erefordshire Ornithological Club ANNUAL REPORT 1966 Together with Classified .Notes for Herefordshire and Radnorshire No. 6, Vol. 2 Price 4/· lIF, 1'11,\1 Ft" \'!l'II1 !{"" Y<ll"(; I' RIIl'OR,"illIRF :\F"iT Box C, x, Griffilhs, Herefordshire Ornithological Club No. 6. Vol. 2. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE, 1966 President :- BRIGADIER SIR MICHAEL VENABLES-LLEWELYN, BART., M.V.O. Vice-Presidents: - P. W. HINDE, M.B.O.U. DR. C. W. WALKER, M.C. Chairman:- T. R. AMMONDS Hon. Secretary and Editor:­ R. H. BAILLIE Hon. Treasurer:- A.G. FYSHE Hon. Assistant Secretary:­ MRS. S. LEE Committee:- MRS. J. M. BROMLEY P. McDoUGALL, M.B.O.U. MRS. L. H. EDWARDS C.O'GORMAN SIR TERENCE FALKINER, BART. J. H. WATKINS MRS. J. V. Fox D. G. WELLS C. N. GRIFFITHS A. J. SMITH 234 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1966 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB RULES I. NAME. "ihe Club shall be called the Herefordshire Ornithological C.lub. 2. OBJECTS. The objects of the Club shall be (a) to further the study of birds in the field, and (b) to assist in their preservation. 3. MEMBERSHIP. The Club shall consist of a President, a Chairman, a Secretary, a Field Secretary, a Treasurer, an Editor and Ten Com­ mittee Members and Ordinary Members. The President and the Chairman to retire after serving a term of three years. The Secretaries, the Treasurer and the Editor shall be elected annually. The three senior of the ten Ordinary Members of the Committee shall retire annual.ly and they shall not be eligible for re-election for a period of twelve months. The Officers and Ordinary Members of the Com­ mittee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and the Officers shall be eligible for re-election. Nominations for the Committee must be received in writing by the Hon. Secretary by March 31 st. 4. CONDITiONS OF MEMBERSHIP. Members shall be required to support and keep the provisions of the Protection of Birds Act, 1954. Any members failing to support and keep this law shall be required to resign. Members may not divulge to unauthorised persons (e.g. known co,lIectors of skins and/or eggs) information in a manner likely to be detrimental to the o!?jects of the Club. 5. SUBSCRIPTIONS. (a) Ordinary Members: 18 years of age or over 15s., payable on Janua,ry 1st or on election to membership. Any additional members of a family after the first, 1Os.; such members receiving all privileges of ful.l membership. Junior Members (under 18 but over 12 years of age), 7s. 6d. per annum, payable as above. Corporate Members: Kindred bodies, Schools, etc.: Subscription one guinea per annum. Honora,ry Members: As approved by the majority present at the Annual General Meeting. (b) All subscriptions, subsequent to those paid on admission, shall be due on January 1st each yea,r. Where a member has been elected on or after 1st September in any year, there will be no further liability to subscribe in the year immediately following that of his or her election. Any Member whose subscription is six months in a,rrears shall cease to receive the Club's publications and, should the subscription not be paid by December 31 st, his or her name shall be deleted from the list of Members. 6. MANAGEMENT. The Secretary shall keep Minutes of the meetings and prepare such literature as shall keep Members informed of the Club's activities. 7. MEETINGS sha.1I be held as often as deemed desirable at the discretion of the Officers. 8. REPORT. There sha,1I be an Editoria,1 Committee of at least three Mem­ bers including the Secretary, appointed at an ordinary Committee Meet­ ing. These shall prepare and present an Annual Report and such special reports as may be decided upon. 9. ALTERATION OF RULES. An alteration of the Ru.les may be made only if proposed at one meeting, printed on the agenda for the following meeting. and passed by a two-thirds majority of those present. HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1966 235 HERFiFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB INCOME AND EXPEN,DITURI ACCOUNT Year endinc 31 It Oeeetllber. 1966 1965 Ineome £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 7 8 o Sale of Club Publications 6 7 0 2 0 6 Donations 1 16 0 7 4 8 Interest on Investments 8 2 3 219 15 o Subscriptions 237 10 0 236 8 2 253 15 3 Dedud: Expenditure 1 16 o Duplicating Bulletins, etc. 2 0 0 23 14- 8 Printing and Stationery ... 11 0 0 24 6 4 Postages and Telephones 30 18 8 52 10 o Printing Annual Report 52 10 0 69 17 6 Meeting Expenses 35 18 6 9 11 o Affiliation Subscriptions 11 10 0 (see page 266) 2 2 o Donations 3 2 0 146 19 3 183 17 6 52 10 8 Net Surplus for the year 106 16 0 Add: Surplus (It 1st January, 1966, 188 4 8 brought forward 240 15 4 £240 15 4 Accumulated Funds at 31st December. 