Inhoudsopgave van June 2015 - Bird Watching

ON A HOT July day in 1997, an excited colleague approached my desk. Philip Precey bore news of Britain’s first-ever twitchable Lesser Emperor at a nearby lake. I confessed to lacking the faintest inkling of what this was. Philip was aghast. “It’s a dragonfly, and dragonflies are brilliant! You are missing out!”, he exclaimed... and dragged me out the door. I’ve never looked back. That first imperial encounter hooked me. Not for nothing are dragonflies and damselflies known as the ‘birdwatcher’s insects’. Many are breathtaking aeronauts – scudding along at 25 miles per hour – and as bejewelled as the brightest birds. High-octane predators, dragonflies have unrivalled powers of flight and sight, dexterity and determination. Their names evoke flight styles: hawkers and skimmers, chasers and darters. Damselflies flutter meekly, demoiselles…

This lovely, colourful, small grebe (not much bigger than a Little Grebe) breeds in tiny numbers (fewer than 40 pairs) in Scotland. The bulk of its breeding range, however, is across middle northern Eurasia, from Iceland and Scandinavia to far-eastern Russia as well as Alaska and Canada. But it doesn’t breed in Slavonia, which is a region of Croatia. It does winter off the Croatian coast (as well as many other coasts, of course). It really isn’t a peculiarly Slavonian bird, so the name is something of a mystery. In North America it is called the Horned Grebe, which is perhaps a better name, but also a bit lame as many grebes have something resembling ‘horns’ in their plumage. Much more fun are old folk names which include Devil-diver, Pink-eyed…

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a beaver in the ‘wild’. I was standing on a pontoon on the edge of a Scottish loch at 10 o’clock on a July evening. As my eyes became adjusted to the twilight I became aware of a V-shaped ripple heading my way with all the stealth of a submarine. Its head and back just breaking the surface of the water, it glided towards me, but at the last minute turned and with a loud slap of its tail, dived beneath the surface. It had sensed my presence and was warning the rest of its family to watch out. I have been in awe of beavers ever since. To see a beaver in the wild is a great experience, but you have…

RAPTORS ON THE NEST Visitors to the New Forest Reptile Centre will be able to enjoy ‘A Date with Nature’ and observe breeding birds of prey until 6 September this year. Using high tech video, visitors can follow the lives of Buzzards, Goshawks and Hobbies in the National Park as they mate, lay eggs and teach their young to fly. Footage will be available daily both at the centre and online. To find out more, and watch the live footage, go to newforestgateway.org PLANTS FIND RESERVE The first saltmarsh plants have sprouted at Somerset’s new Steart Marshes reserve. The WWT marshes were created from low lying farmland in an attempt to provide not only a wildlife habitat, but also to act as a buffer to protect homes and businesses from…

A BRITISH COUPLE have opened what they call a “unique” bird tower to accommodate birding visitors to Mindo, in the Ecuadorian Andes. Carl and Laura Worsley worked on the four floor building for five years, landscaping and planting in order to attract as many birds and animals as possible. Each level offers an all-round view of the area, with the fourth floor being a dedicated observation deck. For more information contact Laura at carlandlauraworsley@hotmail.com…

THE LAST BUCKET of poisoned bait has been laid on South Georgia by Team Rat, the group dedicated to wiping out invasive rodents on the Atlantic island. It has taken the team three seasons, and more than a thousand flying hours in a helicopter to get to this point, treating more than a thousand square kilometres with the hope of protecting and restoring this vital seabird sanctuary. This is the largest rat eradication project ever undertaken, and has seen such success stories as the discovery of an unmolested nest of the rare South Georgia Pipit. It will take another two years of monitoring to make sure that the island is finally free of the rats, which have caused so much damage over the last 200 years.…

WHETHER YOU ARE a beginner birdwatcher or a seasoned observer, it is not difficult to capture good quality images of those most maligned of birds – gulls – with some attention to your camera settings. Many of the common species (Black-headed, Herring and Lesser Black-backed, for example) are widely distributed throughout the UK, so you can practise your birding and photographic skills without travelling far from home. You may know somewhere near to where you live or routinely travel: a local field, pool, flash of water or even a beach or car park where they congregate. Gulls, like most other birds, require stealth and sensible field skills to approach without disturbance. When out in the open, wear sensible clothing, which is not too bright, avoiding the sudden approach. Apart from…

