______

RSPB LOCAL GROUP

______

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no.SCO37654

Group Leader: Barry Bishop SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER

In this issue SPRING contacts page of our FLOWER SHOW Thurs website and Barry will

21st – Sun 24th April contact you with the Harrogate Spring details. Flower Show The group is having a stand at this year’s show, IMPORTANT MESSAGE Turtle Doves and on the theme of FROM THE EDITOR Shakespeare and plants The Committee and I hope Nightjars and birds, marking the you enjoy this latest 400th anniversary of the newsletter, which we hope Message from the death of 'The Bard'. you find interesting and Editor So if you are visiting the informative, and any show, please come along comments are welcome.

and see us - we’re in the Studying gulls ‘Gardening Hall’ again this What’s new is that from the time. September edition, we are Leader’s notes offering the option of TURTLE DOVES AND receiving your copy in colour, directly by email, as Newsletter by e-mail NIGHTJARS We are hoping to be able an alternative to a paper to arrange visits to see two copy! Please see page 4 Less common of our summer visitors. for further details. We are garden visitors Turtle doves are now on aiming to reduce the input and cost of their production the red list as their numbers are declining. and distribution and free up Twenty years ago They should be returning to more funds for birds. their breeding grounds in As an advantage you will Shiant Isles early April and Barry is be able to see the articles in bright colour which will Recovery Project hoping to be able to arrange a visit during May. really enhance all the

Nightjars do not return as photos in the newsletter. Local walk and trip early so it could be June As usual back versions are reports before we can confirm their available under the News return and would hope to section of the website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/grou Spring and Summer organise a visit in July. The date and time will be ps/york programme advertised on the website, Many thanks indeed to all but will not include details contributors of this edition. Day trip venues of the sites we will be Peter Reed [email protected] visiting. Please use the

This newsletter is co-edited by Peter Reed (01904 492494) and Chris Lloyd. Views expressed or advertisements contained in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the RSPB or the York Group Committee. http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/york Studying Gulls – What a load of old Rubbish!

Craig Ralston of Natural England and Senior Reserve Manager of the Lower Derwent Valley NNR explains what’s going on ‘down the tip’

Local birdwatchers and ringers may be aware that the Natural England team from the Lower Derwent Valley (LDV) NNR has recently teamed up with Yorwaste at Harewood Whin landfill site, in a new project aimed at studying the gulls that roost on the NNR in nationally important numbers. This is the day time feeding location of most of the large gulls that roost on the flood waters of Wheldrake Ings and other sites in the LDV NNR. Numbers at the winter roost peak at up to 20,000 Herring Gulls and up to 10,000 Great Black-backed Gulls (GBBG) with small numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (LBBG) making it one of the most significant inland roosts in the country. Despite these birds representing a significant interest of the landfill site, we haven’t really been able to study them as it isn’t possible to catch them on the reserve. We use a Cannon Net to catch the birds (left). During the catches, the refuse lorries arrive and drop their loads before the bulldozer and then compactor drivers do an excellent job in moving the domestic ‘foody’ waste in front of the net and levelling it out, bringing the gulls down in large numbers. After waiting for a suitable safe window in which to fire the net, the call is made and the net fired. The team then moves in to quickly extract the birds from under the net (below), placing individual birds into sacks to wait processing. Each bird is ringed with a unique numbered metal BTO ring and also an engraved yellow colour-ring which allows birdwatchers to read the combinations off in the field. This means they don’t need to be caught again in order to provide us with valuable information of how long these birds live for, where they go, and whether they return to the same sites year after year. The numbers of large gulls colour ringed to date is:- Herring Gull 728, LBBG 23, GBBG 14, a total of 765. To date these colour-ringed birds have produced over 100 re-sightings of Herring Gulls both in the local area and further afield giving us a much greater understanding of the origins and destinations of the gulls which use the NNR. Many have been re-sighted along the North-east coast, from Aberdeen to Skegness with other movements to Merseyside, Bristol and the London area, with others re-sighted in the Netherlands, one from Belgium and another from France. LBBGs have been seen in France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and a single GBBG on the Lizard. In-addition, a Herring Gull rung in Norway as a nestling was controlled in one of our catches as well as two other birds from the Thames Gull Study Group area. You can stay updated with the ongoing results of this project and other projects, news and events from the Lower Derwent valley NNR on our facebook site and blog – search for us on facebook or visit http://ldvnnr.blogspot.co.uk/ Thanks again are due to Yorwaste for permission to net and ring birds on the site but also for their invaluable help and cooperation in making a successful catch, the great work by drivers in bringing all the birds down right where we want them! Thanks are also due to all those birdwatchers and ringers who send in their sightings of colour-ringed gulls both here and from other countries – projects like this just wouldn’t work without your valuable input. Please send all sightings to c/o [email protected] as all sightings sent to Euring, Craig or BTO end up back with Mike, so this just speeds things up. With thanks to Craig Ralston for this article and all images.

