TITTESWORTH BIRD NEWS

Autumn 2008 issue
(Covers the period - July to September)

Weather and season

What happened to the summer! There was very little sun and lots of cloud.

JULY: August and September gave the impression of a very dull quarter but in fact sunshine in July was about average. However, rainfall was well above average. Towards the end of the month the temperature reached 27ºC in this area.

AUGUST: This was a very unsettled month for England. There were heavy rain showers for much of the month, in fact there was over 50% more rainfall than average. It was also an exceptionally dull month. - the dullest August since 1929. The temperature was rarely above 20ºC in this area.

SEPTEMBER: Nationally mean temperatures were close to average across England. However, it was a very wet month across the Midlands and the NE. Stations in Northumbria recorded 300% of their average rainfall. I was in the NE in early September but on the 6th Margaret and I decided to return home early because the River Tees had risen 5ft overnight! The cottage, in which we were staying, was just 150 metres from the river. The highest temperature recorded in the NW/Midlands in September was 19ºC. It was another dull month in the UK, the dullest September for 15 years. However the third week of the month provided us with sunshine - an Indian summer for a few days!

AUTUMN EQUINOX: This year the Autumn Equinox fell on the 22nd September. Daylight at the equinox is slightly longer than the night because the Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight hidden just below the horizon. At the poles the equinox marks the transition from 24 hours of night to 24 hours of daylight. And at the equator, the equinox marks the moment when the sun is directly overhead. Folklore would have us believe that if St Matthew's Day (21st September) is bright and clear, then "good wine will be had next year". We had good weather! According to The Unique Bedside Book of Weather Lore (1950): "A quiet week before the Autumn Equinox and after, the temperature will continue higher than usual into the winter". In fact, the weather on September 20th, 21st and 22nd is supposed to dictate the weather for the rest of autumn. We had good weather on these dates so perhaps the prospect for the rest of the year looks quite good. We shall see!

Site issues

The work of providing a tarmac footpath from Blackshaw Lane to the visitor centre with raised crossing points from the main car park is almost complete. Most of the work now involves finishing off by the main gate.

A new DVD is available from the visitor centre. It is entitled SPRING and is a unique record of wildlife and plant life at Tittesworth during the spring season and, once again, filmed and produced by Richard Long. Unsolicited comments include "magnificent" and "excellent". Good value at £5.95.

Phil has returned to work with Josie and her team and with Richard's rangers. A warm "welcome back" is extended to him.

The rescued Hobby

The good news is that the injured Hobby, found by Bill Brydges, was released on the 30th August after an extensive period of recuperation at the Kingsley Bird and Falconry Centre. The centre used its own vet to repair its damaged wing. The vet continued to monitor the bird's progress, in the specially constructed recovery area at the centre, until its release. The bird was not released until given the "all clear" by the vet and DEFRA. Bill was unable to be present but was happy for the bird to be released in the Churnet Valley, witnessed by the centre owners and volunteers - an emotional time for them after the bird's yearlong convalescence at the centre. We are indebted to the centre owners and their volunteers for the sterling work they have put in. Let's hope the bird does well in the free state. Thanks to Brenda Scott, one of the centre's volunteers, for this heart-warming update.

The West Midland Bird Club

The next indoor meetings for the Staffordshire branch are as follows:

Tuesday the 4th November - "The Complete Owl" by Mike Leach.
Tuesday the 2nd December - "The Little Egret" by Andy Musgrove.

The location for the indoor meetings is the Perkins Engines Sports & Social Club, Tixall Road, Stafford.

Branch contact numbers: 01782 253502 (Andy Lawrence) and 016930 673409.

Information about Tittesworth sightings appears on the WMBC website - www.westmidlandbirdclub.com/staffs/tittesworth and in the WMBC Bulletin. Some sightings also appear on the Macclesfield RSPB Group website - www.macclesfieldrspb.org.uk.

The long distance Tittesworth Willow Warbler

In the summer edition of the newsletter, it was reported that a Willow Warbler, ringed by Ken Capps at Tittesworth in July 2007, and eventually found dead at Faro, Portugal, was the first of 3000 Willow Warblers ringed by Ken that had been found. This was a misunderstanding and in fact about 20% are subsequently re-trapped at the same site in the year following and also again in later years, having made the round trip to West Africa. Ken's oldest re-trapped bird was at least six years old. The unfortunate bird - found dead in a Faro rattrap - described in the last issue was his first Willow Warbler recovered from abroad. Thanks to Ken for clarification.

Red Kite sighting

A sighting of that wonderful bird the Red Kite was made locally on the 3rd September but was not recorded in the logbook. It was, however, reported on the Macclesfield RSPB Group website. The bird, seen by Alan and Phillippa Locket, was sitting on a fence post just southwest of Gun, between Heaton and Meerbrook. A very good find!

Bird report for 2007

Brenda has been tied up for a good deal of the summer with the Chernobyl Children's Project including a trip with the charity to the devastated area in Belarus. On her return she started working again on the 2007 bird report, which should be available during this quarter.

World Owl Trust sponsor

In the World Owl Trust's annual report for the year 2007-2008 Tittesworth Water was acknowledged as one of their few sponsors from the donation given to them as a result of sales of the Tittesworth bird report for 2005.

BIRD NEWS: selected highlights

Correction: The Little Egret reported last time as having arrived on the 19th June was in fact first noted on the 17th.

JULY:

The Little Egret was still present at the beginning of the month. The first Common Redstart of the season was observed on the 3rd. On the same date a Herring Gull was seen - usually a winter visitor. On the 4th another Little Egret arrived. Also noted: a Redshank, an Oystercatcher, four Common Sandpipers and three juvenile Spotted Flycatchers.

*** STAR BIRDS ***

Twenty-five BLACK-TAILED GODWITS put in an appearance on the 6th.

On the same day there was a Greenshank plus seven Little Ringed Plovers, 13 Curlews, six Common Sandpipers, a Barn Owl, a Peregrine and four Common Redstarts. Common Sandpiper numbers had risen to eight by the 7th. The first juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker was noted on the 8th. Also of note: five Redshanks, two Dunlin and a Barn Owl.

A Greenshank was seen again on the 11th. The 12th yielded two Goosanders, a Little Grebe, three Redshanks, a juvenile Common Redstart and a Green Sandpiper. Of the many species recorded on the 13th the following were of interest: two Little Egrets, two Mute Swans, a Peregrine, three juvenile Common Redstarts, a Barn Owl, a Whimbrel and a Yellow-legged Gull. Fifty Lapwings, a Dunlin and two Peregrines were recorded on the 14th. Forty-eight Lapwings were counted on the 16th. The best sightings on the 19th were two Hobbies at around 6.40 am and a Barn Owl one hour later. On the 20th a Common Tern, a Black-tailed Godwit, an Oystercatcher and a Siskin were the most notable finds. On the 21st five Common Terns flew through at around 11.30 am. A Peregrine flushed out Lapwings from around the Conservation Pool at around 12.30 pm on the 22nd. A Hobby and a Peregrine were seen over the Conservation Pool after 5pm on the 23rd. THREE Little Egrets were counted on the 26th! On the 27th there were 77 Lapwings, 13 Great Crested Grebes, five Grey Herons, nine Cormorants, a Black-tailed Godwit and two Common Sandpipers.

*** STAR BIRDS ***
Four GREEN SANDPIPERS were present on the 29th.

The following are also worth mentioning for the 29th - 81 Lapwings, over 25 Pied Wagtails and a Merlin. Seven Black-tailed Godwits flew over on the 30th. At the end of the month the three Little Egrets were still present.

AUGUST:

Two Shovelers were recorded on the 1st of the month.

