bird watching_uk_8_2

BUMPER 132-PAGE ISSUE! AUGUST 2022 £4.95 BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING BIRD MAGAZINE GLOBAL BIRDFAIR CHOUGHED! 2022 Why everybody’s excited this rare corvid is bouncing back Join us at the birding event of the year PLUS Focus on Cornwall – visit now to see Choughs and more NATURE ID CHALLENGE How you can start to make a difference Step by step guide to separating late summer waders WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN Ruth Miller has a close encounter with exotic vultures YELLOWHAMMER Discover the secret life of this colourful songster



HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR 2022? #My200BirdYear challenge BIRDING QUESTION We ask this month’s contributors: What’s been your favourite nocturnal nature experience? DAVID SEWELL/ALAMY* David Chandler: “An early start at Minsmere – booming Bittern and virtuoso Nightingale – a real privilege.” MALCOLM SCHUYL/ALAMY* Welcome NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS LTD/ALAMY IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY David Lindo: It’s that time of year when slee ...and the Bird Watching STEPHANIE JACKSON/ALAMY “Mist netting and ringing difficult to come by. Partly because team’s answers Nightjars in Thetford Forest, of the warm nights, but mainly BEN QUEENBOROUGH/ALAMY* COVER IMAGES: CHOUGH: JEREMY INGLIS/ALAMY; GREENSHANK: AGAMI/ALAMY*; YELLOWHAMMER: ZOONAR GMBH/ALAMY; Norfolk, with the BTO was because the birding doesn’t have Matt Merritt: ”Bush YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU: PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY*; EGYPTIAN VULTURE: RUTH MILLER truly magical! ” to stop even when the long hours Stone-curlew wailing on the of daylight do. I’ve been enjoying some doorstep of my chalet at Dominic Couzens: “Trying dusk birding sessions watching the likes Cooinda, NT, Australia.” to catch (for research purposes) of Nightjar and roding Woodcock (see Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats above); and on page 30, Amanda Tuke Mike Weedon: ”I was woken near Adelaide, at night.” makes a great case for trying just a in the middle of the night by little night birding yourself. a pack of howling wolves, We’ve also been working hard (honestly!) to put together in a Finnish forest.” this, the biggest Bird Watching issue of the year, which includes our guide to the first Global Birdfair. If you’ve got Tim Unwin: “Bumping into a time (in between reading it and enjoying 24/7 birding) to visit ‘bat expert’ on a country lane in this new international event, come and say hello to us – we’ll Norfolk at dusk. Bats were flying be there all three days, ready to give help and advice, and to at us from every angle – so cool!” hear your tales of birdwatching successes. See you there! BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY SUBSCRIBE NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY* FOR Ruth Miller: “Seeing a Matt Merritt, editor Pennant-winged Nightjar flying £4.30 around a standard lamp outside a pub in Zambia. A MONTH Bizarre but wonderful!” SEE PAGE 6 GET IN TOUCH: @ [email protected] twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag Bird Watching, Media House, facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA instagram/birdwatchingmag birdwatching.co.uk 3

Contents AUGUST 24 35 40 73 FEATURES 30 24 Global Birdfair 2022 The biggest event in UK birding is ‘back’, and it’s going to be an impressive weekend. Here’s what to expect... 35 What can I do to help? If you want help save the world or get involved in a conservation project, Stuart Winter gives food for thought. ON THE COVER 40 Choughs 24 Global Birdfair You’ll have to head way out west to get 35 What can I do to help? a glimpse of these fascinating corvids, 40 Choughs but it’s well worth the effort. 47 Cornwall Birding Society 52 Egyptian Vultures 47 Cornwall Birding Society minute 55 ID Challenge 73 Yellowhammer The dedicated folk of the far south-west who cherish, protect and monitor birdlife. SIGN UP NOW! 52 Egyptian Vultures #MY200BIRDYEAR BIRDWATCHING. Ruth Miller gets up close and personal 21 Tips and advice to hit 200 CO.UK/MY200 with these magnificent birds. So what if half of the year has gone? If 4 August 2022 73 Yellowhammer you plan well, you can hit the magic 200. Dominic Couzens looks at a colourful 30 30-Minute Birder bunting which is in the country all year. Amanda Tuke heads out late for a bit 79 Jo Wimpenny of singing and dancing, avian style. The Aesop’s Animals author delves into the age-old tales, and asks how much truth there is in them.

14 8 21 104 NEWS & VIEWS 79 90 16 Weedon’s World IN THE FIELD BIRD THE WORLD A delightful evening in a quiet corner of Lincolnshire helps re-energise Mike. 8 Your Birding Month 89 Scotland break 18 NewsWire A focus on the iconic Spoonbill, five Join us in the Scottish Highlands in birds to look out for this month, passage autumn; who knows what we might see? A challenge for a birding charity, stilt migrants, tubenoses and rarities... successes and leiothrix on the move? 90 St Lucia 14 Beyond Birdwatching 19 Grumpy Old Birder Stephen Moss goes searching for the If it’s flying around your garden, and it rare birdlife of this Caribbean island. This month Bo gets worked up about... isn’t a bird, it’s James Lowen’s business. nothing!?! Will wonders never cease? 96 The Birding Co-op 55 ID Challenge 83 Readers’ letters A community that has set out to love Test your identification skills, and pick people and places as much as their hobby. Get in touch with tales of your up tips with our summer waders puzzle. adventures, or just to have a moan... 100 The Urban Birder – House Crow 61 Go Birding 85 Q&As David Lindo casts his eye over a clever Ten more UK birding locations, corvid, who likes to get around by Collaborative Cormorants, disguised tried and tested by our expert team. hitching lifts and settles in quickly. ducks and more major mysteries. SUBSCRIBE FOR 130 Best birding day ever £4.30 John Hague’s Scilly season, when his feet barely touched the ground. PER MONTH* BIRD SIGHTINGS SEE OVER THE PAGE 113 Rarity Round-Up *PRINT ISSUE WHEN YOU PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT The highlights of the birding month from all four corners of the UK. 116 UK Bird Sightings We’ve got eyes and ears all over the country, making notes on what to spot. GEAR & REVIEWS 104 Gear Photography Read Rob Read and you’ll change the way you compose your bird shots. 108 Gear A cracking pair of bargain binoculars, and a pair of shorts to last a lifetime. 110 Wishlist Birding-related goodies for you to buy, save up for, or merely dream about. 111 Books The latest releases reviewed, including The Corncrake by Frank Rennie. birdwatching.co.uk 5

SUBSCRIBE TO PRINT ISSUE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR FOR JUST £4.30 WHEN YOU PAY BY MONTHLY DIRECT DEBIT OR £49.99 ANNUAL PAYMENT YOU’VE REALLY HELPED AN EXCELLENT MAGAZINE. I LOOK IMPROVE MY BIRDING FORWARD TO READING IT EACH MONTH R CLARKE DAVE FRANKS OLIVER SMART/ALAMY* Call 01858 438884 Quote ZIAA Terms & Conditions: Subscriptions will start with the next available issue. The minimum term is 13 issues. You will not receive a renewal reminder and the Direct Debit payments will continue to be taken unless you tell us otherwise. This offer closes on 31st December 2022 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Cost from landlines for 01 numbers per minute are (approximate) 2p to 10p. Cost from mobiles per minute (approximate) 10p to 40p. Costs vary depending on the geographical location in the UK. You may get free calls to some numbers as part of your call package – please check with your phone provider. Order lines open 8am-9.30pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-4pm (Sat). UK orders only. Live Overseas? Please phone +44 1858 438828 for further details. For full terms and conditions please visit: www.greatmagazines.co.uk/offer-terms-and-conditions 6 August 2022

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER WANT THE DIGITAL ISSUE INSTEAD? £3.99 a month when you pay by direct debit or £39.99 annual payment WHY NOT GET BOTH PRINT & DIGITAL? £5.20 a month when you pay by direct debit or £59.99 annual payment SUBSCRIBE TODAY TOM BAILEY “Our mission is to bring you & BENEFIT FROM: everything you need for brilliant birding – and with this offer you FREE UK delivery of the print magazine, can subscribe to the magazine direct to your door for just £4.30 a month! Don’t miss out – take advantage of this Multi-device access to your digital issues great offer today!” Never miss an issue Matt Merritt, editor Save money Order online today! greatmagazines.co.uk/bw birdwatching.co.uk 7

YOUR BIRDING MONTH AUGUST BIRD OF THE MONTH SPOONBILL The Spoonbill is one of those iconic birds that we have ‘known’ since childhood. It used to stand out in the bird books of our youths: extraordinary looking, with that wonderful bill, and with a side-promise that one day these birds of our dreams would breed again in the UK. Well, that dream has finally come true, and there are now half a dozen or so breeding pairs in the country. And, as the juveniles disperse and are joined by wanderers from the continent, the chances of encountering a Spoonbill (or even a flock) in the field are much higher than when most of us were children, engrossed in bird books. One thing those bird books don’t prepare you for is just how sleepy Spoonbills can be. This is something you learn when you first see them for yourself! There can be few birds which spend more time with their head tucked in doing nothing much. Many of us first ‘ticked’ Spoonbill without seeing the amazing bill which gives the bird its name. You can identify them by their large size (notably bigger than a Little Egret), and thick black legs (much more robust than egret legs). Eventually, if you watch them long enough, they will wake up, though, and that is when to appreciate them in all their glory. Whether it is feeding with a sweep of the spatulate bill, or in flight with outstretched neck (unlike an egret or heron), Spoonbills are pretty spectacular in action, just like you were promised in those bird books of yesteryear… 8 August 2022

M WOIKER, BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY DID YOU DAVID/ALAMY KNOW? There are six species of spoonbill around the world birdwatching.co.uk 9

FIVE TO FIND IN AUGUST August is traditionally the month M GUYT, BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY of summer holidays. But in the world of birding, it is the start of 1 WILSON’S PETREL autumn. Indeed, some birders declare autumn has begun in One of the most abundant seabirds in the world, the Wilson’s Petrel (aka Wilson’s Storm July! Whatever the season, there Petrel) is an annual, but much desired bird in UK waters. They breed in the southern are birds on the move. Rare and hemisphere, but many winter in the northern hemisphere, and a few reach the extreme common birds. Here are some south-western part of British waters every year. Most are seen on specialist seawatching juicy rarities and a couple of pelagic boat trips, sailing out of Scilly in the late summer. Wilson’s Petrels are small, but more common birds you may slightly larger than the tiny (European) Storm Petrel and have a subtly different flight want to look for this August. action with long glides and often dangling long legs which also extend beyond the tail (and the feet have yellow webs). Wilson’s lack the white underwing stripe seen on twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag Storms and show a pale panel in the upperwing. facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag RARITY RATINGS Common, widely distributed Localised – always a treat Very scarce or rare DID YOU KNOW? Both ‘lesser’ golden plovers have grey ‘armpits’ 2 PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER DANITA DELIMONT/ALAMY The Pacific equivalent of the (European) Golden Plover, was formerly (along with the American Golden Plover) ‘lumped’ as Lesser Golden Plover. Now known as Pacific Golden Plover, it is readily separable from American by those in the know. Recent years have seen a notable increase in records of this rare wader, as well as growth in confidence in their identification. At this time of year, expect any PGP to be an adult, probably moulting out of its striking black underparts. They are smaller and slimmer than Golden Plovers, with long legs (and feet which project beyond the tail in flight), grey axillaries (‘armpits’) and a call reminiscent of the ’chewit’ of Spotted Redshank. 10 August 2022

