St Albans Local Group - The RSPB · RSPB St Albans Local Group. Newsletter Issue 39 and Programme for 2013-14 NL 2013 Issue 1-1 Page 6 December 2013 Tues 10 8.00 pm Evening Meeting:

St Albans Local GroupNewsletter Issue 39 and Programme for 2013-14

Welcome to our 39th annual newsletter. We hope you enjoy it and that it will encourage you to join us at some of our events. Please tell us what you think and make any suggestions you have for future editions.

ContentsLeader’s Letter....................................... 1News & Campaigns ............................... 2Havergate Island ................................... 2Announcements..................................... 4Email communications........................... 4Albatross Appeal ................................... 42013-14 Events Programme.................. 5Newsletter Delivery and Programme Update Arrangements............................ 7Peter Holden MBE................................. 9Mid-week Walks Report......................... 9Last Season’s Walks ........................... 11Leader’s LetterDear RSPB Members and friends. Here is our annual round up of re-ports, news and tasters for 2013-14.

First I want to say a big thank you to all members and friends who contrib-uted to the magnificent pile of gifts presented to me by the RSPB Re-gional Director at the group AGM on my retirement as group leader. The card and picture now have pride of place at home, the New Zealand bird books are already informing our forthcoming trip and the vouchers have been spent on very a special

fountain pen. A special thank you to the secret squirrels for organising it all so discretely.

The AGM saw some other changes to the committee for the coming year.

Thank you to Arthur Whetherly, who is stepping down after 15 years volunteering for the RSPB.

Welcome to David Joynson, Andy Steele and Julia Wakefield who were elected to the committee.

This still leaves us with a vacancy for Group Leader. I have agreed to stay as secretary to see the group through the coming year but we will not be able, or allowed by The RSPB, to continue long without an approved leader. It really is fun, thoroughly re-warding and, with a helpful commit-tee like ours, need not take up an ex-cessive amount of time. Please let me know if you can help or if you know of someone who can.

Peter

Stop Press.Peter Holden MBE

will speak at RSPB St Albans Group.

See article on page 9.

RSPB St Albans Local Group. Newsletter Issue 39 and Programme for 2013-14

NL 2013 Issue 1-1 Page 2

News & CampaignsSt Albans Council Sponsorship

Thanks to the generosity of the St Albans City and District Commu-nity Grants fund the group now has its own equipment for presentations on the work and objectives of the RSPB. Please contact us if you know of a local group or organisation that might like a talk.

RSPB Giving Nature a HomeLook out in the coming months as the new RSPB campaign, Giving Nature a Home, progresses. There will be more TV ads and plenty of advice and things to do on the dedicated web site http://homes.rspb.org.uk/.

Peter

Havergate Island Photography Day of DiscoveryPeter and I were lucky enough to get two places on a special photographic day in April organised by the RSPB at their reserve on Havergate Island in Suffolk. Numbers were limited to eight and there were four expert tu-tors specialising in different aspects of photography, whose brains could be picked for tips during the day. The group were alone on the island, which was a great privilege, just us,the birds and the hares.

It was going to be long day, twelve hours in all. Sleepy people gathered on Orford Quay at 6am for the RSPB

boat that would take us all to Haver-gate and while waiting witnessed the most glorious sunrise over the river reflecting onto the perfectly still wa-ter. After landing on the island while walking to the visitor centre we had our first view of the famous hares that live on the island. The visitor centre hide overlooked a lagoon on which Canada geese made perfect reflections in the early morning light and perfectly still conditions; well worth a picture.