Of note on the 2nd: a Kingfisher, two Nuthatches, five Song Thrushes and 40 Pied Wagtails. A Common Tern was the best find on-site on the 3rd but a Diamond Dove (an escape) was seen in Meerbrook village. Of note on the 6th: a Green Sandpiper, a Peregrine, a Fox, a Brown Hare and a Weasel. The Diamond Dove was seen again on the 7th. On the 9th the three Little Egrets were present plus two Kingfishers, a pair of Bullfinches, five Common Sandpipers and two Common Redstarts were recorded. Lots of species found on the 10th including a Greenshank, a Snipe, 12 Siskins, five Spotted Flycatchers (including 3 juveniles), a pair of Blackcaps with 2 juveniles, two Peregrines and four Ravens.

*** STAR BIRD ***

A TURNSTONE was seen on shingle near the visitor centre on the 11th.

There was a pair of Great Crested Grebes with two juveniles on the 14th. The following butterflies were identified: Meadow Brown, Small White, Large White, Peacock and Large Skipper. The last Little Egret sighting was made on the 14th. Two more butterfly species were noted on the 15th - Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood. On the 16th there were over 80 Pied Wagtails and over 40 Goldfinches. The best sighting on the 17th was an OSPREY over the main reservoir at 7 am.

The Canada Goose flock stood at 261. Also 91 Lapwings were counted. The most unusual sighting on the 20th was five Great Black-backed Gulls. An OSPREY was over the main reservoir at about midday on the 21st. It was seen at Rudyard about two hours later. A Hobby was also seen on the 21st. On the 24th the wing tagged Common Buzzard was seen again. A single Whitethroat was also noted proving the species was still on site. A Peregrine was hunting over the site for five hours from about 7.30 am on the 27th. Also over 120
Swallows were noted. Another Hobby showed up on the 28th. On the last day of the month there were three Kingfishers present. Also of note was - the first Wigeon of the second winter period, a Hobby, three Kestrels, two juvenile Sedge Warblers, nine Snipe and two Shovelers.

SEPTEMBER:

A Greenshank was observed from the 1st until the 8th. A 'Commic' Tern was seen flying NW on the 2nd. One hundred and thirty Goldfinches were seen on the same day. Two Sand Martins were observed on the on the 4th. On the 6th a female Red-crested Pochard and a Barn Owl was noted.

*** STAR BIRDS ***

The best sighting on the 7th was three Scaup (a female & 2 juveniles).

A male Mandarin was present on the 8th and 1000s of House Martins passed through. Wigeon numbers were up to seven by the 13th. The following were of note on the 14th: a Shoveler, eight Chiffchaffs, 15 Long-tailed Tits, a Brown Hare and a Fox. Five Common Terns were found fishing in the main reservoir on the 18th. Two of the Scaup were still around, two Hobbies & a Peregrine passed by and a Tawny Owl was noted. A Barn Owl was seen again on the 19th. Two juvenile Scaup were spotted on the 20th. The first Redwing of the second winter period arrived on the 21st. On the same day two Jays were seen, a female Goosander was noted and the last appearance of a juvenile Scaup was recorded. Wigeon numbers had lifted to 15 by the 22nd. Eight Bullfinches were seen on the 23rd including six juveniles. Snipe numbers were at a more healthy level of 14 by the 24th. Two hundred and twenty six Mallards were counted on the same day. Also a Redshank, a Merlin, a Nuthatch and a Willow Tit were noted. About 20 Meadow Pipits were located on the 26th. Also the first winter arrival of the Common Pochard was recorded. The best find on the 27th was a Green Woodpecker. Twenty-seven Wigeon were counted on the 28th. Two owl species were recorded - Tawny and Little Owl. On the 29th a Chiffchaff was heard making its monotonous song.

The above sightings represent just a small fraction of the recorded observations. However, it is an indication of the richness of wildlife at Tittesworth.

Ray Perry 14th October 2008
Tel: 01625 432668 Email: ray_perry@btinternet.com