Conservation News


Alaska Wind Farm - added 23rd February

Purbeck District Council have recently received a revised planning application for the Alaska Wind Farm, located at East Stoke, to the north-west of Wareham. The number of turbines has been reduced from six to four and the boundary of the development modified to reduce the impact on the adjacent Dorset Heathlands Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. The Dorset Bird Club still has concerns relating to the predicted mortality rate of Common Buzzards and we are currently formulating our response, which has to be submitted to Purbeck DC by 9th March. For details of the development, see: http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/planning/proposed_windfarm.aspx.

The Documents and Plans section gives you access to the supporting documentation including the Environmental Statement which describes the development, and the impacts on ecological resources including birds. The relevant Chapter is 7.

The Purbeck DC planning website has the facility for you to comment on the proposals.


Stanpit Marsh Dog Control Order - added 2nd February

Christchurch Borough Council have recently approved the five-year Stanpit Marsh Management Plan. The Plan contains the following important objectives:

· Increased wardening;
· Increased signage to highlight sensitive areas;
· Grazing management to benefit habitat for breeding waders;
· On-going breeding bird surveys;
· Ditch clearance on Priory Marsh; and
· Improvements in dog control within the Nature Reserve itself.

The last point has given rise to a further Public Consultation relating specifically to keeping dogs on leads on the Nature Reserve itself. The Council are proposing to establish The Dogs on Leads (Stanpit Marsh Nature Reserve) Order 2010
.

The Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group (CHOG) and the Dorset Bird Club believe that the proposed Order is the final vital element of the Stanpit Marsh Management Plan. At present, birds on Stanpit Marsh are significantly disturbed by dogs. The Order will provide total clarity with respect to the control of dogs on the Nature Reserve. We believe that the resultant significant reduction in disturbance will greatly enhance the Nature Reserve for feeding, roosting and nesting birds. A list of species for which Stanpit Marsh is important, and their status, is given below.

It is important that the Order is approved, and we urge you to support it. Please respond to the Public Consultation form which is available at: http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/pdf/c/3/ResponseformA4.pdf

Important Bird Species at Stanpit Marsh, Christchurch Harbour

Species Period Status
Brent Goose Winter Amber List
Wigeon Winter Amber List
Teal Winter Amber List
Little Egret Winter Amber List
Black-tailed Godwit Winter Red List
Redshank Winter Amber List
Lapwing Winter Amber List
Bar-tailed Godwit Passage Amber List
Knot Passage Amber List
Ringed Plover Passage Amber List
Dunlin Passage Amber List
Whimbrel Passage Amber List
Yellow Wagtail Passage Amber List
Shelduck Breeding Amber List
Skylark Breeding Red List
Meadow Pipit Breeding Amber List
Water Rail Breeding Amber List
Dartford Warbler Breeding Protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act; Amber List


Dorset Arable Project - added 30th January 2010

How Farmers, Volunteers and Conservationists are Working to Keep Our Arable Farmland Full of Wildlife

An exciting partnership project aimed at reversing declines in arable wildlife is now underway across areas of South West England. Under the umbrella of the ‘South West Farmland Bird Initiative’ there are four projects targeting Dorset, the Cotswolds, North Wiltshire and South Wiltshire. These areas are recognised as being nationally important for farmland birds and other wildlife found within the wider countryside. Each project is led by a different partner organization, the Dorset project is the ‘Dorset Arable Project’ and is run by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG).

The project concentrates on 6 species of farmland bird (the ‘Arable 6’) and hotspots for arable plants. The ’Arable 6’ are the Grey Partridge, Lapwing, Turtle Dove, Yellow Wagtail, Tree Sparrow and Corn Bunting. They are arable farmland specialists and have suffered some of the most severe declines of any of our farmland birds over the last 40 years. Providing habitat for these birds will also have major benefits for other farmland species like the Skylark, Yellowhammer and Brown Hare, and in many cases, also provide conditions that will help rare arable plants.

Through the use of the Governments agri-environment scheme Environmental Stewardship, or voluntarily, farmers are being encouraged to adopt the measures that will provide the three most important things farmland birds need in order to thrive. These are known as the ‘Big 3’ and include nesting habitat along with summer and winter food. In ‘hot-spot’ areas for rare arable plants, the project is promoting measures to encourage the germination of some of the UK’s scarcest plants.

