NEWSLETTER Autumn 2018 Editor: Tony Bates

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1 NEWSLETTER Autumn 2018 Editor: Tony Bates RETIREMENTS RSPB New Forest Local Group After nine years as Chief Executive Officer of RSPB, Mike Clarke has announced that he will be standing down over the next year and will work with the chairman to affect a smooth transition in recruiting a new CEO. Mike still has great commitment to RSPB and will continue as a member and volunteer of the organisation. On a local level, Tony Bates has announced that he will be standing down as Leader of the RSPB New Forest Local Group at the next AGM in May Anyone interested in taking on the role of Leader should contact Tony, or another member of the Committee. You don t need to be an expert birder or naturalist to take on this role, it just requires basic managerial and organisation skills and, preferably, the ability to delegate. Franchises Lodge Appeal The RSPB has launched an appeal to support the acquisition and development of their first New Forest reserve at Franchises Lodge. You can donate to the appeal by going to: There is now a dedicated address to contact the Franchises Lodge team: franchiseslodge@rspb.org.uk Use this address: if you want to volunteer to find out the variety of ways you can help find out about events if you are interested in working with the Franchises Lodge team The RSPB hopes to take on a couple of residential volunteers in 2019 so that the is security on site and practical conservation work can commence.

2 GARDEN BIRD SURVEY April June 2018 Once again there was very little change at the top of our tables, just a minor insignificant shuffling of position due to one or two people missing out on a common bird for the odd week. However coal tit numbers of which have fluctuated somewhat over the past year or two did show a significant increase over the corresponding period for 2017, up from 30.1% to 40.9% of birdweeks and from 70% to 97% of our gardens. Also pleasing to note is the continuing increase in greenfinch sightings after the recent national decline due to disease; greenfinches increased from 47.8% to 54.3% of birdweeks and from 67% to 84% of gardens. One lady reported seeing greenfinches in her garden for the first time in several years. Long-tailed tits also showed an increase in both tables. Whether or not these increases were a result of the late cold snap is a matter of conjecture. Carrion crows and wrens were seen in about the same number of gardens as in the same period last year but more regularly but nuthatches were seen less often. Nearly a third of us had blackcaps in our gardens with some people seeing them throughout the whole quarter. As usual many of us had swallows, house martins and swifts flying over but only a couple of us had swallows in our garden. We had a good selection of rarer garden visitors including a late brambling, a lesser spotted woodpecker, hawfinches, common gull, tree sparrow and a raven. Two people had red kites flying over and one person saw a peregrine falcon overhead. A Burley resident was fortunate to have both a cuckoo and a nightjar visit his large garden. One very interesting visitor to a Sway garden was a Harris hawk but it still had its jesses attached and as an escaped falconer s bird we won t be adding it to our lists. A few of us regularly record tawny owls but one person enjoyed a lovely sighting of a tawny owl which perched on her bird table and only departed after nearly two hours of being mobbed by a variety of small birds plus a couple of magpies! Other species among the 56 reported were: sparrowhawk and stock dove (9 gardens); rook (8); green woodpecker (8); green woodpecker, black-headed gull and herring gull (7); chiffchaff and tawny owl (5); feral pigeon (4); marsh tit and goldcrest (3); swallow, mallard, red-legged partridge, common buzzard, and grey heron (2); tree creeper, mistle thrush grey wagtail, reed bunting, lesser spotted woodpecker, pheasant, mistle thrush, common gull, tree sparrow, cuckoo, nightjar, hawfinch, raven, lesser black-backed and raven(1 garden each).

