Welcome to the Autumn issue of our newsletter. There’s a round-up of news from around the region, the quiz night booking form, a cryptic crossword to tackle and the all important programme of events for the next 12 months. computer-based accounts and consolidated the social and charity accounts. He is now standing down, so we need a new treasurer. Obviously, the group must have a treasurer to function, so I urge to you take a look at the appeal on page 2 – you don’t need to be an accountant! We’ve had increased numbers on the Saturday field trips recently, which is pleasing. Interest in our Dungeness and Sheppey trips was boosted as they were promoted in membership renewal letters over a wide region. On the day we coped well with the extra people, but it did cause a lot of extra work for Carol, our field trip organiser, who in the end had to declare the visits full. So I’d like to thank her, and also Geoff Shoebridge for planning and leading the trips. It’s wonderful to see the diversity of nature on these reserves. That shows the potential for increasing diversity in the wider countryside as well, so that we don’t just have wildlife ghettos. I look forward to seeing you in September. Best wishes, Martin Dear supporters, If you’re new to the RSPB, or you’re on our mailing list but have never got involved, you may be wondering what our local group is for. You probably know the goals of the RSPB – giving nature a home, protecting threatened species and maintaining diversity – but how do we fit in? In the Tonbridge local RSPB group, we support these goals through education (indoor meetings), raising awareness (last year’s wildlife fair, indoor meetings, and going to external events), fund- raising (most activities, but especially our quiz night) and, most importantly, just enjoying nature (field trips and indoor meetings). If you haven’t been to one of our events, do come along. We have wonderful nature reserves to visit in our area, in the company of a very friendly mixture of beginners to real experts, so you’ll be very welcome and won’t feel out of place. The personal presentation of our lecturers at indoor meetings provides a different dimension that you don’t get on TV wildlife programmes, however good they are. By the time you read this we’ll have had stalls at several summer fairs and village fêtes, raising funds for, and awareness of, the RSPB and our group. These events are enjoyable to help at, so long as the weather stays fine! There are around 150 local groups across the country, and because all are entirely run by volunteers, other groups may focus on different priorities such as practical conservation, youth work, campaigning and recruiting new members, as well as (or instead of) some of the things we do. It was good to reinstate our annual coach trip this year. The visit to Minsmere went very well, thanks to Doreen’s excellent organisation. Next year we hope to go to Lakenheath Fen (see page 3). I would like to thank another of our volunteers, David, our treasurer, for his three-year term in the role, in which he moved from paper-based to The Tonbridge Local RSPB Group would like to keep your details to send you further information about group activities and the work of the RSPB. If you want to amend or update your details or you do not want us to use them in the way stated, please contact a member of the committee.
Transcript
Welcome to the Autumn issue of our newsletter. There’s a round-up of news
from around the region, the quiz night booking form, a cryptic crossword to
tackle and the all important programme of events for the next 12 months.
computer-based accounts and consolidated the social and charity accounts. He is now standing down, so we need a new treasurer. Obviously, the group must have a treasurer to function, so I urge to you take a look at the appeal on page 2 – you don’t need to be an accountant!
We’ve had increased numbers on the Saturday field trips recently, which is pleasing. Interest in our Dungeness and Sheppey trips was boosted as they were promoted in membership renewal letters over a wide region. On the day we coped well with the extra people, but it did cause a lot of extra work for Carol, our field trip organiser, who in the end had to declare the visits full. So I’d like to thank her, and also Geoff Shoebridge for planning and leading the trips. It’s wonderful to see the diversity of nature on these reserves. That shows the potential for increasing diversity in the wider countryside as well, so that we don’t just have wildlife ghettos.
I look forward to seeing you in September.
Best wishes,
Martin
Dear supporters,
If you’re new to the RSPB, or you’re on our mailing list but have never got involved, you may be wondering what our local group is for. You probably know the goals of the RSPB – giving nature a home, protecting threatened species and maintaining diversity – but how do we fit in?
In the Tonbridge local RSPB group, we support these goals through education (indoor meetings), raising awareness (last year’s wildlife fair, indoor meetings, and going to external events), fund-raising (most activities, but especially our quiz night) and, most importantly, just enjoying nature (field trips and indoor meetings).
If you haven’t been to one of our events, do come along. We have wonderful nature reserves to visit in our area, in the company of a very friendly mixture of beginners to real experts, so you’ll be very welcome and won’t feel out of place. The personal presentation of our lecturers at indoor meetings provides a different dimension that you don’t get on TV wildlife programmes, however good they are.
By the time you read this we’ll have had stalls at several summer fairs and village fêtes, raising funds for, and awareness of, the RSPB and our group. These events are enjoyable to help at, so long as the weather stays fine!