Over hot coffee and croissants Peter and I got talking to Celia Bartlett, one of the tutors whose invitation of “do you feel like getting on your hands and knees with me” too good to pass up. She was in fact interested in macro photography and as we set off she advised us to keep our eyes peeled for anything small and intrigu-ing. The three of us were engaged in our first subject, when another group came past and caught us on all fours photographing a daisy that had not yet opened, the pretty pink edge hav-ing caught my eye. Celia showed us how to get the best photos by getting both ourselves and the camera close to the subject, rather than trying to zoom in. It was still very early in the

http://homes.rspb.org.uk/



morning and the light and the lack of wind was perfect for this type of pho-tography. Armed with the tips Celia had given us, she gave us a project to find and photograph interesting, small subjects close up. During these few minutes, she gave us ex-cellent tips on choosing your position so that shadows created depth and interest when photographing lichens on the upturned hull of a boat; and taking pictures of the gorse flowers without overexposing. As it was only just before 9am, we took some lovely backlit shots of the gorse. Pete got a gold star by finding a white feather glistening with dew drops which the three of us used as a study piece.

The morning was wearing on, we had already missed the coffee break, and as the light was becoming too flat for the macro work we walked on to-wards the hide at the southern end of the island concentrating on more general photography. On the ap-proach to the hide, gulls were lined up on the fence posts and we used them as models to position the hori-zon and select the background so as not to detract from the subject.

Lunch was provided back at the visi-tor centre and we made our way

back along the island comparing notes with the other groups we met on the way. The lunch came from the local bakery in Orford and there were plenty of good things to eat. After lunch Pete wanted to try his gadget for taking photos through his telescope and while setting it up, Danny Porter, the digiscoping tutor came over to help. The three of us decamped to the visitor centre hide, where Pete and Danny had a brilliant one to one using both their scopes with the geese and gulls as models.

After this excellent session with Danny, we teamed up with Tony Pick, whose expertise was in land-scapes. We learnt that one of the common problems with landscapes was for the scene to be overexposed when the sky is very bright, as it was that afternoon. One solution is to use a graduated filter, which darkens the sky, to even out the exposure, and we were able to practise this with his and Pete’s cameras. Tony also showed us how to achieve this effect manually without filters. As we walked on hares were scampering along and over the banks that bor-dered the path, they were not too fazed by our presence, but too quick for a picture. I was lucky enough to get a shot of some when they sat still on the top of the bank.

Later in the afternoon, Pete and I walked to the hide at the northern end of the island, where there were glorious views of Orford Ness and Orford castle.



The day on Havergate was marvel-lous: with only a dozen people on the island we were able to disperse and wander without much disturbance to the wildlife, giving us all stunning views of the hares and the birds, mostly gulls and geese. At around 5.30pm, everyone gathered at the visitor centre to chat over the day, where one last hare appeared as a farewell treat. The boat was due to collect us at 6pm, but to be able to moor at the jetty it had to wait a little longer for the tide, and then returned us to Orford for the rest of the eve-ning.

Carline AntramPhotographs by Carline

PS. We have heard that it is possible that these events will be repeated next year so keep an eye on the RSPB Havergate Island web pages if you would like to go yourselves. I can recommend it. Peter.

AnnouncementsEmail communicationsPlease don’t forget to use our new email address for group correspon-dence: [email protected].

Albatross AppealDon’t forget that we collect used stamps in support of the RSPB Save the Albatross Appeal. Please bring your used stamps to our evening meetings or call Peter for collection. If possible separating home and foreign stamps increases their value. Thank you.

Black-browed albatross by

Mike Langman



St Albans Local Group2013-14 Events Programme

September 2013Tues 108.00 pm Evening Meeting: Nick Bowles: Butterflies on English Bird Re-

serves. It is well past time for us to ask Nick Bowles back to speak to us. He is Conservation officer for the Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation and regularly reports for British Wildlife magazine. His talk promises a fascinating insight into some of the invertebrates essential to the health of our reserves.

