Epsom and Ewell RSPB Local Group

Transcription

1 Epsom and Ewell RSPB Local Group Newsletter Autumn and Winter 2012 Edition 24 As promised at the AGM in June, I have completely re-designed the layout of the Group Newsletter. I hope you enjoy the colour images and larger font sizes. My thanks go out to those who have contributed articles for this addition. The closing date for the next edition will be 8 th March INDOOR MEETINGS AT ALL SAINTS CHURCH HALL Fulford Road, West Ewell. Doors open 7.30 p.m. for a 7.45 start, on the 2 nd Friday of the month November 9 th John Buckingham Birds in Paradise December 14 th Christmas Social 2013 January 11 th Terry Bond Bird Watching in Southern Europe February 8 th John Buckingham Wonders of bird migration March 8 th Stephen Miles Birds and Tour of Titchfield Haven April 12 th David Darrell-Lambert Identification Guide to Raptors Part 1

2 Group Leaders Report By Janet Gilbert What do birds mean to you? When I go out birding it is the pleasure of being almost a part of nature, it does not matter if the sun is shining or rain falling it is just good to be out noticing what is around me. It is always exciting to see a rare bird but just as good to see a common species that I have seen many times, reassuring to know they are still there. If I am out with the group there is the added pleasure or being with friends. When a new species comes to my garden for the first time I feel a sense of achievement, I must be doing something right to attract it. When giving talks I get to meet a lot of people. Many are old and quite frail, some disabled but for whatever reason they don t get out very much. For them the birds they see in their gardens are very important, often all they see for days on end. Even if they don t know what kind of bird it is it is still a friend to be cherished. For these lonely people unable to do much except look out of the window watching birds is a big comfort. The years catch up with us all and as I get older I am aware that the days fly by and that the day will come when all I can do is watch from my window. Until that day comes I am determined not to miss an opportunity to get out there and see as much as possible and enjoy it. Treasurer s Report By Di Vincent As you have probably noticed, Bill was not at our last meeting this is because during the summer break, he left the British summer for the sunnier climate of India. In his absence I have been standing in just as I thought I was free from all responsibilities, having resigned from the membership secretary job earlier this year. As per usual during this time, with no meetings, there has been very little activity on the financial front. The accounts are continuing to go well with the addition of the welcome income of funds generated by Janet and her various talks and a few new memberships, generated by Sue when she attended different venues.

3 Special thanks go to Janet, Geraldine for her dedication to providing refreshments (and much needed income) and, given that we no longer have a sales table at our meeting, special mention should be made to Jane and Margaret for their sterling work selling seed and nuts. Membership Secretary s Report By Clive Gilbert This is my first report as Membership Secretary after taking over from Di Vincent at the last AGM. Di provided me with an Excel spreadsheet containing the details of all members, which makes keeping track of all the information so much easier. So thank you Di. Out of a total membership of 89 people, 62 of us are over state retirement age, and if you are good at sums you will have already calculated that 27 are not over state retirement age. So we are quite a wise and experienced group! Membership reduces each year and if it continues to reduce the Group may not have a very long future ahead of it. If you have any friends or neighbours who might be interested, please bring them along or if you have any ideas on how we might attract new members please let myself or Janet know. Finally, please be gentle with me when you are queuing up to pay your annual subscription and I am working very slowly as your novice Membership Secretary.

4 Some Thoughts on the Cuckoo By Tim Tomkins Sergey Yeliseev Sumer is ycumin in, Lhude singe cuckoo. Readers may be familiar with these lines. Thus joyfully begins one of the oldest poems in the English language dating from the 13 th century. The Cuckoo is not by any means the first of our migrants to arrive in spring, but its call is by far the most recognisable, and evocative. There is a rather harmless tradition for gentlemen of leisure perhaps retired clergymen to write to The Times with dates of their first reports; not that that seems to continue anymore and perhaps it was only a legend after all.

