The RSPB Lancaster Local Group Newsletter

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Alan Murphy
6 years ago
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1 The RSPB Lancaster Local Group Newsletter Welcome to the Spring 2014 RSPB Lancaster Local Group Newsletter. My daffodils are in bloom, the frogspawn in my pond is turning into tiny tadpoles, blue tits are investigating one of my nest boxes and starlings are nesting at the side of my dormer roof. I hope you are all doing your bit to give nature a home! As the weather warms up, we hope that you will join us over the coming months for our programme of spring and summer outings. In this newsletter we have our usual update from Annabel at Leighton Moss, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Michael keeps us up to date with his secretary's report, Alan reports on our recent visit to Sunderland Point and I have a trip report from my visit to Tanzania earlier this year. If you would like to contribute a short article, or have any interesting wildlife news from your local patch, please your contribution for the next RSPB Lancaster Local Group Newsletter to kenharrison_1@yahoo.co.uk no later than 30 September Ken Harrison Newsletter Editor Secretary s Report Spring 2014 Looking out of my window I see my garden daffodils once more coming into bloom. This pleasing sight is not only a sign that spring has arrived but also serves as a reminder for me to write this column and so tell you about the recent and forthcoming activities of your RSPB Lancaster Local Group. On the 12 March Peter Smith gave an interesting talk entitled British Owls and this presentation featured Peter's excellent photographs. In spite of high winds and gales battering our part of north Lancashire that day, Peter enjoyed a large audience - in fact just about every available seat was taken at our venue, the Over Kellet Village Hall. We hope to have Peter back with us again for the 2015 season. Looking ahead, we have our Upper Lune Estuary walk on Saturday 12 April, led by myself and Andrew Cornall (not Dan Haywood as previously listed), followed on 27 April by an early morning visit to the North Harbour wall at Heysham for a sea watch and a chance to see skuas and arctic terns on passage. On Friday 30 May at 6.30 pm, why not join John Wilson for the first Evening at Leighton Moss? This year the event is being incorporated into and advertised as part of a wetlands festival organised by the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. On Saturday 7 June you are invited to accompany Pete Marsh on a walk around Hindburndale, where for several years a nest box scheme has been operating to encourage breeding redstarts and pied flycatchers. We meet at the Wray tearooms car park at 9 am. As this walk is mostly over private land, it may be necessary to restrict the number of people taking part. If you would like to come, please contact Pete Marsh (tel: ) or Pete Cook (tel: ) during the week prior to the event. Likewise, please book with Pete Marsh or Pete Cook if you would like to participate on the Heysham Power Station Outfalls gull workshop that is taking place on Saturday 26 July. That day we are meeting up at the Heysham Nature Reserve office at 9 am.

We also have an extra outing on Sunday 6 July when we have been invited to join RSPB Blackpool Local Group for a visit to Smardale. Meet at Newbiggin on Lune at 10 am.

2 We also have an extra outing on Sunday 6 July when we have been invited to join RSPB Blackpool Local Group for a visit to Smardale. Meet at Newbiggin on Lune at 10 am. The best place to park is just off the A685 on Main Street, just a few yards off the main road and turn right into the slip road where there should be sufficient room for us. Now, another word about your Local Group Committee, we are still seeking individuals who would be wiling to serve on this, and more especially, those who after a year or two, would be willing to take on a key role in the running of the Local Group. Finally I would like to thank those people who responded to my appeal for extra helpers at our secondhand book sale last November, notably Rosemary Anderson, Ann Clark, Liz and Roger Neal and Peter Skidmore. Michael Gardner - Local Group Secretary Sunderland Point Visit 30 March 2014 I greeted ten members of the local group at Potts Corner, Middleton Sands, at 9 am on the most beautiful sunny, warm, spring morning. When everyone was ready I briefed on one or two items, including a suggested target bird being the wheatear. This had to be altered immediately as ten were then spotted on the marsh near the car park, so our next target was swallow. A short way into the walk we were surrounded by the wonderful song of the skylark and of meadow pipits flitting about on the tracks. In the rushes a jack snipe was observed by John Webb. Pete Crooks then found a reed bunting on a nearby fence. The bird activity was quite intense, so our progress towards Sunderland Point was at a slow pace to allow everyone to enjoy their birdwatching. As the flood tide reached the outer edge of the saltmarsh, bird activity increased, including a superb assemblage of knot on the tideline. John Webb then observed a swallow, our second target bird, flying over farmland. As the tide was now covering the first section of the marsh and filling the gullies, we sat and ate our lunch as we enjoyed the wader roost as the tide slowly covered the saltmarsh. The knots were the star turn, with c.12,000 birds taking off at regular intervals and putting on the most amazing display as knots do, highlighted by the sunshine! A fantastic spectacle enjoyed by all. Over 1,000 pinkfooted geese in several skeins flew overhead and five whooper swans landed on the tide edge, all on their way to breeding grounds in Iceland. (Birdwatching at Sunderland Ken Harrison) We stayed with the wader roost until after high water and then proceeded to Sunderland village where we could observe Glasson Marsh and surrounding areas while the tide was in, including the unique view of the causeway still covered by the tide. Our walk concluded by heading off to the Point, observing a few of the historical aspects connected with the place and taking in the newly installed rock armour on the Point, in place just before the 5 December 2013 hurricane and the rest of the storms. Our last observations of note were grey plover off the Point End Scear. I bid farewell and thank you to the group at the lane gate after an excellent day. Alan Smith Trip Leader

