BBAASSIINNGGSSTTOOKKEE LLOOCCAALL GGRROOUUPP DECEMBER 2013 NEWSLETTER http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke Contents: From The Group Leader Notices Favourite Books What’s Happening? December’s Outdoor Meeting January’s Outdoor Meeting November’s Outdoor Meeting December’s Outdoor Meeting Local Wildlife News Quiz Page And Finally! Charity registered in England and Wales no. 207076 From The Group Leader Welcome to December! Although the weather is more autumnal than festive – are we going to get any snow or just the softer and wetter version that’s been so evident in past days – I hope that this hasn’t placed any of your plans on hold for the Christmas period, birding or otherwise. Recently returned from ‘holiday’ I’ve been thrown straight in to the usual upheaval at work, caused by you all sending Christmas cards! The lack of time due to this, a very recent bereavement and other family-related ‘issues’ has ensured that far less time has been available to work on such things as the Newsletter, so apologies for the somewhat skinny festive offering. Hopefully everything will back to normal, or as close as I’m ever likely to attain ‘normal’, in the New Year and the Newsletter will be as plump as a Christmas Pudding, even if not as alcohol fuelled! There’s a lot to look forward to in the New Year, after the celebratory season slides to the rear in our minds for just a few more months, the Big Garden Birdwatch being the first ‘event’ to take part in – further mailings about this to appear in your in box in the very near future! With luck, perhaps a belated Christmas miracle, both the weather and birds will be kind to your gardens and you’ll have masses to tell of on completion of your hour of watching. However, focussing on the now, I’ll just finish off the Newsletter with my heartiest wishes to you and yours for all the very best for Christmas and the New Year, and not just in your birding! Peter E. Hutchins Notices Devon Weekend The Devon Weekend in January is now well subscribed but the hotel, at the moment, still has rooms available. Full details are available at the October meeting or directly from Gerry Gardner. If you would like to join in then please either sign the sheet at reception or contact Gerry directly. ([email protected] Tel: 01189 700850). Laptop Available The Local Group has now been provided with a laptop, this to be used for the collation of future Newsletters and Programmes, for writing, electronically or otherwise, to members within the Group’s catchment area and so on. if you’d like to borrow this to be able to put together something for a Newsletter, prepare a presentation for the Local Group or others that you are visiting etc. please do get in touch – we want to ensure that we get as much use from this as is possible and that it doesn’t just sit gathering dust through your fingers being inactive. Local Group Website The Local Group website has currently undergone a bit of a spring-clean, so if you haven't been to the site 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, - 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/ The continuing and ever-increasing work on the website has seen your Local Group website become the 2nd most visited in Britain recently; an exceptional rise in the use of this and something to be justifiably pleased with – there are people out there interested in the Local Group and what it’s doing! 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 Favourite Books This is the second in a series of articles about my favourite books on birds, birdwatching and wildlife in general. The articles are not intended to be critical write-ups but merely an introduction to “my kind of book”. The books included are in no particular order, but they all have a place on my bookshelf. Biographies for Birdwatchers by Barbara and Richard Mearns The subtitle of this book – The Lives of Those Commemorated in Western Palearctic Bird Names – gives the clue to its contents. Over one hundred species of European and North African birds bear English or Latin names which commemorate people, including Cetti’s Warbler, Montagu’s Harrier and Bewick’s Swan. This fascinating book details the lives of those people and explains how their names became attached to the various species. For anyone with an interest in ornithology, history or geography this book is a must! (A follow-up book by the same authors, entitled Audubon to Xantus, details the lives of those commemorated in North American bird names). The Big Bird Race by Bill Oddie and David Tomlinson Although 24-hour birdraces are now commonplace, with each county competing in an annual event, back in the early 1980’s the idea was still in its infancy. In 1981 and 1982 a team representing Country Life magazine had challenged a team representing the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society to a 24-hour sponsored birdrace around East Anglia. The event was repeated in 1983 and this book is an amusing account of the trials, tribulations and successes of the two teams. David Tomlinson gives the story from the Country Life viewpoint, whilst Bill Oddie writes on behalf of the FFPS team. A further attraction is the collection of sketches of birds and habitats by the late Laurel Tucker – anyone who has been to Minsmere, Cley or Walberswick will recognise the scenes immediately. Who won the race? – I’m not telling, you’ll have to read the book! What to Look for in Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter by E L Grant Watson And now for something completely different! These four books were published in the Ladybird series between 1959 and 1961, each one priced at 2/6d (younger readers ask your grandparents). Each book takes us through the particular season via full page illustrations opposite an explanatory text. The text is actually fairly adult for what are essentially children’s books. However, it is the illustrations which are the real 5 delight – they are by Charles Tunnicliffe who was probably Britain’s foremost wildlife artist. He really captures the feel of the countryside in his scenes – from wildfowl around a partially frozen pond in midwinter to swallows skimming over a summer hayfield. I often take these little volumes down from the bookcase and relive my childhood – the scene of a mother and child watching a cuckoo on their garden washing pole takes me back to our old garden in Derbyshire where a big ash tree was the regular perch for “Charlie” cuckoo during April and May. Geoff Sharp If you’ve a favourite book you’d like to bring to the attention of others, please do let us know of it, and why it’s special to you. What’s Happening? A few of the forthcoming local events that will hopefully help keep you entertained as the days continue to disappear under darkness: Basingstoke Field Society [email protected] Oakley Woodland Trust An illustrated talk by Barry Bennett 14th January Meet at 8pm at the United Reformed Church, London Street For further information please contact: Patricia & Colin Stubbs: 01256 323324; Diane Rampton: 01256 467533 or Nicola Williams: 01256 353194. Hampshire Organic Gardening Group http://hampshire-organic-gardening.org/ Peeling Off Another Potato Monday 20th January 6 Alan Wilson joins HOGG for another interesting insight into the world of the spud. Alan is the only speaker who has restarted the talk after the coffee break because the audience has been so involved and interested in what he has to say.