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Cakes! R. Leslie

Enjoyment! C. Watt

Autumn 2016 Newsletter of the Aberdeen and District RSPB Local Group Issue 5

Strawberry Coffee Morning

The Local Group was invited by

Maureen Taylor, one of our

members, to hold a "Strawberry

Tea" at the Cults Kirk Centre, a

regular summer event held by the

church. We have never, in recent

memory, held a coffee morning

type event, but the opportunity to

raise some money for the Tower

Pool Hide project and raise the

profile of the group seemed too

good to pass up.

Angela, Penny, Mary and Jayne

swung into action, met with the Centre

staff and volunteers and contacted our

magnificent band of volunteer bakers.

Having determined that logistically we

could do it, a date was set, and on

Saturday 16th July we opened the

doors and the crowds rushed in!

The event far exceeded our

expectations, and with the entry donations, sales, Tombola and a silent

auction we received the fantastic net sum of £514.60!!!

Huge thanks go to our bakers - Jean Thain, Shona Barclay, Irene

Leslie, Richard

Murray, Penny

Hartley, Angela

Gowdy, Mary

Middleton and

Neil McMillan.

Trevor and Rob

also helped out

on the day.

However, we

could not have

taken on the

event without support from other group members; Bill Craigie ran an

RSPB film show during the morning, Carrie Watt helped with the RSPB

stand and John Bevan helped with the Tombola and sales - thanks to

all!

At a glance

Strawberry Coffee Morning .. 1

Local Group Calendar ........... 2

Subscriptions ......................... 2

Tower Pool Hide Update ....... 3

Did you see the Whale? ........ 4

Little Gulls at Strathbeg ........ 5

Message from Mark Avery .... 6

Where have our waders gone

................................................. 7

Pine Martens .......................... 8

Group Trip - La Brenne ......... 9

Proposed Spring Trip ..........10

Visitor Centre Open .............10

Come along to our

Indoor meetings -

usually second Tuesday

each month, October to

April.

Tuesday 4th October -

our Local Group Indoor

Programme starts. Come

and hear Bryan Bland's

talk "Is seeing

believing". Note the date

- this is the first Tuesday

of the month.

See the separate

Programme sheet for

details of our outings

Please come along - it

doesn't matter whether

you are a novice or an

experienced

birdwatcher, all are

welcome.

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Local Group website

More information about

the Local Group and its

activities can be found

on the Group's website:

http://www.rspb.org.uk

/groups/aberdeen

Welcome to our new

members:

Ian Johnston

Jacqueline (Jay) Turner

Sue Hebenton

Look out for...........

ParkFest at Seaton Park

Sunday 11th

September 1pm - 4pm

Come and see the new

wetland area with a

Local Group Leader.

Meet the Local Group at

our stand.

The Royal Society for the

Protection of Birds [RSPB]

is a registered charity;

England and Wales

number 207076, Scotland

number SC037654

Local Group Calendar

Following our photographic competition, which was judged by the

attendees at the April 2016 indoor meeting, the Local Group has

produced a 2017 calendar which is now available for sale. You can

contact Mark on 01224 861446 or geolbird_abz@btinternet.com, and

a copy can be posted out, or you can purchase copies at the indoor

meetings up to December - while stocks last! The calendar is a fold

out A3, the picture being half, with the month taking up the other half.

The cost is £8 per calendar, postage and packing is £2 per copy.

All proceeds will go towards the Tower Pool Hide project.

Subscriptions

Many of you seem to have missed the note regarding the annual

subscription to the Local Group in the last newsletter. Subs (£5 per

household) are due in May each year. Many of you now pay by

standing order, however many still pay by cash or cheque. THOSE

WITH OUTSTANDING PAYMENTS WILL RECIEVE A NOTE WITH

THIS NEWSLETTER STATING HOW MUCH TO PAY TO

CONTINUE MEMBERSHIP. The subscriptions, which should raise

around £1000 each year, are used to subsidise our speakers'

expenses and to help the running of the group.

Cover photo (P. Grant)

Back Cover (local group)

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Tower Pool Hide Project – Progress Report – August 2016

by Rob Leslie

I would have liked to report that it was full

steam ahead with the Tower Pool Hide

relocation, but it has not all been plain

sailing. But enough of these nautical

metaphors let me explain.

As you will remember from the previous

newsletter the proposal was to re-site the existing

Tower Pool Hide near to the edge of the water at

the Tower Pool to give better views of the birds.

This included putting in a new gravel footpath

from the existing hide down to the start of the old

boardwalk, bridging over the Savoch Burn and re-

siting the existing structure. However, an

unexpected offer has resulted in a different

proposal - one that allows us to leave the original

hide in position, and have a new one closer to the

Tower Pool.

