Keith Atkin

Keith has had a mild stroke and is in Manby Ward at Louth County Hospital. He may be allowed to go home by next week but he will need some support and encouragement as he may not be fully mobile for several weeks. If anyone can spare some time to visit him I know he'll be most grateful. John Clarkson

2001 Records

If you wish your records to be used for monitoring the county's birdlife and have not been submitting your bird records to the County Recorders on a monthly basis it is now time to send in your records for 2001.
If you post records onto one of the Internet sites such as Wildlife News you must still submit them to the County Recorder direct, either by post or by e-mail. The County Recorders cannot be expected to sift through the Internet bulletins for your records.

Resignation of County Recorder - North

The committee has to report, with regret, that Howard Bunn has resigned as North Lincs County Recorder due to pressure of work and family commitments. Everyone involved is only too aware of the demands of this job, and we are most grateful to Howard that he has shouldered it for so long. We all hope that his avowed wish, to have time to get out and do some birding, actually comes off!
Since then, the records committee has been considering ways in which the work involved can perhaps be divided between more people. To this end, John Badley the committee's RSPB representative, has volunteered to take on the 'National' side of the job. From now on, John will therefore take on the responsibility of chasing up descriptions of national rarities and rare breeding bird records, and will liaise with BBRC and RBBP. Steve Keightley will continue as South Lincs Recorder and should still be the first contact for all South Lincs records, although he will pass national rares on to John. Discussions are now under way for a new North Lincs Recorder, and we hope to have definite news for the next issue. In the meantime, all records should go to Steve please.

Help Needed -Urgent

Matthew Harrison too has reluctantly had to resign as Hon. Sec; continuous pressure of work over the last year has actually meant that he was unable to find time to organise committee meetings, and equally has been able to do nothing about the AGM. If the Club is to continue, and specifically if we are to have an AGM next month, or ever, we need a volunteer urgently. The first need is for someone to organise a date, venue and speaker for the AGM. After that we need someone able and willing to undertake the duties of the Hon Sec, which have been in abeyance for some time. These needn't be the same person or persons, but if it matters to you for the Club to carry on, please consider whether you could give some time to helping out.

Ringing Totals

Several ringers have already forwarded their 2001 totals, for which very many thanks. However, despite several appeals I have been unable to get 1999 and 2000 totals from a small number of ringers, as follows:
1999: Adrian Blackburn (Retford), Dave Fogg (Gainsborough), Roy Goff (Stamford).
2000: the above three plus Gordon Priestley (Sleaford) and Geoff Shaw (Lincoln).
If any of you are reading this, or if any member knows any of the above, we really do need these totals. For passerines particularly, the Ringing Index gives us one of our best monitoring tools. Totals can be posted or e-mailed to me, Anne Goodall

Bardney Sugar Beet Factory by Steve Botham

Bardney ponds are now out of action, most people will remember the Marsh Sandpiper found there in 1992. The sugar factory no longer work the pools resulting in high water levels in most of the pits, the future of the ponds is uncertain. We will hopefully be able to provide further information on this site once it is available.

RSPB Harrier Protection Scheme update - 2001

This year marsh and Montagu's harriers nesting around the Wash and inland Lincolnshire were again monitored and protected by the RSPB's Harriers Protection Scheme. Volunteer David Satterthwaite and Scheme manager John Badley assisted harrier warden Bob Image.

Montagu's harriers had a mixed breeding season. Five females attempted to nest, three were successful, fledging a total of eight chicks. Unfortunately, a Montagu's harrier nest with four, two or three weeks old chicks was lost in suspicious circumstances. As there was no sign of a natural predator being involved this points to human interference. If someone took these birds they face the possibility of a two year jail sentence and a fine of up to £20,000.

There were fewer marsh harrier nesting attempts than last year due to a relative scarcity and insufficient height of suitable crops such as winter wheat when the birds arrived in the spring. Productivity of nesting birds appears to be about average at 3.1 young fledged per nest. As usual, we are very grateful for all the assistance we received from farmers and landowners who ensured that no nests were affected by normal agricultural operations and I would be interested to receive information on any nesting harriers during 2002.

John Badley, RSPB Harrier Protection Scheme.

Tel: (01205) 724678 E-mail: John.badley@rspb.org.uk

Boultham Mere

Lincoln birders may be interested to know that Steve Botham, reserve warden for Boultham Mere, has just published his sixth annual report for the site. All records welcome, either to Steve on 01255 820534 /e-mail s.botham@ntlworld.com or Steve Keightley, County Recorder South Lincs.

The Lincolnshire Bird Atlas - an update by Ian Nixon

Owing to unforseen circumstances, the Atlas has not progressed as well as was hoped for. However, we are now in the final stages of production with all of the maps now complete and most of the texts only requiring some proof-reading. There are also charts and a range of illustrations contributed by several Bird Club members, as well as some excellent specially commissioned works from Neil Smith.

The Atlas covers all species on the Lincolnshire list up to 1999, both breeding and non-breeding, and is believed to be the first, published, county Atlas to go into such detail.

Unfortunate Osprey

Earlier this year the BTO's Ringer's Bulletin mentioned several interesting ringing recoveries. Among them, an Osprey, ringed in Scotland in July 1998, was found in the stomach of a crocodile in Missirah, The Gambia, in November 2000!!

Party in the Park by Steve Keightley

In previous LBN issues we have reported on the Wash Banks Flood Defence Scheme in which the Bird Club has been involved. This year, on 13^th-15^th July, 'Party in the Park' at Boston featured a Camra beer festival and live music by local bands. The weekend also featured an environmental theme with displays such as recycling, conservation, wildflower gardening and the Wash Banks Project. I was invited to represent the LBC, along with RSPB and other involved agencies. Visitors to the Wash Banks stand were able to see what the project involved and ask questions about the sheme. The weekend was very successful, and will hopefully be repeated next year.

An artist has been commissioned to illustrate a set of 10 postcards which depict various natural history subjects around the Wash, including some typical Wash birds, plants such as Sea Aster, local fishing boats and horse racing at Freiston Shore in the early 20^th century. More information on www.thebostonwashbanks.com

New Information Boards for Fenland Drains - birds benefitting from careful management. RSPB Press Release 2^nd July 2001

New information boards about the North and South Drove drains, Deeping Fen, were unveiled on 5^th July 2001. Prepared by the Welland and Deeping Drainage Boards, they describe the history of the Fen and it's birds. There are over 270 km of maintained drains in the Deeping Fen area and they are an important habitat for wildlife. The signs were funded by excavator manufacturers, Liebherr and the RSPB. The vegetation in the drains used to be cut twice a year. Now one side only is cut each year and allows many hundreds of pairs of Reed Warblers to nest in the reeds along the drain, approximately 40 pairs per mile, and also many pairs of Sedge Warblers and Cuckoos. LBC member and local farmer, Nicholas Watts, from Deeping St Nicholas,is the driving force behind the project. Research is also being undertaken to help Reed Buntings nesting in oil seed rape. A spraying technique for drying the crop is being used rather than cutting, which allows the birds a chance to rear a second brood.

BOSTON WOODS TRUST - Steve Keightley

Three years ago the Woodland Trust received £6m of Millenium funding to assist with the 'Woods on your Doorstep' scheme, aimed at providing local communities with areas of woodland. Boston Borough is an area of 640 sq. miles, and has no woodland of any type in public ownership. The Borough council and Boston Preservation Trust felt a significant area of woodland close to Boston would greatly enhance the area. The concept was to create a crescent shaped wood, 7 miles long, on the west side of the town. This would have a minimum core width of 200m. The first 23 acres was purchased and planted in December 1999, and it is anticipated that a further 21 acres will be planted in 2001. It is envisaged that the project will take 30 years to achieve, and will include other habitat such as flower meadows and ponds and will be in excess of 2500 acres. It is intended that 85% will comprise of native deciduous trees and shrubs, typically with perimeters of hazel, hawthorn, and blackthorn. Some areas would be pure oak, beech etc.

A group of partners have been formulised to oversee the project and include, local councils, Woodland Trust, Boston Preservation Trust, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, RSPB and Ramblers Association.

The Bird Club have been invited to be involved and are currently represented by Ian Nixon.

Last Updated October 2001
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