News & views from the Lincoln Local Group - RSPB Lincoln Local Group
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
News & views
from the Lincoln Local Group
Winter/Spring 2021
Australia
Back in October 2019 we embarked on a four-
Photo: John and Brenda Edlington
week holiday to Australia. The main purpose
was to attend our niece’s wedding on Fraser
Island, north of Brisbane.
We wanted to see as much of Australia as we
could, so we set an ambitious schedule starting
in Cairns in the north, before driving 2,500 miles
all the way down to Sydney. Although not a
birding holiday, we were determined to do a bit
of spotting on the way. We were well prepared,
as well as packing binoculars, we had been
kindly loaned bird and nature books by
Margaret Lunn, and Angela and Mike Australian pelican
Catchpole.
and osprey. On returning to Cairns, the beach
We decided to travel to Australia as direct as was populated with many more birds including
we could, but we did have a seven hour stop whimbrel, black-tailed godwit, black-fronted
over at Singapore Airport, which gave us our dotterel, Australian white ibis, Australian
first nature opportunities to visit the very pelican, gull-billed tern and masked lapwing.
interesting orchid, butterfly and sunflower
gardens all situated in the airport. While at Cairns we took the impressive
Kuranda Scenic Railway to the village of the
Once settled in Cairns, we took a day trip to the same name, up in the rainforest. Our best bird
Great Barrier Reef, where we had excursions there was the yellow-bellied sunbird, which had
on a semi-submersible and a glass-bottomed built its complex nest on a canopy above the
boat. On board we saw many colourful fish, station platform.
giant clams and green turtles, before spending
time walking round Green Island. The bird life On our final day at Cairns, we drove up the
was used to regular visitors and was fairly coast to Port Douglas and then inland to
tame. The most common bird was the buff- Mossman Gorge, where we had excellent views
banded rail; other sightings included bridled of colourful figbird and honeyeater. At dusk we
tern, eastern reef egret, tattler, golden plover returned to Cairns town to visit a large fruit bat
colony in time to see a wonderful display as
they began their night flight.
Photo: John and Brenda Edlington
The following day we began our long drive
down the coast, much of the scenery was
uninteresting, sugar cane fields and parched
grassland, so we diverted towards South
Mission Beach. Our main reason was that it
was a known area for cassowaries. We saw the
signs stating that we were entering a cassowary
area and laughed, but round the next corner, to
our amazement, there stood a cassowary
grazing on the verge. Fortunately, we were able
to pull up and Brenda had the camera ready
and got a few shots from the car as
Cassowary
cassowaries can be dangerous.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654
On our journey down the coast, we visited
Photo: John and Brenda Edlington
Townsville, Airlie Beach (where we took a day
trip to the Whitsunday Islands) and Gladstone
before we reached the ferry to take us to Fraser
Island - reputedly the largest sand island in the
world.
The first full day on the island was a very
enjoyable day devoted to the wedding, which
was held on the beach. On the following day we
booked an island tour. The full day tour took us
to forests, lakes, streams and 75-mile beach. In
the evening we had a nature tour led by an
enthusiastic local ranger who sought out cane
toad, sugar glider, funnel web spiders and
scorpions on land, and rays and turtles in the
sea. Regent bower bird
The following day we returned to the mainland The following morning, we had booked on a
and drove down to Brisbane, where we stayed guided walk to one of the local waterfalls. With
for two nights seeing the urban side of only six people on the walk, we were able to
Australia, although the botanical gardens were find out much more about the local flora and
interesting. We used the free hop-on hop-off fauna. During the walk we saw many birds
river ferry to get about the city. including eastern spinebill, logrunners, black-
faced monarch, whipbird and satin bowerbird.
Our next stop was O’Reilly’s Rainfall Retreat,
In the afternoon we took a walk around the
which was recommended to us by Mike Willey
grounds and saw white-browed scrubwren, red-
and we understand has also been visited by a
browed finch, superb wren, brush turkey,
number of Lincoln group members. With only a
superb fairy wren, golden whistler and Lewin’s
short trip to O’Reilly’s we arrived before lunch,
honeyeater. We also had good views of a small
despite the last 25 miles being a winding single-
kangaroo called a red-necked pademelon.
