Diary for 2007
It was dark, the storm was at its height, the wind roared through the leafless trees sending branches crashing on to our windscreen, the road was strewn with debris, a piece of broken fence bounced off the bonnet. We wondered if we would make it – but make it we did, to the first indoor WVBS meeting of the year at Weston Longville. Despite the weather (or maybe because of it) over 50 members turned up for David Pelling’s presentation on the birds of Florida. As to be expected some excellent pictures of exotic species including the striking plumage of the anhinga, the brilliant red cardinal and the close ups of fearsome looking alligators having an afternoon nap. Our field trip was to Welney and the Ouse washes, a strange and remote flat land of waterways, rich black soil and Turner skies. Welney’s new eco-friendly visitor centre was well worth a visit to watch the daily feeding of thousands of swans, ducks and other water birds observed from the centrally heated observatory. To start the day we stopped at
It was extra chairs again for our second meeting at Weston Longville Village Hall. Over 60 people turned up to hear John Clifton’s presentation on the wildlife of Shetland. Having lived there for several years John was able to bring the island to life with a series of slides showing the island in all its moods. Now accessible by air from Stanstead, his description of the abundant wildlife, rugged landscape and coastline and 19 hours of midsummer daylight had many of us planning our first trip.
We had a good turn out for our field trip to Hickling Broad. We walked from Potter Heigham Church to the South side of the broad. Finishing up with a visit to the watch tower which gave spectacular views over the reserve. After lunch we went to the Raptor roost watchpoint at Stubbs Mill where we had fine views of Marsh Harriers and Common cranes coming in to spend the night in the safety of the reed beds. In all a fairly good day with about 45-50 species seen.
March 2007
When we were youngsters, some 50 years ago, we collected stamps and birds eggs. I still have my stamps but I am happy to report that my egg collection has long gone. Which is just as well after hearing Nicholas Crampton, a lawyer from the Crown Prosecution Service, who gave a talk on Fighting Wildlife Crime. Nicholas, who has ten years experience of prosecuting wildlife crime, outlined the various acts which have been introduced for the protection of wildlife starting as far back as 1822. He listed a range of threatened species which come under the act such as Badgers, Bats, Raptors and also plants, such as Bluebells and Snowdrops. Penalties for wildlife crime have become more severe and a recent case of a 6 year jail sentence handed down for trafficking in endangered birds of prey, was given as an example. Nicholas also spoke about protection laws in the Mediterranean particularly
The Wensum Valley Project, established in 1988 to conserve wildlife, were very supportive of us when we formed our society. They have now decided to become a charitable trust to take over the work of the Wensum Valley project and would welcome anyone with an interest in the Wensum Valley to help launch this exciting new start for the trust. More information can be found on .wensumvalleyproject.org.uk .
April 2007
AGM time again and president Alwyn Jackson gave a short address reviewing the events of the past year. He mentioned the continual growth of the Society which has expanded to over one hundred members, the move to Weston Longville, with its easy access and parking resulting in more people turning up to indoor meetings and the successful launch of the Tern Raft project. The committee was thanked for their efforts over the past year and, before they had a chance to get to the exit, were promptly voted back in for another term.
The Cuckoo: In mid to late April the cuckoo arrives and is traditionally reported in the letters pages of the Times newspaper. We also announce the first sound of the cuckoo but we do it on our Yahoo e-group site. This year the first one was heard on 23rd April, at Lenwade followed by a report of nightingales singing on the 28th, also at Lenwade.
Ray Kimber, currently an RSPB volunteer at Titchwell, gave an illustrated talk on ‘ Pilanesberg National Park’. Ray’s excellent slides of the flora and fauna of the area prompted me to look it up their website, www.pilanesberggamereserve.com . The reserve is described as an artificially created wildlife park in the crater of a long extinct volcano in the northern part of
I am one of the 540 million people who do not admit to watching the Eurovision Song Competition, and anyway we wuz robbed. It would have been far better on the nerves to attend our annual sojourn into the early morning mist to hear the delights of the Dawn Chorus. No strobe lights, no fireworks, just a peaceful walk in the tranquil setting of Sparham Pools with several experts on hand to separate the myriad of sounds (with some polite disagreement) and at the end of it all an agreeably priced, high cholesterol bacon buttie – a sort of reward for early rising and completing the course. Put a date in your diary for next May. Douze points.
Thanks to Steven Cale, the bird artist, who gave us a talk on the wildlife of Ethiopia at our indoor meeting. An excellent talk made more interesting coming from the perspective of an artist.
Wild About the Wensum we took part in this special event which was hosted by the Conservation trust at Pensthorpe. Chairman of the trust, Professor David Bellamy OBE (whilst leaning against our stand) officially opened the event which sought to highlight the importance of the Wensum Valley and those organisations who work to preserve it. Congratulations to the organisers and participating groups for a very well organised and stimulating day and, judging by the attendance, of more interest than the FA Cup final which was on at the same time.
June 2007
Each year in June we have an evening expedition in search of the elusive nightjar, and each year I have missed it – until this year. So this is a first hand report. Twenty five members and friends met at the Marsham Arms for some wholesome pub cuisine, a chat and some fortification before setting out for Marsham Heath. At the heath we walked a short distance from the car park to the edge of a clearing where the midges were waiting for us in the gathering dusk. It was eerily quiet and still with the exception of an occasional woodcock silhouetted against the late evening sky. Then the unmistakable churring sound of the nightjar was heard, soon to be followed by fleeting glances of the bird in noiseless, erratic flight occasionally hovering in front of us as if checking us out. The white marking of the male were clearly visible even in the rapidly fading light. Several birds were spotted, if you were quick. No need, or time, for binoculars as they appeared and disappeared all around us until darkness brought the proceedings to a halt. A rare and unusual encounter. Thanks to Ray Gribble for introducing us to the nightjar, and providing the insect repellent.
July 2007
At least once a year the WVBS puts on a demonstration of bird ringing. This year we were invited to watch Ray Gribble and Allan Hale, our veteran ringers, at a ringing session on Whitwell Common. Bird ringing involves placing a lightweight metal ring, which has a unique number, around a bird’s leg. The ring is subsequently used to provide a stack of information on bird populations, migration patterns, survival rates and much more. According to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) web page, we have been ringing birds in
Among the birds captured were Marsh Tit, Reed Bunting, and Reed Warbler which were originally ringed in July 2004. The Marsh Tit and Reed Bunting will not have traveled far from the Common in the intervening period but the Reed Warbler will have traveled to sub-Saharan Africa and back 3 times – a remarkable achievement. Everyone who attended the demo thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially the opportunity to see the birds at close quarters.
August 2007
When we learnt that our scheduled speaker was unable to get to our August meeting we hurriedly switched to plan B. Plan B, in the form of WVBS member Allan Hale, stepped in at the eleventh hour with a talk, entitled ‘Tigers before Ten’. This was an account of his recent trip to
It seems hard to believe that when we visited Minsmere in July 2006 all the inland lakes had dried up and wading birds were thin on the ground. In stark contrast, on this year’s visit we learnt that the exceptionally wet summer has led to severe flooding which has been a disaster for the Bittern’s breeding season. Is it me or is the weather getting more extreme. Thanks to Bill Shepherd for organising the trip.
September 2007
For our September indoor meeting we were fortunate to have the services of Jed Andrews who gave us a talk on ‘A year at the Holme reserve’. Jed is the warden of the Norfolk Ornithological Association (NOA) reserve at Holme in North Norfolk, one of five reserves managed by the NOA across Norfolk. Being a birdwatching society we expected pictures of birds and we were not disappointed, but as a bonus we were introduced to a range of moths trapped on site, plants, flowers, birdwatching on a sea cruise, a cricket match and even a trip in a Bugatti. An entertaining and engaging talk supplemented with some excellent pictures. This was followed by a trip to the Holme Reserve on the following Sunday. This was well supported by the members despite the early start to catch the tide. In perfect weather we visited a hide, did a seawatch and watched a demonstration of ringing, an activity which is carried out in impressive numbers at this reserve. Highlights were a yellow browed warbler, a barred warbler and several Gannets. Many thanks to Jed for making us welcome, it was an interesting and informative experience and also to John Horseman for leading the trip.
October 2007
I understand that there was a full house for Allan Hale, back on form at our indoor meeting, with a spiffing presentation on ‘ Trinidad and Tobago’. Sadly I missed it - but I know a man who was there. I am indebted to one of our stalwart members, Derek Harvey, for the following report. ‘When we saw Alan’s fantastic technicolour Carib shirt (sunglasses required) little did we realise that even this would be outshone by the sheer brilliance of the coloured bird plumage. Perfect, almost 3D, pictures of some truly amazing tropical birds in real life. The incredible range of pure, stunning colour. Alan’s computer/projector did not miss a single pixel, or perhaps I should say feather. And to top it all, Alan gave us the names of every bird. Many I had never seen or heard of before’. Our penultimate trip for 2007 was to East Norfolk when 20 or so members met in ideal weather for a trip around the Horsey Mill area followed by a visit to Waxham after lunch. The Species of note were several marsh harriers, a peregrine, a black redstart and a purple sandpiper. November 2007 We welcomed International wildlife film-maker Mike Linley to our last Indoor meeting of 2007. Mike gave us a preview of a new series of DVDs his company has produced covering the natural history of East Anglia. The short extracts were compelling viewing, clearly the results of many hours of painstaking effort to produce such excellent quality pictures.
For our last field trip of the year we visited Salthouse beach and Cley. At Salthouse beach we had excellent views of Lapland Buntings and Snow Buntings feeding on the marsh a few feet away. Then on to the East Bank of Cley Reserve where a Water Rail was spotted immediately in front of the hide and a Pomarine Skua feeding on the carcass of a Pike. By this time the lazy wind (one which goes through you rather than round) had reduced the group to a hardy few who walked along the storm battered shingle ridge to North Hide where they were rewarded with superb views of a flock of 40+ Snow Buntings. An excellent day’s birding led by Ray Gribble. December 2007The end of the year and time to relax: Around 55 members braved the frost and fog to attend our Christmas Social where we enjoyed some excellent food, a decent, made-on-the-spot punch, a quiz or two, good companionship and of course the inevitable raffle. It was clear that a lot of preparation had been done ahead of the party, so many thanks for all the hard work put in by the organisers to make it a memorable occasion. In all a fitting end to another successful year for the society.
Colin Wright
Tags: norfolk birdwatching, wvbs, bird watching