CHRISTMAS DRAW 2005

I am delighted to report that the Group Christmas draw raised a record sum of £1,900. It certainly spread our message far and wide as counterfoils carried addresses as far away as Colchester and Southampton.

Many thanks to all those who participated from the delivery of raffle books to their sale and return. I am particularly grateful to those who did not buy raffle tickets but instead made generous donations.

There were a few requests from members asking that they should not be sent tickets in future. Unfortunately this is virtually impossible. The Group does not hold a database of members and tickets are sent out with the newsletter to addresses supplied by RSPB head office on pre-printed labels. We can only suggest that you recycle the tickets as an alternative.

Brian Fagg, Promoter

CHRISTMAS DRAW 2005 RESULTS

£150
14195 G Seymour, Welling

£75
03498 L Dark,Crayford

£50
38359 L Thornton, Crayford

£10
19368 L Morris, SW7
33827 V Taylor, Eltham Park
24785 M Blackell, Bexleyheath
33384 EE and Mrs B Harris, Abbey Wood
15843 P Milne, SE18

FEED THE BIRDS DAY ACTIVITIES A BIG SUCCESS
Monday 7 November 2005

The group decided on two main activities for Feed the Birds Day 2005.

The first was based on a walk at Footscray Meadows on 30 October which received generous pre-event coverage in local papers contacted by Eric Brown.

Thirty five people appeared in the Old Stable Block car park, of whom at least 12 were not RSPB members, as well as four volunteers.

We were able to achieve 18 entries in the free prize draw for a year's supply of bird food as well as a bird table and feeders, two of which were children, entering for a digital camera.

Bird feeders and bird food were also available for sale but opportunities were limited. The press arrived to take group photographs as well as pictures of our younger participants.

The walk was much appreciated and a list of birds seen can be viewed under Recent Sightings.

The second effort was part of the November 5 Autumn Fair where a Feed the Birds stall was managed by Maurice Ewart and Jeanna Turner.

This was adjacent to a fine display by Tony Banks which illustrated all aspects of attracting birds to your garden. On the other side was a stall managed by Sylvia Say selling bird food near the sales area managed by Maureen Thompson and Anthea Reynolds and other volunteers.

After four hours of hard selling a further 95 entries were achieved for the two competitions with eight of those for the children's competition.

Also, 51 pin badges were sold and bird food worth £71.

Maurice Ewart (right) and John Turner sell bird feeding supplies and hand out leaflets at the Old Stable Block car park, Footscray Meadows (pic: Tony Banks)

A big thank you to all who took part.

John Turner, Group Leader

FAIR RAISES ALMOST £500 - AUTUMN FAIR
Saturday 5 November 2005

This year’s event held at the Freemantle Hall, Bexley High Street, attracted approximately 240 paying customers and their children.

An early rush gradually slowed until lunch time as stalls offering books, videos, plants, white elephants, bird food and feeders, home-made cakes and a range of RSPB goods including Christmas cards, calendars and diaries began to be stripped of their goodies.

Chas ran his usual lucky dip and tombola whilst a number of craft stalls sold jewellery, soft furnishings and antiques as well as home-made preserves.

Takings for the day totalled £487 broken down as follows with additional income from RSPB sales:

We are very grateful for the help provided by the above volunteers and Chas for enlisting them. A special thanks must go to Tony Banks for all his hard work in preparing and organising the event.

John Turner

BARN OWL TREAT AT CROSSNESS
October 2005

It’s a hoot! Yes, barn owls are breeding in Bexley. A pair successfully raised four young on the Crossness nature reserve in Abbey Wood this summer.

WOODPECKER SIGHTINGS WANTED
July 2005

Bird conservation bodies are so worried about a serious decline in one of our woodland species they are appealing for sightings.

The lesser spotted woodpecker, mini-version of the more common great spotted, has declined by 77 percent in the last three decades and in some areas where it was once seen has disappeared altogether.

Fortunately this bird is still spotted occasionally at Footscray Meadows.

Now the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology have launched a joint appeal for sightings.

If you see one please send details to the BirdTrack website at; www.birdtrack.net.

Please don't forget to send a copy to this site so it can be included in our sightings section.

Eric Brown

FROM TAWNY OWLS TO KORI’S BUSTARD

John Turner has become the Group's sixth leader in 25 years. The retired schoolmaster was elected unopposed at the May 2005 annual meeting. Here he explains how his interest in birdwatching developed and describes some of his favourite birding moments

I first became interested in bird watching as a boy exploring the wilds of Bexley with a copy of The Observer’s Book of Birds. Early memories include nightjars in Joydens Wood, a black tern over Danson Lake and collecting tawny owl pellets in Park View Road, Welling.

Whilst a teenager this took a back seat to active sport which ruled life together with a teaching career in PE and biology until an injury sustained in a charity match finished both participation and PE. Reduced to walking, bird watching came to the fore again since when it has grown from strength to strength.

