The Birds of Berkshire Annual Report 2014 Published 2018 Berkshire Ornithological Club Registered charity no. 1011776 The Berkshire Ornithological Club (BOC) was founded as Reading Ornithological Club in 1947 to promote education and study of wild birds, their habitats and their conservation, initially in the Reading area but now on a county wide basis. It is affiliated to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Membership is open to anyone interested in birds and bird-watching, beginner or expert, local patch enthusiast or international twitcher. The Club provides the following in return for a modest annual subscription: • A programme of indoor meetings with expert • Conservation involvement in important local speakers on ornithological subjects habitats and species. BOC members are involved in practical conservation work with groups such • Occasional social meetings as Friends of Lavell’s Lake, Theale Area Bird • An annual photographic competition of very high Conservation Group and Moor Green Lakes Group. standard • Opportunities to participate in survey work to • A programme of field meetings both locally and help understand birds better. The surveys include further afield. These can be for half days, whole supporting the BTO in its work and monitoring for days or weekends. local conservation management. • Regular mid week bird walks in and around many • The Club runs the Birds of Berkshire Conservation of Berkshire’s and neighbouring counties’ best Fund to support local bird conservation projects. birdwatching areas. • Exclusive access to the pre-eminent site Queen Mother Reservoir (subject to permit) This Berkshire Bird Report is published by the Club and provided free to members. Members are encouraged to keep records of their local observations and submit them, electronically or in writing, to the Recorder for collation and analysis. The informative and fully illustrated County Atlas and Avifauna, The Birds of Berkshire, published in 2013, can be purchased at www.berkshirebirdatlas.org.uk, price £35, and is available to members at meetings at the discounted price of £30. For further details of the Club and membership visit www.berksoc.org.uk or contact the Hon. Secretary: Sally Wearing, 9 Deans Farm, The Causeway, Caversham, Reading, RG4 5JZ telephone 0118 946 3125; e-mail [email protected] The Birds of Berkshire Annual Report for 2014 Contents Page Introduction and acknowledgements .................................. 4 Submitting records ................................................ 5 Articles Birding Highlights of 2014 by Ken Moore............................ 6 Finder’s note – White Stork at Shinfield by Nigel Rampton .............. 8 Finder’s note – Great Reed Warbler at Green Park, Reading by Kevin Tubb 14 Weather Summary for 2014 by Renton Righelato ..................... 17 An analysis of TABCG warbler and Nightingale surveys 1998–2012 by Richard Crawford ............................... 18 Berkshire Black-headed Gull Ringing Project 2014 Report by Tim Ball ... 20 The Berkshire Bird Index 2014 by Renton Righelato .................. 30 Dragonflies and Damselflies by Mike Turton ........................ 32 Bird Report for 2014 Report for 2014 by the Berkshire Records Committee .................... 34 Systematic List by Derek Barker................................... 37 Escapes, feral species and hybrids by Derek Barker ................... 155 Extreme dates by Derek Barker .................................. 158 Scarce or Rare Species 2000–2014 ................................ 160 Contributors to the Systematic List ................................. 163 County maps Topographical areas............................................ 166 Some birdwatching sites in Berkshire . 168 County Directory ................................................ 170 Bird-watchers’ Code of Behaviour (c/f)............................... 171 Edited by Derek Barker and Renton Righelato Published in 2018 by BERKSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB © Berkshire Ornithological Club ISBN 978–0–9553497–6–8 Price £7·50 Introduction In addition to publishing The Birds of Berkshire Annual Reports, which are an analysis of the tens of thousands of records received each year, the BOC now makes available the records database through its website. This enables users to search records from 1996 onwards, providing much more information than can be published in the Annual Reports and making the data available much earlier than can be done with the hard copy reports. The details of this service, including the provisions for sensitive records, are explained at http://berksoc. org.uk/recording/bird-records-archive/ This report, along with the 2015 report, is published in 2018. Acknowledgements The preparation of the County bird report relies on the voluntary efforts of many people for data collection, species account writing, preparing articles, providing photographs, editing and, critically, the observers who put in their records. At the end of this report is a list of the observers whose records contribute to the reports. We hope the list is accurate: please let us know of any errors or omissions, for