Page 2 From the RSPB York Group Leader

As I write these notes sand martins have arrived and chiffchaffs have been heard singing. I hope that the weather is kind to them as they settle into their summer home.

Talking of homes, please visit our group website and read about our “new home” - the cost of hiring Temple Hall continues to rise and has limited facilities, so we have decided to move from the end of the year, to a new venue with more facilities. At Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Rd, York, we will be able to offer you a drink at our meetings and free evening car parking! The afternoon meetings have been a huge success so we have organised more in the autumn and these will be held at our new venue. We will put more information onto the website www.rspb.org.uk/groups/york

Now that the weather is improving I would like to try “Birding by Bus”. The first one will be on Tuesday May 10th when we will visit Strensall Common. We will meet opposite the Theatre Royal and catch the 09:35 bus. We will return on the 14:40 from Strensall. A packed lunch will be required, stout footwear and waterproof clothing. There are no toilets at either the bus stop or on the common. If you would like to join me please use the contact form on the website.

We are having a stall at West Bank Park on Sunday 26th of June and at Rowntree Park on July17th, if you are able to help please see Judith. On Saturday May 7th we are holding an event with The Friends of York Cemetery at 5:30am to listen to the dawn chorus. Please see the York Cemetery website http://yorkcemetery.org.uk/ There will also be a dawn chorus walk at Hob Moor on Saturday 30th April at 6am, please see www.fohm.org.uk for more details. Also on Saturdays July 23rd and August 27th we will be in Dean’s Park watching the peregrines and showing them to visitors. Please come and join us. Lastly we will be holding an event in on Friday October 7th. If you live in the area and would be able to help please let me know.

My thanks to all of you who have supported our events this winter and spring and I hope that you have a very enjoyable summer and look forward to seeing you at one of our events.

Barry

Page 3

New! – Option to receive your local group newsletter in colour by email

As you may know the newsletter takes up a large amount of time to label and put in envelopes and the costs of printing and postage are a significant drain on our local group finances each year. The Committee have discussed this fully and as a result, from September this year we are offering group members the option of receiving the newsletter via email if you wish, rather than as a paper copy, (usually collected at the meeting or received later by post). It will be sent as a pdf in colour rather than black and white and it will usually be mailed on the day of the meeting or the day before.

Paper copies will still available to other members by post in the usual way of course. We are afraid we cannot provide the newsletter in paper copy and by email as this would be administratively difficult and would not save costs. The newsletter, in colour, is also available on the website if you wish to see it, or download it from there.

If you would like to take advantage of this voluntary option please contact our Membership Secretary [email protected]) and Newsletter Editor [email protected] by email. This is to enable us to ‘capture’ your address accurately and I will reply when received, as a check on receipt. Please note your email details will be kept confidential and will not be passed on to anyone else. The newsletter will be sent as ‘blind copy’ so this protects your privacy as other members will not see your address, nor any replies if you replied to me. There would also be the option to revert back to the paper version in future if you so wished.

We hope this offer will be taken up by as many group members as possible as it will greatly help to reduce the workload of the committee and also free up extra funds to donate to the RSPB for the birds. Any enquiries please, to me at the address above or 01904 492494. Peter Reed

Less Common Garden Visitors, by Sue Ball

This winter I’ve noticed some less common visiting birds in our suburban Rawcliffe garden. On 19th February I was delighted to have 5 lesser redpoll (right) visiting my niger feeders and to date, (27th March), I have seen at least 2 birds visit most days. Sometimes there will be a handsome male and I am thrilled to see their rosy red plumage, especially on a sunny day!

Siskin (male, left) have been occasional visitors too, I am alerted by their high, whistling call up in the silver birch or the large cypresses tree. Equally striking in their greenish-yellow and black plumage they are much shyer birds, only flying down for brief, easily disturbed visits.

But my recent highlight has to be a one-hour visit by a gorgeous male brambling (right) on 8th March. A quick glance out of the bedroom window had me charging downstairs for my binoculars and it was so obliging I was able to set up my scope and take these digiscope shots, through the window and unfortunately in poor light. All images by Sue Ball Page 4

Were you whale watching 20 years ago?

