Leeds Local Group Price £2.50 (Free to members of the RSPB Leeds Local Group) AUTUMN 2012 Nature’s Voice RSPB Leeds Local Group Newsletter Autumn 2012 Your RSPB Local Group hy not bring your friends and family to an RSPB Leeds Local Group indoor meeting or coach outing. To help W keep costs down and make birdwatching affordable for all the family, children travel at half price on all our coach trips. Our indoor meetings cover a wide range of topics to suit those either interested in exotic locations or more local places to visit. Programme details for 2012/13 can be found on the back pages. Cut out one of our entry vouchers below and bring someone to their first indoor meeting for free. Alternatively, why not introduce a friend? Give the form below to someone you know who enjoys birds and wildlife. LEEDS FREE LEEDS LOCAL LOCAL FREE GROUP ENTRY GROUP ENTRY Valid until end April 2013 - worth £4.00 Valid until end April 2013 - worth £4.00 INDOOR MEETING - ADMIT ONE INDOOR MEETING - ADMIT ONE for use by non-members only for use by non-members only Our annual membership fee is affordable and you do not have to be a member of the National RSPB to join us. Anyone who completes a membership form receives a £10 voucher to go towards their first coach trip. Membership benefits also include:- Two newsletters each year with advance notice of all our events Discounted entry to our excellent illustrated talks Free local guided walks A wide range of RSPB sales goods - postage free IS YOUR STANDING ORDER IN ORDER? If not please complete the appropriate bits of the form below and send it to Stephanie. Bank: HSBC - City Branch, Leeds I/We wish to join the RSPB Leeds Local Group Code: 40-27-15 For credit of: RSPB Leeds Local Group Name: …………………………………………………. Account No: 21449362 Address……………………………………………….… And debit my Account No: …………………………... ……………………………………...……….…. Signed: Telephone:………………………………………..……. Amount enclosed: £6.00 (individual) / £9.00 (Family) Name of Account: ……………………………………. Important: Please return to Stephanie Bigglestone We prefer payment by Standing Order if possible. Please 28 The View complete the details below and send to the address given - Leeds LS8 1HQ not to your bank. Alternatively you can pay by Cheque or P.O. made payable To: (Name and full postal address of your Bank) to RSPB Leeds Local Group ………………………………………………….Bank PLC Data Protection Act 1998: The RSPB Leeds Local Group would like to keep your details to send you further …………………………………………………. information about group activities and the work of the …………………………………………………. RSPB. If you want to amend or update your details or you do not want us to use them in the way stated, please contact us at the above address. Please pay the sum of £ ______(£6.00 individuals, £9.00 families) on the 10th August 2013 and thereafter, on the The RSPB is a registered charity, No. 207076 10th August annually to: Autumn 2012 2 LEEDS LOCAL GROUP NEWSLETTER - AUTUMN 2012 August 2012 Hello again to all our members, Welcome to our autumn Newsletter, It's that time of year again to plan your new season of birding and to plan your trips on our monthly birding bus. First a few important administrative items. See the important message from our Treasurer regarding standing order payments on page 10. Some of us are not paying the correct subscription! Also, and very importantly, we will have a new pick-up point for our bus outings. As the coach company is now based in Selby and not Horsforth, the pick-up point will be Roundhay park car park not Horsforth. See Pauline's trip report on page 8 for the details. I am sure that you all did David's bird quiz in the spring Newsletter. The lucky winner was Roger Brook who received a bird book (surprise, surprise) as his prize. The title of the book has slipped my mind for the moment. Don't forget the Bring and Buy sale at our March Indoor Meeting. It seems a long way ahead, but time flies. You have plenty of time to sort out your unwanted items. The last one raised £48.40 for RSPB funds. And don't forget Big Garden Birdwatch which, this year, is on the 26/27th January. Last winter was a great one for birds in my garden. I was visited by a pair of lesser redpolls. The first to visit in over 30 years. They were around the niger seed feeder on and off for two weeks. There was also a pair of bullfinches in the garden almost daily for most of the winter. They were occasionally visited by another male. This caused a great deal of annoyance for the resident male. However, they all disappeared with the start of spring. A pair of blackcaps also spent a good deal of the winter foraging