News archive
May 2008
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Spring Message from the Chairman
Starting off again with the weather, or the awfulness of it! Weather has again been a feature of the early trips this year with the New Year Ythan outing nearly blowing everyone away and giving rise to an early bath for most of the group. Later that month we gathered at Stonehaven, initially fine for the Crossbills, but degenerating into a hurricane with heavy driving rain at Cowie. Another early bath!
I believe the Strathbeg trip was fine; I was enjoying myself in India at the time [282 species]. The weather was kind to us at the Tay reed-beds and Scone Palace but the birds were not! Nil point at the reed-beds for Bearded Reedling and one solitary Hawfinch at Scone. It has to get better!
While on the subject of trips and outings, thirteen members are looking forward to the Spring trip in April to the Coto Doņana in Spain, just west of Seville. We are hoping for lots of good weather and lots of birds!
The committee have approved the Autumn outing to Skye on the Aberdeen holiday weekend. The arrangements are the same as usual. Get yourself there and book your accommodation in Portree. We shall arrange a birding programme on the Saturday and the Sunday. Although it is early, Trevor would appreciate the names of anyone who is interested so that we can check numbers. More I am sure, later. See page 18 of this Newsletter.
The Red Kite release west of Aberdeen is a success and Kites can be seen fairly easily around Garlogie and Echt. Beautiful birds! They are spreading, so keep your eyes on the skies [NOT
when driving!]. I don't know a great deal about the Sea Eagles, there have been three casualties with power lines and persecution. As far as I know the "local" Sea Eagles have moved on to greener pastures.
Please remember the Chairman's Appeal for monies to go towards the purchase of Meikle Loch by the RSPB. There is over £6000 in the appeal so far but we and the RSPB would be grateful for more if you feel you could spare it. Negotiations continue, but all the problems are legal and revolve around the very old property deeds. I heard last night [5 March] that it was hoped the RSPB would reach a satisfactory conclusion very soon.
Also remember that Rohan are sponsoring the group and if you are looking for the lightweight clothes that they sell it is the best place around. If you do buy anything there, make sure you tell them you are a member of the group.
Duncan Pennet handles the group sales [07821 859877] and all items from the RSPB catalogues and websites, throughout the year, can be ordered through him. The group receives a handsome return if you order through Duncan.
Also praiseworthy are the excellent efforts of Angela Gowdy and her team in the sale of bird badges in Aberdeen and surroundings. Starting in April 2006 they raised the considerable sum of over £5,500 in twelve months. But in the year from April 2007, with an increased team and covering a greater area, they raised the magnificent total of over £13,000, an even more outstanding achievement. Many congratulations to all concerned.
John Summerwill has retired from the committee due to other commitments. The contributions he has made to the running of the group are much appreciated and we look forward to his continuing to play an active part in our ventures.
The UK Bird Atlas is well underway with the winter surveys completed. If you don't have a square to survey remember they are interested in all random bird sightings as you travel around, especially the rarer species.
Rodney Payne
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Indoor Meetings
We were pleased to have Eric Meek, a prominent ornithologist with a vast experience of Orkney, open this latest series of winter talks. He gave an overview of Orkney as an important place for many species of birds. There are seventy-six islands of which eighteen are inhabited, with but a single family on two of them. There is a great variety of habitats from the sea, the shore, sea cliffs, maritime heath, upland moorland, farmland and wetland. Sites of Special Scientific Interest extend to 22% of Orkney, and most have been elevated to Special Protection Area status by European law. In addition, although with some overlap, RSPB reserves occupy 20,000 acres, that is 8% of the land. This makes the RSPB the largest land manager in the islands. The RSPB policy is to acquire a range of habitats, including farmland.
On Westray, the five miles of cliff at Noup Head where the old red sandstone has weathered to
produce many horizontal ledges suitable for nesting, is the largest seabird colony on the islands.
Some of the small offshore islands, being free of rats, provide safe nesting for seabirds. Sule Skerry, forty miles due west of Orkney has up to 70,000 pairs of Puffins - it is essential to keep to the paths as the surface is honeycombed with burrows.
About seven miles to the south of Sule Skerry lies Sule Stack, a very important gannetry with
5,000 pairs and, for long, the only gannetry on the islands until two more sites were colonised recently. Fifty miles further west still is North Rona where is the remains of a wonderful old village in which the houses were half underground and entered by low tunnels. The small population
Gannet
abandoned the island at the end of the eighteenth century. A colony of grey seals has its pups on the north peninsula. Ten miles west of North Rona, Sule Sgier is home to a breeding colony of Gannets from which the inhabitants of North Lewis are licensed to collect an annual quota of two thousand gugas as the nestling gannets are called.
