<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society Newsletter My kind of birdwatching - Pete Marsh
Newsletter of the Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society
My kind of birdwatching - Pete Marsh
Autumn 2001
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I found my first (1965) 'diary' the other day!    Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Great Grey Shrike en route to the Lower Hide at Leighton Moss.    No mobile, no pager, no-one to phone them out to, but the latter was a returning bird already on the extremely select grapevine.   There was also an entry whereby I climbed a tree and saw my first Little Gull.   This tree still exists (in part) next to the Lilians hide and was the only way of viewing the pool at the time.    Teething troubles with a new hobby included sending the whole of the Leighton Moss staff racing in the direction of a Black Grouse = melanistic Pheasant.

However, my main interest at the time was moths and butterflies and whilst birdwatching took second fiddle, I did train to become a ringer under the guiding hands of John Wilson, Keith Hague and others.

Soon afterwards, university in Northern Ireland saw my home next to the north-westerly gale hotspot of Ramore Head  and seawatching became a major occupation, with the Irish status of Leach's Petrel receiving the first of several overhauls during the last 30 years.   A University ringing group was formed and a ringing/visible migration station set up on the Bann Estuary.    Rare birds were located, such as Collared Pratincole, a drake King Eider I could watch whilst lying in bed and Barred  Warbler, and the status of some species (in addition to Leach's Petrel) received an overhaul.    A summary of observations was produced, as we all seemed to be leaving the area at the same time and it seemed appropriate to leave a legacy.   The next, but not overlapping, generation of birders there included Anthony McGeehan.  The most quoted section of this legacy was the use of the word 'abundant' to describe Corncrake and I have lost count of the number of times I've defended this or seen it quoted with a degree of scepticism.  It does seem ludricous nowadays, given the complete absence as a breeding species from Northern Ireland....but, for example, we were involved in altering grass mowing regimes for the five territories on the campus and I did have to wear home-made ear plugs during a substantial part of summer 1973 as a 'bottom of the garden' crake was akin to a  telephone ringing in the bedroom.     The density of calling males in the Coleraine/Portrush/Portstewart 'triangle' in the early 1970s was as high as anything I have heard on annual visits to the Outer Hebrides in the last 10 years.

Gradually other influences crystallised my birdwatching habits into an 'interest in the uncertain unexpected side to birdwatching'.     I have never really involved myself in single species studies (slogging up Ward's Stone "monitoring" Dotterel is about the nearest) or in breeding bird studies other than basic Atlas work and plenty of CBCs.     Similarly, as regards counting, John Wilson  might quite justifiably say that monitoring  Coot on Pine Lake on a regular basis is far more important than accurate counts of Kittiwakes during every winter gale.    I am more interested in the Kittiwakes as they document something which is variable year to year as well as exhibiting behavioural traits (dealing with the inner Bay cul-de-sac) which are for me more interesting than watching Coot react to a speedboat.  Similarly documenting visible migration of passerines is of considerable interest to me, as the variation year by year can be seen and perhaps related to food shortages, poor breeding seasons etc. .  My interest in coastal passerine migration was transferred to Heysham Obs. from 1980 onwards and this site has provided a good annual benchmark for comments on passerine migration as the coverage, on the whole,  has been good.    Part of the motivation here was due to the lack of meaningful comments on passerine migration offering themselves for the 1979 '10 year' Checklist...and a little bit was due to an Ortolan and bushes full of Chiffchaffs and thrush species during a south-east wind in autumn 1979.   Until then, I didn't appreciate that our area was geographically suited to producing 'falls'.

