From the Newsletter [2]…

Editorial

What an action packed month we've had recently, what with the last newsletter going out without the bird news and then turning up from the printers with 4 pages missing. Could it get more exciting than that. Well yes, it did when a Steppe Grey Shrike was found at Lound. Fortunately, we have birders in the County who don’t accept things at face value;who look further than the obvious and who explore and research their sightings.When Paul Naylor went to see a Great Grey Shrike at Lound, he found himself not looking at the pristine black,grey and white bird that we usually get wintering in Notts but a much duller bird with pale mask and a dull pinky-grey breast and underparts. The alarm bells rang, he went back and with a couple of mates researched the Grey Shrike complex and decided that this bird was Nottinghamshire’s first Steppe Grey Shrike. Photos of the bird were posted and these compare favourably with pictures of other accepted records of this species. Many hundreds of birders were able to see the bird before it departed.And then only yesterday, again at Lound, a Baird’s Sandpiper was identified on call by one of our most experienced and well travelled birders.This follows one found here 11 years ago; that one stayed for 6 days so you never know, by the time you read this, you could have this on your Notts list as well.It’s interesting to note that most of these good birds are found by birders who put the time in, those who scan through a 100 Dunlins to find that American Wader or a thousand gulls to find a Med or Caspian. It’s like most things in life; put the time in and you will be rewarded.

Howard Broughton - Editor

Last updated: 21st November 2009

By becoming a member of Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers, you will have access to all of the content from our excellent newsletter as well as receiving the superb annual report.

You can opt to receive the monthly reports as either a paper copy, or, if you have e-mail, as an electronic version [Adobe PDF].

Our website will only be featuring a couple of articles from the newsletter - the rest of the newsletter is for members only, but joining Notts Birdwatchers is both inexpensive and easy.

Why not have a look at a free sample? We are publishing the entire PDF versions of January 2007 Newsletter [1.8mb], October 2007 Newsletter [1.9mb] & January 2008 Newsletter [4.3mb]. All are minus the Notts Birdline number - which is strictly for members only.