I became a member of the RSPB and attended Bexley Group meetings at BETHS. The highlight since then has been an annual autumn visit to North Norfolk when in one visit I saw a new species every day for five days including little auks blown into Cley car park.

Other highlights have been visits to North Wales for black guillemots, South Devon for cirl buntings and Bempton Cliffs for everything!

Birdwatching being compulsive, I broadened my travel horizons to include Europe, Africa and North America. Memories include divers at midnight on a Finnish lake, the atmospheric Bialowieza Forest at dawn for woodpeckers and the Coto Donana for bustards, sand grouse and pratincoles. Kenya and Tanzania produced the most amazing sights but in addition to the mammals one bird, the kori’s bustard, was a highlight.

I retired from teaching as deputy head (finance) and finally retired from full-time employment last year. This is my third year as a member of the committee with its attached jobs and in taking on the leadership in order to maintain the existence of the group I hope to sustain the good work of predecessors and, indeed, build on it to strengthen the group for the future.

JOHN TURNER

John Turner engaged in his favourite hobby.
Picture; courtesy Daily Telegraph

DANSON SHOW BETTER THAN LIVE8!
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 July 2005

We carried out a strong recruitment drive at the Danson Show and were rewarded with a number of new RSPB memberships in the bag. Seven new memberships and at least 40 enquiries was a good total over a weekend when attention might have been diverted by the Live8 concert.

Our two photo competitions for adults and children proved particularly popular with even the Mayor of Bexley, Cllr John Shepheard, entering the adult competition.

The enthusiasm of youngsters was particularly encouraging. Many of them and their parents filled in applications for free RSPB booklets and we hope a number of these will convert to full RSPB membership.

With, in addition, a probable seven new memberships gained over the weekend including two family memberships, the sterling efforts of volunteers Julia, Maureen, Anthea, Brian and Tony were very much appreciated.

An interesting variety of discussions on birds took place with visitors to the stand but one common theme emerged – house sparrows are doing very well in Bexley with these once common garden birds returning to gardens across the borough.

I was interviewed by TGRS Sound, the new community radio station for Bexley and the Outer Thames Gateway. They are interested in doing a programme on environmental issues in the local community and hope to include a representative of the RSPB. If it goes ahead it will give us a good platform to raise awareness of the RSPB.

A worthwhile weekend and a big thank you to the other volunteers: Tony Banks, Brian Fagg, Anthea Reynolds, Maureen Thompson and Julia Maynard.

Maurice Ewart

Brian Fagg answers queries from the public as Anthea Reynolds and Maurice Ewar
wait behind the Group Stall at the Danson Show in July 2005

SPRING PLANT FAIR TOTS UP £600

Click image to enlarge

Yet again members had brought along a wide variety of excellent plants which were supplemented by a selection generously donated by Stuarts Nurseries (North Cray) and Homebase stores at Dartford and Crayford. Ruxley Manor Garden Centre had donated a gift voucher to use as a prize and B&Q Dartford allowed us a substantial discount on plants.

At the door I was able to greet a steady trickle of people, who joined the rush and left clutching carrier bags sprouting all sorts of foliage. Some attractive craft stalls added variety within the hall and Chas Parr’s Tombola was as popular as ever.

When we closed at two o’clock there was a satisfying surplus in excess of £600. Oh, and we also had a visit from Kentish Times Newspapers who published a photograph the following week.

Many thanks to those who donated plants, cakes etc, the people of Bexley for their continued support and especially those volunteers who gave their time on the day.

Tony Banks

Seven volunteers from the Group turned up to help at our RSPB stall at The Woodlands Farm Open Day at Shooter’s Hill on May 22. Chas Parr’s tombola and plants left unsold at our Plant Fair the previous week proved great attractions.

New Group Leader John Turner laid on some welcome refreshments and we all took turns to hold on to the legs of the pergola to stop the wind blowing it away. A busy day with customers lining up for entrance well over an hour ended with over £100 being raised for the RSPB, two new members enrolled and promises from two more to fill in application forms for the 100 club.

All this and we were also treated to the sound of a blackcap singing in nearby scrub plus the sight of a kestrel arriving at a nestbox with a mouse dangling from its talons.

A big thank you to the seven members who ran the stall. If you can spare a few hours to help at an event like this please contact the Group Leader.

ERIC BROWN

The Top Ten species seen in Bexley with average number of each species per garden were:

Just missing out on a Top Ten place at number 11 was the rapidly increasing ring-necked parakeet which averaged 0.84 per garden surveyed. Other colourful visitors to Bexley gardens were long-tailed tits (15th), great-spotted woodpeckers (22nd) and goldfinches (23rd).

David James Stands Down
March 2005

Organisations such as ours rely heavily for their very existence on volunteers contributing time, effort and expertise. Without them the Bexley Group would simply fold.

Now and again an individual comes along who is prepared to sacrifice that little extra, make a little more time and contribute that wee bit more to the smooth running of our Group. For the last four years or so David James has fallen into this category.