Sun 159.30 am Local outing: Tring, Marsworth. The mixed habitat of large water

bodies, woodland, meadows and scrub provide a wealth of resi-dent and seasonal bird and other wildlife throughout the year. Meet in the car park by the canal at Marsworth (parking charge). Grid ref SP919140 (HP23 4LJ)

October 2013Tues 88.00 pm Evening Meeting: Edward Mayer: Swift Conservation. Edward is

a founder and director of Swift Conservation. This charity seeks to reverse the decline in the numbers of nesting swifts through edu-cation, advice and architectural assistance. Join us to hear about their achievements for this amber-listed species and learn how you can help this welcome summer visitor to our shores.

Sun 139.30 am

Local outing: Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve. Acquired in 2000 after 100 years closed to the public as a military firing range this RSPB reserve has been restored to its ancient state as a wet-land alongside the River Thames. Meet in the reserve car park off Tank Hill Road, Purfleet. Grid ref TQ548788 (RM19 1SZ).

Sat 26 & Sun 27

Come to visit our stand at Aylett Nurseries for information about the Giving Nature a Home campaign and bird feeder making for the children. Open from 10.30 am to 4.00 pm.

November 2013Tues 128.00 pm

Evening Meeting: Charlie Bell: Hertfordshire’s chalk streams and the Living Rivers Project. As Hertfordshire Living Rivers Of-ficer for the Herts & Middx Wildlife Trust, Charlie’s acclaimed talk will cover the state of our local rivers and the wildlife they support.

Sun 179.30 am

Morning outing to Wendover Woods. Wendover Woods is an area of woodland, owned by the Forestry Commission, on the north edge of the Chiltern Hills. Meet in the car park off B4009, Upper Icknield Way, between Tring and Wendover. Grid ref TQ548788 (HP22 5NF).



December 2013Tues 108.00 pm

Evening Meeting: Luke Massey: A wildlife photographer’s year. Following last season’s popular talk Luke is returning to bring us up to date with his most recent activities. I wonder where he has been; wherever it is his pictures and tales will be fascinating.

Sun 159.30 am

Local outing: Stockers Lake. Stocker's Lake is one of the oldest gravel pits in the Colne Valley. It is nationally important for the numbers of wintering duck such as shoveler and goldeneye and occasionally turns up the rarer smew and goosander. Meet in the car park in Springwell Lane, Rickmansworth. Grid ref TQ042931 (WD3 8UX).

January 2014Tues 148.00 pm

Evening Meeting: Peter Holden MBE, FRSA: The RSPB’s Natu-ral Secrets. Tonight we delighted to welcome Peter, co-author of the RSPB Handbook of British Birds and founder of Big Garden Birdwatch. This evening is not to be missed. See page 9.

Sun 199.30 am

Local outing: Fishers Green. Our mid-winter visit to Fishers Green is traditional because it is one of the best winter bird sites in our locality. We hope to see the rarer winter wildfowl, goldeneye, smew and goosander, especially if the winter has been cold further north. Meet in the Lee Valley car park in Stubbings Hall Lane. Grid ref TL377031 (EN9 2EE).

February 2014Tues 118.00 pm

Mark Thomas, RSPB: The Bird Detectives. Wild birds in the UK are protected by several laws and the RSPB Investigations Team helps the statutory agencies to investigate and prosecute offend-ers. Our guest speaker tonight will show us what that means in the bid to protect our vulnerable wildlife.

Sun 169.30 am

Local outing: Therfield Heath. A new venue in our local outings repertoire, Therfield Heath is a public open space and nature re-serve on the chalk escarpment near Royston, Hertfordshire. Meet in the car park of The Heath Sports Centre, Baldock Road, Roys-ton Grid ref TL347404 (SG8 5BG).

March 2014Tues 118.00 pm

Evening Meeting: Members evening. Join us for a social evening of members’ photos and favourite wildlife moments. If you have pictures and memories to share we would love to include them. Please contact Peter Antram (see committee details).

