amend or update your details or you do not want us to use them in the way stated, please contact me, Chris Blunsdon, at 20, Elmswood Gardens, Sherwood, Nottingham, NG5 4AW. If you wish to receive this information electronically, please confirm your email address.

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A Notts Safari

The unfortunate cancellation of the January field trip provided an opportunity to embark on a Notts Safari. The day in question coincided with, so far, the only snowfall of the year. I was the driver along with fellow birders Dave Goodwin, Paul Daft and Graham Sadler. We had target birds for the day. Graham also had his own target - 60 species for us to find. First port of call was to find Garganey at Eakring. We parked where Graham indicated and proceeded on foot along a deeply rutted track, Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen in flight. Over a stile, along the side of a muddy field, over a snow covered wooden bridge onto a slippery, muddy track. We found the lake we were looking for and were soon looking at our first target bird – Garganey, nestling amongst some Mallards on part of the lake covered in ice. Back to the car and into the layby just past the Ollerton roundabout on the A614. We were looking for Caspian Gull but could not identify one among 1000+ gulls. Rufford Park was our next stop. Having parked (now payable) we scanned the trees for Hawfinch with no luck though we did see a Nuthatch. A walk to the feeding station gave us another target bird, Marsh Tit along with Coal Tit. Back in the car park we stopped to chat to a group of Notts Birdwatchers who just happened to have a scope set up on three Hawfinch. No sign of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, another of our

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targets. We ticked off Song and Mistle Thrushes, Pink Footed Geese flying over, Goldcrest, Buzzard and Redwing.

From Rufford Park we made our way to the Idle Valley Nature Reserve. By now all trace of snow had vanished. On the main lake behind the visitor centre we had good views of Goldeneye, Red Crested Pochard and Goosander along with the more common wildfowl present. Graham and I were distracted by a couple who enquired as to what we were looking for, and in that time Dave and Paul spotted a Woodcock flying over the trees. Bullfinch was added to the list as we made our way back to the car.

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A ten minute drive brought us to Chainbridge Lane. Those who are familiar with this road will know it is of the unmade type. Muddy water-filled potholes covered about 75% of it. The outside of the car was getting as bad as the inside. Bad idea putting newspaper down. By now we were on 56 for the day. Looking out from the viewpoint we added Shoveler, Wigeon, Reed Bunting, Great Black-backed Gull, Canada Geese and Snipe to our list bringing the total to 62. Finally at the end of the track Dave spotted our last target bird, Whooper Swan among a large flock of Mute Swans. We headed home satisfied with our day out.

Monday morning saw me vacuuming out the car and paying a visit to the local hand wash to let someone else rid the car of the accumulated mud. Barry Nelson

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Odd Droppings

Listen for the birdie!

Many television programmes carry a sound track, frequently featuring bird song. I don’t know about you but it annoys me when, a nocturnal scene is accompanied by the call of a tawny owl followed by the sight of a barn owl sweeping silently through the trees. Sporting events can carry their own exotic chorus. There was a bird calling during the second test match between England and South Africa at Capetown. Birder and broadcaster Simon Barnes tweeted (how appropriate!) that it was a hadida ibis, an identification confirmed by the local commentators. Sometimes there is a temptation for producers to ‘cheat.’ The most notorious case was in the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, a few years ago. American birders listening to the birds calling in the background, picked up the call of a cactus wren, a very rare bird indeed in Georgia! I understand that since then the programme has been careful to use the songs of authentic local species. Just goes to show that you can’t always believe your ears!