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SCOTTISH BIRDS u~ '~~J )~ ! \ "-~ ~P ' --p "'-- ->1 ~"*'IiiI THE JOURNAL OF THE SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' CLUB Volume 8 No. 5/6 SPRING/SUMMER 1975 Price 75p BILL SIN CLAIR Wild Life sound recordist of the year recording Crested Tits at Landmark, Carrbridge. Hear Sinclair Sound in the new Multi Screen Wild Life Programme at : Lanclmarl=l CARRBRIDGE Inverness-shire Open all year. Tel. Carrbridge 613 EXHIBITION - MULTI-SCREEN THEATRE - BOOK & CRAFT SHOP RESTAURANT AND BAR - NATURE TRAIL - PICNIC AREA Zeiss 8x20B "Unbelievable'" said John Gooders, the celc~br'lted author and ornithologist "with the new centre focusing, the 8 x20B is an amazing achievement When it comes to originality, even the clever orientals cannot compete with West German Zeiss!' The central focus adjustment is just right for finger tip operation, the binoculars are ideal for use with or without spectacles, and the whole design and finish are up to the highest Carl Zeiss standards. 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The authors have been studying In addition to its unique identification of the 38 species of golf course, it has fine loch European raptors for many years, fishings, sea bathing, tennis, and their papers from British Birds bowls, hill climbing, unrival have ~een revised, expanded and led scenery, including inex rearranged to produce this book. haustible subjects for the lan Wtllis's superb drawings and field sketcher and artist and sketches. plus 178 photographs is an ornithologist's paradise. specially chosen to illustrate It is, indeed, impossible to aspects of identification. combine find elsewhere so many nat with a succinct and detailed text ural amenties in so small a to achieve the definitive study compass. of this. challenging and absorbing subject. The astonishing dinrsity " ... this international team of of bird life in the vicinity experts must be congratulated has been well known to or a superb guide, invaluable to nithologists for many yean, every pirdwatcher" but it is stilI possible to make surpriSing discoveries Habitqt (Council for Nature) in Sutherland. £4.80 net The Hotel is fully modern, WATCHING BIRDS but retains its old world charm of other days, and en James Fisher & Jim Flegg joys a wide renown for its The B.T.O.'s Director has revised comfort and fine cuisine. and updated the late James ~ . Fully descriptive broeh.. Fisher's deservedly popular , ures, including birdwatching, introduction to the world of birds will gladly be forwarded on and the practice of birdwatching. request. Central Heating. - £2.80 net - Proprietor;- Mrsl(-'i-iEXiEY T. & A. D. POYSER LTD 281 High Street, Berkhamsted, Gerqe & Lock-ups avallable Herts. HP4 1AJ. AA. R.A.c. R.5.A.C. 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(SB} 12th SEASON OF SWANS BIG GAME & BIRDS SAFARIS VISITING THESE NATIONAL PARKS AND GAME RESERVES Nairobi, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Samburu, Islolo. Tsavo, Ambosell, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Mara and Aberdare In Kenya and Tanzania. GUEST LECTURERS accompany each Safari and their expert and personal knowledge of East Africa-Its animals, birds, history, peoples and customs provides an unrivalled opportunity, not only to view the ever decreasing wildlife in Its natural habitat, but also to give an Insight into the problems of its preservation and the conservation of land needed by Africa's deveioping nations. A holiday that can open up new vistas of Interest 1975 DEPARTURES Aug. 7,28; Sept. 18; Oct. 9, 30; Dec. 18. 1976 DEPARTURES Jan. 15, 22, 29; Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26; Mar. 4; June 24; July 15; Aug. 5, 26; Sept. 16; Oct. 7, 28; Nov. 18; Dec. 16. 21 days £515 12-~ /VU colour brochure avaUabZ. SWANS SPECIALISED SAFARIS 237 (P20) Tottenham Court Road, London, W1 P OAL. Telephone 01-636 8070 C.A.A. Licence ATOL1898 SCOTTISH BIRDS TIlE JOURNAL OF TIlE SCOTIISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' CLUB 21 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5BT (tel. 031 • 556 6042) Contents of Volume 8, Number 5/6, Spring/Summer 1975 Page Editorial 293 Dispersal of first-year Gannets from the Bass Rock (A. Landsborough Thomson) 295 Wintering wader populations on the rocky shores of eastern Scotland (R. W. Summers, N. K. Atkinson and M. Nicoll) 299 Scottish winter Rook roost survey-{;entral and northern Scotland (J. H. B. Munro) 309 Short Notes First days in the life of a Black-throated Diver (Seton Gordon) 319 Fulmar behaviour (John Warham) 319 Leach's Petrel breeding on Foula (A. R. Mainwood) 321 Another Kittiwake movement in the Firth of Forth (Gerard L. Sandeman) 324 A cause of decline in farmyard House Martin colonies (David W . Oliver) 325 Obituary: Tom Paterson (R. M. Ramage) 328 A Stirling Conference (Muriel Draper) 328 Reviews The Mitchell Beazley World Atlas of Birds (R. D. Murray) 331 Animals of Asia: The Ecology of the Oriental Region by J. and K. MacKinnon (JuJian Clough) 332 The Life of Birds by Jean Dorst (I. Newton) 333 The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Birds' Eggs and Nesting Habitats by Siegtried Hoeher (l-iarvey J. Burton) 333 Bird Ringing by Chris Mead (Robert L. Swann) 334 Natural History Photography edited by Derek Turner Ettlinger (C. K. Mylne) 335 Flight Identification of European Raptors by R. F. Porter, Ian Willis, Steen Christensen and Bent Pors Nielsen (Douglas Weir) 336 Butterflies of the World by H. L. Lewis (Harry Greig) 337 Seal Song by Michael Clegg (Harry Greig) 337 Request for Information 338 Scottish Ornithologists' Club 338 Editor D. J. Bates Business Editor Major A. D. Peirse-Duncombe ~B APPEAL Save a Place for Birds • STOP PRESS! Huge purchase of Scottish land will be announced in September. OUR AIM To save. and preserve for their own sake and for our enjoyment and that of future generations. valuable and irreplaceable communities of birds. And to conserve them in their natural environment. OUR METHOD To buy land that these bird communities inhabit. to give permanent sanctuary to the birds and other forms of wildlife that exist there by creating a number of new reserves owned and managed by the RSPB. Write or phone for colour brochure giving more details. ROYAL SOCIETY FOR TIlE PROTECTION OF BIRDS OUR TARGET 17 REGENT TERRACE. EDINBURGH. The sum of £1 million. a substantial target but one that we 031556 5624 know to be necessary in these days of relatively high land values. SCOTTISH BIRDS THE JOURNAL OF THE SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' CLUB Vol. 8 No. 5/6 Spring/Sununer1975 Edited by D. J. Bates Editorial Scottish Birds Once again readers are owed an apology, this time for the comparatively small size of this issue. When it was decided to combine the journal for Spring and Summer this year to help bring it back on time, a double-sized number was promised. Unfortunately, printing sufficient material at this time would have meant further delay and the Management Committee has decided that earlier publication, regardless of size, would be more acceptable. We nonetheless expect to be functioning normally by early 1976. New Club Group The formation of a new SOC Group in the Wigtown District is announced in the Club Section later in this issue. Any member in an area not already covered by an existing Branch or Group, who would like advice regarding the formation of a new Group, may write to the Club Secre tary who will always be pleased to help. In order to encourage membership of the Club, Council agreed in 1963 that, with its approval, a number of members in an area not well covered by an existing Branch could be formed into a Group.