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C horleywood and District Local Group

Newsletter No. 88 February 2019

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/chorleywood

* IMPORTANT NEWS *

WE WILL BE MOVING HOME

From September 2019 onwards, we will be meeting in a new venue! Don’t worry, the new hall is very near the old one and will be easier to reach.

Less than 500m from the Russell School, as the crow flies, our new home will be The Florence Brown Hall, Hillside Road, Chorleywood, WD3 5AP. Hillside Road is a turning off Shire Lane, the main road through the village. We will be sending you full details and a map before September. The Chorleywood Free Church with The Florence Brown Hall on the right After more than 40 years meeting in The Russell School, this was a difficult decision for the the stamps for sale before delivering them to the Committee to make. There were a few reasons. It appropriate dealer. This has been a contribution to has become more difficult in recent years to set up the Albatross Appeal and a big effort from her. A the hall for our meetings. The furniture required is few other local organisations do accept stamps, so not easily found and much carrying and lifting must if you have some, bring them along to our meetings. be done. None of us are getting younger! Also the Irene Oulsnam will take them from you. Please see car parking situation has deteriorated as we can no page 4 for a full explanation from the RSPB. longer park in the playground. The streets outside the School do not lend themselves to easy parking. The Committee

The Florence Brown Hall is attached to CONTENTS Chorleywood Free Church - see the photo on this page. This is a listed building with special Arts and Events 2019 ...... Page 2 Crafts features, some of which continue into the Stocker’s Lake News ...... 2 Swifts in Three Rivers ...... 2 Hall. We are looking forward to the move! Spitzbergen ...... 3 Let Nature Sing Campaign ...... 4 Stamp Collection Ceases for RSPB Stamp Collection Ceases ...... 4 Stamps are no longer required by the RSPB UK Nature Breaks ...... 4 following advice from the Charities Commission. The Knepp Estate ...... 5 Many thanks are due to Judyth Allday for her work Vaughan’s photos from Australia ...... 6 over ten years. She spent many hours preparing Outdoor Meetings Reports ...... 7

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Events 2019

Date Venue 24 March Heron and Egret Watch Stockers Lake 1-4pm Causeway 18 April Friends of Stocker’s Lake AGM Baptist Church Hall, 7.30pm Speaker: Paul Barritt, Field Way, Guest Leader of Hallé Orchestra Rickmansworth

Fabulous courses are run by the Field Studies Council on many different Natural History topics. They are all over the country, but below are some local ones.

Date Course Title Venue Cost 5 April Introduction to Birds. Tutor: Chris Ford Amersham Centre £42 10am to Field Studies Council 01743 852100 4pm www.field-studies-coucil.org 6 April Woodland Birds of Epping Forest Epping Forest £35

9.45am Tutor: Edward Hutchings to 4pm Field Studies Council 01743 852100 www.field-studies-council.org

News from Stocker’s Lake, Swifts in Rickmansworth and Three Rickmansworth Rivers

Some changes are being introduced onto this local A group of residents in Three Rivers have come nature reserve. The long-awaited plan to introduce together to try to help swifts in the borough. Inspired cattle onto the reserve is due to come to fruition this by Edward Meyer, who came to talk to us last year, year. Cattle fencing will be put in place in January they are trying to find out where swifts are nesting. 2019 on the meadows by the river. Grazing will Three Rivers Times is a magazine produced by the encourage wild flowers to return and the cost of Council, which goes out to every household. It is mowing the meadow will be saved. hoped that in the next issue there will be a request written by this group for residents to submit their Mink have been blamed for the disappearance of sightings of swifts flying low in screaming bands. water voles from the River Colne, which runs along the Lakeside. But water voles are found on the High flying swifts are finding food, but when seen Rivers Chess, near Rickmansworth, and on the low down in noisy groups around buildings they are River Misbourne. So HMWT are keen to place a seeking nests. One 1960s block of flats in couple of mink rafts on the lake to try to detect Rickmansworth town centre, Goral Mead, has been either of these species. The rafts will have a soft found to support nests and extra nesting boxes clay patch on which the footprints of small animals have been put in place. The group hopes to can be recorded. It is then necessary to check the influence the Council to be ‘swift- aware’ in their rafts fortnightly to find out the results. Volunteers planning decisions. To that end, they are giving a are being sought for this work. Most likely a small presentation at the February Environmental Forum, team will be required. Are you interested? which is run by Three Rivers Council.

