“The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.” Cambridge Local Group Newsletter

Issue No: 117 January 2018

Contents Page

2 Group Leader’s Report Andy Law

3 Field Trip Reports 3 Strumpshaw , 27/08/17 Brenda & Melvyn 4 Frampton and Freiston Shore, 03/09/17 Brenda & Melvyn 6 Weekend in Dorset, 28/09/17 - 01/10/17 Various 13 Paxton Pits and , 09/11/17 Graham Cole 14 Welney and the , 09/12/17 Norman De’Ath

16 News from Local Reserves 16 Fen Drayton Lakes Luke Wake 17 Fowlmere Beth Aucott 19 Lakenheath Fen Alan Kell 21 Charlie Kitchener

23 Events 23 Field trips 24 Indoor meetings

25 Obituaries 25 Christine Sansom Tony Corps 25 Anne Shearcroft Melvyn Smith

27 Club directory Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

Group Leader’s Report

Hi all group members

I hope you have all had a good Christmas and new year. There is some good birding to be done at this time of the year. A visit to any of the wetland reserves around Cambridge should give a good variety of ducks made all the more enjoyable with the drakes being in breeding plumage. Choose a bright sunny day and they will seem to glow in the bright winter sun. A visit to the Ouse Washes could add all three species of swan to your tally and tree sparrow are fairly easy to see at the RSPB visitor centre.

Although there are few waxwings about at the moment there has been an influx of hawfinches this winter with several being reported in and around gardens in Cambridge. One person even reported them flying over the station. I have heard that they have been seen fairly regularly in the car park at Wimpole Hall.

I hope you all participated in the Big Garden Birdwatch and have sent your results in. Remember it is just as important to send in your results if you only saw a couple or even no birds, as it is if you saw hundreds. It is nice to see species increasing, but it is vitally important to know when numbers are decreasing, so what you don’t see is just as important as what you do see.

Our main money-raising event of the year is also fast approaching. Thriplow Daffodil Weekend & County Fare is happening the weekend of March 17th & 18th, and as usual we will have a stall with tombola, RSPB sales goods and ‘feed the bittern’ game. It would be good if you could come and help out with one of these, it doesn’t have to be all weekend or even all day, just an hour or two would be of great help and take the pressure off and allow the regular helpers time off to look around. If you could help please let me or any of the other committee members know, or if you’re not sure what’s involved just come and have a chat.

I hope you all enjoy the program of indoor and outdoor events that we provide for you each year. I think we have some great speakers and destinations over the next year, we all do our best to make it as variable and interesting as possible. But if there something you would like to hear about, I would love to get your feedback. Our talks don’t have to be specifically about birds, some of them could be about other groups of animals or perhaps plants. Or is there is a specific speaker you would like to hear give a talk for us? Why not drop me an email after each talk or trip and give me your thoughts good or bad.

As we are now into the new year, membership fees are due. Thanks to all those that have already renewed their membership. For those who have not yet renewed you can do so at most indoor meetings or by contacting Tina at [email protected]. It’s still only £10 a year.

Good birding

Andy Law

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Trip Reports

Strumpshaw Fen, 27th August 2017

On a lovely sunny morning thirteen members of the group met at the car park of RSPB Strumpshaw Fen. We all crossed, with care, the railway bordering the reserve and then met in the reception hide where most of us enjoyed a hot drink whilst looking out over the lake.

A kingfisher dashed low over the water. There were several little egrets with one very close. Hiding in the reeds was a black swan and out on the water were gadwall, mallard and shoveler with the males still in their eclipse plumage. The kingfisher then returned and perched on a small dead tree behind the reeds. It stayed there for a short while and then flew across the water before returning again and finally crossing the water and up a channel and away.

Moving off from the Visitor Hide we slowly wandered along the woodland path listening for birds. A robin popped out briefly, otherwise only pheasants around their feeders could be seen; with the shooting season for pheasants starting on 1st October, many of these will not be seen afterwards! Next to the path a movement was spotted in the nettles and on closer inspection a vole was seen moving under the grass before it disappeared into thicker vegetation. As we came to the edge of the wood we stopped to scan through a flock of small birds. There was long tailed tits, blue tits, goldcrest, coal tit, chiffchaff and a spotted flycatcher.

The track took us down to the River Yare and, as we walked along the river bank, we were distracted from birding by the sailing boats slowly passing, with motor boats passing at a quicker pace. Part way along the river walk we took a detour into the fen, to Fen Hide. Here, a young was calling and was located on a pile of dead reeds by the water. A couple of young Chinese water deer came out of the reeds; watching us they wandered across the open area and back into the reeds. Having exhausted our sightings here, we made our way back to the river and then along to Tower Hide.

Here we had really good views of a kingfisher that landed on dead tree branches in front of the hide. It was a male bird, distinguished from the female by both upper and lower mandibles being black; the female has an orange or part orange lower mandible. We watched as it dived for small fish and was successful on a few occasions. It was then joined by a juvenile bird and they both flew off. Later another kingfisher came, again on to the same branches and also Kingfisher by Graham Cole began fishing.

Out on the water were several grey herons slowly and stealthily hunting for fish. Little egrets were more actively fishing. Most of the male ducks were still in eclipse plumage but we were still able to spot four garganey amongst them. As we were getting a better view of

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 3 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

the birds an osprey came over and all the ducks took flight, circling around before landing further away on the water. Later the garganey were seen again, this time a bit further away but a better view to confirm their identity.

We enjoyed our lunches in the hide before making our way back to the visitor centre. On the way a couple showed us a willow emerald damselfly, a recent coloniser. It has made one of the most spectacular arrivals. A decade ago it had only been spotted twice in Britain. They were found in Suffolk during 2009 and every year since, this species has spread further north and now is found in twelve counties. Its habitat is still water where it spends most of its time on willow. It lays its eggs in the bark of either willow or alder.

Before moving on from Strumpshaw we spent a restful few minutes at a small pond in the hope that water voles, that had been seen earlier, would appear again. However, luck was not with us this time so we moved onto Buckenham Fen. There is one hide over- looking the fen and a small pool and here we found snipe, ruff, dunlin and avocet as well as grey heron and black-tailed godwit. Our main objective was to find the pectoral sandpiper that had been seen earlier in the day. Once again, luck was against as we searched from the track leading up to the hide. A juvenile ruff had us excited when someone thought it was the sandpiper! Finally, in a drain near us we found a female tufted duck with three chicks; the female keeping guard on the surface as the chicks dived for food.

Although the “pec sand” had not been seen, all agreed that it had been another good day’s birding.

Brenda and Melvyn

Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, 3rd September 2017

Seventeen group members met at Frampton Marsh’s car park and proceeded to the visitor centre where an RSPB staff member, Chris Andrews, gave us an entertaining talk about the reserve.

