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| Watching out for waxwings - could we see a late-winter irruption? |
More than 130 logged in to last Saturday's virtual conference organised jointly by the BTO and the Lincolnshire Bird Club and held via Zoom.
In his introduction, LBC chairman Phil Espin commended co-organiser Chris Gunn for her passion, drive and organisational flair.
He went on to express delight that attendees were logged in from all over England, plus one in the Isle of Man.
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| Phil Espin |
Phil went on to publicise his club's latest publication, Lincolnshire Bird Atlas 1980-1999: An Historical Perspective and its forthcoming sister-volume, Birds of Lincolnshire, due out next month.
Then he handed over to Dawn Balmer who expertly chaired the proceedings.
Jenny Gill
The impressive population expansion of black-tailed godwits in Iceland and the UK was the focus of a presentation by Prof Jenny Gill, chairperson of the BTO board.
This surge has been measured not so much by technology as by old-fashion colour-ringing carried out by observers - "godwiteers" - across Europe.
Apart from providing pointers to distribution and migration, this methodology has revealed that some birds live into their early 20s.
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| Jenny Gill |
The species appears to have been a beneficiary of global warming.
New breeding habitat has appeared in parts of Iceland that were formerly too cold, and egg-laying dates are now earlier.
And research has revealed that chicks hatched earlier are more likely to survive - possibly because quicker-growing grass conceals nestlings and eggs alike from predators such as Arctic foxes, ravens and skuas.
The breeding success has resulted in a "dramatic increase" in migrating and over-wintering birds in British estuaries.
Most of those seen further south and west are likely to be older birds while those in Eastern England are predominantly first-winter newbies.
Any downsides? Apart from predators, the main threat is ash thrown from erupting Icelandic volcanoes which is likely to kill the invertebrates on which godwits feed.
In concluding, Jenny referred to an authoritative and entertaining blog:
https://wadertales.wordpress.com
John Badley
Fascinating insights into the management of the RSPB reserve at Frampton Marsh, near Boston in Lincolnshire, came from senior site manager John Badley who is also a Lincolnshire Bird Club member.
John took over the reins some 20 years ago having previously worked alongside shorebird expert Peter Potts in The Solent, the strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland.
The site at Frampton was first earmarked by the charity as a superb location for a reserve largely on the basis of its massive saltmarsh which has always attracted huge numbers of redshank, Brent geese and various species of raptor.
Since its creation in 1984, funding from a National Lottery grant has enabled expansion of the site, allowing creation of freshwater habitat with water that is pumped in from ditches to sit atop the silt-clay base.
A peat-rich soil would probably be preferable - not least for encouraging black-tailed godwits to nest - but, notwithstanding, the reserve has been a huge success, both for birds and for birders (more than 50,000 visitors a year).
On the subject of waders, John said: "We can't make them come to Frampton but we can encourage them to want to stay."
Apparently scrapes are relatively straightforward and inexpensive to create, and, in these, nesting avocets quickly became established.
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| John Badley |
In a short space of time, there were no fewer than 100 pairs either at Frampton or, subsequently, at its sister reserve at nearby Freiston Shore.
These flourished early on because rotting vegetation attracted invertebrates.
However, as expected, their numbers dipped in later years because an increase in fish provided competition for the invertebrates.
John introduced a concept that was probably unfamiliar to many of the conference attendees - that of the "hydrological unit"
For the sake of diversity it is preferable to have a variety of watery habitats rather than one alone.
Managing such units needs to be rigorously monitored but it has consistently paid off in attracting large numbers of a huge wetland species - from whooper swans to little ringed plovers (19 pairs at the last count) to lekking ruff at the end of May.
Known as "dynamic transient management", the methodology , which involves rotating scrapes and intermittently allowing them to lie fallow, then flooding them, is scrupulously plotted.
The dividends come in the form of one mouth-watering rarity after another.
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| Stilt sandpiper and red-necked phalarope |
Enthused John: "Stilt sandpiper, red-necked phalarope, black-winged pratincole . . . . we live for moments like this.
Inevitably, every day brings new challenges.
Proliferation of reed rush is an issue but John and his team believe the proposed introduction of grazing Highland cattle could has help to tackle it.
But the beasts will have to be managed or they are liable to trample on ground-based nests.
New Zealand pygmy weed is also a nuisance because it loves to colonise bare mud - the very type of habitat favoured by many small waders.
Meanwhile, foxes, badgers and even otters present an ever-lurking menace to birds, so mammal proof fencing has been installed at those points of the reserve deemed most vulnerable.
The team at Frampton are always learning, and they swap ideas and notes with other RSPB reserves such as those at Minsmere, Titchwell and Dungeness
"We're never satisfied," says John. "We're always tweaking."
Any prediction of which wader species might next choose to breed at this fabulous Lincolnshire reserve?
"Who knows," says he. "Glossy ibis is on the cards. And maybe black winged stilt - yes that, too, is definitely on our radar."
Dawn Balmer
Dawn Balmer, who is head of surveys at the BTO's HQ at Thetford in Norfolk, focused her presentation on how birding records are collated across Europe by a range of organisations
It was enlightening to see the extent to which species populations in Britain are mirrored by those in other parts of continental Europe.
For instance, while willow warblers are in decline, blackcaps are increasing.
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| Dawn Balmer |
Particularly fascinating was Dawn's exploration of the online Europe Bird Portal which captures the densities of bird distribution at any given time.
Most swallows, for instance, are just beginning their migration north but some have already reached France, with a few even further north.
Because it is such an iconic species - and obviously of particular interest to conference attendees - Dawn swooped on the waxwing.
So far, though currently widespread in Finland and Sweden, this delightful bird has been sparsely distributed in Britain for most of this winter.
But could all that be about to change?
With heavy snow blanketing much of Scandinavia, waxwings may yet soon be on their way to our shores, encouraged by the imminent winds blowing in from the North and the East.
Simon Gillings
Things that go 'tseep' in the night - that was the intriguing title of the presentation from Simon Gillings of the BTO.
It proved to be a fascinating run-through of the extraordinary range of birds he has audio-recorded after dark at his home in a relatively built-up area on the outskirts of Cambridge.
Over the past couple of decades, the advent of advanced listening and recording technology has increased the popularity of monitoring 'nocmig' - nocturnal migration.
It may lack the poetry of listening out for the call-notes of redwings or seeking to detect the silhouettes of birds as they fly across the face of a full moon.
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| Simon Gillings |
But it has a romance of its own - and is definitely more efficient.
"Nocmig has definitely taken off over the past few years," said Simon. "It has been especially popular during lockdown. It has given a new dimension to birding"
For him, it all started on March 15, 2017, when the species that drew his attention was a calling moorhen.
This has proved to be something of a regular 'night-owl', with birds - apparently participating in territorial flights - heard almost every night in spring and summer.
But more remarkable have been some of the other species - the likes of whimbrel, quail, whooper swan, ring ouzel, little grebe, spotted redshank and even sandwich tern.
Although redwings are frequently picked up, fieldfares seem to be more silent at night, while warblers are virtually mute.
Unfortunately, the equipment that records the bird is unable to detect the height of the birds - for that, radar would be required.
At the last count, Simon had logged no fewer than 87 different species over his home - not to mention quite a few that, to date, remain unidentified.
"One of these is possibly an ortolan bunting," he says ruefully. "But along with a fair few others, it remains in the file marked 'Pending'.
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| Black-tailed godwit - watch out for colour-ringed birds |
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