2014 - 2. Group Web Site: *www.rspb.org.uk/groups/nwsurrey Contents this issue - GNaH p 2 a LEADER’SRAMBLINGS Ins & Outs p 3 a Hi all, AGM Info p 9 a Hope you were not affected by the flooding in January and February - we managed to escape by two inches which was a bit too close for our comfort and I know some of you had a few A Bit of Local Birding p 10 a sleepless nights. It proves we all need to be aware about possible climate change as I am seeing too many of these so called ‘once in 40 Did you miss ? p 11 a a lifetime’ events lately. years I think it will take a few months for everything to get back to normal Nature Ramblings p 12 a as everywhere is still wet underfoot and we need a prolonged dry spell, but Nature is a survivor. Welcome to p 12 a Our 40th year is zooming through at an alarming rate. The Mike Dilger talk was very entertaining and went down well with our members and the public alike with around 150 people turning up. As you read this Frank's and Peter's special 40th Anniversary outdoor Odds & Ends p 14 a walks will have just taken place. Our special AGM and party kicks off on the 25th of June and our Anniversary BBQ takes place Future Events p 15 a at Sue and Simon's on Saturday the 5th of July. Please make sure you put your name down for these events. I must see if we can do something for the Autumn... and any ideas on how to round the year off? it is becoming increasingly hard to get help for the teas at the indoor meetings. I think there is a risk that we may have to stop having the interval teas at the indoor meetings if we do not start getting regular help soon. On a brighter note I am happy to say that the group is doing well. We have quite a few new members and we always get loads of support for our Spring fair, street collections and our various other events. We have also had an other of help to take over from Brian when he steps down at the AGM. More news about this in the newsletter. Geoff is always looking for more articles to put in the newsletter. It is good that we are getting different members writing articles. It does not have to be just about birds, but anything about Nature in general is warmly welcomed. He is also keen to hear from you about the newsletter, either good or bad, or if there is anything that you feel should be removed or put in. ‘Til the next time. Dave. North West Surrey RSPB's Facebook page. North West Surrey RSPB is now on Facebook. We will be placing RSPB and group news, photographs and information about our group on our page. It will especially be good should we have to change indoor or outdoor events at short notice. It is also a good medium to try and get new members to the group. We have only been going with this for a couple of months and already we have friends from the RSPB, friends as near as Chertsey and as far away as Scotland, Wales, Spain, America and Mexico. Join us via the facebook logo above, the link below, or use the QR alongside, and click like and you will be able to see the updated information. *https://www.facebook.com/NorthWestSurreyRspbLocalGroup Please note the PROPOSED FINAL CUT OFF DATES for the expected four issues. These are now at the VERY LATEST, THE FIRST SATURDAYS OF - JANUARY, APRIL, JULY AND OCTOBER. *22 Thank you for your input to the newsletter, whether it be an article, a photo, a letter or just a comment. © RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2014 1 © The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 207076, in Scotland no. SC037654 Big Garden Bird Watch January 2014 As part of the Big Garden Bird Watch weekend, Mary and I were asked to do a talk to two care homes for the residents and the children from local schools. As Mary was working on the Thursday I was allowed out to play on my own, along with Mick. We had a fantastic day telling 30 children and around 40+ residents in the care home about the BGBW. The age range was from 7 to 102. I was amazed how well the kids and the residents got on. We took them all on a small bird walk in the grounds, made chocolate bird nests with chocolate eggs (most of the eggs did not make it into the nests for some reason!), we made fat ball cakes and finished up with the Hokey Cokey!!! I am hoping to go back in the Spring to do a Bumble bee talk. On Friday Mary went off to another care home armed with BGBW leaflets, bird ID pictures and basically anything that might interest a group of people whose ages would vary between six and 96. She chatted about different garden birds that they might see and one of the residents accompanied her with his binoculars and his trusty 1949 edition Oxford bird book with the most beautiful illustrations. Dave Braddock Street Collection at *Long Acres (LA) 29 March 2014 What a difference a year makes! This time last year the street collectors who went out to LA were standing in snow and freezing cold. This year the temperatures rose to a heady 22 degrees! Some of the shoppers were in tee shirts and shorts and the general feeling was one of relief that the wet winter was behind us. Also there was a steady stream of people constantly arriving at the garden centre with it being Mothering Sunday the next day. Today, a steady team of collectors manned the “tins” from 9.00 am to 5.00pm. £342 was collected during the day. A big thank you to all the volunteers who turned out to collect. This was also Flavia the Flamingo’s debut outing! She did well – attracting quite a few sympathy donations from the public who admired the person inside who had the courage to stand in the warmth for 2 hours! Thank you Marion for organising the day. Thank you LA for having us there once again and thank you to your shoppers for supporting the RSPB. Mary Braddock Group Vacancy Help needed - Notes Taker. We are looking for someone to write down the minutes at our committee meetings and at the AGM, and then send completed to me by email. We hold committee meetings about four or five times a year, usually on a Wednesday evening, and the meeting usually lasts for about two hours. The meetings are held at our house in New Haw. It is an ideal way of giving some help to the group. The time it takes is about twelve hours per year. If you can help, please get in touch with me. *Dave Braddock. *3 © RSPB North West Surrey Local Group – 2014 © The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 207076, in Scotland no. SC037654 2 Group Events (The Ins and Outs) Mid-week Walk at *Moor Green Lakes Wednesday 18th December 2013 Weather: Fine, mainly sunny and calm, becoming windy from southwest 10C Seven of us made the trip to Sandhurst to visit this very pleasant reserve. The feeders in the car park weren’t attracting anything unusual except a brief glimpse of a great spotted woodpecker, although I thought that I saw a flying red kite through the leafless branches of the surrounding trees. It didn’t show itself further, so we moved on to scan the horse paddock next door. Here there was a song thrush and a redwing was spotted in the trees nearby, while a pair of buzzards stretched their wings over the woodland behind. Colebrook Lake North immediately came up with the goods when we found two male goosanders and these were supported by the usual great crested grebes, coots, moorhens, wigeon, gadwall, mallard, shovelers and pochards. On the islands could be found quite a few lapwing and cormorants and a couple of grey herons. Despite a thorough search no trace of the usual snipe could be found and the reed buntings had abandoned the feeders to the blue and great tits and a greenfinch with a dunnock rummaging around on the ground. Colebrook South produced a couple of little grebes but nothing else of note and a look at the New Workings failed to unearth any owls, although some distant common gulls could be seen. Moving east along the Blackwater River the usual wrens and other small birds were few and far between but eventually we came upon a small group of lesser redpolls eating alder seeds and the occasional goldfinch and long-tailed tit passed through. Reaching Grove Lake we found another male goosander and had a fleeting glimpse of two females as well as a couple of Egyptian geese but there was no sign of the male goldeneye that was known to be around. A few stock doves pecked around on a grassy slope. A look through the bare trees at Horseshoe Lake only added a few herring gulls and black-headed gulls to the list so we headed back towards the car park. During the walk the missing male goldeneye appeared close by, which was good.