A birder with a camera
Our February meeting started off with the usual business, after we welcomed three visitors. It is our A.G.M. next month and we have a few vacancies for committee members. Our President Penny made a plea for help. As most readers will know, organisations need a committee to run successfully. The more people that are prepared to help, less work is required of each member. Duties need not be time-consuming and new faces breathe new life, ideas and enthusiasm.
We have announced the date of the May Market which is Saturday 23rd May from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. Please keep the date free, you will be able to buy books, plants, homemade produce and much more.
We have a craft challenge for the year. We will be knitting “ Trauma Teddies “ and donating them to Lichfield Police who will carry them in their patrol cars. They can then be given to, and kept by, any children that have been involved in a traumatic incident.
We have a couple of dates associated with our centenary celebrations this year. We will be planting a tree on School Green on Friday 3rd April and we have an Archives Day planned on Saturday 11th July, more details to follow.
Our speaker this month was Tony Slater who gave us a return visit with a talk on 'Watching Wildlife with my Camera'. As many of you know, Tony is a local man, although originally from N. Derbyshire, and a very keen birdwatcher and hobbyist photographer. He started his talk with a slideshow of the starling murmurations over Avalon Marshes in Somerset. This was a spectacular sight as the 2.5 million birds come together in clouds, turning and swooping in unison. A “record shot” is a recorded sight of a particular species, not necessarily clear, but enough to prove identity. Tony showed his record shots of a European bee eater, a bittern and kingfisher. The photos are really useful in identification. There are various tactics you can employ in “ getting the right shot “. Always have bird seed in your pockets, birds will get used to where you are regularly feeding them. If using feeders , make them look as natural as possible if you plan to take photos. A robin sitting on a branch eating peanut butter will look so much more attractive than one on a wire mesh feeder.
Tony advised us to practise our photography skills at home. Set up feeding stations, fieldfares and redwings will visit when they see where the more common garden birds are getting food. Tony showed us slides of a sparrowhawk feeding on a wood pigeon, taken in his back garden, a long eared bat in a customers loft and flying insects visiting the summer flowers. If possible, try to get your work published on social media or in print. A photo of a nightingale taken by Tony, was used on the front cover of the first colour edition of The Fisherman.
Use your photos to “ promote a cause “. Hen Harriers and Red Grouse have shared the heather moorlands of Britain since the last Ice Age, but many uplands are now owned or leased for shooting. Estates go to extraordinary lengths to ensure unnaturally high populations of grouse, from sequential burning ( grouse prefer to eat young heather shoots ) to routinely trapping and killing any mammal or bird that might take grouse chicks. This has all had a dramatic effect on hen harrier numbers and they are being systematically eradicated. Three years ago , the first Hen Harrier Day was established which increased public concern and awareness, and now numbers are up slightly but just 14 hen harrier nesting attempts have taken place.
It was evident throughout Tony’s talk that he is passionate about his hobby and keen to pass on ideas . We were treated to an interesting talk, interspersed with several slideshows set to music.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 11th March at 7.30pm in Yoxall Parish Hall. It will be our AGM followed by Helen Bundy giving a talk on the Blood Bikes. If you would like any more information please contact Penny Bailey through the link below. Visitors will be made very welcome.