Like many of our coastal regions, this part of Lincolnshire was reclaimed from the sea by the building of large earth banks and, like much of it still, is agricultural land. Ten years ago the land now forming this wonderful nature reserve was farmed mostly for potato crops when the farmer decided to retire and sell it. The land abutted the UK’s most important estuary in the region which the RSPB already owned so the RSPB snapped up the opportunity to purchase it and had a blank canvas to create a wonderful wader habitat, with both birds and people in mind. The result is a nature reserve which has become a magnet for migrating waders and, by the building of strategically placed hides, the wildlife, particularly wading birds, is brought really close, giving brilliant views instead of distant, difficult to identify, dots. The total area is 566 hectares and the water can be moved around the reserve by the use of a series of bunds and sluices so that each area can be managed individually to create the perfect water levels needed.

New wetlands are productive early on in their creation with high levels of nutrients which are released into the water allowing invertebrate species to increase and provide food

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for the waders. As time passes the nutrients become ‘locked up’ which means there is less food. So by drying out an area and seeding it with sunflowers or brassicas, or mixed cereal, it boosts food availability. It is then re-flooded so seeds attracts birds, and invertebrates can feed on the decaying plants. The water needs to be manipulated to appropriate depths so that the invertebrates are at a level for the waders to access. The scrape is divided into three areas so that this management of the reserve is done on a three year rotation. This means that two areas are wet all the time, leaving a dry area for a season. The RSPB had a “golden wellie award” for the reserve which attracted the most species of waders which Frampton Marsh won for several years in a row, so now the award has been discontinued and the wellie is displayed proudly in the visitor centre.

It was cloudy and windy as we made our way along the track towards the sea bank. A great white egret was seen flying over the scrapes, this was the same bird we had seen from the centre. We stopped at viewing humps to look over the pools; dunlin, ruff, lapwing and black-tailed godwit were the first waders we saw. A snipe flew in and was feeding near the rushes, along with a few avocets. Yellow wagtails were seen on the dried mud wandering around the few rushes that were growing. On the edge of one pool greenshank were seen and two flew off giving their distinctive ‘tew, tew, tew’ call as they flew out of view.

We wandered along the seawall, from which vantage point both the nature reserve and the salt of the Wash can be viewed. With the tide way out, there was little to see over the salt marshes, just one or two black-headed gulls. We turned our attention to the reserve scrapes and stopped on a few occasions to scan the edges of the pools. Here we saw at least four spotted redshank in winter plumage, and another greenshank all sleeping, as curlew called and flew over onto the scrape.

We slowly made our way to the East hide, which already had several birders sitting at the windows. We managed to squeeze in and scan the scrapes and mud banks. There were good numbers of waders; golden plover in front, sleeping and, a flock of black-tailed godwit. As this hide was full we soon made our way to the next hide which only housed a couple of birders; the reason quite clear – few birds to see!

However, the next “360 hide” was packed with birders, making it difficult to find good views. Eventually, most of our group managed to find gaps between bodies to see a little stint which had been pointed out. Then a call went up that the red-necked phalarope, which had been reported earlier, had flown in to view. Unfortunately, it flew off before all the members of the group could see it. It did not reappear whilst we were in the hide. Then the birders changed their attention to a wader that was smaller and lighter than the dunlin with which it was White-rumped sandpiper by Norman De'Ath feeding. The suggestion was that it could be a white-rumped sandpiper. Books and apps on phones were checked and after much discussion it was finally agreed that the

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identification was correct. After, for some, this double excitement, it was time to return to the centre for our lunch before moving on Freiston Shore.

At Freiston, we followed the concrete track to the viewing screen looking over a wet area known as the fresh water reservoir, only to be disappointed as there was only dried mud! There were a couple of dunlin and shelduck, and wandering back, we saw black-tailed godwit on the edge of a ditch. Returning towards the car park, we then turned along a path towards the sea bank, stopping at a hide overlooking a lake. A highlight here was the sighting of at least six little grebes, which included a couple of young. We then continued out to the seawall to where there is a gap in the wall created to allow the sea to flood the large area of uneconomic agricultural land. This has a double benefit; it creates “managed retreat” to mitigate against big tidal surges and has also created an area of salt marsh with creeks, attracting good numbers of waders when the tide is high. With the tide out at the time of our visit, we only spotted a couple of redshank and a little egret. Looking out on the washes we saw a large golden plover flock, which at one point took to the air; a spectacular sight! Scanning the sea water edge there was a large flock of oystercatchers and some of us were lucky to spot a pair of eider ducks.

With the threat of rain near the end of another good day of birding, we returned to our cars and set off for home.

Brenda and Melvyn

Weekend in Dorset, 28th September – 1st October 2017

Thursday 28th September

12 members booked for this trip, but unfortunately one was unable to make it due to illness, luckily now recovered. We were based at the Springfield Hotel just outside Wareham which was convenient for our visits to Portland Bill, Arne and finally Brownsea Island.

The long weekend began with 11 of us meeting up at Enford Village Hall just before 2 p.m. on the Thursday to see the Great Bustard Project on Salisbury Plain. The great bustard become extinct in the UK when the last bird was shot in 1832. Birds were shot for food and sport. We were taken to the location in two four-wheel drive vehicles which took around 10 minutes. It was really interesting seeing this area of Salisbury Plain which is very attractive, undulating countryside shared with the military and farms. On our journey we saw a variety of birds which included the corvids, magpies, crows, rooks and jackdaws plus many small birds which were not easy to identify as we negotiated the narrow, bumpy tracks. We were treated to Red Kites soaring ahead. In the distance there were old tanks which are used as targets from the firing ranges. We also were shown two areas where stone curlews visit in the summer and could see the outlines of old strip lynchet terraces which are a feature of ancient field systems.

We were taken near to the pens where the Great Bustard chicks were reared. David Waters founded the Great Bustard Project in 2004 and started by bringing over chicks and

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 6 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

eggs from Russia but this changed to eggs brought over from Spain. This year 13 chicks have been successfully reared from eggs brought over from Spain. The eggs are incubated at Bird World near Farnham.

The Great Bustard Project website explains: “The day old chicks are then taken to the GBG Project Site in Wiltshire and reared by the Great Bustard Group. The chicks need to be bill-fed with a puppet and exercised as they grow so the rearing team wear dehumanisation suits to stop the chicks becoming attached to humans. 2014, the first year using Spanish great bustards, saw 33 birds released and a spring census showed a survival rate of over 50% through the first winter. This percentage is much better than was achieved when using chicks imported from Russia, and is significantly better than the 22% which may be expected in a natural wild population.”

We watched the 13 chicks plus 3 adults. All birds are free to roam and can fly. The chicks are still being fed once a day. It was amusing watching the volunteer dressed in dehumanisation suit walking along followed by the 13 chicks and 3 adults. We did see the adults fly but the birds do spend most of their time on the ground as they only have 3 toes and cannot grasp. It is not known exactly how many birds are in the area but somewhere in the region of 79 is the consensus. The birds are very handsome and we enjoyed watching them.

