a million voices for nature

The RSPB North Staffs Local Group

The Ouzel December 2012

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin

William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, Act III

Please don’t forget, The Ouzel is now available online via the Group’s Website as a cost- saving alternative to hard copy.

Hello and welcome to a festive edition of The Ouzel

Connecting with Nature

I don’t know what got you started on birdwatching, although I would dearly like to find out sometime, but a Christmas present I received when I was about nine or ten definitely helped do the trick in my case. By the standards of today it wasn’t anything elaborate, just a simple stereoscopic device that, when used in conjunction with a reel of photographs, immediately let you see some of the wonders of the world. Incredibly, or so it seemed to me at the time, one of the reels I was given let you dip into the absurdly far away birdlife of North America. Years later I am able to assess the amount of impact the gift had on me by the fact that

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I can still clearly see the brilliant red plumage of the cardinal bunting I discovered looking through the viewfinder. Funnily enough, I still half-expect to see one every time I go out with my binoculars but so far, sadly, it hasn’t happened.

These days of course children are apparently much more likely to get excited over the latest electronic game or explorer tablet than pictures or actual sightings of wildlife and the issue is a mounting concern for the RSPB. So much so that the Society has recently teamed up with the University of Essex to try and measure the extent to which children are connecting with nature. Hopefully the ongoing research will highlight the steps we need to take to ensure the new generation shares our passion about the world around us as well as the desire to protect it. In the meantime, however, if you spot an opportunity to do something to help address the situation you might just want to grab it.

A Turning of the Tide

Although we are still waiting for developments with the RSPB’s Stepping Up for Nature Marine Pledge Campaign we’re supporting there was some good news for seabirds in mid-November.

That was when the European Union unveiled a plan to reduce seabird bycatch or the incidental deaths of seabirds through entanglement with fishing gear. The EU Seabird Plan of Action and the measures it proposes should, hopefully, benefit a range of seabirds in European waters including three species that regularly occur in the UK and frequently come to grief in the above way: the balearic shearwater; the velvet scoter and the long tailed duck. The RSPB and its European partners had been pressing for the Action Plan since 2001.

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A Walk on Congleton Edge

Climbing steeply to the stile, a robin sings, Our breath merging in the stillness. Then higher up, with trees below, View finches flitting to and fro.

Footfall rustling frosted leaves, startles blackbirds Gorging on berries in the trees. Pheasants crashing through rimed trees Spook a hare beneath the larch.

On top – a kestrel, held up by unseen strings, Stares eastward over Biddulph Moor. Behind her Cheshire ripples west To Beeston Castle’s distant crest.

Wren

Photo Credit – John Bridges (rpb-images.com)

Ravens mob a buzzard o’er Nick ‘th’Hill, Reeling, ruffled by the breeze. Down from the ridge, wrens’ shrill alarm, Scares thrush off apples near the farm.

Ever watchful, rabbits browse on woodland edge, As goldcrests bicker in the ‘thorn. Watch flocks of redwing as they feed, Then up steps to the old rail bed.

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From the embankment, glimpse through swirling snow, Kingfisher huddled by the stream, A heron glides to roost alone, Robin’s refrain – my welcome home!

Roger Birch

(Thanks, Roger – Ed)

A look back at 2012

Bird Trips

Despite having had to put up with a lot of wet and windy stuff this year we haven’t done all that badly for bird sightings on our travels around the country. There may not have been too many rarities on show during our visits but we have nevertheless seen a good number of pretty decent birds including taiga bean goose (RSPB Fairburn Ings), bittern (Brandon Marsh and Potteric Carr), black necked grebe, goshawk, nightingale (Whisby Nature Park), curlew sandpiper, (RSPB Blacktoft Sands) hen harrier, green-winged teal and firecrest (Martin Mere). At Blacktoft Sands, in September, we were also in exactly the right spot to share in and enjoy the very first confirmed appearance of an otter on the reserve. Looking back now, the weather kindly behaved itself for most of our trips, with the Brandon Marsh outing being second time lucky after snow put paid to our previous attempt to get there.

On two of our walks, those around Whitemoor Nature Reserve and Berryhill Fields, we were also lucky enough to have two experts on those birding patches with us in Peter Durnall and Russell Toon who were happy to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with us.

