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Thenewsletter the MAGAZINE of the RSPB BOLTON LOCAL GROUP FEBRUARY 2020 thenewsletter THE MAGAZINE OF THE RSPB BOLTON LOCAL GROUP Mallard John Gofton Editorial Welcome to our latest edition of the newsletter. Happy Birthday to us! Well, not us as a group, (though we were 41 in November), but the RSPB as a whole. November 2019 marked the RSPB's 130th birthday! 17 February 1889 marks the first meeting of the Fur, Fin and Feather Folk in Croydon, but it was 13 November 1889 when the Society for the Protection of Birds was founded in Manchester. When it all began back in the late Victorian era, the threat to wild birds came not from climate change but from milliners, who fuelled a demand for feathers that saw birds killed in their hundreds of thousands, purely to decorate the hats and accessories of fashionable ladies. The organisation started life as the Society for the Protection of Birds, a group founded by Emily Williamson at her home in Manchester in 1889. Formed to counter this barbarous trade, responsible for the destruction of many thousands of egrets, grebes, birds of paradise and other species, the group quickly gaining popularity, and in 1891 they joined forces with the Fur, Fin and Feather Folk, founded at Eliza Phillips' home in Croydon, to form a larger and stronger SPB, based in London, The SPB was granted its Royal Charter in 1904, just 15 years after being founded, giving us the RSPB as we know today. https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/our-history/ The Bolton Group have managed to send another contribution of £1,000 to the RSPB, so thank you all for your contributions in helping make up this amount. We had a couple of long service volunteering awards issued at our last meeting to myself and to Cheryl Delaney. The RSPB figures show that an amazing 12,441 people volunteered last year, donating more than one million hours of their time. In fact, 25% of the RSPB's work to save nature is undertaken by these volunteers. So, thank you to those in our group, and all the others for everything they do. Thank you to those who contributed to this newsletter. I hope you enjoy the read, and the rest of the season. Steve Front cover: – Mallard at David Marshall Lodge, Trossachs (photographic competition winner by John Gofton). Current Programme . Indoor Meetings:- Thu 12 Mar “How to be a naturalist” Jeff Clarke Thu 16 Apr “The wonderful wildlife of Islay and Jura” David Shallcross The meetings are held at 7:30pm at St Catherine’s Academy, Newby Road, Breightmet, use postcode BL2 5JH - (the sports centre entrance and car park, not the Stitch-mi-Lane entrance). Meetings last approximately two hours, including a refreshment break. There is a professional speaker and free parking. Admission: Group Members £2.50, Non-Members £4.00. Programme of indoor meetings September 2019 – April 2020 Thursday 12 March Jeff Clarke makes a welcome return and will be familiar to our more long-standing members of the group. This talk is How to build a Naturalist. Jeff has a passion for the natural world, is an experienced ecologist and has been an environmental educator for 26 years. He also leads wildlife holiday tours both independently and in partnership with other organisations. I’m sure he will share his enthusiasm for wildlife with us. Thursday 16 April David Shallcross, chairman of Leigh Ornithological Society is giving a presentation on ‘The Wonderful Wildlife of Islay and Jura’. David says that the talk includes scenery, birds mainly, some history, bird calls and music in places, with a total of 290 images! A good way to end this season. I hope you enjoy the programme but, as usual, there will a comments’ box on the ‘leaflets’ table for your suggestions/comments about the presentations or ideas for future meetings. - Veronica RSPB long service awards Cheryl Delaney receives her 10 year volunteering award from James Bray, the RSPB’s Bowland Projects Officer, who was the speaker on the night. Below, yours truly, receives a 20 year award. Pictures by Dennis Atherton Where Eagles Dare (1) Natural England has issued a licence to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation for the five- year reintroduction programme of white-tailed eagles. The project will see at least six birds released annually, but they are not expected to breed until 2024. The birds, which have a wingspan of up to 2.5m (8ft), had not been recorded breeding in England since 1780. The six birds were collected from the wild in Scotland and were released on the Isle of Wight in August. They are being provided with food daily and are monitored using the special tracking devices. The birds were released on August 22nd but a week later one of the birds - "Culver" named after the place where the birds last bred, took off on a journey