5 Poets have always been fascinated by the bird: the anonymous author of the lines just quoted was surely not the first to have found inspiration in the Cuckoo s call. Some of the classical Greek poets, whose work survives only in fragments, make allusion to the Cuckoo. Others write of its habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds; others dwell upon its call. I know a German folkpoem that was set to music by Gustav Mahler, The Cuckoo and The Nightingale. The competitors agree to elect the donkey as judge because he has the longest ears so he should be able to hear the best. He awards victory to the Cuckoo as he can understand his song and the Nightingale s, although impressive, is too complicated. As well as Mahler, other composers have sought inspiration from the bird, such as Frederick Delius, one of whose most famous pieces is entitled On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring. He had the good fortune to write at a time when cuckoos were far more abundant. Traditionally our culture has been deeply imbued with birds to an extent we no longer realise. Much as the Nightingale (or the Turtle Dove) gave rise to the idea of love, so the Cuckoo became associated with capriciousness. Every time a Cuckoo called, a wife somewhere was unfaithful to her husband, or so it was thought, hence the term cuckold meaning someone whose wife was having an affair with another man. Yet, as so often, the truth seems to be stranger than fiction. Readers of this newsletter who also read The Courtier may recall my earlier article on the Cuckoo, or perhaps looked up the birds blogs on the Internet ( For those who have not, five young male birds were fitted with solar-powered transmitters in 2011 and their journeys tracked by satellite; they succeeded in finding their way unaided from Norfolk across Europe, whether via Spain or Italy, ultimately to within a few kilometres of each other in Congo. It was never known by which route they travelled or whereabouts in Africa they went. At least two birds made it back, quite miraculously to within a few kilometres of where they were caught. Now this year, more Cuckoos have been ringed (itself by no means as straightforward as it sounds) and assigned names. Sponsors are currently being sought.

6 Bird-watching Trip to Extremadura By Rob Carr This article describes a birding trip to Extremadura in Spain made with Norfolk Birding by the writer in early April, Norfolk Birding is run by Chris Mills, who leads all the bird-watching trips himself. Extremadura is well-known to most birdwatchers as a special birding area, but unless you've actually been there, you probably don't know exactly where it is. So, for those who haven t been, it's a large region of Spain located south-west of Madrid, extending to the Portuguese border (See map below). Conveniently, for comparison purposes, it's almost exactly twice the size of Wales, (it really is!) but with only about a third of the population. Because of the low population there are vast areas of unspoilt habitat with a great diversity of landscapes, and where the land is farmed, the agriculture is not intensive, so the environment is still favourable to and supportive of birdlife. I flew from Gatwick and met up with the rest of the group at Madrid Airport. We were a small group of only six, including our leader, Chris Mills. We were all delayed by about two hours by an air-traffic control go-slow/strike in France so we didn t spend long on lunch before setting off west in a minibus that was to be our transport for the next week. We made a short stop en route for toilets near Navalmoral

7 which proved rather successful birdwise. A quick walk round produced lots of corn bunting, c10 black kite, 2 booted eagle, 2 calling quail, a crested lark and most notably of all, one of our target birds, a black-winged kite which was hunting the nearby fields. That was a great start! I might add that as the others were less experienced birders than I, it was clear we were going to be relying on Chris a great deal for his sharp eyesight and tremendous ability to recognise birds, both visually and by song. We would be staying in the village of Cabezabellosa about 20km north-west of Plasencia in the north of the Extremadura Region. Close to our destination, we turned off the motorway and almost immediately started a seemingly neverending climb up many zig-zags in the road to eventually reach the village. Our accommodation in the village was a lovely solid traditional three-storey house where we were met by Marco & Ricardo, the two adult sons of the owners. Cabezabellosa is a typical Spanish mountain village with narrow streets. From the roof-terrace of the house there were views across the roofs of the village houses down over the plains below and to distant mountains. The roof-terrace proved a good vantage point to identify pallid swifts, having blunter and slightly broader wings than common swifts, as well as being slightly lighter in colouration. House martins and swallows were also flying around, of course, and a pair of nesting black redstarts added interest. We had a first meal in the local bar-come-restaurant, which seemed to be the only choice in the village for eating out, the other similar establishment, it seems, hadn t yet opened after winter. The bar was full of the locals and we generated some interest as we were led through to the room at the back for our exclusive use. Though the meal was good, it was a pity that we would be eating on our own without the company of the locals in a more traditional Spanish manner. This was to be the arrangement for several evenings over the next week. DAY TWO MONFRAGUE National Park After breakfast in the house, we made a couple of stops in and just outside the village of Cabezabellosa which proved worthwhile identifying cuckoo, 2+ black kite overhead, c20 pallid swift, a male cirl bunting, sardinian warbler and several singing woodlark. We headed west to an area of cork oak and pools. The first roadside stop produced nice views of nesting red-rumped swallow, southern grey shrike,