Why is arable wildlife important?

Farmland birds are a good indicator of the level of biodiversity on farms, as they are comparatively high up the food chain. If their populations are thriving then it indicates that the lower end of the food chain is also in good condition. Conservation of rare arable plants is important to help prevent extinction of some species from Dorset and the UK. These plants also provide seed and insect rich habitat to support the whole food chain.

Since the 1970s, the UK populations of many of our farmland birds have been in steep decline. In the South West, farmland bird numbers fell by 45% between 1970 and 1994, and by a further 8% between 1994 and 2004. The populations of arable plants have fallen even more dramatically, with a decline of 96% over the last 200 years, and they are now viewed as the rarest group of plants in the UK.

The Big 3’

Farmland birds usually require three things in order to thrive. These are:

Nesting Habitat: The ideal nesting habitat varies between species, but it needs to be safe and secure and may be in the middle of a field, in field margins, hedgerows or trees.

Summer Food: A regular supply of insects and other invertebrates are a critical food sources for developing chicks and adults throughout the summer.

Winter Food: Many farmland birds rely on seeds and so an abundant source of seed food is needed throughout the winter months into spring.

Research has shown that if sufficient quantities of the ‘Big 3’ are provided for farmland birds and correct management is carried out for arable plants to germinate, these declines can be reversed. The measures required to do this can work alongside existing farming practices, and can be put in place either voluntarily or using funding under Environmental Stewardship.

How the Dorset Arable Project is helping

Within the target area the project offers free one-to-one advice to farmers to enable them to provide the best habitat for farmland birds and other rare species on their land. This can be implemented through new agri-environment schemes, or better management of existing schemes as well as adapting farming methods and incorporating new features to improve the habitat for birds and other species without compromising the profitability of the farm. Provision of habitat can include fallow plots for ground nesting birds such as lapwing, supplying food and cover by leaving areas of crops un-harvested and planting specific wild bird seed mixes and providing bird boxes for species such as tree sparrows and barn owl.

The project also provides training days for farmers, volunteer bird and plant surveyors, agronomists, advisers and agents on survey techniques and the best methods of farming alongside farmland birds and rare arable plants.

How can the Dorset Bird Club help?

Bird records are vital for the Dorset Arable Project to enable farmers to deliver species specific habitat creation for birds. For example where lapwings are present it is important to provide fallow plots for nesting, whereas corn buntings require areas of un-harvested cover crops. Providing us with your records of farmland bird sightings is essential to achieve targeted advice to farmers, and to make sure that the correct habitat is put in place. In particular any sightings of the ‘arable six’ (grey partridge, lapwing, turtle dove, yellow wagtail, tree sparrow and corn bunting) would be very welcome.


The Project Partners

The Dorset Arable Project is being delivered by The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, a registered charity which is the UK’s leading independent and dedicated provider of environmental and conservation advice to farmers. Other partners involved in the South West Farmland Bird Initiative are Natural England, DEFRA, RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology, Dorset Flora Group, Dorset Environmental Records Centre, Dorset AONB, Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB, Dorset Biodiversity Partnership, Cotswold Conservation Board, North Wessex Downs AONB, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, National Farmers Union, Country Landowners and Business Association, Plantlife International, The Wildlife Trusts, National Trust and Defence Estates.

Events

We would like to invite you to two events in January and February 2010. An indoor evening meeting will be held on Wednesday 27th January 2010 with a buffet supper to present to you in more detail how farmers are providing the habitat that farmland birds need. The second event will be a follow up farm walk on a local Dorset farm on Saturday 6th February 2010 to demonstrate how farmers are managing their land to deliver benefits to farmland birds and other species. There will also be a training day in December for anyone interested in becoming a volunteer surveyor for the project.

Contact Details

If you would like more information about coming to the above events, are interested in volunteering as a farmland bird surveyor, or would like to report any sightings of one of the ‘arable six’ then please contact:


Ruth Wilkins, Dorset Arable Project Adviser,

FWAG, Government Buildings, Prince of Wales Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1PY.