YOUR BIRDING MONTH MARCO VALENTINI/ALAMY RARITY PREDICTOR JAMES MUNDY, NATURE›S ARK PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY* 3 COMMON SANDPIPER Here are our regular, more or less outlandish guesses as to which very rare If you live in the south and east of the country, as many of us do, you probably see Common birds may possibly appear in the UK Sandpipers in small numbers during spring and late summer/autumn passage (including at during August. Huge Brownie points if a gravel pit or reservoir edge near you, this month). However, there are some 15,000 pairs you find any one of these three crackers! of these curious ‘wagtails’ of waders breeding along upland streams, lochs etc further north and west. They are characterful little birds, quite long tailed for a wader (though short tailed SOLITARY SANDPIPER compared to most birds), with a slightly awkward, pot-bellied gait with yellow-green legs. There are about 40 accepted UK records Don’t forget to check for the white ‘nick’ in front of the folded wing which helps tell them of this dark-rumped (not white-rumped) from the slightly larger, darker, shorter-tailed (and white rumped) Green Sandpiper. American equivalent of the Green Sandpiper. And nearly half of these have been from the Isles of Scilly. But, they can and have occurred just about anywhere. Look for a Green Sandpiper which looks something like a Wood Sandpiper, and has not a hint of a white rump! 4 SANDWICH TERN MALCOLM SCHUYL/ALAMY The big, pale, front-heavy Sandwich Tern is a coastal breeder, with colonies scattered ARL CORBIDGE/ALAMY BRIDLED TERN around the sandy coasts of the UK (with some 11,000 pairs in total). They are ‘patch gold’ for inland patch workers, but do pass ‘through’ the country, even at this time of This widely distributed tropical tern is a year. But the best place to see them is along the coast, either at their colonies or fishing very rare bird in the UK (with fewer than 40 the sea to feed their young. They are handsome, shaggy-crested terns, with a yellow- records, possibly only representing about tipped black bill, black legs and feet, a relatively short tail (for a tern) and often a white half a dozen living individuals, plus a few forehead in late summer. dead ones). It resembles the Sooty Tern, but the back and wings are slightly paler grey; plus the face pattern is subtly different. If they do turn up, it tends to be in the summer months. So, get searching, particularly at coastal sites (though in 1984 one turned up at Rutland Water). 5 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE KIT DAY/ALAMY MARK GUYT, ALAMY PHOTO AGENCY/ALAMY The gorgeous little Red-necked Phalarope is an anomaly. They are tiny waders which RUFOUS-TAILED SCRUB ROBIN habitually swim (and have lobed toes to help this), going round in circles, stirring up the water to feed by picking up ‘food’ from the surface. And they have ‘reversed’ roles when it comes to Like buses, as they say. The birders of the brooding and childcare: the females are the brightly-coloured ones and the duller males brood UK waited nearly 60 years for a twitchable the eggs and tend the young. These phalaropes breed in small numbers (a little more than ‘Rufous Bushchat’ (as they used to be 20 pairs) mainly on selected Scottish islands (eg, Fetlar, Shetland). In late summer, we see our called), before the Stiffkey, Norfolk, first juveniles passing through (also in very small numbers). Juveniles are black-masked with ‘lockdown’ bushchat of October 2020. prominent yellow stripes on the dark back. They may turn up on freshwater or brackish pools, Then, 10 months later, another appeared on the water or picking along the edge. at Black Head, Cornwall. How about a little bit of history repeating, this month? birdwatching.co.uk 11

WHAT’S IN A NAME? ROBIN CHITTENDEN/ALAMY Little Gull This one is easy. Little Gull is named after it being a gull and it being little. In fact, it is the world’s smallest gull. In some ways, it is a gull which thinks it is a marsh tern, being an elegant, buoyant flier which swoops to pick morsels from the water surface in the manner of a Black Tern. Although they have bred in Scotland (in 2016 at Loch of Strathbeg, Aberdeenshire), these are mainly passage (and wintering) birds in the UK. They are a far cry from the chip-stealing seagulls of popular imagination. Small-billed, dainty even, with smoothly rounded wings and bags of charm, Little Gulls are great little birds. Adults are very clean looking, lacking black in the upperwing, but with dark underwings (and black hoods in full breeding plumage); juveniles and first-winters resemble tiny Kittiwakes of the same age. DOMINIC ROBINSON/ALAMY* TUBENOSES IN NUMBERS TRACKS & SIGNS 500,000 QUAIL SONG SAVERIO GATTO/ALAMY UK breeding The Quail is an extraordinary bird in many ways. Our only migratory gamebird, population (pairs) these birds, which are only the size of half-grown partridge chicks, fly vast distances to reach the UK’s fields to spend the summer, and breed. An average of Fulmar of only about 500 males are heard singing in the UK each year (though surely many go unheard), so these are scarce birds. Part of the reason they go unheard 280,000 - 320,000 is that they are predominantly crepuscular or nocturnal singers, so often require a deliberate search in the evening (or very early morning) to hear. The sound Number of breeding pairs of Manx is ‘whipped’ three note ‘whip-wipwip’, usually transcribed as ‘wet my lips’, Shearwater breeding in the UK a little like the ‘chuk-chukar’ call of the Red-legged Partridge, but higher pitched. The sound carries for a long way (across several large fields), and if heard close 48,000 up is preceded by a gasping almost ‘waawaa’ before the ‘wet my lips’ bit. Number of pairs of Leach’s Petrel nesting One of the many curious things about Quails is that they can reach breeding maturity in the same summer in in the UK which they were hatched. So, if you hear a singing bird in August, it may have come from an egg earlier this year! 26,000 KEIRSEBILCK PATRICK, ARTERRA PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY FIELDCRAFT Juvenile waders Juvenile Ruff HAROLD STIVER/ALAMY* Number of pairs of Storm Petrel nesting Noting the age of waders at this time of year (which will mostly be juvenile) in the UK Adult Ruff is a massive step in identifying them. From August into the autumn proper, the waders we see in the UK are dominated by juveniles. Juveniles are the 2,000 DAVID TIPLING PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY birds which hatched from eggs this year, and are yet to moult into their first-winter plumage. Even though juveniles make up the vast majority of Estimated number of Balearic waders we see during this period, many older field guides used to ignore Shearwaters seen on passage them, and instead illustrate adults in breeding plumage and winter plumage. These days, with masterpieces like the Collins Bird Guide, we birders have past the UK each yar no excuses for not at least realising we are looking at juvenile waders, rather than adults. 100-118 It is tempting to think that juveniles may look like scruffy versions of their Wingspan (cm) of the rare parents (like with several ‘garden’ birds), but the opposite is the case with Great Shearwater waders. The general trend among juvenile waders is that they are same size and shape as their parents, but look brighter and neater (after all, the adults 1 Number of Black-browed have had an arduous summer bringing up young, and can get pretty worn in Albatrosses returning each the feather department, and may also be moulting into winter plumage). year to the UK, mainly at Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire Also, juvenile shorebirds tend to have neatly pale-fringed feathers on their backs and wing feathers. Many juvenile waders also have more extensive buff or peachy tones (especially in the underparts), which make them look strikingly different from the late summer adults. A fine example of this is the Ruff. 12 August 2022

YOUR BIRDING MONTH Some scarce passage migrants UK TIDES AUGUST This month, we look at a few of the much-sought-after scarce passage migrants which turn up annually in late August. Good luck seeing any or all of these crackers! The times below are for high tide, when waders and wildfowl will be pushed closer to dry land... Find the location closest to your destination and add or subtract the hours and minutes from the high tide time at London Bridge, below. Date Time m Time m 1 M 03:57 6.80 16:11 6.69 2 Tu 04:30 6.75 16:42 6.63 3 W 05:03 6.63 17:15 6.52 HUGH HARROP/ALAMY 4Th 05:39 6.44 17:51 6.42 5F 06:19 6.23 18:33 6.31 KIT DAY/ALAMY 6 Sa 07:07 6.03 19:26 6.19 7Su 08:11 5.86 20:39 6.07 8 M 09:36 5.83 22:10 6.16 9Tu 10:56 6.00 23:27 6.44 Red-backed Shrike 10 W 12:09 6.31 Wryneck Like the Wryneck, formerly a widespread breeding bird 11 Th 00:36 6.78 13:12 6.61 in the UK, this smallish butcherbird is now mainly seen A woodpecker which looks like a large warbler in Nightjar’s as an autumn passage bird. Most birds encountered will 12 F 01:36 7.08 14:04 6.85 clothing, the Wryneck is a very strange and very beautiful be juvenile/first-winter individuals, predominantly brown bird. Like Green Woodpeckers, Wrynecks spend a lot of and white and sporting scaly fringes and barring on the 13Sa 02:28 7.29 14:51 7.03 time on the ground feeding on ants and the like. Most are feathers of the back and breast (like more barred versions found at coastal sites in the south or east (or the Northern of adult females). 14 Su 03:16 7.39 15:35 7.15 Isles) on passage, for instance feeding among the dunes or similar areas. 15M 04:01 7.37 16:15 7.17 16 Tu 04:43 7.21 16:54 7.08 17 W 05:23 6.92 17:30 6.89 18Th 06:01 6.57 18:08 6.62 19F 06:39 6.22 18:51 6.32 20 Sa 07:22 5.90 19:43 5.99 21 Su 08:15 5.63 20:49 5.74 22M 09:23 5.49 22:05 5.69 23Tu 10:48 5.61 23:22 5.92 24 W 11:59 5.98 25 Th 00:24 6.29 12:49 6.34 26 F 01:11 6.57 13:31 6.58 27Sa 01:51 6.73 14:09 6.71 28Su 02:27 6.82 14:44 6.81 29M 03:00 6.90 15:16 6.89 30 Tu 03:32 6.95 15:47 6.92 31W 04:04 6.90 16:18 6.88 SOUTH WEST Milford Haven Weston-Super-Mare (+4:37) (+5:05) Cardiff (+5:15) Barnstaple (+4:30) HUGH HARROP/ALAMY HUGH HARROP/ALAMY Newquay (+3:32) NORTH WEST Falmouth (+3:30) Whitehaven (-2:30) Plymouth (+4:05) Douglas (-2:44) Torquay (+4:40) Morecambe (-2:33) Bournemouth Blackpool (-2:50) (-5:09)* Portland (+4:57) NORTH EAST St Peter Port Skegness (+4:29) Greenish Warbler Icterine Warbler (+4:53) Grimsby (+4:13) About the size of a Chiffchaff, though its shorter tail One of two similar Hippolais warblers (the other being the Swanage (-5:19)* Bridlington (+2:58) makes it appear a slightly larger bird, the Greenish Melodious), the Icterine Warbler is like a larger, slightly Warbler is Chiffchaff-like but with a much more prominent chunkier, more slow-moving, more open-faced, yellow- Portsmouth (-2:29) Whitby (+2:20) and longer supercilium (pale ‘eyebrow) and an obvious washed juvenile Willow Warbler, with lead-grey legs and transverse pale wing-bar. The call somewhat resembles no dark stripe ‘through’ the eye. The wings are longer Southampton (-2:53) Hartlepool (+1:59) the call of a Pied Wagtail; some birds may even be singing than on Melodious Warbler and there is often a pale panel during migration. showing in the wing (edges of secondaries and tertials). Blyth (+1:46) SOUTH EAST Berwick (+0:54) Ryde (-2:29) Brighton (-2:51) SCOTLAND Eastbourne (-2:48) Leith (+0:58) Dungeness (-3:05) Dundee (+1:12) Dover (-2:53) Aberdeen (-0:18) Margate (-1:52) Fraserburgh (-1:28) Herne Bay (-1:24) Lossiemouth (-2:00) Southend-on-sea Wick (-2:29) (-1:22) Lerwick (-2:50) Clacton-on-sea Stromness (-4:29) (-2:00) Scrabster (-5:09) Stornoway (+5:30) EAST ANGLIA Ullapool (+5:36) Red-breasted Flycatcher Felixstowe Pier Gairloch (+5:16) The dainty, shy Red-breasted Flycatcher is (-2:23) Oban (+4:12) a very desirable late summer and autumn find. They are small flycatchers, slightly smaller than Aldeburgh (-2:53) Greenock (-1:19) Pied Flycatchers and have a distinctive black and white tail pattern. Most autumn individuals Lowestoft (-4:23) Ayr (-1:44) will be first-winters, with pale buff rather than orange breasts. Cromer (+4:56) Campbeltown Hunstanton (+4:44) (-1:12) Girvan (-1:51) WALES Kirkcudbright Bay Colwyn Bay (-2:47) (-2:25) Holyhead (-3:28) TONY MILLS/ALAMY* Barmouth (-5:45) IRELAND Aberystwyth (-6:11) Londonderry (-5:32) Fishguard (+5:44) Belfast (-2:47) Swansea (+4:42) Donegal (+4:20) *Approximate times due to large variance between the month’s neap and spring tides. All times are GMT. birdwatching.co.uk 13