Nest cameras were installed in the Heronry last To contact the group with your sightings, or if you year, but sadly the herons chose other sites in want to help, email [email protected]. which to build! Now a camera has been installed that is remote controlled and the other moved to a better site. One day we might see live feed from the nests to the Café. See www.fosl.org.uk

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Spitzbergen, Part of the Svalbard barnacle geese, northern fulmars, puffins, little Archipelago auks, black and Brunich’s guillemots, skuas, glaucous and ivory gulls. The guillemots can be This is an account of Mary and Pete Coulson’s found anywhere on the island, particularly nesting visit in the Spring of 2018 on the famous cliffs at Lomfjord in the Hinlopen Strait. Quite an amazing sight! The guillemots take We flew to Longyearbyen via Oslo and arrived at turn to fly to the edge of the ice pack, feed for a few 1am in full daylight! The town is the only habitation days and then return to feed their young. The and, although small, is pretty busy. We boarded our puffins are only found on cliffs where the rock is ship later that day. It was the Ocean Adventurer, exposed. The fulmars are the most aerial of birds which had been refitted in 2017 and took 100 and can always be seen gliding gracefully past. The passengers and had 70 crew members. For 12 little auks are found high up in any rocky spot, even wonderful days we were to circumnavigate the inland. They are only seen as specks in the island, with an extension of 100 miles north, to the distance. It was wonderful to see so many icepack. Normally this is much closer, but sadly, kittiwakes both in the air and resting on the many due to global warming the ice recedes more every ice berglets. year. We reached 82 degrees latitude, just 500 miles from the pole! The scenery is breath-taking, with snow, ice and glaciers. The peaks are not so awe inspiring as in the Antarctic, as the island is basically a huge plateau of snow with many valleys radiating from the centre filled with glaciers. We cruised up to the snouts of many of these and watched them ‘calving’. We did have storm force winds on our return from the icepack, so we headed for the Hinlopen strait, which cuts between the two main islands.

Kittiwakes Photo: Mary Coulson

One day we had a three-hour zodiac trip and saw hundreds of walruses. Some swam close to us, huffing and blowing. We had to move away as their tusks could easily tear the zodiac. The trip was called ‘In search of polar bears’ and we did see 14, some in the distance such as a female bear standing over a seal hole, absolutely motionless whilst her two cubs were playing. We did have several close views as well. If a bear was spotted the captain would push through the ice to get as close as possible. One bear must have smelled food as he came right up to the boat and walked along its full length, sniffing and licking his lips!

Once we reached the southern shores, we were able to do some walks and see reindeer, old hunters’ huts, the remains of whaling activities and even carpets of purple saxifrage. We spent a Source: PAT public domain maps morning in Longyearbyen before heading home.

There we saw an arctic fox stealing an eider duck We had an excellent team of guides who were egg. They are the greatest threat to nesting birds. always on hand to give us information, spot anything of interest and in the evenings gave brief Thus ended a memorable trip! It was strange to talks. We made zodiac trips nearly every day to get come home and actually have darkness at night! closer to the shore. When possible, we landed, but Mary Coulson this was only where there was some foreshore. We saw plenty of seabirds: kittiwakes, arctic terns,

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Let Nature Sing

Did you know that the UK is now one of the most nature -deprived countries in the world? Across our islands, many much loved species of plant and animal are disappearing from one generation to another. The nature that sustains us with food, fresh water and clean air is fading away. But how many politicians are talking about it?

