Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i Birdwatch

What’s in the digital edition? JANUARY’S digital edition has lots of bonus content, including: Video of Bewick’s Swans at Slimbridge WWT; Footage of Common and Jack Snipe and Eurasian Woodcock; Sound recordings of the calls of Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Common Linnet and Goldcrest; An image gallery of Kowa’s new TSN-99A Prominar telescope; Footage of the White Storks at Knepp Estate; Film of rarities and scarcities from Britain, Ireland and the wider Western Palearctic. The digital edition is available for PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad and Android. Sample issues are free, and subscriptions or single copies can be purchased. Visit www.pktmags.com/bwdigital to find out more.…

COMMENT BIRDING ETC End of an era The bizarre decision to close Birdfair permanently will, among many other things, massively reduce key funding for bird conservation, says a bemused Dominic Mitchell. DOMINIC MITCHELL It is with unhappy timing that, as this magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary, the birding industry also marks the loss of a great institution. It is all the more unfortunate because the closure of the British Birdwatching Fair has come about not through commercial failure or unavoidable disaster, but because of the flawed judgement of the body hosting it. I first visited Birdfair just over three decades ago, to announce the impending launch of Birdwatch. That was in 1991 and the fledgling event was just two years old, but it had already become a significant presence. The…

In the beginning “HELLO, is that Steve Young?” “Yes, it is.” “Hi, my name’s Dominic Mitchell and I’m starting a new magazine called Birdwatch and wondered if you’d like to be my photographic editor?” That’s how it began 30 years ago, with a cockney voice (sounded like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins to my ears!) on the other end of the phone asking the question. At that time, I was still working full time for Post Office Counters, but I had plans to leave and concentrate on wildlife and wedding photography. Without even knowing who this person was I agreed to help, there was just ‘something’ I liked, and began work on my first-ever writing commission about bird photography. ‘Getting Started’ was published in issue 1 and was the…

30 YEARS OF FIRSTS Lesser Short-toed Lark, Portland, Dorset, 2 May 1992; Asian Brown Flycatcher, Fair Isle, Shetland, 1-2 July 1992; Caspian Gull, Radipole Lake, Dorset, 20 December 1992-January 1993; Black-faced Bunting, Pennington Flash, Gtr Manchester, 8 March-24 April 1994; Red-throated Thrush, The Naze, Essex, 29 September-7 October 1994; Bay-breasted Warbler, Land’s End, Cornwall, 1 October 1995; South Polar Skua, West Bexington, Dorset, 27 January-4 February 1996; Indigo Bunting, Ramsey Island, Pembs, 18-26 October 1996; Short-billed Dowitcher, Rosehearty, Aberdeens, 11–24 September 1999; Short-toed Snake Eagle, St Agnes, Scilly, 7-11 October 1999; Hooded Merganser, North Uist, Outer Hebrides, 23 October-1 November 2000; Siberian Blue Robin, Minsmere, Suffolk, 23 October 2000; Red-billed Tropicbird, at sea, off Scilly, 7 June 2001; Grey Catbird, South Stack RSPB, Anglesey, 4-5 October 2001; Allen’s Gallinule, Portland,…

Maldon gold THE historic Essex town of Maldon lies 18 km east of Chelmsford, a gateway to the flat coastal landscape flanking the Blackwater Estuary. The mosaic of habitats found there – including saltmarsh, gravel pits, farmland and fragmentary woodland – support a rich biodiversity. For the past 20 years John Buchanan and a small, dedicated team of like-minded naturalists have concentrated on patchwork there, making plenty of discoveries along the way. This resulting book packs in an impressive amount of information; comprehensive yet easy to read. Sections on local history, geology and habitats provide good background for chapters devoted to flora and fauna. It acts as a site guide and calendar for the natural year, highlighting what to look for in each season and providing recommended walks. The text…

EXPERT ADVICE BUILDING KNOWLEDGE • IN THE FIELD The best tips, advice and more www.birdguides.com BUILDING KNOWLEDGE Storks on the move www.birdguides.com BONUS ONLINE CONTENT www.pocketmags.com/birdwatch Get extra content in the digital edition! DOMINIC GREVES 2022 heralds an unusual anniversary in the world of birds and bird migration. In 1822 a hunter in Germany shot down a White Stork with a 75-cm spear impaled in its neck. The spear was made of black wood and was clearly African in origin. Until then no one knew where White Storks went to in winter, as the concept of migration as we know it hadn’t been proved and there were many theories, including birds flying to the moon. There have now been at least 25 ‘Pfeilstorsch’ or arrow-pierced storks found in Germany, and with modern ringing…

EXPERT ADVICE Q&A • NEWS Q&A YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED JOHN CONWAY QIn the summer I visited a neighbour living in a fairly new suburban bungalow. In a large pot on the patio is a full standard bay tree, which was effectively a bare, broomstick-like stem with a large football-sized trimmed globe of foliage on the top, with a total height of about 1.5 m. Lodged in a fork against the main stem was the tiniest nest I have ever seen in the UK (see photo left). The nest was empty, with no sign that a brood had been reared. The nest cavity was some 5 cm in diameter, well sculptured, with fine roots and lined with feathers but no moss. What would be nesting in such an exposed and unlikely situation? I have…

#LOCALBIGYEAR THE BIG PICTURE ROOST RECON JOSH JONES (WWW.JOSHRJONES.COM) #LOCALBIGYEAR THE BIG PICTURE www.pocketmags.com/birdwatch Get extra content in the digital edition! 6 www.pocketmags.com/birdwatch Get extra content in the digital edition! It’s January. The midwinter days are short and often overcast. There isn’t a lot of time to bird, so the aim is to squeeze as much out of the day as you can. One worthwhile activity to undertake is checking a local gull roost. In winter, gulls gather in large numbers to roost communally on waterbodies. On a cold, crisp winter’s evening this can be quite a spectacle – the air filling with birds as a veritable snowstorm of noise and movement descends as the sun goes down. Gull roosts are often well established, with reservoirs and lakes favoured and…

REPORT Arctic invasion An unprecedented influx of Brünnich’s Guillemots into the North Sea took place in late November, on the back of Storm Arwen. Brünnich’s Guillemot influx: east coast, 26-28 November 2021 MIKE BUCKLAND THE remnants of Storm Arwen meant that a busy period of seawatching was on the cards for North Sea birders during the last few days of November, although not many would have predicted the scale of the Brünnich’s Guillemot influx that was to follow. Unprecedented numbers were logged along the North Sea coastline over the weekend of 27-28th between Whitby, North Yorks, and Fife Ness, Fife, with the coast between Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland, and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, especially fruitful. No fewer than four birds were suspected of being involved between the latter two sites, with high counts…

BIRD NEWS ANALYSIS: BRITAIN AND IRELAND A grand finale Autumn ended with a bang, as the mega alert sounded multiple times during November. Josh Jones rounds up the many highlights. REBECCA NASON (WWW.REBECCANASON.COM) Rarities and scarcities: November 2021 Although November traditionally marks the transition from peak autumn to the darkest depths of mid-winter, it almost always produces quality birds – and 2021 proved no exception. At the beginning of the month, a first-winter White-crowned Sparrow at Easting, Unst, continued Shetland’s rich vein of form with the species, this being the third in four years. Found on 5th, it lingered there for five days. The large-looking, orange bill and pale lores suggest it likely to be of the western subspecies, gambelii. JOHN BOWLER Among the many standout rarities seen this month,…

COMMENT TALKING BIRDS Are you listening? As our wildlife continues to disappear and some birders prefer to pretend politics doesn’t matter, pitching Left against Right isn’t the way forward. TIM OXBOROUGH Peter Alfrey seems to be paddling in very muddy waters in his column ‘The problem with lefties in birding’ (Birdwatch 353: 21) He seems to regard ‘the Left’ as he would a stained tissue on the floor; he knows he has to pick it up but he can only bear to do so by using the very tips of his fingers. His use of the term ‘Leftie’ is telling. The last time I heard that was from a golf club bore propping up a bar. Such pejoratives are not helpful. He flashes his left-wing credentials like a red flag…

IDENTIFICATION Field ID notes Common and Jack Snipe and Eurasian Woodcock The first instalment in our new approach to identification, focusing on how to find and recognise seasonal birds in the field, looks at three secretive yet beautiful waders – Common and Jack Snipe, and Eurasian Woodcock. Connecting with of any of these species on a winter’s day is always as pleasure, yet detecting them in the first place is the real challenge. Josh Jones provides tips on where to look and how to separate them. PROFILE JOSH JONES is Head of Content for BirdGuides. He has been obsessed by all things birdy since he was young. RICHARD LAVERACK As the days become colder and autumn turns to winter, our birding so often refocuses on conspicuous and charismatic birds of the…

A birding first IN January 1992 I was working at the RSPB and remember reading the first issue of Birdwatch in the library there and thinking ‘What a great magazine … aimed at the keener birder’. I worked in the press office and recall seeing Dominic Mitchell’s name in our database. After meeting him at occasional events we soon became firm friends. Fast forward to 2004 when, having left the RSPB, I was invited to be on the magazine’s advisory panel and then the following year I became a monthly contributor of short articles as well as providing news stories and helping with the new website. It was great to get to know all of the staff and I particularly enjoyed writing the monthly feature covering interesting species and where…

November photo challenge winner HARRY COLE OUR Purple Sandpiper challenge in the November issue proved very popular – no great surprise given how confiding and photogenic this species can be. We received a range of classic shots of birds in coastal settings, including on rocks, beaches and man-made structures, but it was this terrific flight shot by Harry Cole that we chose as the winner. We’re used to seeing this species perched, but images in flight tend to be few and far between. Pictured among a group of Ruddy Turnstones, this is a great comparison between the two species. Furthermore, Harry has captured the bird in excellent light and set against the wonderful blues of sea and sky, while the sandpiper’s pose is great and is capped off with a…

EXPERT REVIEWS BOOKS Images of the disappeared THIS comprehensive collection of the little photographic evidence we have of many iconic but now extinct animals came out in 2013, but has now been given a welcome paperback edition. The book concentrates on birds and mammals, using a wide selection of contemporary images to reveal each subject’s living appearance, whether in black and white, sepia or washed-out colour. Drawings, stuffed examples or skins in museum drawers will never be as relatable as seeing the wild or even captive animal, and these illustrations help us to imagine seeing each species – our minds being the only place they can dwell in our consciousness now. There are some striking images presented in the book, both well known (for example, James Tanner’s extensive series of…

YOUR MAGAZINE In the next issue February VARIED THRUSH BY JOHN COUTTS Pre-order your copy online now – see www.birdguides.com for details of how to subscribe and save more than 20% a year! ■ Year in review With 40-year blockers finally falling, a great selection of firsts and some exciting influxes, as well as periods where nothing seemed to happen, 2021 was a year of contrast. We round up the highs and lows of 12 months in British and Irish birding. ■ And the winners are … You’ve cast your votes and the results are now in. Find out the recipients of the 2021 Birders’ Choice Awards. From Conservation Hero to Product of the Year, did your favourites make the top spot? ■ Lost and found Our ongoing series looking at…

BIRD NEWS THE BIG STORIES REPORT Brockholes belter! Following its discovery by an angler on 8 November, a Belted Kingfisher proved a slippery customer, before eventually giving itself up to the masses. JAZ HUGHES Belted Kingfisher: Brockholes, Lancashire, from 8 November 2021 NEWS of a male Belted Kingfisher on the River Ribble near Brockholes, Lancs, on 8 November stunned birders when it broke. The bird – the first in Britain since 2018 – was discovered by a quick-thinking angler who was able to obtain a low-quality photo of the North American visitor. However, the kingfisher would go on to frustrate the masses, with no further sign other than a possible report there on 14th. After 11 blank days, the bird resurfaced along the Ribble from 25th. With proof-of-life sparking renewed interest,…

BIRD NEWS WESTERN PALEARCTIC North stars A wonderful month in Scandinavia produced a lineup of regional megas that would cause great envy for any British birder, as Sam Viles reports. TORBORG BERGE Western Palearctic: November 2021 Fennoscandia dominated the month’s proceedings, with a number of national firsts and regional megas. Best of the bunch concerned the breath-taking news of an Ancient Murrelet off Porkkala, Finland, on 9-10th. Stunning those close enough to connect, there is just one previous Western Palearctic record of this dashing Pacific alcid – a summering adult on Lundy, Devon, between 1990 and 1992. Elsewhere, the country’s eighth Western Cattle Egret was at Haapajärvi on 12th. ITAI SHANNI A Savannah Sparrow at Farsund, Norway, on 2nd was another standout – just the eighth for the Western Palearctic…

Birdwatch and me AS a long-time admirer of Birdwatch, I made my first contribution in the early days of the magazine, by documenting a fast-moving, 28-day European birding trip by rail, covering a rich diversity of sites from Arctic Norway to the Mediterranean coast. Developing a keen interest in optics subsequently inspired me to submit my first review, in 2002, covering the groundbreaking Pentax PF-80ED telescope, after which I was invited to produce further optics coverage in the same vein by the magazine’s editor and founder, Dominic Mitchell. Buying guides for binoculars and telescopes followed in 2004 as precursors to a series of my first all-encompassing optics supplements, before being appointed Optics Editor in 2014. I expanded my range of contributions by writing the monthly Midlands birds summaries between 2008…

EXPERT REVIEWS OPTICS Your trusted guide to what’s new in birding: www.birdguides.com/reviews Rising to prominence A new, advanced addition to the highly respected Kowa TSN range sees the first significant design change for 15 years. But is it a winner? Mike Alibone investigates. www.pocketmags.com/birdwatch Get extra content in the digital edition! REVIEW Kowa TSN-99A Prominar telescope KOWA: a name which has long been associated with top-quality optics – particularly telescopes – and one which fronts Japan’s third-largest privately owned company. It was back in 2006, at that year’s Birdfair, when the Japanese manufacturer unveiled its renowned TSN-88 quartet, with the two top models, TSN 883 and 884, bearing the Prominar epithet and featuring fluorite crystal lenses with new coatings. So successful were they, it was considered any change to their basic…

Understanding nature’s nomads THE concept that a Barn Swallow can leave the barn that it fledged in, fly to sub-Saharan Africa, and return with pin-point accuracy to the same barn the following year – and repeat that feat many times over – is extraordinary. How birds manage to navigate so precisely over huge distances has been a source of fascination for centuries. The attempt to understand how and why some birds get their directions wrong – in some cases spectacularly – is equally fascinating. This new book aims to answer the myriad questions relating to what factors drive avian vagrancy, and approaches the subject from a global viewpoint. The opening chapters discuss our current understanding of how birds might navigate using the stars and Earth’s magnetic field, before exploring the…

bookshop www.birdguides.com/bookshop 01778 392027 UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS FOR 2022 Ponds, Pools and Puddles RRP from: £35.00 Due 17 Mar 2022. Our price from: £32.99 In spite of their evident importance, ponds have been largely ignored by freshwater biologists during this century. Ponds, Pools and Puddles makes an invaluable contribution to raising awareness of these popular, yet frequently underrated freshwater habitats, giving them the attention they rightly deserve. Birds of the Middle East RRP: £16.99 Due 20 Jan 2022. Our price from: £14.99 The Middle East has a wonderfully broad and diverse avifauna, featuring a host of wintering species, passage migrants, enigmatic and sometimes colourful breeding birds, and even a few endemics. Birds of Sri Lanka RRP: £16.99 Due 17 Mar 2022. Our price from: £14.99 The island of Sri Lanka is…

EXPERT ADVICE BIRDING BY SOUND • WHAT TO SEE • IN THE GARDEN • LISTCHECK BIRDING BY SOUND Sounds okay In this new series, Rob Hume will explore birding by sound, giving advice on how to improve your listening skills and sound ID knowledge. www.pocketmags.com/birdwatch Get extra content in the digital edition! JULIAN BHALERAO MANY books will tell you that more birds are heard than seen, and most that you see will be heard first. So how do you know what you are listening to? There is no substitute for following up the sound and seeing the bird as it calls, but there are plenty of ways to listen to bird sounds on the internet. YouTube (www.youtube.com) is full of videos and recordings, while Xeno-canto (www.xenocanto.org) has an astonishing range of…

COMMENT YOUR TURN your letters &photos Tell us what you think. Write to: Rebecca Armstrong, Editor, at: Birdwatch, Warners Group Publications plc, the Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH or email letters@birdwatch.co.uk www.facebook.com/birdwatchmagazine @BirdwatchExtra Scilly wins! REGARDING the debate between Scilly and Shetland (Birdwatch 351: 42-43), I would go for Scilly every time. My first visit to the islands was in October 1966 as an 18-year-old. We sailed to St Mary’s on the Queen of the Isles and I saw such things as Curlew Sandpiper, Aquatic Warbler and Bluethroat, as well as the first English record of Rose-breasted Grosbeak on St Agnes. In those days, there were no nature trails on St Mary’s, no access to Porthellick and it was difficult to cover that island properly. There was a bird…

COMMENT MURMURATIONS On the road to Hull Is sitting and waiting somewhere in Yorkshire waiting for news to come in the new way to see rarities? No, it’ll always be about island birding. LUCY MCROBERT I used to think that enjoying the spectacle of autumn bird migration was to do with avian geography. Now, I suspect it might be to do with personal geography: where in the world you position yourself from early autumn onwards. Back in the September issue (Birdwatch 351: 42-43), I went toe-to-toe with the formidable Rebecca Nason as we battled over the ultimate autumn birding destination. While Rebecca and I defended the two extremes of the UK (Shetland versus Scilly), it seems we both got it wrong. If you’d like to see rare birds, the best…