YOUR BIRDING MONTH Beyond Birdwatching August is about relaxing, getting outside ORTHOPTERAN and enjoying wildlife, says James Lowen. Into the trees Raspberry beret The Kent shingle peninsula of Dungeness has long been fêted by birdwatchers and moth-ers, so you need little Clearwings are remarkable, wasp- excuse to visit, ideally staying at the bird observatory. But mimicking moths that fly mainly in high the UK’s south-easternmost corner has also become summer. The last of their ilk to emerge – famous for its unique assemblage of Orthoptera (crickets records typically peaking in early August and grasshoppers) not previously known to occur in – is Raspberry Clearwing. Discovered Britain. Their number includes a thriving colony of Tree new to Britain in Cambridgeshire in 2007, Crickets, whose nocturnal stridulation transports the it has since spread to other counties. visitor to balmy nights in Mediterranean countries. An This makes it ripe for finding in new enchanting and wholly unexpected experience! locations, so why not buy a pheromone lure (a synthetic equivalent of a female’s ‘scent’) and chance your arm this month? D A M S E L F LY F LY MOTH Biting Butter wouldn’t melt beauty Many moths have The Twin-lobed impressively imaginative Deerfly boasts names, but not those one of the most called after their spectacular pairs of caterpillar’s foodplant. eyes in the UK. If it were not enough to glister gold and One such is Butterbur, emerald, these peepers max out with eye-catching which is seen exclusively amethyst sparkles. Beware beauty, however. Stay too around this still and this insect may give you a painful nip. massive-leaved plant of damp terrain. BUT TERFLY PLANT Damsel, Eye of the beholder Buck the trend PICTURES: JAMES LOWEN no distress August seems to be a peak month for It often pays to be cautious when using Some British dragonflies and occurrences of the huge, spectacular vagrant English names for species. For example, damselflies are in trouble, so need butterfly that is Camberwell Beauty. This English Sea Buckthorn has bright orange berries that intensive conservation work, but name was allocated by eighteenth-century squish to form a lovely juice rich in minerals many are actually profiting from lepidopterist Moses Harris, on account of the first and vitamins. But it hails from an entirely warmer summers and milder British record being caught along Cold Arbour different family from Common Buckthorn, winters. One such is Azure Lane in south London (now Coldharbour Lane, pictured here. If you were to consume Damselfly. Already common which connects Camberwell with Brixton). the black berries of this plant, you would and widespread beside streams, Another name accorded, The Grand Surprize, swiftly learn of its laxative effect – one that ponds and large waterbodies conveyed the novelty value of such a discovery gives rises to the alternative moniker of across England, Wales and – though arguably the North American name, Purging Buckthorn. lowland Scotland, it is spreading Mourning Cloak, is more evocative. Whatever you north through the latter. call it though, this is quite some butterfly to see. 14 August 2022

Birding from home? Download every issue to your phone or tablet instead! NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! Here at Bird Watching we appreciate the last two years have been tough, and while life is returning to normal, you might still find it easier if you can get hold of your favourite magazine anywhere, at any time. For a single digital issue simply download the Bird Watching Magazine app from the Apple App Store or Google Play or from the Amazon Newsstand. If you enjoy a single digital issue you can purchase a digital subscription from: greatmagazines.co.uk/bw

PATCH DIARY Weedon's World Mike has been trying to make the most of the warm days of June, and the long daylight hours of midsummer J une is a funny old month in the birding calendar. On the one hand it is a quiet time, when birds have settled into bringing up their families and staying put at the breeding sites. On the other hand, failed breeders and other strays go awandering and turn up in extraordinary places. The usual spring and autumn passage migrants like waders and chats may be in short supply at an inland ‘patch’ like mine (around Peterborough, of course), but when something does turn up it is usually pretty special. Looking back over my spreadsheet (which stretches back to 2003), I note that June has delivered us Peterborians such special birds as Night Heron, Montagu’s Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Baillon’s Crake (heard only), Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Bluethroat and Caspian Tern (in 2021). Four of that bunch I have only recorded once locally, and the other two, twice. MIKE WEEDON This year (bearing in mind that it is just after midsummer’s day as I write, so there are still eight days or so, left), June has provided me with two local year ticks: Little Tern (my first in the Peterborough area since 2016) and Quail (taking the bigger than a typical garage, both falling apart and abandoned, Above Adult Little Owl old #My200BirdYear list to a fairly modest 176). surrounded by bushes and a couple of tall trees (willow and about to leave the ‘nesting barn’ Apart from going for these two birds, I have occupied my poplar). In the closer collapsing shack is a Barn Owl box, in search of flying insects, birding/nature-watching time with ‘other wildlife’, as well underneath which loose planks are painted with owl white June 2022 as trying to get maximum enjoyment from looking at and wash, and piled high with black pellets. From the box, a baby Mike Weedon is a lover of all listening to birds, rather than just ticking them. Naturally, Barn Owl was hissing demands for food, and the parents were wildlife, a local bird ‘year lister’, and a for the time of year, other wildlife has included a bit of orchid duly obliging, delivering what appeared to be voles aplenty. keen photographer, around his watching (and sniffing: I love Fragrant Orchids!) and plenty But there was another, similar, but slightly higher pitched home city of Peterborough, of insect action. It has been a poor year for butterflies, so far, hiss coming from the other barn, just a few yards from the where he lives with his wife, Jo, and but I have enjoyed really good numbers (dozens) of one of owl box: a single hungry Little Owl youngster, the size of its children, Jasmine and Eddie. You can our local specialities, the Black Hairstreak, as well as a recent parents, but fluffier round the edges. At times it seemed like see his photos at weedworld. colonist around here, the splendid Dark Green Fritillary. a competition between the babies of the two owl species to blogspot.com And other wildlife featured on my trip out to tick Quail (by see which one could hiss their demands the loudest! its song, incidentally, the bird remaining typically unseen, in a Now, Barn Owls are superb, but it was next door’s Little bean field). I ventured out to a particular bit of farmed fenland Owl activities that were the real highlight here. Both LO north of Peterborough which is possibly one of the most parents stayed close to the nesting barn, and both were very ‘under-watched’ parts of the area. Indeed it was hard to listen active, after the sun had set. The warm midsummer sky was for the ‘wet my lips’ call of the Quail as there was too much full of flying insects, big ones, especially near those tall trees. Corn Bunting and Sky Lark song filling the airwaves! It must The silhouetted Little Owls would sweep off the roof of the be the best place, locally, for Corn shack or off a branch, then chase Bunting, with a population LITTLE OWLS WOULD chafers and moths, picking them thriving perhaps because many of SWEEP OFF THE ROOF... in mid-air next to the poplar, either the ditch-sides defining the bean with their bill, like a flycatcher and cereal fields here are left to AND CHASE CHAFERS OR or bee-eater, or snatching them grow a rich tapestry of wildflowers. MOTHS... LIKE A HOBBY with their feet, like a Hobby. Then the parent owls would Just as I had had my fill of Quail song, and was wandering back either eat the large insect they’d along a gravelly track to my car, enjoying the plentiful Brown just caught, or more commonly fly directly to the baby’s beam Hares all around, and dodging deep-buzzing chafers nearly in the open-ended barn and feed the little, demanding hisser. whacking my ears, I looked over my shoulder and saw what Once or twice, I saw an adult run on its unexpectedly long at first I took for a Muntjac crossing the path. But it turned out fluffy legs along the beam the baby was sitting on. to be a whopper of a Badger, which snuffled around and then It was the first time I had heard a baby Little Owl, the first disappeared into the Quail’s field. Pure magic! time I had seen a Little Owl catching an insect mid-air and the But the highlight of that particular area for me was watching first time I had seen an adult feeding a baby Little Owl. The breeding owls also enjoying the rich wildlife of the fen. There is action was supreme and constant. It was like a midsummer a pair of ramshackle barns just by the road, neither much night’s dream of the best of wildlife watching. Wonderful. 16 August 2022

> 32mm objective, 8x magnification LIGHTWEIGHT & > Extra low dispersion optics (ED) DURABLE... PERFECT > Weight 499g FOR THE TOUGHEST OUTDOOR CONDITIONS RRP 299.99 > 32mm objective, 10x magnification > Extra low dispersion optics (ED) > Weight 499g RRP 299.99 > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and 8x magnification 10x magnification 8x magnification 10x magnification > Phase coated BaK-4 prisms > Phase coated BaK-4 prisms > Magnesium alloy body > Magnesium alloy body > > > > RRP 129.99 RRP 129.99 RRP 239.99 RRP 239.99 Our 32mm range of binoculars feature lightweight frames and close focus distances from just 2m, making them perfect for viewing birds, butterflies, plants, or other nearby subjects. Whilst being compact, 32mm binoculars also offer the magnification of larger binoculars to give great views of distance subjects, plus a wide field of view so you can easily follow them as they move. No matter how you choose to observe, these versatile binoculars are excellent all-around performers. > 32mm objective and > 32mm objective and 8x magnification 6.5x magnification > Fully multi coated lenses > Fully multi coated lenses > Weight 520g > Weight 520g RRP 139.99 RRP 139.99 Full product details at: www.celestron.com Email: [email protected]

NEWSWI E ALL THE BIGGEST BIRD NEWS & EVENTS CAMPAIGN Taking action against CAROLINE EASTWOOD/ALAMY* poachers and trappers Robins need protection One man’s quest to raise money and awareness in the fight against cruelty to birds A man has stand-up ANDY SHORT A good cause is worth paddleboarded 21 miles of paddling across the English Dad. At the age of 16, I joined him volunteering for CABS in Brescia, Channel in a bid to cross the English Channel on a on my first international birding Northern Italy for the last 16 years. to raise £10,000 stand-up paddle board was so trip. We travelled to Hong Kong in We operate in small, covert teams, for bird protection around reliant on specific weather search of Spoon-billed Sandpipers, doing long hikes searching entire the Mediterranean. conditions, and that probably and I’ve been hooked ever since! mountainsides for illegal bird traps. explains why fewer than 30 people Andy Short’s effort, in aid of have ever completed it. Other “I was volunteering with CABS “Identifying active sites is a bit of The Committee Against Bird factors such as a global pandemic, at the International Birdfair back an art and it can take many years Slaughter (CABS), took place lockdowns here and in France, and in 2017. Steve Backshall was for volunteers to learn the necessary on May 9. mechanical failures all played their discussing a kayak challenge he skills to locate them. The bird traps part, preventing several attempts took part in, when the realisation are usually expertly hidden, often Andy explained: “We started and delaying me over four years.” struck! I own a paddle board, the in remote areas. Once located and at Dungeness [Kent] in less-than- English Channel is on my doorstep, confirmed active, we show these ideal conditions, and in fact the CABS is an international charity how about challenging myself to sites to the police, who will ambush attempt was very nearly called off based in Germany, which works cross the Channel in a bid to raise and then arrest the bird poacher. by the support crew. My friend throughout Europe and the Middle vital funds for CABS? CABS can only continue this James Callaghan joined me on East. It relies solely on supporter important work by relying on his own board raising money donations to coordinate volunteer- Criminal activity funds from donations.” for Leukaemia UK. based anti-poaching operations in poaching ‘hotspot’ areas across “I was horrified to learn that the Please consider making a “We had to dig deep in some the main ‘flyways’ of the Italians trap, kill and shoot millions donation to help CABS continue really testing conditions to make Mediterranean, to protect migratory of Robins and other protected their operations, by sponsoring progress. Fortunately, as forecasted, birds including raptors, storks, and songbirds each year. What really Andy at www.justgiving.com/ the weather drastically improved rare songbirds from illegal hunting surprised me is that Robins are crowdfunding/andyshortcabs and we were rewarded mid-Channel and trapping. highly sought-after and end up with perfect conditions. We arrived in restaurants sold illegally as The name game exhausted at Boulogne Harbour Each year, some 200-300 expensive delicacies.” after a gruelling six hours of almost volunteers conduct risky field For more info about CABS, continuous paddling, covering investigations in Spain, Italy, Malta, Poachers also target live birds, visit www.komitee.de, a total of 21 miles. Cyprus and Lebanon, recording and catching them in fine-mesh nets follow them on Facebook: reporting illegal poaching to the to sell on the black market. These @CABSREPORTS, “I didn’t realise that an attempt authorities, to disrupt and prevent birds are put in tiny cages and used Twitter and Instagram: further killing. as live decoys to attract other @CABS_REPORTS Andy in action migrating birds into illegal traps. Andy added: “My love and ANDY SHORT appreciation of birds came from my Andy said: “I’ve been 18 August 2022

NEWS & OPINION NEWS IN BRIEF G rumpy Old Birder Calling young birders This month, Bo toils in his garden to help produce an oasis of calm, that’s free of stress... The BTO and Spurn Bird Observatory Trust are again Frustrated by spouse Diktat, I was a trace in the flowerbed?). The sun was kind on the lookout for the UK’s not birding. Spring clean-up in the enough to shine with unseasonal warmth and top young birders. This year’s garden had progressed nicely, insects were showing their appreciation. Spurn Migration Festival (9–11 so winter’s frost-spawned gaps in Hawkeye settled into the adjacent garden chair. Sept) will play host to the latest the pots and flowerbeds needed A Dotted Bee-fly positioned itself 18 inches edition of the Martin Garner filling. Rather than dawn bashing bushes for above her head, each time she moved to try and Spurn Young Birder event, migrants, I was out at the crack of nursery see it, it moved, too, always staying in her a celebration of the ID skill opening hours to squander my hard-earned on blind-spot. Then another joined in, taking up and dedication of bird lovers osteospermums and saxifrage, campanulas and station a foot in front of my nose as I went aged 16 and under. The event carnations to brighten our postage stamp. Much cross-eyed trying to focus on it. shares the aims of the late as I admire these showy blooms, I slipped Martin Garner, a birder who barely noticed pots into the wheelie trailer which Just around us I counted four types of encouraged so many others we dragged around the thoughtfully very long hoverfly, obviously different by size and colour. with his passion, expertise and one-way path through greenhouses and plant I could even give a name to two. A great Garden hunger to explore the limits of yards. If I was going to overspend, I was Bumblebee went and appreciated the tulips. bird ID. Go to bit.ly/MGSYB_22 determined to divert some expenditure to Honeybees were busy with rosemary blooms. and fill in a questionnaire bee-friendly and butterfly beloved botany. Being a bank holiday meant the bloke who that gives you a chance to Don’t get me wrong, Hawkeye likes to see spends all day long in a relationship with his showcase your passion for any invertebrate with anything other than eight angle-grinder had thankfully taken the day off. birds. Closing date is 3 July.. legs, and helps home them. She wants our Anyone who could hear would be beset with oasis packed with colour, but is happy to leave gentle insect noise or none at all, except Stilts in South Yorks wood waste corners and half-hidden weeds. Mr Blackbird calling himself “pretty birdee”. She positively advocates dandelions and Black-winged Stilts have lovingly tends our strategically-placed stinging Still as we were, the sparrows were fledged for the first time in nettles. However, she wants the blousy bedding emboldened. Hawkeye scattered mealworms in Yorkshire, at Potteric Carr plants which also offer up their pollen to insects a trail from the corner she provisions and across nature reserve, Doncaster. Up in need of sustenance. My knapweed and the patio. Mr Blackbird and his Mrs shot past my to 10 pairs have bred in the clover were allowed under sufferance, but the ear and fell upon the feed. An intruder was UK some years, but this is rest I’ve snuck in when Hawkeye was on a call chased away, allowing several Starlings to slip thought to have been the most or otherwise distracted. past his guard. The boys were back, a dozen northerly example yet. . Work Luckily, there are tons of pretty native plants sparrows found the scattered food and used was completed earlier this year that do the business for bees and old cottage lily-pads as bird baths. on Piper Marsh, where the stilts garden favourites are big winners visually, too. nested, to reduce the reedbed Lavender takes over as the insect larder when Two fat Woodpigeons sat on the fence and and remodel the islands. This the rosemary is exhausted and cranesbill thought about joining in. The pair of Dunnocks created ideal feeding areas and even the prize petunias can be covered flitted in and out of the patio pots. Then, a Robin for a variety of wading birds in all that buzzes, until autumnal temperatures took his turn. The boldest boys slipped under including Curlew and Lapwing.. stop play. the nearest bush, another feeding station, less There I was resting with a cuppa having than a yard away. Turned out the birding came Leiothrix on the move planted and watered in our purchases. (Have to me. No rarities or passing migrants, but you noticed what costs and arm and leg and everyday charmers, turning my chores into a A study is warning that a tiny crowds a trolley, disappears with hardly blessing. Thanks, Hawkeye. but loud, brightly coloured bird from Asia could change the Bo Beolens runs fatbirder.com and other dawn chorus in Britain. The websites. He has written a number of books. research, led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and GET IN published in Ibis, documents new sightings of the Red-billed TOUCH Leiothrix in Britain, saying it may become established Want to add anything here. Climate change could to Bo’s comments? help its spread across the country. Populations are Email us at already well established in birdwatching@ Europe. The paper is available bauermedia.co.uk at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/ibi.13090 KRYS BAILEY/ALAMY* The Blackbird; A very welcome garden visitor birdwatching.co.uk 19



BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SET A TARGET OF SEEING 200 BIRDS IN ONE YEAR! Sig#n Mupy2to00BirdYear You’ll be reading this in early dusk (and so incidental birding is rather time to add to your #My200BirdYear list – to mid-July, traditionally harder), while many are either still in the remember, our challenge is to see 200 species considered just about the process of raising young, or starting to of bird in the course of the year. worst time of the year for moult, both of which necessitate staying birding. out of sight of potential predators as much But don’t despair, because there’s still The weather is hot, hopefully, so birds as possible. plenty you can do to keep your tend to be most active around dawn and #My200BirdYear list ticking along. Read on, All of which seemingly makes it a hard and give these a try… #My200BirdYear ticklist WILDSCOTPHOTOS/ALAMY* Download and print off our 2022 #My200BirdYear ticklist to track your progress throughout the year... www.birdwatching.co.uk/my-200-sign-up birdwatching.co.uk 21

1Watch out for waders PAUL R. STERRY - NPL/ALAMY* Many Arctic-breeding species of wader start passing back through the UK, or preparing to winter here, from just about now. Don’t expect big flocks, but check your local wader habitat as regularly as you can for the likes of Green Sandpiper, as well as possible vagrants. Numbers will increase as the summer goes on. LPA/ALAMY ANDY HARMER/ALAMY*2Use the warm nights We’ve said it before, and Amanda Tuke makes a great case for it elsewhere in this issue, but take advantage of balmy evenings to look and listen for the likes of owls, Nightjar, Quail and more. Although the latter two get quieter as the summer goes on, they’re still very active at this time of year. 22 August 2022

MARGARET WELBY/ALAMY* Join our Facebook group TIM OLIVER/ALAMY* If you use Facebook, join our dedicated #My200BirdYear group at facebook.com/ groups/My200BirdYear and share your pictures, questions, experiences with like-minded nature lovers. 3Do some holiday birding Wherever you go, be it the great British seaside resort, a continental hotspot, or just day trips around the UK, keep an eye out for sites or birds that could help you complete the challenge. We don’t expect you to keep the rest of the family waiting while you sort through the immature plumages of gulls for hours on end, but it’d be a shame to miss the likes of an adult Mediterranean Gull while you’re lounging on the beach, wouldn’t it? 4Fill in the gaps Check back though your list and see if there are any species that you really should have seen by now, but haven’t. It might just be that you haven’t visited a particular local site for a while, but now’s the time to catch up. This can be particularly true with woodland birds – unobtrusive species like Treecreeper can evade you for months, but are relatively common and numerous. 5Don’t believe the books Don’t get us wrong, field guides are absolutely vital, and the result of countless hours of expert work, BUT don’t take every word as gospel. Migrations and moults can take place at widely differing times in the same species, and likewise some individual birds go on singing, or resume singing, outside the ‘windows’ specified in the field guide. Let them, as the name suggests, guide you, but trust your own eyes and ears too. Sign up to the challenge – go to birdwatching.co.uk/my200 birdwatching.co.uk 23

Rutland Water; one of the best places to enjoy nature in the UK is back!(Global) BIRDFAIR It’s here! From 15-17 July, the first Global Birdfair will take place at the Rutland Showground, Oakham. The Global Birdfair has risen able to play the same important role in Andalucia, Spain, will be the main conservation from the ashes of the British not just highlighting conservation priorities, project to benefit from this year’s event. Birdwatching Fair (known to all but also raising vital money for them. as Birdfair), which for 30 years Tickets are £12.50 per day, or £35 for three until 2019 had taken place He said: “The aim of Global Birdfair days, or £7 for students (ID required). annually at the nearby Rutland Water Nature is to give the world of nature conservation a Disability tickets are £12.50 for any day or for Reserve. But last year, Leicestershire and meeting place where ideas, experiences and all three days, with a free carer’s ticket available, Rutland Wildlife Trust announced that they knowledge can be shared for the benefit of while Family tickets for the Sunday are £20 would no longer be running the Birdfair. our natural world. Working closely with (two adults and two children). Under-18s have BirdLife International, we can all raise free access to the Global Birdfair with an adult The director and founder is Tim Appleton, significant funds for conservation.” ticket holder, and receive a free book – Be A the man who created the original Birdfair, Nature Reserve Expert. There’s a programme and he hopes that Global Birdfair will be The campaign to revive La Janda, an of events aimed at the younger naturalist, too. internationally important wetland area in 24 August 2022