Still on the subject of luck, our June Bins and Boots walk around Fordhall Farm - which is community-owned with approximately 8,000 owners - even attracted some additional publicity for the

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Group when Geoff Sales, was asked if he would like to produce a short article about the visit for the farm’s newsletter, The Grazer. As Geoff puts it in part of the article, which appeared in the August edition of the magazine:

‘When I became aware of Fordhall Farm’s nature trail development, it hit me that it could prove an interesting location for a bird-walk. So a year down the line, on June 12th, it went ahead. Twelve of us turned out, the weather was fine, and our morning’s tour revealed 33 bird species, including kingfisher, cuckoo, reed bunting and grey wagtail. Most of our party made use of the tea room afterwards. Many of the party hadn’t been to the farm before, but I gained the impression that many would be back; they may even become shareholders!’

Coombes Valley 50th Anniversary

Not long after that farm visit, in July, John Booth along with his wife, Janet, and Val Lucking represented the Group at a celebration held to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of

Reed Bunting Photo Credit– Mike Richards (rspb-images.com)

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the RSPB’s Coombes Valley reserve near Leek. As mentioned in the last edition of the Ouzel we have had a strong link with the reserve over the years and it was great to be asked to participate in the event along with the reserve’s staff and fellow guests. At its best in spring and early summer, Coombes Valley is a good place for finding redstart, pied flycatcher, wood warbler and– since that celebration event – some imaginative new sculpture work high up in the trees.

‘Together for Trees’

At the beginning of October it was extremely pleasing to be able to do something to help the world’s tropical rainforests by holding our collection at Tesco in Trent Vale for the RSPB’s ‘Together for Trees’ campaign. During the event we raised nearly £405, which made a substantial contribution to the RSPB Midland Region’s final total of £12,000. (Overall the Society raised £85,000 for rainforest conservation work through the collection). As it was our very first fund raising exercise of this type the warm welcome we received from the store was really appreciated. Many thanks to everyone involved.

Our 30th Anniversary

Which brings us to our 30th Anniversary celebrations at the Hartshill Medical Institute Conference Centre on 17th October when we were joined by Sean Thomas, the RSPB’s Operations Director, from The Lodge, Frank Lucas from the RSPB Midland Regional Office, Jarrod Sneyd, the Head Warden from RSPB Coombes Valley and representatives of the various companies that have supported us over the years.

It was sad that a number of members couldn’t be with us for the occasion due to holiday commitments but it was still a memorable night that marked the end of three decades during which we’ve always tried to put birds first. All we needed to make the night complete was a good speaker and we had an excellent one in Jeff Clarke with his talk on ‘Birds and Migration.’ Given the

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sheer amount of passion and excitement he managed to conjure up during the talk all I can say is that if he ever thinks about going into politics he’s definitely got my vote.

30th Anniversary Cake Photo Credit – Glyn Hyatt

At the end of November our final coach trip of the year took us back to the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust reserve, Martin Mere, where our excursions began thirty years ago. There have obviously been a lot of changes to the reserve over the years, including to the birds themselves, with the former population of over-wintering Bewick swans now down to just a handful of hardened individuals as a result of their apparent preference for the milder conditions on the continent. (At the Swan-link hide on the afternoon of our visit they were in fact still waiting for the first Bewicks to arrive and join the ever dependable whooper swans). Between us we managed to see 68 different species of bird on the day and the count might possibly have been even higher if it hadn’t been for the rival attractions of the ongoing North West Birdwatching Festival where David Lindo was amongst the line- up of guest speakers.

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Despite everything we’ve had to endure, 2012 - the year great white egrets began breeding in Somerset and spoonbills successfully reared young for the second year running in Norfolk – hasn’t turned out all that badly for most of us.

Editor’s Note – During autumn 2012 the Group donated £500 to RSPB Coombes Valley for weatherproofing the education barn at the reserve, which will to enable it to be used as an all season outdoor learning centre for children, and £500 to RSPB Middleton Lakes for reed bed work.

Hold our heads up

Over the last twelve months, as most of you will probably be aware, the RSPB has begun to talk more openly about the wider role it plays in relation to the protection of wildlife other than birds. With this in mind, you may want to know that the Forestry Commission is currently working with Butterfly Conservation to help safeguard one of the UK’s rarest species of moth in one of its last remaining English sanctuaries in woods near Loggerheads. Yes, you read that correctly, Loggerheads!

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Once widespread, the population of the day-flying black-and-white Argent and Sable moth, Rheumaptera hastata, has reduced to such an extent that it is now of national conservation concern with the species even having its own UK Biodiversity Plan. Jenny Joy, Butterfly Conservation’s Senior Regional Officer (West Midlands), has stated that ‘The moth has become so rare it’s hard to overstate the importance of these woodlands.’

