Hugh’s News – 31 December 2021

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas.  So this is the last message for 2021, another strange year for us all!  Dare I wish that 2022 will see us returning to a more normal lifestyle without restrictions?  I seem to have been saying this for so long!

Bill Wonderley has submitted photographs of Green Woodpecker and Belted Kingfisher.  If we are lucky, we may see the former on our next Field Meeting – but no promises!  I know this is a bogey bird for some of you. We can tell that this is a male bird by the red patch inside the black moustache – females are all black, but both have the red caps.  The later bird is an American species that has somehow found its way across the Atlantic and is attracting twitchers from far and wide to a river near Preston.

We see many Grey Herons on the marshes, like this one I saw at Royden Common. The UK’s oldest ever Grey Heron (that we know of) was an incredible 23 years, 9 months, 2 days. Ringing birds lets us collect all sorts of data about them including, when a ringed bird is re-caught or re-sighted, how old they are.

In case you are not aware, the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is being held over the weekend of 28th to 30th January.  It is a bit of fun but an exercise that gathers really useful data for monitoring bird population trends. All from the comfort of your home.

Best wishes to you and your families and friends for the coming year.

Hugh Stewart