8 hoopoe & meadow pipit. The southern grey is the Iberian version of the great grey shrike and is resident in the region. The most obvious difference with the great grey is a darker pinkish buff breast. The second stop by some small pools yielded little egret, little ringed plover, 2+ green sandpiper, greenshank, common sandpiper, kingfisher, 2 wheatear, spanish sparrow, quail calling, lots of corn bunting & crested lark, 10+ white wagtail, white stork, 2 flava wagtail probably Iberian (the only one s of the trip) plus 2 rock sparrow. We made a couple more stops and then headed to the famous Monfrague National Park. We explored one of the trails near the visitor centre area and walked a 3 mile circular walk, which produced a number of really good birds. Highlights were short-toed eagle, griffin vulture, 2 woodchat shrike, 2-3 hoopoe, crag martin, sardinian & 12+ subalpine warbler, woodlark, crested lark, short-toed treecreeper, plus many corn bunting and single cirl and rock bunting. Rock Bunting Woodchat Shrike Ssub-alpine Warbler Corn Bunting

9 We then moved on to the watch-point at Salto del Gitano which views across the River Tajo (Tagus) onto high rock cliffs, giving fantastic views of griffon & black vulture. The griffon colony must number several hundred. Also, there were great views of red-rumped swallow, blue rock thrush, crag martin, black redstart and rock sparrow just below the watch-point on this side of the river. Higher in the skies we also picked out peregrine, 3 chough & 3 black stork. We finished the afternoon at one of the other watch-points further down the road. In a cavity in the rocks across the river one could just make out the dark shape of an eagle owl with 2 chicks. The skies were again filled with vultures. Although most were griffon, also egyptian and black vulture were observed and eventually 2 spanish imperial eagle appeared in front of the cliff face. Again rock bunting, blue rock thrush were seen this side of the river. On leaving the Park, we headed into Plascencia where we purchased our provisions for packed lunches, before finishing the day with a Tapas meal. It was decided we would return to Monfrague the following day, in an attempt to see bonelli s eagle & western orphean warbler, because although the weather was generally changeable, the forecast was good. Red-rumped Swallow Griffon Vulture DAY THREE As we headed out of the village Chris stopped the minibus suddenly, having spotted 2 hawfinch feeding by the roadside. They flew up into the trees, although everyone got reasonable views. En-route to Monfrague, we had another unscheduled stop for several azure-winged magpie & a very showy hoopoe.

10 Our return visit to Monfrague started off very successfully, within an hour we were getting great views of a singing male western orphean warbler, plus views of nightingale heard the previous day. We took the opportunity of looking again at the Vulture colony and some of the group took photos of the vultures as they cruised by and above us. griffon vulture black vulture Again blue rock thrush, crag martin, black redstart, 3 chough & 3 black stork were seen along with egyptian vulture, black vulture and rock bunting. We tried several spots for the bonelli s eagle but this was proving elusive. Chris thought he saw a distant bird, very high so we headed up to the Castillo, a very high vantage point with amazing views across the valley. We still had no luck, but this provided great scope views of a displaying booted eagle, superbly skydiving and roller-coasting in front of us. Also migrant bee-eater passed overhead, plus a red kite, short-toed eagle & more chough. We headed back for a final search for the bonelli s and it took around another hour before eventually a bonelli s eagle cruised down the valley, finally perching in a tree on the far side of the valley. This afforded good scope views, but was too far away for photos, unfortunately. Chris s persistence had paid off. DAY FOUR The plan for the day was for birdwatching in the plains areas south of Plasencia with the main target species being great & little bustard and the two species of sandgrouse. We started birding at the westerly area of Embalse de Talavan, south-west of Monfrague, and then slowly headed east on the minor tracks,

11 making many stops throughout the day & finishing in the area of Torrejon El Rubio. It was a productive start to the day with 60 pin-tailed sandgrouse, 100 s of calandra lark & spanish sparrow. We searched the rough tracks in this area making regular stops and eventually we located 3 great bustard. We also had great views of 6+ montagu s harrier, 1 pair marsh harrier, 2 black vulture and heard quail again. We then headed south on the minor roads, down to the east of Caceres. Regular stops and lots of scanning eventually proved very successful with 25+ great bustard, 7 little bustard, golden eagle, 1 lesser kestrel, 20+ montagu s harrier, 2 short-toed eagle, booted eagle, black vulture, 12 griffon vulture, common buzzard, lapwing, 1 green sandpiper, 10 hoopoe, lots of spotless starling, southern grey shrike, stonechat and roller. The black-bellied species of sandgrouse proved elusive and could not be added to our list. Montagu s Harrier Roller DAY FIVE Our destination for today was Arrocampo, a wetland reserve with hides which is located to the east of Monfrague. Before leaving the village we had excellent views of 4 hawfinch feeding at the roadside on fallen beech mast. On arrival at Arrocampo we had distant views of black-winged kite. At the Arrocampo reserve we quickly located purple swamphen, a water rail was heard and a reeling savi s warbler eventually gave excellent views. a squacco heron showed well, 40+ cattle egret gave close views and several purple heron, several marsh harrier plus 2 great white egret were seen in flight. Several species of commoner wildfowl were added to the list, along with a spoonbill, seen only in flight before disappearing into the reed-bed.