track road climbing 3,000 feet high into the
rainforest. On our last morning at O’Reilly’s, we were up
early for the 6.45 am guided bird walk. It began
In the afternoon we watched flight
with a morning feed which brought in king
demonstrations and a talk with owls, kites,
parrot, crimson rosella and regent bowerbird.
kestrels and vultures. We then visited the
On the short walk we saw eastern yellow robin,
treetop walk and mountain gardens where we
yellow-throated scrubwren, pied currawong and
saw a number of colourful birds, some of which
ended up at the bower (nest) of the satin
were too elusive to be identified. We returned
bowerbird. This nest, decorated with blue items
for afternoon tea before watching an interesting
such as bottle tops, apparently had been filmed
film on the superb lyrebird.
in many wildlife documentaries including those
made by David Attenborough, who had visited
this site.
Our next destination was the Gold Coast. The
Photo: John and Brenda Edlington
journey south gave us few opportunities for bird
watching. We stopped at Coffs Harbour and
Newcastle before we headed inland for the Blue
Mountains. We passed through the wine
growing area of Hunter Valley before climbing
into the mountains. We stayed in Katoomba for
two nights and enjoyed some wonderful
scenery by day and, with little light pollution,
some superb views of the night sky. On our full
day at Katoomba we visited Scenic World, and
on the forest walk we were excited to see
Black-faced monarch glimpses of the elusive superb lyrebird.
2
Photo: John and Brenda Edlington
Satin bowerbird
After the Blue Mountains we dropped down to
Sydney where we spent our last three days.
Bird watching was limited to the many tamer
species in the botanical gardens and beaches
around Sydney harbour.
We had a wonderful holiday and saw many
species of birds. When the current restrictions are
over, we would thoroughly recommend a trip to
Australia for those who have not been before.
John and Brenda Edlington
RSPB Lincoln Local Group
the last decade, this has also helped to shine a
Another one bites the dust light on areas where crimes against birds of
prey are still rife.
The illegal poisoning of a young white-tailed
A Scottish Government review of the fates of
eagle on a grouse moor in Aberdeenshire this
satellite-tagged golden eagles, published in
April was a shock to all of us involved in the
2017, proved that birds were disappearing,
fight against wildlife crime. “The death of this
presumed killed, almost exclusively in areas
bird was particularly sickening as it represented
the future," says Ian Thomson, Head of managed intensively for driven grouse shooting.
Investigations. lt had fledged from a nest in A subsequent review recommended licensing
Strathspey and was the first of a new grouse shooting.
generation of white-tailed eagles originating "It is clear from the killing of this white-tailed
from the East of Scotland re-introduction - the eagle, and other crimes against our birds of
first ‘grandchild’ of the original released birds. prey this year, that this should happen urgently,”
“While this was the first poisoning of an eagle Ian says.
detected in Scotland since 2013, it was in an Recently a satellite tag, wrapped in a sheet of
area with an appalling history of poisonings, lead, was recovered from the River Braan in
shootings and illegal trap use,” says lan. "Plus Perth and Kinross. The number on the side of
suspicious disappearances of satellite-tagged the tag identified it as the one that had been
birds of prey, including the first white-tailed fitted to a golden eagle chick in 2014. It had
eagle to fledge in the east of Scotland in over mysteriously stopped transmitting in 2016.
100 years.” When recovered it was found that the aerial had
Most of these crimes would have gone been cut off the transmitter and the transmitter
undetected had the victims not been fitted with had been wrapped in a sheet of lead and
satellite transmitters. This enables thrown into the river. The bird had obviously
conservationists to study the movements of been disposed of. It is high time that the
perpetrators of these wildlife crimes are brought
many species of birds throughout the world.
to justice.
But, in the UK, and particularly in Scotland over
3
COVID THE LOCKDOWN
The garden and further afield. Wildlife, GREENSPACES NATURE
peace, quiet – the future!
FULLY GUIDED BIRD and WILDLIFE WATCHING HOLIDAYS and
Well, I suppose none of us saw it coming, it’s TOURS at a variety of UK locations.
hard to recollect with all that has since
happened, that our wildlife in most cases has Our small groups allow us to give a personal service, it is about the watching
not the listing !
flourished even though covid-19 has been
traced back to wildlife wet markets in China.
DATES FOR 2021.
