South East Hertfordshire Local Group newsletter August 2019 - No. 91 The RSPB is the country's largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Welcome to the first S.E. Herts RSPB Newsletter of the 2019/20 season. Well, we have had our summer recess and the new season is on the horizon, so what can we expect in the coming months? Hopefully you have already looked at the new programme, which has been available to download from our website since the end of June. If not, click on www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southeasthertfordshire (after you have read the Newsletter) and have a browse. Our Programme of Events has 35 activities listed: from the Local Walk at the beginning of September through to our Friday evening stroll at Epping Forest on 3 July 2020. You can look forward to 10 half day Local Walks, including our Dawn Chorus walk at Broxbourne Woods in May and a new site for the group - discovering the upper reaches of the River Lee near Wheathampstead. There are 7 car outings, with a visit to a new and exciting reserve in November, that is being created near Huntingdon, "The Great Fen is a 50-year project to restore a huge wildlife-rich wetland area in the fens. This Living Landscape will be achieved by obtaining land that links or is adjacent to the two existing National Nature Reserves, Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen". We also have 4 coach outings throughout the year, the first to Rye Harbour, East Sussex in October for late summer and early winter migrants. For the Indoor Group Meetings our Group Secretary has organised a diverse range of talks, from 'Birds in a Cage', the true story of four POWs in Nazi Germany who kept their sanity by watching and studying birds, to 'India: the wonders of Rajasthan, its people and birds' and 'The Living Rivers of Hertfordshire', to name but a few. There are two short break holidays during the year: North Norfolk and North Wales, and our popular RSPB Quiz on Saturday 1 February. Plus we have our special event on Sunday 29 September at our local RSPB reserve, Rye Meads, when we celebrate - together with other local RSPB groups - the 50th anniversary of the founding of the first RSPB Local Members Groups. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654 coming events Local Walk Hatfield Forest & Stansted Airport Lagoons Sunday 1 September Our first event for your diary is a new venue for the Group, the Local Walk at Stansted Airport. However, don't think we have changed hobbies! We won't be trying to work out if the big metal 'bird' is a A320 Airbus or a Boeing 737. Walk leader, Jonathan Forgham, will be taking us to see the fauna and flora of Hatfield Forest Country Park near Bishops Stortford, then onto the lagoons at the edge of the BAA Stansted Airport. The three lagoons are used as flood relief for the airport runways but have become a little wildlife haven. They have a fabulous bird, dragonfly and butterfly lists and almost anything can turn up. Meet by 09.30 at The Green Man pub car park, Takeley. A donation is requested for this event. Nearest postcode: CM22 6QU https://maps.app.goo.gl/CRhXa1P1YzUZyNRM7 Car Outing to Two Tree Island, Southend-on-Sea Tuesday 17 September This Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve on the Thames Estuary was reclaimed from the sea in the 18th century when a seawall was built around the saltmarsh and originally used for farming. Now managed as a nature reserve it is a firm favourite walking destination and a fantastic site for birdwatching. Meet by 09.30 in Belton Way by Leigh-on-Sea train station. Nearest postcode: SS9 2GB. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rDKjYaUE3xNh7Qpg8 Indoor Group Meeting Tuesday 24 September The RSPB's Stephanie Winnard presents 'Saving the Albatross: Conservation Action on the High Seas'. A talk about her work with the Albatross Task Force – an international team of seabird bycatch mitigation experts led by the RSPB and BirdLife International. The Group Meetings are held at the United Reformed Church Hall, Broxbourne, EN10 7BQ. Doors open 19.30 for 20.00 start. Admission: £3.00 for RSPB members, £3.50 for non-members. Refreshments available during the interval. Parking is available in the car park at the back of the hall or in Mill Lane. Access and facilities are suitable for wheelchairs. N.B. The bays at the side of the hall are reserved for "Teens Unite" and are not part of the URCH parking. Open Day at RSPB Rye Meads Sunday 29 September - 10.00 to 16.00 A fun day for all ages to celebrate 50 years of RSPB groups and a chance to enjoy the local wildlife. South East Herts RSPB will be joined by the Potters Bar & Barnet, North East London and North West London groups and will host a number of activities including a bird race for all ages with prizes for the winners and runners up of the three age groups (under 11, under 16 & over 16). Other activities include a bird call competition, a quiz on what you can see around the reserve, a Gold-themed quiz, cake and preserves sales, a raffle, RSPB pin badges and more. We would welcome any donations towards the cakes and preserves stall. These can be handed in at the September meeting on Tuesday 24th (as long as they will still be fresh on the 29th), at the reserve a day or two before the event or on the day. We would also welcome any donations towards the raffle and these can be handed in at the same time. You will find the Gold Quiz attached and if you take part please return the form and money to Kathleen Lord (who kindly compiled the quiz) as stated on the form. We hope to have a large number of visitors and the Reserve car park is likely to be very busy all day. We suggest you park in Plumpton Road alongside the New River next to Rye House station if you are able to walk to the reserve from there. If you have more than one person in the car you are welcomed to drop them off at the reserve first. garden watch You may have looked at the South East Herts Local Group Programme of Events and Speakers, and possibly one or two activities have caught your eye. On the other hand, perhaps you are quite content just watching the wildlife in your garden. It is estimated that almost half of the UK's households feed their garden birds and it is without doubt one of the most pleasing and relaxing of pastimes, enabling us to intimately connect with nature in a way that is not always possible in the wider world. We are able to entice our feathered friends close enough to observe their behaviour and characteristics; the squabbling Starlings, the gaudy Goldfinch, the cute and fluffy Long-tailed Tits and everyone's favourite, Robin Redbreast, enthralling and entertaining us just yards from our windows. Garden Watch is a new feature looking at what we can expect to see in our backyards over the year, with tips and ideas from the RSPB and various wildlife charities (perhaps even yourselves) on wildlife gardening. So, with a seasonal change just around the corner, what might be happening in our gardens this month!? September September seems to be when summer suddenly gives way to autumn. Colours in the garden become more muted as seeds and fruit ripen and leaves take on the first hints of red and brown. As nights become colder, birds and other wildlife can be seen preparing for the winter to come. Most of our summer visitors, such as the warblers and swallows, have left to begin their migration south. Resident birds become quieter and no longer fight over territories, returning to warm roosts each evening. Although this is a time when gardeners traditionally start to clear up, if you want to encourage wildlife, you could adopt a more natural approach. Leaving seedheads, especially on plants such as teasels, thistles and sunflowers, and allowing vegetation to die back naturally, provides food and shelter for birds through the coldest months. September can be ideal for planning and creating borders. The end of the month is a good time to plant herbaceous perennials. The soil is still warm to encourage good root growth and there is usually enough rain to ensure plants don't dry out. With the breeding season over, it is a good idea to clean out the nest boxes in your garden. Place the contents in your compost heap and use boiling water to clean out any parasites. Wrens and other small birds may use the box to keep warm during the winter. And of course keep those bird feeders clean and topped up. Good hygiene around your feeding stations and taking care of your bird table and birdbath will reduce the chances of spreading diseases. local sites and wildlife Naturalists often talk of their 'local patch' - a reserve or site they regularly visit near their homes to observe wildlife. For the majority of us, our most local of 'local patches' is our own backyard but what is out there beyond the confines of your garden fence? For a relatively small inland county Hertfordshire is quite rich in wildlife sites, with a variety of habitats across the region: woodlands, heaths, chalk streams, wildflower meadows etc.