Wader Quest - an introduction by Rick and Elis Simpson

Wader Quest is a charity that aims to encourage more people to get involved in Community Wader Conservation projects by highlighting the need for such projects and for those that can’t get directly involved, to do so indirectly through Wader Quest.

I have been a birder nearly all my life - some 50 odd years, in that time life has become less tolerable for birds and not least among them the waders. While I have been alive 60% of the intertidal zone in the Yellow Sea has been destroyed, Lapwings have tumbled by 50% in the UK and now 48% of all known wader populations are in decline. The realisation that all is not well with the waders is a relatively new one, we watched from the sidelines as the Slender-billed Curlew slipped through our fingers, only reacting when it was too late.

Northern Lapwing 50% decline in the UK in 30 years

It was the Spoon-billed Sandpiper that brought everything into sharp focus, it became an iconic symbol of all that was, and is, going wrong and in looking at the threats which were nudging it ever closer to extinction, we realised that the same threats were also having a devastating effect on other previously common wader species.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Thailand.

If you were to go out into your local high street and stop 100 passers-by and ask them to name a natural environment that was being destroyed at an unsustainable rate, of those that would have the slightest notion of what you are talking about (such is the disconnect between people and the environment these days) I can almost guarantee that 100% of them would cite rainforests in one form or another.

The chronic problem that rainforest face is unrelenting, it has been going on all my life, it has been widely publicised and has been given much attention by conservationists with varying degrees of success, however the same cannot be said of the intertidal zone and other, mostly wetland habitats, upon which our favourite birds depend. For many years, these have been swallowed up piecemeal, the cumulative effect of which has been devastating and it all happened under the radar. Only now, due to one little enigmatic bird, when the problem has become acute and pivotal, has it come to our attention; hopefully though it is not too late.

It’s easy to turn people onto forest conservation, not so easy when you are trying to save mud! Photo: Elis Simpson

With the aim of widening awareness about these issues, Wader Quest devised and created, with the support of Birdwatching Magazine, the Wader Conservation November initiative. This is a series of events designed to draw attention to the plight of waders around the world and what better way to start it off than a world-wide event?

On the 7^th and 8^th of November this year we are inviting people around the world to go out and look at waders. We then ask them to let us know what they have seen. For our part we will compile a list of the waders seen around the world and participants will have their name published on the Wader Quest website in a roll of honour. They will also be entered into a Prize Daw, the prize of which is a wonderful signed Lars Jonsson wader poster and a set of Wader Quest wader pin badges.

Does it matter if you don’t see a huge number of species? Does it matter if you just see common species? Not one bit of it, a contribution containing a single abundant species is just as valid as one with several exotic species and this is because it is the taking part that is important, by doing so you are saying ‘Yes! I care!’

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Hooded Plover  and Magellanic Plover; our three main projects so far. Photo: Elis Simpson

We also have initiated the first ever wader festivals in the UK at two locations, the Wirral Wader Festival (14^th and 15^th November) and the Wash Wader Festival (28^th and 29^th November); both are celebrations of areas of immense importance to waders in the UK and it would be fantastic to see some NGB members there to help us celebrate.

As young people you will want to believe that as you get older there will still be places such as these to celebrate, Elis and I are passionate about our waders and will continue to fight for their collective survival for as long as we can and we hope that you will also want to do the same so that, when you are our age, you will still be able to share the swirling flocks of waders and the huge high tide roosts they settle down to become with the next generation of birders that will follow behind you.

We must not let this become a thing of the past.

Becoming a Friend of Wader Quest costs just £5.00 a year; we hope that this low rate will make anyone who wants to, feel they are able to be part of our growing community of wader loving friends. Wader Quest is totally voluntary and 100% of all donations and Friends’ fees are used to assist lower budget wader conservation and research projects.

WADERS NEED LOVE TOO

NGBs on Bardsey 2015

Bardsey Bird Observatory Trip Report 2015

"22nd of August saw the first four members of NGB making their way across to Bardsey Island. The weather was not your usual weather for August, but then again it is Wales! Between the rain and the wind the four members (Dan, David, Ephraim, George) split up and began birding. The first day was a quiet day where it was mainly exploring the island for the best birding spots and getting to know the names of the areas, which quickly went out the window as new names where then appointed: e.g Solfach was transformed to Solvent. 

