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This is a short video with Mike Smart about Curlew monitoring.

I work in local conservation in the Severn and Avon Vales, through the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society, and various other bodies. We have, with BTO, carried out a colour-ringing project on Curlews that winter in the Severn estuary. Thanks to the colour rings we can now recognise individuals, and have confirmed that they are incredibly faithful to both breeding and wintering sites, returning year after year to the same mudflat and high tide roost in winter, and to the same breeding field in summer. Our ringed wintering Curlews breed across a broad swath of land from the Severn estuary to Yorkshire, Suffolk, The Netherlands, Germany and as far as Sweden and eastern Finland.

Though Curlew is generally considered to be a breeding bird of high moorland, a reasonable population continues to breed in the lowlands of south west England; one of the main centres is the Somerset Levels, and there are almost as many in the Severn and Avon Vales upstream of Gloucester. Curlew is very much one of the iconic summer species of the Vales in summer and its lovely bubbling call is a feature of the area, much loved by local people. We are going to do a survey this year, to try to find out exactly how many pairs breed; my “off the top of the head” estimate is 50-100 pairs. The nests are terribly difficult to find as the birds nest in very large flat hayfields in the broad river valleys, where it is difficult to get on an eminence from which you can watch them. We think that one reason for the decline is early cutting of these hay meadows, though predation is clearly a problem too. We have a team of local observers, who are making regular visits to the main sites, and hope to produce a document at the end showing where the main sites are, in the hope that bodies like Natural England will help persuade farmers and land-owners to cut their grass a bit later, when any chicks have fledged.

Mike Smart

On a bright but slightly chilly morning some 25 members and guests joined Andrew Bluett for a walk around Crabtree Hill and to Woorgreens Lake.

Wood Anemones and the Gorse were out in flower, the Great Grey Shrike put on a show, a solitary Tree Pipit appeared, the first few Willow Warblers of the season were singing as were the earlier Chiff Chaffs, a cock Stonechat appeared briefly and Ravens flew overhead a couple of Times. Nick Christian spotted and pointed out a swift flying Sparrowhawk.

At Woorgreens Lake there were numbers of Greylag & Canada Geese, a Merganser, Dabchicks, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen and a pair of Mute Swans. The Raven flew over twice, both times being chased off by the male Carrion Crow of a pair that appeared to be nesting on the island. Again, Nick Christian spotted a Long Tailed Tit’s nest under construction for all to see and a solitary Buzzard cut lazy circles in the distance.

Thanks to all who took part, a good meeting with signs of the Spring to come.

‘GNS News’ is the quarterly magazine published by the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society, containing articles on wildlife matters as well as news about the Society. Members of the Society receive a printed copy of this magazine each quarter. Back issues of the magazine are now available to download or read online. If you’d like to enrol as a member to receive the latest editions in the mail, along with the other benefits of membership, such as an annual copy of ‘The Gloucestershire Bird Report’ and ‘The Gloucestershire Naturalist’, which contains more scientific articles on the county’s wildlife,  click here.

The next GNS Indoor Meeting is due to take place on Friday 8^th April – An illustrated talk on Scotland – Landscape and Wildlife by Andrew Bluett. Come and see why Scotland looks like it does and some of the wildlife that inhabits the landscapes there. At Watermoor Church Hall, Watermoor Lane, Cirencester GL7 1JR, 7pm for a 7.30 start.

The next field meeting is on Sunday 10^th April – Crabtree Hill and Woorgreens Lake in the beautiful Forest of Dean – A meeting of general interest, Birds and other wildlife to be led by Andrew Bluett (01452 610085 / 07584 689090). Meet at SO 624 125 in the car park on the north side of the road ½ mile to the east of Speech House Hotel. 11am to 1pm. Binoculars are an advantage and please dress appropriately, it may be chilly and damp but will be interesting.

On Thursday 14^th April a joint meeting with Painswick Bird Club, 7.00pm for 7.30pm at Painswick Town Hall in the centre of Painswick, just across the road from the Churchyard entrance. An illustrated talk by author and broadcaster Dominic Couzens – “Tales of Remarkable Birds – interesting and unusual behaviour”.

A note on the Curlew survey and a requests for records was posted on the GNS website earlier in March.  Below is a summary of activities during March, the first month of the survey:

Thanks, first of all, to the many observers who have submitted reports of Curlews in the last month.  Some salient points:

• Mary Colwell-Hector is undertaking a 500 mile walk through Curlew breeding areas in Ireland and England to draw attention to the plight of the Curlew; you can read about her project on curlewmedia.com .
• I have sent Mary some information about our survey, which she has posted on her website.
• Mary is coming to Gloucestershire next week, and Phil Sheldrake of RSPB and I are going to visit Upham Meadow along the Avon with her.
• By the end of March, most Severn and Avon Vale Curlews seem to be on territory (as you would expect).  Most of the males are bubbling over their territory, or walking round with their mates, asserting ownership of the territory.
• The weather this March has not been very kind to nesting Curlews in the Severn and Avon Vales: there was a big flood (following floods in January and February) from 7 to 15 March, and the waters have come up again in the last four or five days, following the passage of storm “Katie”.  So this may delay the nesting season.
• Numbers of territorial pairs do not seem to be very high so far; apart from a couple of sites like the Severn Ham at Tewkesbury and Upham Meadow, most sites seem to have only a single pair.
• As regards the colour-ringed birds that winter on the Severn estuary, four have so far been recorded back on nesting territory (they are very site faithful and return every year to the same breeding site, generally to the same field); one was back in Netherlands by 22 February, one was back on the Yorkshire Moors by 18 March, and the two birds that nest locally at Ashleworth Ham and Upham Meadow have been seen in March.  Please keep an eye out for any colour-ringed Curlews in your own patch.
• Finally, I have tried to check on communal roosts of Curlews which have been recorded in previous years; so far not much luck, because my evening visits have coincided with flooding, when the birds don’t concentrate in one place.  It would be particularly interesting to know if there are any evening roosts by water at other sites, for example along the Avon (maybe Bredon’s Hardwick Pits or Kemerton Lake NR?); or the gravel pits along the Severn in Worcestershire?  Or at Upton Warren?

Please submit any records to Mike Smart at smartmike@btinternet.com

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust run a number of wildlife and ecology courses. This PDF document gives full details: 20160331 Wildlife Trust Courses 2016 A4

You can also visit their website, http://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/whats-on

The Stroud Valleys Project charity runs a number of events which may of interest to GNS members. This link goes to their events calendar.

http://www.stroudvalleysproject.org/index.php/walks-talks-and-community-events/events

People book by phoning the office on 01453 753358. Then they are given joining instructions, once they have booked.

Message from Gordon Kirk, Chairman of the Gloucestershire Ornithological Coordinating Commitee (GOCC):

“For many people the wonderful ‘bubbling’ summer song of the Curlew is one of the iconic sounds of the countryside, but sadly it is heard less and less; the UK’s breeding population is estimated to have fallen by 43% in 20 years.  Curlew has very recently been added to the “Red List”, and is now considered by many to be the UK’s highest conservation priority bird species, because of the high proportion of the international population that breeds in UK.  Curlews are not raising enough chicks to sustain their population; predation, habitat change in upland breeding areas, and modern farming practices seem to be the main reasons.  Although most British Curlews breed in upland habitats, there are also important lowland populations, mostly in hay-meadows but also in various habitats where there is rough grassland.  In Gloucestershire and Worcestershire Curlews still breed in the Severn and Avon vales, and there are a few pairs on the Cotswolds.  These birds can often be helped by involving farmers and other landowners and working with them; for example it may be possible to delay the hay harvest in some fields for a few days to enable young birds to fledge.

“To try to help Curlews, a local project is aiming to find all our breeding birds in 2016 and see what help can be offered to them and the landowners on whose land they are nesting. The area involved is Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire and the partnership includes the Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, RSPB and the Gloucestershire Ornithological Coordinating committee.  A small team of experienced volunteers will be studying the well-known sites, but because Curlews can be quite catholic in their choice of habitat we are also asking people to report any Curlew seen or heard in potential breeding habitat between 1 March and 31 July so it can be followed up. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you are a farmer or landowner with Curlews on your land.

“Please report your sightings to Mike Smart, either by email smartmike@btinternet.com or by phone (landline 01452.421131, mobile 07816.140513).”

The GNS Annual General Meeting took place as planned on Friday 18 March in Cirencester, with the President, Mrs Anna Ball, in the chair.  The Meeting re-elected the existing Executive Committee, except for Lynne Garner and Gordon Avery who had stood down in the course of the year; it elected Ben Locke and Martin Matthews as members of the Executive Committee.  It was agreed not to appoint a new Hon Secretary, and to go ahead with the redistribution of tasks as already agreed: Andy Oliver will take over the initial screening of Grant Applications; the Chairman will complete the annual return to the Charities’ Commission.   The Committee is looking for a volunteer to act as Minutes Secretary.

David Scott-Langley had stood down after ten years as Chairman of the Cirencester Branch, but remains on the Cirencester Branch Committee as Treasurer; Andy Bluett has joined Ken Cservenka and Rob Curtis as the other members of the quartet; there will be a rolling Chairmanship.

Gordon Avery (former Bird Recorder), Roger Gaunt (former Moth Recorder), David Haigh (Spider Recorder), Colin Twissell (Amphibian Recorder) were appointed Honorary Members of the Society; all have made major contributions to the recording of these taxa; Colin thanked the Society on their behalf.

David Scott-Langley has also for many years been Chair of the Scientific and Publications Sub-Committee, a really crucial position within the Society Society.  David of course remains Recorder for a variety of invertebrates and hence a member of this Sub-Committee, and is to continue editing “The Gloucester Naturalist”, quite apart from continuing as Vice Chairman of the Society.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society will be running “Ecology for Beginners” on 17th April 2016 – a chance to learn some new skills and to explore and understand the interdependence of animals, plants and the environment.

Full details for booking on the flyer here – Ecology for beginners course 2016