Big Garden Watch

If you haven’t already made a note in your diary please don’t forget that the RSPB’s Big Garden Watch will be taking place over the weekend of 26th-27th January 2013. Given all the bad weather we’ve had this year it is probably more important than ever to help the Society find out what’s about.

As the recent report, ‘The State of the UK’s Birds, 2012’, which you can find online, records, most of our information on the current health of the birding world has been produced by volunteer ornithologists with Natural England’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Tim Hill, calling the report a ‘great example of citizen science’. Let’s try to help continue that work.

A Storytelling of Ravens

If you’re looking for a book to help you through the dark winter nights our treasurer, Richard Moth, may just have the answer:

I found ‘Mind of the Raven’ by Bernd Heinrich a very good way to learn more about this fascinating and intelligent bird. In his book, which is subtitled ‘Investigations and Adventures with Wolf – Birds’, Bernd goes deep into the relationships ravens have with each other and with humans. He observes the birds learning, how they react to potential threats posed by other birds and talks about their complex and unpredictable behaviour at the various stages of the breeding cycle.

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One example I found rather amusing related to wild ravens, which carried off brightly coloured chicken eggs laid out for a children’s Easter Egg Hunt in Alaska. The children were poorly rewarded but the ravens had a healthy free meal. Another example, in Iceland, involved a golf tournament during which local ravens flew off with unattended golf balls forcing the tournament organisers to move to a different location.

Bernd also writes about two captive birds that struck up unique relationships with their human ‘owners’ (or should that be servants?). A German doctor living in an apartment in Essen kept Jakob in a large cage in his lounge. The bird only allowed the doctor and his son to make a fuss of him – everyone else was liable to be pecked. In contrast, Merlin, who lived with Duane and his family, got on well with almost everybody and accompanied his human family nearly everywhere, with some very interesting observations.

For me the book is very interesting because the author’s enthusiasm is obvious. It is at times a little sad, sometimes funny but always full of surprises. Bernd is very modest about his knowledge of this very complex and intelligent bird.

Editor’s Note - Although most of us have probably come across the expression an ‘unkindness of ravens,’ the collective name for a cluster of these amazing birds can also be a ‘conspiracy’ or ‘storytelling’ with the wealth of information set out in the above book no doubt going some way to explain the use of the latter.

Final Word (Nearly)

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this month’s Ouzel. A lack of space is preventing me setting out my usual message about desperately needing your submissions and input if you want the magazine to continue but anything you can get to me really will be gratefully appreciated. You can contact me, as usual, either by email pandacartwright@madasafish.com or by phone on 01270-585721. Alan Cartwright

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Photo credit – Penny Cartwright

The First Day of Christmas (The Sequel)

A year ago just after I’d finished warbling on about the likely identity of the partridge that has obviously had a fixation on pear trees since the composition of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ in the Ouzel I thought I’d dealt with all the problems the carol created for the average birdwatcher. Admittedly the nature of the gift on the fourth day could have been a little clearer, although it probably doesn’t take all that much effort to figure out that colly birds are actually blackbirds, but apart from that there is either a direct reference to a specific bird species, i.e. turtle doves, or insufficient information for any guessing work, i.e. swans a’ swimming and geese a’ laying. No, I really did think I was in the clear and could move onto better things. How wrong can you be?

There is, quite seriously, a school of thought that ‘five golden rings’ doesn’t mean jewellery at all but five ring-necked birds, possibly pheasants or goldfinches. That obviously makes sense when you think about all the other bird name- dropping at the start of the carol and the price of gold these days although I must admit I do remember having seen five rings in some other context, somewhere else this year. At some point in the future I suspect they’ll come up

with more detailed identification information but for now all I can do is suggest you insert the more ornithologically correct version of the line into your next rendition of the carol and wait for the signs of Christmas cheer to appear on all the faces around you. It should be a moment you’ll be cherishing for a long time to come!

a million voices for nature

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife tackling the problems that threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way.

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Christmas Robin Olympics

“‘Inspire a generation' is our motto. Not necessarily 'Create a generation', which is what they sometimes get up to in the Olympic village”

Boris Johnson

Final Word (Finally)

Although I’m sure you’re already fully aware of it this is a great time of year to get outside birdwatching, with so many of our resident birds and winter migrants, particularly waxwings, being so visible at the moment. Whether you manage it or not and whatever else you do have a great Christmas and New Year. We’ll see you in 2013.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from everyone on the Committee