Boycott Malta I am sure Chris Packham and the volunteers campaigning against the spring hunting in Malta must be devastated by the vote (see page 20). For many years the RSPB has adopted a policy with countries like Malta, that ‘it is better to talk’. Now the referendum has been held, and the vote was 51% to continue the hunting (or annual slaughter). I believe the time has come to stop talking. The RSPB is in a powerful position, they do not often flex their muscles, but they are for the Protection of Birds, and these are our birds. British birds, European birds, African birds, they are simply passing through Malta. They do not belong to the island. This tiny island somehow manages to get together 10,000 to shoot all…

JUNE IS ONE of those months with a bit of everything on offer for the birder – songbirds are still singing, waders are passing through in both directions, seabirds are at their most visible, and everything is single-mindedly trying to raise its new young. Our sites this issue reflect that variety, with everything from town centre walks to Scottish islands. Remember, we love to hear how you fared, so enjoy your birding, then please tell us all about exactly what you saw by emailing us at birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk Highlights ¿ See reedbed and coastal birds right in the centre of town at Radipole Lake RSPB ¿ There’s still time to catch up with singing Nightingales at Hamstreet Woods ¿ Find breeding Avocets and other waders on the freshwater…

As though she lived on song Her wings would tremble in her extacy And feathers stand on end as twere with joy and mouth wide open to release her heart Of its out sobbing songs THUS WROTE ENGLAND’S naturalist-poet John Clare, close observer of birds and wildflowers, agricultural labourer and unwitting prophet of environmentalism whose observations on Nightingales are unmatched nearly two centuries after he made them. Nightingales still sing on Bainton Heath, near his native village of Helpston, where he heard them as a boy, his ‘clod brown’ bird, ‘plain as a sparrow’ with ‘sweet melodious song’. Clare would creep into dense undergrowth and sit for hours in an ‘old prickly thorn bush’ hoping to see the nesting bird – “one of them is of a darker brown then…

OPTICS RATINGS EXPLAINED OPTICS – Quality of optical image including sharpness, focusing etc HANDLING – How the product looks, feels and ease of use PRICE – Value for money against other models in its class DSLR CANON EOS 70D £743 REVIEW BY TIM BERRY The 70D is a fantastic all-round camera, with excellent image quality and an impressive set of features. It sits between the 700D and 7D in Canon’s DSLR range and comes with plenty of impressive new features including a DIGIC 5+ processor, an ISO range of 100-25,600 (extended), built-in wireless Speedlite control and Wi-Fi functionality. The most significant difference between the 60D and 70D is the all-new sensor, which has Canon’s revolutionary Dual-Pixel CMOS AF built-in. When shooting with the viewfinder, the 70D uses exactly the same…

12-19 SEPTEMBER 2015 DETAILS TOUR REF: AA1505 COST: £1,595 DEPOSIT: £300 SINGLE ROOM SUPP: £95 LEADER: Daniel Petrescu MAX GROUP: 14 plus two leaders INCLUDES: Economy class scheduled return flights (UK-Bucharest-UK), accommodation based on twin occupancy, all meals, ground transportation in Romania and services of leader. EXCLUDES: Travel insurance, drinks, personal items. THE DANUBE DELTA in late summer and early autumn supports a mosaic of birdlife, for at the end of the breeding season resident species and summer visitors are joined by hordes of migrating birds on their way south to their wintering areas, creating a birdwatching spectacle. This tour is concentrated in and around the Danube Delta with four nights on a luxury hotel boat and three nights in Tulcea – with visits to the Black Sea area and…

OTHER SITES Rusanda Lake and Park Some 20 miles south-west of the Kikinda catchment area is Rusanda, where you will find an ancient oxbow lake on the Tisa River, itself a tributary of the mighty Danube. The water is quite shallow and is the saltiest in the whole of the Pannonian Basin. It is rich in zooplankton that proves a very attractive food source to Cranes, waterfowl and waders like Ruff and Wood Sandpiper and breeding Black-winged Stilt. Adjoining the lake is the mainly wooded Rusanda Park. Expect to see breeding Rook, Long-eared Owl (yes, even more of them!), Kestrel and a couple of pairs of Red-footed Falcon. WEBSITES David stayed at Hotel Kastel Eckta kastelecka.com Flew with Air Serbia airserbia.com/en-gb Special thanks to Magelan Travel Service incoming.magelan.rs Travel The…

