WHAT'S ON AT OGSTON
NOT ONE TV PRESENTER BUT TWO
If you're a fan of the BBC One Show, here's your chance to meet two of the presenters.
Saturday, 8th September 2012 2:00pm - 4:00pm - A Family Lecture by television presenter George McGavin
Zoologist, explorer, lecturer and television presenter George McGavin celebrates the Trust's 50th anniversary year by joining us to present his family lecture. George is a lively and enthusiastic speaker so this is an event not to be missed. This event is kindly sponsored by the University of Derby.
For tickets phone Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on 01773 881188.
Venue location: University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, Derbyshire, DE22 1GB
Saturday 24th November 2012 7:00pm - 9:00pm - A talk by One Show presenter Mike Dilger.
Mike is an ecologist, natural history presenter and writer. Enthusiasm for the natural world oozes out of him and his passion for the subject is infectious. Mike's talk, The Trials and Tribulations of a Natural History Presenter, is a collection of amusing stories about his time as a natural history presenter - it will tell you everything you wanted to know about working as a wildlife presenter but were afraid to ask...
Tickets are £5 - contact Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on 01773 881188.
Venue location: County Hall, Matlock
15th May: JIM MART WORKS PARTY 19th MAY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve is this Saturday, 19th May, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime.
We will be continuing the path repair work started at the last work party, tackling bramble spreading into the grassland, removing dead vegetation from the surface of the ponds, and weeding the base of the new hedge. Despite the cool weather at least four Whitethroats were singing simultaneously on the reserve on Tuesday, and the spring flowers are out, so there will be some.distractions to ensure we don't work too hard.
All members are welcome to come and no previous experience is necessary. Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves. Some tools are available, however try to bring a spade, a strong rake, hand fork or secateurs.
For further information, contact Peter Faulkner by email (jimmart@btinternet.com) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).
OGSTON GUIDED BIRD WALK 5th MAY
The first Saturday of the month, Ogston Bird Club guided walk will take place next Saturday 5th May. Meet at 9:30am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. We aim to return between 12noon and 12:30pm depending on the weather and what we see. In the case of bad weather please check the website to ensure the walk is still on. Please wear walking boots or good walking shoes and clothes appropriate for the weather conditions. Bring binoculars if you have them. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR TOMBOLA PRIZES IF YOU HAVE ANY, THEY WILL BE COLLECTED BY ANDY MARSHALL!!!
STRETTON HANDLEY SCHOOL BIRD NEWS
We have had news from club member Nikki Mahadevan who runs the Stretton Handley school nesting boxes programme.
Nikki says: I thought the club might like to hear about Stretton Handley School's nesting birds. We spotted our first Tree Sparrow chick today in one of our bird boxes which is fitted with a camera. I think they hatched around the beginning of the week but because they are hidden by the nesting material, we can only see them as they get bigger and stretch
their heads up out through the nesting material. Unfortunately we had a Robin clutch/nest fail over the holidays but a pair of LT tits have built a nest in the adjacent Hawthorn bush. There are some pictures on our birdblog:
http://www.strettonhandley.derbyshire.sch.uk/birdblog/
We are live streaming from the Tree Sparrow box this weekend, if you are patient, you might spot a chick or two!