It is more important than ever as we shape our future outside the EU to let our politicians know that nature is important to us and to our families. The RSPB has launched a new campaign, ‘Let Nature Sing’. This makes a statement to politicians that we do not want to lose the natural world. We need to call on politicians to do everything they can to save nature. It is not too late.

Sign the Pledge

Committee Members and Members are asked to sign the Pledge.

Ask friends and family to also do so.

Go to www.rspb.org.uk/letnaturesing, fill in your detail s and you will have done something thing to help.

End of Bulk Stamp Collection for the Are you booking a Holiday in the UK? Albatross Appeal You can help the RSPB simply by booking a Following stories of the fraudulent use of used cottage, apartment or lodge in the UK. postage stamps, the Charity Commission has issued a press statement advising organisations to Hoseasons and Cottages.com will donate 10% cease collecting used stamps. of the full cost to the RSPB.

The RSPB has announced that the collection of ordinary used bulk postage stamps will cease It is necessary to book using this website: immediately. They will focus on asking www.uknaturebreaks.co.uk where you can supporters to donate stamp collections, first see the full range of accommodation of day covers and albums. Hoseasons and Cottages.com.

These collectible items will be auctioned monthly by a specialist auction house they have worked with for some years. All funds raised, minus auction costs, will continue to support the Albatross Task Force work. Auctioned stamps have already raised many thousands of pounds over the last decade. The RSPB points out that this auction house is also a specialist in collectable coins, medals and small memorabilia. These items are also very welcome donations and will help grow fundraising income for albatross conservation.

Items should be sent to RSPB Stamps, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds. SG19 2DL, or you can drop them off at the nearest RSPB reserve or office.

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The Knepp Estate, West Sussex nightingales. This year there were 15 or 16 singing Farming has ceased and land has males, which had arrived from 13 April. The females followed them and each pair had one brood reverted to natural habitats before setting off back to Africa. They have a bird ringing programme and they also look at the In August, my daughter and I took a day trip down condition and the age of the birds. to Sussex to visit the Knepp Estate. It has been in Lauri pointed out the corrugated sheets used to the hands of the Burrell family for two hundred shelter reptiles. We found a grass snake under one. years and includes a castle. This is no ordinary Adders, slow worms and lizards also live onsite. country Estate. The current owners found that Back on board our safari vehicle we spotted a farming was very difficult on the heavy West fallow deer and a buzzard. We stopped for a Sussex clay soil and in 2000, inspired by African refreshment break by an ancient oak. On a large safaris, made the decision to return the land to adjacent tree, around which was a roomy lookout nature. They then set up daily safaris on their land. platform, Lauri handed out drinks and cake. We This venture has been much applauded by looked down at a stony wetland area. Scrapes were naturalists, environmentalists and ecologists - made for the green sandpiper. Willow was growing especially now it is the leading site for nightingales, back again. Dragonflies, sand martins and swallows turtle doves and the purple emperor butterfly. could be seen flying around here. Lauri drew our Matthew Oates, a butterfly expert and newspaper attention to a juvenile nuthatch calling. Peregrine columnist, joined other naturalists and government falcons had been seen for the first time this year. advisers visiting Knepp. He stayed for four weeks Lauri said that, surprisingly, they nested in a tree. and said he saw 2,500 purple emperors. Moving on we came across a couple of young Tamworth pigs that are kept as an alternative to wild boars to turn over ground under bushes. As they have no natural predators the numbers are restricted to nine sows a year. They and Longhorn cattle provide organic meat. Someone asked if they had any hedgehogs on the Estate. None have been found despite the habitat being perfect for them. But badgers have been recorded as wandering on the Estate, although setts have not been found. Glow worms have also been recorded in this area. We spotted a couple of red deer through the thick vegetation.