News from Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay nature reserve March 2014 Wildlife Highlights Leighton Moss is a place where there is something special to see every season and the last six months are no

Our roaring red deer stags, brilliant bearded tits, amazing otters and spectacular starlings were all in the limelight as Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games showed the nation

3 News from Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay nature reserve March 2014 Wildlife Highlights Leighton Moss is a place where there is something special to see every season and the last six months are no exception. The huge variety of autumn spectacles seen here gained national attention in October when the reserve was home to the 2013 series of BBC Autumnwatch. Our roaring red deer stags, brilliant bearded tits, amazing otters and spectacular starlings were all in the limelight as Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games showed the nation just how special this reserve and the surrounding area are for nature. (Michaela Strachan & crew Joan Bryden Photography) Whilst Autumnwatch were here, a long-tailed duck arrived and has been a resident ever since, swapping between Lilian s pool and Public pool as its favourite spots on the reserve. (Long-tailed Duck Mike Malpass) For the third year in a row, we have had over-wintering marsh harriers. These magnificent birds of prey are a reedbed specialist, and are normally only here during the breeding season, when they come across from Africa to have their young. However, for the past few years, they have been present all year round. Let s hope they have another successful season this year. This winter saw a first for the reserve in the form of a Ross s gull. A fairly understated little gull at first glance, but on closer inspection is actually fairly pink! It was around for just one afternoon at the 9 February and drew in small crowds to see it. Sky tower update The sky tower is an elevated viewing platform and is part of the three year Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) project that is taking place at the reserve. The sky tower is due to go in to the right hand side of Lilian s hide and will offer canopy level views over the reedbed, the stunning surrounds of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and out towards the dramatic backdrop of Morecambe Bay. It will also make bittern and marsh harrier nest monitoring much easier for our dedicated Wardening team and survey volunteers. The plan was to construct it before the end of this financial year, but there have been some unforeseen hold ups, so it will now be erected after the breeding season, at the end of this summer.

50 golden years of giving nature a home 2014 is a very special year for Leighton Moss. Not only is it the final year of the HLF project, but more significantly, it is our 50th anniversary!

(Myers Farm [now Leighton Moss visitor centre] before it was an RSPB reserve Pat Jones) We are celebrating all year with a series of events.

a nature reserve. If you were unable to make it, don t worry, as we will be repeating it later in the year.

4 50 golden years of giving nature a home 2014 is a very special year for Leighton Moss. Not only is it the final year of the HLF project, but more significantly, it is our 50th anniversary! We first became an RSPB nature reserve back in 1964 and have gone from strength to strength ever since. (Myers Farm [now Leighton Moss visitor centre] before it was an RSPB reserve Pat Jones) We are celebrating all year with a series of events. On the weekend of 8 and 9 March, we ran a history exhibition where we displayed photos and memorabilia from the past, and heard memories both from over the last 50 years, and the site before it was a nature reserve. If you were unable to make it, don t worry, as we will be repeating it later in the year. (Leighton Moss 2014 Ken Harrison) As part of our celebrations, we have produced a 50th anniversary pin badge of a golden marsh harrier. If you haven t got one already, they are available from the visitor centre for a suggested donation of 2. With more exciting events in the pipeline in the coming months, keep an eye on rspb.org.uk/leightonmoss for details. Annabel Rushton Marketing Officer RSPB Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay nature reserve

Tanzania in February 2014 I first visited Tanzania in 1994 on a trip organised by John Wilson. I have often thought of returning, so last year I decided that 2014 would be the year.