http://stretton-handley-church-of-england-primary-school.j2webby.com/
MEMBERS TRIP TO PADLEY GORGE
Ogston Bird Club are organising a members walk to Padley Gorge on Sunday the 17th June. This walk is open to all Ogston Bird Club Members who pre-book. Pre-booking is essential because this likely to be a very popular event and we wish to control numbers on the walk to a maximum of 25. The cost of the walk is £2 payable in advance when booking. If the walk is over subscribed we will try and repeat the event. The walk will start from Grindleford Railway Station. Access to the railway station is off the B6521 which is the road which runs from Eyam to Fox House. The access road to the railway station is clearly marked. Park (free) on the left hand side of the access road, continue walking in the same direction pass the old station building, now a cafe, and meet on the railway bridge. You will know you are in the right place because you will see the mouth of Totley Tunnel from the bridge. We will set off on the walk at 9am. The length of the walk is aprox. 6 miles and is on a par with our Saturday morning walks at Ogston. We will stop for a drink and light refreshments somewhere near half way. The walk will last between 3 and 4 hours. The walk will finish at the old Grindleford Station Cafe with brunch (optional). A full English breakfast and half a pint of coffee can be purchased for £5.45. The food there is legendary amongst the hiking community and you will not leave hungry! If the weather is favourable you can eat al fresco on the terrace. I will give full details of the cafe house rules on the day. This area known as Padley Gorge is part of the Longshaw Estate is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are large woodlands of Oak and Birch which are full of birds and wildlife. All three woodpeckers are present, along with Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit. We also hope to enlighten you on some of the local history of the area. The walk will be along some of the lesser known woodland paths, which can be slippy especially when wet. I would strongly advise you wear good hiking boots. You will need to wear clothes appropriate for the weather. If it is going to be warm, bring plenty of water to drink, wear sun block and a hat. If wet bring waterproofs, if cold or windy bring some warm clothes. Oh, the joys of an English Summer! You will not need much in the way of refreshments other than water if you are going to enjoy your brunch to the full. To book please telephone Jean or John Parlby on 01773 861262 or 077 67 652 036.
JIM MART RESERVE WORKS PARTY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve is this Saturday, 17th March, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime.
Aside from looking for 'Shamrock', we will have 155 hedging plants urgently needing to get established in the north boundary before the season advances any further. We are planning to have a couple of club members working during the week to prepare the site, though this task might need to be finished at the
start of the work party, so we need as many volunteers as we can get on Saturday. There are other jobs if we have enough volunteers, or if hedge
planting doesn't appeal!
All members are welcome, and no previous experience is necessary. Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves. We have some tools available, however try to bring a spade and/or a bow saw or loppers.
For further information, contact Peter Faulkner by email (jimmart@btinternet.com) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).
GUIDED BIRD WALK 3rd MARCH
Next Saturday 3rd March is the first Saturday of the Month Ogston guided bird walk. Meet at 9:30 am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. Please wear good walking shoes or boots and clothes appropriate for the weather; it can be very cold and wet at Ogston this time of the year. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved. Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to return to the Car Park between 12 noon and 12:30pm however this can be earlier if the weather is bad.
In case of bad weather please check this website to see if the walk is still on.
JIM MART RESERVE WORKS PARTY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve is this Saturday, 18th February, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime.
It's National Bird Box Week, so we will be carrying out our annual survey of the reserve's boxes to determine the extent of 2011 occupancy, and cleaning them out in readiness for the 2012 breeding season. In addition, we are going to make a start on clearing away the remaining section of old fencing from the northern boundary in preparation for the next bout of hedge planting. There are other jobs if we have enough volunteers, or the main tasks don't appeal to you!
All members are welcome, and no previous experience is necessary. Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves.
We have some tools, however for the fence clearance it would help if you could bring wire-cutters / claw hammer. If anyone has a short ladder, about 2 metres long and OK to use outdoors, it would be welcome for accessing the bird boxes.
Given the weather conditions recently, if there is any doubt as to whether or not the work party is going ahead on the day, or for further information, contact Peter Faulkner by email (jimmart@btinternet.com) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).
GUIDED BIRD WALK 4th FEBRUARY
Next Saturday 4th February is the first Saturday of the Month Ogston guided bird walk. Meet at 9:30 am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. Please wear good walking shoes or boots and clothes appropriate for the weather; it can be very cold and wet at Ogston this time of the year. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved. Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to return to the Car Park between 12 noon and 12:30pm however this can be earlier if the weather is bad.
In case of bad weather please check this website to see if the walk is still on.
BIG SCHOOLS BIRDWATCH
Over the three days that included Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week, Nikki Mahadevan and the children from Stretton Handley school took part in the Big Schools Birdwatch and Nikki has kindly shared the results of the Handley school's birdwatch with us. They can now be found on on their birdcam and wildlife blog at http://www.strettonhandley.derbyshire.sch.uk/birdblog/
As part of an earlier appeal for binoculars on the Ogston club website, the children really appreciated the donation of a proper pair of binoculars and these helped greatly during the three days of the Big Schools Birdwatch.