Safari vehicle Photo: David Plumber Being August, it was very quiet as far as the birds were concerned. Lauri said there were a couple of I wanted to visit in the spring when the turtle doves yellowhammer territories and a few skylarks and and the nightingales arrive, but everything was starlings. But only a few linnets and finches have booked up and so had to wait until August. We appeared, despite it being a seed rich environment. arrived at the height of the summer drought with the It is with the spring migrants where they are vegetation growth - fresh and green months earlier - successful. Lauri showed us where the nightingales now ragged and brown. The exception was a super- and turtle doves nested in dense thickets of often abundance of a yellow flower that I took to be the thorny bushes that offer a lot of protection. Judging common fleabane. by the presence of small birds, the sparrowhawk is not often seen around the buildings. This was We met at the Visitor Centre where our guide, confirmed by Lauri, as the Estate is probably only Lauri, showed us a video. She had trained as an being in the outer reaches of its territory. ecologist at King's College, London, and is an I will return sometime, but my next visit must be in experienced birder. We then boarded our old ten- the spring. person safari vehicle and passed the farm Evelyn Fox buildings, which are used by swallows and house sparrows.

With 3,500 acres the Knepp Estate is huge and we only covered part of it. Lauri talked about the 5

Your Photos

Email your photos to [email protected]

For these superb photos we have to thank Vaughan Ryall. He and Janet Lowndes visited the north eastern forested part of Australia in autumn 2018, in the area round Cairns and Brisbane. The tree kangaroo is very rare and they were lucky to see it.

Without free printing arranged by Lynda Wright, we would be unable to print these lovely photos in colour for financial reasons.

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Outdoor Meeting s

Tring Reservoirs Saturday, 22 September 2018 s Reportsand ducks from northern Europe. Many of us began to think that this location was as good as the We were not very hopeful of seeing many birds on Norfolk Coast and it is somewhat nearer. With the this rainy and cold day. So, when we climbed up to addition of sailing along the River Colne on a the top of the steps and had our first sighting of Thames sailing barge, we had a truly memorable Startops Reservoir, we were all delighted. The male weekend. pochards had arrived (while the females, no doubt, were still sunning themselves in Spain). The last of Abberton Reservoir, an Essex Wildlife the chicks from the great crested grebes’ broods Trust Reserve were calling loudly and looked young and small with At the attractive Visitor Centre, we asked the striped necks. The parents seemed to ignore them! volunteers what to see and expect. They said that Lots of cormorants, coots and tufted ducks were on the huge numbers of migrant ducks and waders the water and some greylag geese flew in to graze expected had not yet arrived due to mild weather. on the meadow. But we were sent to a causeway from where we could observe several great white egrets. Amongst On to lake two - . Here masses of these were pintails, teals, wigeon, black-tailed feeding swallows and house martins swooped over godwits and, the now more common, little egrets. A the lake. We noticed a lone shoveler, several marsh harrier flew above the lake. Vaughan saw a herons and a little egret on the reeded shore. From common gull, as he often does! From the hides we the screen, which overlooks Startops Lake, a also saw huge numbers of cormorants on the common sandpiper could be seen feeding on the lakeside. They breed here. Shelducks were here in exposed mud. These are passage migrants en good numbers, as were teals, and coots. route to the south coast where they often One part of the shore was a roost for dozens of overwinter. Lots of mallards were in eclipse greater black-backed gulls. plumage.

Sadly, the large sparrow colony that has for years been seen in the garden of a farm house, seemed to be missing, along with the old hedge!

At , the rain and wind made for unpleasant walking, but there was an amazing sight. Many hundreds, or even thousands, of house martins, were feeding low over the water and flew just above our heads at the lakeside. We were in the middle of a swirling mass of hirundines! Despite the rain we enjoyed the fantastic cornucopia of birds. No doubt the rain had brought down the insects from higher up in the atmosphere. The huge numbers of birds Great white egret Photo: Les Whitmore were perhaps together just before their migration. None of us had ever seen this before, so we were a Interestingly, this lake had been used for practice happy bunch and more so when we reached the for the Dambuster Raids in WWII. Just two days café at Wilstone Farm shop. before the raid, Abberton was the site of a major dress rehearsal. It was used because it had a Essex Weekend, with Thames Sailing similar shape to the target reservoir in Germany.

