Bird nestboxes for sale

Ken Scivyer with John Courtis have now produced 20 nest boxes for sale in aid of Earlswood Wildlife Partnership funds. Attached is a copy of the poster/flyer/order form that you may like to put on the blog and/or hand out to anyone you meet that might be interested. They could put them up over the winter for roosting or purchase them for a Christmas present!

Regards,

Tony Philp (edited)

Tree works at the lakes this autumn

As suspected, more trees are to be cut along the east side of Windmill Pool this autumn, with some cutting also taking place along the south side of Engine Pool too. The following note from C&RT ecologist Paul Wilkinson concerns the proposed tree work around the lakes:

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Hi Bob,

Please could you circulate the planned tree works, the works are due to the reservoir engineers concern regarding the reservoir embankments and preventive measures to stop the likelihood of trees falling and blocking weirs in a storm event, all tree works have also been assessed by an independent arboriculturalist.

Please let me know if you have any concerns, I believe all the trees have already been marked, P= pollard at height, a line or F is fell to the base or the line.

Sorry for the short notice, they would like to start next week.

Regards,

Paul.

Bat box survey, 12/09/2015

Earlswood Wildlife Partnership today did a bat box survey at Earlswood, and although we only checked 42 of the 100+ boxes there it was a good one. We had a few Soprano Pipistrelles, a Noctule and best of all 2 Brandt's/Whiskered Bats! Paul Wilkinson (C&RT ecologist) thinks they were Whiskered, which as far as I'm aware would be a first for Earlswood, but there is also only one previous record of Brandt's in the area, so either way a great record! Hopefully DNA analysis on some droppings we collected from the box they were in will give us a positive ID...

Noctule Bat

Brandt's/Whiskered Bat - 2 in box

Moth evening at St. Patrick's Church

Earlswood Wildlife Partnership invite you to join them for an evening looking at the fascinating night-time world of moths – an opportunity to see a variety of moths caught in special light traps around the churchyard and to learn more about them.

Thursday 17th September 7.30pm in the Undercroft (rear of the church). Light refreshments will be provided.


For further information, speak to Tony Philp 01564 702915

Autumn patch all-dayer

Yesterday several midlands patches did an all-day bird race. The results are as follows:

1. Belvide - 91 spp.
2. Upton Warren - 89 spp.
3. Grimley - 88 spp.
4. Clayhanger/Stubber's Green - 81 spp.
5. Middleton Lakes - 77 spp.
6. Earlswood - 56 spp.

We had only a fool's hope against those other patches, but we fought bravely! ;-) Thanks to Jon Chidwick, Mike Jeeves, John Oates, Tony Philp and John Sirrett for also taking part at Earlswood. I managed to connect with all 56 of the species recorded at Earlswood, namely:

1. Mute Swan
2. Greylag Goose
3. Canada Goose
4. Mallard
5. Shoveler
6. Tufted Duck
7. Great Crested Grebe
8. Cormorant
9. Grey Heron
10. Sparrowhawk
11. Buzzard
12. Moorhen
13. Coot
14. Black-headed Gull
15. Lesser Black-backed Gull
16. Herring Gull
17. Stock Dove
18. Wood Pigeon
19. Collared Dove
20. Kingfisher
21. Green Woodpecker
22. Great Spotted Woodpecker
23. Sand Martin
24. Swallow
25. House Martin
26. Grey Wagtail
27. Pied Wagtail
28. Wren
29. Dunnock
30. Robin
31. Blackbird
32. Song Thrush
33. Blackcap
34. Garden Warbler
35. Common Whitethroat
36. Chiffchaff
37. Goldcrest
38. Long-tailed Tit
39. Blue Tit
40. Great Tit
41. Coal Tit
42. Nuthatch
43. Treecreeper
44. Jay
45. Magpie
46. Jackdaw
47. Carrion Crow
48. Raven
49. Starling
50. House Sparrow
51. Chaffinch
52. Greenfinch
53. Goldfinch
54. Siskin
55. Linnet
56. Bullfinch

We'll do another all-dayer next spring, hopefully against the above five patches plus the Warwickshire patches that participated in the spring this year.

Warwickshire Patch Bird Race - species list

Here's the list of 106 species recorded on the all-dayer (plus 3 species recorded by non-participants in county). Thanks to Steve Haynes for putting this together.

