BBAASSIINNGGSSTTOOKKEE LLOOCCAALL GGRROOUUPP SEPTEMBER 2013 NEWSLETTER http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke Contents: From The Group Leader Notices Media Releases – The Latest News! What’s Happening? Over The Hill, On Beacon Hill September’s Outdoor Meeting October’s Outdoor Meeting Local Wildlife News Quiz Page A million voices for nature Charity registered in England and Wales no. 207076 From The Group Leader Welcome to September, the autumn and another season of both Indoor and Outdoor Meetings. I hope that the summer break has gone well for you and that you’ve lots of wildlife news to pass on and talk about with your fellow Group Members. A very mixed bag of weather recently may well have helped with this, the autumnal passage of birds having once again been noticeable locally with the first Red-rumped Swallow for the Borough taking pride of place, a Wryneck, still present as I type this, being found at The Millfield LNR, a currently annual site for them, and a sprinkling of other avian goodies keeping at least a few locals busy out in the field and bird-happy. The less than clement weather has however I’m sure stopped some from getting out, so let’s just hope for more user-friendly weather as we commence the Outdoor Meetings Programme this Sunday, Thorney Island being our venue and passage migrants, waders, gulls, terns, raptors, including perhaps Osprey, or even Ospreys, being among the birds to be looked for. The Programme, as usual, includes much-visited sites as well as several that are perhaps less well-known to many, the range of these and the habitats to be covered ensuring a varied mixture of both birds and other wildlife. In general sites have been included that are that little bit closer to home, as will continue to be the case in the future, but I hope that you don’t mind too much that there are just a few that little further afield such as the previously well-received Poole Harbour boat trip. as always, if you’ve any ideas with regard to the Programme please do let us know – this perhaps even more important when we start to collate the Evening Walks Programme for next May and June. Albeit well in to the future please keep this in mind, the thoughts of balmy spring and summer evening walks perhaps even helping you through the winter months to come! We start the Indoor Meetings with one of our own but as you’ll see the Programme includes home-grown talent, speakers familiar to many through their past visits and a few new faces, the latter generally recommended by other groups and so, with all others, something to look forward to. A wide range of subject matter, areas covered both close to home and further afield and the associated wildlife will I’m sure provide much food for thought and many pleasant evenings, especially as we head in to the winter! As always, the Committee are here to plan and provide for your entertainment, to help keep you updated on what’s happening within the RSPB and, dare I say it, help you to see a few birds! So, make the most of us, ensure that your feedback is unremitting and please do get to know us even better over the coming meetings and months. Peter E. Hutchins Notices Subscriptions! I know, as soon as you’re back we’re after your money!!! However, please do remember that the subs. have again not risen for the coming season of events and that even more will be provided for them! The annual subscription for the Local Group is £10, that for the ‘senior citizens’ being £9, and will greatly be received by the Treasurer, Gerry, at any Indoor Meeting. Local Group Website The Local Group website has recently been updated after the summer break lull, so if you haven't visited for a while, why not have a look and tell us what you think. Any thoughts on what we should include within the site will always be appreciated, these thoughts hopefully 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/ Poole Harbour Boat Trip Please note that the Group will once again be making the most of the facilities of a boat to tour Poole Harbour early in 2014. If you’d be interested in attending this nautical Outdoor Meeting please ensure that we’re aware of this as soon as you can, places being limited. Further details will be in forthcoming Newsletters but the sailing will last for c.2½ hours and will cost £10. 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 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. 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. Bird Food Pricelist: 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, but a few for reference are: Wild bird Mix 40p/lb. or 88p/kg Peanuts £1/lb. or £2.20/kg Black Sunflowers £1/lb or £2.20/kg Sunflower Hearts £1.10/lb or £2.42/kg Niger £1/lb or £2.20/kg Fat Squares £1 each Fat Pecker Balls 25p each Also available are a range of birdboxes and 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 Media Releases – The Latest News! Give nature a home this autumn The days may still be warm and sunny, but there is a slight chill to the morning air, while the nights are drawing in and blackberries are starting to ripen on the brambles – just a few subtle signs that autumn is on its way. As the nights gradually become colder, birds and other wildlife will be seen preparing for the winter to come. Swifts have already left for Africa, although swallows and house martins linger a little longer, gathering in flocks before embarking on their long migration south. Yet their place will soon be taken by winter thrushes from the north, who will come to feast on the berries in our hedgerows. While for us, autumn is a good time to prepare our gardens for the coming winter, and the RSPB is calling on the residents of Hampshire to consider the wildlife that may come to rely on our gardens for food and shelter over the coming months. The nature conservation charity recently launched their new campaign, Giving Nature a Home, urging people to act for nature in their own gardens. The campaign comes after 25 wildlife organisations, including the RSPB, released the groundbreaking State of Nature report, which revealed that 60 per cent of the wildlife species studied, including garden favourites like starlings, hedgehogs and some butterflies, has declined over recent decades. And they are in danger of further declines unless more is done to provide better habitats. Samantha Stokes, from RSPB South East, said: “Although this is a time when gardeners traditionally start to clear up, if you want to help and encourage wildlife, you could adopt a more natural approach. 5 “Leaving seed-heads, especially on plants such as teasels, thistles and sunflowers, and allowing vegetation to die back naturally, provides food and shelter for wildlife through the colder months. “While deadheading buddleia will keep it flowering well into the autumn; although later flowers will be smaller than earlier ones they are particularly valuable as a food supply for bees and butterflies. “Don’t panic, a wildlife-friendly garden doesn't have to be wild and overgrown, it can look attractive all year round. By growing a wide variety of plants you'll offer food and shelter for birds and other wildlife.” Autumn is also an ideal time for planning and creating next year’s borders. While the size of your garden might limit what you can plant, it's possible to garden for wildlife on even the smallest balcony or terrace. You can provide space for nature, no matter the size of your garden. Containers are great for growing plants in and can even be used to create a mini-pond. Although container grown plants can be planted at any time, autumn gives them plenty of time to establish before winter. Creating a rich habitat of trees, shrubs and flowers is the key to providing wildlife with year-round food, think of it as the equivalent of a motorway service station: a place for creatures to stop over for food and a rest! 6 Samantha added: “In a well planned wildlife garden you might spot blackcaps eating the red berries of honeysuckle in the autumn and common darter dragonflies feeding on the flies that come to feast on the over-ripe juices of the fruit.