ROYAL SOCIETY for the PROTECTION of BIRDS

East
Surrey
RSPB Group
for local birdwatchers
We
hold indoor meetings at the White Hart Barn, Godstone, every second Wednesday of
the month (except August) – Everyone is welcome.
We
run all day field trips every month, and some half day field trips during the
winter months. Anyone is welcome to join us. There is always someone leading
trips to give advice and hints on identification etc.
The
hobby, is a small rapture that is one of our more spectacular falcons and an
uncommon summer migrant to our area usually arriving in May. In the past the
hobby was very much a Surrey bird, with small numbers breeding in the western
half of Surrey on heathland habitat, and was depicted on the jacket of the
“Birds of Surrey 1900-1970” and also on the jacket of the latest “Birds of
Surrey” published in the year 2007.
From a distance the hobby looks like a large swift and is probably the
only falcon that can out- fly a swift, but is generally seen catching
dragonflies and devouring them in flight. Generally its plumage looks similar to
a peregrine but with conspicuous red flanks, and looks smaller and more elegant
than a peregrine.
Historically hobbys probably bred in Surrey in the early nineteenth
century, but became scarcer later in that century, although one record quotes
them nesting in the Caterham area in
about 1897. The hobby increased in numbers during the twentieth century in
Surrey, but their numbers were always held back by egg collectors and shooting.
The typical nest site of hobbys is an old disused carrion’s nest, often in a
scots pine. Their numbers seem to fluctuate from one year to the next, with
forty seven being recorded in 1998, but this dropped to thirty two in 2001.
Currently breeding hobbys are spread thinly across most rural areas of
Surrey They are generally seen in our area in the spring as they arrive and
again later in the summer as they begin to migrate south, although they have
bred in our area.
Hobbys are uncommon to common across most of Europe and western Russia,
generally being more common further east. In the British Isles it’s a bird of
the southern counties although it has been recorded as far north as Scotland. In
the winter and on migration hobbys form small feeding flocks and communal night
roosts, often in association with other insect eating small falcons. Most hobbys
spend the winter in southern Africa.
The group indoor meeting for June is on Wednesday 9th
at the White Hart Barn, Godstone starting at 8.00pm. The speaker will be
Chris Ward who will give a talk entitled “Birds of Aphrodite’s Island” –
the birds and wildlife of Cyprus. Everyone is welcome, admission £3.00.
The field trip for June is to Lakenheath Reserve in Suffolk, on Sunday 20th.
This will be an early start meeting at Godstone Green car park at 6.30am. We are
also running two evening trips to Ashdown Forest to see nightjars on Friday June
11th and Friday June 25th meeting at the Long car park on
the A22 at 7.30 pm.
For further information see our website – www.eastsurreyrspb.co.uk
or you can contact me for information on group events and activities.
Keith Brandwood 01883 742740
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Members
get involved in survey projects for various organisations and fund raising
events in the local area. |
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A
local committee was elected with the aim of providing monthly indoor meetings,
monthly field trips and to plan fund raising events to support the many RSPB
conservation projects, both in the British Isles and abroad. Initially the group
held its indoor meetings at the White Hart Barn, Godstone, but as numbers
attending these meetings rose, we moved the venue to Caterham School for a
number of years, but moved back to Godstone as the White Hart Barn provided
better facilities. Over the years the group has been able to attract some big
names in the birding world to give talks at our meetings.
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The
group has raised over thirty thousand pounds over the years, this money going to
support RSPB projects in Nigeria, Morocco, Greece and Spain. In the British
Isles we have provided funds for projects on many RSPB Nature reserves, as well
as monies towards educational schemes run by the RSPB. Currently we are
providing funds for the first RSPB Nature Reserve in Surrey at Farnham. Funds
have been raised over the years by such events as film shows, art and craft
exhibitions, sponsored bird counts, and sales at many local events.
For
further information about the group’s forthcoming events, all our latest news
and our latest newsletter see our website – www.eastsurreyrspb.co.uk
For
general information about the RSPB see website – www.rspb.org.uk