As Leader, David took on a multitude of tasks far too numerous to list here. But they included such varied jobs as carrying the speaker’s equipment at indoor meetings, steering the Group through 25th anniversary celebrations, leading walks and coach trips as well as spreading the RSPB gospel at outdoor events.

In fact when your committee decided to compile a list of tasks undertaken by the Leader it took several weeks and more than one piece of A4 paper to get everything down. Sadly, this was necessary because David decided to step down due to increasing business and personal pressures.

David departed with the deep gratitude of the committee, and the whole Group, for his selfless devotion to the RSPB cause. Thankfully he has decided not to cut himself off from the Group altogether and will continue in certain roles such as liaising with schools.

The Group has been fortunate in unearthing a number of distinguished leaders of whom David was the latest. This is not a job for the faint-hearted and demands almost total commitment. At the time of writing the search is on for a successor capable of living up to high standards set by predecessors.

In another exciting development we are launching a 100 Club to raise extra funds. Maurice Ewart has agreed to be the promoter and details can be here. Please consider participating. You will not only have a chance of winning cash prizes but be contributing to conservation too.

This income will be a welcome addition to our Christmas Draw which realised £862.50 profit and the sales of RSPB goods which raised £986 last year. Well done Anthea and Maureen. Volunteers are needed to help with sales. Please contact any committee member.

ERIC BROWN

Bexley Group Rescue Fire Brigade
March 2005

Click to enlarge image

On Easter Monday evening around 6pm I received a call from a North London fire officer requesting assistance. He had, it seems, got only a recorded message on the number for RSPB HQ in Sandy, turned to the Internet as an emergency measure and found our site.

The problem was this. A robin had entered the fire station (exact location secret), built a nest and laid three eggs all within 24 hours, he said.

The nest was located in an upturned fireman's helmet reposing in a rack. This was not the problem as the owner was off sick and unable to wear it for a while. He wanted to know if they should move the nest because he feared the noise of the appliances starting up and sirens blaring could startle the female and cause it to desert.

I pointed out that relocating the nest was more likely to cause disaster than leaving it alone. Robins, I said, are experts at living alongside man and as long as this one was not a first time breeder it would probably be accustomed to noise.

To his query about supplying food I suggested mealworms and he assured me the door would be left open at this station day and night so the parent bird(s) could come and go.

He also wanted to know how long before the helmet could be reclaimed by its rightful owner. I could not find the answer in many so-called top of the range bird guides but the Collins Wild Guide to Garden Birds came up trumps; 5-7 bluish white eggs, incubated for 12-14 days, young fledge after 12-15 days.

The officer and his mates could live with this. But there was more. I told him that robins often have a second or even a third brood and there was a bit of a silence. I pointed out the helmet could be removed after the last of the young fledge and hopefully before any more eggs are laid.

A heartwarming tale of concern from a group of men who fearlessly put their lives at risk to rescue others. I will never think dark thoughts about them again when I see a fire officer rescuing a cat from a tree!

Eric Brown

Picture courtesy of Mike Read of the RSPB

Sub-officer Christian Barthorpe has kept us informed on the progress of the robins nesting in a fireman’s helmet in their fire station:

Click to enlarge image

Click to enlarge image

19th April 2005 – Only three eggs were laid and all hatched and parents and fledglings all doing fine. We are feeding them crushed plain peanuts, chopped worms and maggots and, for some reason, danish pastries.

Today at first light, 22nd April, they were taken out by the proud parents for a walk. After a brief panic by the extended family, all three large fluffy juveniles were found in the next door’s garden being attended by the proud parents. We will leave the nest for them to roost in at night.

Click to enlarge image

Todd And Winship Quit Focus Group

Two former Bexley RSPB Group leaders have resigned from a council advisory body claiming their views were being ignored.

Ralph Todd, who founded the RSPB Group 25 years ago, and Michael Winship, who founded the focus group eight years ago, helped produce the acclaimed Bexley biodiversity action plan but were unhappy their advice on environmental matters was going unheeded.

The pair regarded Bexley Council’s decision to approve development for industrial use of 69 acres of Erith marshes as the last straw and quit the Local Agenda 21 Focus Group.

They say they cannot get council officers to discuss the issues with them."Why should I bother" asked Mr Todd. "Bexley’s action in this field has been absolutely nil. For over a year we have been urging the council to start moving forward with the Bexley Biodiversity Action Plan. But Councillors took no interest in hearing from a volunteer group giving their time freely. Now I am disillusioned and I am not going to give Bexley Council any more of my time."

Mr Winship said; "I have had to watch as recommended good practice was reduced to nothing. This development is the greatest piece of environmental vandalism conceivable."

Bexley Council emphatically denied snubbing the pair.

Leader Chris Ball said; "I completely refute the accusation that members are not interested. We simply don’t agree with the case they have put forward."

It is thought development will threaten the future for many birds breeding on the marshes especially the declining skylark.

David James presents Paul Outhwaite (of the RSPB South East Office) with a cheque for £2,000 at the Group’s 25th Anniversary celebrations on Friday 17 September 2004. This took our total donations to the RSPB to £40,000.