Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was elusive, but what did the RSPB see?
ON Tuesday, February 14, Colin Butcher gave us a fascinating tour of the smaller islands off the UK coast in a talk entitled UK Islands, Wildlife and Volunteering.
He and his wife Pauline have spent many years volunteering on island reserves and bird observatories managed by the RSPB, local wildlife groups and the National Trust.
Although all these reserves have some permanent staff, it would not be possible for them to carry out all the vital conservation work they do without the help of willing volunteers.
Colin pointed out it is surprising how much a small group of people can achieve in a relatively short period of time.
Projects include rebuilding collapsed stone walls, repairing worn paths and steps, clearing unwanted vegetation, painting buildings and constructing hides.
In addition to these vital infrastructure projects, they have also been involved in citizen science with moth trapping, bird surveys and rodent monitoring to test the success of a rat eradication project on Ailsa Craig.
The islands covered in the talk provided a round tour of the UK from the channel islands to Noss in Shetland and North Ronaldsay, by way of Llanddury off Anglesey, Lighthouse island off Belfast, RSPB managed Rathlin Island off the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, then down the East coast including St Mary’s Island off Whitley Bay, Spurn point in Yorkshire, Northay off Maldon in Essex, and Holt Island in the Great Ouse river.
As well as providing much needed help, the volunteers are able to visit islands and sections of reserves which are not open to the general public and benefit greatly from the knowledge and expertise of resident wardens and other permanent staff.
Sunday, February 19, was our first minibus trip of the year and, again, we were driven by George of EarleyBus.
Twelve of us went and we met three others at Rye Meads RSPB reserve in the Lee Valley just north of the M25.
It was a lovely sunny day and there had been some good birds seen there recently so we arrived full of excitement about what we might see.
As is often the case, we had some good sightings but not the particular birds we were looking for. Four Bearded Tits had been seen in the reedbeds for the previous few weeks, and as it was sunny and not too windy we had a good chance of seeing them. Sadly we didn’t even hear them but our close scrutiny was rewarded with a female reed bunting, a bird with lovely subtle plumage despite being various shades of brown.
We then moved to the Kingfisher bank where they had been showing signs of nest building, but none showed.
So we tried for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that had been seen that morning but that too proved elusive.
All three species are difficult to see unless you are lucky. However, we did see a good selection of more common birds around this lovely little reserve with flocks of lapwings, teal, heron and common gulls rounded off with great views of a sparrowhawk to end a very enjoyable day with 42 species recorded.
On Tuesday, February 21, we had a very enjoyable morning walk round Virginia Water taking in the lake and surrounding areas of woodland and shrub. The lake held many Great Crested Grebes and Mallards plus a few Tufted Ducks. The woods contained many tit species with lots of Nuthatches and Treecreepers.
At the far end of the lake a flock of Siskins were feeding in the Alder trees. Numbers have been much lower than normal this winter, so the good close views we had were very welcome.
Two sightings of Kingfishers flying along the edges of the lake made up for not seeing them on Sunday.
A total of 34 species made for a very satisfying morning.
In March our programme continued with a talk on Tuesday 14 by Gary B Prescott, aka the Biking Birder, on Egyptian Adventures: Birds, People, Places and Unexpected Encounters.
Next month, on Tuesday, April 11, there will be a talk on the Conservation of Globally Threatened Birds by Rob Sheldon.
The outdoor trips included a walk at Moor Green Lakes near Finchampstead on Sunday 19, and a trip to RSPB Otmoor near Oxford on Tuesday 21.
Outdoor trips include a minibus trip to the RSPB’s Arne reserve near Poole harbour on Sunday, April 16, and a midweek walk on the chalk downland at Combe Gibbet on Tuesday, April 18.
All indoor meetings are held in Pangbourne Village Hall starting at 8pm. Visitors are welcome.
There is an entrance fee of £5 for non-members, juniors half price.
New members are always welcome with annual membership set at a modest £15, £10 for juniors.