Basingstoke Local Group Annual General Meeting
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BBAASSIINNGGSSTTOOKKEE LLOOCCAALL GGRROOUUPP APRIL 2017 NEWSLETTER http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke Contents: From The Group Leader Notices Annual General Meeting Big Garden Birdwatch What’s Happening? April’s Outdoor Meeting Evening Walks Programme May’s Outdoor Meeting March’s Outdoor Meeting Mad March ….. Moths! Sri Lanka: Kirinda Beach Resort & Yala NP Local Wildlife News Quiz ‘Page’ And Finally! Charity registered in England and Wales no. 207076 From The Group Leader Welcome to April, the Newsletter and, we can but hope, the real spring! With the lengthening days, further clement weather and multitude of Bank Holidays etc. in the offing you can but expect that there will be a great many birds and other wildlife reported, both locally and further afield, in the Newsletter – seemingly this having commenced already if this Newsletter is anything to go by! As always, this monthly hint at what’s happening in the world about us is entirely due to the contributions of those such as you, so, thank you and do please keep the sightings coming. They’re much appreciated and, I can but hope, I’m sure encourage others out in the field to make the most of that which we’re blessed with locally. With regard to sightings this Newsletter carries further news from the 2017 Big Garden Birdwatch, which I hope that you enjoyed participating in. The highlighted results, both national and local, I’m sure will give you food for thought. Once again, if you’ve any views on these inclusions or the Birdwatch please do let us know. The part played by the membership annually in this is incredible – I wonder just how many observers have taken part, how many hours they’ve put in and how many birds they’ve seen in the 39, yes 39, years of the Birdwatch? A little something for you to ponder on as your gardens appear to empty as the residents become ever more heavily involved in their breeding activities. The months of May and June are often the busiest for many birds, both resident and those freshly-arrived from the south, and it’s no different for many of those that find themselves attracted to their comings and goings. The first song of the Cuckoo and Nightingale, the first long-streamered Swallow moving overhead, the finding of an exquisite Long-tailed Tit nest, an unexpected Osprey* visiting a local ‘fishery’, the churring of a Nightjar or ‘tsikking’ of a roding Woodcock, Longparish here we come, an out-of-place pair of Bee-eater, the display flight of Little Ringed Plover over local gravel pits, drake Mandarin exposing themselves on a local pond, and so on; there’s just so much to look forward to in the coming weeks and months, and who knows just how much of it will we experience during the Evening Walks and Outdoor Meetings Programmes. There’s only one way to find out. So, I look forward to seeing you out on a trip or two, or more! Finally, all the very best for the coming ‘holiday’, when I hope that you find the time to enjoy both the local wildlife and the opportunity to get-together with family and friends. A Happy Easter to you and yours. Peter E. Hutchins * Been there, done it! Notices New Mailing Address Please be aware that due to the previous issues with the ‘normal’ mailing address a new one was created specifically for your enquiries, sightings, thoughts, gripes and groans and other input and anything else RSPB, wildlife-related or otherwise that you’d like to bring to the attention of the Group Leader / Committee. This is [email protected] and is available now for your use. The electronic versions of the February and March Newsletters have been forwarded from this mailing address so all those in receipt of these should now have the new mailing address to hand for future use. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Stamp Recycling Please do remember that the Local Group continues to collect, sort and forward used stamps to the Society for conversion in to yet more conservation-minded monies. The Local Group’s lucky enough to have Eileen Poulter continuing to do this on its’ behalf, so do please keep her busy! A convenient mnemonic... Remember Stamps Post to Bedfordshire Butterfly Walks In Hampshire And The Isle of Wight Butterfly Conservation Saving butterflies, moths and our environment A new book detailing 25 walks about the county and island where you’re most likely to bump in to these other airborne beauties. You can inspect some sample pages from the book here ... The Press Release about the book is available here ... To order your copy send a cheque for £7.25 (£6.00 for the guide and £1.25 for postage and packing) made payable to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch Butterfly Conservation, together with your name and postal address to: Kevin Freeborn, c/o Butterfly Conservation, Unit 2, Bull Pens, Manor Farm, Itchen Stoke, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 0QT Copies will also be available for purchase (cash only) from Jayne Chapman on the Wednesday Wanders, and Ashley Whitlock on the branch fieldtrips where he is the walk leader. Or to buy a copy online click here ... To report any inaccuracies in the book please email here. Brian’s Bees The honey that has been on sale at Indoor Meetings is still available! In three varieties! Thank you to all those that purchased this locally sourced product, and to all those that do you in the future! Please do remember when considering sourcing honey in the future that this is both locally produced, some of you may even know the bees, and that a donation to the Group is made on each purchase! Local Group Website The Local Group website continues to be worked upon by our trusted band of computer- literates, well Tim. Carr, so if you haven't been to the site recently, why not take a look and tell us what you think. Any thoughts on what we should, or should not, include within the site will always be appreciated, this then helping to make the site more relevant to current group members, and helping to get across the right message to potential members. Link: http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke/ Newsletter Mailings Do we have your email address? If not, please do pass it on so that the Group can communicate with you in a more environmentally sensitive manner! The monthly Newsletter being an example of this, saving resources, money and time by being mailed to you, rather than hard copies being created and perhaps only sitting partially read until the next one appears. With regard to this, it’s hoped, seemingly never-endingly, that the lack of hard copy will be resolved in the future! Bird Food We are happy to supply any bird food to you at any time, just call on 01256 – 770831, 07895 – 388378 or mail us on [email protected] and we will arrange delivery to you. If you have any requirements that are not listed, please do let us know and we will ensure that they are available when you, or your birds, need them. The below are examples of just a few of the items that we can supply. Please do enquire after anything else and we will provide you with a cost, time of delivery etc. As both of us are currently working in / about Basingstoke delivery can be expected to be completed within a day of an order being received – can you get that service anywhere else? Prices vary according to the seasonality of the foods, where we are able to source them from, and so on: Wild Bird Mix – Peanuts – Black Sunflowers – Sunflower Hearts – Niger – Fat Squares – Fat Pecker Balls – Birdboxes – Feeders – Wildfowl Food – Bat Boxes – Mealworms – Suet Pellets – Hedgehog Feeders. A variety of items will be available at most Indoor Meetings but if there is something ‘missing’ that you want, please do let us know. Peter & Alison Annual General Meeting THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS BASINGSTOKE LOCAL GROUP ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The thirty-eighth Annual General Meeting of the Basingstoke Local Group of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds will take place on Wednesday 17th May 2017 at The Barn, Church Cottage, Church Street, Basingstoke at 7.45pm. AGENDA 1. Chairman’s Introduction 2. Apologies for Absence 3. Minutes of the thirty-seventh Annual General Meeting 4. Matters Arising 5. Chairman’s Report 6. Treasurer’s Report 7. Appropriation of Surplus 8. Elections 9. Any Other Business Nominations for the Committee, together with the names of the proposer and seconder, should be given to the Secretary by Sunday 30th April 2017. Geoff Sharp Secretary 6 Big Garden Birdwatch Produces Large Numbers Of Winter Visitors Close to half a million people joined in the world's largest garden wildlife survey, counting more than eight million birds during the 38th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. The event held over the last weekend in January revealed an explosion in the number of recorded sightings of Waxwings. These attractive-looking birds appear in numbers in British gardens in winter once every seven years or so, when the berry crop fails in their native Scandinavia. This is known as an 'irruption', and results showed that Waxwings were seen in around 11 times more gardens in 2017 compared to the last couple of years, with sightings as far west as Wales and Northern Ireland. Weather conditions leading up to the event meant that this year British gardens were treated to a range of different visitors.