Surveyors needed urgently ? Black Redstarts

The ROC is arranging a further survey of Black Redstarts in Reading Town Centre this year. We invite all members to watch for the birds on all town centre visits and submit their findings and very early morning is by far the best time to look and listen. John Lerpiniere is planning to survey the area, or part of it on 17th April and on 1st May and needs your help on those days or others.

Sundays are chosen because they are the quietest days when there is a greater chance of hearing the song. The plan is to encourage members to survey any part of the town centre, say from the prison in the east to the swimming baths in the west for as long as possible and meet around 7.30 a.m. at the top of Garrard Street car park which offers a vantage point over many town roofs to discuss findings and next actions. You may be charged for entry to the car park so use of other places may be more economical.

We urge members to help with this survey. Black redstarts are featured in the proposed Reading Borough Council?s Biodiversity Action Plan due to their tenuous hold here and we need to understand the status of the bird.

For more details of the 2004 results, the salient points about the bird and its behaviour etc. see John’s note in the Survey section of the website. John can be contacted on johnle@sagainternet.co.uk or on 0118 942 6225

Colin Wilson –

Owl boxes installed at Fobney

In April, Chris Robinson and Renton Righelato installed two owl boxes on the south bank of the River Kennet at Fobney. Perhaps too late for this year?s breeding season, it is hoped that Barn Owls, seen occasionally in the area, will take up the offer of accommodation later in the year.

Renton Righelato –

Club membership success

This time last year, the club?s committee began to be anxious about the gentle but none-the-less steady decline in
the club?s membership, and worried about funding the publication of all the ?Birds of Berkshire? annual (or
bi-annual) reports from dwindling subscriptions. The committee decided on a publicity drive, and on welcoming
closer relationships with like minded associations within Berkshire and just beyond its boundaries. Ruth Angus was
appointed as Publicity Officer and she has thrown herself into the task with gusto, producing leaflets and splendid
coloured posters advertising our activities and membership details, and then carting these round the libraries,
hides at nature reserves and other venues and constantly checking to keep the displays filled up. This work has
been complemented by Marek Walford?s updating and improvement of our web site, and by our indefatigable chairman?s
spreading of the word at various meetings and with contacts, often on walks, not necessarily organised by the
R.O.C. Members who were already strongly involved with conservation work with other groups,such as T.A.B.C.G.,
F.O.LL, and Moor Green lakes Group were encouraged to spread the word too.

The results of all this effort? I have just enrolled the 50th new member since April 1st 2004! In previous years
new members averaged about 16 each year and often 18 or so were lost through old age, moving away or just loss of
interest. This year we have lost only 5 in this way, so we have a net gain of 45 members. Our new members are of
both sexes and by no means all of them are in the retired category; indeed several of them are students. They cite
the leaflets, the posters, the web site and existing members as their source of information. So, well done
everybody! Keep up the good work!

Dot Lincoln –

Bird Fair trip 2005

ROC invites NDOC, BBOWT, East Berks RSPB members and others to accompany us to this popular annual event.

Following last year?s very successful coach trip to this event, ROC is again sponsoring this trip, which is open to all those who are interested in a great day out at the country?s top bird watching event.

The fair provides a huge range of displays of optics, photography, art, books and magazines, outdoor clothing, travel and the like. Lots of info and bargains to be had! You will be able to meet and hear major figures in the birding world, or spend some time in the hides on the look-out for Tree Sparrows, ducks, waders and Ospreys.

To accommodate NDOC members, the coach will leave the Wharfe at Newbury at 6.30 a.m. sharp. It will then pick up at Reading, at 7 a.m. and Bray at 7.30 a.m. (exact locations will be published later.) Early booking is advisable.

The journey should take about two and a quarter hours. The coach will have its own toilet facility, but there will be a short stop on the way up and back at a motorway service area.

We will leave Rutland at 5 p.m.

Ray Reedman –

Extra indoor meetings

27th April 2005 (at our usual venue in the Palmer Building at Whiteknights)

Dickie Duckett will present ?My Photographic Year?.
This is the programme that was postponed due to technical failure at the AGM.
Dickie once again won the Gordon Langsbury Trophy for the best overall entry in the 2005 Photographic Competition, so we can be assured of an evening of quality.