There are around 150 local groups across the country, and because all are entirely run by volunteers, other groups may focus on different priorities such as practical conservation, youth work, campaigning and recruiting new members, as well as (or instead of) some of the things we do.
It was good to reinstate our annual coach trip this year. The visit to Minsmere went very well, thanks to Doreen’s excellent organisation. Next year we hope to go to Lakenheath Fen (see page 3).
I would like to thank another of our volunteers, David, our treasurer, for his three-year term in the role, in which he moved from paper-based to
The Tonbridge Local RSPB Group would like to keep your details to send you further information about group activities and the work of the RSPB.
If you want to amend or update your details or you do not want us to use them in the way stated, please contact a member of the committee.
New way-marked trails have been put in place at
the Broadwater Warren RSPB reserve. Designed to
take visitors on the best routes for seeing wildlife,
the trails offer a choice of 1.5 or 3 mile walks. Trail
leaflets have been rewritten accordingly and can be
picked up in the car park.
The reserve’s annual public nightjar walk was a
great success with 45 visitors enjoying spectacular
views of nightjars and woodcocks, as well as being
treated to some glow-worms at the evening’s end.
The Tonbridge Local Group is currently looking for a
new treasurer. The post involves looking after the
finances of the group, paying money in to the
group’s bank account, making payments to
speakers at our indoor meetings and sending
donations to the RSPB as well as attending
committee meetings up to six times a year.
If you would like to help in this role then please get
in touch with Martin Ellis.
This year’s quiz night was a great success, raising
more than £1,000 for the RSPB. The winners were
a four-man team called the Falcon Harries while the
booby prize went to the Woodpeckers. Many thanks
to quiz master Alan Dane and to Geoff and Liz
Mason for organising the event, as well as all those
who donated raffle prizes.
Details and a booking form for the 2017 quiz,
running on April 8, can be found on page 5. Book
early to avoid disappointment!
The spring work programme at Dungeness included
putting out floating tern rafts onto Burrowes Pit and
Denge Marsh, ideally suited to common terns.
These islands are kept under wraps during the
winter to discourage gulls from using them, then
brought out when the terns return.
Short-haired bumblebees have been released on to
the reserve for the fifth year in a row. The queen
bees are collected in Sweden and, after undergoing
a health screening, are released at Dungeness in
the hope of re-establishing a breeding population.
The results of great crested newt surveys are being
analysed to see how the population is changing
over time. Meanwhile, triennial medicinal leech
surveys are underway aiming to assess the
population at Dungeness. The leeches are sensitive
to movement in the water so are attracted to
splashing in the shallow margins of ponds. Once
caught, their mouth parts are measured to give an
idea of the age of each leech.
On the bird front, highlights have included good
counts of hobby and cuckoo. Night heron, glaucous
gull, red kite and cattle egret were more unusual
visitors. Tree sparrow and lapwing chicks fledged
successfully by mid-summer and the barn owls
raised chicks in the barn behind the farmhouse.
The reserve’s Midsummer’s Night Walk was said to
be a glorious event with plenty of wildlife. The
Nottingham catchfly plants filled the night air with a
sweet perfume as hobbies were seen flying over the
water catching insects in the setting sun.
July saw an open day at the reserve showcasing the
recently acquired sound mirrors. Visitors were able
to access the wartime relics which were used to
listen to aircraft prior to the development of radar.
They were given to the RSPB by Cemex as part of
the Lade Pits area of the nature reserve,
approximately three miles from the visitor centre.
Two RSPB reserves fall within the International
Dark Sky Reserve recently made in the South
Downs National Park by the International Dark Sky
Association. Pulborough Brooks and Amberley
Wildbrooks, both in West Sussex, have been placed
within bronze level status, meaning that on clear
nights the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy can
be seen with the naked eye.
Would you be interested in helping with transport for
field trips by learning to drive a minibus? RSPB-
funded training is available for volunteers willing to
get behind the wheel for local group trips. With
minibus travel enabled, the group will be able to
make visits to more distant locations which some
people may not want to tackle themselves. Lift
sharing has the added bonus of reducing emissions.
Contact Martin if interested.
Next May, why not join the
Tonbridge local group on the
annual coach outing?
Lakenheath Fen RSPB
reserve is the primary
destination with an option to
go to the Norfolk Wildlife
Trust’s Weeting Heath
reserve hopefully to see stone
curlews. Doreen Dixon will be
taking bookings. The date to
save is Saturday May 20.