Peter Reed looks back to his first East RSPB Shearwater Cruise in 1996

Image – Peter Reed

Just after moving to York in 1996, I took one of the Shearwater cruses from Bridlington. What took place is well described in a letter to ‘Birds’ magazine (right). It may happen again….why not book a cruise this year? See page 12 for details

Local walks (continued from page 10)

13th March Wass Woods Fourteen members met at the village hall car park in Wass. Ken updated us on the route we were going to follow and what the walking conditions were likely to be. We strolled up the lane into the woods, stopping frequently to listen to and watch birds. Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Nuthatch and Tree Creeper were straightforward, but it took us a while to agree that two very mobile birds were Marsh Tits and we had very good views of a Mistle Thrush with moss in its beak. Primroses, Dog's Mercury, Celendine and Golden Saxifrage were in flower at the side of the path (left). Towards the top of the bank we came across a goldcrest and from the edge we could look over open fields and see several lapwings and carrion crows. The mist had not cleared as much as we hoped so our view over the surrounding countryside was not as good as it could have been. We then walked to a stone tower known as Mount Snever Observatory (above) which was built in 1837 and from the top of which on a clear day you would be able to see for miles. Barry Bishop, with photos by Barry, and Ian and Christine Brooks

Page 5

The Shiant Isles Recovery Project: wild winter work begins

The following is from the RSPB website about the Shiant Isles Recovery Project in the Outer Hebrides and was written by Thomas Churchyard. The project is an initiative to remove non- native black rats from the isles in order to provide safe breeding sites for Scotland’s globally important seabird colonies. It is part funded by the EU LIFE+ programme and is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Nicolson family, who have been the custodians of the Shiant Isles for three generations.

“Are you all crazy?” This was the question asked followed by a laugh when I told a local fisherman in Stornoway what we were doing on the Shiants this winter. The news that there’s a group of conservationists living on the Shiant Isles for five months this winter 2015/16 has spread fast around the locals here. The reason a team of ten are braving the famously wild winter weather of the Minch is we are removing the invasive black rats as part of the Shiant Isles Recovery Project which is creating a safe breeding environment for the seabirds. With the recent uplisting of puffin to globally threatened on the IUCN red list, this work is coming at a critical time.

RSPB Scotland and Wildlife Management International Limited staff with the six intrepid winter volunteers ready to get started on the Shiants.

Photo: Charlie Main

So what are we doing this winter? To remove the rats from the Shiant Isles requires accessing every part of all the islands to install bait stations on a regular grid. This grid of stations will ensure that there is rat poison available in every rat territory and we need to remove every last one to be successful. This means we have accessed all the boulder fields, all the steep grassy slopes and even large grassy ledges halfway down cliffs.

November saw the first rat poison laid across all 1171 bait stations on the three main islands (Eilean an Tighe, Garbh Eilean and Eilean Mhuire). The gruelling task of walking the c.45 km bait lines every 3-4 days checking stations will continue until

Bait station on Eilean Mhuire. Photo: Thomas Churchyard Page 6 the end of March 2016. Constant monitoring of the bait allows us to do several things. It gives us information on how the rat population is declining and importantly about where rats are persisting on the Islands enabling us to target any problem spots as the winter progresses. It also ensures that only necessary bait is introduced to the environment as we can control how much is available continually.

Inside a station baited with Contrac® Blox™.

Photo: Thomas Churchyard

With the operation underway team spirit is high despite the first taste of Hebridean winter weather and storm Abigail reminding us all of the challenges the weather will throw at us. The thought that 2016 could see the Shiant Isles in the best condition for breeding seabirds since before the arrival of rats is more than enough motivation to keep us going!

Great news – Galtas discovered to be rat free!

Galta Mor and Galta Beag have been confirmed as rat free. Photo: Thomas Churchyard

Although we are only at the start of the operation we already have some promising news. On a rare calm day we were able to access the Galtas - the chain of small islands and stacks to the west of the Shiant Isles - to check rat monitoring deployed over the summer. We are delighted that we found no sign of rats. It is likely that during the winter months and storms these islands are too hostile to support a rat population. We have left small amounts of bait in place and will return in March 2016 for one final check. http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/scotland/archive/2015/12/30/shiants-episode- four-wild-winter-work-begins.aspx

Page 7

Local Walks and Day trip reports: November 2015 – March 2016

18th November 2015 Gouthwaite Reservoir, Yorkshire Dales It was raining when we left York and still raining when we arrived at Gouthwaite Reservoir, fortunately it eventually ceased and we had a very good day after the miserable start. There were about 30 species of birds, including common gull, mallard, chaffinch, jackdaw, Canada geese, greylag geese, lapwing, goldfinch, buzzard, goldcrest, sparrow hawk and green woodpecker. Colin Rafton 22nd November 2015 East Coast Brigg was our first stop where we were welcomed with a heavy shower of hail, before a walk along the top of the Brigg rewarded us with a view of dunlin, redshank, oystercatcher and a red- throated diver. We had lunch in the hides at Filey Dams as the weather took a turn for the worse again. On our way back we saw a barn owl hunting and a fox walking across the reserve. The Holbeck area of Scarborough was our next stop, where we added Mediterranean. Gull with a ring (left) to our day list. (This was later traced by Masha to have been ringed at Antwerp, Belgium in May 2015). We saw the peregrines on the Marine Drive and then walked around the harbour where black-necked grebes were very visible and redshanks and purple sandpipers were roosting on the breakwater. There had been an influx of little auks and we saw several including one in a boat (right) ! Scarborough Mere was our last stop where we added various ducks and a whooper swan to our list. Luckily the weather had improved during the day. Barry Bishop

24th January 2016 Fairburn Ings We decided to go to Fairburn Ings and the weather was dry and overcast. Some of the birds seen were greenfinch, tree sparrow, bullfinch, teal, grey heron, little egret, jay, little grebe, pochard, shoveler, great spotted woodpecker, goldeneye, snipe, goldcrest, tufted duck, long tailed tit, oystercatcher goosander and kingfisher. In total we saw over 50 species of birds, which was an extremely good day's birding. Colin Rafton

31st January Castle Howard. Eleven people met at the car park by Castle Howard Lake for our first walk of the year. As we only had 5 cars we decided to move to the village of Coneysthorpe as this was nearer to our route. Unfortunately the anticipated parking spaces had been unexpectedly occupied and our start was delayed to avoid upsetting the residents. Our group included 3 new attendees on our walk and we hope to see them again at future events. The weather was rather dull and a bit damp at times and this reflected the wildlife and birds to be seen. Garden birds were recorded in Coneysthorpe and some countryside species along the route as well as a soaring buzzard away to our left. Winter thrushes provided interest on the later part of our route. An unusual feature, photographed by Chris Brookes was an adult Vietnamese Pot-Bellied pig (right) which became interested in us as we past a farm. We managed to record 30 species plus a greater spotted woodpecker heard during the walk. Ken Searstone

Page 8

20th February East Coast Thirteen members assembled at Union Street car park for our second trip of 2016. Although the weather was dry it didn’t warrant a visit to Wykeham Forest for goshawk on our way to the coast. From the lower car park at Filey Country Park we went down to the beach and along to Filey Brigg. A few waders and sea birds were recorded from the cliff side path. On reaching the start of the Brigg and with the help of some other birders, the long-stay immature surf scoter was soon in our telescopes. Red-throated divers and great crested grebes were also recorded from this spot. We left the Brigg around 12.00 noon and were surprised to find that the incoming tide had unexpectedly cut off our return route. (High tide was forecast for 3.00pm!). This made us take a rather challenging climb up the disintegrating cliff side path to return to our cars. We then headed for Holbeck car park at Scarborough where we had lunch whilst enjoying good views of Mediterranean gull, some already in breeding plumage. A walk down the path towards the sea from here proved fruitless apart from two goldfinches feeding in the scrub adjacent to the path. From Holbeck we drove to Marine Drive where excellent views of the resident peregrines were obtained. The tercel treated us and his mate to a short display of his talents. A walk around the harbour located another long staying rarity in the form of black-necked grebe. Unusually only 4 purple sandpipers were seen on the seaside of the harbour wall along with a couple of redshank. On the way back to the cars harbour porpoise were added to our bird list of 29 species. Ken Searstone 27th February Allerthorpe Woods Allerthorpe Woods, or more accurately Allerthorpe Common, was the venue for our second walk of 2016. A bumper turnout of around 24, along with the regular dog walkers, ensured a full car park on a fine Saturday morning. The wooded Common is managed by Forest Enterprises but within the boundary is a smaller reserve area managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. A short walk along the road led to a gateway into the woods and immediately we saw various tits, treecreeper, goldcrest, siskin, robins and wren. After negotiating a rather deep ditch, using strategically placed logs, birdlife became scarce until nearly reaching the YWT reserve where, most of the group, somewhat behind the leaders, heard a woodlark singing high in the sky and then briefly saw if fly across the reserve. Needless to say it wasn’t to be seen again! A walk around the rest of the reserve didn’t produce much extra birdlife. Adders, for which the reserve is well known, were presumably still hibernating and so not to be seen. Our wild flower experts did however find the reserve very productive in its range and rarity of species observed and an interesting wood sculpture of a deer stag (or reindeer?) (above) was passed. Apart from another flock of tits moving through the wood the return to the car park was fairly quiet although again the group’s rearguard reported views of common redpoll before reaching the car park. Ken Searstone Images © Christine Brookes