Barge Cruise on River Colne River Colne Cruise 27-29 October 2018 As we boarded the oldest Thames sailing barge, The Thistle, our feeling was of apprehension, for The marshes and rivers around the River hail poured down from a stormy sky and the wind Blackwater provide a fantastic winter location for was severe. Down below deck though, feeling the those wanting to see overwintering waders, geese heat from the coke burner in the attractive cabin, we 7

cheered up immediately. This was a much loved Old Hall Marshes RSPB Reserve and gorgeous boat. The reserve is several miles from any proper road. It has no facilities other than a small car parking Swallow Birding had provided two guides to help us area. It is a fabulous wilderness, where the only identify birds along the river. So after a few minutes sound is of wigeon and the wind. We walked the to warm up, we were able to join them on deck in three-mile path beside the river and through rough superb sunshine. Fantastic luck! grassland and saltmarsh. With more time, we would have loved to extend this to the six-mile option. The shore-line of mud was very rich in birdlife. On the muddy shores were many thousands of Beautiful views were had of flocks of dunlin, knots migrant ducks and waders - dunlins, godwits, and avocets, turning in the sunlight. For four hours sandpipers, golden and grey plovers, redshanks we studied the feeding waders - dunlin, knots, grey and knots. They sought the shelter of the opposite plovers, avocets, curlews and brent geese. bank and, therefore, few were on our side of the Shelducks and mallards tended to be ignored river. Using telescopes, we could see that many amongst the less common birds. Overhead a lapwings were sitting on the shore too. The noisy peregrine and spoonbill were seen. The experts wigeons were perhaps the most numerous. On the spotted a rough-legged buzzard and a red breasted grazing marshes were flocks of brent and greylag merganser too. geese amongst the cattle. Both a peregrine and a kestrel were spotted on the grassland, while huge A warm and delicious lunch was served in the numbers of cormorants flew over the reserve in cabin. Topsail Charters ran this trip, which sailed lines, looking like brent geese. A spoonbill flew from Brightlingsea and cost £45. This trip is highly close to us, giving a surreal impression. Surely, recommended by us all. they should be in warm regions, not in these freezing and windswept marshes.

This reserve is fabulous, and though we were relieved to be getting warm back in the cars, it was a pity to leave. Again, the sun had shone. Nearby is the village of Tiptree. At the jam factory, there is a tearoom that we could not pass by without a visit of course. Tony Wright did a lot of research to make this trip a great weekend. Our grateful thanks to him. Carol Smith

Church Wood, Hedgerley Saturday, 17 November 2018

The Thistle arrives at Brightlingsea. The weather soon changed to bright sunshine! We met by the village pond in the picturesque Photo: Dave Smith village of Hedgerley prior to exploring the RSPB reserve of Church Wood. Some of us were delayed by traffic and caught up during the walk. This must be one of the RSPB’s more modest reserves, comprising 35 acres of classic Chiltern woodland interspersed with a small meadow area and some rides and clearings. Despite its small size, it is a valued local amenity and groups of volunteers regularly maintain the footpaths, clear intrusive vegetation and put up a considerable number of nest boxes.

The walk passes close to the Church’s graveyard, which is surrounded by mature hedgerows. These provided us with good views of redwings as they moved from tree to tree under the watchful eye of a

Cosy cabin below deck Photo: Dave Smith 8

red kite that showed us its near perfect plumage in Chess Valley, Goldingtons to the low autumn sunlight. Frogmore Meadow