SOUTH WEST Highlights In addition to wintering Cornish Pacific Diver, the first month of spring brought some welcome rare birds to the region. These included a male Desert Wheatear on St Agnes, Scilly, Blue-winged Teal in Dorset, American Herring Gull in Cornwall, and Bonaparte’s Gulls in Dorset and Devon. AVON HIGHLIGHTS: A Penduline Tit at Dyrham Park (11th) was the second county record. First dates included Sand Martins (6th), Swallow (8th), Wheatears (9th) and Willow Warblers (14th). CLEVEDON AREA: The strong winds (29th) produced 18 Gannets and a Great Skua. One or two Short-eared Owls remained. There was a Ruff (17th) and a Firecrest (18th). OLDBURY POWER STATION: There were Avocets (12th & 19th), a Firecrest (17th) and Great Skua (29th). PORTISHEAD AREA: There was an Avocet (6th), Short-eared Owl…

Tomos Brangwyn has been studying and photographing London’s urban Kingfishers, see page 28 Danielle Connor shares the outstanding work of her fellow young wildlife photographers, starting on page 40 Ever wondered what it’s like to work on Springwatch? Matt Brierley knows – and spills the beans on page 69 Dominic Couzens is watching a woodland flock on page 72. Follow Dominic on Twitter at @DominicCouzens Practical Photography gear editor Tim Berry shares his camera knowhow with us on page 82.…

Spring has just about run its course, but it is not time to hang up your bins, yet. There are still plenty of birds on the move, and even if they are not migrating, there are lots of birds worth watching this month. Whether they are resident species, or rare breeders or indeed birds in one of the country’s great seabird cities, there are great birds to find everywhere in June! Honey Buzzard RATING The Honey Buzzard fits into that dodgy category of ‘notorious beginner birds’. Their similarity to the much more abundant Buzzard means this bird, with a breeding population of fewer than 70 UK pairs, is often over-claimed by birding ‘newbies’. Your best bet for seeing one is to visit a known watchpoint such as in Norfolk or…

Find the location closest to your destination and add or subtract the hours and minutes from the high tide time at London Bridge, below. SOUTH WEST Weston-Super-Mare (+5:05) Barnstaple (+4:30) Newquay (+3:32) Falmouth (+3:30) Plymouth (+4:05) Torquay (+4:40) Bournemouth (-5:09)* Portland (+4:57) St Peter Port (+4:53) Swanage (-5:19)* Portsmouth (-2:29) Southampton (-2:53) SOUTH EAST Ryde (-2:29) Brighton (-2:51) Eastbourne (-2:48) Dungeness (-3:05) Dover (-2:53) Margate (-1:52) Herne Bay (-1:24) Southend-on-sea (-1:22) Clacton-on-sea (-2:00) EAST ANGLIA Felixstowe Pier (-2:23) Aldeburgh (-2:53) Lowestoft (-4:23) Cromer (+4:56) Hunstanton (+4:44) WALES Colwyn Bay (-2:47) Holyhead (-3:28) Barmouth (-5:45) Aberystwyth (-6:11) Fishguard (+5:44) Swansea (+4:42) Milford Haven (+4:37) Cardiff (+5:15) NORTH WEST Whitehaven (-2:30) Douglas (-2:44) Morecambe (-2:33) Blackpool (-2:50) NORTH EAST Skegness (+4:29) Grimsby (+4:13) Bridlington (+2:58) Whitby (+2:20) Hartlepool (+1:59) Blyth (+1:46) Berwick…

ONE OF THE pleasures of entering my Breeding Bird Survey records each year is comparing my totals with previous years, particularly for my fenland square which has been surveyed for more than two decades by several people. Some species have increased – during my tenure, I’ve added Marsh Harrier and Buzzard to the list – while the Yellow Wagtails and Turtle Doves have declined, and the Tree Sparrows disappeared altogether. However, there’s one entry in the table that always catches my eye: 1996, one Golden Oriole. Surely a red-letter day for the lucky birdwatcher surveying that patch of unremarkable fenland on an early June morning! But how unusual would this have been? The Rare Breeding Birds Panel, the body that collects records of UK species rare enough for individual nesting…