Richard Humpidge was in discussion with staff

from HMP Grampian, who were keen to find a

project to give the inmates some carpentry and

joinery training in their new state of the art facility

at Peterhead. A discussion which started about

nest boxes evolved into, "we could make panels

for a new hide if you give us working drawings

and supply the timber". This was a fantastic

opportunity and one to be seized, the only

downside was the diversion of our project

management resource i.e. me, who until the end

of July was still working full time. The priority was

to get someone to prepare working drawings that

the staff and inmates could use to fabricate the

hide in panels. I am pleased to say that I have

enlisted the assistance of one of Robert Gordon

University's graduates, who is currently

developing the drawings from the outline sketch

you see here.

Another frustration has been the need to have the

drawings sufficiently detailed to be submitted to

the local Planning Department for approval.

Although there had been a hide in this location

previously, I am afraid all this takes time and

incurs fees. I hope you will agree that the

opportunity was too good to be missed and the

visitor experience will be enhanced albeit delayed.

The benefit of this new hide has been recognised

by the branch of the Scottish Ornithological Club

who has offered to make a substantial donation to

purchase some of the material.

The timescale for the new hide is a bit of a

moveable feast at the moment as we will need to

get an idea of production time from HMP

Grampian once they have seen the finished

drawings.

Returning to the original scope of works, we had a

bit of a setback with the tenders for the

excavations and earthworks to create the new

path coming in at double the original estimate,

despite having been given information from a local

contractor. I am currently looking at ways to

reduce these costs and other members of the

committee are looking at the feasibility of

increasing our funding.

The replacement of the timber for the boardwalk is

now on-going with material being ordered. The

original proposal to replace the boarding and

framing with like for like material was altered after

a meeting on site with myself and Kenny Buchan.

Kenny came up with a scheme which would allow

the new walkway to be built in panels and

therefore reduce the potential for any health and

safety issues. It recently transpired that Scottish

Natural Heritage also had guidelines for the

construction of boardwalks and I have now

incorporated them into our final proposal.

Hopefully, by the time you read this material will

be on site and work will be about to start.

In another piece of good fortune we may be able

to enlist the assistance of young construction

trainees from the Aberdeen Foyer, but I am

currently awaiting information from them as to

what they can offer. I should say the only caveat I

have regarding this is on the grounds of health

and safety and levels of supervision required.

The last issue to be addressed is the final position

of the hide. There is anecdotal evidence that if we

put it at the end of the boardwalk where it was

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Humpback whale feeding, Newburgh E. Watson/BBC

originally sited, it would provide views of the

Savoch Burn which were the haunt of kingfishers

and otters. I will leave Richard Humpidge and his

staff to advise on this, but it would result in some

cost saving as it would save us having to bridge

the burn.

With regard to the timeframe for the above, I am

also pleased to report that, whereas we thought

that we would be excluded from carrying out any

work once the geese have returned, Richard sees

no reason why we cannot work beyond this point

provided we don’t start until two hours after

sunrise and finish two hours before sunset which

is a big advantage.

In conclusion, I hope to be able to devote more

time to the project and hopefully we will have a

new hide available for us all to enjoy next year.

If you would like to help, either financially or with practical help please see the enclosed form. We

need to raise at least £5000 to complete the work.

Did you see the Whale?

by Mark Sullivan

End July to mid August wildlife news was dominated by reports of a Humpback Whale off

the Ythan estuary. This animal attracted a large amount of attention as it fed close inshore,

between Collieston and the Ythan.

For half a century, the species was extremely rare in British waters after a long history of over-exploitation.

However, since the 1980’s, the species has been recorded regularly from Shetland, NE Scotland, the

northern Irish Sea, and in the Western Approaches to the Channel on their way from winter breeding

grounds off the coasts of Africa to feeding grounds mainly around Iceland. Seven sightings of eight animals

were recorded off the Grampian coastline in the 36 years between 1973 and 2009. The 2016 animal at the

Ythan follows a record of one off Aberdeen on 18th May 2015 and up to 6 seen off Caithness (including one

stranded after getting caught in crab-pot lines) in the summer of 2015.

Will this become a more regular feature of our marine fauna, as the whale population continues to rise? We

can only hope so!

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Little Gulls breed successfully at Strathbeg - a first for

Britain!

by Richard Humpidge

The Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is

usually a winter visitor to the coasts around

the UK, with most birds being recorded

between September and March. The closest

breeding grounds are the best part of a

thousand miles away in Finland!