The populations of various sea birds have been monitored on Orkney for many years. Their breeding successes and current populations can be compared to those in the 1980s. The species may be grouped according to their feeding strategies. Splash divers catch their prey in the top waters of the sea. Of these, Kittiwakes have declined by
19% and Arctic terns by 61%. Arctic Skuas, which are kleptoparasites depending largely on Arctic terns, are doing badly. Deep divers include Puffins which are stable but Common Guillemots have declined by 13% and Razorbills by 9%. Fulmars are surface feeders and have had poor breeding success. They colonised Hoy in 1900. The island had 30,000 pairs in 1999 and 19,000 pairs in 2007.
Gannets, which utilise a wide variety of prey species, are holding their own as are Black Guillemots which are not totally dependent on
sand-eels.
Black Guillemot
With the advent of the oil industry there were worries about its potential impact on birds. There have been no problems from ship to ship transfer of oil in Scapa Floe. There were problems with ships washing out their tanks on the way to Sullam Voe but that has been addressed. A monthly survey of thirty beaches shows that only a few oiled birds are washed up on Orkney annually.
Fish farming in more sheltered areas affects the marine environment but only on a minor scale. Wave energy machines pose no threat but tidal energy devices have yet to be evaluated for their possible effects on birds and marine mammals.
Over the past 25 years the temperature of the North Sea has risen by 2 Co. The whole plankton suite has altered. Sand eels, the basic diet of many seabirds, feed on plankton. But as the breeding of the birds is not now in synchronisation with the plankton bloom, there is a shortage of sandeels at the crucial time. In 2006 Razorbills did quite well but there were many dead chicks in 2007. When the juveniles leave the nest the male parent takes them across to the Norwegian fiords where thousands died of starvation.
On the hill ground is a rich array of breeding birds, particularly raptors. Merlins nest on the ground. The male brings food to the female and, as the food is plucked at a plucking post near the nest, analysis of the feathers shows that Meadow Pipits compose about 75 % of the prey and the rest Skylarks.
Hen Harriers also nest on the ground but not in pure heather. Their commonest prey, when feeding the chicks, is young rabbits. Marsh Harriers started nesting in 2001 and are now breeding in every east
coast county in Scotland. Kestrels nest on cliffs, old buildings and, in Orkney, also on the ground. There is a good number of Short-eared Owls of which the population is variable, relating to the population of the Orkney vole which does cycle to some extent. As about 120 pairs of Red-throated Divers nest on hill-top lochans there is concern about the possible siting of wind turbines in their vicinity.
Marsh Harrier
Of farmland birds, Corncrakes are heard rather than seen. Little is known of their migration routes but they winter in south central Africa, for example in Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and the northern part of the Republic of South Africa. In Orkney, a large effort has been made to maintain the Corncrake population which has been as low as six calling males. Farmers are encouraged to adopt good practices such as cutting crops from the centre of the field outwards. Farmland was bought by the RSPB on the island of Egilsay and two Corncrakes turned up in 2007. Some farmers on Orkney are paid to grow winter feed and weedy crops to encourage species such as Twite and Reed Bunting.
Many birds overwinter in Orkney. Sheltered areas of the sea attract Great Northern Divers. In the late 1990s and early 2000s five hundred or more, the largest concentration in the world, would congregate in Scapa Floe. This body of water may hold over one hundred Slavonian Grebes from Iceland, with others elsewhere. When the freshwater Loch Harray begins to freeze, Tufted Ducks and Pochard move into the saline Loch of Stenness. The shore gives refuge for 50,000 - 60,000 waders from the north, including Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Purple Sandpiper.
In the 1980s a few hundred Greylag Geese overwintered on farmland. In the mid 1990s the numbers began to increase rapidly to the extent that 55,000 were present in 2006. This increase coincided with a greater acreage of grass available for grazing so the birds do not have to go further south.
In spite of offering more cover, Orkney is perhaps not to so good as Shetland for uncommon migrants but it does have its share. Although birds such as Pallas's and Raddé's Warblers, Scop's and Snowy Owls, King Eider and Hoopoe were good ticks, Eric's most memorable sighting was, in the same tree, a Common Rosefinch [which migrates from Russia and Finland to northern India] and a Tennessee Warbler from North America.
Eric's enthusiasm for Orkney was obvious and his talk was an splendid reminder of Orkney as a most interesting birding location.
AN EVENING WITH RUSSELL NISBET
Several years ago, whilst on holiday in Corfu, Russell met a photographer who supplied illustrations for holiday brochures. Because his equipment was heavy and he needed assistance, he invited Russell to accompany him on a trip to Iceland. As this was a good opportunity to see something of the country and its birds, he accepted. The ship docked at the Faroe Islands, disembarked the passengers and returned to pick them up two days later for the onward journey to Iceland. The Faroes proved to be pretty bleak but he was pleased to find Harlequin Ducks which are spectacular birds.