Tel: 01305 251742. Email: ruth.wilkins@fwag.org.uk


Heronry Surveyor Required - added 15th January 2010

The BTO Heronries Census endeavours to count all known Heronries every year and there are at least eight in Dorset. We are missing a counter to cover the long established colony at Clifton Wood near Sutton Bingham reservoir in the north west of the county. The 2009 count was missed and it would be good to maintain the records. If you live near there, or know of someone who does, and might consider taking this on please contact Roger Peart (01202 840372 or e-mail rhpeart@tiscali.co.uk to find out what is involved. This is fairly urgent as a first count could usefully be done in late February/early March.


Whooper and Bewick's Swan Survey - added 15th January 2010

An international Whooper & Bewick's Swan Census is taking place over the weekend of 16th/17th January 2010. If anyone is lucky enough to find any of these Swans, would they let me have the following: time, date, location & number seen
On behalf of WWT Slimbridge,
John Jones e-mail: blackbirdcott@tiscali.co.uk or phone 01747 811490


Help the Bird Atlas in Dorset

Help from birdwatchers is required for the Bird Atlas throughout Dorset in both the breeding season (April-July) and the winter (November-February). Your casual birdwatching records, together with evidence of breeding, will help build comprehensive species lists for each 10-km square. We also need help with Timed Tetrad Visits, especially in the west of the county and in the Isle of Purbeck area. Further details can be found on the Bird Atlas website www.birdatlas.net or contact Dawn Balmer by email dawn.balmer@bto.org


Dorset Bird Club Database
Volunteers Wanted!!

We are looking for help to continue with the inputting of the historical bird records held in paper form by the club. We made a great start last winter with many of the key (‘red’ and ‘amber’) species now logged on to the Bird Club's Database for the years 1957 to 1993 (52,000+ individual records of 75 species).

There are still a lot of key species to input (before we even think about tackling the ‘green’ listed ones!)

If you are interested in helping, please contact Neil who would be happy to run you through what is involved before you commit yourself. [Use of a computer required.]

Neil Gartshore
Moor Edge, 2 Bere Road, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 4DD

Tel: 01929 552560 to e-mail neil@onaga54.freeserve.co.uk


Colour-ringed Dartford Warblers

Since 2002, over seven hundred Dartford Warblers have been individually colour-ringed on Dorset heaths ranging from Avon Country Park in the east to Grange Heath (near Stoborough) in the west. Initially, these birds were ringed as part of a PhD project by Giselle Murison to investigate various aspects of the population dynamics of this species. In particular, Giselle was interested in site fidelity of adults, the impact of disturbance during the breeding season and the extent of juvenile dispersal. More recently, the emphasis has moved to an assessment of adult survival rates under the BTO's "Retrap Adults for Survival" programme.Each bird has one metal and three colour rings, with two rings on each leg (metal always on the left leg). The following colours have been used:

Dark Green, Pale Green, Dark Blue, Pale Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow, Bright Pink, Purple, Black & White

Pale pink was also used initially but was found to fade quickly and is now likely to appear as white on any surviving birds that are seen in the field.Details of any sightings would be gratefully received and fully acknowledged. Although only the full combinations will enable individual birds to be identified, partial combinations may also provide useful information. In particular, the colour on the left leg and whether it is above or below the metal ring can establish original ringing site or year of ringing in most cases. Please report any sightings directly to me by email or telephone. Photographs have proved to be particularly useful in confirming combinations.Simon Lane
to e-mail Simon at SimonLane1@aol.com to telephone on 01794 367096