However, at the Loch of Strathbeg the records of Little

Gulls, which have been seen every year since at least

1974, are mostly in the summer months. In fact, over

the last 20 years, only 6% of all records here have

been during the more ‘normal’ recording window of

September to March.

Until now there have been only five confirmed breeding attempts in the UK, all of them in Eastern England.

The last attempt in the UK was in 2007 in Norfolk, also on an RSPB reserve (Titchwell Marsh) where eggs

were laid, but predated before hatching.

In 2014 at least six individual Little Gulls were seen at the Loch of Strathbeg, with three adult birds seen in

mid-May. Two of these were seen displaying and loafing on the Starnafin Pools in front of the visitor centre.

We got really excited when they were also seen copulating, but this came to nothing with no nest building or

further signs of breeding. The birds were recorded almost daily until early July, and only occasional records

into August and September.

2015 saw one bird coming back even earlier on the 4th April, this was joined by a few juvenile birds and then

another adult arrived on 1st May. Two adults were seen almost daily until early July when records became

more sporadic and stopped at the end of the month. Again, two adult birds were seen displaying and

copulating, but more than the previous year. They also started landing and loafing on the tern nesting island

right in front of the visitor centre. They were seen carrying nesting material on several occasions, but couldn’t

settle. They ended up building three different nests around the

perimeter of the island, but did not lay any eggs.

In 2016 things progressed even further. Two adults birds were

seen from mid-April, joined shortly after by a third bird. This bird

was not quite as dark underwing and had no rosy tint on the breast

(a younger bird?).

Unlike previous years the birds moved very quickly to occupy

space on the tern island. They changed location several times

before settling on a spot on the north east corner which was out of

view. On the 8/9th June their behaviour changed, being much more

attentive to the site and very keen to get back when disturbed by

the nearby terns. We suspected that they had laid eggs, and this was later confirmed. This is the first time

that Little Gulls have ever been confirmed laying in Scotland, and only the third definite time for the UK.

Whilst the island is within a pool surrounded by a predator-proof fence, we also wanted to make sure there

was no human disturbance so a 24hr guard with staff and volunteers was mounted. For the next three weeks

we sat and waited, and waited.

Little Gull with chick, Strathbeg RSPB

Fledged Little Gull Morwenna Egan

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Given an incubation period of 23-25 days the first egg

was due to hatch on the 1st July, but it wasn’t until the 4

th

July that we could actually see what was happening. Not

just one, but two chicks were seen.

This is the first time that Little Gull eggs were confirmed

to hatch in the UK, and the two young birds successfully

fledged on the 25th July.

Other exciting news of breeding birds at Strathbeg

concerns the success of Bearded Tits, with a juvenile

and female being photographed by Leigh-Ann Mitchell

from the Fen Hide. This is a difficult bird to census in the

reed beds, but the first confirmed breeding was only

three years ago.

A Message from Mark Avery

Many of you will remember Mark's visit to Aberdeen in October 2014 when he spoke to

the Local Group about Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon. He concluded his talk with

arguments as to why driven grouse shooting should be banned. He has written a book

on the subject (Inglorious) and asked if we could include something in our latest

newsletter prior to the deadline for a petition asking for this subject to be discussed at

Westminster. Below is his message to the Group, please take time to read it and if you

believe that something has to be done to give real protection to our birds of prey

please respond!

The plight of the Hen Harrier and the unsustainable management of our hills, both products of intensive

grouse shooting, are heading up the political agenda thanks to birders and environmentalists working

together.

We’ve just had a dozen Hen Harrier day events, more than ever before, from the Cairngorms to the south

coast of Dorset, and from Rainham Marshes inside the M25 to Northern Ireland. Added to which there has

been a petition aimed at the Scottish government asking for licensing of game shooting which has now

closed, and my petition to ban driven grouse shooting now has over 100,000 signatures, enough to trigger a

debate in Parliament. Public pressure is bringing these issues to the fore – please support these by writing to

your MP and MSP expressing your views on the importance of ending the killing of birds of prey. Thank you.

We will find out later this autumn what the current state of Hen Harriers is in the UK as a whole, but we

already know that England had just three pairs in 2016 – none on grouse moors. There should be 300 pairs

in the English uplands. This is a scandal. Also a paper in British Birds earlier in the year looked at Hen

Harrier numbers in northeast Scotland and showed declines over time and massive gaps in range where the

habitat is suitable. A protected bird is being wiped out by a narrow sectoral interest and things are getting

worse not better. So I’d ask you again, please, to contact your parliamentary representatives to ensure that

the debates will consider your views on this matter.