So they arrived on Iceland, a portly photographer, Russell, a Citroen 2CV and a trailer. There were few small birds but they found Redwing. With the scarcity of trees, Blackbirds nested on the ground. They were warned to stick to the roads, although some of the photographs of the roads they took showed them to be just decent tracks.
Birds found included Red-necked Phalarope, Slavonian Grebe, Scaup, Eider, Wigeon, Goldeneye and Barrow's Goldeneye and Whooper Swan.
Scaup
It was a delight to see Long-tailed Ducks and Purple Sandpipers in summer plumage. Glaucous Gulls breed in Iceland, while Iceland Gulls breed in Greenland. On the coast were Razorbills, Guillemots, Terns galore and thousands and thousands of Puffins. Walruses were a new experience.
Pink-footed Geese were not found as they nest in the heart of the country which was inaccessible to a Citroen 2CV, with or without a trailer.
Russell had interesting photographs of spectacular scenery, particularly of lava flows and of impressive waterfalls. Geysers and hot water pools are a feature of Iceland. The energy of some of these is used to heat rural greenhouses and domestic buildings. He also showed a selection of flowering plants, low-growing and adapted to the harsh environment. Mountain avens is one of the commonest plants. Lupins were in profusion as they are planted by roadsides to stabilise the soil.
Twenty-four hour birding would have been possible as the sun never set while they were there.
Russell took us then to the Canary Islands, to the island of Fuerteventura. He showed a series of photographs of volcanic landscapes, volcanic peaks
and mountains. Examples of the flora were illustrated as were some of the birds such as Stone Curlew, Cream-coloured Courser, Hoopoe, Trumpeter Finch, Spoonbill and Ring-necked Parakeet.
Hoopoe
In his friendly and humorous style, Russell provided well-illustrated accounts of two interesting excursions.
TRICKY WESTERN
PALEARCTIC SPECIES
[4 December, 2007]
It was a great delight to welcome Ken Shaw back as our speaker on the evening of the Annual General Meeting. In this talk he expanded on the reminiscences on his previous visit about birds of the Western Palaearctic. The Western Palaearctic is a zoo-geographical area which includes Europe and encompasses the northern countries of Africa and down to Mauritania.
He remarked that as birdwatchers can be obsessed by rarities, by new birds to a country or to part of a country, the Western Palaearctic is an interesting area for certain bird species which are endemic or visitors. Ken illustrated and discussed briefly some of his favourite species. The Black Lark does not breed in the Western Palaearctic, although some do overwinter. It is a great rarity which breeds in a fantastic habitat, the steppes of Kazakhstan.
The Spectacled Warbler is found in southern Europe but being not very common is much sought and is best seen in Iberia and more particularly in the Canaries on the island of Gomez. Similarly the best areas to see Pin-tailed Sand Grouse, of which the range extends into southern France, are in Spain. Until the 1970s Dupont's Lark, a bird of low scrub and semi-desert, was found in Morocco. It has now spread to central Spain but it is so very secretive that it may actually have been there all the time.
Pin-tailed Sand Grouse
The Black Woodpecker, a fairly sedentary species, has spread westwards into Holland and will probably colonise Britain eventually. Few species colonise mountains compared to other habitats. Two sought-after mountain species are the Alpine Accentor which is in most mountain areas in Europe and the Wallcreeper, which is found in fairly inaccessible sites, including some in the Pyrenees.
The Ruddy Duck, an American species introduced into Europe, unfortunately hybridises with the native White-headed Duck. To protect the integrity of the White-headed Duck, the Ruddy Duck is exterminated in Spain where the White-headed Duck is increasing due to management projects such as creating wetlands for wintering areas.
White-headed Duck
The Red-necked Nightjar is quite common in Iberia but is reputed to be difficult to see. It is found in denser areas of woodland from the coast to quite high in the hills. As their eyes reflect light, the birds can be found at dusk dispersed in their feeding areas and distributed along woodland tracks. The Spanish Imperial Eagle is probably declining somewhat in Spain but is spreading, particularly large nature reserves.
Jordan has some very scarce birds including the Black Pratincole, the males of which stand on rocks or mounds and display at the nearest breeding male. At Aquaba he had two first records for Jordan - the Painted Snipe of which the female is much brighter than the male and the Pink-backed Pelican which is much commoner further south.
The very elegant Demoiselle Crane is rare in the Western Palaearctic but commoner in the Eastern Palaearctic from where many hundreds migrate annually to Cyprus. Similarly the Caucasian Black Grouse, which inhabits areas of dwarf rhododendron over 10,000 feet, is found rarely in the Caucasus in Turkey but is more common on the other side of the mountains in Georgia.
