Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Birdwatch

THE ‘summer lull’, as we have traditionally referred to it at BirdGuides, covers a few weeks from mid-June until mid-July when the volume of bird news shrinks to a minimum. It’s bang in the middle of the breeding season and was always a spell where the news team would put its proverbial feet up and enjoy some relative downtime ahead of the protracted and busy autumn season. Yet that lull seems to have barely happened in 2023, in part due to an exceptionally late spring. Inhibited by constant north-easterly winds and cool conditions, spring passage for many species was delayed, in some cases by weeks, and we were receiving plenty of reports of northbound migrants as diverse as Sanderling, Black Tern and Red-backed Shrike well into June, while concurrently the…

It was a terrific month for mega-rare visitors across the region, although few would have predicted the jaw-dropping discovery of a Southern Carmine Bee-eater among a flock of European Bee-eaters at Kızılırmak Delta, Turkey, on 21-22nd – a potential Turkish and WP first. Although not a widely anticipated vagrant to the region, the species is a short-to medium-distance migrant with records up to 1,500 km outside of its normal range – although its occurrence in Turkey would shatter all previous records. Virtually unknown in captivity, the species’ distribution overlaps with European Bee-eater’s during the austral summer and, in theory, there is nothing to suggest that it hasn’t arrived with these birds returning to Europe for the summer. It may yet prove to be a record breaker in more ways than…

FLIGHT Paths offers a breathtaking journey through the world of avian migration studies. Authored by Rebecca Heisman, a zoology graduate with career experience in the American Ornithological Society, the book provides a fascinating look at how a disparate group of scientists, enthusiasts, birders and naturalists sought to understand the mechanics of avian long-haul flight. Focus is placed on the last century or so, though earlier enquiries from Native American oral traditions, the writings of Aristotle and the musings of 17th-century British physicist Charles Morton (who theorised that birds must fly to the Moon when they migrated) get a brief mention at the outset. As Heisman points out, this study is not so much about the birds and more about the various humans who conspired over time to better understand long-distance migration.…

IF you’ve ever harboured a desire to delve into the world of recording the wildlife in your garden, besides just the birds, then July is a great month to consider doing so. In particular, this is the perfect time of year to think about trying moth trapping for the first time, with a greater abundance and diversity of species on the wing this month than during any other. In a previous role as a head gardener at a private house in Surrey, one night of moth trapping in the garden using three traps produced an impressive 175 species. But even in a modest-sized garden, you may be surprised by what you find. Someone once said that every day with a moth trap is like Christmas Day. As you open it…

THIS is the time of year when many birds have started or are thinking about a second brood. Some resident species which began breeding early, such as Blackbird, may already be on a third brood. Of our summer visitors, arriving later in the year means that there may only be time for one brood, but early arrivals such as Swallow and House Martin can often fit in a second. Some resident species only have one brood – Blue Tit is an example, and they have a large clutch of 10-12 eggs. The hatching of these is timed to coincide with a flush of caterpillars, which means more of a large brood might survive. A later brood would not have this advantage. There is evidence that climate change may favour multi-brooded…

JULY’S digital edition has plenty of bonus content, including: • Sound recordings of Manx Shearwater; • Film of rare terns; • Footage of fenland species; • Video of July patch targets; • A map of Bardsey Island; • 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/bw-digital to find out more.…

A Song Sparrow on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd, on 9 May had twitchers springing into action. The last easily gettable bird in Britain was one at Seaforth, Lancashire, as far back as October 1994, making this latest individual a major find. Located on the roof of the bird observatory early in the morning, a brilliant co-ordinated effort from observatory staff and local boatmen allowed just over 20 birders to reach the island that day. It proved a tense wait for many that afternoon, with the bird proving mobile between gardens and patches of gorse at the north end of the island. After initially playing hard to get, it put in a stellar performance that evening before day trippers had to depart back to the mainland. A sigh or two of relief…

Unless you’ve been living under a stone you will have seen or heard about the latest new species for Britain by the time this is published: a Grey-headed Lapwing in my home county of Northumberland. You may have actually twitched it, read news stories about it, flicked through a zillion images (some better than others) and endured the selfies or scenic vistas of a hundred-and-one birders taken as they strolled down the ‘road with the view’ to Low Newton scrapes. There have been many words already written about this huge rarity, the journeys undertaken, the views, the finder who, while deserving of credit, is modest enough to know that all finds are chance occurrences. As a dedicated patchbirder as much by circumstance as choice, Gary Woodburn will still be there…

A long-time resident in the Welsh hills, with Welsh-speaking children, David Elias is still only too well aware that he is a newcomer to the ancient farming communities of Snowdonia and the Berwyn Mountains, where he was for many years employed as a conservationist. Now, in a beautifully evocative book, he examines the progress of a Welsh Government scheme to promote environmentally sensitive farming. He brings a deep understanding of what ideally needs to be done for nature conservation, tempered by a close relationship with one hill farmer and the struggles to make ends meet in such a tough environment. There are so many potential conflicts and compromises on both sides: predator control, grouse shooting, overgrazing, undergrazing… There is so much recorded loss of wildlife, chiefly concerning birds, but what…

ONE of the few good things to come out of lockdown was sitting in my London garden first thing in the morning, with a cup of tea and just listening. The lack of traffic meant I could hear birds singing; I could even smell my neighbour’s honeysuckle. Many people commented on how much nicer life was without the ever-present hum of cars. But once the regulations were lifted things just seemed to reset, and all that traffic is back on the roads. One outcome of that unplanned experiment in road traffic reduction was a huge reset in animal behaviour. Birds sang more prominently, roadkill was dramatically reduced and species that generally avoid roads were found in close proximity to them. The relatively new science of road ecology analyses the effects…

Tell us what you think. Write to: The Editor, at: Birdwatch, Warners Group Publications plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH or email editorial@birdwatch.co.uk www.facebook.com/birdwatchmagazine @BirdwatchExtra Successful restoration STEPHEN Waters’s letter regarding aftercare service from optics manufacturers (Birdwatch 371: 67) struck a chord with me. As mentioned by him, Swarovski Optik does have an excellent reputation in this area, but I have been astounded by the service I received from Leica recently. I returned my 8x20 binoculars to them as they had become very stiff in the bridge, and similarly rigid in the eyecups. I received regular email updates as my ‘bins’ progressed through Leica’s system and when they were dispatched to the main service centre in Portugal. They were returned after a full service had been completed,…

There comes a point in any community where you earn a reputation, something you are associated with. No, not like that. On Scilly, I am known as ‘seal girl’. As a Marine Mammal Medic, I am one of the people called upon to wrestle sick baby Grey Seals into bags and help the vet stick thermometers up their bums. This reputation has expanded, and I have assisted an injured Peregrine Falcon and a Short-eared Owl, two feral cats and assorted nestling passerines. Most recently, I was asked if I could stop a territorial Blackbird from attacking the owners of the flat on which it was nesting. With so many amazing birders on Scilly, for years I avoided questions about identification. This has, worryingly, been changing of late. ‘It was sitting…

Everything felt somewhat delayed this May, with the overall tallies of spring migrants seemingly decreasing year on year. It was a period where unsettled and often cold weather dominated, with migration failing to gain any real rhythm before a welcome late push of waders and Black Terns. However, May will be remembered fondly for some absolutely monster finds, including yet another British first. A national first on a Bank Holiday Monday is a sure-fire hit no matter what the species, although few would have anticipated the jaw-dropping discovery of a Grey-headed Lapwing at Low Newton-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, from 1st. Unsurprisingly, it proved the most popular bird of the year to date by some distance, raising £1,443 for a local nature reserve in the process. After its departure on 8th, a Scottish…

Bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover? Not on your nelly, unless it’s the mega-twitch of the millennium. Vera Lynn, the British Armed Forces’ ‘sweetheart’, sang this popular World War II song probably unaware that bluebirds are New World natives. Let’s point the finger of blame at Walter Kent and Nat Burton, the American lyricists who wrote the song, for not doing their homework. This unintended gaffe brings me to my beef about inaccuracies – some would say blunders – of cinema and television as to where in the world certain birds (and various other animals and plants) should be. Picture this. You have settled down to watch a blockbuster film on the TV, and there is a dramatic chase happening in a forest in upstate New York. You are…

◾ In the last 10 years has your membership size changed? LARGER.........................................................47% SMALLER.......................................................27% NO CHANGE...................................................27% ◾ Same question, but in the last three years (ie since COVID-19)? LARGER.........................................................53% SMALLER.......................................................16% NO CHANGE...................................................31% ◾ What offer (if any) do you make for young members? FREE..............................................................43% REDUCED......................................................37% NO OFFER......................................................20% ◾ How is attendance at your indoor meetings changing? RISING...........................................................19% FALLING.........................................................34% NO CHANGE...................................................47% ◾ Have you offered Zoom talks in recent years? YES BUT NOT NOW.........................................30% YES STILL DOING............................................49% NO.................................................................23% ◾ How is attendance at your outings changing? RISING...........................................................25% FALLING.........................................................15% NO CHANGE...................................................61% ◾ Do you actively promote BTO surveys? YES................................................................84% NO.................................................................16% ◾ Do you organise your own surveys? YES................................................................76% NO.................................................................24% ◾ Is it getting harder to recruit volunteers for key committee roles? HARDER.........................................................57% EASIER............................................................4% NO CHANGE...................................................39% ◾ Do you ever support research or conservation…

◾ Great Fen, Cambridgeshire: a vast area of fenland including the reserves of Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen. ◾ Lakenheath Fen RSPB, Suffolk: transformed carrot fields, now home to Eurasian Bitterns and Common Cranes. Can be a very good spot to watch Eurasian Hobbies. ◾ Ouse Washes RSPB, Cambridgeshire: numerous hides allow views over the vast floodplains. Excellent for wildfowl in winter. ◾ Welney WWT, Norfolk: a heated hide for swan feeds in winter; the adjacent Lady Fen is a good migrant wader spot. ◾ Willow Tree Fen LWT, Lincolnshire: a viewing area looks over the entire site and gives a great chance of seeing breeding Common Crane. ◾ Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire: one of Britain’s oldest nature reserves, with more than 9,000 species of wildlife recorded.…

Your trusted guide to what’s new in birding: www.birdguides.com/reviews REVIEW Canon Powershot ZOOM AT only 145 g and 10 cm in length, the Canon Powershot ZOOM is a truly pocket-sized telephoto zoom digital monocular, as well as a still and video camera. You can use it to watch wildlife as well as take photos and video of what you see, and it’s hard to imagine a smaller, lighter and simpler-to-use tool that performs these functions. As a digital monocular the Powershot ZOOM works quite nicely. The 2.36-megapixel electronic viewfinder (EVF) is bright, sharp, and steady thanks to image stabilisation, though suffers from noise in poor light. Unsurprisingly, the quality and comfort of the view can’t compete with an optical monocular or pair of compact binoculars. Focusing is only automatic, with…

REBECCA ARMSTRONG has a wide-ranging interest in all wildlife. She worked for Birdwatch for 14 years. KIT DAY is a Suffolk-based birder who has been photographing wildlife at home and abroad for more than two decades. JOSH JONES is Editor of Birdwatch. He has been an ardent birder since a young age, with a particular fondness for waders and gulls. KAREN JONES is a Professor of History at the University of Kent, with an interest in animal studies and the environment.…

A team of US researchers has made a surprising discovery concerning the capabilities of long-distance migrant songbirds. Migrating passerines, which make non-stop flights of more than 1,500 km between their breeding and wintering ranges, fuel themselves by burning lots of fat and a surprising amount of the protein making up lean body mass, including muscle, early in the flight. This is in direct contrast to conventional wisdom, which had assumed that migrating birds only ramped up protein consumption at the very end of their journeys because they would need to use every ounce of muscle for wing-flapping, not fuel. The results of the work appeared recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Birds are amazing animals,” said Cory Elowe, the paper’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in biology…

◾ Reintroductions past, present and future Initiatives to restore populations of extirpated birds have become a familiar conservation tactic in recent decades. Matt Phelps explores the varying successes of these projects and ponders what might be next. ◾ The rise of Frampton Marsh Less than two decades ago, this RSPB-owned south Lincolnshire reserve was a collection of uninspiring agricultural fields. Now, it is one of the finest birding sites in the country. Warden Toby Collett profiles this special site and considers why its creation has been such a success. ◾ Skull school How much do you know about birds’ skulls? Amy Schwartz provides an introduction to the anatomy of skulls and bills, and looks at some of the fascinating adaptations that have evolved. ◾ Field ID notes This month’s guide…