5 Tanzania in February 2014 I first visited Tanzania in 1994 on a trip organised by John Wilson. I have often thought of returning, so last year I decided that 2014 would be the year. In the company or four friends and Malcolm Parker, our tour leader from Papyrus Tours, we flew from Heathrow via Nairobi to Kilimanjaro International Airport near Arusha in northern Tanzania. Our first two nights were at Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge and we explored Lake Manyara National Park, with my bird brain getting in to gear as I tried to remember bird species last seen 20 years ago! Waterbuck fed at the side of the road and blue monkeys sat in the trees, while a troop of baboons wandered across the road. The lake was fairly dry, but large numbers of storks (yellow-billed, Abdim's, saddle-billed and Marabou), egrets (cattle, little and yellow billed) and herons (squacco, grey and black-headed) were in the marsh. A couple of water thicknees (similar to a stone curlew) were spotted, while several two-banded coursers allowed the vehicle to get close. Mammals seen included zebra, warthog, bushbuck, buffalo, wildebeest, impala and Thomson's gazelles. We then travelled to Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, which is on the rim of the famous Ngorongoro Crater and ideally placed for trips into the bottom of the crater with its abundant wildlife. A hailstorm greeted us on our first foray into the crater. Lions lazed at the side of the road in the bottom of the crater and Abdim's storks seemed to be everywhere. The plains produced kori bustards, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, large numbers of buffaloes, zebra and wildebeest, plus a distant rhino. Several small herds of elephants were in the woodland at one side of the crater floor. On our way to the Serengeti, we visited the famous archaeological site, Olduvai Gorge, famous for its hominid fossils uncovered by Richard and Mary Leakey. Our next stay was at Ndutu Safari Lodge on the southern end of the Serengeti National Park. The wildebeest migration had moved south from the Masai Mara in Kenya and was due to reach the southern Serengeti any day would it arrive before we left? Here they give birth and feed before beginning their long march north again. Our timing was perfect as on our last day in the Serengeti we went up onto the plains and everywhere were groups of wildebeest and zebras, a few with young calves. A single cheetah was followed by a sighting of a mother cheetah with 3 fluffy cubs, hiding in a marsh, which seemed an odd habitat for a cheetah. A pride of lions with playful cubs proved a highlight, but was matched by a mother leopard and cub hiding in a thicket, with all the cats seeming unconcerned by the increasing number of safari vehicles gathering around them. (Leopard Ken Harrison) Our time in northern Tanzania was over all too soon, and we travelled back to Manyara for our flight to Ruaha National Park in central Tanzania, staying at the Ruaha River Lodge. As we landed the rain began and our transfer to the lodge in a land rover (with no windscreen and just a tarpaulin over the top) resulted in a soaking for our driver, wildlife guide and passengers in the second row of seats! Our lodges were at the side of the river, which got considerably wider as the rain continued well into the night. However, our riverside location

One night I had just got into bed when I heard rustling and saw a dark shape and a gleam of ivory right next to our window an elephant was after a snack and pulled some of the thatch off our roof.

6 meant we could watch a hippo mother and calf playing in the river outside our lodge and elephants crossing the river further upstream. I never realised hippos were so affectionate until I saw the mother nuzzling her calf, which also rested its chin on mum's back! One night I had just got into bed when I heard rustling and saw a dark shape and a gleam of ivory right next to our window an elephant was after a snack and pulled some of the thatch off our roof. It was comforting to know we had an emergency whistle to blow in case of danger although I don't know what a Maasai warrior armed only with a spear could do against an elephant! (Wild dog Ken Harrison) (Lilac-breasted Roller Ken Harrison) Another flight took us to the Selous Game Reserve for a three night stay at Rufigi River Camp. We were greeted by a small group of elephants, who were feeding by the reception and would wander around camp during our time there. Selous provided us with more lions, numerous elephants and several kudu, plus the blue wildebeest (a rare cousin to the normal variety). Birds included one of my favourites the lilac-breasted roller, plus several raptors including dark and pale chanting goshawks, Dickinson's kestrel and grey kestrel. During one game drive a message to our guide sent us off in search of wild dogs, and we were not disappointed, as a pack had just fed and were split either side of the road. They cooled off in a ditch and wandered across the road between the safari vehicles what a fantastic experience! On our final day in Selous we had a morning boat trip, with carmine and white fronted bee eaters flying around, a goliath heron, fish eagles and a pied kingfisher which allowed the boat to drift towards its perch. A great end to a superb safari trip during which we saw almost 300 species of birds and over 40 species of mammals. Ken Harrison The opinions expressed by the contributors to this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the RSPB or of the RSPB Lancaster Local Group. The RSPB is the country s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. rspb.org.uk/groups/lancaster/ address: rspblancaster@gmail.com The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: In England and Wales no , in Scotland no. SC037654

Six Day Program Serengeti, NgoroNgoro, Lake Manyara

Six Day Program Serengeti, NgoroNgoro, Lake Manyara When it comes to picking your next family holiday destination, Africa is the best destination. Nothing more incredible than heading out on safari together