2017 Rare Bird Descriptions Needed!

The rarities sub-committee have reviewed the records for 2017 and have discovered that there were many records from both category 1 and category 2 which have simply not been submitted. The excel spreadsheet HERE outlines the species that we require description for.

The rarities sub-committee aim to maintain a high standard of accuracy of what species have occurred in Durham and when. Please consult the excel document attached and if you were a finder or observer of any of the species on it then please submit a description and accompanying photographs (where possible).

PLEASE NOTE: There are two different tabs on the excel sheet. Please consult both.

Thanks,

Rarities sub-committee.

Newsletter -January 2018

NEW YEAR NEWSLETTER

Dear Member

Following on from our End of Year Newsletter last month, we sent this by email but did not catch all of our members.

For some we do not have an email address and for others, obviously not a correct one as the emails bounced back

So we are sending this Newsletter by email and, to catch all of our members, by post. However we won’t be able to afford to send them out by post all the time, not just money but the time taken to put them in envelopes and physically post them.

If you want to receive these Newsletters in the future, the answer is obvious. Let us have your up-to-date email address and also let us know if you change it by emailing us at durhambirdclub@gmail.com.

This Newsletter is not meant to replace the Lek but at present we have no editor. This is why there has been no recent issue. As we mentioned in our first Newsletter, if anyone would like to do this, please let any member of the Committee know or send an email to the above address.

The County Bird Race that was held on 7 January was a success and ended up as a draw. 91 species were spotted altogether. A rematch has been suggested.

Local Field Trip Sat 13 Jan – Probably this will get out too late for those who receive it by post, but details are now on the Clubs Facebook page and Twitter account.

Dates to remember are

13 Jan – Low Barnes and Auckland Castle

28 April – Upper Weardale and Teesdale

9 June – Muggleswick, and Pow Hill/Derwent Reservoir

14 October – Hartlepool, Seaton, Greatham, Saltholme

Projects and Surveys

The Club's Projects and Surveys Group has been reactivated and is organising a number of surveys designed to appeal to the full range of our members.

County Durham is one of the best areas in the United Kingdom for Willow Tit, but we still do not have full knowledge of the numbers and distribution of the species in the county. Preparations for our survey are at an advanced stage and we hope to launch the fieldwork soon after the middle of January.

During the early part of the year there will also be a survey attempting to locate Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and to establish whether the species still breeds in the county.

In addition we intend to run a survey on competition between Collared Dove and Woodpigeon, particularly in the suburban areas which Woodpigeon is now colonising.

Please watch the Club's website under the section "Projects and Surveys" and also the separate website under development at http://bit.ly/2yHj9A5 for details of these surveys and other national surveys in which you can participate. If you would like to receive information on surveys by post please contact

David Sowerbutts 9, Prebends Field Gilesgate Moor Durham DH1 1HH (Tel.: 0191-386 7201) (E-mail: David.Sowerbutts@dunelm.org.uk)

Indoor Meeting, Thursday 18 January. Our first indoor meeting for some time will be held on Thursday 18 January at Lanchester Community Centre, Newbiggin Lane, Lanchester DH7 0NT (almost opposite the Black Bull). Car parking is available adjacent to the Centre.

The doors will be open from 6.30 p.m. to allow people to meet other members, before the main event at 7.30 p.m. - a talk by David Steel about the Isle of May, where he is the reserve manager of the National Nature Reserve. Refreshments will be available before the talk.

David Steel grew up on South Tyneside and is a former member of Durham Bird Club. He worked for the National Trust on the Farne Islands for 14 years before moving to the Isle of May.

Website – if you were registered into the old website, you will need to register your details again in the new website as everything was lost when the old site crashed.

Informing others.

We are putting this Newsletter on the website and the Club’s Facebook page but it is unlikely that it will be posted before the weekend. If you know any member who has not received it by email, can you please let them know about it.

Sat 16th Dec - Friday 22nd Dec

Saturday 16th

A Lapland Bunting was noted all week at Newburn

Lap Bunting image by Ian Forest

Barn Owl (GS) at ShibdonPond Gateshead reminded us of 3 species of owls seen back in Nov 1988, when Barn, Tawny & Long-eared Owls all roosted on site in adjacent trees. A couple of daylight hunting birds were noted at Houghton & 2 nr Rushyford on 19th (GB)

7 Snow Bunting remained at Shields (DH)

Peregrine over A690 Houghton (NU)

1GND, 1 BTDiver, Merlin & Snow Bunting at Blackhall.

Sunday 17th

Water Rail in Roker Park again (PeteC)

Monday 18th

possible Coues Arctic Redpoll in mixed finch flock at Barlow Fell. 200+ birds mixed finches present.

(Steve Fryer)

Raptor fest at Hurworth Burn (JO)

Merlin, immature Peregrine, Buzzards, Kestrels & Sparrowhawk

young male Merlin in the West of the County (Derek Bilton)

5Woodcock in the East Rainton area & 3 Hetton Bogs which had min of 5 Water Rails (CW)

Scandinavian Rock Pipit at SAFC Academy car park (JC)

Littoralis Rock Pipit (John Chapman)

Glaucous Gull at Shields seemed to have lost its attached hook & line

Winter wildfowl were more evident with Mergansers displaying at Hartlepool (BM)

Still a familiar sight on the N.Tees marshes in winter - the graceful Pintail - a very rare British breeding species, caught here in flight.

Tuesday 19th

Lapland Bunting again coming to a seeded area with 60 Linnet nr Newburn bridge although very flighty (Norman Urwin)

Bittern was spotted at RSPB Saltholme from the wildlife watchpoint (Dougie Holden) - another was on the Long Drag during the week.

3 Chiffchaffs were at Zinc Works (IF) - there has been at least one here since late October - another was retrapped by ringer at Whitburn having been rung there in the Autumn - both seem unlikely places to overwinter, but with with the pattern of an increase in winter birds over the past couple of years.

Other were noted at Sunderland (TM), Rowland Gill (BR), Pittington (SE), Ch-le-Street Swg Wks & Hetton (CW)

Chiffchaff - a warm toned bird, with pale feet & legs - pic by IanF

A drake Pintail & 2 drake Shovellers were amongst 90 other dabbling ducks on a flighting pond in the Durham City District (SE). Wigeon picked up down the valley at Chartershaugh, with 225 noted.

RSPB Saltholme continued to offer good opportunity to observe a Long-eared Owl at its roost whilst the Rainton area produced a handful of sightings one of which was a bird moving north at dusk & spiralling to gain height travelling for over a mile ! on a very mild evening after the recent thaw....

These dusk sightings were considered a good indication that a communal roost had developed & discrete observations of birds leaving a wooded site at dusk confirmed the presence of a roost holding 16 or more birds.

Leo phone-scoped in the twilight from 190 metres range (SE)

Short-eared Owls were still very hard to come by, an observer almost standing on one on 20th - & despite being present for several weeks, it is seldom seen hunting....

Seo - 'phone-binned' from range (SE)

Friday 22nd Dec

5Waxwings were noted flying inland over the well watched Hetton area (CW) with 140Pink feet north down the road at Lambton (MH).

Blackhall continue its excellent series of Black throated Diver records with 3 birds seen on the sea along with a dozen Red throats (Robbie R), noting x3 Jack Snipe on another of his local haunts at Shotton.

The week ended on a high note, only just after the winter solstice, a mild sunny morning encouraged a male Willow Tit into song at New Lambton (MH)

Willow Tit NZ34 (SteveE)