GLOBAL BIRDFAIR IS BACK! JOIN US! MIKE ROBERTSWe’ll be there all three days, PHOTIMAGEON/ALAMY* in the Nightingale Marquee, at stand N41-42. A.P.S. (UK)/ALAMY* Come along and meet the Bird Watching team, and tell us what you like and don’t like about the magazine, share your story ideas, get advice on our #My200BirdYear challenge, bird photography, and every other aspect of birdwatching, and hear about our big plans for the future. We’ll also be having special guests, including our gear and optics expert, David Chandler, who’ll be dropping in to offer advice, so keep checking in at our website, www.birdwatching.co.uk, and following our Twitter and Facebook feeds for further details. Look out for… RUTH MILLER – Saturday, 16 July, DAVID LINDO – Urban Birding, Sunday, 10am, Avocet Lecture Theatre 17 July, midday, Osprey Events Marquee Global Birdfair will feature a number of Birdwatching: not just a man’s world. The Urban Birder talks about lockdown Bird Watching contributors, advertisers and Ruth takes a look at South America, in Spain. During March 2020, he was friends of the mag. These include talks from: from Patagonia to Colombia. in Salamanca when a new virus started spreading across the world – Covid19. DOMINIC COUZENS – Friday, 15 July, RUTH MILLER – Sunday, 17 July, A year later he was still in Spain. Hear how 9.30am, Avocet Lecture Theatre 11am, Plover Lecture Theatre he survived Spain’s draconian lockdown, July: a dull birding month? Birdwatching: not just a man’s world. through birds. A light-hearted celebration of DOMINIC COUZENS AND birdwatching and the role women RICK SIMPSON (WADER QUEST) GAIL ASHTON – Saturday, 16 July, have played within it. – Saturday, 16 July, midday, Curlew 9.30am, Plover Lecture Theatre Lecture Theatre July: dull for birding but great for insects! IN CONSERVATION WITH DAVID Wader passion: 10 years of caring. LINDO – Saturday, 16 July, 4.30pm, STEPHEN MOSS – Friday, 15 July, Osprey Events Marquee HEATHERLEA – Saturday, 16 July, 3pm, 5pm, Osprey Events Marquee The Urban Birder talks to four Plover Lecture Theatre The Best of Birding with Bill Oddie: The conservationists, all under 25 – Mya Scottish birds as photographed on Heatherlea author, naturalist and wildlife TV producer will Bambrick, Celina Chien, Kabir Kaul and holidays from Shetlands to Mull and around be showing favourite video clips from the Indy Kiemel-Greene – about their, and the Highlands. Repeated Sunday, 17 July, seminal TV programmes he made with the birding’s future. 12.30pm, Curlew Lecture Theatre. legendary Bill Oddie. birdwatching.co.uk 25

Highlights from previous Birdfairs CRAIG JONES – Friday, 15 July, PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE ROBERTS & MARK CURETON 2.30pm, Plover Lecture Theatre Best of British: Witness some of the You can also visit: Other highlights: amazing wildlife we have here in a talk that celebrates all that is beautiful in our British HEATHERLEA: Our travel partners will There’s a full programme of events; some countryside. Repeated Sunday, 17 July, have details of all available trips, including of them requiring prior booking, so check 1pm, Plover Lecture Theatre. Bird Watching Readers Holidays in Scotland the full timetable and get your tickets by and beyond. Talk to one of their expert guides checking at globalbirdfair.org ROB READ – Saturday, 16 July, to find the birding holiday that suits you. They include: 1.30pm, Plover Lecture Theatre See: heatherlea.co.uk for further details. The Art of Wildlife Photography. BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL: Competition founder Rob Read shares GRANT ARMS: The hotel in the heart The Global Birdfair Project, Reviving some of the spectacular wildlife of the Scottish Highlands plays host to the La Janda – Friday, 15 July, 11am, photographs from the WildArt Photographer Bird Watching and Wildlife Club – talk to them Osprey Events Marquee. of the Year competition. about Bird Watching Readers’ Holidays in autumn 2022 and spring 2023. JAKE FIENNES AND BENEDICT NIKON AMBASSADOR MACDONALD in conversation – Friday, RICHARD PETERS – Friday, 15 July, FINCHES FRIEND: We’ve reviewed their 15 July, 4pm, Osprey Events Marque 9.30am, Plover Lecture Theatre feeders – which help stop the spread of Jake introduces his book Land Healer, Back Garden Safari. Unique and interesting diseases affecting Greenfinches and other about his mission to change the face of the wildlife photography doesn’t have to be small birds – and were very impressed. Talk English countryside with radical habitat about exotic species and travelling the to them about their products and see what restoration and agricultural work, while world. Be inspired and learn the secrets a difference they could make to your garden. Benedict’s recent title Cornerstones and inspiration behind photographing Read more about their feeders at www. describes how Britain’s cornerstone wildlife at home, in your own garden. birdwatching.co.uk/features/articles/ species hold the key to recovering feeders-aim-to-beat-disease/ biodiversity on land and water. NIKON AMBASSADOR RICHARD PETERS – Friday, 15 July, 1pm, Curlew Lecture Theatre Secrets top successful wildlife photography. For every good photo taken, there’s inevitably a bad one. See how Richard gets the shots that count by learning from the ones that went wrong. NIKON AMBASSADOR TOM MASON: – Sunday, 17 July, 10.30am, Plover Lecture Theatre Wildlife photography: Where to start. Wildlife Photographer Tom Mason gives his advice for getting started, with tips for tracking down subjects, through to nailing those first perfect images. Optics manufacturers, distributors and retailers present will be Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss, Nikon, Viking, Hawke, Kite, Opticron, Benro, Canon, German Precision Optics, Newpro UK (Vortex), Olympus, Sony, Sigma Imaging UK, Bushnell, Peak Design, Tamron, Tenba and Park Cameras, and birding clothing companies Country Innovation and Paramo also have stands. As at the old Birdfair, Wild Sounds & Books will be in attendance, with author signing sessions and show offers – check their website (wildsounds.com) for regular updates. 26 August 2022

GLOBAL BIRDFAIR IS BACK! Come and see.... a host of famous faces, bird experts and friends of Bird Watching magazine David Lindo Ruth Miller Dominic Couzens Gail Ashton Stephen Moss Rob Read RSPB BIRDERS LECTURE: Rick Simpson Tim Appleton Craig Jones DR ALEXANDER LEES – Friday, Kabir Kaul Mya Bambrick 15 July, 6pm, Osprey Events Marquee David Chandler The co-author of a new book shares his knowledge of how birds respond to birdwatching.co.uk 27 environmental change in the UK and around the world, and explores how vagrants are assessed. GLOBAL BIRDFAIR STATE OF THE EARTH QUESTION TIME – Friday, 15 July, 7.30pm, Osprey Events Marquee Ticketed event with chair Dominic Dyer and panelists Sir Ian Boyd (environmental and polar scientist, former Defra Chief Scientific Advisor), Jake Fiennes (author and director of Conservation, Holkham Estate), Sarah Fowler (CEO Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust), Tony Juniper CBE (Chair of Natural England), Rebecca Wrigley (Chief Executive, Rewilding Britain), Patricia Zurita (CEO Birdlife International).

GLOBAL BIRDFAIR IS BACK! PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE ROBERTS & MARK CURETON REWILDING: NEW GENERATION CONSERVATION – Saturday, 16 July, 11am, Osprey Events Marquee Dan Bass, Hannah Needham and Samantha Skinner, three early career rewilders, share their views on the meaning of rewilding with Paul Jepson, author of Rewilding: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery. GONZOVATION CONSERVATIONS ALONG THE WELLAND RIVER – Saturday, 16 July, 2pm, Osprey Events Marquee Ceri Levy introduces Sadie Williams, Lucy Stevens, Akash Parekar, Rishi Chowdhury, Mark Bickerstaff and Will Burns who bring their own interpretation of the life of the river through art, music and poetry. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: WILDLIFE CRIME PANEL – Saturday, 16 July, 3.15pm, Osprey Events Marquee Chaired by Dominic Dyer, with Craig Fellows (Badger Trust), Jenna Jones (Wildlife crime officer, Humberside Police), Mark Jones (Born Free Foundation), Kate Parker (NatureWatch Foundation) and Martin Sims (League Against Cruel Sports). ZEISS YOUNG BIRDER AWARDS, Saturday, 16 July, 5.30pm, Osprey Events Marquee Zeiss, BBRC, Cornell University and the Cameron Bespolka Trust pick the best entries to UK Young Birders, created to reward young nature enthusiasts and birders while encouraging them to share their skills. WILDLIFE GARDENERS QUESTION TIME – Sunday, 17 July, 11am, Osprey Events Marquee Stephen Moss chairs the Global Birdfair version of this popular programme, with Gail Ashton and Dominic Couzens, joint authors of Garden Insects of Britain and Northwest Europe; Joel Ashton, and Adrian Thomas, author of the RSPB’s Gardening for Wildlife. POINTLESS BIRD BRAIN – Sunday, 17 July, 2pm, Osprey Events Marquee Hosted by Nigel Scott, assisted by Neil Glenn, this is loosely based on the popular TV quiz show – enjoy some Pointless fun! THE TWITCH – Sunday, 17 July, 3pm, Osprey Events Marquee Watch as members of the public try to beat the Raptor to win. Based on ITV’s The Chase! BW Don’t forget... ...to come and say hello to us on stand N41-42 in the Nightingale Marquee 28 August 2022

ADVERTORIAL Mark James Pearson, Ornithologist Because Every Gram Counts: Introducing ZEISS SFL Binoculars We’ve all been there. The birdlife (pictured above) called them “Superb, in every up to 140 meters at a distance of 1,000 metres is incredible, the light has been respect,” describing them as “Another step (SFL 8x40) and a closest focusing distance of beautifully crisp since dawn and forward in top-quality binocular evolution, 1.5 meters, they deliver a perfect view combined you’ve had what can only be described as your and highly recommended!” with precise detail recognition. perfect day. You wish it could go on for longer. Because Every Gram Everything Under Control But the light is fading… and so are you. Your Counts binoculars are failing to capture the vibrancy ZEISS SmartFocus makes handling our of plumage as they did before the dusk. Hefting ZEISS SFLs are optimized to be light and them up to your eyes all day has taken its toll compact, with a rugged magnesium housing binoculars easy and comfortable, with a on your arms and you’re ready to call it a night. which enhances durability and belies their 640g weight. The lens diameter has been reduced by perfectly positioned wheel that makes focusing At ZEISS, we believe nothing should come 2mm, making it possible to use thinner lens between you and squeezing every last moment elements at closer spacing and reduce weight by fast, precise and intuitive. The perfect out of your birding trips. That’s why we up to 20% and volume by up to 13% compared constantly push the boundaries of what’s to the ZEISS Victory SF models. ergonomics of ZEISS SFLs enable quick possible with leading edge technology, innovative design and precision manufacturing, Outstanding Optical and easy positioning of the eye and also honed over more than 175 years of optical Performance excellence. offer comfortable and immersive viewing, Delivering exceptional performance, the Our new SFL – SmartFocus Lightweight – UHD concept in our SFL range features a thanks to the large exit pupil. BW binoculars take that tradition a step further, special coating and an improved optical design with a compact, robust construction that weighs that ensures they offer the highest level of detail Global Birdfair 2022 30% less than comparable high-performance and reproduce colours with natural fidelity. The products and ultra-high-definition (UHD) 90% light transmission and the T* multicoating Try ZEISS SFLs for yourself at Global viewing with 90% light transmission. deliver an incredibly accurate image, even in Birdfair in the Optics Marquee on Stand twilight conditions. With a field of view of Falcon 1, from 15th to Ornithologist, wildlife guide and 17th July, or at your environmental educator Mark James Pearson local ZEISS dealers now. For more information, visit www.zeiss.ly/SFLs birdwatching.co.uk 29