Great bustards by Norman De'Ath

Apart from the Great Bustards, we also watched many birds on the fence posts which included a buzzard and kestrel as well as many stonechats. It was good to see flocks of linnets and goldfinches flying around and feeding on various seed heads. Wheatears were also in evidence.

After the allotted time, we boarded the four-wheel drive vehicles again and were taken to the visitor centre where we could access further information about the project before being returned to our cars. We learnt that great bustards are included in several counties’ coats of arms including ’s.

On the way to Wareham to our accommodation, a few of the group heard that there was a stilt sandpiper seen at Middlebere not far from Wareham and they called in on the way

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 7 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

and managed to see the bird. This, of course, meant they were asked to guide the remainder of the group the following morning, prior to the visit to Portland Bill.

You can learn more about the Great Bustard Project from the following websites:

http://greatbustard.org/the-project/

https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/reintroducing-the-great- bustard-to-southern-england

Alex Andrews

Friday 29th September

On Friday morning, the group decided to start the day with an unscheduled visit to Middlebere Farm, in the hope that the whole group might see the stilt sandpiper that some had gone to see the previous evening. We arrived before 9:00 am and made our way along the lane, welcomed by small flocks of long-tailed, blue, and great tits, chaffinches, robins, and dunnocks. Once we reached the hide, we were faced with the challenge of detecting our target bird among the large numbers of black- and bar-tailed godwits, avocets, and common redshanks. However, by seeking out the smaller birds feeding among the godwits, then distinguishing the dunlins and knots, we were able to narrow the search and finally pick out the stilt sandpiper with its much leggier appearance and different style of feeding.

Resuming our planned agenda, we departed for Portland Bill. After a reinvigorating coffee stop, we made our way eastwards along the coastline. Taking our time on this walk, we observed numerous wheatears, large flocks of linnets, and a few rock pipits. Flights of swallows sped past along, doubtless preparing for their cross-channel migration. Herring, lesser black-backed, and great black-backed gulls were seen, and out to sea we differentiated a shag from the numerous cormorants, along with multiple adult and immature gannets.

It was then just a short walk to the Portland Bird Observatory, where we were greeted by the warden, Martin Cade. The Observatory is surrounded by trees and shrubs, providing an oasis of greenery for migrants and vagrants. Wryneck by Alex Andrews

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Far from home ourselves, we made ourselves comfortable on the terrace and settled down for lunch, while Martin went to check the mist-nets. To our delight, he returned with a wryneck, offering spectacularly close and sustained views of a bird that was a lifer for many of the group. Even those who had been lucky enough to see a wryneck before were thrilled to watch its snake-like extending and twisting of its neck, as well as the way in which it raised its head feathers in a small crest. Tipped off to search the trees and shrubs at the entrance of the Observatory, we also had very good views of at least two firecrests as they foraged in the canopy, accompanied by several goldcrests.

It was now mid-afternoon, and we headed to the RSPB Lodmoor reserve, nestled fairly centrally in Weymouth. Three little stints had been reported here, and we located them without difficulty. The reserve was rich with birds, with some of the most noteworthy including a distant great egret, a green sandpiper, some black-tailed godwits still wearing their breeding livery, and 5 snipe. Towards the end of our visit, Brenda drew our attention to some individuals among the multitudes of black-headed gulls that appeared different, and closer inspection established that there were at least 20 first-winter Mediterranean gulls intermingled, with their much heavier bills, dark “bruise” behind the eye, and darker legs.

Ed King

Saturday 30th September

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we made the short journey to RSPB Arne where we had arranged a two-hour tour. We met our guides, George and Fabian, in the car park and within minutes were hearing and seeing firecrests – a great start to the day!

As we made our way to Coombe Heath, we glimpsed a Japanese sika hind with calf. Similar in size and coat to Fallow deer but darker, sika deer were introduced into Britain in 1860. These woodland deer are excellent swimmers with a number of stags making the journey to nearby Brownsea Island each year for the rut. At Arne, they graze particularly on the heather and tend to be solitary for most of the year only forming small groups in winter. Stags and hinds occupy completely separate ranges except during the mating season. Hybridisation with native red deer occurs where populations meet however, causing concern for the genetic integrity of the red deer.

Coombe Heath is also home to an estimated 70 pairs of Dartford warblers, good numbers as a result of 2 mild winters. Their survival is helped by careful management of the gorse to provide the warmth and shelter they need as well as food. With no evidence of their presence, we moved on to a pond to look for one of our largest spiders, the raft spider, Dolomedes fimbriatus, which is semi- aquatic and lives around acidic bogs and heathland. They are similar in size and appearance to the much scarcer Fen raft Raft spider by Alex Andrews spider which is only found in three sites in

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 9 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

the UK including Redgrave and Lopham Fen. Several raft spiders were soon spotted along with some shed skins, the means by which they grow. Like most spiders, females are much larger than the males. They use water like other spiders use a web, their front legs resting on the water surface in order to feel vibrations of potential prey which they then catch by skating across the water. They can even submerge for about an hour if threatened. While here, we were shown some egg sacs on surrounding vegetation, thought to belong to the wasp spider.

Moving on we were taken ‘off grid’ to an area of grassland leading to the estuary. On the way several corrugated sheet squares were lifted to look for reptiles warming underneath but with no luck. Jay, mistle thrush and green woodpecker though were heard or seen and parasol fungi were admired and photographed. As we reached the estuary, a great white egret was spotted along with little egrets, curlew and a spoonbill flew in close to us. About five have made Arne their home and bred last year for the first time. Numbers swell in winter to about 70, thought to come in from Holland and Belgium. Three Brent geese flew over; the reserve’s first for the season, followed by pintails, and 2 grey seals bobbed up and down in the water. After some of us sampled the samphire growing at the water’s edge, we moved on, passing through more heathland with many meadow pipits in evidence. These birds are an important host for the cuckoos that visit Arne. A Dartford warbler was heard and glimpsed by some of the group but, as the wind had strengthened, it remained elusive. On the estuary, scopes scanned for the stilt sandpiper that was still present that we had seen from the other side of the estuary the day before, but without luck. Avocets, black-tailed godwits, spoonbill, greenshank and 2 green sandpipers were seen here.

With time moving on, we made our way back to the car park and again heard firecrest but this time coming from one particular area and George confirmed that it was a tape used as a lure for bird ringing. At that point we saw another warden, Luke, returning from the nets and were thrilled to see him produce a firecrest from his bag! Weighing in at just 5 grams, the same as a 20p, it was a female; a second weighing in at 6 grams was a male and both were admired and photographed before being quickly released, to the great delight of the group and other visitors.