Common Swifts in Decline

The UK breeding population of Common Swifts (Apus apus) is in big trouble (down by 42% in the South West and more in some areas) and if action is not taken soon it is likely to reach an unrecoverable level. The most obvious reason for the decline is human interference in the Swifts' traditional nesting habitat, ie. in our homes and other buildings. Modern building techniques and materials, like plastic soffits and facias, have drastically reduced the number of holes in man-made structures that Swifts need. Simply put, they are running out of places in the UK where they can rear their young.Pressure needs to be applied to the local authorities, in all areas where Swift colonies are established, to ensure adequate year round protection of their nesting places is afforded by their planning processes. Dorset is one such area.A monumental and costly effort would be required to identify these locations by traditional survey methods, so a different approach is being tried. Most will be familiar with the low level, high speed "screaming party" displays with which Swifts announce the presence of a breeding colony. These displays are usually around the centre of their chosen breeding territory. This behaviour is so distinctive and impressive that it should be possible to use peoples' memories of such displays as anecdotal evidence on which to build what is believed to be the first national database of swift colonies in the UK.I have created a Google Group to enable people to send in details of past and future sightings. The URL is http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-swifts. The site, which is very new and still evolving, also has information about Swifts, links to other Swift sites, and a discussion board. This is an ambitious project and as I am just an enthusiast doing this in my free time, I would welcome any suggestions of how the site, or the project itself, might be improved. Please have at look, using the web address above, and join in.Efforts are in hand to contact Bird Clubs in order to request that they pass details of the site and its aims to their members, and inviting them to contribute. Alternative ways to publicise the site will be used to spread the word as widely as possible. All data entered will be collated and periodically posted to the site in spreadsheet format to which anybody will have free access.

Knowledge of where Swifts are breeding will enable targeting of the local authorities involved. As far as Dorset is concerned, negotiations have begun with a view to including protection for Swift nesting places within the framework of the Biodiversity Planning for the County. This initiative will be more likely to succeed with the co-operation of DBC members, so I urge you , please, to join the uk-swift project; follow the simple instructions of how to share where you have seen Swift "screaming parties", and help make a difference. By helping to preserve Swifts nesting places we will also be helping House Sparrows and Starlings.

Geoff Beale
geoff.beale@bigfoot.com
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-swifts


Balearic Shearwaters

The Balearic Shearwater is the rarest bird in the world to visit Britain regularly. Balearic Shearwater breeds in the Balearic Islands, where it has suffered a well-documented population crash mainly as a consequence of predation by Black Rats and domestic cats. After breeding, a large proportion of the population disperses westwards out of the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. There, the birds have traditionally gathered to moult in late summer in northern and central parts of the Bay of Biscay, where they feed close inshore on pilchards and anchovies. In the last decade or so it seems that this moulting population has shifted northwards, with larger numbers being recorded in the western English Channel. This change is thought to relate to increased surface sea temperatures, which in turn are likely to be a consequence of global warming. Sightings of the species are therefore increasing in Britain at a time when its breeding population is declining. Balearic Shearwater is much more of an inshore feeder than many of its relatives and we are lucky in Dorset that Portland Bill is one of the prime sites in the UK for the species. Seawatching in suitable conditions from Portland Bill between July and October will normally result in sightings. The recent Lyme Bay Pelagic trip (see article elsewhere in the Newsletter) resulted in very close views of the species.The SeaWatch SW Project (http://www.seawatch-sw.org) is an initiative designed to collect important information about some of the UK's most threatened marine animals including the Balearic Shearwater. The project is entirely volunteer-based, and is being supported by a number of major conservation and scientific organisations, including the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton, the RSPB and the Marine Conservation Society. Observers have been stationed at Gwennap Head, Cornwall from mid-July to mid-October. One of the main aims of SeaWatch SW is to provide a central point for Balearic Shearwater recording in UK waters.The SeaWatch SW Project project is therefore urging anyone who sees a Balearic Shearwater in the UK in 2007 to contact them with details of the sighting, or submit the record to the Birdguides website (www.birdguides.com). Alternatively, you can submit your records in the normal way for the Dorset Bird Report, and we will pass them onto the SeaWatch SW Project.


BTO Atlas
Fieldwork for the Atlas starts on 1st November. Two types of records are requested - Roving Records aim to capture all kinds of distribution records, from species lists for grid squares to one-off records of hard to find species, and anything in between. Timed Tetrad Visits (TTVs) are principally concerned with discovering the broad patterns of relative abundance. A TTV involves walking around a tetrad, birdwatching for 1 or 2 hours and recording everything you see and hear.


For full details of how to get involved, see the website (http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/index.htm) or contact the BTO Headquarters at the Nunnery Thetford, Norfolk. Dawn Balmer or Simon Gillings will be pleased to help and to answer any queries you may have e-mail the BTO by Clicking Here