12 We moved to the other end of the reserve and noted 10+ azure-winged magpie from the car. A roadside stop near some pools produced black-winged stilt, green & common sandpiper. A look on the main body of reservoir produced 2 gull-billed tern. A further stop off the main track and a short walk produced excellent views of black-winged kite, 20 bee-eater proved very photogenic, 6 hoopoe and a roosting long-eared owl made for an excellent afternoon s birding. We also added reed, sedge & cetti s warbler. Cattle Egret Purple Heron Bee-eater Azure-winged Magpie DAY SIX First stop of the day was in a park in Plasencia where after some searching we managed to locate a pair of lesser spotted woodpecker. We then walked up to the cathedral area where we were treated to good views of c20 lesser kestrel, plus nesting white stork. After a mid-morning stop for coffee we headed out west from Plasencia to an area of rice fields & gravel pits near Gallisteo. We made a series of stops here adding quite a few additional species to our growing list! Notable birds were 2

13 wood sandpiper, 1 little stint, 2 greenshank, 35 black-winged stilt, little owl, 2 water rail showing well and great reed warbler. About 20 red avadavat, an introduced species from India, were also observed. We picnicked in the sunshine and then headed northwards, higher up to search the olive groves around Ahigal. Here we located 5 black-eared wheatear, beautiful stunning birds with both the black-throated and pale-throated forms being observed. Also 4 thekla lark, cirl bunting, short-toed eagle, booted eagle were seen. There was some debate over identification of the Thekla Lark but after comparison of photos between these and crested lark taken on the trip, Chris was satisfied with this identification. A final stop at some gravel pits lower down in the river valley near Ambroz provided a few more species great views of little bittern, 1 night heron and 1 common waxbill, an introduced species from Africa. Savi s Warbler Thekla Lark DAY SEVEN After breakfast we headed north-eastwards from the village up into the Hervas mountain area, searching the forest areas & mountain heathland. We stopped firstly in some deciduous woodland and here we located iberian green woodpecker, 1pair lesser spotted woodpecker, c10 azure-winged magpie, short-toed treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker, 4 long-tailed tit & numerous blackcap. Higher up, we stopped in a coniferous area, and here 2 crested tit, c12 firecrest & coal tit were seen.

14 Further up the mountain still towards Garganta we stopped again and here we located 2 singing western bonelli s warbler. We finally arrived at the top and a series of short walks produced crossbill, skylark & wonderful views of a singing bluethroat (said by Chris to be the Spanish cyanecula form) with completely blue throat, without white or red spot. Bonelli s Warbler Bluethroat On the way back, a detour was made to Bejar Park at the request of the writer to see a dipper (personal target bird!) which was located in its usual place, but not close enough for decent photos. We finished the day in the lowland cork oak area below the mountains and eventually, after a good deal of searching, we located 2 great spotted cuckoo, a fitting species to end on for this wonderful trip. This gave us a total of 151 species. Additional Notes Local knowledge can be very important, and a local Spanish, very knowledgeable birder provided Chris with information helping to locate particular target species and he accompanied the group on some of the days outings. All the photos included in this article were taken on this trip by the writer. This is not an advert for Norfolk Birding but details of their guided tours can be found on their website I can certainly recommend the owner, Chris Mills, for his birding knowledge and recognition skills and his enthusiasm for the job.