The RSPB has not called for a ban (see Martin Harper's online Blog

www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/default.aspx) The Society's position is to press reform

through licensing but we are under no illusion: this is a spectacular achievement and this is a powerful

message that will not be ignored. We also ask our supporters to write to their MPs, asking them to attend the

debate and speak positively.

For more Local Group news visit us on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/RSPBNorthEastScotland/

Bearded Tits (Juvenile on R), Strathbeg L-A. Mitchell

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Lapwing M. Sullivan

Where have our waders gone?

by Mark Sullivan and Richard Humpidge

"Give Nature a home, and the wildlife will

come" is a commonly heard statement.

However it is not always that simple, and

sometimes the wildlife that comes is not what

is wished for!

Over the past ten years or so, significant efforts

have been put into improving the Savoch Low

Ground at Strathbeg to make it attractive for

breeding waders - such as Lapwing, Redshank

and Snipe, whose populations on lowland farms

have plummeted. Improvements to the hydrology,

clearance of scrub willow, and innovations such

as the use of the Koniks to graze the encroaching

rushes, have all been implemented without the

hoped for outcome. RSPB ecologists have

investigated the potential food supply

(invertebrates) and suggested that there is

sufficient available to support breeding waders,

and still they don't come.

Is there a further problem that has not been

addressed - that of predators on the Low Ground?

We have all seen foxes casually walking across

the area - even in broad daylight. Could these and

other animals (such as badger and otter) be the

reason for the absence of breeding waders?

Rather than just assuming this, and to better

assess the scale of the problem, a study was

performed with Glasgow University. This used

artificial nests and eggs which were put out on the

Low Ground, some with trail cameras to

photograph what happened at night.

Over 50 nests were put out, all were predated in

less than two days. Where we could see what was

taking them, the majority was by fox, with some

crows. A badger was seen close by, but not

actually seen to take anything. This is a higher

level of predation than thought, and would

probably put the birds off from even attempting to

breed.

Currently a project to put a fox/badger proof fence

all the way around the Savoch Low Ground is

being considered. A major concern is otters as

predator – it is only necessary to look at Starnafin

island to see how big an impact they can have.

Ensuring the SLG is otter proof is going to be very

difficult. What we don't want is to fence out fox just

so that the otters can feed in peace!

This sort of anti-predator fence is used elsewhere

on other RSPB reserves, the most effective being

a mix of barrier and electric fence. Expensive to

put in and which involves maintenance, but it can

be very effective. It is hoped that the RSPB will be

able to go ahead with this project, so we can look

forward to seeing a high concentration of

successful, breeding waders on our premier

reserve.

Fox predating artificial nest, Strathbeg RSPB

Fox at Strathbeg F. Sullivan

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Pine Martens expand eastwards

by Mark Sullivan

When I first moved to Aberdeen in 1981 Pine Marten

was one of those almost mythical animals, such as

Scottish Wild Cat, that was only to be found in NW

Scotland hideaways. Secretive, nocturnal, it was an

animal which was difficult to see even where it held on

(its penchant for jam sandwiches and peanut butter not

being discovered). Over the years it has become more

common, and it is possible to view from hides in many

places such as Speyside and Kindrogan Field Centre

in Perthshire. It has spread rapidly into Aberdeenshire,

with the Ranger at Glen Tanar reporting them regularly

at his camera traps. I have heard of them visiting bird

tables in Netherley, being seen by the dual

carriageway at Portlethen and a report in March 2016

of one caught on a trail camera in Hazlehead Park.

I was contacted via the Local Group web page by a

member of the public who had seen what he thought was a

Pine Marten in his garden in Banchory-Devenick on the

evening of 27th June, and attached photos of the animal. It

looks as though they are becoming very widespread and

should be looked for even in Aberdeen itself. If you are

putting out peanuts in your garden keep an eye out evening

and early morning to see if you are being visited by this

spectacular mammal!

I have included a map below which shows how

far and fast Pine Martens have expanded

eastwards.

Grey - 1980 - 82 survey

Brown - 1994 survey

Green - 2012 survey

From Croose, E., Birks, J.D.S. & Schofield,

H.W. 2013. Expansion zone survey of pine

marten (Martes martes) distribution in Scotland.

Scottish Natural Heritage. Commissioned

Report No. 520.

Pine Marten, Banchory-Devenick I. Parkinson

Pine Marten, Banchory-Devenick I. Parkinson

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The Group J. Pickering

Bee Orchid M.Sullivan

Melodious Warbler M. Sullivan

Local Group visit to La Brenne, France - May 2016

by Mary Middleton

My husband Neil and I joined 7 other Local

Group members on this year's Spring foreign

trip to La Brenne in central France. This is a

relatively poorly known area of France,

bypassed by most holidaymakers (a bit like

NE Scotland).