Please see page 5 for the report on Wass Woods on 13th March

Page 9

Spring and Summer programme of events – April to September 2016

APRIL Thurs 21st 7.30pm INDOOR MEETING – Peter Holden MBE – Giving Nature a Home.

Peter Holden was on the RSPB staff for more than 40 years, during which time he devised the Big Garden Birdwatch, advised and appeared on Blue Peter, made BBC programmes with Bill Oddie and appeared on Springwatch. He has co-authored more than a dozen books including RSPB Handbook of British Birds and was awarded the MBE for services to Nature Conservation in 2009. His illustrated talk is aimed at the general public and newcomers to the RSPB as well as experienced members: What does 'Giving Nature a Home' really mean? In this talk we will look at some of the fascinating wildlife that benefits from our activities, both in our gardens and further afield. We will find out what scientists have discovered about some of our garden birds and other creatures, and we will consider some top tips for making simple improvements to our garden habitats. We will also look at some of the initiatives being taken by RSPB reserves to increase biodiversity.

Tues 26th 10.00am MORNING WALK to Hetchell Woods YWT reserve. Meet Milner Lane through Bardsey. OS Ref. 380423 N 53.875516 W -1.4235075

A mix of woodland, species rich grassland and wet flushes, Hetchell Wood provides a tranquil retreat on the edge of the conurbation of Leeds. The variety of habitats provide refuge for the rare species which were once widespread in the local landscape. The path network allows visitors to explore each of the habitats in turn along with other significant features such as the imposing rocky crags.

MAY Sat 7th 10.00am MORNING WALK @ . Meet car park. OS Ref. 669377 N 53.831264 W -0.98500088

Skipwith Common is an area of over 500 acres of lowland heath - one of the last remaining areas in the North of England. A nationally important nature reserve, it is managed by English Nature, principally because of insect and birdlife. The Common also contains ancient burial sites.

Tue 10th May – Birding by Bus – to Strensall Common. See ‘Leaders Comments on page 3 for further details.

Tues 17th 7.30pm INDOOR MEETING – Rick Simpson -"Waderquest: Waders and their Conservation. Followed by a break and then the AGM.

Co-founder of Wader Quest, Rick Simpson, writer, speaker, blogger and artist, is a life-long birder having followed a circuitous route to conservation from garden birder as a child through local patch watcher, British birder, twitcher, world birder and bird guide. His talk "Wader Quest" gives stories from travels around the world in search of waders packed with amusing anecdotes and marvelous photographs while highlighting the problems waders are increasingly encountering. Wader Quest is a charity created to raise funds and awareness about waders or shorebirds and their protection around the globe.

Page 10

JUNE Wed 15th 10.00am MORNING WALK @ Crayke. Meet roadside below church. OS Ref 560705 N 54.127314 W -1.1445780

Today's walk is being led by Christine and Ian Brookes. They have done other walks for us and we expect an interesting walk. The walk is part of Crayke Estate Walk which can be viewed on yorkshirewalks:- http://www.yorkshirewalks.org/diary15/diary590.html

JULY Thur 14th 7.00pm EVENING WALK @ Barlow Common (YWT). Meet car park (3m south of ). OS Ref 637282 N 53.746292 W -1.0355737

Warblers, woodpeckers and wall brown butterflies now call Barlow Common home, despite its chequered past. Formerly a common used by locals grazing their stock and then acquired by a local railway company, the site now boasts a fantastic diversity of butterflies, birds and wildflowers. A 36 ha. LNR. Toilets by car park.