that took it across most of the South East of England. On Thursday 5th September, Culver returned to the Island to the exact same spot he left eight days before. Its transmitter provides amazing details of its journey. Screenshot: Tracking map from Roydennis.org Culver flew 680km in eight days on its extraordinary flight which took it over Salisbury, and Southampton before heading for Central London, and then along the Thames coast of Essex, before heading back through Kent and Sussex to the Isle of Wight. It certainly gave quite a few people a great chance for a (seen from the) garden bird tick. *** See latest info at end of next article 2019 State of Nature – Tony Johnson The State of Nature Report had a serious detrimental effect on (nbn.org.uk/stateofnature2019) has been wildlife. published recently as a compilation of 2. There has been a marked decline data from over 70 conservation of 97% of wildflower meadows lost organisations and looking back over 50 between ‘30s & ’84. years into how nature is changing - good 3. Herring stocks declined by 99% and bad from various pressures like between ‘60s and mid ‘90s, affecting farming, climate, recreation and seabird colonies, along with over fishing population increases. of sand eels, with decline in auks and kittiwake colonies whilst gannets are This article extracts some of the report expanding their fishing range as they findings, and I have added some personal travel further for food. observations to illustrate local effects. 4. In 1973 the UK joined Common Agriculture Policy and grant systems Each generation sees the changes in their caused mass removal of hedgerows lifetime, often believing that the baseline along with 10,000km2 of land drained in observation from their younger days ‘70s to increase food production. reflects the decline. In point of fact the 5. There were 13 species of farmland true baseline is many generations before, bird red listed in ’96 – including turtle and paints a very different picture. We dove, grey partridge, corn bunting. The need to talk to previous generations to try trend of losing mainly farmland birds and quantify the true changes, bearing in caused the red list to increase from 36 to mind that formal recording was patchier in 67 between ‘96 and 2015. the past. 6. Furthermore since ’76 there has been a massive decline in butterfly Locally we had corncrakes in the ‘20s, numbers of up to 68%, and this latter half sparrows abundant in the ‘50s, now bird of summer has been very wet and will numbers are rising and falling as various only add to their woes. In the last century pressures are applied. Our Rivington and 23 bee and wasp species have been lost Anglezarke moors teemed with LBJs in this country. (meadow pipits, skylark etc.), along with curlew and redshank in the ‘70s along The pressures that the countryside is with other waders but now they are a under:- rarity! When West Pennine Moors received the 1. Average temp increased by nearly SSSI designation the number of 1oC since 1980s. wildflower meadows was very small with 2. Agriculture productivity and only two remaining in the Rivington area, intensification has increased to the now under threat. detriment of wildlife. 3. Vast amounts of land (farm, wood, Some of the major changes over the & wetland) built on due to urbanisation. past:-. Some limited heathlands and moors have been restored. Building on floodplains 1. There was motorway and rivers being affected by flood construction on a large scale from 1959 prevention measures, but only moving the with miles of fencing, creating mini wildlife problem further down stream. corridors, but lead pollution from petrol 3. Currently 72% of UK land is managed for agriculture (1/3 arable, 2/3 pastoral), and now more tree planting is advocated now the trend is slowly reversing as – where? This surely will impact on habitat renewal is being targeted. wildlife and whatever happened to food self sufficiency? Peatlands and Climate Change is now becoming the grasslands act as carbon sinks as well as greatest problem for our countryside:- woodlands. 4. Biggest change has been increased 1. There has been a gradual movement mechanisation and fertiliser usage, north of birds, butterflies and moths, 23km increased stocking rate, changing from between ‘90s and 2000. Some bird haylage to silage, along with autumn species need to move higher such as sowing of cereals, loss of field margins, Ptarmigan and Merlin, by moving higher hedge row and ponds being lost. and more northern, but it is not an option 5. Increased mechanisation and greater in this county for Merlin so becoming a efficiency with harvest gathering, rare species locally. resulting in less spillage which is affecting 2. Sea temps are rising 0.6oC between many arable feeding species.
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