With grateful thanks to our guides we retreated to the cafe for lunch, sitting outside Firecrest by Alex Andrews in the now-warm sunshine. The afternoon was spent exploring the rest of the reserve following the Shipstal trail to Shipstal beach and hill with panoramic views of Poole Harbour. Cormorants, oystercatchers and curlew were numerous, and some time was spent watching a buzzard ‘hanging’ in the wind almost motionless above one of the islands in the harbour. Terns were a surprise find among the gulls, and careful observation revealed them to be sandwich terns. A total of 7 were counted including adults and juveniles.

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By mid-afternoon, some of the group decided to move on to a new reserve, RSPB Lytchett, recommended by our guide, while others took a more leisurely walk back to the visitor centre and then back to the hotel. One area of this reserve was a grassy field with not much on it, but then the group moved on to another part of the reserve with 2 viewing areas overlooking a wet tidal mudflat. Here there were several waders including ruff, redshank, dunlin, little stint and curlew sandpiper. Two snipe flew in and disappeared on landing. The group The group at RSPB Arne, by Rachel Lowry then saw a greenshank that had coloured rings on its leg. Investigation by the Birds of Poole Harbour found that the bird had been ringed as a juvenile on 28th September 2015 in Seacrook, Montrose Basin, north-east Scotland. From December 2015 to March 2016 the bird was at WWT Steart, Somerset and then Lytchett Bay in April 2016, before returning here again this autumn. As the group walked back to the car, 2 green sandpipers were seen flying away showing their white rumps.

Back at the hotel, the group rejoined to compare sightings and reflect on another great day’s birding.

Rachel Lowry

Sunday 1st October

The last day of the group visit to Dorset, we headed for Brownsea Island which lies within Poole Harbour. The island is very peaceful and unspoilt but, lying as it does within the Harbour, it is surrounded by activity, noise, development and wealth. To one side the large Sandbanks to Studland Bay chain ferry plies back and forth all day long, and although the harbour is shallow it is full of sailing boats, moored luxury cabin cruisers, jet skis and kite surfers. Sandbanks has some of the most expensive real estate in the country, with vast ultra modern houses built side-by-side along the shoreline. Landing on the island, one enters a different world.

In spite of the forecast, the strong winds had dropped significantly before breakfast and we were in good time to catch the 10:00 ferry from Poole for the 20-minute crossing to Brownsea. It was slightly damp but all ten of us sat on the upper deck for the crossing with plenty of cormorants, shags and gulls to keep us occupied. Landing at the National Trust (NT) visitor centre, we had time for a quick coffee stop and a look at the area before meeting our guide. Around the centre, chiffchaff, goldfinch, chaffinch and the first siskin of the weekend were seen. On the lagoon a good-size flock of avocet wheeled around. We then set off to meet Nicky from Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) for a pre-arranged tour. As she introduced herself and started to give us a brief history of the island, a red squirrel came into full view in the tree beside her, a great start.

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Nicky told us that the last owner of Brownsea Island was Mrs. Bonham Christie who lived alone on the island from 1927 to 1960. During her ownership, preferring nature and wildlife to people, all the other island residents left the island, and nature was allowed to claim the fields and woodlands to such an extent that even the villa in which she lived was eventually completely obscured by huge rhododendrons. After her death, the island faced development but the NT took ownership in 1962, leasing the northern part of the island to DWT (approximately 200 acres, of which one third is lagoon). There was a massive effort over some time to clear all the rhododendron and overgrown scrub. The only other presence on the island is John Lewis who run the castle as a hotel for the benefit of their staff and pensioners, although it is closed during the winter.

Setting off towards Lagoon hide, using a boardwalk to cross the recently cleared wild flower meadow, we were able to watch a red squirrel on the ground, and a grey wagtail beside a small stream. The large brackish lagoon is situated on the north east corner of the island and separated by a sea wall from Poole Harbour itself. Within the lagoon some of the small man-made islands were fenced, in particular to protect the sandwich and common tern colonies from having their nests trampled by the Sika deer living on Brownsea.

There were good numbers of birds around, including eight spoonbill, avocet, godwits (mostly black-tailed), ruff, knot, dunlin, red and greenshank. The highlight however was immediately in front of the hide where both a greenshank and a spotted redshank were roosting. Within moments they both started to feed, alongside common redshank and, later, a black tailed godwit, giving us great comparisons of these waders. We then moved on to a larger hide further along the lagoon with closer views of the spoonbill. There were numerous ducks including teal, Spotted Redshank by Norman De'Ath wigeon, gadwall and shoveler, many still coming out of eclipse, and we saw one pintail, a sure sign of the approaching winter. Nicky explained that while the lagoon was enclosed by a sea wall, the NT have said that they will not maintain the wall, so over time the habitat will of course change. There is fresh water from a spring on the island, while drinking water is now piped over from the mainland. The island apparently also has a good population of water vole and 12 species of bat!

Leaving the lagoon behind, we headed through the trees to the villa which is the DWT visitor centre, on the way passing a large round pond which Nicky told us was a bomb crater. She explained that during the war, Brownsea Island had been used as a decoy to protect not only Poole, home to several cordite factories, but also the main harbour itself. While Poole was blacked out, some lights were lit on Brownsea which as a result was hit by some 150 tons of bombs, at least one falling quite close to the large Victorian villa. The villa had been built for the vicar but he had never lived there, preferring the rather more modest accommodation where the rest of the island residents lived. The villa has 27 rooms, and at one time had accommodated eleven servants for the family of three who lived there. The DWT currently have a bid in for funding to do some essential repairs on the house and

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eventually to be able to do up a couple of rooms to enable them to have visitors stay overnight! Nicky, who lives in a part of the villa, also said that as it is the start of the rutting season, it can get quite noisy at night. The female Sika deer live on the island, but at this time of year they are joined by the males as they swim or wade over from Arne. The well- stocked bird feeders in a clearing opposite the centre were also quite busy with small birds, including coal tit and nuthatch, and we heard great spotted woodpecker.

Having used the facilities at the DWT, we left Nicky, and as it had started to rain, we headed for a hide to eat our lunch. We had a quick look into Reed hide, surrounded by trees and water, but as it was quiet and rather small we went on to Lake hide, a few of the group spotting another red squirrel en route. Lake hide is set well up on a hill overlooking a lake. Scanning the lake we saw a few tufted duck, mallard and gadwall, plus a little grebe and distant grey wagtail, while blue and long tailed tits and goldcrests worked in the treetops surrounding us. With the rain setting in, rather than carry on further round, we headed back for the lagoon hides where we again had good views of the many birds, adding turnstone, sanderling and little stint to our lists. The spotted redshank was still busy feeding outside the Lagoon hide.

