Welcome to the March newsletter to keep everyone abreast of all that’s happened in the society in the last couple of months, with reviews of the talks and reports on the trips done by both the mid-week and weekend groups. I am grateful to all the contributors especially Judith who wrote the February review in my absence. There will be one more newsletter in June after we’ve concluded our 2025/26 season. We hope you enjoy reading them.
 

Indoor Meetings
 

On February 13th we were treated to a highly entertaining and informative illustrated talk – ‘Wildlife photography around the UK’  by wildlife photographer, expert forager and naturalist David Winnard.

David’s interest in wildlife and foraging started at a young age when he was bribed by his grandma to find fungi around his native Rochdale. These ‘treasure hunts’ ignited such a passion for the natural world that he later turned down several offers to study medicine and instead did a degree in wildlife photography (gaining first class honours). He has worked for organisations such as the BBC, RSPB, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and even gin companies helping them use natural botanical flavourings.

Using the example of brightly coloured Cobalt Crust fungi growing in a rotting ash tree he introduced the subject of interconnectivity in nature and said he tries through his talks etc to share his passionate belief in the importance of this and to reconnect people with the natural world. Admitting it was ‘brave’ introducing fungi to a bird group he delighted us with many brilliant photos and anecdotes not just of amazing fungi but also beautiful birds, moths, dragonflies and beetles, plants and lichen which in his words are unsung heroes of the natural world.

His tour around the UK started in Scotland with birds of the highlands including Capercaillie (‘aggressive rogues’), Red Grouse (‘bonny but stupid’), Ptarmigan in the snow and Mountain Hare. He said the Outer Hebrides was like ‘going back in time’ in a good way and a great place for photographers as many of the birds there were not bothered by them. We saw great photos of Corncrake, Lapland Bunting and Sanderling in summer plumage. He described Shetland as a ‘fantastic’ place despite his tent blowing away and being attacked by Great Skuas defending their territory. His photos of diving Gannets were stunning and Dunlin on white sand unusual (and a bit ‘weird’).

Moving to the Lizard peninsula at the other end of the country he gave examples of the very interesting botany found in Cornwall including Sea Knotgrass which needs cold water for its seeds to germinate, the very rare Fringed Rupturewort and parasitic Thyme Broomrape which lives on the roots of wild Thyme. In Cornwall he attracted his favourite moth the Thrift Clearwing by use of pheromones and considered £8.50 money well spent! He suggested that one reason Long-Tailed Tits are becoming more numerous down there is because lichens used in their nest building are more available due to the cleaner air.

He then returned to Rochdale where numbers of moorland Twite are in serious decline (even allowing for inaccurate reports and surveys). Before the tea break, he finished with an anecdote of an ‘idiotic’ conservationist building a bright orange fence around a Twite nest unintentionally bringing it to the attention of predatory Crows sitting and watching on nearby wind turbines.

The second half of David’s talk took us round a variety of habitats in North Wales starting with a photo of a White Stork taken from his garden in Queensferry on Deeside (where photographers with long lenses are not always welcome!). Sadly, there were no photos of the fairies who dwell in pretty places but plenty of beautiful and interesting moths and lichen some seen through ultra-violet light. He told us that Kestrels see in UV light using bright urine trails to guide them to their prey and hungry Blue Tits can see caterpillars glowing in the same way. He praised the dark sky areas of Wales which are not only good for birds and moths but also safer for people (less crime) and less expensive than areas of high energy light pollution. He talked about wonderful Welsh nocturnal wildlife such as Nightjars and finished with the incredibly rare Nail Fungus which can be found growing on the ‘right’ kind of pony poo at Newborough Warren on Anglesey.

The audience of 31 was a record turnout for this season and everyone agreed that David gave an excellent interesting talk. (JP)

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The final talk of the season was on Friday 13th March when we welcomed back, David Tolliday with ‘Finland – Wildlife in the Snow’. David made two trips to Finland in February 2023 and April/May 2024. Both were photographic trips and he flew to Kuusamo, in the north-eastern part of the country, via Helsinki. The first half of his talk was about his first trip in 2023 and after the interval the second one.

David’s talks excite all the senses with excellent photographs, as he’s a skilled and consummate photographer, allied with the calls of all the birds and we were bombarded with hundreds of facts. Finland is in north-eastern Europe and borders Russia to the east. The country is predominantly (80%) covered by trees with some 170,000 lakes and tens of thousands of islands. It has a population of 5.6 million and trees outnumber people by thousands to one.

Temperatures in Kuusamo in February are -15 degrees and this trip centred around some of the winter birds. He photographed Willow Grouse in the snow and told us that his dream was to take pictures where the bird blended in seamlessly with the surroundings and after a little photoshopping, he had that picture with just the beak, eye and outer tail feathers as black outlines in the snow. He visited numerous photographic hides in Oulanka National Park, one to a lake with a resident pair of Whooper Swan plus newly arrived Bean Geese, another where he had excellent shots of Golden Eagle plus Siberian Jay, Grey-headed Woodpecker and other woodland birds. He visited a garden in Kuusamo where he managed to photograph Willow, Crested and Siberian Tit and had awesome pictures of Great Grey Owl at another woodland location. They visited a hide very near the Russian border for bears & wolves without any success and found out later that the owner of the hide had misled them; both mammals had left the area a few weeks before.

On the second trip in April/May, the temperatures were a little warmer but still with some snow. They visited hides to photograph Black Grouse & Capercaillie leks, Further trips were made to see Common Crane, just arriving back in Finland after wintering in Spain. Other locations included hides to photograph fishing Ospreys and White-tailed Eagle. While photographing there, they had another eagle species, Steppe Eagle, only the second time their guide had seen one in Finland. He commented on the fact that bait is put out to attract these eagles and questioned the ethics but decided that they were getting a meal during very cold weather. White-tailed Eagles were nearly extinct in the 1960’s & 70’s but numbers have now recovered dramatically and are in danger of ousting the Golden Eagle. They managed to see Brown Bear on this trip, a huge male. He finished off his talk with pictures of Hazel Grouse that they accidentally came across and finally excellent photographs of Hawk Owl and Ural Owl.

The bird photographs were astounding, especially the Owls, Eagles and Grouse but the standout for me was the video of the stunning ‘tykky’ landscape in Kuntivaara with frozen snow-rimed trees, on his first trip in 2023, all set to a beautiful piece of music. David’s talks are always excellent and informative, and this was no exception.

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I think we all owe another vote of thanks to Ian Williams, our Programme Secretary, for organising yet another brilliant and varied programme of talks for the season.

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The April meeting (10th) is our AGM. Once the business side concludes, it will be followed by refreshments and a short, illustrated talk by our Chairman, Paul Kenyon on one of his trips abroad.

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Mid -week Group

The trip on the 17th of February had a change of venue, Northwich Flashes instead of Brereton Heath and was led by Ged. A good turnout of 11 members took advantage of a rare sunny (but chilly) morning, meeting at Witton Mill carpark at 10.00am. We had problems getting underway initially as the car park quickly filled up with multiple dog walkers and a walking group and Ian and Anne had to find alternative parking but once that was sorted, we began by visiting the viewpoint overlooking Ashton’s Flash. Unfortunately, this proved to be completely devoid of birds, so we headed to the hide beside Neumann’s which was much more productive with large numbers of Wigeon, Shoveler and Tufted Duck, Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and a pair of displaying Great Crested Grebes.

Moving on round the Flash we had a brief view of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and then several Goosander at the far end of the lake. Heading on to Dairy House Meadows we had a Sparrowhawk and then a few members were lucky enough to see a Woodcock fly across the path. Following several false alarms we finally saw a flock of Redwing in trees close to the car park and along the same section saw Grey Wagtail and Teal and heard Cetti’s Warbler and a squealing Water Rail.

With lunch calling we arrived back at the cars at 1pm. No great rarities today but some interesting birds and all agreed an enjoyable and worthwhile trip. (GP)

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The trip in March (17th) was to RSPB Marshside led by Andrew. Twelve hardy birding potterers met at the RSPB Marshside carpark around 10:15. It was to be 10:00am, but Paul Bebbington sent a note prior to the trip saying there were 2 Little Owls perching on a barn roof nearby. Several went to investigate (no luck), and a few others went after our time at Marshside, again no luck! The weather was fabulous given the winter we’ve had, with glorious sunshine, temperature around 17C, but a bit of a cold wind when out in the open. Nevertheless, we had the Sandgrounders hide to ourselves and were able to see hundreds, if not thousands, of birds. Immediately outside the hide were the usual Black-headed Gulls, Tufted Ducks, Black-tailed Godwits, Coot, Mallard, Wigeon and a hovering Kestrel.