15 Outings Reports By Graham Cole Oare Marshes 25 th March 2012 As we travelled east from Epsom and Ewell into Kent there was a thick mist. Whilst there was lovely warm temperatures back in Surrey, we arrived at Oare in overcast conditions with a chill breeze off the North Sea. We all felt cold for the rest of the day. We started on the sea wall, where there were waders feeding on the exposed mud. There were grey plover, redshank, curlew and dunlin with a large number of avocets and black-tailed godwits. A few of the godwits were showing the first signs of summer plumage. Out on the Swale there were a couple of great crested grebes and a seal was swimming up the channel. As we moved on there were a number of shelducks and oystercatchers on the far banks. After a break at the seawall hide we started to pick up more birds as were came to look over the East Flood. There were tufted ducks, pochard, shovelers, teal, gadwall, mallard and pintail. Greylag geese were Black- Tailed godwit Graham Cole honking noisily and a static snipe was seen in the grass at the edge of the water. A reed bunting passed us, flying over the reed bed with a bearded reedling just behind giving a few of us a fleeting glimpse. Two mute swans were on the south of the reserve and we had a second break from the wind in the East Flood Hide. A few golden plover had arrived and a few lapwings were also seen. Also around were a number of little egrets and grey herons. We had time to visit the East Flood Hide, but there were no birds of interest there. On the path to the hide we saw a cetti's warbler, house sparrows, chaffinchs, long-tailed tits and linnets. Walking back to the car we came across a group of wigeon. A kestrel was hunting close to the car park. After lunch we decided to walk the sea wall to the

16 west. Here we spotted two female lapland buntings feeding at the edge of one of the shallow pools. Further on there were stock doves and an interesting green woodpecker that was seen perching on the side of more than one of the block houses. A special surprise was the sighting of a merlin. It was perched on a small fence from where it flew low and fast to the west. A while later it flew low and fast back to the east. We also had both male and female marsh harriers flying around the area. Just as we left for home a water rail ran across the road in front of the car, paused, before disappearing into the long grass on the other side of the road. Dungeness 15 th April 2012 The group were quite prompt arriving at the visitors centre car park and the reserve had not yet opened. So we started with a quick visit to the car park hide. Out on the water were the usual tufted duck, shelduck, great crested grebe and coot. The strong wind meant that the water was quite choppy. There were common, herring, lesser back-backed and black-headed gulls. We also found a few waders, with a redshank and a couple of oystercatchers. As we left the visitors centre we immediately saw three birds cross the path and land. The first was a white wagtail which was feeding on the far corner of the small pond on the right of the path. As it came closer to us it passed out of view behind the shelving pond edge. As we crept closer we Little Egret realised that a yellow wagtail was also feeding there. The third bird was also found, a meadow pipit. As we continued along the hides we added teal, shoveler, gadwall and Graham Cole 1Little egret Graham Cole

17 cormorant. There were also a number of ringed plovers. A male marsh harrier floated over the far back. Grey heron and little egret were found around the edges of the water. The next area we visited was the scrub along the stream by the Christmas Dell Hide. The strong wind looked like it was going to keep the small birds down. But we spotted three wheatears on the gravel. As we stopped to admire them a sedge warbler burst into song and gave a short flight into the air before descending again. Down at the Denge Marsh we added pochard before returning back to the cars. On the return loop there were linnets and singing cettis warblers. After lunch and a short hail storm we headed for the ARC side, stopping on the access track to see a distant whimbrel near the farm house. The ARC side had the usual birds and we were also please to see the first swallow and house martins of the year. A snipe was found feeding on the edge of a small island. A final trip to the sea at the end of the day added common terns which were feeding over the power station outfall and gannets passing far out to sea. Pulborough Brooks RSPB 27 th April 2012 Our visit to Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve was nearly abandoned due to the heavy showers that have been a feature over the previous weeks. Three plucky members decided to risk the elements and drive down to Sussex in the rain, which did ease off before we arrived. However, as we looked out over the flood plain from the front of the Visitor Centre we could see dense cloud heading our way and a shower soon started. A fox was walking through the field below the centre and the herd of deer was keeping a safe distance trotting away. We descended the zigzag where we heard a willow warbler call from the hedge on Fox Graham Cole

18 the left. Unfortunately it only called once and we did not catch a glimpse of it. As we walked to the hides we were struck by the number of song thrushes and blackbirds that were singing from the trees. The shower eased and we finally heard the beautiful song of the nightingale. Two or three birds were vocal and we positioned ourselves close to one individual. It emerged from the denser undergrowth to sit out singing, giving clear views. Unfortunately the showers returned soon after so we retreated satisfied with our evening out. Elmley RSPB 13 th May 2012 We always look forward to our trips to Elmley as you can always be sure of some nice birds. The slow drive down the access track is a pleasant start to the day, using the cars as a hide as you creep along the road. The farm had starlings, house sparrows and linnets. There were a large number of rabbits seen in the grass including some very small recently born babies. We soon came across lapwings and some had youngsters, a bit like a powder puff on legs. There were also yellow wagtails, some of which were gathering nesting materials. Skylarks and meadow pipits were numerous and redshanks were also along the route. A female wheatear was on a ploughed section and a little grebe was on one of the deeper channels. At the visitors centre we met Ian who had just got on to a short-eared owl that was hunting over the distant Swale river embankment. Unfortunately not all the group got on it in Lapwing time before it dropped out of sight. Swallows and pied wagtails were nesting around the car park. Looking out onto the reserve we could see a number of nesting avocets, greylag geese and canada geese. Eventually we decided to set off on foot towards the hides. We soon connected with a whitethroat, another wheatear and a large flock of mediterranean gulls. The reeds along the track were not as thick as I have seen Graham Cole