We returned to the NT visitor centre to catch the 3 p.m. boat, the return journey taking a longer route round the island and the rest of the harbour. It was a little damp so while a few ventured outside, most stayed below with a cup of tea. There were still plenty of cormorant and shags around, and one late staying sandwich tern flew round the boat. We got back to Poole harbour about 3:45 pm before all leaving for home, a little weary and damp, but having had a thoroughly good trip, and I think many of us would like to go back and explore a bit more of the island. A great way to end a thoroughly enjoyable few days in Dorset.

Jenny Brightwell

Paxton Pits and Grafham Water, 9th November 2017

We were blessed with bright dry weather for our trip to Paxton Pits and Grafham Water. When there is a winter sun the views of birds are greatly enhanced. We assembled at Paxton Pits, where the birding started in the car park as we got organised. A mixed flock of long tailed tits, blue tit and great tits came through the trees. There were also chaffinches, blackbirds and two song thrushes.

The group split into two parties as we had an excellent turn out. We followed the same circular route, but in opposite directions. On the Heronry South Lake we were presented with a fine selection of birds. Close up were wigeon, moorhen and mallard. Further back, on and around the small islands in the lake were large numbers of black-headed gulls, greylag geese and numerous ducks, so a careful inspection was required. We picked out shoveler, teal, gadwall and coot. The best find was a female goosander, but that soon departed before both parties saw it. Also present were mute swans, green sandpiper, grey wagtail and grey heron. A stock dove was spotted in the tall trees. A large group of egyptian geese also came into view. There were more ducks on the Heronry North Lake, mostly tufted ducks and wigeon. A nice find was a single male goldeneye. We also found a coot.

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Walking around the paths we entered a wooded area to look over the sailing lake. Here we found Canada geese on the lake. A high-pitched call alerted us to some more long tailed tits passing through the canopy above us. We continued to search the trees and were rewarded with a goldcrest and a treecreeper. A common buzzard was perched in scrub adjacent to a cultivated field. It was seen to drop into the field a couple of times before we moved on.

In the afternoon we relocated to Grafham Water. We initially parked at the main centre to use the cafe. We also looked over the reservoir in the hope of finding a reported great northern diver. Just outside the visitor centre is a rubber barrage to create a small harbour to shelter the hire boats. The barrage was topped by a line of gulls. Most were black-headed gulls, but we picked out two common gulls and another female goosander. This time all of the group saw it. The far side of the reservoir was a long way off. But it was sheltering most of Great northern diver by Clément Charento the birds. We were struck by the large number of great crested grebes. Also present were goldeneye, tufted duck and wigeon. There were also a couple of grey herons, greylag geese and a little egret. Sitting on a buoy a long way out was a great black backed gull.

We re-located to the Plummer Car Park and walked to the Dam. On route we spotted a kestrel that perched in a tree for a while. At the dam the group were straight onto the great northern diver. It was in excellent condition and spent some time on the surface preening. We stayed for some time, during which the great northern diver started to dive for food and moved further away. Against the dam there was an accumulation of flotsam including a build up of foam. It was entertaining to see first a carrion crow and then mallards scavenging for food. We also had a pied wagtail and a redshank.

A few lucky members saw a kingfisher at Grafham, and half the group saw another at Paxton.

Graham Cole

Welney WWT and Ouse Washes RSPB, 9th December 2017

The early-rising group of eight members arrived in good time for the ‘swans awake’, and were rewarded with a glorious sunrise amid very frosty conditions. At first we were in the main hide where the outside light was on and we could view the swans close by the hide. Mallards started to arrive, appearing as ghostly apparitions as they wheeled down and landed on the ice, sliding to a stop. As the light improved we could see shoveler, pintail, teal and wigeon amongst the mallards. There was also a large flock of roosting black-tailed godwit. As the sun rose we walked up to Friend’s hide where there were a couple of

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 14 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

Bewick’s swans, separate from the whooper swans. Two grey herons were sheltering by clumps of reeds. A marsh harrier quartered over the washes, putting up a large flock of black-headed gull that wheeled round but soon settled down again. Back at the main hide we watched as the birds were fed; grain was thrown on the ice and the mute swans were acting as ice breakers as they moved forward for the grain, the ducks following behind. Some of the group went down to the ground floor photography area on the same levels as the birds. At about 8.45 am we made our way back to the café for a very welcome full English breakfast and hot drink.

The early risers were then joined by four more who had had a more leisurely start to the day! We were lucky to see perhaps up to fifty to sixty tree sparrows on the feeders from the café area. These were very flighty, constantly moving between the feeders and reed cover. Returning to the main hide we were rewarded with some amazing views of huge numbers of birds. Particularly impressive were the numbers of black-tailed godwit, packed together in a long straggly group and possibly 800 or even more birds. There were even greater Whooper swans by Jeremy Aldred number of wigeon as far as the eye could see as well as quite large numbers of pintail and other duck species such as pochard, mallard, and teal. Apart from the godwits, waders were few, but a couple of dunlin were spotted as well as a redshank and quite a few lapwing – and of course good numbers of whooper swans and smaller numbers of Bewick’s. Compared to earlier year’s numbers of both these species have declined and this was certainly noticeable.

Moving on to the Lyle hide we had some excellent views of marsh harriers, with a group having some aerial fun, possibly two adults and a juvenile so perhaps a family group. Close by this group a common buzzard was perched on a post. We also saw a male sparrowhawk perched on a gate post for some time before it went off looking for some food. A short time later we thought we saw the sparrowhawk again, but there was something different about this bird being slimmer in profile and much daintier in flight as it unsuccessfully chased a small passerine - possibly a reed bunting. It soon landed on a post so we could get scopes on it and it was soon identified as a female merlin, with the distinctive barring on the tail very clear. This was the best view of a merlin several of the group had ever had.

After this great raptor activity we moved on to the Ouse Washes and ate our lunch at the visitor centre while watching for tree sparrows. There were few of these but plenty of house sparrows about, especially around the ‘sparrow house’, as well as the usual common birds such as chaffinch, dunnock, and blue and great tits.

We strolled down to the Welches Dam hide when a small group of birds were spotted in a tree. These turned out to be corn buntings which like a high spot to perch. We also saw a group of fieldfare on the wet meadow and then some redwing. Going on to Stockdales

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hide as the sun was sinking fast, we saw several waders, ruff, redshank and dunlin, as well as a reclusive snipe at distance and a good number of pintail. We returned home having had a very good day of winter birding.

Norman De’Ath

News From Local Reserves

Fen Drayton Lakes

This winter we have got stuck into removing some of the mature willows across the reserve. Over at Ferry lagoon we have removed many of the lakeside willows on the grassland, in order to improve this area for wildfowl and waders. We have also been felling some of the trees directly into the lakes. This fairly recent management technique has many benefits. Firstly, the trees act as fish refuge by adding structure to the underwater world, with this in turn attracting herons, egrets and cormorants. Secondly, this added structure provides nesting opportunities, with previous years’ felling already being utilised by breeding coot. Lastly, the trees break up wave action and therefore help to protect the lakeside banks from erosion. All in all this is a fairly quick and very productive management technique.