In the distance were huge flocks of Golden Plover, Avocets, Black-tailed Godwit and Starlings and nearby there were also a few Pintail, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Teal, Shoveler, Shelduck & Lapwing. Ian B spotted a lone Little Ringed Plover which almost looked out of place amongst all the large waders, ducks & gulls! After a while we then wandered off to the other side of the road to spot stuff over the surf-side marsh. We had fabulous views of a Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Skylark as well as Little Egrets, Grey Heron, Pink-footed, Canada & Brent Geese, and the following hovering Kestrel. Also seen in the nearby bushes were Goldfinch, Greenfinch & Chaffinch. As it was now lunchtime the group started to thin out, but some went to a new observation platform on Hesketh Lane. Again, lots of Tufted Ducks, Coot and Mallard, but in amongst them all a female (Greater) Scaup, the tick of the day. Several others went back to look for the Little Owls, again to no avail, but they did see a lovely Marsh Harrier on the way out.

So, all in all a lovely day with glorious sunshine for a change. Many thanks to everyone for ensuring that we all saw lots of great birds & had an enjoyable day’s birding.

Andrew Aldridge (March 2026)

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The trip in April (14th) is to Mere Sands Wood/WWT Martin Mere and led by Stephen meeting at Mere Sands reserve carpark at 10.00 am. There should be lots of wildfowl, waders and raptors plus a few woodland birds and possible early migrants.

The final midweek trip of the year is on May (12th) to the Goyt Valley and will be led by Simon Smith with the meeting place to be arranged. There is always a chance of migrants including Pied Flycatcher and Redstart plus Red Grouse, raptors etc

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Weekend Group

Over the weekend of 27th February – 1st March, 15 members enjoyed a weekend’s birding in S.W. Scotland. We stayed at The Crown Hotel in Newton Stewart, a new venue for us but we were very well looked after with excellent breakfasts and evening meals.

We met late morning on the Friday at RSPB Mersehead on the Solway in quite benign weather with some warm sunshine and highlights here included hundreds of Barnacle Geese including a leucistic bird, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pintail and a few raptor species including Red Kite, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk. We had our lunch at the visitor centre where the feeders had Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer and Greenfinch.

 We then travelled the short distance back east along the coast to Southerness,bathed in sunshine but getting chilly, and the tide was a long way out. Highlights included Little Egret, Red Throated Diver and Red-breasted Merganser. Waders included Knot, Dunlin,Turnstone, Redshank, Sanderling and Grey Plover. We left late afternoon for Newton Stewart to check in to our hotel, and all enjoyed an excellent evening meal and a few drinks.

After a great Scottish breakfast (including haggis) on the Saturday we drove west to Stranraer and Loch Ryan and birdwatched a few points around the loch. We started at Cairnryan, the loch was calm and the sun was out and highlights were Red-Throated Diver, Black Guillemot, Guillemot, Razorbill, Eider, Shag & Grey Wagtail.

Moving nearer to Stranraer to the south end of the loch the birding was excellent with beautiful blue sky, good light and the loch like a millpond. We had stunning scope views of Wigeon, Common Scoter, Goldeneye, Scaup, Long-tailed Duck and Slavonian Grebe, an excellent couple of hours. We then moved to a picnic site overlooking the harbour where we had our lunch stop and saw more of the same birds. Our final stop at Loch Ryan was the Wig on the north-west side and with the sun still shining highlights included a small flock of Pale-bellied Brent Geese, Stonechat, Bar-tailed Godwit and Hooded Crow. 

We then travelled south of Stranraer to Sandhead and Luce Bay (where you could see the north-eastern end of the Isle of Man) and thebest birds were Common Scoter and Red Throated Diver. The final destination for the day was West Freugh where the weather was still sunny, but it had turned chilly towards the end of the day.This is a well-known Hen Harrier roost but sadly we didn’t see any, but we did have Little Egret and Pink-footed Goose. We came across a herd of swans in the area, mostly Mute but with a few Whoopers. We made our way back to the hotel and had another excellent meal.