Hammer Pond at Knepp Wildland, West Sussex minute Wild nights OUT Thirty-minute birder Amanda Tuke N ot many of the birds I look for VIVIEN KENT/ALAMY goes out late in search of singing are quite as obliging as those and dancing. Little Owls, but night birding could be the perfect way of Me: “Do you want to go out tonight?” Little Owl: ‘Yiiippp. YIIIPPP.’ squeezing some birdwatching Non-Birder-Other-Half: “What did you have Me: “ I can see one. It’s on the forked branch into a busy week. Inspired by our dusk walk, in mind?” halfway up on the right hand side”. I sign up for a Nightingale Safari at Knepp Me: “Someone told me about some Little Owls Estate in West Sussex, home of one of the on the other side of the wood. Fancy walking A second owl flies across the lane, just visible best-known rewilding projects. I wish down there to look for them?” against the darkening sky. I could set off intrepidly in the dark to find NBOH: “Yeah, I’d be up for that”. Little Owl: ‘Yiiippp. Yiiippp. YIIIPPP’ Nightingales for myself, but I’m not quite NBOH: “I’ve not heard that call before” brave enough, so this is the perfect occasion That evening… Me, puzzled: “You haven’t heard a Little Owl for redeeming an old birthday voucher from Me: “Patrick said the owls were in the fourth before though, have you? my NBOH. tree counting up from the bottom of the lane. Even after pitching my tent and birding on Do you reckon it’s that one over there?” Pause. one of the well-marked trails, I’m still the first NBOH, patiently: “I don’t think so… one, two, NBOH: “Ohhh”. person to arrive at the Safari meeting point. three, four, that one”. Me: “What’s up?” The conditions are looking good for our Me: “Ah yes. I’m just too excited. Shouldn’t we NBOH: “I was thinking ‘‘little owls’, like little night walk, with a nearly full moon, little cloud be whispering?” Tawnies”. cover and no wind. There are no promises, but here at Knepp, with about 40 singing males recorded this year and 1% of Britain’s ‘resident’ Nightingale population, you have a pretty good 30 August 2022

Nightingale 30-MINUTE BIRDER Tips for hearing (and perhaps even glimpsing) Nightjars. DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY* JAMES LOWEN/ALAMY* Check where they’ve been chance of hearing one in late April or May. on the estate over the last 20 years, while heard in your area, but the I ask the cheery chap checking us in whether the overall UK population of Nightingales largest numbers are recorded anyone has asked for the money back if the has fallen. The project has changed the on heathlands in the south headline act don’t put in an appearance. understanding of their preferences, too. of England. He laughs, perhaps nervously. “Not so far”, Previously associated with woodland, research Between late May and early July he tells me. by Imperial College at Knepp suggests that is ideal, but they can sometimes they might actually prefer the overgrown, be heard as late as September. Once everyone else has appeared, we sit hollowed-out hedges which are so abundant Keep an eye on the forecast. down for food… which is delicious… and the here now. Ben Hapgood, Surrey Wildlife excitement is palpable. I had wondered whether Trust, says the perfect evening it would feel weird being here on my own, but Dark skies will be when it’s drying up after everyone is very friendly. The couple opposite rain, as that’s great for moths me are from Kent: he’s a tree surgeon, she’s As the talk and health and safety advice – and other nocturnal insects a film-stills photographer. They don’t see which is mostly “don’t fall in a Rabbit hole” which Nightjars feed on. themselves as birders, but are keen to learn. – comes to an end, I make a quick dash to the Familiarise yourself with the To my right is a young woman who says she’s toilet. On the way back, I hear a Nightingale in calls before you go. obsessed with Knepp, and she and her partner the distance. The photographer is just behind Take a mate for company come here from North London as often as they me and she hears him, too, but we both resist but leave your pooch at home. can. Self-declared birders seem to be in the the urge to gloat when we return. Arrive early enough, around minority, but I suspect this evening might 7pm, to familiarise yourself with convert a few. Any concerns about a no-show from the the heathland area you’re visiting headliners are unfounded. Over the hour and a and plan a route to a likely spot. Neil, our guide, tells us about Knepp’s half we walk around in the dark, we are bathed Nightjars are summer breeding Nightingales over dessert. As the rewilding in song. We stop at a couple of points to listen migrants and are very susceptible project progressed, there’s been an increase to the ones Neil considers the extra-special to disturbance, so keep to paths and avoid walking into the heather and scrub during the breeding season. Get comfortable and stay low to watch out for the V-shaped silhouette above the horizon As with all bird listening, cupping your hands behind your ears can help you home in on their location. birdwatching.co.uk 31

30-MINUTE BIRDER Low light at Ockham Common Dartford Warbler MIKE READ/ALAMY* I’VE JUST BEGUN WONDERING IF THAT’S THE CLIMAX OF TONIGHT’S SHOW, WHEN A NIGHTJAR SLIPS SILENTLY INTO THE AIR. singers. Nightingales are great plagiarisers and Robin’s song. Despite that, the experience of with their wide mouths, and Ben tells me that the first has a phrase which sounds like it’s standing in the dark with 12 strangers listening the ideal habitat for these aerial basking sharks mimicking a Peregrine as well as a good cover to these complex and yearning melodies – is a heathland mosaic. A mix of bare ground, version of a Blackbird. About 10 metres from purportedly, the males only sing until a female l the second, I try crouching down to see has been lured down from the dark skies – is o whether I can spot the divo silhouetted against a surprisingly moving experience. That night, c the hazy moon, but without success. I’m so I fall asleep in my tent to the distant sound of distracted that I don’t notice the group has Nightingale song and determined to get sight moved on and, when I look round, I can just of one next time. see the torch circles sliding along the track in the distance and have to trot to catch them up. A week later, I chat to Ben Habgood from Surrey Wildlife Trust to get some advice for I confess that until this evening I’d always another night-birding adventure. I’m hoping been bemused by our obsession with this to track down a lifer for me on one of the particular songbird and had stubbornly decided Trust’s heathland reserves. p g , qy g j pp g y g Nightjar in flight PAUL R. STERRY - NPL/ALAMY* Common people I d L t a a 1980s and meeting up to get directions to a After parking up, I set off through the pine t e r a j S h a 32 August 2022

This is what you told me about your memorable night birding experiences Corn Crakes at midnight in Dalmore, Isle of Lewis! I was brushing my teeth, heard them and rushed outside. Scoured the nettles in my PJs for half an hour before finding him rasping in his gladiatorial arena under the moonlight! Vanessa Wright Nearly treading on of Australia’s rarest and most elusive birds, a Plains Wanderer, in the bush! Stephen Moss Lying on the soft grass of Ramsey Island – years ago – as the Manxies flopped to land in the dark. Seeing three fluffy Tawny Owl chicks snuggled on a branch at 3am. And, recently, an hour around midnight so close to singing Nightingales in Sussex. I was transfixed. Paul Gamble HARRYCHANNELL4/STOCKIMO/ALAMY Storm Petrels on Mousa in Shetland! I’ve done the trip twice and it’s the most amazing experience! The Storm Petrels nest under the stones on the beach, in the drystone walls and in the broch, and they make an amazing noise. Wonderful. Juliet Wilson they have to go home for tea at some point, through his scope. That’s a promising start. Almost getting “bushed” in the and finally I’m on my own. Australian wilderness, a terrifying Then, like my first visit, short bursts of experience made surreal when a Just audible above the combined but faint Powerful Owl used me as a screen traffic roar of the M25 and A3, is the wheezy churring start just before 8pm – in front of us, to attack a possum, its wings almost song of a Dartford Warbler. I spot him perching brushing my face. on a bramble patch a few metres away, off to the right and from behind us. Then, over Dominic Couzens gold-edged in the evening sun. The sun disappears behind the trees and I almost miss the next two hours, the time between bursts Oh my goodness, some of a life’s the sound when it finally happens. There’s a best memories… Nightingales short burst of quiet ‘churring’ from an area of decreases and the intensity increases, rather out-sobbing in the dark, Barn Owls heath in front of me – it flips from one pitch to silently floating past, hovering above another like one of those old-school modems. like labour contractions, until it’s more or less me for a look, a Nightjar dancing like a jerky marionette in front of me, A Green Woodpecker calls indignantly and continuous. The vibrations are doing something looking into the dark dewponds of then everything goes quiet for half an hour a Tawny Owl’s eyes… until the Nightjar has another tentative warm funny to my stomach, although that could just Nicola Chester up. It’s getting late and I decide that’s enough excitement for tonight, as I’m not confident be excitement. Had a lousy day out, no birds, grotty enough to hang about here after dark. fish and chips. Went to Roydon I’ve just begun wondering if that’s the climax Common for Nightjars. Walked miles A week later, I’m back at Ockham Common and heard one, distantly. Returned with my friend Andy, having tempted him with of tonight’s show, when a Nightjar slips silently to the car and there was one flying Darties and ‘churrs’. It’s a cooler and breezier figure-of-eight patterns round the evening than before and I’m feeling under into the air, its falcon-like shape silhouetted car, catching moths and wing some pressure to deliver the goods. Thankfully, clapping, just for us. within an hour, a Dartie starts singing from the against the darkening sky. Riding waves of air Gordon Hamlett bottom of a sapling, and Andy gets a clear view with wings held in that characteristic V-shape, it dances across the heath before vanishing into a thicket. Andy and I grin at each other and marvel at our luck before calling it a night. When I’m having a busy week with few daytime birding opportunities, I don’t know about you but flopping on the sofa in front of the TV is the last thing I need. With this month’s Little Owls, Nightingales and Nightjars, I’ve witnessed the best of singing and dancing on my wild nights out. BW birdwatching.co.uk 33