Over at the holywell grasslands we have been using an excavator to carry out some habitat management. This area of the reserve may not look very interesting, however it does support a wide range of invertebrates, including a species of bee which nests in snail shells, Osmia bicolor. Management of these grasslands is aimed at stopping succession and creating as diverse an area as possible. We used the excavator to strip back areas of top soil in order to expose areas of bare sand and gravel below, thus adding heterogeneity to the open substrate across this area. This heterogeneity allows different microclimates to exist within an area that would otherwise become fairly uniform, with greater habitat diversity leading to greater species diversity.

We now have a new viewpoint on the North Western edge of Elney Lake. We have removed lakeside willows and created an elevated viewing area to give a large view looking East across this lake.

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We have been carrying out some work to improve the path that leads to the viewing shelter at Ferry mere. This path is generally pretty muddy and can be extremely slippery when wet. The aim is to improve the path conditions by allowing more light and wind to it. To achieve this we have felled willows adjacent to the path and have pulled some of the highest brambles down the bank. Future works are planned around the rest of the Ferry trail to improve the trail conditions.

Wildlife

This autumn the wildlife spectacle at the lakes had a fishy theme, with over 50 little egrets, at least three great white egrets and over 100 cormorants utilising the reserve. These birds are taking advantage of the plentiful supply of fish in Moore Lake and Ferry lagoon and are a real delight to see, whether they are stalking the shallows or gathering in the lake edge willows.

Bitterns have returned to spend the winter, with up to three being seen at once from the Elney viewpoint adjacent to the busway. Moreover, this view point has also produced barn owl, marsh harrier, bearded tit and snipe. Unfortunately starlings have not swarmed to the reserve on mass this winter, however there are sometimes a couple of thousand gathering at dusk.

The first smew of the winter has been seen already, with a single red-head seen at Moore lake. Hopefully a few more will arrive soon, fingers crossed for a drake to put in an appearance. A Siberian chiffchaff was also seen by Drayton Lagoon on the 28th November.

If you visit the reserve and have any interesting sightings then please do feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Happy birding!

Luke Wake

Fowlmere

Work on the reserve

The last few months have seen myself and the volunteers keeping busy out on the reserve working to make the site better for wildlife and people.

Alongside a contractor we’ve started to tackle some of the scrub. A number of areas of Hawthorn at Fowlmere are of very similar ages and as a result of having grown quite close together have ended up very tall and spindly. We’ve coppiced some areas, which when they grow back will introduce more variety of height and age to the hawthorns.

Recent visitors will have noticed that we’ve done some work along the River Shep, felling some trees and cutting vegetation. The chalk stream is quite heavily shaded at the moment so this work is a move to start to combat that. Letting in more light will benefit the species in the stream and an added bonus of removing some of this vegetation is that it will

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 17 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

open up views for visitors. This will be an ongoing task and more work will occur after Christmas.

As well as letting in light we’ve been attempting to repair some of the damage done to the banks of the stream by deer crossing. In some areas the banks are now quite degraded and as the deer walk through the water they are tracking silt into the stream; something we want to avoid as it settles on the riffles that brown trout use during their spawning season. The Friends of the River Shep very kindly funded the purchase of some materials for this work and a work party helped to repair the banks.

All of the meadow areas have had their annual cut and the work party managed to cut all of the internal rides by hand this year – that’s 1 km worth of rides cut and raked in a day! Although there is no public access in these area, visitors can see down some of these rides as they walk along the trails. Keeping these open also allows access to all the water control pipes and meant a banksman could keep an eye on the Truxor View after Truxor operators when they were in clearing vegetation from the ditches.

Wildlife Highlights

The change in seasons has seen a number of different birds visiting the reserve. Over the autumn we had sightings of osprey, short-eared owls and peregrines, to the delight of all those who saw them. A number of little egrets were spending time on the reserve across November, often chasing each other, and a bittern is being seen on a fairly regular basis coming in to roost. There are currently a group of Teal (c.25) occupying the Mere and feeding around the edges. There have also been sightings of shelduck and shoveler alongside the group of mallards that seem to have taken up residence in front of Spring hide. Large numbers of roosting reed buntings have been reported whilst redwing and fieldfare have been busy stripping berries from bushes. Woodcock has been seen in the woodland towards the south of the reserve and bullfinches are putting on a good show around the reception hut and boardwalk.

Otters get reported fairly regularly and stoats have been seen hunting rabbits around the reserve. Water vole are still spotted occasionally but have mostly been keeping themselves to themselves throughout the autumn and winter. We get regular reports of fallow and muntjac deer and there were plenty of signs of the rut in the autumn months. A leucistic fallow stag is spotted by visitors on a regular basis and I finally managed to catch up with it just before Christmas!

Beth Aucott, warden

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 18 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

Lakenheath Fen

Hello and welcome to news from Lakenheath Fen!

Reserve Management

Further work has been undertaken on the grazing marsh. Since the first cut in July, we have carried out some targeted weed wiping to reduce the coverage of nettles and juncus (rush). A final cut was then carried out across our grazing marsh at the end of September to coincide with the end of the growing season, with the aim to achieve low and open conditions to benefit next year’s breeding and passage waders. Several compartments were left as a hay crop for our local grazier.

The team of staff and volunteers have been busy improving the views for visitors from both of our viewpoints and hide by clearing the reed around the ponds and pools, which has subsequently increased the bittern sightings in these areas. We have also cut several ‘landing strips’ in favourable habitat locations within our compartments to encourage cranes to nest.

In the reedbeds we have lowered the water levels in the eastern and western cells to enable us to carry out essential management work over the winter. This has allowed us to access Norfolk Fen in the west, where we have started our scrub control. In the eastern section in New Fen North we are planning to undertake the final section of restoration management in this compartment with a 360 excavator cutting up to 5 hectares of reed, which will subsequently be burnt. This is dependent on the contractors but we are hoping this work will be completed late December / early January.

We have completed the sedge cutting in Bay using brush-cutters. Each year we cut approximately 20% of the southern compartment to create both structural and botanical diversity. This is also part of a trial on management techniques, as the 2 northern cells are managed via grazing only. Botanical surveys planned for next year will help determine the most effective management Sedge cutting burning in Botany Bay for creating the targeted botanical diversity. The cut sedge is then burnt up on tins to enable us to remove the ash to prevent nutrient enrichment in the SSSI.