The Sunday was a much better day for birding, despite the rain again. We set up my scope in a little alcove by the entrance to the Common room so we didn't have to go out into the rain. We collected a number of common species such as Common and Arctic tern. It was my turn to do some sea watching, after glaring into a misty sea, a tern caught my eye and after watching it come out from the mist, I could finally tell what it was: Black Tern! Sunday quickly turned into a Tern-kind-of-day with two hours later whilst down the hide at Solfach, Steve picked up on a Roseate Tern!" Dan Rouse

"The rest of us (Josie, Aidan, Jammy, Ben and I) came over to the island on Monday, after Birdfair, and it seemed that we brought the sunny weather with us, as it ended up being a very pleasant week, which was a huge relief after looking at the weather forecast a few days before and seeing day after day of rain! After a calm crossing and meeting the others, we soon started birding, with the notable birds of the day being a Mediterranean Gull and a Common Sandpiper, and of course the great birds we got used to seeing daily like Manx Shearwater, Chough, Wheatear, Raven and Common Scoter. Every evening we gathered in the common room to help with log, when one of the observatory staff would input all of the day's bird and other wildlife records into a laptop. After log on Monday evening, we ventured to the North end of the island in search of Manxie chicks. where we were able to see these amazing birds close up, and the ringers in the group got to ring a few. The Storm Petrel nets were also put up, and 4 birds were caught, so we all stood in awe at this superb bird, which was a lifer for many of the group. It was truly magical standing in the dark watching a Stormie in front of us (and selling it!) with Manxies calling overhead, and a Little Owl calling in the distance. 

On Tuesday, among the usual stuff we had a Whitethroat, Grey Wagtail, Peregrine and Purple Sandpiper, and whilst sea-watching from the observatory we had 3 Gadwall and a Teal fly north incredibly fast (good birds for Bardsey!). We also had a Great Skua, and there was a lot of excitement and the frantic setting up of scopes when a juv Long-Tailed Skua was called. The bird kindly flew at a leisurely pace reasonably close in, so everyone present at the time could get onto the bird and have good views, and it was a lifer for some of us.

Wednesday was quite a quiet day bird-wise, but we did see a Razorbill resting on the sea while on the beach at Solfach. Thursday was quite the opposite though, with some good waders seen whilst sea-watching from the Obs. I spotted a mixed flock of waders flying south, and soon Steve  had identified them as 9 Whimbrel, 8 Knot (first for the trip), at least 2 Bar-tailed Godwits (first for the trip) and a Grey Plover (the only one of the trip). In fact, Grey Plover is a scarce bird on Bardsey, with only 3 records from 2013, and my bird was only the second record for this year, so not a bad find! Ringed Plover, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Turnstone were the other waders seen that day. In the afternoon we headed up the mountain slightly in search of Manxie chicks to ring, and even the non-ringers in the group, Ephraim, George and I, were able to ring these incredible birds under the guidance of Steve, an A permit holder, which was a real privilege and an unforgettable experience. 

That evening all the NGbs, obs staff and birding visitors to the island gathered in Steve's house for the bird quiz, where we split into two teams each with a fair distribution of older birders and Ngbs. It was great fun, with questions about rare bird records, identifying and ageing birds, and some general bird-related questions, and in the end it was very close between the two teams.

Friday was the day of the bird race between the NGBs and the rest of the birders on the island (the warden and assistant wardens; Steve, Mark and Steffan, and two birders Kevin and Jess). The race technically started at midnight; when we all still in Steve's house after the quiz, and it ended at 7:30pm for log. In the morning out team split into pairs to cover the island, with Josie and I staying at the observatory to sea-watch, But before everyone else was up, George saw a Grey phalarope out to sea, the only one seen on the trip so a great tick, however it couldn't be counted in our race list as 2 people had to see every species. I managed to find a Pomarine Skua (the only one of the trip) and a Golden Plover (also the only one of the trip) but unfortunately in order to identify any birds found whilst sea-watching we had to alert 'the enemy', so the birds went on their day list too. In the end the NGBs saw 59 species, and the other team saw 60, painfully close! However, it could be argued (and we did) that the obs staff cheated, as they went to the East Side (where we weren't allowed to go because it's too dangerous) and played a Stormie tape into a Stormie burrow (that only they knew was there) and they heard the bird call back and ticked it-cheats! Also, during the day a couple of  Barn Owl feathers were found, so after log Jammy, Ephraim and Ben went out to find the owl, and they were succesful (albeit just a 3 second view), but that couldn;t be included in our bird race total as it was after 7:30, so technically I think we can say that the NGBs won!" Sorrel Lyall

"The ringers of the group got to experience a variety of species! The mist-nets in the garden in the obs provided the usual species for some of us, such as; Goldcrest, Robin, and Wrens. On the Saturday, one of my favourite birds appeared in the nets; Spotted Flycatcher! Once, Ben arrived on the island, we went down to the beach at Solfach to set up the portable Heligoland trap in the hopes of catching some Rock Pipits. The idea was a success with a few Pipits caught, however, the trap provided some very exciting birds such as a Dunlin which Josie ringed and a Redshank which I had the pleasure of ringing. We tried numerous times to trap the Turnstones that were strutting up and down the beach, but despite trying different methods it wasn't a success. On the last day, Steffan brought Steve some Goldfinch pulli which myself and Josie ringed, these little birds were tiny and just adorable to ring." D

"On Saturday afternoon we got the boat back to the mainland (after leaving Jammy on the island for another week!) and saw some close Manxies from the boat and a Guillemot on the water. 