It is a paradise for bird watchers with an

extensive series of lakes, forest and farmland.

The main wetland reserves also contain a great

selection of hides. The roads are quiet which

made stopping very easy when something

exciting appeared in the skies.

We stayed at Bellebouche "Village Vacances", which provided breakfast and varied evening meals

with seemingly unlimited wine. Like all the Local Group holidays, meals were eaten with binoculars on

the table, just in case something was spotted through a window! Green Woodpeckers feeding on the

lawns often proved to be a distraction from eating!

Up-to-date local knowledge was obtained from resident Brit Tony Williams (brenne@lpo.fr) to whom

we say thanks. In particular he helped us pin down some of the orchid and butterfly locations.

Highlights were the sheer numbers and vast variety of birds. The

wetlands held breeding Whiskered Terns and Black-necked Grebes,

and herons of all types, including Squacco. Montagu's and Hen

Harriers were compared hunting over the cereal fields, and the scrub

and forest held warblers including Melodious and Western Bonelli's -

lifers for many.

A committed "sub group" extended their days by going out after

dinner stalking Nightjars, firstly being confused by the song of Mole

Crickets, but with eventual success.

However, the Black Woodpecker

remained elusive. Bright Bee-eaters,

Honey Buzzard, and a good long look at

a Short-toed Snake Eagle, complete

with snake, were very special sightings

for us.

The weather was cooler and damper than hoped, which reduced the

number of butterfly species seen, but the fields of orchids and the range

of butterflies seen impressed everyone.

Neil and I dipped out a couple of days, hired bikes from the centre and

cycled round wonderful medieval villages.

We were the only beginners in the group and were able to tap into the

knowledge and experience of the others, who were very generous in sharing their expertise. Eric

efficiently arranged our flights, accommodation and car hire, and Mark had a good knowledge from

previous trips and knew his way around what many say are over 1000 lakes.

All in all it was a great way to spend a week getting close to France's wonderful nature, and to gain

knowledge of many bird, butterfly and orchid species.

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Bluethroat birdsnetherlands

Texel birdsnetherlands

Spring Trip 2017 - Netherlands including Texel

The proposal for the Spring Trip in 2017 is an 8 day (7 night) visit to the Netherlands in May

using a local company 'Birding Breaks' and involves flights with KLM to/from Amsterdam's

Schiphol Airport.

The itinerary would include visits to a wetland near

Amsterdam (for Purple Heron, Black Tern, Savi's

Warbler and white-spotted Bluethroat),

Oostvaardersplassen marshes and woodland

(Goshawk, White-tailed Eagle, Bearded Tit, Savi's,

Icterine and Marsh Warblers; perhaps Golden Oriole

and Penduline Tit), Fochteloërveen heathland and

forest areas (Cranes, raptors, woodpeckers including

Black Woodpecker, Crested Tit and Short-toed

Treecreepers), Lauwermeer wetland area (lots of

waders including scarce birds like Red-necked

Phalarope, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt and the

possibility of some rarities) before moving on to Texel

by ferry either later on day 4 or at the start of day 5.

The remaining time would be spent on Texel (easily

accessible mudflats, wetlands and grassland where a

total of over 370 species have been noted, of which

one third are vagrants including some amazing

rarities). What will be seen, of course, depends upon

the weather and wind direction at the time of the trip,

but we could possibly find up to 170 species in May.

We would stay in 3-star accommodation on a full

board basis (lunch being taken in the field) and be

transported by minibus with a driver/guide. The

maximum number of participants would be 14 if we

use two minibuses. Estimated ground cost would be around £860 (single supplement £245) based

upon two 9-seat minibuses with one of the group acting as second driver. If another driver was to be

provided, the cost increases by £91 per person. Note that the costs are in Euros, so final price will

depend on the exchange rate at the time of booking.

The current cost of a return air fare from Aberdeen to Amsterdam is £150

If you would like to express an interest in taking part in this trip please contact Eric Melrose: e-

mail address eric.melrose@btopenworld.com or Tel 01224 869434 Mobile 07707 814380 by

30th September.

Loch of Strathbeg Visitor Centre now open......

The Loch of Strathbeg Visitor's Centre is now open for

business. We are waiting notification of the "official"

opening to which all Group members will be invited. This

will likely be in October (possibly 28th). Anyone wishing

to be informed of the final date and receive an invite

should contact Mark on 01224 861446 or

geolbird_abz@btinternet.com.