CONSERVATION FEATURE Football and birdlife in perfect harmony NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY What can I d0? The natural world needs you! We’ve all got the power to help improve the environment around us... WORDS BY STUART WINTER Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi depends on a social model with demands 2021 sets a legally binding target on species resonates whenever I go birding on for habitat-destroying new roads, new abundance by the end of the decade. Amid my local patch. The sewage works infrastructure, new housing, new white goods, these promises of green shoots, a new buzz where I first focused a pair of and then more new roads to ease journeys phrase is also gathering significance in binoculars, as a schoolboy, have home. One look at the last State of Nature the lexicon of town and country planning: not been paved over to make a parking lot, report laments the impact of decades of such Biodiversity Net Gain. but stand surrounded by a council tidy tip, ‘progress’, with 41% of species in decline since huge distribution warehouses and a sprawling 1970 and 15% now facing extinction. A Whitehall consultation was launched housing estate. How long before what trees in January to help communities, planners, are left get cut down and put into a museum? According to the RSPB, there are 40 million developers and local authorities ensure new fewer birds enriching the skies compared with developments are ‘nature positive’ and putting Surprisingly, the sewage works still work as 50 years ago. Little wonder the UK has been biodiversity gain at the heart of decision- a nature reserve. Above the roar of heavy traffic, accused of ‘leading the world’ in destroying making and design. Cetti’s Warblers warble and Little Egrets croak the natural environment. bass notes. Waders, wildfowl, raptors, plus the Such legislation may have come too late odd rarity, seem oblivious to the constricting Conservation renaissance to achieve any biodiversity net gains from grip of human progress. Despite humming the development encircling our sewage works Mitchell’s chorus line about not knowing “what Before hoisting white flags of surrender over nature reserve, but the sterling commitment you got ’til it’s gone”, I remain optimistic in what terrains bruised and battered by relentless and efforts of all those birders who have permits birders are doing collectively to maintain this development, one prays a post-Brexit political continue to see it flourish. Conservation work wildlife oasis against a tsunami of urbanisation. landscape will witness the resurrection of lost parties, open days for visitors and accurate grasslands, felled woods, drained marshes and record-keeping ensure this little piece of Since Mark Twain made his quip about ploughed meadows, to bring about a new age my soul remains a precious sanctuary. investing in land because they’ve stopped of conservation. The UK Government states making it, many a fast buck has been pocketed it is committed to the so-called global 30x30 Note the emphasis on the word effort. We are from ploughing up the countryside and coating – a pledge to protect 30% of land for nature by entering a new epoch of reversing decades of, it with concrete. Today’s economic paradigm 2030 – while the assent of Environment Act no, centuries of eco-annihilation. Paying green taxes, going veggie, marching, chanting and birdwatching.co.uk 35

The Avocet; a perfect example Whitethroat; in need of a of a bird that owes its recovery bit of help from mankind to conservation efforts MIKE LANE/ALAMY* sticking ears to pavements with superglue will Hedgehog feeding stations are wonderful Wild areas in parks and playing do nothing in reversing the downward spiral of resources to provide in our gardens, an area said fields are an inexpensive biodiversity loss. Waving extinction symbols to cover five per cent of the UK’s 240,000km way of nurturing nature and praying to pagan entities are well meaning, landmass. Yet we need to think beyond the but are paragon preening. herbaceous border. We need constructive ideas, passionate d, devotion and hard graft to deliver new, richer the likes of the RSPB, are in a position to habitats every time a square inch of the champion panoramic strategies and rewilding countryside is consumed by development. initiatives to bring back long-lost iconic Every little helps d ds Doing Our Bit for Nature has been the message are headline-creating projects that remain of countless columns and bird books over the expensive, intensive and are also being rolled years, with practical tips on putting up nest out in wild spaces already with degrees of boxes and providing the best feeders and foods rt for feathered friends. Some suggestions stretch re well beyond supporting birds. Bug hotels, ponds careering through the traffic light system for minibeasts and amphibians, bat boxes and denoting Birds of Conservation Concern. The Football Association’s St Georges Park; “330-acres of beautiful parkland... ancient Trees, Gorse-rich meadows, wetlands and scrub areas maintained for wildlife...” REUTERS/ALAMY 36 August 2022

CONSERVATION FEATURE WILDSCOTPHOTOS/ALAMY MATTHEW TAYLOR/ALAMY* Falling numbers of G AN ENVIRONMENT CENTRE AND NATURE RESERVE HAS Martin and Swift in BEEN PART OF THE BLUEPRINT THAT HAS SEEN TOTTENHAM have seen them red-listed, while the likes of HOTSPUR CREATE ONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL GAME’S Sparrowhawk, Moorhen, Whitethroat and MOST FUTURISTIC TRAINING COMPLEXES. Sedge Warbler, birds we often neglect to tally in notebooks because we think they are common, adopt wildlife mitigation measures and fields with spaces for invertebrates and have become Amber priority species. protesting against damaging developments are wildflowers are inexpensive and require only part of a planning process given new teeth. the efforts of like-minded locals to oversee and A little more than a century after Lord maintain under the common flag of BNG. Kitchener’s face was plastered on recruitment Planning ahead posters to compel a generation to do their duty Talking of banner waving, nothing evokes for king and country, the finger points at nature It is never too late to act. Even with pressure feelings of inclusion and community in this lovers to step forward. Saving wildlife and to build 100,000-plus new houses a year, with country more than football, and a national habitats is incumbent on everyone who gains all the ancillary infrastructure, we can still reap love for the ‘Beautiful Game’ can be a major any sense of joy from the natural world. And small victories for nature with our efforts and player in winning for nature. In recent times, there are millions of us. There is so much we polite persuasion. At little cost, planners and I have had the privilege of visiting my favourite can do beyond the traditional conservation builders can include all manner of wildlife club’s training base as well as the national efforts of volunteering for organisations to benefits, such as turning unprepossessing headquarters of the England team to witness help with labour-intensive work on reserves suburban spaces into wildflower meadows the impressive ways nature is being supported. or conducting field surveys. for pollinators; enhancing urban drainage areas and planting native woodland spinneys. An environment centre and nature reserve The new credo of Biodiversity Net Gain has been part of the blueprint that has seen should be compelling us to challenge planners, Additionally, creating ponds at nursing Tottenham Hotspur create one of the local authorities, developers and big government homes; introducing bug hotels, feeding stations professional game’s most futuristic training to ensure that the 2030 targets mentioned above and nest boxes into school grounds; leaving wild complexes, so allowing local students to get a are achieved. Lobbying elected representatives, areas in town parks and soft-contouring playing grandstand view of nature close to where gaining the support of building contractors to birdwatching.co.uk 37

FEATURE CONSERVATION St Mary’s Stadium, where Southampton FC are working with the council to help conserve nature and improve the local environment PBWPIX/ALAMY Harry Kane and his teammates perfect their training ground, introducing biodiversity and councils uniting to enhance habitats tactics. Introducing native trees, dipping projects, education and engagement sessions ponds, wildflower margins and bat boxes have and community litter picking to protect and spreading the gospel that green spaces become key fixtures in the club’s social and preserve the natural environment. responsibility vision. are a godsend. Among the features at the training ground “This facility represents a sustainable are log pile houses, wild hedgerows, The Friends of Bradgers Hill are a small but long-term investment into the next generation non-playing grass areas left to grow and and will ensure schoolchildren from across the wildflower planting.  forward-looking group pledged to preserving an area will be able to study and enjoy nature and the countryside right in the area in which they Working together ancient Chiltern Hills escarpment overlooking live,” says THFC chairman Daniel Levy. Football and nature are so entwined – look Luton, one of the country’s most cosmopolitan At St George’s Park on the outskirts of how many clubs have adopted birds, bees and Burton upon Trent, the Football Association’s other wildlife imagery for their club crests and urban areas. A Scheduled Ancient Monument, £105million National Football Centre has nicknames – it is time for the conservation been witnessing efforts to glorify something movement to roll out partnerships at all levels this small sliver of woodland and open as quintessentially English as the Three Lions. of the game. Before the first lockdown, I was Preserving our native Bluebell from the march involved in a project with Plantlife, Buglife, grassland is home to Slow Worms and Common of the dastardly Spanish interloper is part of Froglife, the Mammal Society, the British the ground staff’s conservation efforts in the Trust for Ornithology, the Hedgehog Lizards, orchids, butterflies, moths and has a 330-acres of beautiful parkland with its 29 Preservation Society and Brian May’s Save Me officially classified ‘Ancient Trees’, Gorse-rich Trust to create a team of conservation experts reputation as a bird migration hotspot. Having meadows, wetlands and scrub areas to provide expertise to help clubs improve maintained for wildlife. Badgers, hares, their training estates and stadia for wildlife. been awarded £250,000 from the National Stoats, Water Shrews and even Polecats Covid blew an early whistle on the idea, but represent the mammals, while Kestrels and watch this space... Lottery Heritage Fund, the group is lining both Barn and Tawny Owls top the avian predator league. Note the emphasis on the word team. up with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Whatever we can achieve as individuals in In Southampton, the city’s Premier League saving species and habitats, harnessing efforts Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust to roll out club is teaming up with Hampshire and Isle of with fellow-minded citizens, charities and Wight Wildlife Trust to champion nature local authorities for the cause of conservation the Bradgers Hill Wilder Futures Project. recovery networks within urban areas. It has can have profound impacts. pledged to take direct action for nature As well as working with the local borough at both St Mary’s Stadium and Staplewood Another of my local patches is a remarkable exemplar of communities, wildlife charities council’s environment experts, the project is funding two BCNWT conservation professionals to take nature to new audiences with the message: “This project aims to see creative ways to engage diverse audiences and forge a new sense of place and belonging within the green spaces of the Luton urban environment.” Heeding such messages is imperative if we are to negate the long-term declines of fauna and flora. Perhaps a little tickle of Big Yellow Taxi lyrics would be timely… Hey planner, planner, don’t forget B.N.G. I don’t mind a slow drive home. Just leave me the birds and the bees. BW 38 August 2022



SPECIES FACTFILE CHOUGH Scientific name: Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax Length: 39-40cm Wingspan: 73-90cm UK numbers: 250-350 (GB) 120-150 pairs on the Isle of Man Habitat: Rocky coasts with short grassland Diet: Insects and larvae 40 August 2022

The Chough is not an easy bird to find, SPECIES CHOUGH but a trip out west is well worth it for a glimpse of this coastal acrobat T he Chough is a bird that is unfamiliar to a lot of birders, it is WORDS BY IAN PARSONS our rarest member of the crow or corvid family, only being found on the western fringes of Britain, and with an estimated population of just 350 or so pairs in total, the Chough is a bird that many birders don’t get to see. But wow, are they worth seeing! The Chough has the typical black plumage of the crow family, but it has a metallic sheen to it, giving it a sleek, glossy look, which is topped off with a fiery red bill and red legs. They are beautiful birds to behold, but what makes them really worth seeing is their flight. Choughs are true acrobats of the sky. They perform rollovers with nonchalant ease, riding the turbulent air currents of their coastal cliff haunts and executing high speed dives that seem reckless, before they suddenly pull up and shoot upwards once more. A Chough flight is pure performance. It is often frowned upon to say that birds can have fun, but if you get to see a Chough tumbling, diving and surfing the wind, you can only conclude that you are watching a bird that is surely enjoying itself. So where can you see these aerial acrobats? These daredevil fliers are now largely restricted to the western coasts of Britain, with the south-west coast of Scotland and the south-west tip of Cornwall and recently the north Devon coast holding a few pairs. The coast of Wales is a good place to see them, but it is the Isle of Man that has the greatest densities with up to 150 pairs breeding there. Cliff and coast In Europe, the Chough can often be found inland, breeding in mountain ranges that have steep rocky cliffs. In the UK, though, it breeds at sea level, the rocky cliffs of our shores mimicking that mountainous habitat. There are actually two species of chough in Europe, and to avoid confusion, the bird that breeds in Britain is officially called the Red-billed Chough – this reinforces the main difference between it and the other species, the Alpine Chough which has a yellow bill, although juvenile (Red-billed) Choughs confusingly IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY STEFAN ROTTER/ALAMY birdwatching.co.uk 41