Work has begun on the installation of a new photography station/feeding area, approximately 400m away from the visitor centre, heading along the grass track to New Fen Viewpoint. Our aim is to create a natural looking feeding area within a cut bay, where our

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visitors will be able to enjoy the wildlife from behind the viewing screen. This station is being constructed to enhance photography opportunities of our wildlife by accommodating camera tripods and providing a range of angles, including ground shots. We are hoping to complete and open this feature in early January.

Photography station in the process of being built - credit Dave Rogers

Wildlife Sightings

Our raptor species have started returning to the reserve over the past couple of months. 25 marsh harriers were recorded going into roost on 29/11/17, whilst both a male and female have been sighted. Peregrine, merlin and sparrowhawk sightings have also increased in frequency and these birds can often be witnessed terrorising flocks of starlings.

Bitterns and bearded tits are still showing well around the reserve and we currently have three great white egrets back with us. Our winter birds have also returned, and regular flocks of redwing and fieldfare can frequently be seen along the access track. A peak count of 460 whooper swans was recorded on the washland on 13/11, where they tend to roost each night. Our two regular breeding pairs of cranes have also been sighted and were part of a count of 9 cranes recorded on the 5/12, which is promising for next year’s breeding season.

Events

In October, we held our largest event of the year, the Race for Wildlife. This involved a record 133 participants descending on the reserve to partake in either a 5k or 10k run. A huge thank-you to all of our amazing volunteers who helped marshal the event as well as cheering on all the runners, creating a fantastic atmosphere. An amazing £1600 was raised, which goes directly back into the management of the reserve.

All of our up and coming events until end of March 2018 can now be found on our

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website, but please find a selection of these below:

Raptor watch Sunday 14 January 2pm-5pm Price: Adult £8 Children £4 (Non- Members) Adults £6 Children £3 (Members) Price includes car parking.

Winter ramble in the Sunday 4 February 9.30am-3pm Price: Adult £15 Children £7.50 (Non- Members) Adults £12 Children £6 (Members) PAYMENT TAKEN AT TIME OF BOOKING via www.wegottickets.com/lakenheath; or by cheque. Price includes car parking. Runners enjoying the Race for Wildlife - credit Early signs of spring at RSPB Cat Serpant-Barratt Lakenheath Fen Wednesday 14 February 11am-12.30pm Price: Free event (Facilities charge of £4 per car applies for non-members of the RSPB.)

We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

Thanks

Alan Kell (Warden) 13/12/2017

Nene Washes

The first winter period January to March 2017 had low numbers of waterfowl, as might be expected from a mild and flood-free winter. The highlights were probably the wintering waders at March Farmers: 8500 golden plover, 12,375 lapwing and 2410 Icelandic black- tailed godwits. It was also the best winter for ruff in many years, with 89 still present in January, some of them bearing coloured rings put on by the Dutch. Peak counts of some key species were: wigeon 12,929, teal 2736, whooper swans 916, Bewick’s swans 347, shoveler 418, and pintail 150. The pintail and Bewick’s swan figures are nowadays very low and probably the result of climate warming, birds don’t need to come this far west.

We went into the spring nesting season with the washes being far too dry and until the mid-May deluge it stayed that way, which would have reduced the attractiveness of the washes to species like garganey, snipe and spotted crake. The heavy rainfall on the 18th May is known to have flooded out several godwits’ nests, and probably many other species were affected. Surveys found 185 pairs of lapwing, 61 drumming snipe and 138 pairs of

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redshank, all a bit disappointing. There was however a flurry of excitement on the 29th April when five black-winged stilts turned up and were seen copulating; unfortunately they didn’t stay.

The black-tailed godwits are not fledging anything like enough chicks and the population has started to decline, to only 35 pairs in 2017, and another poor season with only 5 chicks fledged. Project godwit which is a joint RSPB and WWT initiative using European funding is attempting to halt this. There are two main areas of work at present, firstly, head-starting which is collecting early laid eggs, hatching these and releasing the chicks. This was remarkably successful this year with 30 eggs collected from the Nene leading to 26 chicks being released at Welney. Some of these birds are expected to return as adults in 2019, some of them to the Nene Washes. Secondly it is improving the hatching and fledging success on the washes themselves. Foxes are known to be a major predator of both eggs and chicks and in 2017 we built fox-proof gates and electric fences around the main nesting fields on the Low Wash, which improved hatching success from about 40% to over 60%. We have plans to increase the amount of permanent fencing to reduce the number of foxes and badgers using the Low Wash; if successful we would like to extend this to other parts of the washes.

The cranes had their best year yet, all three pairs were successful. The open water around their nests held up just long enough for the eggs to hatch and a total of four chicks fledged. Cranes form flocks during the winter, on the 21st November we had a new record count of 38 birds on the Nene Washes.

Corncrakes are surprisingly close relatives of cranes but they are not faring so well. After many years of work the RSPB withdrew from further releases on the Nene Washes as we have not been able to establish a self-sustaining population. 15 male corncrakes still returned from Africa this year and of the 14 that were caught, nine of them were either males returning for a second year or were bred on the washes in 2016. This is a relatively good result and indicates that we may have breeding corncrakes on the washes for several years yet. The Nene Washes are also one of the best places in the country for the very rare spotted crake, however it was a very poor year for them and there was only one territory, despite us maintaining some very good habitat.

We appear to have had some success in limiting the spread of Crassula, the New Zealand Pygmy Weed, on the High Wash, by targeting plants growing in ditches and by keeping the worst-affected field drier, and reducing the stocking rate to give it more competition from other plants. The meadow thistle patch on the Low Wash had its best season for many years with over 50 flowering heads. On a more negative note, the otter population lost a large male which was found drowned in an unprotected fyke net in Morton’s Leam.

Charlie Kitchener

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Events

Field trips – February to May 2018

Contact Melvyn or Brenda [email protected] if you would like to go on any of these trips. It is advisable to book on field trips, so that if there are any changes in the time or meeting place you will be informed. Booking is essential for the Dawn Chorus event on 5th May.

Saturday February 17 - Natural England Walberswick Reserve

Meeting at the Walberswick beach Car park at 9:00 a.m.

Walberswick reserve is one of the most diverse sites in the UK, with a wide mix of habitats, which includes heathland, reedbeds, inter-tidal mudflats, grazing marsh, hay meadows, woodland and the tidal estuary of the River Blyth. It also has the largest block of freshwater reedbed in Britain, which extends inland for two and half miles. This was flooded in World War Two for defence purposes, and this allowed the reeds to spread back so that it returned to its former glory. With such diverse habitats, we could possibly see overwintering birds of prey such as marsh and hen harrier, rough-legged and common buzzard, sparrowhawk, merlin and goshawk. Wintering thrushes, finches and yellowhammers, as well as waders, are other birds we will be looking out for.