The Stretton Handley school which is situated within the Ogston Bird Club's recording area has for a while now had a number of bird boxes up in the school's grounds, some of these with cameras inside. These boxes carefully monitored and maintained by Nikki and the children. It is extremely encouraging to find a local school taking such a big part in birdwatching activities. On the Friday of the Big Schools Birdwatch, club member Daniel Martin went along to Handley to help with the school's project and, reading from his report on the Bird Forum, Daniel enjoyed his day back at school every bit as much as the childrens did. Many thanks to Daniel, part of his report is listed below:
I went along to help Stretton Handley primary school with their RSPB big garden birdwatch Friday morning and had a great couple of hours. I believe it falls within Ogstons recording area. The children were very grateful for the bins that someone kindly dropped in.
The Handley school backs on to fields and Nikki has already put up many bird boxes including at least one with a camera, and fronts the Derbyshire schools camera nest box project. This particular box had Tree Sparrows in it last year, they raised 15 young in 3 broods! a very productive pair. Tree Sparrows are possibly not a well known speciality of the area, but they have certainly taken to the boxes Nikki put up. We had at least 5 around school whilst watching with a couple
in and out of one box inparticular.
The other big win for the school is at least 14 Bullfinches feeding together as a flock on the floor under a small group of trees. They are reasonably confiding and feed happily on the deck, flying back into thick hedgerows when spooked. A good number in one flock. Most of the common species you would expect were on show but a flock of Siskin in one of the Alders was a nice addition. Flyovers were Buzzard, 4 Cormorant and plenty of BH Gulls.
It was so refreshing to see excited children taking part in this way and being just as thrilled with Magpies as with so many Bullfinches. Thanks to Nikki and the children for sharing the results of their hard work with us.
JIM MART RESERVE WORKS PARTY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve will be Saturday, 21st January, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime.
Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves. Please bring a garden spade, though if you don't have one don't be put off from coming as we can use you to prepare and distribute the plants, and to firm them in.
For further information contact Peter Faulkner by email (jimmart@btinternet.com) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).
OGSTON BIRD WALK Saturday 3rd December is the first Saturday of the Month Ogston guided bird walk. Meet at 9:30 am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. Please wear good walking shoes or boots and clothes appropriate for the weather; it can be very cold and wet at Ogston this time of the year. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved. Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to return to the Car Park between 12 noon and 12:30pm however this can be earlier if the weather is bad. In case of bad weather please check this website to see if the walk is still on.
JIM MART RESERVE WORKS PARTY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve is this Saturday, 19th November, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime.
Following on from last month's work party, when the old fencing from a section of the north boundary was removed, we will be planting the first section of a mixed species hedge comprising hawthorn, hazel, holly, crab apple and cherry. All members are welcome to come and do some planting and no previous experience is necessary.
Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves. Please bring a garden spade, though if you don't have one don't be put off from coming as we can use you to prepare and distribute the plants, and to firm them in.
For further information contact Peter Faulkner by email (jimmart@btinternet.com) or by telephone (0784 214 8888).
OGSTON "FEED THE BIRDS" FUND
With the winter months just around the corner and, if the weathermen are to be believed, it could be another bad one. The birds at Ogston need feeding on a daily basis to help get them through the winter. Following advice from the RSPB, Ogston as a club, feed the birds all year round. Now we have two feeding stations to look after, the demand on the amount of seed and peanuts we use in the winter months is quite dramatic. But the birds do have to be fed. With this in mind, we're starting a "Feed The Birds" fund.
We hope to be having sponsored walks, coffee mornings, raffles, in fact anything we can do that will help with the cost of the bird feed. If anyone can help or come up with other suggestions, please get in touch with Jean Parlby on 01773 861262 or by E-mail Every little bit of help will be most welcome. When he got there, the cupboard was bare, thanks to young Fergus Worsey for the image.
OGSTON BIRD WALK
Next Saturday 5th November is the first Saturday of the Month Ogston guided bird walk. