No 53 - Winter 2015

Thanks to the benign weather in the spring and summer of 2014, birds in the UK en-joyed a bumper breeding season. Not all our migrant birds returned however, according to the BTO, although those that did also benefitted from the good breeding condi-tions this year. For more details see www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/nrs/results/nrs-preliminary-results-2014. 

CONTENTS Chairman’s Chat p3 Bird report p4 Reserves report p8 Picture Perfect p10 Looe Island p14 Swans p16 Field Meetings p18 Get to know p 20

If you haven’t paid your 2015 subscription yet, please contact our Membership Sec asap to do so. Many thanks and Happy New Year.

Subs time!

Adrian Langdon, warden of Walmsley Sanc-tuary, showcases some of his favourite bird photos in a new Palores feature ‘Picture Perfect’ on page 10. Thanks to Adrian for sharing his wonderful shots. Future editions of Palores will feature the work of other bird photographers in Cornwall. Adrian’s most recent travels have included a very chilly Norway—see below.

Ornithology history Top bird photographs Colin Rees, right, an old friend of renowned Cornish ornithologist Roger Penhallurick, is writing a history of Cornish ornithol-ogy. Roger had conceived the pro-ject but died before he could begin it. Colin has taken on the challenge, see page 3. Colin is the co-author with Derek Thomas of Birds of a Feather.

Black Guillemot in Padstow harbour, 14th December 2014, photo by Brian Mellow

A minimum of 5.25 trillion particles of plastic, weighing nearly 269,000 tonnes, are

estimated to be floating in the world’s oceans. New research concludes that pieces of plastic primarily from food and drink packaging amass an equivalent weight of 1,415 Blue Whales put together, yet is

mainly made up of ‘micro-plastics’ measur-ing less than 5mm. 95% of dead Fulmars analysed from the North Sea have been found to have an average of 44 pieces of plastic contents in their stomachs, with one bird having 1,603 pieces. (Source: BTO)

Plastic menace

The CBWPS is sorry to report that Simon Taylor has stepped down as Stithians war-den, a role he held since 2007. Simon cites a number of reasons for his decision, including vandalism at the hides. We are very grateful to Simon for his dedication and commitment to the Stithians Reserve. He worked tirelessly to manage and promote the site. As well as collating infor-

mation about sight-ings at Stithians and writing the quarterly reports for Palores, he did a great deal of hands-on manage-ment, including regu-larly clearing the area in front of the Stuart Hutchings hide, and the value of the

Southern cut-off hide in particular has been transformed by his efforts. Each Autumn he cleared the growth of willow from in front of the hide and around the feeders. If left un-checked, this would have cut off views of open water almost completely. He also pro-moted a scheme to dig out channels, scrapes and pools to retain open water in front of the Southern cut-off hide. This has not yet been implemented, but South West Lakes Trust (SWLT) has recently agreed to revisit the

funding for contractors to carry out this work. Another of Simon’s initiatives was ‘A Day for Nature’. He got CBWPS committee and SWLT approval to host an Open Day at Stithians for the County’s top conservation groups to promote awareness and generate further interest in conservation. Simon instigated the feeders near the hide which have proved such an attrac-tion for several Winters, and brought in sightings of Marsh Tits, Bramblings, Water Rail and large numbers of commoner spe-cies. He funded the materials from his own pocket to set up and concrete in the feeder frames, supplied the feeders themselves (the seed and nuts were funded by the Society) and kept them filled through successive Winters. The feeders need filling every other day in Winter, and daily during spells of hard weather. A team of 5 are currently sharing this role which Simon covered sin-gle-handed. The Society was approached by Simon in 2009 to sponsor him for £100 to start a nest box scheme at Stithians. The CBWPS gave him the money, the first boxes were put up (with Simon funding once again out of his own pocket any re-placement boxes needed through Wood-pecker damage). This further led Simon to pay for the construction of another 90 boxes nearer to home. Simon’s departure is a great loss to the Society. He has left a valuable legacy and example for his successor, Dan Chaney, to follow and we welcome Dan and thank him for taking on this important role.

Simon Taylor steps down at Stithians

Ornithology history

Breeding season success

BTO volunteers and sci-entists have contributed to four high level Biodi-versity Indicators; time spent in conservation by

volunteers, pressure from invasive non-native species, the status of threatened spe-cies, and the status of birds of the wider countryside and at sea. Published in December 2014 these are part of a suite of 25 indicators of con-servation engagement, pressures and the state of nature updated annually by the Government. Read more about the Biodi-versity Indicators for 2014 at w w w . b t o . o r g / s c i e n c e / m o n i t o r i n g /developing-bird-indicators.

BTO volunteers

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The CBWPS was founded in 1931 to encourage the study and pres-ervation of birds in Cornwall. The Society has over 1000 members in total. It owns 4 reserves and manages jointly several others. The Society organises weekly bird watching field trips (some jointly with the RSPB local members group). Palores (its colour newsletter for members) is published quarterly.

2015 Subscriptions: Adult £17 Family £21 Senior Citizen £14 Senior Family £16 Subscriptions are due by 31st January 2015. Cheques made out to ‘CBWPS’ please. Please pay by Gift Aid if you can - it saves the Soci-ety £1900 a year. For all payments, membership applications and enquiries please contact: Angela Tonry, Membership Secretary, 20 The Copse, Boscoppa, St Austell PL25 3EU Email: membership @cbwps.org.uk

The Cornwall Bird Watching & Preservation Society

Palores is published in January, April, July & October. Design and typesetting by the Editor. To advertise contact the editor. Full page ad £100. Half page £50. Small ads and notices free to members. Printed by R. Booth Ltd, Penryn. Distribution by Envelope Supplies.

CBWPS Directors and Officers

President: Steve Madge Seawinds, Lower Trerive, Downderry, Torpoint,

PL11 3LZ (01503 250432)

Chairman: Mark Grantham 17 Croft Parc, The Lizard, Helston, TR12 7PN

(01326 291133) chairman@cbwps.org.uk

Honorary Secretary: Cait Hutchings 24 Kernick Road, Penryn, TR10 8NT

(01326 375593 Mob: 07896353601)

Honorary Treasurer: John Stanlake 12 Deacon Drive, Saltash PL12 4SL.

(01752 848541)

Conservation Officer: Tony Blunden Pencairn, Penmenner Road, The Lizard, Helston,

TR12 7NR. (01326 291064) conservation@cbwps.org.uk

County Recorder: Dave Parker

2 Boslevan, Green Lane, Marazion Cornwall TR17 0HQ

(07932 354711) recorder@cbwps.org.uk Assistant County Recorders:

Tony Mills, Mike Spicer

Honorary Solicitor: Greg Adams 2 Wendron Street, Helston TR13 8PS

Minutes Secretary: Phil McVey

Bruce Taggart,

Peter Kent

Membership Secretary: Angela Tonry 20 The Copse, Boscoppa, St Austell PL25 3EU (07944 988599) membership@cbwps.org.uk

Editor, Palores: Simon Marquis

St Breock Place, Wadebridge, PL27 7JS (07711 883876) palores@cbwps.org.uk

Website administrator: Nigel Climpson

webmaster@cbwps.org.uk

Field Meetings Officer: Gordon Mills 11 Commercial Street, Cambourne, TR14 8JZ (01209 718144) grsd.mills@btconnect.com

Reserve Wardens: walmsley_warden@cbwps.org.uk Adrian Langdon

maer_warden@cbwps.org.uk Graham Sutton windmill_warden@cbwps.org.uk Dougy Wright

drift_warden@cbwps.org.uk Dave Parker Loveny - Dave Conway Stithians - Dan Chaney

Independent Examiner: Mr S.G. Hawkey ACA

Whitakers, Bryndon House, 5 Berry Road, Newquay TR7 1AD (01637-873838)

I f you haven’t had a chance to look at the RSPB’s latest ‘State of the UK’s birds 2014’ report (available on their website), I urge you to do so - but have a stiff

drink to hand, or something soft nearby to collapse on to. It makes for very depress-ing reading. Here are some of the facts: since 1970, these are the percentage de-clines in the following species: Turtle Dove 96%; Grey Partridge 91%; Cuckoo 64%; Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 82%; even the Little Grebe is down by 53%. Of course there are some good news stories too. Thanks to the herculean efforts of the RSPB and others, Bitterns are on the increase, as are Ospreys, Marsh Harriers and so on. But these successes are entirely overshadowed by the long-term

trend which is one of calamitous decline in what were once common species. Behind the collapse in bird populations, lies the even bigger problem, namely the destruction of the natural habitat, our landscapes and our countryside. Much of this destruction is dressed up as progress. The need for new housing, better transport, renewable energy and so on. But the price that is being paid for all these things is a terrifyingly high one. The curious thing is how little politicians—local and national, and of all political persuasions - seem to care about our natural environment. And this despite the fact that RSPB member-ship, for example, dwarfs the memberships of all the political parties put together. Can anything be done about this or are

we and the next few generations doomed to live in a concrete, overcrowded waste-land in which the only creatures accorded any living space are human? Well, some important voices are beginning to be heard. The Prince of Wales (also Duke of Cornwall of course) wrote an impassioned plea for our coun-tryside in a November issue of Country Life, as did Simon Jenkins, the outgoing chairman of the National Trust. The great majority of people in this country, urban dwellers as well as rural, want our countryside to be protected—for everyone’s sake. But it will need this mass voice to be heard too, and heard loud and clear by all our politicians if anything is to be done to halt and perhaps reverse the desecra-tion of what may not be for very much longer, our green and pleasant land. Simon Marquis

Palores – January 2015

Registered Charity No 1144724

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Dunlin by Steve Rogers

I n the late 1950s I spent a summer in Cornwall with Roger Penhallurick. We

bicycled everywhere within a day’s journey of St Mawgan, enjoy-ing the exceptional weather and landscape. Birds were our abiding interest and I recall observing Choughs, Corn and Cirl Buntings without much effort! Roger’s intoxication with Cornwall was evi-dent and it was a happy occasion when he left university to be-come a Curator at the Royal Institution of Cornwall. He quickly became one of Cornwall’s pre-eminent archeologists, natural his-torians and ornithologists. With many competing demands he managed to write and illustrate his two–volume Birds of Cornwall and contribute substantially to the CBWPS along with many learned tomes on an infinite variety of subjects. Over the ensuing years my work took me around the world and I did not see much of Roger, but he was always there to greet and drive me to his favourite spots during one of our all too infre-quent meetings. During one of my last visits he told me about his plan to write a history of Cornish ornithology and shared some notes. Sadly, he died in 2004 before getting underway. I lost my

oldest friend of some 60 years. So with the encouragement of his widow Pat, I am undertaking the daunting task of writing the book that will be dedicated to Roger. I begin with an overview of Corn-wall’s landscape and move through pre-historic times, the mediae-val period and to more recent, later centuries. I end with chapters reviewing our own century and speculating on the future of orni-thology in the county. The great naturalists Moyle, Carew, Borlase, Couch, Rodd and Ryves are centerpiece, and I explore their influence on Cornishmen as well as the influences on them from the rest of the kingdom. Along the way, I examine the status of bird populations and their habi-tats and valiant efforts to assure wildlife protection in the face of industrialisation and agricultural practices and the ‘joker in the pack’ – climate change. I also weave a story of the evolu-tion of bird watching and ornithology, noting the changing ap-proaches and challenges, the growth of the CBWPS and its part-nerships with national organisations. The book will be published in 2015 by Isabelline Books.

A new history of Cornish ornithology

By Colin Rees

Roger Penhallurick

A s Christmas (and 2015) comes rushing in, it’s a good time to look back at

some of the activities the Society has been involved with in 2014. There’s always a lot of work goes on ‘behind the scenes’ that goes unrecognised, so to all those people who work tirelessly for the Society the Board would like to pub-licly offer our thanks. Whether it’s warden-ing one of our reserves, joining work par-

ties, writing bird report sections, organising or leading walks and talks, the Society relies on your efforts. I’d also like to personally thank all of the other Board members, who have ensured that the sometimes mun-dane day-to-day business of the Society goes ahead seam-lessly from my perspective. We’re lucky to have such a dedicated group of Board members who bring a range of talents, experience and knowledge to the table. In this re-spect, we’re also pleased to announce the appointment to the Board of Derek Spooner, who many of you will proba-bly know. Another new appointment is Dan Chaney, who has taken over the role of warden at Stithians Reservoir. This follows the departure of Simon Taylor, who has filled the warden role for many years and has dedicated a large amount of time (and money) to the site, and once again de-serves all our thanks. So the year began with a very successful joint con-ference with the University of Exeter, focussing on seabird

studies in the southwest. This was very well received and we will certainly be running further conferences in the near future. On a less savoury seabird note, the Society was able to work with the authorities investigating the issue of exces-sive fishery by-catch in the Fal estuary. This advisory role can be very wide-ranging, from commenting on cliff-top housing developments and hotel developments (Drake’s Island in particular) to objecting to wind turbine applica-tions where these are considered detrimental to birdlife. One ongoing issue concerns the culling of gulls in Looe, where almost 200 eggs are replaced annually by the town council. We are keen to pursue other means of gull control in the town, as we consider that such a cull of a Red-listed species is not the best solution. On a more positive note, the breeding season saw many of us helping out with the BTO’s national Peregrine survey, whilst at the same time running our own re-survey of heronries in the county, which was a great success. Talk-ing of Peregrines, we’re also still looking at siting a nesting platform on Truro cathedral which will be a great PR oppor-tunity for the Society and the Wildlife Trust. As for the coming year, it’s going to be exciting to see the continuing progress being made at Middle Amble Marsh, with the wetland enhancement scheme plans there looking great. We’re also looking to further enhance our species monitoring in the county and hopefully this will be reflected in the way Birds in Cornwall looks. I started by thanking all those who put seemingly limitless enthusiasm and time into the Society, but there’s always room for more. So if you think you have something to bring to the Society, do get in touch and we will hope-fully see the CBWPS thrive and further develop in 2015.

Chairman’s Chat

Mark Grantham

Long-tailed Tit by J St Ledger

Firecrest by B Field

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bird report Sept-Nov 2014

Tawny Owl by A. James

by Mike Spicer

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Whooper Swan: Flocks of up to six birds were reported from several parts of the county. Ruddy Shelduck: What is assumed to be the probable escape seen at Maer Lake in August was at St John’s Lake on 14th September. Mandarin: An eclipse male was at Drift Reservoir from 7th November into December. American Wigeon: A female was on Gannel Estuary from 8th – 25th November, joined by a second from 26th to the month’s end. Garganey: Singles were at Stithians Reservoir intermittently be-tween 5th and 22nd September, Siblyback Lake on 7th September, Marazion from 20th September until 13th October and Ryan’s Field on 7th October. Ring-necked Duck: An immature female was found at Drift Res-ervoir on 13th October, where it stayed until 28th. Velvet Scoter: Two were seen from the Scillonian near the Run-nelstone on 25th October. Quail: One was accidentally flushed between Trevilly and Nanji-zal on 10th September. Pacific Diver: The returning adult reappeared in Mount’s Bay on 22nd November but soon became erratic although it was still pre-sent into December. Great Shearwater: Nine were reported from the western seawatching points over the first ten days of September. Cory’s Shearwater: Singles were reported past Porthgwarra on 2nd September and Lizard Point on 26th September. Sooty Shearwater: Reported in good numbers throughout Sep-tember and October, with the last being five past Pendeen on 7th November. Maximum counts also came from Pendeen, with 25+ past on 1st September and 119 on 19th October. Manx Shearwater: 15,000 past Porthgwarra on 1st September was the best count received. Balearic Shearwater: There was a steady passage up to 8th No-vember, with three figure counts received of 104 past Lizard Point on 26th September, 258 past Porthgwarra on 8th October, 163 past Mousehole on 8th October, 324 past Porthgwarra on 9th October, 360 past St Ives and 178 past Pendeen on 21st October. Little (Barolo) Shearwater: One was seen 13.75 miles WSW of Land’s End flying east on 8th October. Leach’s Petrel: Two past St Ives and one past Pendeen on 21st October. Bittern: The first returning bird of the winter was seen at Mara-zion Marsh on 3rd October. Great White Egret: One was seen near the dam at Stithians Res-ervoir on 9th November and one flew over Sancreed on 15th No-vember. Glossy Ibis: One made a brief stop at Marazion Marsh on 28th September. Spoonbill: One was on the Camel Estuary on 14th September and one was around the River Lynher from 29th September intermit-tently until 12th November. Black Kite: One drifted ENE over Lizard Downs on 20th September and one was reported in off the sea at Nanquidno on 13th October. Osprey: There were over 30 reports up to mid October, including three at Upper Tamar Lake on 7th September. A bird found dead at Hayle in early September is thought to have hit overhead wires. Merlin: The first of the autumn was an immature at Porthgwarra on 30th September. Hobby: Singles were reported from Callington on 2nd September, Walmsley Sanctuary on 4th September, Marazion on 21st September and Kenidjack and Nanjizal on 1st October. Spotted Crake: At Marazion Marsh, one was seen on 8th Septem-ber and another from 23rd to 28th, with possibly 2-3 individuals on 25th. Also one was at Helston Loe Pool on 22nd. Corncrake: One was flushed at Land’s End on 18th September and another was seen at Little Treleaver, Coverack on 20th. Common Crane: One was seen at River Lynher on 24th Septem-ber, at Wacker Quay the next day and in flight over Coverack on 26th before finally being seen flying out to sea over Kynance on 27th. Also four flew over Goonhavern on 1st October, one flew over Colliford Reservoir on 11th October with another there on 5th November.

Osprey

Spotted Crake

American Golden Plover

Dotterel

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Stone Curlew: One was heard flying over Porthgwarra in thick fog on 29th October. Dotterel: The August bird at Porthgwarra was joined by a second on 1st - 4th September and another was seen there in flight on 10th, with it or another nearby on 13 – 14th. Also one was seen over The Lizard on 26th. Golden Plover: 750+ were reported over Bastreet, Bodmin Moor on 26th October and 1-2000 were seen at Hayle Kimbro on 11th November. American Golden Plover: One was at Davidstow Airfield from 15th – 31st October. Pectoral Sandpiper: One was found at Marazion Marsh on 6th September, where it remained until 15th. Purple Sandpiper: The first three were reported back at Jubilee Pool, Penzance on 30th September. Lesser Yellowlegs: The August bird at Croft Pascoe Pool remained until 4th September and another was on Copperhouse Creek from 21st October into December, visiting the Old Quay-house on 26th. Redshank: Notable counts were 150 were at Devoran and 126 at Tresemple Pool on 7th September. Red-necked Phalarope: A juvenile was seen from Shearwater II at sea on 4th September. Grey Phalarope: The first were off Pendeen and from Scillonian III on 10th October. High counts were received on 21st October with 32 past St Ives and 6 past Pendeen. Long-tailed Skua: Two past St Ives and three past Pendeen on 21st October plus one past Lizard Point on 8th November. Sabine’s Gull: A juvenile was seen from Scillonian III just south of Penzance on 3rd September and an adult past Lizard Point on 22nd September. 21st October produced two past St Ives, three past Pendeen and one past Cape Cornwall. Mediterranean Gull: Unusually high counts of over 100 were regular from Hayle Estuary during the period, peaking at 140. Ring-billed Gull: A first-winter was at Sennen Cove briefly on 24th November. Yellow-legged Gull: Three were seen from a Penzance pelagic on 2nd September. Also there was a second winter on Hayle Estuary on 4th and 7th September and a first winter at Marazion Beach on 27th and Gwithian on 2nd October. Bridled Tern: A candidate for the bird of the autumn was a fly-past at Pendeen, to the delight of most of the assembled seawatchers. Black Tern: Three were at St John’s Lake on 4th September with one at Torpoint the next day. Forster’s Tern: One lucky observer had a fly past at Cape Corn-wall on 22nd October. Turtle Dove: Reports came of individuals at Sennen on 29th Sep-tember, Perranuthnoe on 30th September, Sancreed on 4th - 5th Oc-tober, Lizard Village on 5th October and Polgigga on 9th October. Cuckoo: One was reported in song at St Buryan on 21st Septem-ber. Yellow-billed Cuckoo: One frequented Porthgwarra on 23rd and 24th October. Swift: One at Towan Head on 18th October was the last reported. Hoopoe: One was seen briefly at Connor Down on 16th November. Wryneck: There were 23 reported during September, including three at Soapy Cove on 7th and four in October, the last being one at Prussia Cove on 23rd. Isabelline Shrike: A first winter thought to be of the race phoeni-curoides was at Pendeen from 9 – 16 November, within a mile of last year’s adult. Red-backed Shrike: a juvenile was at Windmill Farm from 27th September until 4th October and a first winter was at Tregeseal from 11th – 16th November, allowing close comparison with its cousin up the road. Chough: A flock of 14 were seen at Botallack on 5th September and 12 were at Nanjizal Bay on 11th October. Hooded Crow: The individual at Roskestal Farm remained until 26th October at least and several hybrid young were reported in the Gwynver area. Swallow: 450 were seen at Zennor on 22nd September.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Isabelline Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Desert Wheatear

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Yellow Wagtail: The highest count received was of 20 at Nanquidno on 10th September. Siberian Stonechat: One was seen and photographed on 27th Oc-tober near Porthgwarra but sadly was only seen by the finder. Wheatear: 52 was the highest count received, at Porthgwarra on 7th September. Desert Wheatear: A very obliging female frequented the clifftop path at Porthgwarra from 26th November into December. Bearded Tit: Two flew over Marazion Marsh calling on the morn-ing of 23rd September but could not be relocated. Short-toed Lark: One was at Cubert from 28th - 29th September, another was at Sancreed from 5th to 10th October and a third was at Rinsey Head on 7th October. Arctic Warbler: One was seen briefly at Church Cove on the morning of 30th September. Pallas’s Warbler: A single report of one at Rame, 18th October. Yellow-browed Warbler: The first of the autumn was at Porth Joke on 22nd September. Radde’s Warbler: An unusually confiding individual was at Kenidjack Valley on 26th October. Dusky Warbler: One remained at Kelynack from 16th November to the end of the month. Wood Warbler: One was seen briefly at Church Cove on the morning of 30th September, discovered by the finder of the Arctic Warbler which he was trying to relocate. Siberian Chiffchaff: Several around W. Penwith by November. Western Bonelli’s Warbler: One was seen at a private site in West Penwith on 15th September. Another at Kenidjack on 19-20th refused to give itself up by calling, and must therefore go down as a Bonelli’s Warbler sp. Barred Warbler: A juvenile was trapped and ringed at a private site in West Penwith on 8th September. Also singles were at Porthgwarra on 11th October and Pendeen on 29th October. Eastern Lesser Whitethroat: An individual from one of the far eastern races was at Stithians Reservoir from 10th – 12th November. Subalpine Warbler: A male was at Porthgwarra from 10th – 18th October, although it’s race is yet to be determined. Aquatic Warbler: A juvenile was trapped and ringed at a private site in West Penwith on 9th September. Marsh Warbler: One was at Rinsey Head on 7th September. Rose-coloured Starling: A juvenile was first seen at Penzance on 8th - 9th September. What is assumed to be the same bird was then relocated at Land’s End the next day and then settled at Higher Tregiffian Farm from 15th – 19th. It or another was then at St Ives from 4th – 9th October and then Penzance from 10th October until 4th November, with possibly the same bird coming in to roost at Marazion Marsh on 2nd November. Other reports came from Lizard Village on 22nd September and 4th October, St Buryan intermittently between 29th October to 12th November and St Ives again on 11th November. Red-breasted Flycatcher: The first of the autumn was at Porthgwarra on 10th October, followed by one at Rame on 15th October and two at Nanquidno on 25th and 26th October. Richard’s Pipit: One was in fields at Nanjizal on 1st October, singles were at Cot Valley and Land’s End on 5th October, Porthgwarra on 27th October, Coverack on 1st November, Bone Valley, Heamoor on 20th – 24th November and Coverack on 29th November. Red-throated Pipit: A first-winter was at a private site at Chapel Carn Brea on 18th September and a flyover was reported from Sen-nen on 9th November. Meadow Pipit: 800+ were seen south over Buttermilk Hill, St Ives on 10th October. Water Pipit: One was at Rinsey Head on 6th October. Serin: One was seen briefly at Lizard Village on 11th October, one was at Polgigga on 18th and Porthgwarra on 20th November. Linnet: 4-500 were reported from Levant on 15th September. Common Rosefinch: A female or immature was seen at Land’s End on 14th September. Ortolan: Brief stayers were reported from St Levan on 3rd Septem-ber and Trevean on 4th September. Little Bunting: Reports were received from Church Cove on 11th October and presumably the same bird at Housel Bay on 12th Octo-ber, with other sightings at St Levan on 26th October and Nanjizal on 20th November but none stayed.

Photos from the top of this report: Tawny Owl by A. James Osprey by J. Irvine Spotted Crake by Rod Farnes Dotterel by John St Ledger American Golden Plover by Adrian Davey Yellow-billed Cuckoo by Brian Field Isabelline Shrike and Red-backed Shrike by Brian Field Desert Wheatear by Rod Farnes Barred Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Radde’s Warbler and Siberian Chiffchaff all by Brian Field

Barred Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Radde’s Warbler

Siberian Chiffchaff

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T hroughout the period wildfowl were slow to build up in num-

bers with the following peak counts: just 8 Mute Swan plus 5 Whooper Swan on 10th October.

The geese were late again this year with the bulk not arriv-ing from their summer grounds on the Hayle Estuary until 24th November when there were 248 Canada Geese, 39 Greylag and 13 hybrid geese, plus an escaped Bar-headed Goose. Ducks were also quite low in numbers with the 2 Muscovy Ducks present through-out the period with up to 119 Mallard plus at least 1 late brood of ducklings. The two Call Ducks remained throughout the period and there were also 4 Wigeon, 1 Gadwall, 24 Teal, 18 Tufted Duck and 1 Pintail. Less expected was an immature female Ring-necked Duck, (which was a nice find for the WeBS counter) stay-ing from 13th to 28th October, a Long-tailed Duck from 31st Octo-ber to 11th November and an unringed immature drake Mandarin from 7th November into December. Up to 18 Little Grebes were reported including at least 4 juvenile birds, and 5 Great Crested Grebes were present and al-

though nest building was observed no young were seen this year. A maximum of just 4 Cormorants were reported although they were present throughout the period and included 2 colour-ringed birds originally trapped on Mullion Island on 17th May this year. The odd Grey Heron was seen and there were up to 4 Little Egret seen sporadically. Despite good numbers of Ospreys being reported through-out the county none were recorded on the reserve this year and only 4 species of raptor were reported in the period. Moorhens, like the Water Rails, were more often heard than seen although present throughout, peaking at 8 and 2 respec-tively, while Coots briefly peaked at 8 before all moving on. Although this year conditions for waders were very good, the hoped for rarities failed to put in an appearance and disappoint-ingly only 14 species were recorded with no large numbers. The only birds of note were a Spotted Redshank from 2nd to 20th Sep-tember, a Little Ringed Plover from 7th to 11th September and a Little Stint on 16th to 25th September. Large white-headed gulls were reported in good numbers throughout the period, but the first Black-headed Gulls were not

reported until 12th October. The first Mediterranean Gull was re-corded on 6th September with only 2 others recorded in the period. The only large flock of Swallows was 200 on 18th Septem-ber with the last bird being reported on 9th November. Both House and Sand Martins were last reported on 18th September. 3 Whin-chats in the surrounding fields were unusual but Wheatears were seen sporadically with the last on 13th October. Only a single Firecrest was reported this year but a Yellow-browed Warbler was present from 1st to 11th November and a Siberian Chiffchaff on 8th November and a few Chiffchaffs which look set to overwinter. Up to 3 Kingfishers were reported on numerous dates and a party of Crossbills were heard but not seen on 24th September. It has been a quiet time for management on the reserve but the roof on the hide has been renewed before the winter storms with help from Mike Spicer, Mike Bishop and Alex Mackechnie, to whom I am extremely grateful. Apart from this the usual strim-ming of footpaths and vegetation in front of the hide continued as did strategic planting of Willow saplings. The sluice for the new scrape and reedbed has worked well and the reeds are slowly spreading across the scrape, filtering the run off water from the surrounding farms.

By Dave Parker

Drift

reserves report

Oct-Dec 2014

A fter a really quiet autumn passage bird numbers have

picked up well in the reserve. After the first winter spate in the river which overflowed into the

marshes we saw good numbers of waders appear to feast on the invertebrates that were close to the surface. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Lapwing and Golden Plover all spent time foraging in the wet meadows and the increase in water coverage drew many more wildfowl to the site. All the regular species such as Teal, Wigeon, Mallard and Shoveler increased alongside some of the less common ones such as Pintail, Tufted Duck and Gadwall. A large white goose has been spending time with the Canada geese and has been reported as a variety of different species and I think that may be a clue to its identity as it is much bigger than the often suggested Snow Goose and it has an orangey bill and with varied amounts of black in the plumage. I guess it’s a hybrid of unknown parentage! Our Walmsley work party has worked hard through the summer and autumn and has cleared a path to the site of a pro-posed new hide that will sit on the flood bank between the north-ern end of the sanctuary and the new reserve at Middle Amble. All planning applications have been submitted and we are hoping to hear a successful result soon. We have funding for some of the earthworks and the creation of an access path to the hide. We will however need to start raising funds to build the hide or to install a ready-made model, and I hope this can start soon so that we can be ready as there is only a tight window when works can be done. Most of the winter leaves the site too wet for machinery to work and this is followed by the breeding season which can go into early July so we need to be ready for the late summer of 2015.

Walmsley

By Adrian Langdon

Mediterranean Gull by B Field

Ring-necked Duck by D Flumm

Redwing by A Langdon

9

A nother great year at Wind-mill Farm! Cornwall

Wildlife Trust and the CBWPS continue to provide excellent support for the upkeep, devel-

opment and regeneration of the farm back to its natural habitat. Windmill Farm is, by design and nature, a boggy environ-ment and heavy rain can cause the footpaths to become muddy – I advise that you always have your wellies with you and if it is par-ticularly boggy/wet you may have to keep away from certain areas of the farm. The trust and helpers try their utmost (with scarce resource) to keep paths clear at all times but it is not always possi-ble. A big thank you from me – as always if any of you wish to help out please look on the CWT and CBWPS websites for events/dates. Also if you have anything you wish to discuss please contact me, or either of the boards of the societies, as we are always happy to listen, engage and discuss. You may be aware that grants/funding have been approved to restore the windmill – this work will commence soon. Basically we will have a roof (sympathetic to the original) put on it with an internal staircase leading to a viewing platform. Great views will be available! Onto the report...

We have had 4 new bird spe-cies this year - amazing after nothing new in the preceding 2 years! The new species were Lesser Yellowlegs, Red Backed Shrike (2 birds – one in June and another arrived on the 27th Sept and hung around until the 4th Oct), Common Crane and Dotterel (photo taken on the airfield adjoining the re-

serve). Let’s hope next year brings some new birds too – surpris-ingly there are some fairly common species not on the list e.g. Mute Swan! Autumn passage was quieter than previous years (or maybe just less visitors?). Whinchats (max count of 9 on 20th Sept) and Wheatears continued to pass through in small numbers in Sept and early Oct with the odd Green Sandpiper putting in a skittish appearance. 3 Spotted Flycatchers were recorded on 6th Sept. The first of our over wintering/perhaps passage Jack Snipe was flushed on the 20th Sept – if you want to see a Jack Snipe you need to walk around the margins of the pools! The fairly resident 3rd year Marsh Harrier returned (after his summer holidays) on the 20th Sept and has been seen a few times since. The last record of Hobby was on the 24th Sept and also a Water Rail was heard that day. Since the 28th Sept there have been up to 3 Teal frequenting the reserve – Teal are rare on the reserve these days – in fact other than Mallard all duck species are declining probably due to the mild winters. Since mid-Oct we have also had a visiting Little Grebe – again a rare record for the reserve. The second week in Nov saw large movements of Meadow Pipits, Grey Wagtails and the arrival of Golden Plover (on the airfield). The first Woodcock was recorded on the 16th Nov. Winter raptors are back – Merlin and Hen Harrier on the 26th Nov – no Short Eared Owl as yet. 2 Lapland Buntings flew over on the 30th Nov. The arable field (second compartment on the left south of the car park) is holding a large flock of Chaffinch, Pipits and Reed Buntings – it is worth ten minutes down there looking through the flock. Away from birds we have had another great year for Drag-onflies with Red Veined Darters breeding in good numbers and mating Lesser Emperors. It has been a good year for butterflies too – a few records of Marsh Frit and lots of migrant Clouded Yel-lows. This year has been excellent for Adders – first record on the 8th March and last in late October – I still look for them on sunny days now. My aim is to find one in January! I have found them in February before. In fact lets have an Adder challenge – the first one found and photographed at Windmill farm in 2015 wins a bottle of Champagne or book token (donated by the Warden!). Send your photos to dougywright66@googlemail.com. Obviously I am in the competition and if I win I will be presenting myself with a bottle of Champagne! A Happy New Year to all.

Windmill Farm By Dougy Wright

W ater levels at Stithians, in common with many of the

reservoirs in our region, contin-ued to remain relatively low – early November and the water

was a long way out from the hides. The birds were still there though – just not as close as they could be! Unfortunately, lots of exposed margin encourages the public to walk where they shouldn’t. Perhaps it’s time to revisit the signage out there? Sadly, early November saw an unfortunate hide vandalism incident. Frustrating, but local kids, rather than international Mafioso. The police were informed and were able to locate and deal with the perpetrators (if you’re going to do graffiti – don’t write your name down everywhere!) Late November saw a change in warden for the reserve. I hope to continue with much of the work and projects which Simon Taylor has initiated, and I echo the thanks given for all Simon’s efforts and achieve-ment while he held the post. A new rota has been instigated to keep the feeders at the southern hide supplied and the birds fed this winter – less than a week gone by and it is paying off already with Reed Buntings, plenty of Chaffinch and Water Rail. Any donations of seed of course still gratefully received. Seventeen or so species of wader were recorded throughout the period. No rarities, but single Little Ringed Plover and Curlew Sandpi-per were reported on the 1st and 18th September, long-staying individual Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits, Little Stint (maximum of 3 on the 8th August, tailing off to 1 by the 14th), Wood Sandpiper on 3 dates mid-period, and a Bar-tailed Godwit for two days in September. Lapwing and Golden Plover built up to 150+ and 120 each by the end of Novem-ber, whilst October saw the highest counts of Snipe, Dunlin and Ringed Plover, with 20+, 11 and 16 respectively; 2 Ringed Plover remained until 7th November. Waterfowl started off slowly, with Wigeon eventually building to 50+, Canada Geese to 90, Tufted Duck 20+ and Mallard to 50+ by periods end. Teal peaked at 20+ in September, and then up to c75 in November. Goldeneye and Pochard reached 5 and 10 on the 29th No-vember. There were also reports of a single Gadwall, with Shoveler recorded twice, and 1-2 Garganey on the northern cut-off for much of September. One Little Egret graced the shoreline on the 7th Oct, with a maximum of 3 by the following month, Kingfisher was reported twice, with Coot 30+ by periods end. Herring Gull maximum of 300+ reported in mid October, with a single Mediterranean Gull on the 19th October and 3 on the 12th November. Five species of raptor were recorded, in-cluding a Merlin on the 12th November. Wheatear peaked at 4 in early September, last bird on the 14th October. Sedge Warbler reported twice; Stonechat on a couple of occasions, with other commoner birds includ-ing Meadow Pipit 30, Chaffinch 10 and a good movement of hirundines on the 18th September. Other interesting birds included a Common Tern on the 19th September, Whinchat on the 23rd October and a Firecrest on the 17th November. Rarity value was provided by a report of a Great White Egret near the dam on the 9th November. Both interesting and potentially rare was a (probably Siberian) Lesser Whitethroat, outside the Stuart Hutchings hide from 10th to 12th November. Thanks to all those who contributed sightings via the hide note-books or CBWPS sightings page. Finally, I have started a new blog for bird pics, sightings and other info for the reservoir - stithiansreservoir-birding.blogspot.co.uk.

Stithians By Dan Chaney

Lesser Whitethroat at Stithians by Tony Mills

...see page 12 for Maer Lake report

10

Picture Perfect

Adrian Langdon M any of my earliest memories of growing up in Wadebridge seemed

to involve the natural world. I vividly remember taking a dead adder to school in an old marshmallow box and many of my writings told of “today I saw a heron” or “today we had an owl in the garden”! Strangely enough I still find myself saying similar things to friends and family although now with a bit more confidence and usually backed up by a photograph. When I look back on my first attempts at bird photography the pictures look poor compared to the quality of images I make now, partly because I’ve learnt more about birds and about cameras and partly due to the technology now available. Digital has allowed me to take more photo-graphs and to take more chances at getting that flight or behavioural photo that was rarely possible with film. I love working from hides and I also love nest photography. I know the latter is often frowned on but if done properly with a knowl-edge of the species and of the specific habitat I feel it is so rewarding and increases one’s range of understanding of the intimate calls and behav-iours used by a pair of birds as they go about their annual breeding proc-ess. Goldfinch This image was taken at the feeders in my garden. I fixed a sprig of blackthorn blossom to the top of my feeder and then waited for the birds to land on it on their way to the food. Great Crested Grebes These grebes were taken on Texel in a freshwater lagoon heavy with flag iris where several pairs of grebes were feeding young that they carried on their backs. My aim was to get both adults in the shot preferably with the chicks being fed. The lighting can often make or break the photograph but fortunately the subjects were well lit thus enabling me to get enough depth of field to get all the birds in focus. Redshank I took this image on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. The bird was regularly using this fencepost as both a lookout and I guess a courtship display site. It was next to a small lane and I did all my photography from the car window. Kingfishers mating Kingfishers are a Schedule 1 breeding bird so I needed a licence to photo-graph them at the nest. I’ve held licences for both them and Barn Owls for many years and they are a joy to spend time with and to discover their more intimate side. Experience has taught me that within a few days of the first brood of young leaving the nest Kingfishers start mating again toward their second brood. I’ve learnt the calls of the bird which signal this event and it is always a compromise in getting the exposure right and the shutter speed fast enough to stop the action but also maintaining low enough ISO (old film speed) to get some quality. The image I’ve chosen is just that—a compromise of many factors but I doubt many people had seen Kingfishers mating and fewer still recorded it with their cameras! For those interested it was taken under heavy leaf cover at 1000 ISO at 1/60th of a second at f4 with a 500mm lens on a Nikon D300. Green Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird One of my favourites from an eventful trip to Costa Rica which culmi-nated in us being robbed and having all my camera kit stolen… but that’s another story! The image was taken in the Monteverde Cloud Forest where the rain was incessant and light levels very low. The hummingbird was perched up near some feeders and allowed me to get close enough to take the photo using a 90 mm macro lens. King Eider One of a series of images I took earlier this year at Batsfjord in Arctic Norway from a floating hide in the harbour of one of the northernmost fjords in Europe. We paid to use the hide and were taken to it at 4.30 in the morning when the temperature was at -12 degrees C and we stayed there until noon. Our host provided us with survival suits and hot coffee and we lay prostrate on the floor of the hide photographing the seaducks at sea level which gave a much better angle on them than one normally gets. This did however throw up other problems especially when the snow blew in through the hide shutters and filled our lens hoods! This shot still ranks—in my view—as one of the best images from my Norwegian trip but this doesn’t seem to be reflected in other people’s minds. I’ve entered it in a few competitions and for some exhi-bitions and each time it has totally bombed! Nevertheless I still love it and hope that fellow birders will appreciate the beauty of this bird.

11

12

A s the end of another year approaches and the futuristic

sounding 2015 is imminently looming on the horizon, I am more inclined at my age to think

about a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting life in the past than to worry about a future over which we have no control whatsoever, especially so with the arrival of Christmas cards with news of friends far and wide. It is true, good health really does mean happi-ness. Bird-watching is a remarkable and fascinating interest and so beneficial in many ways, and the more hours that you put in the more you get out. For me it is totally absorbing and takes my mind off the day to day issues of life. Highly recommended! It is so far so good this winter at Maer with regard to the sluice repair, but we have not had, as yet, the heavy rainfall that we experienced in the winter of 2013/14. We will have to see what the New Year brings, and what happens if the sluice is severely tested. Peter Kent and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust team did some more work on the original access lane in November and this was much appreciated. The Reserve is now in really good shape for the winter, and we are on top of all management issues. We are still waiting for a decision on the possible Water Vole reintroduction programme, and this will be in the late spring if we get the green light. Golden Plover numbers have again been excellent, with a gradual increase in numbers from October 24th. On November 9th a count of 1835 birds at 08:30 was added to at 09:40 when 550+ birds arrived from the north. They circled four times calling to the birds on the ground who called back, before they landed and then merged in with the existing flock on the ground. What a magical bird the Golden Plover is, and there are still so many gaps in our knowledge of its winter feeding movements here in Cornwall. We hear them flying in and out of Maer at all times of the night, and I wonder how far they actually go to feed? Maer continued its excellent record for Whooper Swans with five present on October 26th/27th. Considering its small size, and the shallowness of the water, Maer has a truly impressive re-cord for this species. A Little Stint on November 16th/17th was a good record and I enjoyed seeing it in flight with the Golden Plover. Three Egyptian Geese were present on November 21st, and it is interesting to speculate where they originated from. I was very pleased to hear of the successful breeding year that the Cirl Bunting had in Cornwall in 2014, and that together with record Red Kite sightings gives some optimism for the future. Technology comes increasingly into bird watching, from the radio/satellite tracking of bird movements, to the latest optical improve-ments in cameras and binoculars. I am looking forward to testing the new Canon 7D Mk 11 camera, with a burst rate of 10fps and 65 cross-type AF points it is a wildlife photographer’s dream. Un-fortunately it will not replace my 36.3 megapixel Nikon D801 for landscape photography; the quality that you can obtain from the Nikon is staggering in very large prints. Sadly, Song Thrush has become rather scarce in Bude, so I did enjoy looking at one in outstanding detail for a good ten min-utes at Maer this week, thanks to a decent pair of binoculars. If you are out bird watching every day it is great to have a good pair of binoculars and such enormous improvements have been made in them in recent years regarding light transmission, brightness (coatings) and lighter carrying weight. Although sometimes they seem expensive, they are very good value if used daily for many years.

Maer Lake

By Graham Sutton

Thanks to CBWPS member Mr P. Box who is a fan of Scots poet Norman MacCaig (above). MacCaig (1910-96) loved Assynt, a wild part of north west Scotland but Cornish birdwatchers will empathise with his keen observation of a bird still readily to be seen in Cornwall...

Kingfisher

That kingfisher jewelling upstream seems to leave a streak of itself in the bright air. The trees are all the better for its passing. It's not a mineral eater, though it looks it. It doesn't nip nicks out of the edges of rainbows. - It dives into the burly water, then, perched on a Japanese bough, gulps into its own incandescence a wisp of minnow, a warrior stickleback. - Or it vanishes into its burrow, resplendent Samurai, returning home to his stinking slum.

Alan James

Sanderling on Marazion beach, Sept 2014, by Steve Rogers

Poet’s Corner: Norman MacCaig

13

W hen carrying out a post-mortem examination a pa-thologist must record, accurately and dispassionately,

any abnormalities. However, even after doing the job for many years I am occasionally presented with a case where I am moved or saddened by its death. In August 2013 the specimen in question was an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) (Fig 1). The bird had been found grounded and in weak condition near Relubbas, west Cornwall. It was taken to Mousehole Bird Hospital where, despite the best efforts of the staff, it died. It was juvenile, in very poor muscular condition, with no fat reserves and weighing only 805g. (The normal weight range for Ospreys is 1120 to 2050g. Birds of the Western Palearctic, vol 2. p276). There were several recent puncture wounds to its feet and left leg and on its right leg there was a numbered metal ring inscribed ‘Rijksmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden’. The post-mortem findings were consistent with death due to debility and starvation. This is quite common in young, recently independent, raptors, presumably due to a lack of hunting skills combined with limited prey availabil-ity. I strongly suspected that the leg lesions were talon wounds inflicted by other birds, most probably common Buzzards, when it was in a weakened state. The Osprey had presumably been passing through Cornwall as it migrated from its natal area in Sweden to spend the winter in north-west Africa. I sent a PM report to the Bird Hospital for them to pass on to the Rijksmuseum. This might have been the end of the story but in De-cember I received a Christmas email greeting from an old friend and otter researcher in Sweden, Anna Roos. I re-turned the season’s greetings and attached a photo of the osprey and a copy of the PM report as I thought she might be interested. Her reply was immediate, saying “Dear Vic, I cannot believe it, but the Osprey you had was one that I ringed!!! This is such a small world! I cannot believe it. It was the first Osprey that we know ever that flew to UK from Sweden…” It was one of a brood of three (Fig 2) she had ringed on 5 July at Lake Asnen in south central Sweden and when it died in Cornwall 55 days later it had travelled 1522 km. Over the last 50 or more years I have carried out post-mortem examinations on many species of raptors but this was the first Osprey. It was a surprise then, in September 2014, to be presented with another one. This second bird had been found dead close to a power supply pole near Hayle. It was in excellent condition with really well devel-oped muscles, exceptional fat deposits and weighed 2435g. It was also ringed, with a BTO ring on its right leg and a blue Darvic-type one on its left. The cause of death was immediately apparent as it had severe burns to two toes on the right foot and to the left carpal (wrist) joint (Fig 3). These highly characteristic lesions are caused when a large bird perches at a lower level on a high voltage electricity supply pole and then touches the cable above with either a wing or the back of its head. I submitted a PM report to BTO and to the ringer, David Anderson, who informed me that the bird was one of a brood of two that were ringed on 3 July in Stirlingshire, Scotland.

The first part of the Osprey’s scientific name comes from the Greek god Pandion, the mythical first king of Athens. We might think it odd to worship mythical gods but the Ancient Greeks were a civilized lot and led the world in science, arts, philosophy and debate. Many Greek words form part of our language today. ‘Pathos’ was used to de-scribe a state of sadness or grief but also disease or illness. When combined with ‘logos’, the Greek word for detached and factual observation, we get ‘pathology’. The Greeks also gave us the word ‘ethos’ to define the character or principles of people or organisations. I have been recording electrocution cases in raptors in Cornwall for over 30 years and, as far as I am aware, our power sup-ply companies have made no attempt to solve the problem. The welfare of our raptors is clearly not part of their ethos.

Pandion, pathology and pathos

By Vic Simpson

1. The author with the Swedish Osprey (J. Simpson)

2. Swedish Osprey chicks, Lake Asnen 2013 (A. Roos)

3. Scottish Osprey showing electrocution burns. (V. Simpson)

14

I n the 50th edition of Palores I reported on the results of my first attempts in 2013 to monitor the non-gull seabird colonies of

Looe Island, Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserve. The sum-mer of 2014, blessed by wonderful weather, has proved just as interesting as the first. Between mid-March and the end of August I visited the island 22 times. While my main focus in the early part of the summer was the Cormorant colony, this year I intensified my surveillance of Shags and Oystercatchers, and was also de-lighted to locate at last some Fulmar chicks, which stayed on the cliffs until late August. As reported by Bruce Taggart in Palores 52, 2014 was a bumper year for the Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls on Looe Island, and it was a good year for nest numbers among other seabirds, though Oystercatchers appeared to suffer considerable losses at the chick stage from predation by their gull neighbours. The Cormorants in fact got off to a sorry start. Warden Jon Ross reported that nest building was under way in the colony in High Cove in January, but then came the ferocious storms of Feb-ruary, demolishing the nests. The birds had to start again. Eggs appeared nearly a month later than in 2013. Moreover the colony split into three separate clusters, with only 17 nests in High Cove, (half the number in 2013), but 13 more on the south side of the island, with 4 parked in a conveniently visible position opposite the bird hide. But although there were fewer nests in total than in 2013, with persistent good weather the nests were generally more suc-cessful, and fledging was much more concentrated in a short pe-riod in the first half of June. In 2013 some birds had fledged in April. This year 4 nests successfully raised 4 young each (none achieved this in 2013) and the total number of fledged young was considerably higher (73 against 53), with an improved number of fledged birds per nest. If the Cormorants prospered after a false start, the Shags had a somewhat disappointing year, though it is more difficult to be sure that all nests were found. Several nests raised only one chick. The Oystercatchers of Looe Island were prolific in 2014, though the increase in nest numbers to 15 may be partly attribut-able to our growing skills in finding them (though a couple still eluded us)! Extraordinarily, seven nests were located on or close to Little Island, a principal site for Black-back nests, and very close to the main colonies of Herring Gulls. Most of these nests ap-peared to survive the eggs stage, and several young were seen, but they rapidly disappeared. On the island’s eastern and northern beaches and rocky shore the nests were more successful and several families of fledged chicks stayed close to their nest sites for a few weeks. On the island as a whole at least 21 chicks were seen (13 were ringed by Mark Grantham and colleagues), but less than half appeared to survive. Finally, the Fulmar colony on the island at last showed some results. Fulmars are regularly present at several potential nest sites, but evidence of successful breeding has been scanty. Fulmars are notoriously slow breeders, often courting for several years. In 2013 we found no chicks. This year five nests were lo-cated, all close to the Cormorant and Shag colonies on the west side of the island. While one chick perished on an exposed, sun-baked site, four fledged successfully after sitting alone on the cliffs for weeks, with only brief visits from the parent birds. Overall the healthy picture suggests that the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s careful management of the island over the last decade is paying dividends, while in 2014 the mild spring appears to have boosted nest productivity.

Update on the other seabird colonies of

Looe Island Text and pictures by Derek Spooner

15

D uring 2014 the Society organised a complete re-survey of known heronries in the county. The BTO Heronries Census,

dating back to 1928, provided us with a complete list of sites re-corded in the county. Of these, it appeared that 17 were active in the recent past and 21 in the more distant past, hence the aim of the re-survey was to visit as many of these sites as possible to confirm their current status. In addition, there were 14 sites recorded as extinct which we aimed to cover if we had the volunteer support.

The annual BTO Heronries Survey volunteers covered 21 sites in 2014, with an additional 15 sites covered by Society volunteers. In summary, no previously extinct sites were found to have been reoccupied, although two of these did hold up to seven birds dur-ing the breeding season, so the possibility exists that these may be occupied in the future. In total, 12 occupied heronries were re-corded in 2014, totalling a minimum of 93 pairs, as detailed below:

These are also mapped below, where the darkness of the marker indicates the number of breeding pairs recorded. The spread of sites across the county is encouraging, although the two remaining sites on the Camel are perhaps a shadow of the number seen previ-ously (see second map).

Heronry status Number of sites

Covered in Re-survey

A – data received for 2012 5 5

B – data received for 2011 but not 2012

4 4

C – active when last reported pre-2011

9 7

D – empty when last recorded

21 11

E – recorded as extinct 14 8

Site Occupied nests

Confidential site, near Saltash 17

Polwheveral Creek, Helford River 14

Penpoll Creek, River Fowey 13

Malpas 12 (and 5 Little Egret)

Trenant Wood, West Looe 10 (and 8 Little Egret)

Marazion Marsh 9

Restronguet Creek South 6

Pinkson Creek, Camel River 5

Pill Wood, Feock 4

Grogley Halt 2

Pelyn Creek, Percuil River, St Mawes

1

Newton Farm 1

Two new sites were found, one with just a single nest on Bodmin Moor and a private site was identified in the west of the county where birds were actively breeding in the recent past. The latter site has access issues, but it may be possible to monitor it intermit-

tently in the future. Sites recorded in the BTO Heronries Survey database. It is likely that there are still further sites in the county yet to be recorded, and a look at the county Bird Atlas map for Grey Heron does show sites with probable or confirmed breeding over that period (particularly on the Helford) where further survey work

may identify these. It was also encourag-ing to find at least 13 pairs of Little Egrets breeding in the county and it is hoped in the future that this number will continue to increase. This follows the first breeding of Little Egret in 1998, when two chicks were fledged.

We would like to thank all of the volunteers who covered sites for the survey, many of whom checked sites that must have seemed like a futile gesture. But we now have a much better snap-shot of the occupied sites in the county and can take this forward to possible future surveys.

2014 Heronries re-Survey By Mark Grantham

16

M ost winters see at least some wild swans visiting Cornwall, beautiful evocative birds, as wild and as white as the arctic regions from

whence they come. One cold winter evening, when a severe gale off the sea blew dark storm clouds across the almost full moon, a single Bewick’s Swan ap-peared like a white ghost in the sky, high above the farm, circling around, attracted by several Mute Swans in the swan compound at the rear of the R.S.P.C.A. centre. Wild swans usually fly in family groups or in pairs when on mi-gration, but this bird was alone, and obviously desperate to find company and shelter from the impending storm. The swan circled the area, around and around, gradually coming down until its wing tips almost touched the wooden posts surrounding the swan compound. I felt certain that it would land to spend the night in the safe company of the Mute Swans, but at the last moment it changed its mind and climbed up into the sky to be quickly swept away by the force of the wind. Watching from a distance, I felt worried for the bird, travelling in an unknown area on such a night, but Cornwall is a narrow peninsula and the sea is never very far away, so probably the swan would have eventually landed on the sea and sat the night out on the waves. The larger Whooper Swans are fairly frequent winter visitors and in January one year, a young cygnet was picked up exhausted and brought to the centre. Young wild swans have to be pretty fit to make the long journey from the far north when migration takes place in the first autumn of their lives, following their parents on wings unused to long flights. Some of the youngsters fail to make the distance, and no doubt the cygnet that came to us had given up through tiredness, and had eventually collapsed in a field. A kindly passer by had noticed the brown and white bundle of feathers lying on the ground, and had taken the trouble to pick up the unresisting swan, placing it in the boot of his car, and driving it to the centre. The cygnet was in a pretty poor state, but closer examination showed no apparent bone fractures, or bodily damage, so it was placed in an indoor pen on a folded blanket, with an infra red lamp suspended above it, and left to settle in. Several hours later the swan had its head up and seemed a little stronger, dabbling into a container of water with grain at the bottom. Although swans are quite capable of picking up grain from the ground, they find it much easier to manage if the grain is given in water when they can take a beak full and allow the water to drain out through the filters on their lower mandibles, our cygnet was certainly getting the idea. The following morning things were looking good, the cygnet was walking around the confines of its pen, backing off and hissing at me as I approached. Time to move on so, catching up the swan I carried it out to the swan compound and released it into the company of several Mute Swans. Keeping an eye on the young Whooper throughout the day I was pleased to see it acting normally, swimming on the pond, preening and feeding with the other swans. Every so often it would stretch its long neck and point its beak skyward searching no doubt for the family that it had never before been separated from. Each day saw the cygnet getting stronger. One morning a week after its arrival at the centre it became obvious that the time had come to return the swan to the wild as it was desperately trying to fly, running the length of the compound with extended wings, but where should it be re-leased?

Although is seemed likely that other Whoopers were somewhere in Corn-wall I had no idea where they were, so I telephoned the Cornwall bird watchers for advice. It seemed that several Whoopers had been seen re-cently on the abbey pool at Tresco, one of the isles of Scilly, but they had moved off, and were possibly back on the mainland somewhere in west Cornwall. We would have to take a chance and go looking for the swans, so putting the cygnet in a swan bag in the back of the car, Julie and I set off. We decided that our best bet was to drive towards Lands End, checking the big reservoirs and estuaries on the way. The Hayle estuary, a favourite wintering place for wildfowl, was that day populated by several hundred Widgeon, and waders of all shapes and sizes, together with huddled groups of keen bird watchers, muffled in thick jackets against the biting wind, but no Whooper Swans. Driving on to Mount’s Bay we stopped to scan the off shore wa-ter, but apart from two Great Northern Divers busily fishing for crabs and an unidentified grebe, we again drew a blank, although as always the magi-cal beauty of the castle on its island held us spellbound as we sat in the car with our binoculars watching the Sanderlings and Dunlins running along the tide line. On through Penzance, our next port of call was Drift reservoir, where a large congregation of swans in the far distance gave us hope that some Whoopers might be among them, but the binoculars showed us that the birds were all Mute Swans so we pressed on. The countryside was wilder down here in the far west of the county, windswept fields and few trees, apart from where a fold in the land gave at least a little shelter and allowed some bushes and trees to establish, until their tops were forced sideways by the fierce Atlantic gales. We drove through the village of St Just and were heading back into the country again when Julie spotted a flash of white in a field to the left of the road. Stopping the car I reversed into a gateway expecting to find a flock of geese, but instead twenty Whooper Swans were busily graz-ing on the rough pasture, success at last! The swans were far enough away from the road to prevent them being scared by the traffic, but the problem was how to get our cygnet reunited with its own kind without spooking the entire gathering. Taking the cygnet, still wrapped in its swan bag from the car, I walked back down the road to another gateway and entered a field separated from the one in which the swans were grazing by a Cornish hedge (stone and earth). Walking along the side of the hedge hidden from the grazing Whoopers I eventually came to gap, almost opposite the swans and decided to release the cygnet as I was pretty certain that it would quickly see the other swans and head off towards them. Remaining hidden behind the hedge I opened the swan bag and placed the cygnet in the gap, releasing it as I did so. As I had hoped the young swan immediately saw the grazing Whoopers and walked quickly across the field towards them, to be met with a noisy greeting ceremony, strident calls, much head bobbing and wing stretching. Hopefully our cygnet’s parents were somewhere in the group, but in any case our casualty was now back with its own kind and stood a good chance of surviving. Back in the car we sat for a while watching the swans, feeling pleased that our trip had been so worthwhile but, as the cold gradually caught up with us we drove off to a friend’s house at St Buryan to warm up with a more than welcome cup of tea! This article is an extract from Rex’s book ‘An Eagle in the Airing Cup-board’. Photo of a Whooper Swan at Croft Pascoe, 2012, by Bob Sharples

Winter Wanderers

Rex Harper MBE

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Dick Twinney, whose wonderful paintings have featured several times over the years in Palores, is a popular wildlife artist based at St Columb in north Cornwall. Dick uses a medium called Chro-macolour, which is flexible enough to be diluted with water or used like oil paint on canvas and various other surfaces. If you like Dick’s detailed and precise work, such as the Barn Owl shown here, have a look at his website for more paintings and how they are done. See: www.artofdicktwinney.com

P alores is fortunate to be able to use the wonderful images created by modern photographic equipment (in the very talented hands of

great photographers of course) as well as using state of the art printing technology capable of accurately reproducing the paintings of artists such as Dick Twinney (see above). Two hundred years ago, it was not so easy. Most people only knew the

birds they could see for themselves, and even those few books on the subject were rare and contained not exactly what we would regard as accurate renditions of the birds. All this changed with a two volume book by famous Tyneside wood engraver Thomas Bewick. Bewick’s keen eye and incredible skill with woodcuts produced images of lifelike quality and detail. His A History of British Birds was a sell-out and became perhaps one of this country’s most important ever natural history books. The two volumes — land birds and water birds — were to set the standard for subsequent bird books, including those by Morris and Gould in the 19th century, and could be found in the hands of some of the most eminent people of the day including William Wordsworth, Charles Kingsley, John Ruskin and the Bronte sisters. Indeed, Bewick’s work plays a significant part in Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre. What made the books and their illustrations so special? Most engraving at that time was done on metal plates. Not since Albrecht Durer in the 16th century had there been anyone as skilled at engraving on boxwood as Thomas Bewick. Woodcuts could produce more subtle shades and gradations, almost imparting colour to the black and white prints. But above all, it was Bewick’s in-depth knowledge of birds built up over many years since his rural childhood, that made the difference. His beloved Tyne valley provided most of the inspiration as did various rambles around northern England and Scotland. This knowledge and keen observation, coupled with a rare artistic eye, pro-duced images of astonishing life and vigour. Such was his encyclopaedic knowledge of birds (and the natural world in general) that he has given his name to one of our most attractive winter visitors, the Bewick’s Swan. All birdwatchers in the UK and beyond owe Thomas Be-wick a great debt of gratitude for his contribution to the enduring enjoyment of, and interest in, this country’s wild birds.

Bewick’s masterpiece By Simon Marquis

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W elcome to another programme of local birding events for the first three months of 2015. We have compiled a range of

field meetings, walks and indoor meetings covering a range of birding based activities; walks around local Reserves and locations renowned for good birding; rewarding sea watches from The Liz-ard point; ringing events at Stithians (weather permitting) and a trip to the Exe Estuary, Devon. There are three indoor meetings and working parties to maintain valuable habitats on RSPB,CWT/CBWPS reserves. Our winter weather may not always be ideal for some events so if in doubt please contact the Walk Leader. Thinking about Winter, if anyone is interested in seeing ringing of winter Chiffchaffs, email Mark Grantham for details: chairman@cbwps.org.uk. Thursday 1st January 10am - 1pm Leader(s) Dave Thomas and Adrian Langdon Contact: Dave Thomas (01726 861093) davecarp86@hotmail.com New Year’s Day bird watch near Padstow. Begin the New Year with a mornings walk along the River Camel trail looking for win-tering waders, ducks, geese and divers. All are welcome and ideal for beginners. Organised by CWT. The event is free. Bring bin-oculars bird book and warm clothing. Meet at Old Town car park near Padstow. Please drive slowly down the narrow track. No dogs. Grid Ref: SW 939 738 Saturday 10th January 10.30am - 12.30 am Leader: Peter Kent Contact Mary Langworth (01752) 843852 Winter waders at Churchtown Farm Nature Reserve organised by Friends of Churchtown Farm Community Nature Reserve. Dis-cover the waders and other birds on the reserve. Bring binoculars & camera. Suitable footwear and clothing. Free for members £2.00 for non members. No dogs. Meet at Cecil Arms Pub, by St. Stephen’s, Church Saltash PL12 4AR Map Ref: SX 417 58

Sunday 11th January 9 am Leader: Viv Stratton (01736 796487) Marazion beach and reserve. A morning walk looking for Gulls, Waders and migrant birds. Meet at Folly Field car park first on right by phone box. Approaching from Long Rock map ref: SW511 309 Saturday 17th January starting at 7:30am Mark Grantham phone: 01326 291133 E-mail: chairman@cbwps.org.uk Bird ringing activities at Stithians. Ringing will be carried out early mornings at the western side of the reservoir overlooking the ‘cut-off’ from the western bank. Anyone is welcome to come along and see what we've been catching. For more details, text or email to confirm if event is happening or if the weather looks bad. Access from Stithians lake water sports centre car park. Follow footpath south past campsite along the board walk to willow and alder scrub where ringing takes place Grid ref: 70779 36496 Tuesday 20th January 1 pm Leader: John Cope (01872 865108) Tresillian River, St. Clements. An afternoon walk along the river looking for Waders, Ducks and Gulls. Path can be muddy so good footwear recommended. Particularly good for newcomers to bird watching. Meet at St. Clements car park. Map Ref: SW852 439 Saturday 24th January 9 am Leader: Steve Rowe (01637 875788) Porth Reservoir and Towan Head. A morning walk observing any birdlife around the reservoirs and then on to Towan Head. Meet at Porth Reservoir car park. Map ref: TR8 4JS Sunday 25th January Contact: Roger Hooper To book your place call 01209 820610 or email rogerwhooper@btinternet.com Mini-bus trip to the Exe Estuary. Bowling Green Marsh RSPB reserve and other sites. Leaving Redruth at 8.00 am. Pick-ups en-route. Waders and wildfowl on the best estuary in the south west. Seats are £14 each. Sunday 1st February 7-9 am, finish 11 ish. Leader: Tony Blunden (01326 291064) Sea-watching at Lizard Point. Meet just below the Lizard Point Cafe. With luck we may expect to see Gulls and Waders on the reef, Black Redstart and Chough on the cliffs. At sea, Auks, Gan-nets, Skuas, Sea Duck. There is always plenty to look at. Park at NT car park or the Green, Lizard village and walk down to South-erly point. Map ref: SW701 11 Saturday 14th February starting at 7:30 Mark Grantham text: 01326 291133 E-mail: chairman@cbwps.org.uk Bird ringing activities at Stithians. Ringing will be carried out early mornings at the western side of the reservoir overlooking the ‘cut-off’ from the western bank. Anyone is welcome to come along and see what we've been catching. For more details, text or e-mail to confirm if event is happening or if the weather looks bad. Access from Stithians Lake water sports centre car park. Follow footpath south past Campsite along the board walk to willow and alder scrub where ringing takes place Grid ref: 707 364 Sunday 15th February 9 am Leader: Viv Stratton (01736 796487) Hayle Estuary A morning walk around the area looking for Gulls, Waders and migrant birds. Meet in Ryan’s field car park map ref: SW549 362 Friday 20th February 7:30pm Contact : Roger Hooper 01209 820610 or email rogerwhooper@btinternet.com The wild life of Andalucía Spain. A presentation by S. Jones leading entomologist. An indoor meeting at Chacewater village hall, Chacewater, Nr. Truro. Grid Ref: SW751 444

By Gordon Mills

field meetings

Jan-April 2015

Photographs: Bittern at Marazion Marsh by Terry Tirlaway; Long-tailed Duck at Drift by Brian Field

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wise on 01208 812423 to check that walk is on. Map ref: SW989725 Windmill Farm Scrub Clearing Days Contact: Richard Moore, West Cornwall Reserves. Richard.Moore@ Cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk Be part of an exciting new project by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust at on the Lizard. A chance to get your hands dirty, uncover and record World War Two buildings as well as undertake essential conservation work. As part of the project there will be regular scrub clearing days, working alongside the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Reserves Staff offering a great opportunity to find out more about the land management of this very special nature re-serve. Dates: January 8th and 22nd; February 12th, 22nd and 26th. 10am until 3pm Since Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Bird Watching Pres-ervation Society became owners twelve years ago the Windmill Farm Nature Reserve has changed immeasurably. On what was once intensively managed dairy pasture there are now hay mead-ows, fields of sacrificial arable crops for birds, heath land re-creation trials, numerous lightly scraped hollows for wildfowl and waders and carefully designed dragonfly pools. There is loads to see at Windmill Farm with botanically rich heath land and hay meadows, arable fields that act as a giant bird feeder in the winter, open water that attracts rare migrant birds and dragonflies and World War Two structures that are only just starting to be uncovered. RSPB Task Force! Contact: Jenny Parker Telephone: 01736 360624 E-mailjenny.parker@rspb.org. All welcome. Join a work party and help with vital reserve mainte-nance. You need to be physically fit and willing to work outdoors. Please bring suitable outdoor clothing/footwear and lunch Tuesday 6th January to Tuesday 31st March. 10 am-5pm. Every Tuesday at Marazion Marsh nature re-serve. During autumn and winter we spend most of our time clearing willow from the reed bed at Marazion Marsh nature reserve on these weekly work parties. Hot drink and biscuits are provided. Meet at Marazion Marsh nature reserve. Full details given when booking. Full details given when booking. Sunday 11th January to Sunday 8th March 10 am-1 pm Beach-clean - RSPB Hayle Estuary nature reserve ALL WELCOME! Our beach-cleans are held on the second Sun-day of each month and last about 3 hours with a tea break. (Hot drink and biscuits supplied.) We alternate these work parties be-tween Copperhouse Pool and Carnsew Pool. Price: Free but book-ing essential. PLEASE NOTE Walk leaders have given their telephone numbers with each walk. However before contacting them, would you please check the relevant websites: RSPB (www.rspb.org.uk/groups/cornwall) CBWPS (www.cbwps.org.uk), and CWT (www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk) for the latest infor-mation. Every effort will be made to keep the websites up-dated with cancellations, changes in venue or route or any access problems.

Sunday 22nd February 9:30 am Leader: Gordon Mills (01209 718144) Loe pool and Helston boating lake. A morning walk to the Na-tional Trust bird hide to look for woodland birds Wildfowl and Gulls. Meet in Helston amenity car park. Map ref: SW654 270 Saturday 14th March starting at 7:30 am Mark Grantham text:01326 291133 E-mail: chairman@cbwps.org.uk Bird ringing activities at Stithians. Ringing will be carried out early mornings at the western side of the reservoir overlooking the ‘cut-off’ from the western bank.. Anyone is welcome to come along and see what we've been catching. For more details, text or e-mail to confirm if event is happening or if the weather looks bad. Access from Stithians lake watersports centre car park. Follow footpath south past Campsite along the board walk to willow and alder scrub where ringing takes place Grid ref:707 364 Saturday 14th March 11:30 Leader: Catriona Burt (01726 66262) St Winnow bird watch. A level bird walk along the River Fowey from St.Winnow to Lerryn and back looking for birds along this beautiful river and woods. Bring binoculars, stout footwear or wellies and picnic lunch (there is a pub at Lerryn). Meet at car park by the Church at St Winnow. Grid Reference SX 115 570 Thursday 19th March 1 pm Leaders: Kate and Dave Williams (01209 843512) Tresillian River St. Clements. An afternoon walk along the river looking for Waders, Ducks and Gulls. Path can be muddy so good footwear recommended. Particularly good for newcomers to bird watching. Meet at St. Clements car park. Map Ref: SW852 439 Friday 20th March 7:30pm Contact : Roger Hooper 01209 820610 or email rogerwhooper@btinternet.com Illustrated talk 'Birds of Cornwall” with John Chappell. An in-door meeting at Chacewater village hall, Chacewater, nr Truro. Grid Ref: SW751 444 Saturday 21st March 9 am Leader: Viv Stratton (01736 796487) Towednack. A morning walk around the moors, looking for resi-dent and any early spring migrants. Meet at Towednack Church map ref: SW498 388 Sunday 29th March. arrive 7-9 am, finish 11 ish. Leader: Tony Blunden (01326 291064) Sea-watching at Lizard Point. Meet just below the Lizard point Cafe. We may expect to see Gulls and Waders on the reef, Black Redstart and Chough on the cliffs. Late March is also good with spring diver passage picking up. Plenty to look at. Park at NT car park or the Green, Lizard village and walk down to Southerly point. Map Ref: SW701 11 Thursday 16th April 1 pm Leader: John Cope (01872 865108) Tresillian River St. Clements. An Afternoon walk along the river looking for Waders Ducks and Gulls. Path can be muddy so good footwear recommended. Particularly good for newcomers to bird watching. Meet at St. Clements car park. Map Ref: SW852 439 Thursday 16th April 7pm Contact : Roger Hooper 01209 820610 or email rogerwhooper@btinternet.com Tel: 01209 820612 Tony Whitehead RSPB media officer. An indoor meeting at Cha-cewater village hall Chacewater nr Truro.Grid Ref: SW751 444 Camel Trail Nature Walks. Duration approximately 4 hours. These walks cover Flora and Faunas well as birds and take place every Wednesday through January, February, March and April 2015. Walks start at 10am and will be led by Jack Humphrey, Bernard Ide, Alan Taylor and Charles Travis. Meet outside Countrywise, Eddystone Road, Wadebridge. Phone Country-

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Tell us about you... I was, as they say, born and bred in God’s given land of Cornwall and spent my first 16 years living near Luxulyan before moving closer to St Austell. Living in the Luxulyan area meant that in my early years I was always close to wildlife and could wander off into the countryside at will. With hindsight this was a great privilege and I saw and un-derstood things that some people don’t have the opportunity to experience in a lifetime. When I “grew up” I qualified as a Chartered Ac-countant in St Austell, spent a short time in London, then practiced mainly from an office in Plymouth. After being a partner for 20 years I became semi-retired and started to travel. I have been also been a member of the CBWPS for over 50 years! What got you interested in birds? Not one single thing but several events, not in any order of significance, inspired me as follows: Whilst at primary school I earned a medal and a book in respect of the annual RSPB Bird and Tree competition for my observations of the Blackbird. A school teacher called Mr Julian from Carthew near St Austell took me to Walmsley and I saw the Osprey. I re-member he also explained that some of the birds we saw were called Comic Terns as it is difficult to spot the differ-ence between Common and Arctic Terns. In addition to other books I read “The life of the Robin” by David Lack and “The Badger” by Earnest Neal. As badg-ers keep trying to landscape my garden I have lost a bit of interest in them re-cently. I joined as a junior member of the CBWPS and still remember wearing my puffin enamel badge. Do you have a favourite bird? My favourite UK bird is difficult to pick but I guess the lowly Robin is my choice probably from reading David Lack’s book referred to above and also because one always seems to be close at hand when I am in the garden. The Robin seems almost fearless when it hops near my feet to pick up a titbit when I am picking fruit. I have been fortunate in recent years to travel a lot and because of it I have seen a lot of strange and beautiful birds such as the Cuban Trogon, Magnificent Frigate-birds, Macaws, Turquoise Browed Motmot etc, etc. This year I was fortunate to see an Ivory Gull, Red-throated Diver nest-ing and Ptarmigan with young on Spitsbergen. My lasting memory however is the sight of a group of Blue Cranes in Namibia on a background of arid grassland. Such grace contrasting with their bleak environment. Where do you go bird watching? Time never seems to be available to go serious bird watch-ing other than the odd day on my travels. I still stop the car on a quiet road when I see something interesting but most of my bird watching is local to my home in Saltash. It is surprising what can be seen from my window or any win-dow if someone is patient. I can see this year’s family of

Mute Swans which unfortunately has joined the modern age by becoming a one parent family, the lone Egret, occasional Peregrine or Sparrow Hawk as well as birds that come to the feeders. Despite three nest boxes only one ever gets used by Blue Tits despite relocating the other two from time to time. I have never kept a proper list although in my youth a pencil tick in my Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds amounted to a list. I do however thoroughly support arm-chair bird watching which I suspect a lot of our members can relate to. Enjoyment can as easily be obtained by watch-ing birds at a feeder as tracking a rarity blown off course. Notwithstanding that I am not averse to sidling up to birders to see what is happening which often pays dividends. A couple of years ago I was fortunate to see a Short-billed Dowitcher on Tresco. More fortunate as it was a Sunday with no ferry service so only a few islanders were there. What do you do for the CBWPS? I am a Trustee Director of the Society and my title is Honor-ary Treasurer. Sounds impressive but in layman’s terms I keep the books and, like everyone else, I don’t get paid.

Because of my background I also prepare the annual accounts and submit the gift aid claims to H M Revenue and Cus-toms. What are the Society’s main financial challenges? The Society’s biggest financial challenge is that it does not receive sufficient in-come from the members’ subscriptions to fund its annual recurring costs. It accord-ingly has to work on a tight budget and rely upon income from grants and dona-tions etc. Costs and particularly postage continue to rise. The Society is not large but through care-ful stewardship over past years it does own or jointly own with Cornwall Wild-life Trust four reserves and I am sure will

consider other suitable opportunities should one arise within the limits of its resources. The Society however relies upon the tremendous unpaid work of its volunteers to look after its reserves and to provide the number of support services to its activities many of whom are listed on page 2 of Palores. Do you have a message for our members? Firstly, get involved and support the current volunteers in whatever they are doing. There are plenty of areas where more help is needed and I am sure everyone has a skill they can bring to bear. Secondly, please do not criticise those members who are doing their best unless you are willing to get involved yourself. On the purely financial front I would urge all mem-bers to pay the correct subscription on time and with a gift aid declaration where eligible. The Society currently claims over £2,000 per annum of gift aid from H M Revenue and Customs. I also ask again for all members that have not adjusted their standing order to CAF Bank to do so as a mat-ter of urgency. Finally, the Society is always extremely grateful for any one off donations or legacies as it cannot sustain its activities purely from members’ subscriptions.

Getting to know... John Stanlake Palores listens to the society’s Honorary Treasurer on

birds, the CBWPS, and how we can all help a little bit more...