Magnificent ‘Park White’ cattle are let on to parts of Saturday, 15 December 2018 the reserve for a while to break up the ground and keep the meadows open. This does mean you have Redwing Invasion to be rather more careful where you are putting It was cold and damp. The north of England and your feet as you gaze skyward for passing birds. Scotland were experiencing blizzards and below We last visited the reserve in September 2010 and freezing temperatures. We were, therefore, not were very impressed with the profusion of fungi. surprised to witness hundreds of redwings flying in This time there were very few to be seen; the most from the north. The skies were full of them. It was interesting being a patch of purple jelly fungus, delightful to see them devouring the hawthorn ascocoryne sarcoides. Maybe the dry summer had berries at the side of the path. They just kept on reduced numbers or perhaps we were too late, but coming! The numbers of several other bird species given the lack of hardy bracket fungi, it may be that were great too, with hundreds of jackdaws and the rise of indiscriminate and commercial foraging crows feeding on the fields of Valley Farm. Perhaps in the last decade has destroyed evidence of this these too were migrants from the north. wondrous ecosystem. On the River Chess we saw a group of teal and The woods provided their usual bird species with several swans. Many red kites flew above the blue, great and long-tailed tits being regularly seen. surrounding hills, amongst them buzzards too. Of Jays moved through the canopy and a buzzard flew course, many wood pigeons flew to and fro across low over it. Unfortunately, we didn’t see some of the the valley. Alongside the path were goldfinches, the expected species such as woodpeckers, occasional robin, chaffinch and dunnock. Also, treecreepers or nuthatches. A solitary muntjac deer Helen spotted a stationary great spotted walked by unconcerned before disappearing into woodpecker on a high branch and we heard a the undergrowth. nuthatch and a pheasant.

Frogmore Meadow is a Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust Reserve, which is special for its wildflowers and water voles. But in the scrub many birds were taking shelter, in particular, four or five jays and a few magpies.

To warm up we were keen to get to The Cock in Sarratt. It had been good to see what happens in the Chess Valley in mid-winter. Carol Smith

Stocker’s Lake, Rickmansworth Tuesday, 1 January 2019

Purple Jelly Fungus Photo: Tony Wright This was a great morning of birdwatching. The light was bright, the water was still and the birds were Church Wood offers a gentle circular walk and is quiet and relaxed on the lake, often near the shore. well worth visiting again to see the carpets of And there were very many of them, meaning that bluebells that are evidence to the woods’ great age we saw almost every species that one could expect and to hear the sound of the spring bird calls, that on that lake at this time of year. See the list below. fully justifies its status as our “local” RSPB reserve. However, no teals or egrets appeared this year. Tony Wright The star birds of the morning were the goosanders and the red-crested pochards with their dazzling heads. The goosanders usually visit us in small numbers at this time of year. The female was very actively fishing, as were several goldeneyes, male and female. 9

Water birds were dominated by coots and black- headed gulls, which were numerous. Amongst these were some common and lesser black-backed gulls. Cormorants abounded. There were also many wigeons and gadwalls, plus a few shovelers, mostly snoozing with heads tucked in. Flocks of lapwings looked fabulous both in the air and on the islands where we could see their faces clearly. On this occasion their usually white and black faces were beige and white - perhaps they were muddy.

Off the water we saw long-tailed, great and blue tits, some goldfinches and siskins, wrens and robins. A great spotted woodpecker flew over and even a couple of kingfishers fleetingly were observed by some of us. A red kite soared over the water and ring-necked parakeets made their usual squawk. Here is the list of 41 bird species we saw, compiled by Peter Harman.

Red kite, buzzard, robin, long-tailed, great and blue tits, goldcrest, goldfinch, magpie, crow, swan, house sparrow, common, BH, LBB gulls, wood pigeon, Canada, greylag, Egyptian geese, goosander, siskin, ring-necked parakeet, blackbird, song thrush, wren, kingfisher, heron, great crested grebe, coot, moorhen, tufted duck, gadwall, , goldeneye, pochard, red-crested pochard, wigeon, shoveler, cormorant, lapwing, great spotted woodpecker. 41 species Carol Smith

To submit an article or photograph, please email the Editor, Carol Smith, at [email protected]

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