The West Midland Bird Report
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE WEST MIDLAND BIRD REPORT No. 19 PRICE SIX SHILLINGS PUBLISHED JUNE 1953 A Common Tern photographed at its nest in Staffordshire. This is the first breeding record of the species in the county and one of the very few records of breeding inland. Photograph by A. W. Ward. i Little Ringed Plover. Again a first breeding record for Staffordshire. It is only; within the last fifteen years that this bird has been breeding within the British Isles and it is still amongst the rarest of British breeding birds. Photograph by Stanton Whitaker. '*' 0 ' £ Little Ringed Plovers at their nest in Staffordshire. It will be seen that the male bird is displaying to the female as she approaches the nest. The characteristic yellow orbital ring, which in the field is noticeable only at close quarters, stands out clearly in this and the preceding photograph. Taken by Stanton Whitaker. We are deeply indebted to Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Ward for the use of these excellent photographs, which record in such an attractive way, two of the most outstanding ornithological events in our area during the year. k THE WEST MIDLAND BIRD REPORT No. 19 BEING THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BIRMINGHAM AND WEST MIDLAND BIRD CLUB FOR 1952 ON THE BIRDS OF WARWICKSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE. CONTENTS OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE 5 CHANGE IN OFFICERS OF THE CLUB .... 5 EDITOR'S REPORT 6 SECRETARY'S REPORT 6 TREASURER'S REPORT S FIELD MEETINGS SECRETARY'S REPORT ... 8 ALVECOTE POOLS 9 DIURNAL MIGRATION NEAR WALSALL . .14 FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE BIRDS OF THE WEST BROMWICH AREA 17 CLASSIFIED NOTES 23 ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF MIGRANTS ... 47 LIST OF MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS . .50 FINANCIAL STATEMENT 58 4 OFFICERS & COMMITTEE, 1953. President : H. G. ALEXANDER, M.B.O.U., 144 Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak, Birmingham. Vice-President : W. E. GROVES, 4 Lyttleton Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Chairman and Acting Secretary : C. A. NORRIS, M.B.O.U., Sycamore Cottage, Clent, Worcestershire. Editor : J. LORD, "Orduna," 369 Chester Road, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield. Hon. Treasurer : G. C. LAMBOURNE, Cottage Farm, Ipsley, near Redditch. Field Meetings Secretary : A. T. CLAY, 93 Hamstead Hill, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham. Assistant Secretary: D. R. MIRAMS, 7 Treddles Lane, West Bromwich. Branch Representatives : KIDDERMINSTER BRANCH : C. R. MILLETT, 8 Manor Avenue, Kidderminster. STUDLEY BRANCH: Miss D. M. GARSTANG, Studley College, Studley, Warwickshire. EAST WARWICKSHIRE BRANCH : R. W. M. LEE, 9 Grasmere Avenue, Green Lane, Coventry. SOUTH WARWICKSHIRE BRANCH : Miss M. HAWKES, 54 Hathaway Lane, Stratford-upon-Avon. Committee : A. R. Blake, J. T. Barron, G. B. Hindle, Mrs. W. Larkin, D. R. Mirams, Mrs. M. Thursfield, W. B. Yapp. CHANGE IN OFFICERS OF THE CLUB No report on the events of 1952 would be complete without reference to the retirement from office of our Chairman, Mr. W. E. Kenrick. At the Annual Meeting early in the year Mr. Kenrick said that this would be the last time that he would fill the post and at the meeting in February, 1953, he stood down from the office that he had held with such distinction for the past seven years. The Committee wish to put on record their appreciation of the valuable service that Mr. Kenrick has rendered to the Club. At all times his wise counsel has been available and his business-like methods in conducting Committee Meetings, Ordinary Meetings and, perhaps most of all, our Annual General Meetings have been the envy of many another society. In Clubs such as ours, dependent entirely on voluntary effort and co-operation, it is the personal touch that counts for so much and it has been in just this direction that his leadership has proved of inestimable value and has enabled the Club to grow from a membership of just over seventy to its present size without undue stress and strain. We shall miss him. 5 EDITOR'S REPORT The Editor acknowledges the help received from many quarters. In particular, Miss M. Hawkes again undertook the compilation of the migrant arrival and departure tables and Mr. A. R. Blake assisted with the proofs of the Classified Notes. Fortunately the unrivalled knowledge of the Club's area possessed by the previous Editor has been at my disposal throughout. Amongst the features of the year's bird watching the occurrence of a Red-necked Phalarope and of a Grey Phalarope on the same date at Bellfields was noteworthy, and as this occurred at a week-end the fates were indeed kind. Breeding records of the Little Ringed Plover