The Wryneck: FRENCH CURLEW EXPERT AMONG SPEAKERS AT LINCOLNSHIRE BIRD CONFERENCE

Speakers (from left Mike Drew, John Clarkson Teresa Frost, Nicolas Watts, Andy Sims and Phil Espin (morning session chairman)

EVENT CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF COUNTY BIRD CLUB

THE eagerly-awaited Lincolnshire Bird Club-BTO conference did not disappoint.

Held on January 26 at the education centre at Whisby Nature Park, near Lincoln, there was a sell-out attendance of 80-plus delegates who were treated to absorbing presentations from no fewer than nine speakers.

The event also featured stands and stalls staged by the LBC, the BTO, the Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Anglian Water, Vine House Farm bird foods and York-based Second Nature, a husband-and-wife firm specialising in rare and out-of-print books.

There was also an excellent buffet lunch (thanks to catering by Natural World Centre) and a raffle which raised £140 with the proceeds shared between the LBC and the BTO.

The conference was expertly organised by Chris Gunn, of the BTO, and jointly chaired by Phil Espin (LBC chairman/ BTO Lincolnshire East representative) and Mike Daly (BTO Lincolnshire West representative).

Reports below by Jim Wright.

Lucas Mander: Wintering curlew in the Humber Estuary

Lucas Mander - eminent French ecologist

Based on his work on the Humber Estuary, French ornithologist Lucas Mander, a researcher at Hull University, provided fascinating insights into the winter behaviour and movements of the curlew.

This is an iconic species but, globally, one that is in decline.

Although various factors, including weather, come into play, he revealed that the shorter-billed males are more likely than females to relocate from mudflats to adjacent grassland or farm fields, especially in harsh weather.

This is because their bills are not so long as those of females, and thus they find it easier to probe for earthworms than than, say, estuary lugworms which lie deeper and beyond easy feeding reach.

On the prowl - a Humber Estuary curlew

There was no response (expect ironic laughter) when Lucas asked for a show of hands from anyone who had seen either an eskimo curlew or a slender-billed curlew - not surprising given that both are so critically endangered that they may already be extinct.

Happily, the survival threat to the Eurasian curlews that occur in estuaries throughout much of Europe are nowhere near as great, but climate change and other pressures mean that there is no cause for complacency.

Lucas is an ecologist with expertise across a range of marine as well as estuarine species, but curlew are the focus of his ongoing studies for a PhD studies.

Although pretty well fluent in English, he preceded his fascinating presentation with a quip. “I apologise for not having a local accent.”

Nicholas Watts: 40 years of the Lincolnshire Bird Club

The first days of the LBC were recalled by founder-member Nicholas Watts who described how its first meeting was held at Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory in 1979.

It was a breakaway from the Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union, with the members preferring a focus on birds and a more fun-based approach.

Not that the joviality always prevailed. Nicholas remembered the first vice-chairman, Bob Sheppard, once describing the membership as “a dour lot - not easy to motivate”.

The first chairman was Chris Whittles who was supported by a committee which also included secretary Robin Goodall, treasurer John Owen and recorder Keith Atkin. Meanwhile, Eric Simm was president.

Later, Nicholas himself served on the committee whose meeting sometimes lasted so long that he did not get home until midnight.

“As I’m a morning sort of person, my committee days did not last long,” he quipped.

Other milestones in the LBC’s 40 years include the opening, in the mid-1980s, of its Cut End bird hide at Boston - an occasion marked by a visit from broadcaster Mike Clegg who cut the first slice of a special hide-shaped cake that had been baked by Steve Keightley’s mother-in-law.

A farmer and birdseed supplier, Nicholas enjoys a national reputation for bird-encouragement initiatives with buntings, finches, tree sparrows and other species on his farm at Deeping St James near Spalding.

Yellowhammer - plentiful on Nicolas Watts' Lincolnshire farm

In one year, 2014, a remarkable 86 barn owls were hatched - a phenomenon sadly not repeated the following year.

“There was not a single breeding success,” he said. “There were too few voles.

“Food is always the driver for birds to flourish. If a species is declining, it is a sure sign that food is running out.”

Andy Sims: Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers

Fascinating insights into the breeding behaviour of a pair of lesser-spotted woodpeckers came from LBC member Andy Sims.

In both 2015 and 2016, their nest was a hole excavated (between 7am and 9am over 10 days) by the male in a dead horse chestnut tree just 250 metres from his home on the outskirts of Lincoln.

The tree is on the edge of a path favoured by dog-walkers who regularly used to stop and chat just underneath it, but not to the distress of the lessers - they just kept calm and carried on.

Lesser-spotted woodpecker

Fortunately, a resident squirrel, a potential predator, overlooked the nest as did a great spotted woodpecker that sometimes visited the same tree

Six young were successfully reared the first year, with three the next year.

The male returned in 2017 and excavated a new hole but he brought with him no mate - female lessers are noted for switching partner- allegiance, sometimes within the same season, and she may have found a replacement.

Last summer, drumming was heard in various parts of the same locality, but the breeding site, if any, was not traced.

Andy expressed huge admiration for the birds, not least the skilful, almost sculptured, way the cavity had been excavated and the dilgence of the parents in feeding their chicks, occasionally bring back fat (most unusual for lessers) as well as grubs.

Their foraging was not necessarily close at hand. They seemed to travel relatively long distances from the nest.

Fingers crossed they might return this year, but any long term prospects look uncertain, not least because the site and its surroundings have been earmarked for development.

Hugh Dorrington: Planting woodlands and hedgerows for birds

There is much more to creating a wood than just planting trees.

That was one of the messages from Hugh, BTO regional representative for Lincolnshire South and an authority on what types of woodland best accommodate a range both of bird species and the insects which feed them.

Lincolnshire suffers from being one of the least wooded counties in one of Europe’s least wooded countries.

This can be a disadvantage to species such as woodcocks as they seek habitat after migrating here in autumn and winter.

Hugh described an incident in Suffolk where, having bagged no fewer than 200 birds in a single woodland, wildfowlers assumed, falsely, that the species must be commonplace.

In reality, shortage of suitable habitat meant that the birds had been forced to congregate in one of the few sites available.

Woodland - vital habitat for woodcock

Hugh offered tips on woodland-creation, describing one successful project where a one-hectare site planted in 2000 had matured to the extent that, last summer, it accommodated no fewer than 50 breeding pairs of a range of songbirds.

It is evidently crucial to avoid creating ‘monoculture’ plantations of the same or similar tree species.

Diversity is the key, with a mixture of ‘pioneer’ fast-growers, such as silver birch, underplanted by both canopy trees, such as hazel, and also lower-growers.

Such a blend, further enhanced by the inevitable incursion of a mixture of other vegetation, provides a continuation of flowers and hence the insects necessary to feed breeding songbirds in spring and summer.

Then, in autumn and winter, there will also be seeds, berries and nuts to tide them over the colder months.

John Clarkson: Birds of Covenham Reservoir

Covenham Reservoir between Grimsby and Louth is never going to win any awards for its scenic beauty, nor for its sense of welcome.

In winter, it is sometimes the coldest place in Lincolnshire and in spring and summer it is often bedevilled by swarms of large flies.

A substantial body of water - view across the reservoir

Yet, as John Clarkson’s entertaining presentation confirmed, it enjoys an excellent reputation for attracting ducks, geese, gulls, grebes, divers, waders and other species, some of them real rarities.

Considering the fairly limited range of vegetation, it is remarkable that there have been sightings of no fewer than 27 different species of butterfly.

Once you climb up the 70 steps from the car park, you never know what surprises lie on the other side of the concrete walls.

John’s presentation included his own impressive photos of some real stunners - Terek sandpiper, American black tern, little gull, black-throated diver, Slavonian grebe, red-necked phalarope and many more.

Little stint - seen on passage in most years

Construction of the reservoir started in 1963, and it was formally opened in 1972 by Princess Alexandra.

Originally it came under the auspices of the North East Lincolnshire Water Board but it is now part of the huge portfolio of Anglian Water.

Despite its reputation, it is visited relatively infrequently by birders unless word gets out about a special ‘find’ - say a pectoral sandpiper or a long-tailed duck. Then it is liable to become a magnet.

John paid tribute to all those birders who have kept bird records over the past six decades - in particular Keith Robinson who, since retirement, has been making visits some 250 times a year.

On the downside, watersports enthusiasts, who also use the site are not always mindful of their responsibility to respect the birds.

In particular, at least one jetskier seems to make a point of targeting flocks of waterborne ducks and gulls just for the ‘delight’ of seeing them take flight in panic.

David Bird: Lincolnshire’s Grey Partridges

Time was when you could hardly pass a field without seeing grey partridges.

In the 1930s, the species’ UK population totalled more than a million pairs.

How different now. The number has fallen to no more than about 45,000 pairs, of which 30 per cent are reckoned to be in Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Nottinghamshire.

Grey partridge - a species in alarming decline

Nor are prospects for recovery particularly bright. Imminent Brexit will lead to a loss of £3-billion farming subsidies from the EU and farmland stewardship schemes will come under threat.

However, David Bird, of the Lincolnshire Grey Partnership Group, is pulling out all the stops to ensure the welfare of the species stays on the farmland bird agenda.

In his purposeful talk, he outlined the latest initiatives and expressed hopes that farmers - supported by birders - would participate in active surveying.

Teresa Frost: Counting Wintering Waterbirds - the Wetland Bird Survey

Teresa Frost - organiser of the BTO's WeBS programme

A valuable update on this important project came from Dr Frost who has been crunching data for the BTO over the past three years.

A mathematician with degrees from Aberystwyth, York and Kent universities, she provided a fascinating historical perspective on our relationship with waterfowl - noting how Lincolnshire once accommodated colossal populations of overwintering ducks and waders.

Writings of 17th Century ornithologists describe how many hundreds of thousands were killed annually for dispatch to city markets.

That widespread slaughter is no longer the main threat - to a large extent it has been replaced by industrial development and climate change.

Teresa quoted a controversial comment made in 1978 by a Government adviser, Sir Herman Bondi: “It is not nice to have large expanses of mudflats.”

At the time, this sparked vehement protest from the BTO who pointed out that such habitat is invaluable to millions of birds of many species.

Such was Teresa’s inspirational presentation that some delegates are now likely to sign up as surveyors for WeBS - the long-established wetland bird counting project run jointly by the BTO, the RSPB and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

The information amassed has provided crucial indications of population trends and is consulted by numerous organisations - for instance, the Government when it wants to get a handle on any outbreak of avian flu.

In her talk, Teresa came up with a succession of nuggets of information - for example, that redshanks typically travel 16m a day and curlews 10km a day.

Carl Barimore: The BTO Nest Record Scheme

Carl Barimore - the BTO's bird nest supremo

Although it tends not to be as well known as some of the BTO’s other projects, the Nest Record Scheme has an illustrious history dating back 80 years.

Over that period, it has accumulated an invaluable body of research on the nesting behaviour of many, if not most of our breeding birds.

In his presentation, Carl Barimore, who has been with the BTO for the past 10 years, detailed the key information required - the geographical location of the nest, the precise site within that location and the progress/ outcome of the nesting activity.

He stressed the importance of complying with a code of conduct stipulating that observers must cause no damage to the nest, must not cause desertion and must not reveal the nest site to the predator.

Carl described some of the techniques of tracking hard-to-find nests - such as ‘tapping off’ which requires the use of a long pole to pinpoint nests in reedbeds.

Female reed bunting - its nests are usually out of sight

Nationwide, the three species for which most data has been recorded are: great tit, blue tit and, perhaps surprisingly, barn owl.

Species whose nests are currently under-recorded in Lincolnshire

include: Mute swan, little grebe, collared dove, song thrush, dunnock, chaffinch, goldfinch, starling, house martin and long-tailed tit.

Mike Drew: Protecting and Enhancing Wildlife in Eastern England

Mike Drew - stag beetle fan

Businesses often take the rap for disregarding the welfare of wildlife in their activities.

A notable exception is Anglian Water which devotes considerable time and resources to providing a refuge for birds, butterflies, wildflowers and the rest of the environment.

Within its portfolio of sites in eastern England, it currently accommodates no fewer than 57 hides.

It even has its own biodiversity action plan scientist, Mike Drew who gave a whistlestop tour of some particularly notable sites, starting with Tetney Blow Wells - once noted for commercial production of water cress which was even supplied to the Ritz Hotel in London on the basis of having been grown in ‘virgin water’.

As far as wildlife is concerned, Anglian’s flagship is Rutland Water - a ‘crown jewel’ which, in winter, is reckoned to accommodate some 30,000 wetland birds.

Mike reminded the conference that the water is also home to a famous osprey breeding project which has seen some 147 chicks reared since 2001.

Another very important site is Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, home to breeding nightingales whose progress, including their migration to Sierra Leone, has been successfully tracked in a project co-ordinated by the BTO.

Worryingly, as elsewhere in England, their population crashed last year - from nine singing males to just one - and it is by no means guaranteed that any will return this spring.

Mike is a bird ringer, but he confessed to long having had a special admiration for an insect that it took 30 years for him to see his first specimen.

He confided: “When I was about six, I saw in a book a picture of a stag beetle.

“Ever since, I have always considered it to be just one amazing beetle!”