Sun 169.30 am

Local outing: Cassiobury Park, Watford. Cassiobury Park is thelargest public open space in Watford comprising over 190 acres (77 hectares) of green space stretching from Watford town centre to woodland and countryside to the west of the town. Meet in the car park at the end of Gade Avenue, Watford. Grid ref TQ092967(WD18 7LG).



April 2014Tues 88.00 pm

Gwyn Williams, Recovering Endangered Species. Gwyn is the head of Sites & Species Conservation and based at The Lodge. Join us to hear how the RSPB approaches this vital work to save some of our most threatened birds from the brink.

Sun 139.30 am

Local outing: Blow’s Downs, Dunstable. Blow's Downs Nature Reserve is a remnant of the chalk grassland which once covered the slopes of the Chilterns. It is one of the best places in Britain to see Ring Ouzel and other birds as they migrate north in the spring. Meet at the far end of Halfmoon Lane (off High Street South), Dun-stable. Park with care on the road verge. Entrance is adjacent. Grid ref TL029214 (LU5 4AE).

May 2014Tues 138.00 pm

Evening meeting: Peter & Carline Antram, AGM & Quiz. By popular demand our short AGM is followed by another episode of our light-hearted quiz, A Question of Birds, this time perhaps with some other wildlife representatives too.

Sun 189.30 am

Local outing: Tyttenhanger (from Willows Farm). We walk through farmland alongside the River Ver to the nature reserve based on the sand and gravel pits. Summer warblers, woodland birds and waders are on the list of possible sightings. Meet in the right hand Willows Farm car park near the gate onto the public footpath. Grid ref TL190041 (AL2 1BB)

June 2014Tue 107.30 pm

Evening walk: Park Street Pits. The flooded gravel pits and woodland beside the River Ver provide a good mixed habitat for birds and insects. Meet by the playing fields in Park Street Lane. Grid ref TL147038 (AL2 2NB).

Postcodes are included for satnav users and are as near as we can get to some venues. Some can however be misleading. Please check with Colin, Andy, Pe-ter or our web site before travelling if you are not sure of locations.

Members and non members are welcome to all our events. We especially welcome those new to bird watching who would like help to find or identify

the more unusual species.

Newsletter Delivery and Programme Update ArrangementsWe are delighted to send copies of our newsletter and programme to everyone who would like to receive them. You can receive the newsletter by email, via our web site or by post. Our web site will show any programme changes and addi-tions. You can also receive notification of changes or additions by email. If you would like to be included in our distribution list please contact us at 6 Yule Close, Bricket Wood, St Albans, Herts, AL2 3XZ, tel. 01923 678534 or e-mail [email protected]. Thank you, Peter Antram.



Group InformationYour Committee

Group Leader. Position VacantPeter Antram Group Secretary Tel: 01923 678534

6 Yule Close, Bricket Wood, St Albans Herts. AL2 3XZWeb www.rspb.org.uk/groups/stalbans Email [email protected].

Carline Antram Treasurer Tel: 01923 678534Fran Fullerton Web site Tel: 01727 863256Corinne Housechild Publicity Tel: 01923 855273David Joynson Birdfood Tel: 01727 874356Yvonne Raxworthy Sales Organiser Tel: 01727 843601Colin Rose Guided Walks Tel: 01727 767282Andrew Steele Guided Walks Tel: 01727 842029Julie Wakefield Mid-week walks Tel: 01727 863509

Meeting ArrangementsOur friendly and informal meetings are held on the Second Tuesday of the month from September to May at 8.00pm at St Saviours’ Church Hall, Sandpit Lane, St Albans, AL1 4DF. Doors open at 7.30pm. We aim to finish by 10.00pm. There is parking at the front and sides of the church, although spaces are limited. RSPB sales goods, bird food sales, mem-bership information, recruitment and a monthly raffle are available at the meetings. Refreshments are served during the interval at a moderate charge. Members and non members are welcome to all our meetings. Admission is �2.00 for RSPB Mem-bers, �2.50 others.