Mute Swan
Greylag Goose	Brandon, Draycote, Morton Bagot
Canada Goose
Shelduck	Bubbenhall , Haselor, Ladywalk
Mandarin	Bubbenhall
Gadwall
Teal	KWP, Morton Bagot
Mallard
Garganey	Fisher’s Mill    (Other obs)
Shovelor	Brandon
Pochard	Lea Marston, Fisher’s Mill
Tufted Duck
Goosander	Ladywalk, Middle Spernal
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge	Charlecote, Wishaw
Pheasant
Cormorant
Little Egret	Fisher’s Mill, Ladywalk
Grey Heron
Little Grebe	None at Draycote !
Great Crested Grebe
Marsh Harrier	Salford Priors
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
Hobby	Bubbenhall, Charlecote, Kingsbury area, maybe others
Peregrine	Brandon (Other obs)
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher	Ladywalk, Kingsbury area at least
Little Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover	Draycote, Kingsbury area, Ladywalk
Lapwing
Dunlin	Draycote, Fisher’s Mill, Morton Bagot
Common Snipe	Ladywalk (2)
Whimbrel	Brandon  (Other obs)
Redshank
Common Sandpiper	Kingsbury WP, Shustoke
Black-headed Gull
Little Gull	Draycote
Mediterranean Gull	Shustoke
Common Gull	Draycote
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull	Brandon
Herring Gull	Bubbenhall, Charlecote, Draycote, Earlswood
Common Tern	Brandon, Draycote, Earlswood, Kingsbury, Shustoke (very few)
Stock Dove
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo	Earlswood
Barn Owl	Charlecote, Kingsbury area, Ladywalk area
Little Owl	Charlecote, Morton Bagot
Tawny Owl
Swift
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Shustoke
Jay
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Raven	Charlecote, Draycote, Kingsbury, Morton Bagot, Shustoke at least
Goldcrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Marsh Tit	Charlecote, Morton Bagot
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Cetti’s Warbler	Brandon and two other sites
Long-tailed Tit
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Garden Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat	Charlecote, Draycote, Earlswood, Kingsbury, Morton Bagot, Shustoke at least
Whitethroat
Grasshopper Warbler	Kingsbury area
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Wren
Starling
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Spotted Flycatcher	Earlswood, Farnborough
Robin
Whinchat	Brandon area
Wheatear	Coleshill, Morton Bagot
Dunnock
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow	Draycote
Yellow Wagtail	Draycote, Kingsbury, Morton Bagot, Shustoke at least
Grey Wagtail	Draycote, Kingsbury, Shustoke at least
Pied Wagtail
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Bullfinch
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting
Corn Bunting	Charlecote

Warwickshire Patch Bird Race - results

WARWICKSHIRE PATCH BIRD RACE

May 9th 2015

A total of 9 patches took part in this patch bird race. The final results are as follows:

1. Ladywalk/Coton/Shustoke - 84 species (Steve Haynes, Simon Roper)
2. Brandon Marsh - 77 species (Paul Cashmore, Dennis Woodward)
3. Morton Bagot - 76 species (John Coombes, Richard Harbird, Mike Inskip, Dave Scanlan, Jon Yardley)
4. Salford Priors GP - 75 species (Jon Bowley, Neil Duggan)
5. Charlecote - 71 species (Gus Ariss, Jon Barnett, Roland Hopkins, Dan Watson)
6. Earlswood - 65 species (Jon Chidwick, Paul Fitzgerald, Mike Jeeves, Matt Griffiths, Yvonne Heward, John Oates, Bob Roberts, John Sirrett)
7. Draycote - 64 species (Dave Cox, John Judge, Richard Mays, Steve Valentine)
8. Farnborough Park - 58 species (Gareth Blockley)
9. "The Dump" - 53 species (Gareth Blockley, Dan Watson)

Earlswood all-day bird race

This Saturday (9th), birders at Earlswood will be taking part in an all-day bird race against 7 or 8 other teams of Warwickshire birders at their local patches. These are set to comprise Charlecote, Draycote Water, Farnborough Park, Ladywalk area, Morton Bagot, Salford Priors Gravel Pits and Newton. Each team will be spending all or part of the day trying to find as many bird species on their patch as they can. The hope is that this will encourage further bird recording in Warwickshire, and that perhaps a few rarities will be found on the day.

Birders and garden-watchers are more than welcome to contribute what they see at Earlswood on the day, or meet up with me. I'll be at the Malthouse Lane causeway hopefully from first light to around 9am, with maybe a group photo around 8am/8:30am. Birding will be concentrated at the lakes, Clowes Wood / New Fallings Coppice, and Springbrook Lane areas, and we'll be aiming for a total of around 60 species. My email address is matt_avesmaster@hotmail.com

It's going to be a great day! :-)

Kind regards,
Matt

The Earlswood recording area:

Warwickshire Patch Bird Race - participants

WARWICKSHIRE PATCH BIRD RACE

May 9th 2015

A total of 10 patches are taking part in this Saturday's Warwickshire Patch Bird Race! Patches and participants:

Charlecote

Gus Ariss

Jon Barnett
Roland Hopkins
Dan Watson

Draycote

Dave Cox
John Judge
Richard Mays

Steve Valentine

Earlswood

Jon Chidwick

Paul Fitzgerald

Mike Jeeves

Matt Griffiths
Yvonne Heward
John Oates

Bob Roberts
John Sirrett

Farnborough Park

Gareth Blockley

Ladywalk/Coton/Shustoke

Steve Haynes
Simon Roper

Morton Bagot

Richard Harbird

Mike Inskip

Dave Scanlan

Jon Yardley

John Coombes

Salford Priors GP

Jon Bowley

Neil Duggan

Lee Taylor

"The Dump"

Gareth Blockley
Dan Watson

“The Puddle”

Matt Bruce

EWP Birding for Beginners 2015

Email: ewp2010@btinternet.com

Updated Cormorant proposals

Sorry, yet another Cormorants post! I've been forwarded these updated, more formal proposals for reducing Cormorant predation at the lakes, which look to be final. I'm generally happy with these, except for the "immediate use" of active scaring, suggesting it could be done during the breeding season, so will seek clarification on this.

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Earlswood Lakes Cormorant Predation Proposal

Reduce perching locations for cormorants:

• Removal of tree limbs from the two trees either end of the narrow island (closest to Engine pool) on Terry’s pool. (Time scale 3 months subject to nesting birds)
• Installation fabric meshing to wooden posts surrounding the narrow island (closest to Engine pool). This should both discourage perching and also allow for natural reeds to establish behind. (Time scale 3 months subject to nesting birds)
• Perimeter fencing on floating islands on Engine pool (see habitat improvements)
• Remove Tern raft from terry’s pool (see habitat improvements)

Active scaring of cormorants:

• Stop the action of using a metal bar to rap on tree trunks and fishing stages. (Time scale immediate)
• Permit the use of an instrument such as two pieces of wood that can be rapped together to create a cracking sound to disturb visible and active cormorants. Open to options, possible football rattle. (Time scale immediate use as required)

Habitat improvements:

• Carl Nicholls and Paul Wilkinson to explore options and solution for underwater fish refuges in the lakes. (Time scale 3 months)
• Installation of fish refuges within the lakes (Time scale 9 months)
• Paul Wilkinson along with new volunteer person (to be appointed) take forward repairs and re-establishing of floating islands on Engine pool. This is to include new planted coir matting and perimeter fencing around the islands to allow the young plants to establish and also reduce cormorant perching opportunities. (Time scale 9 months)
• Remove tern raft from Terry’s pool to allow for repairs and design modification to improve target birds use. (Time scale 3 months subject to nesting birds)

Record Keeping:

• Fishery bailiff and open match fishing organisers to keep daily records of: Date, Time of day, Cormorants seen flying over, Cormorants seen on the lakes, Cormorants seen feeding (yes/no) and photographic evidence of damage caused to fish by Cormorant predation.
• Annual records of Cormorant numbers recorded by local bird groups.

A review of measures and effectiveness of actions after 12 months.

Cormorant proposals - my comments

Thanks to those who sent me comments or responded directly to Canal & Rivers Trust about the recent proposals for reducing Cormorant predation of fish at Earlswood. I've just emailed the following to the fisheries manager.

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Dear Carl,

I hope I'm not too late to comment on the Cormorant proposals at Earlswood Lakes. I am a birdwatcher who has been visiting Earlswood regularly for over 7 years. My comments are below in red:

Improvements to the existing floating islands on Engine pool. This included new coir mats and replanting of native plants on the island. An increase to the perimeter edge of the islands with coir rolls and new perimeter fencing around the island to protect the new plants while they establish as well as hindering the perching areas used by the cormorants. As well as fish refuges beneath islands suggested by Bob Roberts, maybe also plant more reeds in the water around the sides of the pool as additional fish refuge habitat.

The long thin island nearest to the Engine pool on Terry’s pool is noted as a roosting and feeding location for the cormorants. Remove all the wooden posts surrounding the island that are used by the cormorants to perch on. Coppice all the trees and the island to reduce potential perching locations but retain valuable habitat for nesting of local birds. Only the tree at the western end of the long island tends to be used by resting Cormorants, so only this would need coppicing. The wooden posts surrounding the island may be holding it together, so alternatively the posts could be used along with branches or some other material to retain soil added there and then planted with reeds, making it unsuitable for the Cormorants but providing some useful breeding habitat for other animal species. The lakes would benefit from having more reedbed habitat than they currently have.

Opening up of more areas around Terry’s pool by removing encroaching branches to allow for more visual appreciation of the pool as well as naturally disturbing cormorant resting and feeding due to more visual public presence. Terry's Pool is used as a refuge by many of the shyer waterbirds that visit the lakes, not to mention breeding species, due to its more sheltered situation and less disturbance. Opening up more areas around the pool is going to cause more disturbance to the birds seeking refuge there, making humans and dogs more visible to them, and allow strong winds to penetrate what is effectively a shelterbelt for the birds. It will remove cover possibly being used by fish as shelter, and remove bird nesting habitat. It will also encourage more illicit fishing there by providing more access points to the water's edge. 

Use of starting pistol by fishery bailiff and an angling representative to create loud bang and disturb roosting or feeding birds. Conditions and code of practice to be agreed on time of day, number of times fired and per day, other users to the site etc.  Use of a starting pistol is going to cause disturbance to non-target bird species, and whilst Paul Wilkinson assures me that any disturbance like this will not take place during the breeding season, birds visiting at other times of the year are going to be affected. It will also be a nuisance and potential hazard to other human users of the lakes and those residents living within hearing distance.

Kind regards,

Matt Griffiths