1966 ... £347 11 4 Accumulated Funds at 31 st December, 1966, represented by £250 National Development 150 0 0 Bonds 5%. at cost 250 0 0 Cash at Bank, less 1967 Subscriptions received 90 15 4 in advance ... •••i 97 11 4 £240 15 4 £347 11 4 A. G. FYSHE, Hon Tre!!Surer. 30/1/67. I have audited the above Accounts and I report that,in my opinion, these Accounts show a true and faif' view of the Surplus for the yeCH" ended 31st December, 1966, and of the Club's assets as at 31 st December, 1966. T. DAVI:ES, Chartered Accountant. 21 st February, 1967. 236 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1966 1966 REPORT The year proved favourable to birds, with no very severe weather and a very mild autUmn; but heavy winds, and snow, in mid-April did some damage to tree-nesting birds and perh3Jps others. In Herefordshire Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails continued to in­ crease, but Quail were very scarce, especially at Shobdon aerodrome where they once flourished. More Collared Doves were noted. but actual breeding was not confirmed. Among unusual birds which visited the County were a Great Northern Diver, a pair of Garganey, a pair of Gadwall which actually nested, as did a pair of Hobbies; three Peregrines were also seen, a Comcrake and three Hoopoes, and rarest, and most tragic of all in view of its fate, a Wryneck. Although only one iWhooper Swan was recorded, a record influx of 53 :&wicks appeared during February. In Radnorshire two IManx Shearwaters were 'wrecked' and res­ cued, two Peregrines recorded and a Comcr3Jke, and the second Black-tailed Godwit and third Waxwing records were made. MEMBERSHIP. Fifty seven new members joined during the year, giving a net increase of Z7 and a total membership of 378 at Dec. 31st. CLUB OUTINGS were held at Haugh ,W()od (3), Turner's Boat, Talybont Reservoir, Llowes, 'Wigmore Rolls, Belvide Reservoir Staffs, Painscastle, Moelienydd (2), cefnHys, Gilwern Dingle, Waun Marteg, Dovey ,Estuary, Cors Tregaron and iWigmore Moor. Indoor meetings at the Percival Hall, Hereford included a Brains Trust ~by members), ,talks with coloured films or slides by G. N. Smith, twice on African or British wild life; IMiss B. N. Bayliss on "Some birds of the Shetlands"; and A. G. Fyshe on Slimbridge. Others to entertain us were Mr. S. C. Porter with his coloured film of "Some Birds of 'East Anglia," and Mr. A. T. Gunter, of the Forestry Commission, on the work of the Commission. Amongst other activities many members took part in the Nest­ box Scheme, run in conjunction with the Herefordshire and Radnor­ shire Nature Trust. IMessrs. Ammonds, Griffiths, McDougall and Owen continued their Common Bird Census for the B.T.O., and we also provided guides and helpers at the Haugh Wood Nature Trail during Nature Week. ACCOUNTS. These are shown in a new format, devised by our Treasurer, who has again dealt with our affairs most efficiently, as will be readily seen from the Statement of Accounts. HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1966 237 PUBLICATIONS. "Herefordshire Birds" (1954) by Captain H. A. Gilbert and Dr. C. W. Walker @j -) and "Birds of Radnorshire" (1955) by G. G. S. Ingram and Col. Money Salmon(4j-), both post-free, are obtainable from me, as are lIllost of our previous reports. My thanks are due once again to the Editorial Sub-Committee­ P. W. Hinde, T. R. H. Owen, Col. Morrey Salmon and Dr. C. W. Walker fur their help and advice; to T. R. H. Owen and Mrs. Lee' for sharing the whole of the typing; and finally to the numerous Club members who submitted material for the report with quite remarkable promptitude. Our thanks must also go to Clive Griffiths for his frontispiece of Pied Flycatchers taken in one of his nest boxes in Radnorshire. THE NESTINC-BOX SCHEME The nest-box scheme run by our club members on behalf of the Herefordshire and Radnorshire Nature Trust was extended still further in 1966---its fourth year of operation. Several fresh woods were included, and additional boxes were erected in some of the exist­ ing colonies. The total number of boxes in use was 712, dispersed among 27 woodland areas. Nests were built in 440 boxes, giving an occupation rate of 61 %. Blue tits' nests' numbered 188, great tits' 122, pied flycatchers' 96, redstarts' 15, marsh-tits' 6, coal-tits' 2, wrens' 2, tree-creepers' one, and greater pied woodpeckers' one. From these nests 3,000 young birds eventually fledged succesSlfully. Of the pied flycatchers' nests 79 were in Herefordshire, and all to the west of a north-south line drawn through Hereford city to bisect the county.