19 them in previous years. This gave us good views of numerous reed warblers that appeared to be disputing territory. There were also reed buntings and a few sedge warblers. Common terns were floating over and we also locked on to a bearded tit. We decided to start at the South Fleet Hide, passing yet another wheatear. Here the avocets had young, although a coot predated one of the youngsters. We picked out a few dunlins and a ringed plover amongst the more common birds. There were many waders, including oystercatcher, redshank and lapwings and a nice addition was a single greenshank. There were a number of pochards still present, with the resident gadwall, shelduck, shovelers, tufted duck and mallards. There were little egrets and a grey heron flew in as we moved hides. We picked up a lovely group of black-tailed godwits. At the final hide we spotted a distant buzzard to go with the marsh harriers hunting over the fields. A hovering kestrel was also seen. The return walk from the hides to the visitor centre gave us a whimbrel as the final bird of the day. We thought that we would see a cuckoo when there was a loud call from the orchard. But sadly when it called again it was quite distant and that was the last we heard. Rye Harbour 27 th May 2012 It was a really sunny when we arrived at Rye Harbour. The strength of the sun meant extra strong factor sun lotion was required before we set off. Last year we saw Herring gulls dropping shellfish from the air to obtain a meal and they were still using this technique again today. The habitat creation area looked very dry, but we did see a whimbrel along with avocets and redshanks. We also found a number of ring plovers and dunlin on the pool edges. When we reached the shingle banks we picked out a little tern on a nest. But the large bird populations were visible from the hides. There were numerous black-headed gulls nesting on the islands outside the hide viewing the Ternery Pool. There were also mediterranean gulls and a few common terns Black-headed gull Graham Cole

20 nesting in the mix of the chaos. Another redshank was feeding close to the hide and the sandwich terns were nesting on the far bank. Looking from the new hide onto the Quarry Pool we found a much larger common tern nesting colony. There were also a few little terns and more redshanks. We visited the third hide that also looks over the Ternery Pool and here there were large numbers of sandwich terns, common gulls and common terns. There were also turnstones and redshank feeding closer to the hide. A great crested grebe was fishing in the main pool catching a number of fish. There were also nesting cormorants and an oystercatcher. On the far bank we saw a pair of greylag geese with goslings. Our next stop was a short sea watch by the old lifeboat house. We saw a small party of common scooter fly in and land close to cormorants and great crested grebes already sitting on the water. There were also linnets and meadow pipits around the path. We now turned inland for the return trip through the farm tracks. The change in habitat gave us different birds. We had a whitethroat in the brambles at the side of the path and a reed warbler was singing from a drainage ditch which had a few reeds. The gravel pits held the usual tufted ducks and great crested grebes, but the nice surprise was a strong song of lesser whitethroat coming from a dense scrub adjacent to the path. It moved along the edge of the bushes keeping out of sight while we waiting patiently. We were rewarded with a quick glimpse as it came into view at the top before darting back into thick cover. A cuckoo was heard several times and a few of us caught a sighting on the wires ahead of the group, but it did not stay for us. A few reed buntings were also seen alongside the path in the longer grassy areas on the meadow side. Chobham Common 4 th June 2012 We always schedule our visit to Chobham Common to coincide with a full moon. This gives us enough light to find our way off the common and also matches the habits of the nightjar to be active at this time. This meant that we had picked a bank holiday for this year's trip and I considerably over estimated the journey time from Epsom. The traffic is a lot worse on a normal working day! So I had enough time to explore the woods around the meeting place before the rest of the group arrived. I picked out the high notes of a goldcrest and it was seen high in the trees. There was also a buck roe dear crossing the path in front of us. When the group arrived we set off onto the common passing a singing chiffchaff. The common was relatively quiet, with just chaffinches and reed buntings seen before we reached the hill were we had excellent views of a tree

