Golden Plover and Lapwing Survey

Hello

Natural England, the Wildlife Trusts for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Northamptonshire Biodiversity Records Centre are carrying out a survey to better understand the habitats used by wintering populations of Golden Plover and Lapwing, particularly in the Upper Nene Valley. The study area is focused on feeding and roosting locations around the Special Protection Area (SPA) gravel-pit sites.

Help is required to gather Golden Plover and Lapwing records within the SPA and within the 10km of the surrounding area to the SPA. Additional records within Northamptonshire would be useful too.

 

Due to Covid 19 there is currently no active surveying, but existing records are requested. There may be an opportunity for a co-ordinated survey next winter.

 

Please send Golden Plover or Lapwing records to the NBRC via their website https://northantsbrc.org.uk/record/submit-a-sighting or via email nbrc@northantsbrc.org.uk.

 

Records should include:

-              A count of each species (if possible)

-              Activity – feeding/roosting (if known)

-              Date and time

-              Location – grid reference 6 figure or above , map & description

-              Habitat type – grassland/arable (if arable also a crop type and stage if known)

-              Name of observer

-              A photograph may be useful but is not essential

Regards

Neil M

Lapwing.

Golden Plover.

2021 Presentations

Hello

I'm delighted to announce that preparations for the annual club Photographic Competition are almost complete and this will be conducted on-line using Zoom from 7.30pm on Wednesday 3rd February.

More details can be found on the Programme but we are now embarking on a series of on-line Zoom presentations by club members until such time as we can resume our attended meetings at Pitsford.

The first two presentations are also on the Programme and will be an illustrated talk on the Birds and Wildlife of Cambodia on Wednesday 3rd March and the Birds of South Africa on Wednesday 7th April.

An email with the link to the meeting will be sent to all members prior to the commencement of the meetings. If you wish to join these meeting and are not yet a member please email nmparker@virginmedia.com.

Please do not be put off by concerns of the technical implications - once you have received an invite link on your device, click on the link and you will enter the meeting. If your device has a camera (most laptops do for instance) you can decide whether you wish to be visual to other attendees. The host will manage the process and will control opportunities for you to speak or text questions.

Best Wishes

Neil M

Cape Sugarbird SA.

Grey-headed Fish Eagle
Cambodia.

Our friend JP-S

John Price-Stephens, affectionately known as JPS, has sadly and suddenly passed away. In recent years Bob Bullock spent some time with John and has written the following:

John Price-Stephens died on December 30th aged 75. 

I first met John in early autumn 1976 on the causeway at Pitsford reservoir which at the time was nearly empty north of the causeway after one of the driest years on record. I pointed out to him a Temminck’s Stint which was hiding behind a rock sticking out of the mud. I told him about the Northants Bird Club and he joined sometime after. He had a young family then and always made an effort to see any new bird for his Northants list. 

He was best man at my wedding and godfather to my daughter Katie. A few years later he got heavily into twitching and together in various combinations with Steve Mawby, Richard Johnson, Andrew Cook and I, went for every new bird we could, apart from once when Sue, his wife, said ‘If you go for that bird (Paddyfield Warbler at Walney Island in September 1992) I won’t be here when you get back’. It took him many years to get that one back! 

In 1990, with his family, he did a year-long house and job swap with a family in Brisbane and we visited him over there in the summer holidays, there he had a worrying episode where in the outback he wandered off into the bush to look for a bird and got totally lost for several hours before being discovered by a passing motorist. Together we visited most counties in Britain and a number in Ireland in pursuit of new birds. He amassed a total of more than 540 species. He also went on Bird Club trips to Panama, Finland, Gambia and twice to South Africa which he thoroughly enjoyed and often spoke of the night he spent in the same room as Bob Gill and Phil Horsnail and listened to so many jokes and stories he got no sleep. Until he retired from his job as a Special Needs teacher he wasn’t able to go on any other NBC trips but instead visited USA, Bermuda, Venezuela and much of northern Europe in school holiday time. With our wives we went on a camping trip to southern Spain and Portugal and on a Red Sea cruise visiting Jordan and Egypt combining birding with some culture. In September 2018 we went again to South Africa with our wives and drove the Garden Route and visited sites around Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. 

John was also an Arsenal and Welsh Rugby Union team fan as well as a plane spotting fanatic and on every foreign trip was keen to see any of the local planes, and regularly visited airshows in USA and Europe in his campervan, he also flew over ‘area 57’ in Nevada to log all the stored aircraft in the desert. Latterly he renewed his old interest in fishing and liked to take his grandchildren along. He also joined a fishing club with me to catch some larger carp and catfish and caught his first catfish in 2020 including four in one day. Our last twitches together were for the Brown Booby and Paddyfield Pipit at the end of 2019 in Cornwall where it was apparent that he had a heart problem. We went on our last fishing trip at the end of September last year and he had open-heart surgery in October, twice cancelled at the last minute and seemed to be making good progress. 

His sudden death was a shock to everyone and completely unexpected, he will always be remembered for kind, gentle and good-humoured nature and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. My sympathy goes to wife Sue, daughters Eleanor and Clare and to their families.  

Bob Bullock.

Thank you Bob. 

  

One of my fondest memories of John was passing his home in Pitsford one morning. Just in time to catch him cussing at a misbehaving lawn mower. Unexpectedly, for John I stopped and asked if he was alright. John looked at me, smiled and asked if I'd like a cuppa and a chat, "as long as there's a biscuit in it" I replied. Everyone who knew John and from all at the NBC, echo Bob's sentiments and offer heartfelt condolences. John's legacy will remain in our memories forever. 

Robin