'Interest in the uncertain and unexpected'  can also be interpreted as wanting 'excitement'; which brings twitching into play.    I lived in Norfolk at the time of the George/Nancys heyday and there were certainly the opportunities to get caught up in the listing scene.     The Wallcreeper/Alpine Accentor (Cheddar Gorge to Portland) trip remains permanently etched in the memory, yet in many ways I preferred spending my spare time searching the places where others had not already trodden.    Therefore Scolt Head and East Hills (Wells) were regularly visited as was the Morston-Stiffkey stretch, Weybourne camp and occasional trips to Winterton.     Why did I not have the sense to carry on searching from Stiffkey to Wells (c/f recent track record)?   It was also my first introduction to the rather elitist cynicism with which .new kids on the block' were treated by the early twitching community.   I remember finding a Little Bunting a few days after moving to Norfolk on a late afternoon in September 1977; no big deal but apparently the first in Norfolk for many years and a very stringy species.  I left a note in my innocence through the George Hotel letterbox explaining where it was.    There was no-one on site the next morning - it had been 'laughed out of court', mainly because it was 'with' Reed Buntings and I had come across it whilst trying to get better views of a Richard's Pipit discovered a minute or two beforehand.   Another newcomer thinking he is in fantasyland in Norfolk, with rare birds at every footstep!  However, when my friend Steve Harris and I rediscovered it (and the Richard's Pipit), they suddenly became credible and the 1977 equivalent of  'hordes' appeared  - Steve was a 'known' local!   

Whilst I have some wonderful species from the relatively early days (which I secretly do not want turning up again, like the recent Stellars Eider!),  I have always blown 'hot and cold' on twitching.  Some of the cold bits have been regretted, such as Scilly in October 1985.    On the other hand, really bad luck with Ross's Gull (Cornwall, Plymouth, Seaforth, Scarborough (twice), Teesside (over 2,500 miles in total) ) had me ringing in 'sick' (for the one and only time) and heading for Fraserborough.   This trip was unpleasant (snow & ice) and extremely costly (plus lost wages) and I didn't even see the bird....but a different one which had just arrived (both there the next day)!  However, within two years, there was one at Rossall (under one hour, very little petrol used) and a 1st winter at Workington (again not too far).   Good parable material?    A fairly well-known tour leader confided that he never ran any field trips for his birdwatching classes during periods when good birds might turn up i.e. September-October!!    I didn't take any notice and arranged a field trip to Merseyside during well-forecasted superb seawatching weather.   No amount of Sabine's Gulls, Long-tailed Skuas and Leach's Petrels could compensate for where I should have been - in a sleepless state in Cornwall watching Yellow-throated Vireo.   A good seawatch will (and already has) happened several times over in my lifetime.   Yellow-throated Vireo will not be seen (=available to all) again in this country in my lifetime.     

Do I have any problems with bird-watching as it is these days?   Am I a dinosaur?    Yes, in one respect.    Whilst I can understand why tape luring 'has' to be used in very difficult habitats during the relatively limited  time-period of, for e.g.  an expensive tour providing income for a developing country, I see no reason whatsoever for tapes to be used by guides as a "fast-track" to birds in much 'easier' habitats which will soon make themselves available to everyone.     It is leading to a new type of birdwatcher to add to any revised version of Bill Oddies "Little Black Bird Book", the "Tape-lure Dude" - an inexperienced individual with a tick list and NO patience.   Then again, maybe I'm a hypocrite.  I took an accordion to the Outer Hebrides, forgetting that we were staying amongst the 'wee frees', who were rather less appreciative of jigs and reels than their neighbours.   However, when a Corncrake called near the vehicle I experimented playing D and D sharp above middle C together.  Out came the Corncrake, although I have never seen anything run so fast back into cover when I switched to Captain Pugwash.   On the other hand,. surely this is 'fieldcraft', whilst playing a tape does not deserve such a label?   The authenticity of this can be checked out with Barnsley birders such as Mick Turton!      

Re-local conservation issues, I would like to see less general pontification and more attention to detail with respect to local planning applications.  I would like to see LDBWS  appoint a committee member with just one area of responsibility - to check planning applications, sit on the North Lancs. Conservation Committee and liase with RSPB/English Nature/LWT/LC (& Cy) C re-objecting or otherwise to specific proposals.   This does not mean standing on a yoghurt pot preaching about roads and bypasses and the community benefit of upside down trees (sorry sculpture), it means noticing specific proposals and quietly liasing to try and subtly influence planning conditions.

Finally bird-watching is now a major industry with the boundaries between the volunteer and the paid employee often not very clear-cut.  For example, some WEBS counters are paid, some receive petrol expenses, some receive nothing.   Similarly many people on nature reserves dealing directly with visitors are volunteers.    On some of the smaller reserves, everyone is a volunteer.   Yet they are not treated as such by a small minority of  visitors 'demanding' information on this that and the other at the drop of a hat.    An attitude change is needed here.




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