and Common Tern were new to the area and excellent photographs of these birds at the nest are reproduced in the Report. In a festive year the change from the traditional grey cover of the Report is perhaps not inappropriate. J. LORD. SECRETARY'S REPORT As in previous years my first duty is to express our thanks to Mr. Trenchard Cox and the City of Birmingham Art Gallery for the continued use of the Ethnological room for our meetings. This is a facility that is of very great value to the Club and one that is highly appreciated. The year has seen developments in several directions and the continuation of much work that was embarked upon in previous years. As in 1951 many members took part in the annual count of Heron's nests and, so far as is known, all the heronries in the three counties were visited and counted. With the Great Crested Grebe Census a more complete count than in previous years was achieved thanks to the energy of various members. Wildfowl counts have again been carried out and our thanks go to Mrs. Moore who has again undertaken all the administrative work in this direction. Several ringing expeditions have been organised and the last of these, to a new starling roost at Enville, resulted in a catch of 241 birds, the largest single night's catch that we have yet achieved. The Club's Heligoland trap lias been less successful than in the past, but has provided some good catches during the severe weather. In- dividual ringing has increased and it is hoped that during 1953 ail even further extension in this direction will take place. During the year nine bulletins were issued and these seem to have become a permanent feature of the Club. In particular their use by the region's Press has not infrequently focussed public attention on our activities and the interests which we hold dear. Particular examples were the shocking case of a Buzzard, caught in a gin trap, which I found, in a half starved condition, secured by the shattered 6 remains of a leg held in the steel teeth of the trap. Our efforts in the anti-egg-looting campaign have also attracted attention, but this is a problem that will remain so long as the existing legislation is based on an Act of Parliament that is incongruous and impossible to implement. The Club is doing all it can to support the National Societies in their efforts to remedy this matter. A new activity has been that of co-operation with the Nature Conservancy. Towards the end of the year I was approached about the desirability of scheduling a lake in Staffordshire as a site of special scientific importance, and, arising from this, it has been possible for nearly all the best places in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire to be scheduled in this way. What it actually means is simply that the local planning officers are notified and the scheduled areas are marked on the Town and Country Planning Authority's maps. As members will know, if it is intended to change the use to which a piece of land is put it is necessary first to get the consent of the County Planning Authority, and if this particular piece of land is already scheduled for some reason or other, planning permission would be withheld at least until the merits of the respective claims could be examined. In this way it is hoped to prevent unnecessary and ill-considered destruction of such places in our area as we consider to be ornitho- logically important. In the post war years the City of Birmingham has become famous, some, would say infamous, for its attitude towards the Starlings, of which some twenty thousand roost in the City Centre during the winter, and smaller numbers do so in the summer. The facts that buildings are defaced and the noise of several hundred on the Town Hall disturbs the concert goers cannot be denied, but whether this constitutes such a public nuisance as to warrant the persistent demands for extermination by some of the City Councillors is quite another question. Happily the first six or seven rounds in the contest have gone unquestionably to the Starlings and only those few buildings that are electrically wired on the cattle-fence principle have achieved immunity. Indoor meetings have again been well attended with an average of about 330 members and their friends coming to each meeting. The speakers have been : Eric Simms, P. H. T. Hartley, W. B. Alexander, J. Nelder, C. A. Norris, J. Boswell, with the R.S.P.B. films, and David Jenkins. As in the past we have been most fortunate in the way in which people have come, often from very considerable distances, to speak to us and we are most grateful. Finally I must express my thanks and that of the Club for the assistance I have been given during the year in many and varied directions. With our membership fluctuating between 450 and 500 a great deal of routine work is involved and the bulk of this is done by Mr.