Birdsong in the Ballroom

One of our team members, Rick, has published a book all about urban birding; diarising a year of the birds and wildlife spotted in our local park.  It is a beautifully written book and well worth a read.

A couple of weeks ago, Rick was invited to speak at an event in Warwick town centre - he's quite the celeb!  Here is the local write-up on the event... 

The Regency ballroom in the Court House – Warwick's Town Hall – echoed to the sound of spring birdsong on April 13^th. The occasion was the monthly tea, talk and quiz staged by 'Unlocking Warwick', the Town Council's volunteer group.

Rick Thompson - a member of the Warwick100 Birding group and the Warwick Natural History Society, gave a fascinating talk about the surprising wildlife to be found in St. Nicholas Park, in the centre of town, as featured in his book 'Park Life – a year in the wildlife of an urban park'.

It was a full house in the ballroom as Rick showed pictures of some of the obvious and easily identified birds that are regulars in the park, such as the pair of mute swans, heron, the unpopular magpies and the noisy blue tits and great tits.   He described the excitement of springtime, when more than 20 million birds arrive in Britain, from more arid climes in Africa and southern Europe, to breed.

All birdwatchers know that identifying small birds is as much about bird-listening as bird-watching.  So, with the aid of the Collins Bird Guide App and a linked loudspeaker, the audience was able to hear some of the vocal residents such as the robin and wren, and also migrant warblers, arriving in the park in mid-April.

The ballroom rang with the sound of the easily identified chiffchaff, and the slightly more difficult songs of the blackcap, sedge warbler, whitethroat and Cetti's warbler - all to be heard now at Kingfisher Pools, near the footbridge in St. Nicholas Park.

Rick reflected on the importance of urban parks and contact with nature for physical and mental wellbeing. Scientists call this 'exposure to greenspace'.  The beneficial effects of regular contact with the natural world can be measured, and became invaluable to many during the pandemic restrictions.  Rick went on to say that observing wildlife closely and gaining some knowledge of the plants, insects and birds, makes his regular walks in the park much more rewarding - uplifting the spirits even in the darkest of times.

After the talk, Rick signed copies of his book ‘Park Life’, and the teatime quiz followed.  Devised by Helen Fellows, it contained 25 questions about British wildlife…do you know what a male and female badger are called? Or the name of an otter’s home?

We are very proud of our Rick and look forward to more books and talks from him in the future.

Park Life: A Year in the Wildlife of an Urban Park: Amazon.co.uk: Thompson, Rick: 9781839751738: Books

WNHS

 

For the love of listing

We birders do love a list.

Life, year, day, green, UK, world, garden, holiday – the lists go on!  Some birders keep one list, others several, with various ways of recording; from handwritten notepads, to complicated excel spreadsheets, to online apps.  Some keep their lists to themselves, some publish to the world.  It really is each to their own. But for all of us as we bird, our lists grow longer and the chances to add to them, particularly life lists, become fewer.

What brought this to mind recently was one of the Warwick 100 team, when I reported our first house and sand martins of the year, commented that he had never seen any martin of any type.  Oh to go back to those days of being new to birdwatching! Back when a house martin was a lifer; that feeling of excitement when a brand new bird went onto my most important of lists.  So I guess this is why birders year list, day list and set themselves never ending challenges – to try to capture that joy again.  Nothing beats a lifer, however, which is why some birders twitch; going against their spouses, employers and their eco-ethics to get that all important, adrenaline pumping moment.  I choose not to twitch, so haven't had a lifer for a long long time, but that's ok.

I keep three personal lists on top of the Warwick 100 challenge – life, green and wild wee.  Yep, you read that right!  That last one currently stands (or squats, as I’m a girl) at 34, with Dartford warbler my best wee list bird.

The Warwick 100 team only exists because of a list – to reach 100 species of bird as quickly as possible each year – and I have to admit, this is the one that I am most invested in.  So for now, I’ll enjoy watching the excitement in our newest team members…and make sure I try to wee in more interesting places!

Lizzy

BUBO Listing - World Bird Listing

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Plastic Fantastic!

There was great excitement in the Warwick 100 team a couple of days ago, when a report of a white stork flying North of the Saxon Mill came in.   Confirming that the source of the sighting was a respected one, it went on our list with smiles all round.

Unfortunately, the source of the bird itself was not so positive - in all likelihood being the presumed escapee seen at Otmoor RSPB on the same day, or possibly from the White Stork Project, in SE England.  It was kicked off the list as quickly as it went on, with only a couple of singing willow warblers keeping the smiles going in the team.

It got me wondering about 'plastic' birds around the UK; questioning when they should or shouldn't be added to a list.

• What actually is a 'wild' bird?
• What are the differences in tickability between escaped, released or introduced birds?
• When or where does a plastic bird become wild?  How many generations does it take before they class as resident, if ever?
• Does it really matter, when everyone's list is their own anyway?

What a minefield!  Here's what I learned from a very basic bit of research, which I hope I've understood correctly...

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, a wild bird is 'any bird of a species which is resident in or is a visitor to the European Territory of any member state in a wild state.'  Helpful for animal welfare and protection, but not so much for our birding list.

Melissa Mayntz states that the bird 'should be observed in the wild (so the peacocks at Warwick Castle are out) and behaving as a wild bird would be expected.  Domesticated birds, escaped pets or birds that are deliberately imported, such as for a zoo, are not acceptable.' (so the peacock we found in our garden last year is also out!) 

She also talks of pure lists only containing 'established birds that have had viable breeding populations for at least several generations.'  Nicely put, but still a little vague.  

Thankfully, I have just discovered the BOU official British List (late to the game, I know), which really clears things up in my mind.  Birds are categorised from A-F, depending on length of naturalisation and establishment, along with self-sustainability of feral, introduced and re-introduced populations.  Those in A,B and C appear to count, whereas birds in D, E and F do not. Nice and clear.

So I guess this means that red kites, Egyptian geese and ring-necked parakeets are in, but white tailed eagles, wood ducks and, indeed, our white stork, are out.  It remains plastic...for now.

Species categories - British Ornithologists' Union (bou.org.uk)

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