FEWER FINCHES AND more Robins; that’s the latest news from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this year. More than half a million people took part in the survey in January this year, spotting an amazing eight and a half million individual birds. And apart from three finches, sightings of the top 20 birds all showed an increase on last year’s figures. The number of Robins visiting gardens was at its highest since 2011, while Wrens were seen by twice as many people as last year. Despite these increases, two of the most seen birds, House Sparrow and Starling, remain on the Red List, with continuing concern over their conservation. And although Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Chaffinch numbers spotted were down, experts say there is no real cause for alarm; the lower…

THERE IS SOMETHING immensely charming about a Blackcap. Their jet black or red-brown bonnet setting off the subtle grey throat and belly and washed out olive wings, gives them a dapper and elegant look. This winter I think I provided the lifeline to some of these cuties. I’m not sure how many as I saw two adult males at one time and a redcap… the most regular feeder was a male, but its impossible to know if this was just one individual. He made numerous visits and, Starlings permitting, stuffed his face for periods of up to 20 minutes. He got dubbed ‘Fatboy Slim’ as he was single-minded in his consumption and at times rooted to our diminutive cherry tree, his slender profile fluffing up to keep out the cold…

THE RUMOURS WERE true, it seems; the Blackpoll Warbler does indeed fly nearly 2,000 miles in one go during its autumn migration, but returns by the scenic route. Researchers fitted several of the tiny American birds with geolocators to find out exactly what route they followed on their journey to South America. The researchers found that the birds took a direct route over the Atlantic to the Caribbean, resting there and then flying on to their destinations. Some flew more than 1,700 miles without stopping, a record for a bird of this size, and losing more than half of their bodyweight. On the way back north, however, the birds took their time and the coastal route, taking weeks to travel the same distance as they had done in days in…

SO, YOU’RE A birdwatcher who wants their best sightings to live in the memory forever, or perhaps you’re a photographer who’s been converted to the attractions of birding, but who wants to know how to deal with the quirks of these living, breathing, constantly-moving subjects? By sticking to some basic, and easily followed, principles and rules, you can start to get great photos starting right outside your back door, and then move further afield and on to more unusual, harder-to-photograph subjects. Here’s how to get started... 1 KNOW YOUR SUBJECT It’s always easier to photograph a bird whose behaviour you’re familiar with. Learn to identify as wide a range of birds as possible, then observe them and their habits, so that you can be in the right place at the…

Every month, Ben Hawkins, editor of Practical Photography (photoanswers.co.uk ) will be showing you how you can make a good photo into a great one, by mastering basic photography skills. To start with, we gave him one of our own Mike Weedon’s efforts… This is a lovely picture of a male Stonechat perched near a lake in glorious spring sunshine. You get a real feel for the bird’s natural environment, the three-quarter pose is flattering, and Mike has captured a lot of detail in the bird’s feathers while blurring the surrounding branches with clever camera technique. There’s a lot to like, and a lot to discuss… The first point of interest is the Stonechat’s positioning in the frame. You’ll notice that the bird is very central, which…

This month’s experts Regular bird brains Matt and Mike are joined by a leading American ornithologist Bill Thompson III, editor of US magazine Bird Watcher’s Digest US bird expert and author Bill writes the blog, Bill of the Birds and hosts the This Birding Life podcast. WHAT IS THIS LBJ? QI took this series of photos at Rame Head, Cornwall, in March. Unfortunately I couldn’t get any closer or change the angle of shot without spooking it. I think it may be a young Redstart or Stonechat but the black patch is not in keeping with either. It is about the same size as a Redstart/Stonechat. Jim Eames, via email A Sadly, Jim, this isn’t a Redstart, or indeed a Stonechat. As you correctly say, the ‘black patch’ is totally…

Comfort is king! Nikon’s new Monarch 7 binoculars suit all outdoor activities. The sophisticated all-new compact design weighs less than 500g, making them the lightest in class of high performance binoculars. Equally impressive are the superior optics and wide field of view. Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 only £279.99 Call in to any London Camera Exchange branch to see a comprehensive range of binoculars and telescopes. Visit LCEgroup.co.uk to find your nearest branch…

