Berwick Wildlife Group

Weather

March has been a fairly cold month, being dominated by winds coming from a northerly direction. Frost occurred on eight nights, the coldest being on the 5th with -2.5°C (28°F). Sunshine and showers predominated, although a calm spell between the 13th and 15th and a S.W. gale on the 8th broke the mould. Rainfall was a little on the high side for March with 61.5mm. or 2.6 inches.

Bird Records

96 Sanderling, 78 Dunlin, 3 Grey Plover and 14 Ringed Plovers were on Little Beach (2nd) while 18 Red-breasted Mergansers were on Meadow Haven with 8 Guillemot, 2 Red-throated Divers and a drake Long tailed Duck in Spittal Bay. The same day saw 12 Wigeon and 20 Teal on Middle Ord pond with 66 Redwing out on the fields there; and 43 Goldeneye, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and a pair of Goosanders at West Ord. A pair of Common Partridges were at Cocklawburn on the 3rd. 300+ Pink-footed Geese were flying north over the town (4th) and 5 Little Grebes and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were at Yarrow Slake. A Great Northern Diver was at Cocklawburn (5th), with a female Peregrine and a male Merlin hunting the local fields where 7 Pink-footed Geese were grazing. The WeBS count for the Estuary (6th) found 4 Little Grebes, 19 Grey Herons, 38 Mute Swans,7 Greylag Geese, 3 Wigeon, 42 Eider, a Long-tailed Duck, 218 Goldeneye, 21 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Goosanders, 16 Dunlin, 320 Redshank, and 510 Herring Gulls. A Merlin killed a Pied Wagtail over Tapee Fen on the 8th (and returned to hunt on the 10th). A Red-throated Diver, 2 Common Scoters and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers were in Spittal Bay (10th), with 19 Ringed Plovers, 5 Rock Pipits and 4 Reed Buntings on Sandstell Point on a very high Spring tide. Also on the 10th a Brambling and 14 Goldfinches were in a Riverdene Garden and a flock of 64 Goldfinches were still coming to bird stations in Hiveacres. Little Beach on 13th held 113 Sanderling, 16 Dunlin, 22 Ringed Plovers, 4 Grey Plovers, 16 Purple Sandpipers and 120 Turnstones. 84 Common Scoter, 46 Curlew and 6 Stonechats (14th) were at Cocklawburn, with a pair of Little Grebe on the pond. At dawn on 14th, numbers of migratory Pied Wagtails at Tapee Fen peaked at 215. A strong NE wind (16th) brought a northerly sea-bird movement with 80 Gannets, 6 Kittiwakes and 30 Goldeneye seen from the Pier in an hour. In Meadow Haven were a large flock of 74 Goldeneye, 26 Eiders and a Razorbill. A pair of Common Partridge were at South Ord. 2 Shelducks and 5 Purple Sandpipers were at Little Beach, with 45 Pinkfeet flying over (north) on 19th, and 3 Fieldfares and 30 Goldfinches were at Hiveacres (20th). A female Blackcap was in an East Ord garden between the 22nd and 27th. 12 Redwings were still at Middle Ord (23rd), with a Buzzard over West Ord. Another Buzzard was over Unthank. 10 Greylag Geese flew north over East Ord (24th), while 14 Guillemots, a pair of Common Scoters and a male Long-tailed Duck were at Cocklawburn, with a pair of Tufted Duck on the pond. A Slavonian Grebe and 24 Eider were in Spittal Bay (25th), and a Shag, a Grey Plover and a pair of Grey Wagtails were on the Estuary. Another Buzzard was over Billylaw, Ord (26th) with 110 Pink-footed Geese flying north. A pair of Long-tailed Ducks near the Old Bridge, Berwick were joined by a second pair (28th), also on the Estuary were 10 Goldeneye, a female Common Scoter and 3 Red-throated Divers. 48 Goldeneye were at West Ord (30th) with the first 8 Kittiwakes of the season coming to roost on the Estuary, and 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were seen in a flock over Spittal Bay flying north. On 31st 7 Redwing were at East Ord House, 16 Linnets and 4 Stonechats were at Cocklawburn, while 10 Teal, 6 Goosanders and 2 White Wagtails (our Pied Wagtails are a subspecies of the continental White Wagtails) were at the mouth of the River Whiteadder, with 4 Canada Geese flying north there. A Short-eared Owl was seen hunting over Cocklawburn Dunes. Elsewhere. A fine 1st winter Glaucous Gull was present in Burnmouth Harbour all month. A pair of Red Kites were flying over Hepburn Wood near Chillingham. The first pairs of Fulmars were spotted on cliff ledges at Lamberton on the 2nd. A flock of 12 Whooper Swans (6th) in a kale field at Cheswick House with 35 Mutes rose to 80 by the 8th before moving off north. A further 38 Whoopers were at Loanend, Horncliffe the first two weeks of the month. 5 Buzzards, a Jay and a Stock Dove were seen at Hutton Bridge (9th), while 2 Greylag Geese, a pair of Common Partridge and 2 Common Snipe were at Foulden. On the 15th a Jay visited a nut feeder at Cot Hill (SW of Duns). A Peregrine was seen S of Eyemouth on the 18th, initially chasing Purple Sandpipers by the shore and then flying some way out to sea. On 26th a Peregrine was over Burnmouth, and 2 Ravens on Blaikie Heugh N. of Burnmouth. On the 29th the first Chiffchaff in the area was reported from Cot Hill. By the 31st a group of Purple Sandpipers at Cheswick Black Rocks, originally of 8 birds on the 14th, had gathered 26 members. On 31st a pair of Black-throated Divers and 4 Slavonian Grebes (2 in summer plumage) were in Cheswick Bay.

Butterfly Records

Very few were reported during the month, but a Peacock was found on a garage floor in Berwick on the 24th (blown down in recent gale? – rescued and put to hibernate) and one was recorded in Walkergate, Berwick on the 29th.

Mammal Records

Several Stoats in (sometimes partial) ermine have been reported, including 2 in Hepburn Wood near Chillingham on the 1st, where a Red Squirrel was also seen. Common Hares have been displaying and ‘boxing’ in several localities, with a dark grey animal seen running through Cheswick dunes (21st). 2 Harbour Porpoises were in Spittal Bay on several dates mid-month.

With many thanks to the contributors of these records. To submit a wildlife record please either - phone Malcolm on 01289 309046 or use the record form on our website Sightings , or e-mail Fiona . Sightings here cover the core of our "Wildlife Group" area – from the Scottish Border to Scremerston on the East side of the A1. Records on the website cover a wider area (including Eyemouth and Wooler) – we just don't have room for them all here. So send in your records by your chosen method.

Surveys. Many of our 2008 surveys - Squirrel Monitoring, BTO Atlas Survey, Beach Litter Survey and the two Butterfly Transects - have already started: studies of Bats, Bumblebees, Other Insects and Town Trees will begin as the season develops. It is not to late to join in with any of these. The information collected contributes to local and national conservation, it gets you out in the countryside to places you might not have visited before, and it's fun! Just let one of the Committee know and we will add you to our lists of volunteers.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. We hereby give notice of our AGM, to be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th May at Berwick United Reformed Church, Main Street, Spittal. The business part of the meeting will be kept as short and informal as possible, with brief reports from office-holders and election of the Committee. This past year has been our busiest ever, with more events, surveys and advisory work to arrange, so if anyone is interested in joining the Committee, we would be most grateful for some extra help. In particular, we are looking for a new Events Secretary and a Newsletter Editor, but if you'd rather help in other ways that would be fine. Please let us know. Whether or not you are interested in Committee work, do come along to the meeting, find out about the Group's plans, tell us what we are doing wrong (or right!) and make suggestions for future activities and events. The AGM will be followed by a talk from BWG member and sea kayaker John Rae about his recent visit to Canada, "From Sea to Sky in British Columbia".

Photo of Honeybee on snowdrops, 11th Feb., by John Rae.	Photo of Purple Henry Starfish by Jenny Prince.
Photo of Jay, in garden near Gavinton, by Gill Young	Photo of Comma, Crowbank, Whiteadder, by Iain Cowe.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS. Members and non-members are welcome at all these events. Most surveys and some walks are free to members, but non-members will be charged £3.00. At events with an outside speaker/leader we ask everyone to contribute to cover expenses, usually £2.00 for members and £3.00 for non-members. Sunday 4th May. A bird survey around Scremerston, the first summer visit to BWG's adopted tetrad for the BTO Atlas 2007-11. Meet opposite Scremerston Church at 10.00am. Wear sensible shoes and if possible bring binoculars. Beginners (and experts) welcome, about 2 hours very slow walk. Sorry, no dogs.. Wednesday May 7th. AGM, followed by a talk "Sea to Sky in British Columbia" by sea kayaker and wildlife enthusiast John Rae. Berwick United Reformed Church, Main Street, Spittal, 7.30pm. Wednesday May 14th. A walk in the Harthope Valley, with Gillian Thompson, ecologist with Northumberland National Park. Curlews should be calling. Meet at Carey Burn Bridge, about 3 miles S of Wooler on road between Earle (S of Wooler) and Langlee Ford – NT 976 250, 11.00. Finish about 3.00pm. Bring packed lunch, weatherproof clothes and strong footwear. Wednesday May 28th. Visit to the new reedbed reserve at the Fenton Centre near Wooler – NT 969 337 with Anthony Johnston, People and Wildlife Officer with Northumberland Wildlife Trust. 11.00am to 1.00 pm. Cafι available or bring a picnic. Sunday June 1st. First 2008 Butterfly Walk at Cocklawburn. Meet at 10.30 am. at car park at end of Cocklawburn road by pill box – NU 031 481. Sensible shoes and binoculars if you have them. Sorry, no dogs. Thursday June 5th. Secrets of Cocklawburn, from low tide mark to the dunes with Aisling Lanning, Marine Conservation Officer, 11.00am – 2.00 pm. . Meet at car park at end of Cocklawburn road by pill box – NU 031 481. Bring lunch, weatherproof clothes and wellies or sandshoes. Friday or Saturday 20th or 21st June. Bumblebee identification walk with bee expert Shaun Hackett. 10.00 am, Stanton Gardens nr. Morpeth. Details to be confirmed Sunday June 29th. Border Green Festival at Five Arches Playing Field, Tweedmouth. Berwick Wildlife Group will have a stand. Do visit us, and if you would like to volunteer to man the stand for an hour or two that would be wonderful! Sunday 13th July. Second 2008 Butterfly Walk at Cocklawburn, with Jaci Beaven of Butterfly Conservation. Meet at 10.30 am. at car park at end of Cocklawburn road by pill box – NU 032 481. Sensible shoes and binoculars if you have them. Sorry no dogs. Want to know more? We'd love to see you at the surveys and events above – the more help and support we have the better. Or maybe you are the sort of person who prefers to go out by yourself and watch fauna and flora in peace and quiet? Either way, why not send us some of your records or photos, or take part in a bee or butterfly survey in your own garden or favourite patch (we have record sheets). Berwick is Brilliant for Wildlife – lets keep it that way. The more we know about the local plants and animals, the better the chance we have of effective protection and conservation. Contact us. Phone 01289 330591, e-mail mail3@berwickwildlifegroup.org.uk or just come to an event (non-members very welcome).