Before this, Renton Righelato will report on the findings of the Questionnaire.

25th May 2005 (N.B. at Leighton Park School*)

Brian Clews will present a talk entitled ?Red Kites in the Chilterns ? soaring to success, after 150 years of absence.?
As co-author of ?Where to Watch Birds in the Thames Valley and Chilterns?, and organiser of the Berkshire Bird Bulletins, Brian is a well-known figure in local ornithology and has chaired the recent gull identification sessions at ROC.

(* The University room is not available in May, due to examinations, so we have booked the Main Hall at Leighton Park, which is next door to Whiteknights Park. The entrance is a little further up the Shinfield Road, just past the Pepper Lane traffic lights. The school will help with parking and directions to the Main Hall.)

Ray Reedman –

Berkshire outnumbers neighbouring counties on garden birdwatch

The RSPB have today published details of the Big Garden Birdwatch which show that Berkshire managed the third largest participation of a block of counties in the south and east of the country. Only Hertfordshire and West Midlands, which both exceeded 10,000 participants, beat Berkshire?s total of 7993 watchers and 4540 gardens.

In Berkshire the house sparrow came out top, an average of 3.19 found in each garden (4.56 nationally), followed by the Starling and Blue Tit. The Song Thrush has plummeted to 22nd place nationally since being 7th in 1979, something that might be related to climate change as so many habitats are drying up.

Wood pigeons are a more common bird in Berkshire?s gardens in 5th place with 1.97 present against a national position of 8th with 1.43. Greenfinch is the bird that seems to give way for this, being 10th in Berkshire and 5th nationally.

Colin Wilson –

Local Groups to meet to air house building concerns

A number of local groups and societies have arranged a public meeting to voice their concerns about the South East Regional Plan (SERP) and to highlight some proposed planning applications that they think are bad examples of planning that could become common-place in order to satisfy the demands of the SERP.

The groups have been waiting for the consultation papers on the SERP from the South East Regional Assembly (SERA) which are supposed to be issued to all households in the South East so they can respond by 15 April. Most of the groups say the consultation papers have not yet been received by their members. For those lucky enough to have received the papers, they then find that the multiple-choice questions have answers that, they say, are too general and ambiguous to reflect their views of the Plan. This leaves a consultation process that does not alleviate their concerns about future developments in or near Reading that will result from the proposed SERP.

The groups claim that examples of the poor planning include the proposed Kennet Valley Park development which has already been the subject of wide promotion by Prudential, the consortium leaders and a rumoured further development of Green Park, Reading, a business park, to include housing. Both of these developments lack suitable infrastructure support hence putting services and capacity at risk and they are on the functional floodplain south of Reading, making Reading and the local area more vulnerable to flooding.

David Hancock, Chairman of the Kennet Valley Preservation Association, a local residents Group said ?There is no question that Reading and Thames Valley needs more houses as demand exceeds supply, but the proposed Kennet Valley Park is a prime example of bad development in a completely inappropriate location. It is sited in a highly congested area with inadequate roads and services such as hospitals and right in the middle of the functional flood plain. It is this flood plain that has prevented Reading flooding and it is just crazy to build 7500 houses in such a place. We do not want to be the next Carlisle, but this is of little concern to the developer who will have long gone when residents are floating around in boats with their houses under several feet of water. The Environment Agency is opposed to this development which shows the clear and present threat of flooding?.

Another major concern about the developments is their impact on wildlife. The area to the south of Reading is part of the Kennet Valley, a haven for wildlife. Colin Wilson, Chairman of the Reading Ornithological Club commented ?We know Prudential are aware of the wildlife value of this area. They seem to be planning to replicate the environment somewhere else and somehow persuade the birds and creatures to move their homes where they want them to. It sounds very risky when there are so many valuable bird habitats at stake. One of the most important heronries in the whole of Berkshire is involved, as well as valuable species like Nightingales and some birds specially protected by law such as Kingfishers and Cetti?s Warblers. At the moment, Prudential won?t say anything to us about how they intend to achieve their plan so we?re just very sceptical. There is a proposal to secure the meadows mainly to the north of the canal but nothing we?ve seen replaces the heronry or the other habitat lost.?