Saturday / Sunday 17th – 18th March – Thriplow Daffodil Weekend

This is the group’s main fund raising event. The annual Thriplow Daffodil Weekend attracts up to 11,000 people, who can walk around the beautiful traffic-free lanes of the village and connecting footpaths. They can visit residents’ ‘open gardens,’ a craft barn, marquees, food and craft stalls, and demonstrations, whilst experiencing a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Our RSPB stall has a tombola, RSPB sales goods and ‘feed the bittern’ game.

Help is always welcome even if you can only spare an hour or two.

We also require suitable, reasonable, quality tombola prizes (no bric-a-brac).

Sunday March 25th – Santon Downham

Meeting at the Forestry Commission car park at 9:00 a.m.

This is a beautiful quiet spot along the river Little Ouse. Grey wagtails breed here and kingfishers may be seen. Crossbills and woodlarks are a possibility. Lesser spotted woodpecker breed along the river here and at this time of the year there is a chance to hear them drumming and maybe see them. Willow tit are occasionally reported but take care over identification, as the marsh tit is much more common.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 23 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

Saturday April 21 – Essex Wildlife Trust Fingringhoe Wick

Meeting at Fingringhoe Wick car park at 9:00 a.m.

This is Essex Wildlife Trust's first nature reserve and visitor centre, set in a spectacular position overlooking the Colne Estuary, with a wide range of habitats, including grassland, heathland, lakes, ponds and the recent reserve expansion which created a nationally important intertidal area. At this time of the year the migrant warblers will have started to arrive, with the possibility of hearing nightingale, and there will be waders, geese and ducks on the estuary.

Saturday May 5 Dawn Chorus - RSPB Fowlmere Reserve

Meeting at Fowlmere car park at 5:00 a.m.

It is important to book for this event as the walk will be followed by hot drink and bacon roll, with a vegetarian option.

The dawn chorus occurs when birds sing at the start of a new day. In temperate countries this is most noticeable in spring when the birds are either defending a breeding territory, trying to attract a mate, or calling in the flock. The birds most commonly heard during the dawn chorus are blackbirds, robins, wrens, chaffinches, pheasants, warblers, thrushes and finches, and there tends to be a set pattern in the order in which different species start to sing. Some birds will sing from a high exposed perch, so giving a chance to visually identify the bird that is singing.

May 10th–13th - Weekend Trip to Anglesey and North Wales

The details for this trip have not been finalised, but it would be wise to book as soon as possible.

Indoor meetings – January to May 2018

Indoor meetings are held at the St John’s Church hall, Hills Road, Cambridge, Cambs CB2 8RN. Meetings start at 7.30 pm prompt.

Wednesday January 17th Birds in a Cage Derek Niemann

Wednesday February 21st British Birds and their Amazing Lives Peter Holden, MBE

Wednesday March 21st “I never see anything at ...” Richard Nicoll

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Wednesday April 18th Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Richard Pople

Wednesday May 16th TBD

Obituaries

Christine Sansom (1941 – 2017)

Together with her husband, Roger, who passed away in 2016, Christine Sansom was an active member of the group over a long period. Christine and Roger were regular attendees at indoor meetings, went on group trips, and welcomed group members visiting the Wash to their bungalow at Snettisham. Christine assisted Marilyn Peterkin with the sales goods at indoor meetings and other venues, while Roger was a stalwart of fund-raising events (Christmas car-parking and Thriplow). Christine joined the committee in 1996, and was minutes secretary until 2002, when she and Roger stood down. Subsequently, Christine acted as Roger’s driver as they serviced an ever-increasing network of RSPB collection-boxes and pin-badge outlets in and around Cambridge, being recognised for their efforts in the RSPB’s volunteering magazine. The tribute at Christine’s funeral, read by a friend from her church and choir, mentioned aspects of her character that will be familiar to members of our group: her willingness to assist, her encouragement and praise of other peoples’ activities, and her grateful appreciation of things done for her.

Tony Corps

Anne Shearcroft (died November 2017, aged 88)

Group members who knew Anne willl be sad to hear of her death but will also remember her with great affection.

Anne became a member of the local group from its foundation in 1977 and soon took an active role on the Committee until 1993. She was very much involved in fundraising events and took responsibility for publicity and displays (she had been an art teacher). In 1990 she was co-organiser of the group’s first attendance at our major fundraising event, the Thriplow Daffodil Weekend, to which she cycled on several occasions as she did to our “Christmas Car Parking” event. Indeed, she cycled everywhere and there is a note in the group minutes (November 1991), noting that she had received a letter of thanks from the Lodge for her efforts in raising money for “Peddling for Parrots” by cycling from London to Oxford!

Not only did Anne volunteer for many of the group’s activities but she also supported most of the field trips. On these trips, we got to learn of Anne’s many other interests. As a young girl, she was keen on horse-riding and this was clearly a source of great pleasure in

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 25 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

her early years. Anne never learnt to drive but, as has been mentioned above, cycled everywhere including long distance holidays. Sadly, this major part of her ability to get around ceased about five years ago, when she was in her early eighties, following an accident which severely damaged her “trusty steed” and knocked her confidence. She was a member of Cambridge U3A and continued her interest in art by learning to solder and weld to create metal artefacts. Also, she took a great interest in botany and lepidoptery and added much to the field trips with her knowledge. Unfortunately, despite her ability to physically support our field trips well into her eighties, her memory steadily faded and her last couple of years were spent in a local care home where she passed away in peace.

Affectionately remembered for her non-stop verbal commentary but sadly missed. Thank you Anne for a huge contribution to our RSPB Cambridge Local Group; R.I.P.

Melvyn Smith

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 26 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018

Club Directory

Group Leader Andy Law and y law1 954 @ gmail .com Tel. (01799) 501790

Secretary Tony Corps [email protected] m Tel. (01223) 214146

Membership Secretary and Tina Lowe Website [email protected]

Treasurer Elaine Corps Tel. (01223) 214146

Field Trips Co-ordinator Brenda Smith [email protected] Tel. (01954) 202354

Indoor Meetings Organiser Sandra Clarke [email protected] Tel. (01954) 782340

Indoor Meetings Co-ordinator Andrew Camps 15 Rogers Rd., Swaffham Prior, Cambs. CB25 0HX Tel. (01638) 741018

Publicity officer Lyn Guy [email protected] Tel. (01223) 213884

Newsletter Editor Stephen Buckle [email protected]

Group Events Organiser Melvyn Smith [email protected] Tel. (01954) 202354

Sales Goods Alison Guy 26 Holbrook Road, Cambridge CB1 7ST [email protected] Tel. (01954) 660270

Indoor meetings Venue The Wilkinson Room, St John’s The Evangelist, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8RN

Regional Office The Royal Society for Protection of Birds Statham House, 65 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1UD Tel: 01603 660066

Head Office The Royal Society for Protection of Birds The Lodge, Sandy, Beds. SG19 2DL Tel: 01767 680551

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 27 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654