Included in the same email as
this newsletter is the
programme for the 2016-17
season. We’ve got some new
speakers to the group as well
as some old friends returning
to share their knowledge with
subjects ranging from our
nearby RSPB reserve,
Broadwater Warren, to the
birds of New Zealand. Field
trips are planned for
Saturdays and Wednesdays,
visiting a diverse range of
habitats. Birdwatchers of all
abilities are welcome. Please
book in advance with Carol.
The programme is designed,
when printed, to be folded
into three. Keep it safe and
we look forward to seeing you
at our events.
Work to improve and create 59 hectares of new
wildlife habitat is underway on the RSPB’s West
Canvey Marsh reserve in Essex as part of a £250k
project. The improved area of the reserve will form
part of a ‘green corridor’ spanning the north and
south shores of the Thames Estuary. Further work
is also planned for Kent’s Northward Hill RSPB
reserve.
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abundant, as was the blue-green sea kale. On the waste ground, thistles and teasels attracted breeding linnets, stonechats and goldfinches. Skylarks were singing everywhere and we found a meadow pipit which delighted those who had not
seen one before. Warblers such as whitethroat and blackcap were singing well and we had particularly good views of the whitethroats.
We did not see many butterflies because drizzly rain returned during the afternoon. However, a brief view of a hummingbird hawk moth was a highlight for me.
When we arrived at Cliffe light rain was falling and it
felt quite cold for May. However, our spirits were
revived as the day went on with 61 recorded bird
species and many different wildflowers seen.
Swifts and swallows twisted and turned overhead as
they swooped to feast on the millions of midges on
offer. A cuckoo was heard and then both sexes
were seen, the male giving chase after, what
seemed to us, a very uninterested female!
Nightingales, too, were all around, unseen in the
dense shrubbery, but making a crescendo of sound.
Three wonders of nature together.
Our day continued with avocets and their young
running along the shoreline. Little egret and heron
were also seen. Disappointingly, only one marsh
harrier was spotted, but a kestrel was seen
hovering. Wildfowl numbers were limited but waders
made up for it with a large flock of black-tailed
godwit, one at least in breeding plumage, along with
oystercatcher, lapwing and redshank.
We were further reminded that summer was arriving
by the sound of skylark, lesser whitethroat and
whitethroat. Reed warblers were spotted in and out
of the reeds, we hoped building nests for their own
young but possibly an uninvited cuckoo.
In the dense bushes Cetti’s warblers exploded with
song, while the unmistakeable chiffchaff could be
heard frequently calling his name from the treetops.
Goldfinches, too, gave a show of the bright colours
that nature has provided.
So, from a gloomy, unpromising start came an
excellent day’s birding.
An RSPB staff member welcomed us to Minsmere, handing out reserve leaflets to guide us on our visit to this jewel in the crown of the Suffolk coast. Also greeting us was a singing nightingale. What a start!
With the knowledge that the BBC’s Springwatch television programme would be broadcasting from Minsmere in a few weeks, we set off on various routes, safe in the knowledge that there would be plenty to see. Some chose to walk to the heath and the coast and they were lucky enough to see stone curlew, roseate tern, hobby and stonechat; others took the woodland trail and saw a muntjack deer.
The majority of us saw the bittern, some quite close mistaking it for a marsh harrier as it headed towards us head on and then dived down into the reeds. Prior to the bittern, a pair of marsh harriers were seen passing food from the male to the female. The avocets were beautiful as we watched them sweeping their beaks from side to side. Kingfisher and bearded tit were added to the list.
The sand martins were busy in their nesting colony and swifts, swallows and house martins were also seen, but not in great numbers.
There were many water birds with their chicks; one down side to our day, but nature none the less, was seeing a magpie taking a moorhen chick and devouring it as we watched.
The total of bird species seen was in the eighties making it a very satisfying day’s birding.
The Tonbridge Field Trip supporters had not visited this site before and we were looking forward to it. In the book Best bird watching sites in Sussex (2003, A. Thomas and P. Francis), the Newhaven Tidemills site is described as an area of ‘wasteland’ and so an area of ‘birding richness’.
The variety of habitat is attractive: arable fields and weedy waste ground; shingle leading to the sea; a tidal creek; the River Ouse harbour; a reed bed and the ruins of the old hamlet, station master’s house and tidemill. We only had the afternoon to explore but I’m sure we will be back for more.
The shingle beach was looking particularly attractive with its distinctive vegetation. The yellow-horned poppies were out, the red and pink valerian was
Quiz Night
Quiz Night Booking Form 2017
Please enclose a £20 deposit for a table or £5 deposit for tickets and remember your SAE.
How many tables (6 people per table)………………..or individual tickets…………………..
Meal choice(s): Fish & chips………………………….Ploughman’s………………………....