21 pipit. Again it was the distinctive calls that helped us to lock on to its position. Descending from the hill we picked up a family of stonechats and there were also great tits and linnets. We were finally at the area where nightjars are found and as we waited we picked out their purring calls. We were close to the same tree where we had excellent sightings last year and sure enough the same sloping Goldcrest branch gave us a bird this year. The birds faded away as the darkness really set in, so we returned back to the cars. As we made our way through the wooded area with the aid of torches there were tawny owlets calling from somewhere close by, but they remained hidden. Stodmarsh 10 th June 2012 Graham Cole The long drive down to Stodmarsh always gives fine birds as a reward at this time of year will be remembered as the best warbler walk of the year. Just after leaving the car park we could hear a blackcap, cetti's, chiffchaff and nightingale. The nightingale was singing strongly close to the path and eventually we were able to see it giving excellent views, especially through the scope. A whitethroat was singing from a tree just before the Reedbed Hide. Once inside the hide we had both reed and sedge warblers. Just outside the hide were spawning carp breaking the surface of the water. A male marsh harrier was hunting away to the left and there were several hobbies higher in the sky. We had a better look over the lake as we started along the circular walk. There were graylag geese, great created grebe, cormorants, tufted duck and also a few pochards and teal. As we walked along the path we had a few cetti's warblers and reed buntings crop up from time to time. We could also hear distant

22 cuckoos. When we reached the trees adjacent to the river, the distinctive calls of turtle doves could be heard. One was on the left of the path and the other on the right, slightly further ahead. The group split up as the dense foliage concealed the birds. Those that went ahead missed out on a clear sighting of a garden warbler, thanks to Tim's excellent hearing. But Bill went on and was the only person to see a turtle dove as he looked back towards the group. Shame it flew behind another tree before the rest of us could join him. There were lovely flooded meadows that had redshank, tufted duck, little egret and lapwing. Lunch was taken at grove ferry and afterwards we turned for home, stopping first at the View Point. A single wigeon was seen in amongst the shovelers and mallards. A common tern was fishing at the back of the water. As we walked through the reeds a wren revealed itself. Wren song was a constant companion all Sedge warbler the way around the circuit. Also pinging in the reeds were bearded tits that did provide a brief glimpse. As we visited the remaining hides we added grey heron, kestrel, gadwall and black-tailed godwits. Pagham Harbour 9 th September 2012 Graham Cole We have had our summer break and it is great to get back together with regular members and new recruits. It was a shame that the weather did not smile on us. There was a damp feel in the air and occasionally drizzle appeared, but that did not dampen our enthusiasm. Starting at the Ferry Pool where there were lots of birds. Black-tailed godwits were present as were black-headed gulls and lapwings. A number of teal were loafing around the margins. Looking around the big flocks we became aware that there were a few dunlin and two splendid green sandpipers. It's been a while since we last had this sandpiper on the group list. There were two grey herons at the back of the pool, keeping so still they could almost have been asleep. There were also a few stock doves with the woodpigeons in the neighbouring fields. We continued around the old track way. There were redshank and curlew on the mud and our search for migrants could only locate a blackcap and a whitethroat. Looking far out into the estuary

23 we could see grey plover in the distance. We moved on to Church Norton where we looked out over the estuary with a rising tide. There was a large roost of oystercatchers on the far island, with dunlin and redshank closer. Also feeding close by were turnstones and we also found ringed plovers. A single bar-tailed godwit was a nice surprise. Flying over were a few common and sandwich terns. A little further up stream was a cormorant roost and a greenshank. The fist wigeon of the season Grey heron Graham Cole had arrived on the estuary. We decided to shelter in the hide and we picked a good time to scan the field behind. First we had a male blackcap, followed by a green woodpecker. There was a brief sighting of a male redstart and best of all 4 spotted flycatchers. The flycatchers were busy feeding and flitting from tree to tree. A quick visit to the beach yielded great crested grebes on the sea and a guillemot flying west far out. Fortunately birding with a group means that someone looks in all directions and behind us there were 2 wheatears on the fence line in the gravel. As we returned to the car park the mewing of buzzards alerted us to two individuals soaring above the trees. We had plenty of time to return to the Ferry Pool, where the only change was the addition of two more sleepy looking grey herons, so we pushed on to the North Bank where we hoped for better luck. We found a few more black-tailed godwits, coots, moorhens and mallards. Then we found 3 snipe and a ruff with a group of lapwing. A large canada goose flock flew in to roost with a bar headed goose in tow. At this point we realised that the wader flock had disappeared suddenly, the cause, two peregrine falcons which had landed on the field boundary fence and field.

24 Oare Marshes 16 th September 2012 Oare Marshes only drew a small group of 5 members to look for migrants and waders. We were blessed with a perfect rising tide. On our arrival there was still mud on the Swale. There were a fair number of black-tailed godwits with ringed plovers, dunlin and two knots. As we walked along the sea wall there numbers of swallows and house martins heading south off the sea. When we reached the point there were avocets, curlew, oystercatcher and shelduck. As we turned inland along Faversham creek there were more dunlin and large numbers of redshank. A nice surprise was a lone bar-tailed godwit. We were accompanied by a couple of reed buntings in the reeds at the edge of the path. Despite the wind, we also heard the pinging of bearded reedlings and we had a brief sighting. Out on the water of the west flood we found the first of many ruff. A splendid yellow wagtail Avocet was also feeding at the water s edge. Out in the open areas the wader roost had enlarged as the tide advanced. There was a large group of golden plovers and an even larger group of black-tailed godwits. All around were lapwing, dunlin and redshank. As we looked over the assembled masses even more birds were arriving, including a large flock of avocets. As we scanned the scene we were able to pick out a few more unusual birds. There was a single greenshank, at least six curlew sandpipers, two little grebes, a number of little egrets and three little stints. We should also mention the grey herons, cormorants, snipe and a water rail. After lunch we walked the path to Dan s Dock. Here we found a beautiful whinchat. A party of pied wagtails were moving along the shore line and on the reserve there were singles of pochard and wigeon. News of a Graham Cole

25 spotted redshank had us returning to the East Flood where the bird was duly found. A hobby spooked the entire flock, but we did not get on to it. Our last bird of the day was a pair of stock dove

26 OUTINGS PROGRAMME Meeting Places: WH Meadway, West Hill, Epsom. V Meet at venue. F Full Day. M Morning. E Evening. We encourage members to car share on outings, as some venues have restricted parking spaces & it also helps to reduce the impact on the environment. However, if you are unwilling or unable to drive to a venue you should try and make prior arrangements for a lift, as it is not always possible to find enough seats on the day. If you do travel in another member's car it is customary to share the journey costs. If you intend to travel direct to a venue please notify Janet Gilbert or Bill Vincent. Directions list to all venues obtainable at indoor meetings October Sunday 28 th Thorney Island F 0800 WH November Sunday 11 th Dungeness RSPB F 0800 WH Friday 25 th Shellness F 0800 WH December Sunday 9 th Pulborough Brooks F 0800 WH 2013 January Sunday 6 th Bushy Park M 0930 V Sunday 20 th Wraysbury and Staines Reservoir F 0830 WH February Sunday 3 rd Shellness F 0800 WH Friday 8 th London Wetlands Centre F 1000 V Sunday 17 th Farlington Marshes F 0800 WH March Sunday 3 rd Pagham Harbour F 0800 WH Sunday 17 th Rainham Marshes RSPB F 0800 WH April Sunday 7 th Oare Marshes F 0800 WH Sunday 21 st Dungeness RSPB F 0800 WH Friday 26 th Pulborough Brooks RSPB E 1900 V May Sunday 12 th Elmley RSPB F 0800 WH Sunday 19 th Rye Harbour F 0800 WH Tuesday 28 th Chobham Common E 1930 V

27 More Stamps please. Used stamps make money for the RSPB. Ron Powney collects them for our group and sends them on to Sandy, so please let Ron have all your used stamps. As a reminder, cut or tear them from the envelope making sure that about ¼ to ½ inch of envelope paper is left round the stamp. Any with damaged perforations go straight in the bin! Thanks Ron Powney COMMITTEE Group leader Janet Gilbert Secretary Sheila Lothian Treasurer Bill Vincent Membership Clive Gilbert Outings Janet Gilbert (mobile) Outings Bill Vincent (mobile) Publicity Sue Osborne Sales Vacancy Pinboxes John Gibson Angela Gibson Newsletter Graham Cole Web site Graham Cole Support Rob Carr Would readers consider writing something for the newsletter? Anything about birds or wildlife would be welcome. Contributions to Graham Cole by 8 th March Grosvenor Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 6JB. . gcole1@csc.com Web site The RSPB is the UK charity working to secure a healthy environment for birds and wildlife, helping to create a better world for us all.