which we apologise. We are particularly grateful to Derek Barker, who single-handedly prepared the Systematic List for 2014, a Herculean task! Our thanks also go to Tim Ball, Richard Crawford, Ken Moore, Nigel Rampton, Mike Turton and Renton Righelato who provided articles and to the photographers who generously provided their excellent shots. Thanks also to Robert Gillmor for his cover picture of the Great Reed Warbler. Renton Righelato 4 Submitting records Sending your records promptly and electronically will enable the County database to be kept complete and up to date. To facilitate review and report preparation, records may be sent throughout the year and anyway should be filed within three months of a year end. If you are unable to send your records electronically, we may be able to help: please contact the Recorder: Richard Burness, 20 Burlsdon Way, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 2PH. Records can be entered on line at www.berksbirds.co.uk or sent by email to the Recorder [email protected] as an excel file or as a CSV file. Excel files should have the following eight columns in this order: Species, Site, Grid reference, Arrival date, Departure date, Number, Notes, Observer, Breeding status. Species: Required. If possible, please use the species name from BWP. Please do not use plurals. e.g. do do not enter “Siskins” or “Canada Geese”, but “Siskin” or “Canada Goose”. Site: Required. If possible, please use the site names as used in these reports. Otherwise, please enter the site as the nearest landmark on an OS map and specify the grid reference in the “Grid reference” field. Sites such as “my garden”, “River Thames”, “3 miles east of Reading” or “by the A33” are examples of inappropriate site names. Grid reference: Four or six figure grid ref. The prefix, either “SU” or “TQ” should be included and there should be no spaces between characters. Grid references are only required for less well-known sites, or to give a very precise location within a large site. Arrival date: Required. In the format “dd/mm/yyyy” i.e. “01/01/2005”. For records that refer to more than one day enter the first date in this field and the last date in the “Departure date” field. Departure date: Optional. In the format “dd/mm/yyyy” e.g. “01/01/2005”. Number: Required. Whole number only. e.g. the following are not valid: “c10”, “10+”, “1–2”, “many”. Enter any quantifying information in the Notes field. Notes: Optional. Use the Notes field to enter information on age, sex, behaviour, breeding details etc. Any reference to other species made in this field will not be recorded for that species – please make a separate entry for each species. Breeding Status: Optional. Please use the BTO breeding evidence codes: http://www.bto. org/volunteer-surveys/birdatlas/methods/breeding-evidence. Observer: Required. Please enter your full name and include your middle names if you have any. .csv files should use the same eight fields separated by commas (whether or not they contain data) and note that any field containing a comma should be enclosed in double quotes. Thus, for example: Siskin,”Searles Lane, Burghfield”,03/02/2019,,10,Feeding in Alders,,MJT. Confidentiality: Confidential records should be sent separately but in the same format, and noted as confidential and why in the covering email. The locations of records for rare breeding species will, in any case, be held in confidence. Species requiring a description: Records of rarer species will be reviewed by the Berkshire Records Committee and may require a description or additional notes – please see the BRC report page 34. 5 Birding Highlights of 2014 by Ken Moore JANUARY 2014, in the soggy beginning of the New Year the flooded meadows between Theale and Reading held a record numbers of Little Egret – 27 counted on the 19th near Burghfield Bridge. A single Black-necked Grebe was present for a day at Theale Main Pit on the 7th. Ringtail Hen Harriers were seen near Bury Down and at Jealotts Hill. There were two Little Gulls and three Kittiwakes around the county. A good roost count of 320 to 400 Pied Wagtails in Central Reading was a regular feature during the month. At South Hill Park on the 8th January, a Water Rail was seen to grab a drinking Goldfinch, quickly drown it and then start to peck and pull at it. At last, some better weather in FEBRUARY. The first Oystercatchers of the year arrived at Theale Main Pit on the 3rd and on the 22nd, 5 Ringed Plovers flew into the old Aggregate area at Lower Farm. Two were metal ringed, one being a colour ringed bird from a Hampshire Coastal project. A drake Scaup was seen at Moor Green Lakes, staying only a few days from the 20th. On the 27th, at Padworth Lane, a Great White Egret was seen flying over. During January and February, one lucky observer had up to 63 Lesser Redpolls in her Bracknell garden, plus regular visits of a Mealy Redpoll. MARCH brought the first Little Ringed Plover of the year on the 16th at Padworth Lane Floods, an average date of arrival. Another drake Scaup arrived at Lower Farm on the 16th for a few days and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers briefly visited QMR on the 24th.