News archive
January 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Waxwing sightings
There is an interesting article on the Birdguides website along with details of how to report any you see with coloured rings on their legs. Click on the link below for details.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Quiz Nite January 2011
Led by Question Master Craig Watson, who has done well not to be tongue tied by some of the far reaching questions, there has been opportunity for laughter and banter between both him and the tables. At the very first Quiz, Craig had brought along a girl, Louise...they are now happily married and living in South Wales making the trip especially for the Quiz Nite to share our company once a year.
Each year a team of helpers have made sure that tables are out ready and put away. Another team in the kitchen ensures the Ploughman's supper is ready for the break..and cleared away afterwards. Simon and his sister Karen have been round each year getting in the money for the raffle. People have been really generous over the years donating raffle prizes, and for a couple of years the winning team even gave back their winnings!
This year was no different to the others. (Only 2010 was the odd year out having been postponed to March because of snow!) Seven rounds of different subjects ...Films, one on songs, another on Natural History, Royalty and It's all Greek to me were new ones for this year, Pot Luck as usual and a Picture round to hand in after the break. Some teams kept their original names such as the Little Bustards, Resplendant Quetzels, Jolly Robins and The Twitchwells while other chose new ones such as Spring Siskins, Bar-tailed Halfwits, Lovely Lapwings, The Magpies and the "F" in Frigate.
Each year Dave has made a point of wearing a silly hat, as his wife I can't even remember where this idea came from! Sometimes "The Hat" would be planned many weeks before the event another time it would be a matter of sorting it out on the day. David Shenton, a regular attendee of the Quiz would make a bee-line on the night to see what the hat looked like! He was disappointed in 2011...Dave went overboard..in a different direction! Having been given a Billy "Man" bag for Christmas, he decided to get in touch with his feminine side ....See picture of man wearing stripey tights in shorts. It raised a laugh on the night and he now knows how girls get on with wearing tights!
Anyway, the winners on the night once again were the Little Bustards, 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals the "F" in Frigates, and third were a new team The Magpies. Enjoying the bags of Jelly Tots as losers were the Spring Siskins. £236 profit on the night
The reason for reviewing the last ten years is that Dave has decided to stand down as Question writer and "Ref". So thanks to everyone who has made the Quiz the great success it has been - a great team effort and raising approximately £3,000 over the ten year period with all proceeds course going to the RSPB.
If there is anyone out there who would like to take up the gauntlet and the challenge this position now lies vacant.
Mary Braddock
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Indoor Meetings - Birds behaving badly by Dominic Couzens
Dominic also told us a little about how birds cope with seasonal weather changes. Blackbirds are great survivors at all times because they have adapted to eat almost anything, but green woodpeckers are hamstrung by the fact that 95% of their diet consists of ants and so they suffer greatly when the ground is icy hard. Rooks, on the other hand, mate early and are able to find earthworms for their young before the ground hardens under the summer sun, whilst the early hatching of young grey herons ensures that they will be able to see through the water for their fishy prey before it is obscured by masses of vegetation.
And so to the sexual behaviour of our feathered friends. Sexual impropriety is common in the dunnock whose multiple matings involving both sexes are the norm- a feat echoed by its relative, the alpine accentor. The dotterel practises role reversal, male birds taking responsibility for incubating the eggs and bringing up the family. Red-legged partridges have perhaps a fairer answer to conjugal life; the female lays two clutches, one of which is incubated by the male and one by the female. Such double clutching is also practised by the little stint. There is still a degree of monogamy in the avian world however; albatrosses and Bewick's swans both behave in this way. With regard to factors which influence pairing, we heard that male blue tits have an ultraviolet radiance which is reflected from their heads and can be detected by the female; the more intense the light, the more attractive the male becomes. The varying intensity of the yellow breasts of the males is also a source of attraction to female blue tits. Because the yellow colouration is caused by carotenoids found in caterpillars and other insects, it is thought that the female is therefore able to pick out a good caterpillar finder and hence a good mate for bringing up the family.
Finally, Dominic provided us with an astounding statistic about house martins. These birds are said to use 1500 mud pellets with straw to build their nests. The mud may well come from a mile away, so in making one nest a house martin may travel 3000 miles. One can only marvel at such devotion to conjugal life.
Brian Shreeve