The meeting, at 7.15 on 31 March at the Council Chamber will be attended by Martin Salter MP who has publicly stated his objection to Kennet Valley Park, Royce Longton, Leader of West Berkshire Council and The Environment Agency, plus others with knowledge of the area and the planning issues involved. The aim is to encourage debate on the issues so the public know how to respond to the South East Plan consultation and to the planning applications when they are submitted in the near future.

Notes to Editors

1. Kennet Valley Preservation Association was established in September 2004 by local residents who live on the functional flood plain of the River Kennet to the west of Reading. Its purpose is to monitor progress of any planned developments in the Kennet Valley and its environs and to protect the interests of local residents and the wider community in respect of these developments. The association has over 40 households as members and holds regular meetings.
2. Reading Ornithological Club was established in 1947 and is established to advance public education in the study of wild birds, their habitats and their conservation in the Reading area. The Club has over 200 members and holds regular meetings. Further details, including articles on the subject of Kennet Valley Park are on www.theroc.org.uk
3. The Kennet Valley Park is a proposal for the development of up to 7500 houses in areas to the south of Reading. Up to 2000 houses are planned between 2011 and 2016 with the remainder in the following two decades.
4. The proposal includes the creation of a ?nature? park between Reading and the housing development of around 1300 acres. The ?Meadows? will be protected in a trust arrangement for which details have not yet been published. The trust would own the land in perpetuity.
5. Details can be found on www.kennetvalleypark.com
6. The South East England Regional Assembly launched its South East Plan consultation on 24 January 2005. According to the SEERA website www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan/consultation/programme.html a copy of the ?Your shout? document will be delivered to every household in the South East in time to respond for the end of the consultation on April 15th.

Contacts

For further details or comment please refer to:

David Hancock, Chairman, Kennet Valley Preservation Association, 1 Kennet Cottages, BURGHFIELD, Berkshire, RG30 3XJ. Tel. 07764 354 116. Email David.X.Hancock@oracle.com

Colin Wilson, Chairman, Reading Ornithological Club, Blakeney, St Catherine?s Road, Frimley green, Camberley, Surrey, GU16 9NP. Tel. 01252 837411 or Mobile 07899 066687. Email colin.wilson@theroc.org.uk.

Colin Wilson –

Public meeting about Kennet Valley Park and developments in Reading

The ROC has published a press release, jointly with the Kennet Valley Preservation Association, to announce a meeting on 31 March 2005 at 19.15 in the Reading Council Chamber at Civic Offices in Reading. The meeting is mainly about planning issues but there will be a presentation on the wildlife impact of Kennet Valley Park by Colin Wilson. Members are encouraged to attend so they can understand the many issues facing residents.

A story has been released today by the Reading Chronicle and can be found on IC Berkshire.
Further stories are likely in the next few weeks.

Colin Wilson –

Midweek walk at the Lookout

The March midweek walk of the R.O.C. is to take place this Thursday the 17th. Meet at the “Lookout” (Heritage
Centre”) SU876661 at 10a.m. Ring Harry Matthews on 01628 624440 if you need directions or more information. Lots of
choice for walks and different habitats from here so Harry will decide on the day exactly where to go, according to
weather and what’s about. Weather is supposed to be warming up!

Dot Lincoln –

Berkshire Biological Recorders Forum

After the successful event last year TV ERC is again organising a forum for all Biological Recorders in Berkshire. This free event is open to all, beginners and experienced alike, and aims to encourage Recorders and Recording Groups to share their experiences and to hear about new projects in the County. It will be a great opportunity to exchange ideas and information and of course to network with other wildlife enthusiasts.

Burghfield Village Hall, Recreation Road, Burghfield Common, Reading. (SU652667)

Saturday 14th May 2005 10.00am ? 4.00pm

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