in the crab apple tree outside my kitchen doors. Most spectacular of all was the lone fieldfare which seemed to live on my crab apples for most of the winter. Fieldfares are a bit larger than blackbirds and so it came as a shock to the pair of blackbirds which usually have the pick of the winter crab apples to be chased away by the fieldfare. However, the blackbirds nested as usual in the garden after the fieldfare had flown north for the summer. Anyway, back to Big Garden Birdwatch. Last January I spent my usual hour by the kitchen window with my note book and as you can guess, not a redpoll, blackcap, fieldfare, redwing or bullfinch showed its face. I did see a robin though! And finally, the spring Newsletter that you should receive in January will be shorter than in the past and there will be no photo competition this year (see page 11). As you already have details of the trips and indoor meeting twice (once in the autumn Newsletter and also on the calendar) the committee has decided not to repeat this again. Happy Birding, Richard Rodway Newsletter Editor RSPB Leeds Local Group Newsletter Autumn 2012 3 News and Events Summary 2012 Membership Update September This year the RSPB Leeds Local Group has a total membership of 452 households, just slightly down from 460 last year. This still represents a good he start of another birding season renewal rate and we have also had the pleasure of welcoming many new T with our popular annual trip to members throughout the year. Of these 452 households, 339 pay by standing Teesmouth where we always get a warm order (340 last year) and 113 by annual payment of cash, cheque or postal welcome and a cup of tea. We also have order (120 last year). For those paying by cash, cheque or postal order, a our first indoor meeting. renewal form is enclosed. Thank you for your continued support. October Stephanie Bigglestone his month sees our annual trip to T Spurn. November ur Northumberland trip and a talk O about the Scilly Isles. Treasurer’s Report December Leeds Group’s donation to RSPB in this Financial Year to March 2012 has on’t forget the Annual General unfortunately reduced to £3,500. This is through a combination of factors which D Meeting on the 5th together with a we are hoping to address in the coming year following a full financial review. talk by Ted Clements. However, given the austere times in which we live, this is still a creditable outcome. 2013 The £3,500 has been donated as follows:- January £1500 to Farming and Agriculture which gives assistance to farmers across the region to manage their farms to benefit declining farmland birds such as et ready for the Big Garden lapwing, curlew, skylark, tree sparrow and corn bunting. G Birdwatch event on the weekend of the 26th and 27th. The other £2000 has been split 4 ways (£500 each) to help the following: Upland and Blanket Bogs - helping bog restoration and moorland sites which February will benefit species such as hen harrier and ring ouzel and also attract southern ome along to this month’s indoor heathland species moving north such as Dartford warbler and adder. C meeting with a little spare cash to buy a handmade nest box for National Woodland – to assist tree planting projects and also the woodland trail at Nestbox Week Fairburn Ings. March Lowland Wet Grassland – extending and improving the Dearne Valley reserves including Old Moor. ur bring and buy sale will be held at O the indoor meeting this month. International campaigns – to assist with campaigns such as Save the Albatross Come along with your old junk and go and Save the Sumatran Rain Forest. home with some new junk. April As usual, full details of the Accounts will be revealed at the December AGM. In the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of ur outdoor meetings programme Leeds Group for their contribution, particularly those of you who have helped begins this month with our visit to O with our fund raising activities. Eccup Reservoir and continues next month with two more walks In addition, we have made a profit of £223.65 through sales goods and £225 May through membership recruitment. These funds will be allocated to suitable new coach trip to Idle Valley nature causes in due course. A reserve in Nottinghamshire. Not to be missed. Thank you all once again. June David Hatfield ur group weekend trip to Anglesey O and the coach trip to Upper Teesdale finish the year. Autumn 2012 4 Disease Threat to Garden Finches - How You Can Help nce again this year, large numbers of greenfinches are O dying of a disease called trichomonosis, which is caused by a microscopic parasite.