 After another filling breakfast and checking out on the Sunday morning, we set off south towards Wigtown Marshes.The weather on the Sunday was as different again with persistent rain. We parked at the Martyr’s Stake carpark and walked a path along the marsh with woodland on the other side. Highlights included Pink-feet and Barnacle Goose on the marsh plus Treecreeper, Bullfinch and Coal Tit in the woodland.

We moved to Carlingwark Loch at Castle Douglas and highlights were Goldeneye, Goosander, Siskin feeding in the vegetation at the side of the loch plus our only Coot of the trip.

By this time the weather was atrocious, very wet and windy and after lunch our trip was curtailed. Some hardy souls (Paul & Denise)

went on to Caerlaverock NNR. Paul modelled a piece of kit that any discerning birder should have for wet weather conditions (but not windy).

It was unfortunate that the RSPB reserve at Ken - Dee Marshes has closed and the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust decided to close Caerlaverock for the winter – these were normally two of our prime destinations on previous weekend trips up there. We ended up with a list of 88 species, and everyone enjoyed an excellent weekend with good company, good beer, good food and some good birds. No one will forget the Saturday afternoon at Loch Ryan in perfect sea-watching conditions and my highlight was the 5/6 Long Tailed Duck at the south end including some resplendent drakes.

Ray Evans (March 2026)

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The trip in March (22nd) was to World’s End and Clocaenog Forest and led by Graham.

Eight members met for an early 7.00am start at World’s End. On arriving, Black Grouse could be seen and heard at their lek, the maximum number of males seen at any one time was thirteen. Whilst at the watchpoint, Red Grouse were seen on nearby moorland and in addition a pair of newly arrived migrant Wheatears were seen distantly. While travelling across the moors, highlights included further Red Grouse, Raven, Stonechat, Skylark and numerous Meadow Pipits.

Our next stop was Clocaenog Forest and the picnic site at Bod Petryal. On arrival, a Goshawk was seen briefly by some of the group before it disappeared behind the trees. On a short walk along the lake a small group of Crossbills were spotted feeding in the pines and although quite mobile, good views were possible with the male birds in fine colour. Goldcrest, Siskin, Chiffchaff and Nuthatch were also seen.

We then moved on to a popular Goshawk viewpoint at Bron Bannog. Shortly after arriving two birds were seen at distance and were quickly identified as a pair of Goshawk. One of the birds slowly but surely flew towards the group eventually giving excellent views.

Our next port of call was Brenig Reservoir up on the Denbigh Moors. At the feeding stations more Siskin, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blue, Great. Coal and best of all Willow Tit were regular visitors. A Sparrowhawk paid a visit to one of the feeding stations.

The final stop on our way home was Flint Castle on the Dee estuary which is a good site for wintering Twite but sadly none were seen on this occasion. However, on the estuary shoreline waders included Grey Plover, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Turnstone. Wildfowl included Shelduck, Pintail, Wigeon and Teal and other highlights included Greater Black Backed & Common Gull plus Great & Little Egret.

This concluded a very enjoyable day’s birding, mostly in fairly warm sunshine, ending up with a total of 63 species.

Graham Haspey (March 2026)

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The April (26th) trip led by Ray is a reprise of last year, when we travel down to the Conwy Valley meeting at 9.00 am at RSPB Conwy. We then travel down the valley to various sites to look for migrants. We will hope to see Pied & Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, and Garden, Willow & Wood Warbler plus Blackcap. The trip will end at Brenig Reservoir to visit the Osprey site.

May’s outing is a weekend (21st -24th) trip to Dorset led by Ray, staying in Swanage. This is a trip for members only and is already booked. We will be visiting numerous sites including RSPB Arne, New Forest, Portland Bill and RSPB Radipole in Weymouth. We will hopefully see Bittern, all the Egrets, Bearded Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Nightjar, Dartford Warbler, Woodlark plus many other species.

The final trip of the weekend season is in June (7th) to Llangynog in Mid/North Wales led by Paul, meeting at the village car park at 9.30. This is another trip to Wales to catch up with their summer migrants, Pied & Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart & Wood Warbler with a chance of Ring Ousel & Cuckoo.

Ray Evans/Andrew Aldridge