THIS MONTH WE are looking at British seabirds in flight. All you have to do is look at these six photographs and try to identify the birds featured. Turn the page for the answers and explanations as to how we reached the identifications we did, plus some ID tips. Seabirds can be tricky to identify at range, with an expanse of sky and sea and so little context or anything to compare them with. For the purposes of this ID Challenge, there is similarly nothing much to compare them with in the photographs, but they are all fairly straightforward, nicely lit, close views, so you can’t really complain. And, as usual, we haven’t included any nasty tricks. Not really nasty ones, anyway...…

OCTOBER 10-14 2015 WHAT’S INCLUDED Guiding by Alan and Ruth Minibus transport Use of our top-of-the-range Leica telescopes Use of our fieldguides A checklist of the birds Four nights accommodation All meals from lunch on day one to lunch on day five Entrance fees to reserves An evening presentation Transfer from Llandudno Junction railway station to and from the hotel can be arranged at no extra cost OCTOBER IS A wonderful time to visit North Wales, with its exciting blend of resident, migrant, winter and summer birds. Add to this the wide variety of habitats and stunning scenery, ranging from mountains to coast, and you have the perfect mix for a birdwatching break. Your guides for this tour will be local experts Alan Davies and Ruth Miller. The tour is…

ONE OF THE BEST things about working for Bird Watching is enjoying the sheer number of incredible bird images that come our way, month in, month out, all of them a tribute to the dedication, hard work, skill and patience of the world’s best bird photographers. We’ve selected some of our favourite images, taking in a variety of species from around the world, to inspire you to get out and see some of these iconic birds and, who knows, perhaps to create your own unique photographic record of your sightings. Don’t forget to follow the tips and advice of all our featured photographers, too. Once you have, you can enter our competition, with prizes including the chance to see your own bird photo on the cover of Bird Watching –…

Matt: “I’ve only ever seen them well from a rocking boat, so I need a good, stable, dry land sighting to get a good shot of a Puffin.” Mike: “Birds in flight are always tricky, but Swifts are devils! I’d love to photograph one well, over my garden, preferably.” Jack: “I’d love to capture a Marsh Harrier food pass on camera – just like reader Don Davis has (see Your View, page 44).”…

Seabird cities We are blessed with some wonderful cliff-based seabird cities in the UK. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of these cathedrals of stench and movement on our high coasts. Scan with bins, home in with a scope You can pick out birds with your binoculars, then train your scope on the bird for detail. Don’t forget to share your views with other birdwatchers. Think about rotating your scope Sometimes, looking down cliffs from the top or looking into water can be a bit disorientating and even unnerving; making you feel like you are toppling over. If you have an angled scope, why not rotate it so you are looking level or slightly up, while the scope looks down at the birds. Great photo opportunities…

THE PASSING OF the seasons is inexorable, and birds are tied to them to the point of aphorism. Birds are our greatest migrants and the most dazzling miracle of spring is not the blooming carpet of anemones, celandines and Bluebells, nor the first Brimstone on the wing, but the fresh arrival of wave after wave of lovely new avian marvels. The spring calendar as defined by the first appearance of migrating birds, is micro-adjusted in a finely tuned balance between absolute dates and weather systems. Unfavourable winds will hold up migration just as favourable ones will speed it up, but at some stage the dam always breaks and the power of the date will force the birds through. So, around Peterborough, we see the typical first March arrivals of Chiffchaff,…

BADLY DESIGNED POWER lines in Mongolia are killing about 4,000 globally endangered Saker Falcons every year, to the dismay of conservationists and falconers. The Saker Falcon is highly prized by Arab falconers, and the deaths represent more tha £25million of lost revenue to the legal falconry trade, as well as being a severe blow to the efforts of conservationists. However, conservationists, falconers and electricity company executives have joined forces at the International festival of Falconry in Abu Dhabi, and have agreed a resolution to put before the Mongolian government in an attempt to end the deaths. The Abu Dhabi environment agency and Mongolia’s Eastern Energy System have demonstrated that electrocution rates can be significantly reduced for the paltry sum of around US$20 per transmission pylon, with an entire line costing…