Walk ArrangementsOur local guided bird watching walks are free except for parking and re-serve entry charges where applica-ble. They are led by members of the committee and select the venues and dates to match the annual cycle of bird presence in our area. Please call Peter (01923 678534) or visit our web site at www.rspb.org.uk/groups/stalbans for more details and any last minute changes to the published arrange-ments. RSPB Members need mem-bership cards for free entrance to RSPB Reserves.

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/stalbans

www.rspb.org.uk/groups/stalbans



Peter Holden MBEPeter, one of the RSPB’s longest serving staff members, will be talking to the group in January on “The RSPB’s Natural Secrets”. The presentation will use unique material from the RSPB archives as well as Peter’s own observations. Peter Holden is something of a legend within RSPB circles and his presentations are always hugely entertaining and informative. If you are interested in wildlife this is an evening not to be missed.

Peter has been passionate about birds and wildlife for as long as he can remem-ber. He joined the RSPB staff in 1969, and while running the RSPB’s junior membership he devised the ever popular Big Garden Birdwatch. For many years he advised Blue Peter, often appearing in their garden, and has contributed to Springwatch.

Peter has co-authored more than a dozen books, including the RSPB Handbook of British Birds and, most recently, Birds: A Hidden World, which was published in February 2012 and which we hope to have available on the night.

Peter was awarded an MBE for services to Nature Conservation in the 2009 New Year’s Honours List.

Come and hear Peter speak at our meeting on 14 January 2014.

Mid-week Walks ReportCorinne Housechild and myself once again organised some midweek walks on an ad hoc basis. As you can appreciate this is very hard work, having to perhaps do at least two recces and sample lunch at the pro-posed venue – somebody has to do it!

Our first midweek walk of the season on 23 October 2012 was along the River Ver to Redbournbury Mill. It was a misty day and we were joking that if we did see any birds, they would probably be all grey! However we did manage to see red-legged partridges and, as the day bright-ened, meadow pipits, skylarks and great spotted and green woodpeck-ers. At Redbournbury Mill, as well as mallards and moorhens, we saw a

gadwall and a teal. Just at the end of our walk we saw a little egret in a tree (definitely not a plastic bag!). We were fascinated with all the fungi we saw, one was called parrot, and many also enjoyed seeing a hare.

On 12 December on a very cold morning (-4�) we met at Westminster

Lodge and made our way along the Ver Colne Valley path to the Wa-tercress Wildlife Association Lo-cal Nature Re-serve, which is on disused wa-tercress beds and allotment gardens.

Great spotted woodpecker by Mike Langman.



Members of the Association kindly gave us a talk about the reserve and showed us around. Ring-necked parakeets were immediately seen, followed by siskins and flocks of goldfinches. We then made our way

to the Sopwell Nunnery where Julie Wakefield kindly gave us a most interesting talk of the old ruins and ‘walked’ us through all the rooms!

Sadly our afternoon walk on 24January 2013 to hopefully see the short-eared owls at Heartwood For-est had to be cancelled due to the severe weather conditions of snow and ice.

On 4 March we met in Wheathamp-stead. A reed bunting was seen on the reed beds, behind the village, and a little further on, a lesser red-poll. To our amazement, a Harris hawk turned up just in front of us, an escapee no doubt but what a sight! We continued in the direction of Wa-terend, seeing woodpeckers, red kites, buzzards and kestrel. Along the Ayot Greenway, the old railway line, we saw a little egret.

Our last midweek walk of the season was on 23 April 2013 at Ellenbrook Fields on the old Hatfield Aerodrome site. For once the weather was warm and sunny. Buzzards soared high above us and also red kite, spar-rowhawk and kestrel. Skylarks were

singing continuously and green woodpeckers flying fairly close by us. We had good sightings of white-throat. A treecreeper was spotted going to and fro into the nest and some were able to witness a manda-rin that briefly swam across one side of a pond to the other before it flew into the woods again.