From Saturday to Saturday NGBs and the obs staff saw exactly 100 species, and from Monday to Saturday NGBs saw 94 species, meaning we beat the Skokholm crew in the NGB Islands Bird Race by 10 species. So all in all a fantastic week!" S

- By Sorrel Lyall & Contribution by Dan Rouse

Sorrel Lyall Website

Sorrel's Twitter 

Dan's Blog

Dan's Twitter

Ringers Report June 2015

Ringers Report, June 2015

Dan Rouse - A Rocha Bird Observatory, Portugal

Been a great week out in Portugal at the observatory, despite having gone to Portugal a number of times it was only this time did I actually do some ringing. The heat was the biggest issue of the day, the first bird pulled out the bag was a Juv House Sparrow and the birds continued to be less interested until there was one bag left, one of my favourite birds of Portugal: Azure Winged Magpie! As much as I love them, they don't half hurt when they get you good. More common birds continued to fill the nets until a Sardinian Warbler flew into the net in front of me and then a Short-Toed Treecreeper were both major highlights for me!

Zac Hinchcliffe & Jonnie Fisk - Spurn Bird Observatory 

Jonnie Fisk had the pleasure of ringing a Marsh Warbler at Spurn. Zac, having managed to avoid them so far controlled a Sparrow Hawk which was first ringed at MigFest at Spurn the year before.

Josie Hewitt - Hampshire

In my garden, June saw the arrival of lots of fledged Starlings. I hadn't really done many Starlings before now so my aim was to catch and ring as many as I could. Using one potter trap over 3 weeks in June I managed to trap 26 Starlings, both adults and juveniles. I think their eyes are fascinating and there is so much variation with them that I decided to take some photos so that if I re-trap any of them as adults then I can see if the iris colour is any indication of sex. I decided to do this because I have been told conflicting things by different people as to whether you can or cannot sex juvenile Starlings based on iris colour. Hopefully I'll re-trap some of the birds once they've done their post juvenile moult and so I can use other criteria to try and sex them.

Ringers Report: May 2015

 

Ringers Report!

'Ringers Report' is a new blog series where the ringers of NGB can showcase all that they have ringed and what has turned up in the nets over the past month. June's 'Ringers Report' will be going up on the first week of July, reminder will be posted in the 'Young Ringers' Facebook group.

Daniel Wade - Kvismaren Bird Observatory, Sweden.

Though currently my role at the observatory is mainly census and survey based I have been getting hands on with some ringing in relation to a couple of ongoing projects including the colour ringing of 2 Savi's Warblers, 2 Ortolan Buntings and a female Great Reed Warbler. It's been great to experience some new species in the hand and learn about more scientific practices such as blood sampling for DNA and RNA analysis. We also controlled a Gdansk ringed Robin a couple of weeks back, which was very welcome!

I can only anticipate what fun lies. Ahead as I enter my last fortnight at the observatory!

Dan Rouse - Gower Ringing Group, Wales

No rarities to report in the nets but amazing numbers have turned up at our CES site, Lesser Whitethroat and Mistle Trush being highlights so far this year. At our Oxwich site, which I have shamefully on been to once this month, we've had great numbers of finches and warbler with Cetti's, Reed, Gropper and Sedge all being present. Again, another Mistle thrush rocked up making that the group's 6th of the year! In Wales last year there were only 10 caught (2 pulli), so we're off to a great start with the species!

Amy Robjohns - Farlington, Hampshire

I've been ringing a couple of times in May down at Farlington Marshes (Hampshire). Some sessions have been rather quiet with a few birds ringed although our latest session (20th May) yielded almost 50 birds. We've mostly been ringing warblers, particularly reed warblers, whitethroats and blackcaps. Highlights this month have been a skylark, great spotted woodpecker, lesser whitethroat, and more recently fledglings!

Jonnie Fisk - Spurn
Just got back a control Blackcap I ringed 16/-4/15 found dead (hit window) 163km away in Beccles 02/05/15. Spurn to Suffolk in 16 days.