AUGUST Wed 17th 10.00am MORNING WALK @ Rawcliffe Ings. Meet Rawcliffe Park and Ride. OS Ref 576547 N 53.985150 W -1.1230925

Rawcliffe Meadows, along with the Clifton and Rawcliffe Ings, is part of the Ouse Ings floodplain to the north of the City of York in the UK, and was notified in 2013 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The site provides for a range of plant, bird, animal and insect life, some of which are rare, and limited to such disappearing landscapes. Whilst the site is notified for its nationally important population of Tansy Beetles and the MG4 (Meadow Foxtail/Great Burnet) grassland, there is much else to be seen throughout the year. https://rawcliffemeadows.wordpress.com/

SEPTEMBER Wed 14th 7.30pm INDOOR MEETING – John Mather – An African Safari. Highlights of 51 trips to the Dark Continent.

Dr. Mather is an author and ornithologist based in Knaresbrough. His books include Birds of Yorkshire and Where to Watch Birds in Yorkshire but on this occasion he will be speaking about his travels in Africa; featuring the flamingos of Kenya's Rift Valley lakes, the herds of game and predators of Tanzania's vast plains and the butterflies and gorillas of Uganda's impenetrable forests.

Sun 18th 10.00am MORNING WALK @ Nunburnholme. Meet roadside. OS Ref 848478 N 53.919410 W -0.71030593

The village is named after a priory of Benedictine nuns in the 12th Century. One of the rectors 1854-93 wrote a very early series of books on birds and the church bell is inscribed "I will imitate your birds by singing." Our walk is across the Yorkshire Wolds around agricultural land. Red kites and buzzard should be seen overhead before we return to our cars by the church.

Note: There are also other events run with other organisations that may also be of interest – please see under Leader’s Comments on page 3.

Page 11

DAY TRIP VENUES April to September 2016

As noted in last newsletter please book these trips directly with Colin either by telephone (01904 413941), email ([email protected]) or in person at meetings, mentioning if you will like a lift or are able to provide one. Strong shoes or boots will be required on all the trips as well as a packed lunch. Please tell Colin as early as possible and note we will never pass on your details to anyone else.

Sunday 24th April 2016. Bempton Cliffs - by car 9am A RSPB reserve with spectacular cliffs with puffin, razorbill, guillemot, kittiwake, fulmar and lots of gannets plus smaller birds in the fields and bushes. In the afternoon we will decide where to go depending on what is around.

Sunday 22nd May 2016. Blacktoft - by car 9am Blacktoft is an RSPB reserve at the confluence of the Ouse and Trent with open water, scrapes, reedbeds and willow trees. On the day we hope to see marsh harrier, tree sparrow reed bunting, gadwall, shoveler, shelduck, redshank, black-tailed godwits and many other waterfowl and waders. Migration will be well underway anything could turn up. A pair of Montagu's harriers bred and raised young last year. There is a field centre and toilets on site.

Sunday 25th September 2016. Old Moor - by car 9am Old Moor is an RSPB reserve near Barnsley with open water, reedbeds, scrapes and scrub. We hope to see gadwall, shelduck, little grebe, redshank, lapwing, snipe, tree sparrow, reed bunting and many other birds. The reverse migration will be well underway so anything could turn up. There is a good shop and cafe on site.

SEABIRD CRUISES 2016

If you are interested in seabirds, the East Yorkshire RSPB Local Group organizes three hour long Puffin and Gannet Cruises every summer to see the seabirds on the cliffs of Flamborough and Bempton. In late summer/autumn three and a half hour long Skua & Shearwater Cruises go further out to sea to find skuas, shearwaters, migrant seabirds and cetaceans (see page 5 for possibilities! Ed).

All the cruises leave from Bridlington Harbour on the “Yorkshire Belle”. A raffle takes place on each cruise and raises money every year for seabird research. These cruises are very popular and booking in advance is strongly recommended - telephone the booking office on 01262 422211 to reserve your tickets and pay by credit or debit card, or you can send a cheque – made payable to The RSPB – with your name, address, telephone number, email address (to which tickets will be sent) and details of the tickets and date you wish to sail to: Seabird Cruises, RSPB, 9 Cliff Lane, Bempton, East Yorkshire, YO15 1JD. (Cruise office is staffed 8.30 am – 3.30 pm Mondays to Wednesdays, 8.30 am – 3.00 pm Thursdays, 9.00 am to 1.00 pm Fridays or please leave a message and they will phone back.)

Dates for Puffin cruises are: Sunday 15 May at 9.30 am, Saturday 21 May at 4.30 pm, Sunday 29 May at 9.30 am, Saturday 4 June at 4.30 pm, Saturday 11 June at 9.30 am, Saturday 18 June at 4.30 pm, Sunday 26 June at 9.30 am, Saturday 2 July at 4.30 pm, Sunday 10 July at 9.30 am

The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.

Page 12