Latvia is a favourite haunt for Ken. The Marsh Sandpiper arrives in April and leaves in July/August. It breeds in a few overgrown lakes. In some parts the most common owl is the massive Ural Owl, which frequents in large forests. It is very aggressive in defence of its nest. Latvia has several species of woodpecker, including the White-backed and the Three-toed.
Some sea birds are difficult to find. The Great Shearwater, larger than the Manx, can sometimes be seen migrating up the east coast of Scotland.
The beautiful Ivory Gull, which breeds in Spitzbergen, is a winter visitor to Britain. Ross's Gull, a very northern species, is an occasional visitor to our shores. It is very pale with a diamond-shaped tail and first year birds have a bar across the back. Although rather larger, both adult and juvenile are easy to confuse with the Little Gull. The first record in Britain was in 1981, since when they have been recorded fairly regularly. The hot spot for sightings is Fraserburgh where, at the first multiple sighting, Ken scored three birds. Wryly, he pointed out that Dave Gill, of course, got four.
Only ten years ago White-billed Divers were very rarely recorded in British waters. But they are a spring passage migrant seen off north-west Scotland. They are in moult as they move north to their breeding grounds. Ken has invested a lot of time in this species and, now knowing where and when to search, has seen eleven in one day in April and seven in a group.
This was another fascinating talk by Ken and an insight into his passion for tracking down difficult species.
Friday, 2 May 2008
What You Missed July - December 2007
July - December 2007
To the rare bird enthusiast the second half of 2007 turned out to be of much more interest than the first six months but rare passerines were in short supply.
July
An excellent year for Surf Scoter, with birds at Blackdog from the 2nd right through until the 9th September, the maximum being six on the 14th.
The first Hobby of the year at Forvie Sands on the 2nd stayed until the 23rd, that is if it was the same bird. An American Wigeon was on the Ythan on the 4th and again on the 29th of August. Another Yankee was the much sought after White-rumped Sandpiper seen on the Ythan on the 29th and another on the 24th of August - or, again, it could have been the same bird.
August
was a slow month, with a Black-necked Grebe at Strathbeg on the 26th. A Black Tern was at Girdleness on the 27th and 28th. Also on the 28th twenty-one Manx and eight Sooty Shearwaters passed Girdleness while a Great Shearwater was seen at Collieston.
September
was a sea-watchers' month - a run of Great Shearwaters; three off Stonehaven on the 12th; two passing Newtonhill and one off Collieston on the 13th; two off Girdleness on the 14th. A Long-tailed and a Pomarine Skua and a Mediterranean Shearwater were seen off Girdleness on the 11th. Some rare waders appeared on the Ythan with both a Pectoral and a Baird's Sandpiper on the 30th. Passerine migrants were in short supply this month with only a Yellow-browed Warbler reported at Forvie on the 27th.
October
An untagged Red Kite was seen at Forvie on the
3rd. Girdleness sported a Common Rosefinch on
the 4th and two Ross's Geese showed up at
Collieston on the 6th. Anne Rigg and I eventually tracked them down to a stubble field at Slains on the following day. Forvie sands reported single Lapland Buntings on the 12th and 18th and three on the 30th. A Bonaparte's Gull was seen on the beach at Rattray on the 20th, the same day an American Golden Plover was at the Ythan. The month was rounded off with a White-winged Black Tern at the Loch of Skene from the 21st to the 28th.
November
Waxwings arrived in Aberdeen on the 6th and remained to the year end. The maximum count was 158 on the 4th of December. A Brünnich's Guillemot at Girdleness on the 7th was first reported as a probable but, I believe, confirmed later. A White-billed Diver was off-shore at Girdleness on the 9th. A violent storm at the beginning of the month forced thousands of Little Auks into the southern North Sea and large numbers were seen moving back north throughout the month. On the 25th the group watched hundreds going past Fraserburgh and, later, a very obliging Bonaparte's Gull at Peterhead rounded off the group outing. This bird stayed around until the year end. A female King Eider, off Girdleness on the 23rd, was joined by a male on the 2nd of December; they were still together at the year end.
December
A White-tailed Eagle, one of the Fife release scheme and wing tagged F was around St Fergus on the 11th and stayed for quite a while. I don't know that anyone who went looking for it managed to get it but it was seen several times by people who just blundered on to it. Hamish Paton saw another White-tailed Eagle over Inverurie on the 19th, an adult flying east. The Loch of Skene had a
Snow Goose between the 8th and the 19th and a Little Egret stayed at Strathbeg from the 24th to the end of the year. Finally a Richard's Pipit turned up at Meikle Loch on the 30th.
Let's hope 2008 starts off as well as the last year ended.
Dave Gill