Zoom Bird Talks

Two talks are available on Zoom in the next fortnight.

On Tuesday 7 February at 7.00 p.m. (login available from 6.45 p.m.) Richard Baines will speak about the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project.

The Turtle Dove is the UK’s fastest-declining bird species, but still has a foothold in parts of Yorkshire. Richard Baines (of Yorkshire Coast Nature) has worked extensively with the North York Moors National Park. In 2015 he was instrumental in setting up the project, a volunteer-led conservation initiative to survey and create new habitat for this declining bird. In 2016 he started to work part time as the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project Officer. The project won Best UK Conservation Project at the National Parks Conference in 2019 and continues to be focussed on this attractive species.

This talk is arranged by the Newcastle RSPB Group and the Zoom link may be obtained from bernieadnett1ATbtinternet.com

Following two “in person” meetings, the February Zoom talk in the Durham RSPB/Durham Bird Club series is a week later, on Tuesday 14 February at 7.30 p.m. (the link will be open from about 7:15 p.m.) when John Buckingham will give a presentation entitled Birds of Armenia: Eastern gem of the Caucasus.

John introduces his subject, saying "A visit to Armenia takes you back in time, to when low intensity agriculture, flower-rich meadows and scenic mountainsides were full of birds and colourful insects. This tiny land-locked country has a huge inland lake, with marshes and spectacular mountain and forest scenery. Lying on the eastern border of Turkey, south of Georgia, north of Iran and with a contested border with Azerbaijan, East most definitely meets West here. Birds such as Armenian Gull, Caspian Snowcock, Caucasian Grouse, Syrian Woodpecker and Persian Wheatear conjure up a picture of local birdlife, while Eastern European specialities such as Isabelline Wheatear, Black-headed Bunting and Masked Shrike mix with Asiatic birds including Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Mountain Chiffchaff, White-tailed Lapwing and Ruddy Shelduck. All of these and many more are illustrated and discussed in the lecture.”

The link for this meeting may be obtained from richard.cowen313@gmail.com

There will be a further talk in the Durham series before Easter, but this is scheduled to be an "in person " meeting, at Washington Wetland Centre at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 14 March. On that occasion Daniel Turner will be talking about the work of the Northeast England Beached Bird Surveys Group and also touching on the problems of Avian Influenza.

DBC: Conservation in Action !

Another positive weekend for the Clubs Conservation Team led by John Olley & Joe Hughes, with farm visits in the Southern section of our recording area.

These guys have quietly worked away, for many years now, with a large network of contacts having made a Real Tangible Difference for Wild Birds in Co.Durham.

Club Conservation Volunteers aka "The Shovellers" come from all backgrounds & band together to perform a range of tasks, from nest box erection & physical habitat management through to site surveys & guidance for landowners.

This weekend boxes were erected for Barn Owl, Kestrel, Little Owl & Tree Sparrow. 📦 🔨 With the landowners delighted to assist us with the JCB Telehandler.

The visit continued with further site assessment, noting target species of Kestrel & Snipe etc

The Freezing Fog & limited visibility didn't hinder our efforts as a secret weapon in the form of a Thermal Camera was deployed.

This allowed us to find other targets around the farmland -

a Woodcock roosting in a wooded thicket was a delightful find, but perhaps more excitingly the thermal was used to confirm a heat source in an Ash tree cavity, where we noted white splash & owl pellets...

Through binoculars we could make out the cast pellets as belonging to Barn Owl & the heat source picked up was very likely to be emanating from a Barnie inside.

NB: If you would like to get involved please contact the DBC's Conservation Teams John or Joe - or come down & see us on SUNDAY 5th FEB (9am) at our Castle Lake Nature Reserve, Bishop Middleham.

Reed Planting & Hedge work will be undertaken - if any members would like to come to find out about the site & hear about plans for its future then everyone is welcome.

Park near the church, at Church Street X in the very south west corner of the village - dont forget to bring wellies & binoculars, our hide provides a good panoramic view of the lake.

*DBC - Studying & Conserving the Birds of County Durham.

DBC Yellowhammer Survey

The Yellowhammer population in Durham may have been in decline for many years. The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) notes that Tristram (1905) reported that it had “decreased much in numbers in late years”, while Temperley (1951) recorded a marked decline in the decade before his book was written. Since then local and national data suggest further decline, in County Durham perhaps more noticeable in areas west of Durham City. DBC is therefore running a breeding season survey of the species in 2022 to try to determine its true status across the county. Details and reporting form at https://durhambirdclub.org.uk/dbc-survey-yellowhammer Please use hashtag #DBCYellowhammer on social media.