3 Table 1: Percent/Birdweeks Table 2: Percent/Birdgardens 1 Wood pigeon Blackbird Robin Dunnock Blue tit Great tit Goldfinch House sparrow Collared dove Starling Magpie Chaffinch Greenfinch Carrion crow Coal tit Jackdaw Nuthatch Great spotted woodpecker Song thrush Wren Siskin Long-tailed tit Bullfinch Stock dove Pied wagtail Wood pigeon Blackbird Robin Dunnock Blue tit Great tit House sparrow Coal tit Starling Magpie Goldfinch Collared dove Chaffinch Song thrush Greenfinch Carrion crow Wren Long-tailed tit Nuthatch Jackdaw Bullfinch Great spotted woodpecker 23 Siskin Jay Blackcap 32 - The percentage figure in Table 1 is calculated by adding the percentage of weeks that each observer records any species and dividing by the number of observers. If an observer records a species for 9 weeks in a 12-week period this is 75% for that observer. If the total of all the percentages for 50 observers is 3000 this gives a percent/birdweeks figure of 60. If half of the observers each record a species for half of the weeks we would get 25% for the percent/birdweeks figure. The percent/birdgardens figure is simply the number of gardens in which a species has been recorded divided by the number of recorders and multiplied by 100. The last column in each table gives the corresponding rank position for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

4 UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS If possible, please car share, particularly on the more distant visits. Ordnance survey grid references are given below for car parking areas for the field trips. If you want to convert these to co-ordinates or post codes for your SatNav, enter them into Keyhaven Marshes Saturday, 6 October 2018 Winter visitor should be arriving and passage migrants stopping on they way south. We ve moved the meeting point from the Gun Inn car park to the harbour wall as that is where most people tend to congregate. Sunday (SU ) 10.00am 1.00pm 2 December Meet in the reserve car park of the A27/A2030 junction Friday Normandy Marsh (SZ ) 10.00am 1.00pm 14 December Meet at Maiden Lane. Xmas lunch at the Chequers. Hengistbury Head Wednesday, 17 October 2018 This can be a good location for finding passage migrants and winter visitors should have arrived in Christchurch Harbour. Parking charges in the car park, but there is more distant free road-side.parking. Meet outside Hikers Café at SZ Warsash & Hook Spit Saturday 10 November 2018 A good location for waders, including golden plover as well as a variety of woodland birds and wildfowl. Meet in the Passage Lane car park, Warsash SZ Stanpit Marsh Friday, 23 November A chance to see the wildfowl and wader arriving in Christchurch Harbour this winter. Can also be good for raptors, kestrel and sparrowhawk as well as chats, larks, etc. Meet in the car park on Stanpit at SZ

5 Farlington Marsh Sunday, 2 December 2018 Farlington is one of the best reserves in the area for winter visitors and as well as the usual range of waders and wildfowl in significant numbers, it can also be good for grebes including black-necked grebe, Dartford warbler, shorteared owl and bearded tit and rarities. Meet in the reserve car park of the A27/A2030 junction at SU Normandy Marsh Friday, 14 December 2018 This is our traditional Christmas walk around Normandy lagoon. A great location for winter waders and wildfowl with the chance of grebes and divers off-shore. After the walk we will head to the Chequers for our Christmas lunch. If you would like to join us for lunch, but not join the walk, you need to inform us ahead of time so we can book enough places. Meet at Maiden Lane at SZ Xmas lunch at the Chequers TRIP REPORTS Keyhaven evening walk Tuesday, 3 July 2018 Despite England playing Colombia live of TV, 15 people turned out on a lovely sunny evening for a stroll round Keyhaven marshes. Admittedly, the gender balance unusually was biased toward the female pole! A number of nearly fullgrown mallard ducklings were on Avon water and a few black-headed gulls in the harbour. Linnets were on the beach and were seen throughout the walk on bushes, in flight or foraging on the ground. A pair of Mediterranean gulls flew over making their distinctive call. On the salt marshes there were a number of curlews, lapwings, oystercatchers in both summer and winter plumage and a few redshanks. A common tern flew by carrying a small fish and a little tern was fishing offshore. A small group of great black-backed gulls were on the shoreline and a heron was half concealed in the coastal vegetation. Near Keyhaven lagoon, a Dartford warbler flew between the gorse bushes. The water level on the lagoon was very low and a number of little egrets were fishing in the remaining shallows, while a number of shelduck roosted on the far bank. The water levels in Fishtail were also low and a number of ringed

6 plover were active on the exposed mud and two greenshanks dabbled in the shallows. A couple of families of avocets waded around the edge of the lagoon while mallard and coot were rested on the island. On Butts lagoon there were four spoonbills resting and preening and a large number of summer-plumaged black-tailed godwits were active behind the islands. A little egret swan in and out of the reeds on an island, a snipe flew from cover to disappear again in the reads and a water rail briefly appeared. There were surprisingly few birds on the new pond, where the deeper water often encourages different species to be present. Species list: mute swan, Canada goose, shelduck, teal, mallard, pheasant, cormorant, little egret, grey heron, spoonbill, little grebe, water rail, coot, oystercatcher, avocet, ringed plover, lapwing, snipe, black-tailed godwit, curlew, greenshank, redshank, black-headed gull, Mediterranean gull, herring gull, great black-backed gull, little tern, common tern, wood pigeon, common swift, magpie, carrion crow, skylark, swallow, reed warbler, starling, blackbird, robin, house sparrow, meadow pipit, goldfinch, linnet, reed bunting, Dartford warbler. Hilltop and King's Copse, Wednesday 1 August People turned out at Hilltop car park for our annual butterfly walk. Despite the bright weather, butterflies were hard to find on the open heathland. The hot weather over early summer appears to have resulted in an early butterfly season and by the beginning of August only a few species were still flying. We found a single silver studded blue on the heather and a few meadow browns and gatekeepers. Birds included kestrel, swallow and a buzzard that was sitting on powerlines. But the most frequent bird seen was robin and they seemed to be everywhere. Numerous southern hawker dragonflies were active in the sunshine. In Kings Copse, we found speckled wood, green-veined white, brimstone, small white, large white, holly blue, ringlet and a single female silver-washed fritillary. Surprisingly no skippers were seen and, unfortunately, no white admirals. A buzzard circled above the trees, a bullfinch called from somewhere in the tree-tops and a chiffchaff gave good views as it foraged in a birch tree. More southern hawkers were active on the woodland rides and streams, several keeled skimmers and common darters were seen and a single male golden ringed dragonfly. A brown dragonfly sitting on a branch was not identified, but may have been a darter of some sort.

7 Back on the heath, most of the group retraced the out-going route back to the car park, while a few continued across the heath. More butterflies were seen but no new species were added to the list. A raptor was heard called from a pine tree. When a second kestrel appeared, it flew out to join it soaring over the heath. A raven was heard and soon seen as it flew close by to perch in a tree. As were neared the location, a second raven was seen on the ground, which then flew up to join the other bird. Following the long dry period, we were hoping to be able to cross the "lake" with having to wade the ford, as the path crosses a virtually permanent body of water. We were able to negotiate the boggy area by moving from tussock to tussock with getting our feet very wet and were rewarded with a colony of small red damselflies. This is a species that, in the UK, is restricted to Southern England where it frequents heathland bogs and streams. In summary, a very pleasant if not very productive excursion into the field. Oxey Marsh and Pennington Thursday, 13 September 2018 A good turnout of 19 people met at Maiden Lane on a sunny morning for our planned field trip around Oxey Marsh. Some interesting birds, including a spotted crake, had been spotted recently on Butts Lagoon, which we sometimes reach from Oxey if the group moves quickly. The group therefore quickly agreed that rather than taking the usual route around Oxey Marsh, we would take a quicker route to Butts and return on the sea-wall. Behind Salterns Sailing Club, we stopped for a mixed flock of small birds that included great tit, nuthatch and willow warbler. While looking at a collared dove on a telegraph pole, a flock of long-tailed tits moved through. On Lower Woodside, we stopped at a gate to view a large group of curlews in a field but were unable to spot any yellow wagtail around the cattle. A little further on a robin was in full song from with a conifer and a kestrel was seen. A couple of distant curlews raised some interest for a while on the thought that they might be whimbrel on passage, but the conclusion was that they were curlew. Stopping at the sharp bend in Lower Pennington Lane, there were several lapwings in the field, a probable greenfinch sitting on a tussock, a few busy meadow pipits and a flock of linnets. Stopping on higher ground just through the gate by the car park, we were able to look back towards the new pond where great crested grebe and Canada

8 geese were swimming. On the bank, there was a small group of barnacle geese and a very large flock of coot. Whitethroat could be heard singing in bushes near-by and from further away along the "ancient highway". A sparrowhawk disturbed some wood pigeon from trees along the side of the lake, then drifted right across the water. Looking up, a hobby shot up through a flock of swallows and house martins occasionally giving chase to one, before gaining height and pushing the hirundine flock even higher. We were able to watch the hobby for several minutes. Just when things were calming down, the sparrowhawk returned with its iconic flap-flap-glide approach before catching a thermal and circling slowly upwards to where the swallows had been. Dragging ourselves away to continue towards Butts, we stopped to check a herd of cows in the field on the west of the path. This time, we were rewarded with a flock of yellow wagtails feeding around the hooves and muzzles of the cattle. A Cetti's warbler gave a blast of song from the gorse bushes and a Dartford warbler was briefly spotted. A little further on we were able to see over Fishtail Lagoon where blacktailed godwits were probing in the shallows, a group of ringed plovers were active on the mud and several mallard and gulls were swimming around. The water level on Butts Lagoon was very low and there were a number of "twitchers" gathered for a sighting of the spotted crake. Several redshanks were active in the shallow water and a couple of common sandpipers flew past. A peregrine falcon was sitting out on a concrete structure behind us, a grey heron was on the saltmarsh and out to sea there were cormorants and singles of eider and common scoter. Although the crake and water rail had been seen shortly before we arrived, they did not appear while we were there and time was beginning to press. Walking along the sea-wall flock of oystercatcher, dunlin and ringed plovers flew west over the sea. On the next lagoon, there were teal, snipe, godwits and redshanks. Just past the "jetty", a group of turnstones were sitting out on the old iron-work and a single goldfinch flew along the bank. On the lagoon side there were some juvenile black-headed gull and a wader reclined on a muddy bank caught our attention. From the unusual posture, it was difficult to identify the bird at first, but when it moved the orange legs identified it as another redshank. Before it moved, features like its striped tail had caught our attention, something you might not notice when a redshank is in a more usual position. A single knot was also seen quite close

9 to the path. A group of around 15 eider ducks were on the sea just beyond a sand-bar and another kestrel flew past. As time was getting on, we took a short cut across the marsh to Moses dock and back past Salterns boating lake, where several little grebes were feeding. Although we dipped on the star bird, it was a thoroughly absorbing walk on a beautiful day. Species list: mute swan, Canada goose, barnacle goose, shelduck, teal, mallard, eider, common scoter, cormorant, little egret, grey heron, little grebe, great crested grebe, sparrowhawk, buzzard, kestrel, hobby, peregrine falcon, moorhen, coot, oystercatcher, ringed plover, lapwing, knot, dunlin, snipe, black-tailed godwit, curlew, common sandpiper, redshank, turnstone, black-headed gull, herring gull, wood pigeon, collared dove, magpie, jay, carrion crow, raven, blue tit, great tit, swallow, house martin, Cetti's warbler (H), long-tailed tit, willow warbler, whitethroat, Dartford warbler, nuthatch, starling, blackbird, robin, yellow wagtail, pied wagtail, meadow pipit, greenfinch, goldfinch, linnet, wheatear Also: red admiral, common blue, small white, black-tailed skimmer and common darter Calshot and Ashlett Creek Saturday, 29 September 2018 On a bright, still Saturday morning, and despite the closure of the M27, sixteen people assembled by the Bluebird Café at Calshot. Even better, everyone noticed the later start time of the walk as it was scheduled for am rather than our usual am. There were wood pigeons and starlings around our assembly area, a line of four cormorants flew westwards along The Solent and several black-headed gulls were sitting along the beach. Heading eastwards, we crossed a wooden bridge into the field between the beach huts and the scrub, where there were a few carrion crows but little else. In Calshot lagoon, a lot of mud was exposed as we were on a low, but rising, tide. Groups of redshanks were dotted around the area, a group of about ten little egrets were perched on a grassy mound and, in the distance, there were large numbers of oystercatchers, a few black-tailed godwits and some dunlins. Several common gulls were present amongst the black-headed ones. Behind us a wren was flitting between bushes. A male stonechat was perched on a wooden post on the saltmarsh while a couple of female/juvenile stonechats were active closer to the high-tide line and in bushes to the left of the path. A large group of longtailed tits moved back and forth between some low trees.

10 Further on, more redshanks were located on the saltmarsh and the first sightings of what turned out to be a large number of curlews. Out on Southampton Water were herring gulls and great-crested grebe, while tall posts were occupied by cormorants and great black-backed gulls. In an inlet near the power-station, there was an adult shelduck, possibly recently returned from the moulting grounds in the Netherlands. Two ringed plovers were actively feeding along the shoreline. Small birds were in short supply with sightings of meadow pipit, chiffchaff, robin and blackbird. There was an unconfirmed sighting of a black redstart, but many felt it was too early in the year for them to have arrived. The only raptor was a distant kestrel as the resident peregrines did not put in an appearance. Few birds were seen in the woods towards Ashlett Creek, where we took a break at the Jolly Sailor for refreshments. Mute swan, black-headed gull and redshank were on and around the pond by the old tide mill and a magpie was spotted. But the highlight for those who were on the seats by the moorings was a goshawk circling high over the sea. They also spotted some distant buzzards. Those of us tucking into beer and chips missed these! Blue and great tit were seen in the woods on the return leg and on emerging from the trees by the old power station, we found a group of around 20 wigeon in the creeks. Shortly afterwards, a group of around 10 Brent geese was seen on Southampton Water. For most of us, this was the first sighting of these species this autumn. There was a lot of activity on the lagoon, now full of water, as groups from the Activity Centre were kayaking, paddle-boarding and wind-surfing. Not so good for birding, but some high-tide roosts of redshanks were seen. No new species were seen on the walk by the beach huts, back to the parking area, but there was a very close view of a common gull showing the streaked head of its winter plumage. Species list: mute swan, Brent goose, shelduck, wigeon, cormorant, little egret, grey heron, great crested grebe, goshawk, buzzard, kestrel, oystercatcher, ringed plover, dunlin, black-tailed godwit, redshank, blackheaded gull, herring gull, great black-backed gull, common gull, wood pigeon, magpie, carrion crow, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, chiffchaff, wren, starling, blackbird, robin, stonechat, meadow pipit

11 SNIPPETS from Pete Smith Which colour feeder do birds prefer? Two students from Somerset (aged 14 and 15) have won an award for their work in checking what colours birds prefer. They set up five feeders in each of their gardens coloured blue, green, red, yellow and clear. The orientation of the feeders was changed regularly so as not too skew the results and set up a camera for an hour each morning, afternoon and evening across all four seasons to record the bird visits to each feeder. They amassed data covering a total of 400 hours and got 3205 pieces of data. Their results showed that a third of the birds visited the blue feeder with green the second favourite. Birds have an extra colour sense compared with humans which enables them to detect colour on the ultra violet spectrum. Could this explain their preference for blue and were they warier of red and yellow because these colours are often an indicator of unpleasant substances in nature? After their research the boys thought about possible applications for their findings could the less popular red and yellow help to deter bird strikes on wind turbines for example? How to achieve lasting fame? Wouldn t it be nice to achieve lasting fame and have people mentioning your name long after you have hung up your binoculars for the last time? Well one way to do this is to get a bird named after you. For example, Father Francesco Cetti died in 1778 yet we still mention him every time we see (or more likely hear!) a Cetti's Warbler. [who was he? he was a Jesuit priest, zoologist and mathematician (what a combination!) who wrote a monumental work on the birds of Sardinia]. So if you have decided that discovering a new species of bird and having it named after yourself is the best route to immortality we had better consider what type of person you need to be to do this. Well unfortunately one criterion is to be dead (I am losing interest already!). The great leap forward in discovering new birds was during the nineteenth century when countless expeditions were sent to all corners of the world. Thousands of specimens were sent back to Museums and Universities for cataloguing and scientific description and new species were often named after the scientists and explorers who discovered them (Darwin, Temminck, Swinhoe etc) Being Victorian was not enough in itself you really had to belong to a rich and imperial nation who was wealthy enough to fund all these expeditions. In

12 total 331 Britons, 210 Americans, 161 French and 137 Germans gave their names to birds. So being born at the right time and place helped but having money and a good scientific education was also a good idea. The practice of medicine was a good route to take for many medical men travelled the world with the military or expeditions and were often the most qualified people present when discoveries were made. So probably the best way to have bird named after you is to be a British Victorian gentleman with plenty of money and leisure time or to be a British Victorian doctor employed by the military. I can t think of anyone in our Group who qualifies! However, before you give up there are other ways to consider. Perhaps the best way is to marry into Royalty for many birds were named in honour of the monarch (Victoria Nuthatch, Albert's Lyrebird, Alexandra's Parrot). Failing this a route for the ladies is to marry someone important. Admiral Dumont d'urville named a new species of Penguin after his wife Adelie whilst the Governor General of Bengal, when he found a new species of Pheasant, named it after his wife (yes, you've guessed it) the Lady Amherst Pheasant. Perhaps you could take advantage of the modern tendency to split bird species into several sub-species (and make sure the new split is named after yourself). Perhaps the Reed Buntings at Keyhaven have slight plumage variations from those found in the rest of the country? This could perhaps give rise to a Bates' Bunting. Perhaps the Skylarks at Martin Down sing in a different key from those in the rest of Hampshire? These would no doubt be called Lankester's Lark. I personally am examining all the Meadow Pipits which I see for slight variations which would justify the introduction of the Pete's Pipit. Living in hope! Crowdfunding appeal for hides at Snettisham The RSPB has launched its first ever crowdfunding appeal to try to raise to replace two hides at Snettisham that were destroyed in the great coastal storm of One new hide will replace the two that were destroyed in the storm. It has been designed by specialist architects to be more resistant to floods, whilst providing splendid views in two directions. If you are as ignorant as I was about crowdfunding, it apparently allows members of the public to donate money for a specific purpose in exchange for awards, many of which are exclusive. The RSPB has managed to secure some wonderful awards that should inspire people to donate. How about a donation from the 'specialist architects? (I think they could afford one out of their fees!)

13 INDOOR PROGRAMME 14 November 2018 Poole Harbour Neil Gartshore, Wildlife photographer, writer and publisher We welcome back Neil Gartshore, who talked to us in 2016 about his unique experiences on The Prince Edward Islands in the southern oceans. This time Neil s focus will be closer to home talking about the ornithologically fascinating area of Poole Harbour. Neil is the compiler of the Birdwatcher's Yearbook, Since it was first published in 1981, The Birdwatcher's Yearbook has been a one stop shop for up-to-date and verified information for birdwatchers of every skill level and depth of interest. The 2019 version has: - the latest Checklists for British birds, dragonflies and butterflies - fully updated guide to around 370 UK bird/nature reserves - birding events diary for tide table information right through to April 2020 to help you get the best from your coastal birding trips - directories of wildlife lecturers/photographers, BTO speakers, art galleries, artists and trade outlets of interest to birdwatchers 12 December 2018 Wild New Forest Marcus Ward, Chair of the HOS Scientific subcommittee and part of the Wild New Forest team Marcus last talked to us in 2015 about the Woodland Birds of the New Forest. Since then, his untiring devotion to discovering more about New Forest birds, particularly Hawfinch and Firecrests, has vastly increased knowledge of how these birds use out local environment. 9 January 2019 Christchurch Harbour Chris Chapleo, Chair of CHOG (Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group) We stay in the local area for our first presentation of 2019, when we learn more about the birds of Christchurch Harbour. This is an area we usually visit twice each year with field trips to Hengistbury Head and Stanpit Marsh. Chris Chapleo is a university lecturer with over 40 years experience of birding all over the world. You can learn more about CHOG and recent sightings from their website at

14 UPDATES The RSPB New Forest Local Group maintains a BLOG at We have recently made changes that will allow you to receive an to let you know when a new item has been posted on the Blog. To get yourself onto the distribution list, visit the website and select Contact Us, which will up a contact form. Enter your name and address and click the Subscribe radio button. There is no need to enter anything in the comments field. Your will not be provided to any third parties or used for any purpose other than informing you of a new post on the website. FUNGI AT FRANCHISES LODGE A stroll round the woodland at Franchises Lodge in October reveals a wealth of fungi, including this strangely shaped white saddle fungus. All images by Chris Robinson or Tony Bates unless otherwise credited The RSPB is the UK s largest nature 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 play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no , Scotland no. SC037654