I remember being in Yorkshire on the 11th of NORTH NORFOLK in Winter - 4 nights - 24th to 28th January
March with clients looking for sleepy adders - DUMFRIES and the SOLWAY - 4 Nights - 6th to 11th February
we did find one - and having the discussion SOMERSET - The LEVELS and beyond - 4 nights - 14th to 19th May
around the wet weather over the winter and The FARNE ISLANDS and the NORTHUMBRIAN COASTLINE
how this would impact our wildlife. Some - 1st to 6th June
migration was already underway as we had a AUTUMN in SPEYSIDE, the CAIRNGORMS and MORAY
look around North Cave wetlands in the - 7 nights - 16th to 23rd October.
-
afternoon. ALL OF OUR TOURS GIVE GREAT PHOTOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES
So, onto lockdown, surreal doesn’t describe it A VARIETY of OTHER EVENTS are AVAILABLE FROM TALKS to DAY TRIPS and
but it gave a great chance to focus on what was ONE DAY WORKSHOPS.
www.stevelovellgreenspaces.co.uk
happening in the garden, thankfully the weather for further information see :-
email - stephenlovell58@btinternet.com
was glorious over the first few weeks and spring
came at great speed. On the butterfly front 13 or call Steve on 07957618 684 or 01522 689456
species were seen over a ten-week period,
brimstones, commas, holly blues amongst them
and it was particularly interesting to see which
plants they preferred to feed from. On the
bumblebee front catmint (nepeta six hills giant) old bird feeders to assist them in nest building.
was an absolute magnet. It was just so funny to see a blue tit with a
With three feeding stations and a variety of nest bandito moustache of wool entering the box,
boxes dotted around, birds were seen in good they were meticulous in their nest building, bits
numbers. Of particular interest were a pair of of moss would be brought out of the box if they
blue tits which gave a personal insight into their were not quite right. One other problem was a
behaviour. The male with his intense blue grey squirrel which was showing interest in the
crown, apparently this is a major factor which contents of the box so this is where black Gaffer
helps the female to pick her mate, he was really tape came in handy as it was wound around the
busy around the nest site. It was incredible to box several times, as a precaution. It certainly
watch him chase off another interloper and also did the trick. Finally, five chicks fledged from the
a great tit which he obviously felt had nest box box, having a check at a later date revealed an
squatters’ intentions. Then it came to the choice emaciated, dried chick and one egg that had
of materials, I offer moss and sheep’s wool in failed to hatch, so a 71% success rate.
So, onto the starlings, one of my favourite birds,
Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
we are never ever short of them with over 60
coming in to feed on mealworms during the
winter.
They do nest in a couple of boxes secured on
the house. I used to have them in the trees but
the local squirrels had a fun time munching
them. Nesting time saw starlings arriving to
feed on the pre-soaked mealworms being
offered on the ground and in the specially
adapted trays. This was the funny part where
individuals would cram their beaks in puffin/
sand eel fashion before flying back to their nest
Starling site. Pre-soaking them in warm water enables
4
them to get both food and moisture back to their
Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)
chicks. It didn’t stop there, when fledged they all Sand martin
brought their young back to the bountiful
supplementary feeding station. It was also a
bonus to see that the local house sparrows had
managed to rear three young.
With all of the comings and goings, it was
presenting great photographic opportunities
with use of natural perches, positioning and
creating a home-made hide from an old fishing
umbrella with green windbreak netting around
it, it certainly worked. With time available and front migrants started to arrive with a flourish in
peace and quiet the brushes and watercolours early April with sand martins hawking over the
found their way out of the cupboard on the odd lakes closely followed by the various members
occasion. of the warbler family, with conditions allowing
you to sort out your chiffs, blackcaps, whites
With the weather warming it was also wake up and lessers along with just so many garden
time for the resident hedgehogs, with the warblers, there must have been close to 30
camera trap showing lots of activity at the three individuals of this particular species around the
night-time feeding stations, where hedgehog complex, all of this against a backdrop of
biscuits and meat-based jelly cat food was unworldly silence. A self-found male cuckoo,
offered. With decline of our hogs at a not calling, just sat in a tree near Teal Lake on
comparable rate to the decline of Bengal tigers the 17th of April represented one of, if not the
there are now only about a million hogs left, earliest in the county. Sadly, only two male
down from 30 million some 25 years ago. They nightingales took up residence near to Coot
are a fast-declining species and need all the Lake, these were suppressed by the reserve for
help they can get. There are a variety of ways conservation reasons, but it was incredible to
to help them – so, feeding is an obvious one, hear this song once again in what may prove to
creating gaps in our boundaries to interconnect be one of their final seasons at Whisby as their
our gardens as they can roam up to a kilometre range seems to shrink ever southwards in the
on their nightly forays, don’t be too tidy, cut UK. The earliest damselfly was a large red seen
down the use of pesticides and create log piles on the 18th. These are generally first on the
to encourage invertebrates. wing and I do see a lot of these around the
wildlife pond at home.
So, with everything going on at home, we were
also encouraged to go out for our daily Probably the most unusual sighting of lockdown
exercise. Whisby Nature Park became my ‘local was of a striped terrapin climbing up on to one
patch‘. What unconfined joy it brought. For a of the tern rafts on grebe lake, apparently it is
start the car park was closed, that in itself well known by the management team at Whisby
reduced numbers of people, dogs and children. and has been around a few years.
It was just so quiet and a totally different place
to normal, usually best avoided at weekends or For further exercise, many bike rides were
after 8 am in the morning. So, so different, undertaken of varying length in and around
birdsong was so loud with very little traffic on Lincoln, what a difference a lockdown makes,
the adjoining A46 bypass, wildlife was more the roads without some of the crazy car drivers
confiding, everything seemed so pristine. just a different world. Again, a myriad of
Conditions allowed great views of muntjac and different wildlife was seen with some of the best
roe deer with one brown hare a delight to watch wildlife sections being the Sustrans tracks,
and photograph at close quarters. On the bird particularly either side of Lincoln, a highlight
being a pair of grey wagtails feeding young
close to Stamp End Lock in Lincoln.
If you no longer wish to hear from RSPB Lincoln Local
Group, please contact Mel Thorn, T: 07774 667370 to
unsubscribe from communications, confirming your MANY THANKS TO OUR
name and address and stating that you wish to
unsubscribe from the RSPB Lincoln Local Group’s
ADVERTISERS AND SPONSORS
communications.
Please mention the RSPB when
For information about personal data use and your rights
see: rspb.org.uk/privacypolicy purchasing their products or services
5
Probably the most unusual sight at an unnamed
site, on a very warm day, was of a pair of gents
walking towards me along a designated track
wearing what I thought were pink suits it soon
became apparent they were only wearing
walking boots and socks, with a rucksack on
their backs. They were not even carrying
binoculars! Just where is one expected to look,
and do you say, “Hello, it’s a nice day for it isn’t it.”
As the season progressed, I had a call from
some friends at Waddington who had a mother
tawny owl with two well fledged young roosting
in an ash tree in their garden, would I like to go Tree Fen where European cranes had bred, the
and see them, you bet I would. This is on top of first for over 400 years in the county, just
barn owls and little owls being seen in the fields amazing, thanks to those who gave up many
to the rear of their house, that is just being too hours to make this happen. Lockdown in 2020
greedy for my liking as far as owls are what a year, has it anymore wildlife surprises in
concerned. store?
Once restrictions were eased it was permitted STOP PRESS! the long residing lammergeier
to go further afield, so meeting a long-standing (bearded vulture) left its Derbyshire roost and
friend at a lake in Nottinghamshire, it was more ventured into Norfolk on its way back to the
for the social than the fishing but from a birding Alps and it was observed for a short time at
perspective great views of two green Moulton Fen close to Spalding. I bet there are
woodpeckers feeding on the ground. But the many birders out there who never ever
best was yet to come. We had a red kite around dreamed of putting that one on their
all day constantly flying over the lake and it Lincolnshire list!
soon became apparent just why. It was looking
for any food items with the most interesting FOOTNOTE! whilst it does appear that 2020
being the moment it came down osprey like and has been a wildlife, cycling, walking and fishing
picked up a small dead fish off the water’s jolly, I had returned to my wildlife gardening/
surface in its talons before going to a nearby maintenance business for clients, as talks (53
tree to dispose of its new found bounty. Just cancelled so far) and wildlife holidays for clients
where did it learn this behaviour from? The were also cancelled for 2020, what truly strange
fishery owner had observed it doing it before times we live in. I just really hope we can all
but only in recent months. move forward with nature and the environment
at the apex of all future planning.
It was encouraging to see fledgling lapwings at
a local site which was managed to encourage Steve Lovell
this species but probably the biggest news so RSPB Lincoln Local Group
far in 2020 in Lincolnshire came from the
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Willow
Bogs Need Water Not Fire
The RSPB is calling on government to
Nick Upton (rspb-images.com)
introduce a ban on burning upland peatlands
(including blanket bog and wet heath) in
England as part of our shared fight against the
ecological and climate emergencies. Ending
burning will help prevent damage to these
peatlands’ precious wildlife and vital carbon
stores and will give the best chance to efforts to
restore these amazing peatlands to full health.
You can find out more about upland burning
and the recently launched mapping and
reporting system at www.rspb.org.uk/
Common crane
uplandburning where there is a link to contact
the team with any questions.
6
Local wildlife sightings
Nature notes from my North Hykeham
garden nature reserve
May: With the relaxation in lockdown rules this
month I have had two field trips out in the car
while still remaining fairly close to home. The
first was to Southrey Wood on 15th May where
I encountered far fewer people than on my local
patch.
In normal circumstances I would pay my first
visit of the year to the area in April to take in the
sight of the wood anemones which carpet the
floor of the wood like snow. While there was the
odd flower here and there, it was rather late in
the season for them. However, there was plenty
of other flora including lesser celandine,
tormentil, greater stitchwort, yellow archangel,
bugle, a few bits of ragged robin and a patch of
early purple orchids. There must have been
some devils bit scabious too as I even saw a
couple of marsh fritillaries! I've not seen them
there before so that was quite a highlight of the
day.
Other insect sightings included my first large
red damselfly and four-spotted chaser dragonfly in the wood was that of a hare which I would
of the year, a red-headed cardinal beetle, lots of usually only ever come across in fields.
dark bush cricket nymphs, various nomada
bees, a dark-edged bee-fly, common malachite The following week on 20th May (the hottest
beetle, golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle, day of the year so far!) I visited Chambers Farm
tortoise beetle, cinnabar moth and both male Wood. Although the car park had been re-
and female orange tips (my first females of the opened the facilities remained closed as
year). expected. There were a few other cars but it
wasn't too busy so it didn't create a problem for
The air was alive with birdsong; common social distancing.
whitethroat, garden warbler, blackcap, chiffchaff
and willow warbler. Actually managed my first With marsh fritillaries on the wing, I was already
sighting of willow warbler, as well as seeing encountering the smaller males before I'd even
whitethroat again and yellowhammer. There reached their stronghold, Little Scrubbs
were a couple of birds of prey overhead in the Meadow, so I guessed they'd be out in good
form of a buzzard and a sparrowhawk too as I numbers and I wasn't disappointed. The
sat eating a picnic lunch. A surprising encounter majority of them were busy nectaring on the
white flowers of dewberry along the edge of the
meadow and while most of those seen
appeared to be males, there were a few
females too. I expect numbers will now be at
Photo: Peter Skelson
their peak.
Other new insect sightings included grizzled
skipper, wasp beetle, black-spotted longhorn
beetle, cucumber spider (green as the name
suggests!), a male broad-bodied chaser as well
as a few burnet moth cocoons on blades of
grass in the meadow. Also, quite a large
common lizard on a log pile in the middle of the
Marsh fritillary meadow.
7
Again, plenty of birdsong although with the
trees in full leaf I didn't see any of them this
time. As well as the usual warblers I also heard
(finally!) my first cuckoo of the year, a green
woodpecker and a tawny owl.
So, two very enjoyable and refreshing escapes
from lockdown!
June: The song thrush continues to visit my
garden on a regular basis and on 12th June
even proudly showed off the whole family,
bringing along his partner and two young
offspring! It only happened on the one occasion
so it felt a special privilege to witness and it was
heartening to learn they are thriving in the
neighbourhood. I've also had juvenile robins,
dunnock, blue tits, goldfinch, starling and more
blackbirds in the garden.
Summer thus far has been rather more
unpredictable than the exceptional Spring
weather. Nevertheless, on the warmer, sunnier
days there has been plenty of insect activity. I
discovered a clutch of around 30 bright green
eggs, rather like miniature peas, on the back of
a leaf of my garden variety of hoary ragwort.
Realising that they were nothing like the eggs
of the white butterflies, I was curious as to
what they might be so put them in a pot and
waited for them to hatch! To my surprise they
conditions were conducive. I ran it overnight
transpired to be green shield bugs!! Before
and was amazed by the quantity and quality of
reaching adulthood, the young are referred to
moths attracted to it by morning. I had 60 pots
as instars which look quite different to the
ready in which to put the moths for ID purposes
adult bug and mine were the first instar which
and needed all of them both times! Although
would be followed by three more as they
there were some duplicates, it wasn't that many,
transform again and again. On 20th June I saw
so trying to ID them all was quite a challenge
my first brown hawker of the year in the
and in the end I managed around half. Easily
garden as well as a meadow brown newly on
the most impressive were the hawk-moths of
the wing.
which I had an eyed, privet and two elephant
Earlier this year I acquired an old Skinner moth the first-time round. On the second occasion as
trap and used it for the first time on two I approached the trap, I was immediately
separate occasions in June when the weather alerted to there being a good number of hawk-
moths by the loud banging and clattering noises
coming from within! In fact, this time there were
Photo: Sue Robey
eight in total; four elephant, three privet (see
photo) and a poplar.
The elephant hawk-moth was particularly
nostalgic as I saw my first one at the age of
nine or ten. I recall being transfixed by the sight
of large numbers of the larvae on a patch of
rosebay willowherb. "What on earth could these
monsters looking similar to the trunk of an
elephant be?" I wondered. So, I carefully
transported one back home along with its larval
food plant and reared it to adulthood in a jam
jar. Imagine my sheer delight as I marvelled at
Privet hawk-moth the spectacular pink and lime green creature
8
Sightings in Scopwick
Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
Birds seen in Scopwick and the local area from
June to November during walks around our
village. In the summer swifts and house martins
had a very good year but swallows not so good.
Song thrushes have also done well. A kingfisher
was seen flying down The Beck. Other birds of
interest were common whitethroat, chiffchaff,
blackcap and green woodpecker. We often see
buzzards and sparrowhawks. On the last day of
October, we saw the largest flock of corvids we
have ever seen in Scopwick. At least 500 birds,
mainly jackdaws. But the highlight of the year
Song thrush
has been at least 20 sightings of red kites,
that emerged from the cocoon. Nowadays it's mainly single birds, but on one day in August
highly unlikely you would come across such we saw five in the air together.
huge numbers of the caterpillar in one place as
I did back in the late 1960s. As an adult I've Mike and Carol
only ever come across the odd one. RSPB Lincoln Local Group
It's amazing how well camouflaged moths can Sightings in Washingborough in May
be, none more so than the buff-tip which looks
Birds: Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wood
remarkably similar to a broken birch twig.
Pigeon, Blackbird, Robin, Long-tailed Tit, Great
Having only seen them in pictures before I was
Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Carrion Crow,
delighted to discover not just one but four in
Magpie, Starling, Dunnock, Stock Dove,
my second trap. I have always been fascinated
Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Buzzard, Black-
by the intriguing names of some moths which
headed Gull, Swift, Kestrel, Collared Dove,
are often based on the appearance of either
Herring Gull and Tawny Owl (heard but not
the moth itself or behaviour of the caterpillar.
seen).
Some of the more descriptive of those I caught
were the spectacle (which does indeed look Butterflies: Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Peacock
like it's wearing a pair of spectacles!), the and Brimstone.
flame, bird's wing, burnished brass, black
neck, beautiful hook-tip, snout and small Mammals: Muntjac with fawn, Grey Squirrel
blood-vein. and Hedgehog. The grey squirrel had somehow
managed to worm its way into my squirrel-proof
A walk across the Meadows, my local patch, on bird feeder. Quite how it managed it is a
26th June when the weather was warm and mystery and an even bigger mystery how it got
sunny proved particularly productive. Small out again after eating all that food!
tortoiseshells were plentiful as usual with the
addition of meadow brown, ringlet, large Alan Smith
skipper, green-veined white and a red admiral. RSPB Lincoln Local Group
There was a new insect discovery identified
later as a tiger cranefly which had, as the name
suggests, a striking yellow and black body.
Odonata were out in force on the River Witham
with a male emperor dragonfly chasing the
abundance of banded demoiselles and two
male black-tailed skimmers attempting the
same before being seen off by the larger
emperor.
Photo: Alan Smith
So already we are half way through the year
and I wonder what new discoveries there will be
to come?
Sue Robey
RSPB Lincoln Local Group Alan’s squirrel-proof bird feeder
9
Big Garden Birdwatch 2021
Eleanor Bemtnall (rspb-images.com)
Our next Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW) will
take place on Friday 29, Saturday 30 and
Sunday 31 January 2021.
Once again, we will be calling on people across
the UK to spend an hour watching and
recording the birds in their garden, balcony or
local park, and send their results to the RSPB.
Close to half-a-million people join in the
Birdwatch every year, and each person’s
sightings helps build the bigger picture and an
annual snapshot of how our birdlife is doing. RSPB/ALDI Wild Challenge Gold Awarded Tiverton
Primary School taking part in activities including topping
Over the last few months, we’ve seen how up bird feeders, Harringay, London, June 2019
important the natural world is to our mental
health and wellbeing. There has been a surge
in interest in the nature on our doorsteps and our very survival: for some, nature has been a
many people have come to rely on garden birds lifeline during lockdown; for others its absence
to bring joy and comfort in these unsettling has been only too obvious.
times. In 2010, the UK committed to global targets that
The RSPB website has been updated to make would halt biodiversity loss by 2020. In a report
it easier to take part online. We are also released in September, it was revealed that the
focusing just on birds - we won’t be collecting UK had failed to meet those targets. However,
data on other wildlife sightings. it's also clear that we still have time to halt and
even reverse the damage resulting from climate
Forty-two years on, 144 million birds have been change and the loss of nature.
counted - giving the RSPB an astonishing
amount of insight into how our wildlife is faring. In light of this, we have launched Revive Our
An easy, inclusive activity, it's a hugely World, a campaign demanding ambitious action
successful example of lots of people working from our government to build a world that is
together to make a difference for nature. safe, clean, and full of green! Starting with a call
Visit www.rspb.org.uk/bgbw for more for legally binding targets that will ensure
information and ideas. nature’s recovery, the campaign has already
seen 75,000 sign ups!
In November 2021, Glasgow will be playing
Revive Our World host to a global climate conference – this is a
This year has shown that a world rich in nature huge opportunity for the UK to demonstrate this
is important not only for people's wellbeing and ambition on a global stage. So, now is our
happiness but also for our economic future and opportunity to collectively call on the
government. Over the next 18 months, we will
have a whole host of actions that you can take
to try and secure the best possible outcome for
Eleanor Bemtnall (rspb-images.com)
nature and the climate, including the
Environment Bill in England, the Continuity Bill
in Scotland, and Green Recovery demands in
Northern Ireland and Wales.
If you would like to join us in calling for action,
you can sign up here:
www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/
stories/revive-our-world-launch2/
Every voice added will be used to show political
Stills from RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch TV leaders across the UK the strength of the
advertisement, nature vlogger George Hassall topping public’s support for nature’s recovery.
up bird feeders, Bedfordshire.
10Hogilo Hedgehog Home recall
Photo © rspb-images .com
The RSPB has recently withdrawn the Hogilo
Hedgehog Home from sale from our stores and
online shop, due to some evidence from
hedgehog rescuers of hedgehogs getting their
spikes stuck in the brushwood and metal frame.
This started when Aldi were promoting a similar
one for sale and it came to light that ours were
from the same supplier. If you have one of
these hedgehog homes it should be replaced
with a different type. However, don’t disturb any
hibernating hedgehog, wait until spring to
remove it.
The Hogilo is the one pictured, made of
The Hogilo Home
brushwood with a wire frame.
Just putting out kitchen scraps - bread crumbs,
stale cake, cooked potato and bruised apples
Winter - a time for good birds can help thrushes, sparrows and starlings.
Sunflower hearts are favourite for blue, great
Winter can be a great time for birdwatchers and
and coal tits, greenfinches and sparrows, even
can give you the best bird record of the year
robins in some places have learnt to hang on to
close to home. There could be a magical sight
feeders. And if you are lucky, a nuthatch may
in your own garden if a group of waxwings,
visit your feeding area too. Cheese, fat or suet
wanderers from Scandinavia, choose to settle
may attract a great spotted woodpecker, and
in your cotoneaster bush.
finches, tits
At the same time, thousands of birds face death and others will
Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)
from starvation if the weather gets tough. Frost enjoy it too. If,
locks away the worms beneath solid ground, instead of
making the job of keeping alive very difficult for hanging it out
lapwings, golden plovers and thrushes. Ice in a wire
stops kingfishers and herons from reaching fish. basket, you
For many of them, there is little we can do but smear it in
hold our breath, cross our fingers and hope for crevices in the
a sudden thaw. bark of a tree,
or even in
For others, we can certainly help by putting holes in a Rough-legged buzzard
food out for them. And it can be the difference specially
between life and death for many individuals. made stick, you will even help the birds that are
reluctant to visit bird tables. By treating them,
you will be providing yourself with some superb
Les Bunyan (rspb-images.com)
birdwatching from your own window.