Balance to be paid by January 31 2017 with confirmation of numbers and meal selections.
Across
1. Short duty (6,5)
6. Hard work without tea produces fuel (3)
8. May be unwelcome when paid (10)
9. Panic propaganda? (4)
11. Talk about rock (9)
13. Scramble in French below the church (7)
14. Go again over the race (5)
15. Little found in meagre bequest (5)
16. See 20d
19. Former learner heard to do very well (5)
20. No actor switches to animation (7)
22. Cutlery charge? (9)
23. Late shift (4)
24. Relaxed after heard sea, it's after time (7,3)
26. Film of Samurai without poles, an original (3)
27. Spot pygmies turned to idle chatter (5,6)
Down
1. Meeting liar with no right, I chant (8)
2. Daft rodent makes a long name for 24, for example (8)
3. Pine equipped to hear wise one (4-5,3)
4. Iron worker has energy mock-up in small pieces (11)
5. Fashionable northern place of hospitality (3)
6. Map quarry (6)
7. Permit to go round pub (6)
10. Painter of heavenly one with nothing on, after French
Michael (12)
12. Doggedly, strangely enact promise to pay – cunning
(11)
17. Is incandescent - charges around support going up (8)
18. Something to support plates: pill followed by surgery (8)
20, 16a. Livestock regret losing head (6,5)
21. Money returned at beer exchange (6)
25. This tide may cause damage (3)
Ten clues in this cryptic crossword give a common bird name, not defined
otherwise. It’s just for fun. Answers will be in the next newsletter.
Tudeley Woods RSPB reserve near Tonbridge celebrated National
Meadows Day in July with a guided walk and some hands-on
conservation work. Visitors had good sightings of butterflies,
damselflies and dragonflies, including the UK’s longest species, the
golden-ringed dragonfly. Plenty of birds were still in song with
chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap and goldcrest enjoyed by many. A
grass snake was found under one of the reptile refuges and many
visitors were simply staggered at the sheer numbers of common
spotted orchids looking spectacular in the meadow (right).
Brakeybank meadow has recently been restored to closer to its
original size with the removal of trees and other vegetation which had
encroached around the edges. In order to speed up the process of
meadow plants reclaiming the newly cleared area, green hay, cut a
few days previously from areas of the existing meadow, was spread
across the ground to transfer seeds. Meanwhile, other visitors carried
out a survey of the meadow to help establish its current level of
biodiversity. Results were passed on to the Save Our Magnificent Meadows campaign, a partnership of
eleven organisations led by Plantlife and primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Tudeley reserve’s way-marked trails have been refreshed this year with new signposts and a new trail
leaflet to help visitors find their way around. Access to the reserve is currently hampered by the A21
roadworks, with no entrance possible from the western end of Dislingbury Road (also known as Half Moon
Lane). For the latest access arrangements, or if you are interested in joining the regular volunteer work
parties at Tudeley Woods or Broadwater Warren, contact the RSPB Wealden office on 01892 752430.
The 41st Annual General Meeting for the Tonbridge RSPB Local Group will be held at St. Philip’s Church, Salisbury Road, Tonbridge, TN10 4PA on Wednesday November 16 2016 .
Agenda:
1. Apologies for absence
2. Leader’s brief introduction
3. Acceptance of minutes of last year’s AGM on November 18 2015
4. Leader’s Annual Report for the period 2015/2016, followed by vote of acceptance
5. Treasurer’s Financial Report for year ended March 31 2016, followed by vote of acceptance
6. Confirmation of appointment of auditors of accounts for 2016/2017
7. Election of candidates for committee
Four committee members, Bernice Catt, Carol Goulden, David Simmons and Lesley Ribbens, are retiring from the committee. Bernice, Carol and Lesley have agreed to stand for re-election and will require nomination using the form below.
This creates a vacancy and we would welcome any new people who would like to stand for election to the committee. Please use the form below if you are interested.
8. Any other business
Any items for consideration must be submitted to the Secretary, Bernice Catt, at least 21 days before the date of the AGM.
NOMINATION FORM FOR ELECTION TO THE COMMITTEE AT THE 41st AGM.
Give the full name and address of the nominee, proposer and seconder. All three parties must sign and date where shown. Nomination forms not completed correctly will be invalid.
Return the completed forms to the Secretary, Bernice Catt.
It’s always good to have a diverse mix of stories and
features in the newsletter. If you would like to
contribute to the next newsletter, perhaps with some
observations of your own, tales of birding travels
abroad or close to home, a puzzle or something
completely new, the deadline is 15 January 2017.
Please send copy to the editor, Lesley Ribbens (tel:
