BBAASSIINNGGSSTTOOKKEE LLOOCCAALL GGRROOUUPP FEBRUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke Contents: From The Group Leader Notices Big Garden Birdwatch What’s Happening? February’s Outdoor Meeting March’s Outdoor Meeting January’s Outdoor Meeting Sri Lanka: The Long, Seriously Sinuous And Serpentine Road To The Kirinda Beach Resort! Local Wildlife News Quiz ‘Page’ And Finally! Charity registered in England and Wales no. 207076 From The Group Leader Welcome to the February Newsletter. I hope that the receipt of this finds you well and that you, your gardens and the inhabitants of / visitors to the latter not suffering too badly from the recent more wintery conditions. Once again here in the south we’ve been subjected to, for us, huge swings in the temperature and all that then comes from this – rain, sleet, hail, snow, mist, fog, flooding and blinding sunshine, and then the next day …….. Such vagaries may well inconvenience us, but for wildlife these unexpected turns in the weather can be so much more dramatically felt, often drawing our attention towards birds and animals that often might not get a second glance, or even be seen. As an example, the number of Blackcaps visiting gardens rose noticeably as the weather worsened, but was this due to the effect the weather had on their usual food sources, making them forage in more urban areas where easier pickings were to be had or was it a case of more observers were watching their gardens rather than birding further afield; they being isolated from their more distant venues due to the weather? Presumably a little of both but it’d be interesting to see if those that watch their gardens regularly noticed quite such a dramatic a change as those that perhaps look close to home on a less regular basis. Waxwing have been noted in recent Newsletters but it was only late last month when birds arriving locally were good enough to linger – I hope that you managed to see the ‘Eastrop 8’ during their all too short stay. As can be seen from the ‘Local Wildlife News’ a few did, some coming from as far afield as south-east Hayling Island, where we’ll be returning the favour in just a month’s time, though spring migrants will hopefully be more to the fore than winter ones during the Outdoor Meeting! February’s often the month that delivers the most wintery of weather but it’s also the time when the first of the returning ‘spring’ migrants reappear, those such as Sand Martin and Wheatear often appearing before the month closes. As you note birds new in to your area this year please do keep us updated on this as it’d be interesting to see how different areas are suffering from migrant depravation, if at all, if the birds are arriving earlier or late than anticipated and who’s actually out in the field and where they’re looking – any news, no matter how minor it may appear to be, will be much appreciated. As they say, ‘Watch this space!’ To complete this month’s events the Group will be heading to Blashford Lakes HIWWT on Sunday. I look forward to seeing you there, when those attending are anticipated to see a varied range and excellent numbers of birds; even if you don’t like gulls much! Peter E. Hutchins Notices New Mailing Address Please be aware that due to continuing issues with the ‘normal’ mailing address a new one has been created specifically for your enquiries, sightings, thoughts, gripes and groans and other input and anything else RSPB, wildlife-related or otherwise that you’d like to bring to the attention of the Group Leader / Committee. This is [email protected] and is available now for your use. The electronic version of the February Newsletter has been forwarded from this mailing address so all those in receipt of this should now have the new mailing address to hand for future use. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Evening Walks Programme During the months of May and June the Local Group will again be running a programme of Evening Walks, all local and led by Members of the Group. If you’d be interested in helping to create this Programme, either by suggesting areas of local interest or, better still, by offering to lead a walk please do get in contact with the Committee at the earliest possible opportunity. The dates on which walks are proposed to take place are: May – 2nd, 10th, 16th, 24th and 31st. June – 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. Updates on how the Programme’s developing will be placed in the March Newsletter, the April one to have the completed Programme included within it. Stamp Recycling Please do remember that the Local Group continues to collect, sort and forward used stamps to the Society for conversion in to yet more conservation-minded monies. The Local Group’s lucky enough to have Eileen Poulter continuing to do this on its’ behalf, so do please keep her busy! A convenient mnemonic... Remember Stamps Post to Bedfordshire Butterfly Walks In Hampshire And The Isle of Wight Butterfly Conservation Saving butterflies, moths and our environment A new book detailing 25 walks about the county and island where you’re most likely to bump in to these other airborne beauties. You can inspect some sample pages from the book here ... The Press Release about the book is available here ... To order your copy send a cheque for £7.25 (£6.00 for the guide and £1.25 for postage and packing) made payable to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch Butterfly Conservation, together with your name and postal address to: Kevin Freeborn, c/o Butterfly Conservation, Unit 2, Bull Pens, Manor Farm, Itchen Stoke, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 0QT Copies will also be available for purchase (cash only) from Jayne Chapman on the Wednesday Wanders, and Ashley Whitlock on the branch fieldtrips where he is the walk leader. Or to buy a copy online click here ... To report any inaccuracies in the book please email here. British Birds We’ve been given a number of copies of British Birds that are no longer of use to the original owner, these covering the years 2001 to 2008; in total 96 issues and the Index for each of the eight years. If you’d be interested in purchasing any of these please contact the Group Leader. They will also be on sale at the Indoor Meetings, with a price of £1 per issue or £10 for a year, 12 copies and the Index, having been suggested. As always, any profits gained through the sale of these items will go to the RSPB and its’ continuing work. Brian’s Bees The honey that has been on sale at Indoor Meetings is still available! In three varieties! Thank you to all those that purchased this locally sourced product, and to all those that do you in the future! Please do remember when considering sourcing honey in the future that this is both locally produced, some of you may even know the bees, and that a donation to the Group is made on each purchase! Local Group Website The Local Group website continues to be worked upon by our trusted band of computer- literates, well Tim. Carr, so if you haven't been to the site recently, why not take a look and tell us what you think. Any thoughts on what we should, or should not, include within the site will always be appreciated, this then helping to make the site more relevant to current group members, and helping to get across the right message to potential members. Link: http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke/ Newsletter Mailings Do we have your email address? If not, please do pass it on so that the Group can communicate with you in a more environmentally sensitive manner! The monthly Newsletter being an example of this, saving resources, money and time by being mailed to you, rather than hard copies being created and perhaps only sitting partially read until the next one appears. With regard to this, it’s hoped, seemingly never-endingly, that the lack of hard copy will be resolved in the future! Bird Food We are happy to supply any bird food to you at any time, just call on 01256 – 770831, 07895 – 388378 or mail us on [email protected] and we will arrange delivery to you. If you have any requirements that are not listed, please do let us know and we will ensure that they are available when you, or your birds, need them. The below are examples of just a few of the items that we can supply. Please do enquire after anything else and we will provide you with a cost, time of delivery etc. As both of us are currently working in / about Basingstoke delivery can be expected to be completed within a day of an order being received – can you get that service anywhere else? Prices vary according to the seasonality of the foods, where we are able to source them from, and so on: Wild Bird Mix – Peanuts – Black Sunflowers – Sunflower Hearts – Niger – Fat Squares – Fat Pecker Balls – Birdboxes – Feeders – Wildfowl Food – Bat Boxes – Mealworms – Suet Pellets – Hedgehog Feeders. A variety of items will be available at most Indoor Meetings but if there is something ‘missing’ that you want, please do let us know. Peter & Alison Big Garden Birdwatch Unfortunately there’s little to report locally from this nationwide event, just two watches results having been received, along with another ‘part’ watch.