THE REFERENDUM TO ban spring hunting in Malta has been lost by 51% in favour of retaining hunting to 49% wanting it banned. This means that Malta will remain the only country in Europe that allows the spring hunting of migratory birds, an event that has been called “carnage” by the League Against Cruel Sports. More than 170 migratory bird species visit Malta every year, including the endangered Turtle Dove and Quail, both of which are in critical decline. Both species are supposedly protected by EU law, with shooting of either expressly forbidden. However, Malta has managed to obtain a derogation allowing them to shoot 16,000 birds during three weeks every spring. However, given the number of hunters legally registered in the country, and the quotas assigned to each hunter,…

THE RESULTS OF the second annual Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Big Farmland Bird Count have shown an increase in both the amount of birds and the number of species visiting farmland. February’s count involved nearly a thousand farmers and gamekeepers, the majority of whom belong to Environmental Stewardship schemes, and showed a rise in numbers of such red-listed species as Starling and Fieldfare. During the survey, 127 species were seen, an increase of 11 species since last year’s survey, the most numerous being Blackbird and Robin, and including 19 red-listed species and 1 species of raptor.…

1 Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 £949 This telephoto lens provides a huge 225-900mm on APS-C DSLRs, perfect for wildlife. 2 Walkstool Basic £30 Lightweight, foldable stool in sitting heights of 50cm and 60cm – ideal for the hide. 3 Lightweight Throw-over Hide £67 This hide, from Wildlife Watching Supplies, is versatile and lightweight – just drape it over yourself. 4 Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 £150 A very cost-effective option for full-frame and APS-C DSLRs – great if you’re on a tight budget. 5 Vanguard Espod AM-263 £69 Aluminium monopod with a tilting head for shooting in portrait format. Maximum load 5kg.…

PELAGIC Pelagic birds are those seabirds that live for most of their lives in the open ocean, such as the albatrosses, auks and shearwaters, and approach the coasts only when they need somewhere solid to breed and lay eggs. Due to the amount of time spent at sea, many pelagic species are very clumsy on land, as anyone who has seen an albatross come in to land can attest! Some pelagic birds may even spend several years at sea without ever approaching land, with many species forming huge colonies or ‘rafts’ hundreds of miles from land, while others are pelagic not for part of the year – our breeding Puffins, or Kittiwakes, for example, spend large parts of the year way out in the Arlantic. This makes such birds almost…

ONE OF THE great delights of British birding – indeed, of birding anywhere in the world – is to meet a mixed flock of woodland birds and to watch it pass by. As the breeding season draws to a close, flocks will soon become the norm around us. Our gardens and hedgerows will play host first to gatherings of dispersing juveniles (from late June), and then a mixture of roaming adults and adolescents together. In late summer, tens of individuals of several species – not necessarily related – may travel around the neighbourhood together, calling to keep in contact and maintaining a relatively cohesive whole. Such flocks radiate a sense of busyness. As they travel, members don’t stay in any one spot for long, but just seem to examine the…

MY KIKINDA TOWN... is what Frank Sinatra could have sung, had he hailed from this small town in northern Serbia, a stone’s throw from neighbouring Romania. However, back in 1964, when My Kinda Town first came out, Kikinda was not on the urban birding radar. In fact, it was barely on any radar at all. It was just an average small Yugoslavian town, or so it seemed. About 10 years ago, Serbian ornithologist Milan Ružic stumbled upon the fact that large numbers of Long-eared Owls were roosting in urban areas from Belgrade right up to the northern borders with Romania and Hungary. Along with a small party of volunteers, he set upon a crusade to chart the roosts and count the numbers of individuals. Over the ensuing years, he calculated…

We’re launching the search for Bird Watching’s Photographer of the Year 2015, and you can win some great prizes in two categories – the Open section, and the Cover Star section. In the Open section, the winner receives a day’s one-to-one in-the-field tuition with wildlife photographer Craig Jones (at a date and location to be mutually agreed), and a bundle of photographic accessories. The winner of the Cover Star section will see their work used on the cover of Bird Watching (subject to approval), and will win a bundle of photographic accessories. Both winners will have their work showcased in Bird Watching and displayed at Birdfair 2015, and there are mystery prizes in each section, too! Please submit original unedited jpgs – all images must have been taken since the…