Water is important, too. Even on the most
wretched day a starling will want a bath and a
robin will need to soak its plumage, fluff it back
into good condition and have a good drink.
Without it, they will be in trouble. So, put out a
dish and fill it daily with fresh water if it
becomes stale, soiled or frozen.
So, enjoy your winter's birdwatching. If you
have the luck to stumble across a really good
bird - a rough-legged buzzard over a marsh, a
glaucous gull on the playing field, a snow
bunting on the shore of the reservoir then thank
Glaucous gull the winter weather for it.
11Dates for your diary
January May
14 ON-LINE MEETING, Birdwatching and Bird 9 - 12 FOUR DAYS IN SOMERSET
Photography, an illustrated Zoom presentation Details from Mike on 01526 321917.
by Peter Skelson and Graham Mumby-Croft at
7.30 pm. 13 INDOOR MEETING. Details TBA.
Sponsored by Group members who wish to
29 to 31 BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH. Please remain anonymous.
spend an hour at some time over this weekend ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Group’s
watching and recording the birds in your AGM will be held at 9 pm following the talk and
garden, balcony or local park, and send the break for refreshments. Free admission from
results to the RSPB. Details in Nature's Home 8.45 pm for people only attending the AGM.
magazine.
16 COACH TRIP to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
February Potteric Carr. A reserve where all three species of
11 ON-LINE MEETING, The Birds of the woodpecker can be seen. Leave Lincoln 8.30 am.
Medway Estuary an illustrated Zoom Leave reserve 5 pm. C, H, NT, VC, WC. Adults
presentation by Edward Towne at 7.30 pm. £21. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust members £17.50.
Edward is a volunteer and member of the RSPB
Medway Local Group. 22 AFTERNOON VISIT to Chambers Farm
Wood. Meet at 1 pm in the car park.
March
Indoor meetings are held at Bishop Grosseteste
11 ON-LINE MEETING. A Zoom presentation University. Nature reserve facilities are shown
starting at 7.30 pm. Details TBA. thus: C = Café, H = Hides, NT = Nature Trail,
S = Shop, VC = Visitor Centre, WC = Toilets.
One child free for each full fare-paying adult
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE! booked on the Sunday coach trips (any
The following events have been rescheduled admission charges still apply).
from the 2020 programme and all details are To book coach trips or holidays
subject to confirmation. It will depend on the phone Mike on 01526 321917.
situation nearer the time of the event as to
whether it goes ahead or not. Please keep The Group’s website is:
checking the Group’s website for updates. www.lincolnrspb.org.uk
April
facebook.com/lincolnlocalgroup
8 INDOOR MEETING. Spurn: A Magical Place
by Rob Adams. Rob is Chairman of Spurn Bird
Observatory. Admission charge for RSPB The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature
members and students £4, for members of the conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give
public £5, please pay on the door. nature a home. Together with our partners, we
protect threatened birds and wildlife so our
18 COACH TRIP to RSPB Middleton Lakes. towns, coast and countryside will teem with life
The River Tame meanders through the reserve, once again. We also play a leading role in a
which is a mosaic of different habitats. Leave Lincoln worldwide partnership of nature conservation
8 am. Leave reserve 5 pm. Adults £22. C, H, NT, VC, WC. organisations.
Website: rspb.org.uk
28 AFTERNOON VISIT to Mike’s local patch.
Meet at 1 pm at the Royal Oak, Brookside, Scopwick
The RSPB Lincoln Local Group holds regular
LN4 3PA.
events to which RSPB members and members of
the public are welcome.
Any advertisements enclosed with this newsletter are
not specifically endorsed by the RSPB or the Lincoln
Website: lincolnrspb.org.uk
Local Group.
RSPB England HQ, 1st Floor, One Cromwell Street, Birmingham B3 2JN Artwork copyright RSPB
12You can also read