WHERE TO SEE THEM Perching on clifftops – one of the best places Choughs can be seen year-round to see the Chough around rocky coasts with short grassland. RSPB reserves at South Stack, Anglesey; Loch Gruinart, Islay and along the Causeway coast in Northern Ireland are perfect spots. have a yellowish bill, too. As the name relentlessly persecuted for centuries, driving suggests, the Alpine Chough is a bird what was once a fairly common bird to the of the high mountains, with the very brink of extinction. To make it worse, Pyrenees and the Alps being this deliberate killing of the birds and the strongholds for the species. It is highly destruction of their nests was driven by nothing gregarious and can form large flocks; it more than ignorance and superstition. has learnt that we humans can be an easy food source and will often congregate around ski Feeding time stations and their associated bars and cafés etc, in the search of food. I have even had one Choughs are predominately invertebrate take food from my hand at the top of a feeders, using their specialist bill to probe into mountain pass on the Spanish French border. the soil in search of food. Unimproved grazed grassland is a very important feeding habitat Our red-billed variety can also appear fearless for the bird and there is no doubt that the loss when we humans are around, allowing us to get of this habitat over those same centuries played quite close views of them. Personally, though, a part in its decline. However, deliberate I think they are indifferent to people rather persecution played an important and major than fearless, ignoring us, as they ride the air role, too. In the past, people seeing these birds currents on the clifftops that swirl around us, probing the soil between their crops jumped to as we watch them in awe. The Chough in the UK used to be a bird that was fairly widespread around the entire coast, wherever the coastline provided the rocky cliffs and steep precipices it likes, but it was also found inland, perhaps inhabiting inland crags. However, the true historical distribution of the Chough in Britain isn’t clearly known. What is known is that this is a bird that has been Adult Chough feeding its young DAVID DRAY/ALAMY* 42 August 2022

RICHARD BEDFORD/ALAMY* SPECIES CHOUGH

the wrong conclusion that they were feeding Choughs in flight... on the newly sown seeds, and the birds were ...feeding harassed and killed as a result. Ironically, the bird’s diet of soil invertebrates would have included many invertebrate pest species harmful to the crops that had been planted, and the Choughs presence was most likely actually beneficial to the growing of the crops, not prejudicial as was believed. There was even the belief that these Jackdaw-sized birds killed livestock, a belief that probably originated from the fact that Choughs will readily feed on the pupa of blowflies etc which have been feeding on already dead livestock; the birds using their bill to extract the food from the rotting flesh of the dead animal. But, perhaps the most bizarre reason for their persecution, and sadly for the birds and for us, the one that people really took to heart, was the belief that the Chough was a malevolent arsonist! Yes, you read that correctly. People believed that Choughs set fire to their houses. They believed that the birds would break into the properties, rob them of their money and steal lighted candles which they would then use to set fire to the thatched roof of the building. In a popular book written by the Elizabethan era historian William Camden, in 1586, it is stated that the Chough is “an incendiary thievish bird, often setting fire to houses and stealing and hiding small money”. It seems entirely laughable now, but back when the book was written, it was widely believed. The basis for this accusation is simply the colour of the bird’s bill, that fiery red, I mean what other evidence do you need?! Tough times The killing of Choughs continued for hundreds of years and, as the bird got scarcer, even more pressure was put on the remaining birds by egg thieves and specimen hunters who placed a higher ‘value’ on the birds as they got rarer and rarer. It was a continuous onslaught that really pushed the Chough to the limit. Thankfully, times have changed, although even within my lifetime, people have still stated that Choughs kill livestock and that they are somehow bad birds. Now, finally, the bird has begun to recover lost ground. Albeit at a very slow pace, the birds have spread back along the south coast of Wales from their stronghold of Pembrokeshire, and birds have also turned up on the north Devon coast, perhaps having crossed the Bristol Channel. Choughs have even returned to Cornwall, where a few pairs now breed. Hopefully, the fortunes of this brilliant bird continue to improve and they continue to recolonise old DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY* haunts, allowing us birdwatchers to have the chance to watch these amazing acrobatic flyers in action. If you get the chance to watch Choughs, take it. The only thing they will burn is their image on your memory. BW 44 August 2022

SPECIES CHOUGH ...preening PAUL R. STERRY – NPL /ALAMY* BOB SHARPLES/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 45



CORNWALL PLACES Walmsley sanctuary near Wadebridge TONY LANGFORD For 90 years (91 as this goes to press), A look at the passionate and dedicated the Cornwall Bird Watching and people who cherish, protect and monitor Preservation Society (CBWPS) has been keeping a watchful eye birds in the UK’s far south west on Cornwall’s birdlife. It was founded in 1931 “to study and record the birds of Cornwall, WORDS BY TONY LANGFORD thus encompassing both residents and migrants, and to take whatever steps were possible to His studies resulted in numerous articles report, Birds in Cornwall, the first issue being protect them and their habitat from and papers in British Birds. Possessed of for the year 1931. B H Ryves was joint editor of thoughtless destruction.” an engaging style, Ryves was also a prolific the annual report from its inception until 1959. contributor to the press, his articles appearing From 1931 to 1934, his co-editor was no less The prime mover behind its formation was in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Western than S Vere Benson, author of the bestselling Lt Col B H Ryves, an outstanding and highly Morning News and Western Evening Herald. The Observer’s Book of British Birds, who lived respected ornithologist. Born at Multan in the But he is best remembered for his classic book with her mother and sister at Polzeath. Miss Punjab, India (now Pakistan), in 1875, he was Bird Life in Cornwall, published in 1948 by Benson left Cornwall in 1935, but returned to educated at the United Services College, Collins and illustrated with line drawings live at Bude in 1960. Under her married name, Westward Ho! and Sandhurst before entering by a young (then only 25) R A Richardson. Mrs Wynne Taylor, she submitted a number of the Indian army in 1896. When invalided out records to the 1962 annual report, including in 1921 he settled in Cornwall at St Mawgan-in- Observing & reporting a short account of the establishment of the Pydar. It was from here that he indulged his Collared Dove in Bude and Poughill. passion for birds – studying them, protecting Members of the CBWPS were encouraged (still them and writing about them. are) to study birds and to submit their records The CBWPS has also taken its conservation of birds seen each year. These observations and activities seriously, establishing its first reserve Spending countless hours in the field, reports of studies are published in an annual – the Walmsley Sanctuary – in 1939 with a he made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the breeding biology of many species, especially that of the Corn Bunting. birdwatching.co.uk 47



CORNWALL PLACES A flock of startled Wigeon Dunlin KIT DAY/ALAMY* TONY LANGFORD £1,000 legacy it received from Dr R G The reserve suffered a setback in 1963-64 Walmsley. A Yorkshire doctor who suffered when the River Amble was dammed and the peninsula. Purchased in 1993, Maer Lake from tuberculosis, Walmsley moved to river canalised to protect the village of Chapel has become, through prudent management, Cornwall because of its milder climate, buying a Amble from flooding. This resulted in the an extremely important reserve for breeding, house in the Penzance area. Birds were his great reserve becoming pastureland and unsuitable feeding and roosting birds. Management has passion and, like Ryves, he had a way with for numerous species of bird that once used it. included the installation of sluices that have words and wrote a book based on his changed the character of the reserve to the observations. Entitled Winged Company, Attempts by the CBWPS in both 1974 and benefit of such species as Lapwing and Golden it was published posthumously by Eyre and 1986 to hold water in the area met with limited Plover. Great care has been taken to maintain Spottiswoode in 1940. It received critical success. In the early 1990s the CBWPS, an area of shallow standing water which has acclaim but suffered an unfortunate fate. working with the then National Rivers over the years created a thick, rich silt. This is Only a small number had been sold when the Authority, created a 500m earth embankment ideal for feeding waders, including providing remaining copies were destroyed by a fire at to retain the water. It was successful. Since an ample food supply for considerable numbers the publisher’s London warehouse. (This writer then, the valley has been re-flooded by the of wintering Dunlin. counts himself fortunate to have chanced upon Environment Agency and the River Amble has a copy in a second-hand bookshop). been put back to almost its original course. Lying on the western side of the Lizard Today it is an important wetland site for A condition of Dr Walmsley’s legacy was wintering wildfowl and waders, for passage that the CBWPS should “undertake to provide migrants and has many breeding species. and administer a sanctuary for migratory waders within the Duchy of Cornwall.” Reserve judgement The purchase of the Amble Marshes (renamed Walmsley Sanctuary), near Wadebridge, The CBWPS also owns two reserves jointly fulfilled that condition. with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust – Maer Lake at Bude, and Windmill Farm on the Lizard IN THE EARLY 1990S THE CBWPS, WORKING WITH THE THEN NATIONAL RIVERS AUTHORITY, CREATED A 500M EARTH EMBANKMENT TO RETAIN THE WATER birdwatching.co.uk 49

PLACES CORNWALL An aerial view of Walmsley Sanctuary, with the River Amble to the right JOHN WATTS peninsula, just a mile north of Lizard village, ...THE POPULATIONS OF SOME SPECIES Windmill Farm comprises grassland and HAVE SWELLED AND SOME NEW SPECIES heathland with some scrub, bog, swamp and HAVE BEEN ADDED hedgerow. Like Maer Lake, the reserve has benefitted from careful management. Working some new species have been added. A variety conservation resources of the reservoirs in the in partnership with local farmers, the fields, of warblers, including Grasshopper Warblers, county. These reserves are at Drift Reservoir, formerly intensively managed for dairy farming, breed on the reserve. Other breeding species near Penzance, Stithians Reservoir, between are maintained as a mixture of rough grazing include Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Cuckoo and Redruth and Falmouth, and Loveny, part of and organic hay meadows. An area has been set Sky Lark. Many migrants pass through in Colliford Lake on Bodmin Moor. aside as an arable plot, growing kale, quinoa, spring and autumn, including Merlin, mixed cereals, linseed and arable weeds. Greenshank and Whinchat. Large flocks of Palores, a quarterly newsletter, illustrated Lapwing and Golden Plover and a range of with numerous colour photographs and ‘Sacrificial’ crops, these are grown purely to wildfowl are around in winter. containing interesting articles, keeps members provide food for birds in the autumn and winter informed of the activities of the society, and field and attracting other wildlife. The heathland, Keeping in touch meetings are held throughout the year. These most of which had become overgrown, is are suitable for all levels of expertise, but are managed by a grazing regime. There is also a The CBWPS also has management agreements particularly helpful to beginners. The CBWPS wetland area: one pond has been restored and for reserves with South West Lakes Trust, the liaises with organisations such as the Cornwall other ponds created. As a result of all this, the body responsible for managing amenity and Wildlife Trust, BTO, RSPB, Natural England, populations of some species have swelled and the Environment Agency, National Trust and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, by advising Grasshopper Warbler on species and sites of importance as well as co-ordinating counts and surveys. And it ROBIN CHITTENDEN/ALAMY* maintains the dedicated Chough sightings database for Cornwall (Please send sightings of Choughs in Cornwall to: [email protected]. uk). So, 90+ years on, the CBWPS is in fine fettle. Lt Col Ryves and the other founder members would surely have been pleased. BW More info www.cbwps.org.uk 50 August 2022