More midweek walks will be arranged on different days of the week on an ad hoc basis and Julie Wakefield will also be helping us. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Yvonne Raxworthy

* Sign up for our updates to get no-tices of future mid-week walks. See page 7.

Peter

Buzzardby Mike

Langman



Last Season’s WalksHere are my personal impressions of our Sunday walks in the past season. I hope they will encourage you to join us on some walks in 2013-14. Full walk reports can be seen on our web pages.

It has been a mixed year of weather and nature walking fortunes. The bit-terly cold and extended winter seems to have had its effect on our walks.

The autumn started normally with migrants like house martins and a hobby seen over Amwell in Septem-ber feeding up for their long flight south. We spotted 46 species in all including a Cetti’s warbler, heard but not seen as is frequently the case.

Kings Mead in the pleasant October sunshine turned up 41 species in-cluding snipe, lapwing and grey wag-tail. The stars here were pair of stonechats showing well as we crossed the meads diagonally on our way back to the entrance.

From a chilly start at Tring in Novem-ber we had good views of early win-ter thrushes in the fields and trees across the road from the reservoir. From the small hide we were treated to a rare opportunity to compare a grey heron and little egret standing side by side at close quarters. Of the 49 species here the stars for me were the small flock of redpolls clearly visible feeding across the dis-used canal bed, a lifetime first for some of our walkers.

In December at Fishers Green we were a bit too early for the gold-

eneye, goosander and smew we had hoped for. Of the 35 species seen though the water rail was fair com-pensation.

The Lodge in January was bitterly cold with occasional snow flurries. Nevertheless the souls who braved the weather were rewarded with 25 species including lots of goldcrests in the evergreens on the ridge and red-polls with the other finches on the gatehouse feeders.

The impressive tally of 45 species at Hanningfield Reservoir in February included sightings of goldeneye, smew and goosander; later in the year than I would have expected, perhaps due to the cold winter.

Whippendell Wood in March provided our party with heavy rain that had es-caped the forecasters’ notice. The stars of the 20 species we found be-fore scurrying for cover were the red kite, sparrowhawk and buzzard and the family group of nuthatches feed-ing above our heads.

Repoll by Mike Langman



The little private reserve at Maple Lodge in April gave us an impressive 52 species. My favourites were the pair of treecreepers bringing nesting materials into the pile of building ma-terials left by the maintenance crew. That job will have to wait until the au-tumn now.

The 37 species seen or heard at Fowlmere in May was probably a little under par, lacking the turtle dove and cuckoo as it did. Both are red-listed species so it was a shame to miss them from a regular haunt. However,there were plenty of summer warblers to

keep us busy.

Birds seen less frequently (oneto 4 walks): Fieldfare, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Little Egret, Mistle Thrush, Snipe, Stock Dove, House Martin, King-fisher, Nuthatch, Redwing, Ring-necked Parakeet, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Yellowhammer, Bullfinch, Cetti's Warbler, Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, Egyptian Goose, Feral Pigeon, Goldeneye, Goosander, Hobby, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Red-legged Partridge, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Siskin, Skylark, Smew, Stonechat, Swift, Water Rail, Whooper Swan.

Birds seen on most walks (at least 10): Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Magpie, Robin, Chaffinch, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw, Wood-pigeon, Wren, Goldfinch, Jay, Long-tailed Tit.

Other species seen: Fox, Roe Deer, Brimstone, Holly Blue, Large Skipper, Large White, Meadow Brown, Orange Tip, Pea-cock, Speckled Wood, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser.

Peter

All drawings in this issue areÄ RSPB Images Ltd

Treecreeperby Mike Langman

Documents

St Albans Local Group - The RSPB · RSPB St Albans Local Group. Newsletter Issue 39 and Programme for 2013-14 NL 2013 Issue 1-1 Page 6 December 2013 Tues 10 8.00 pm Evening Meeting: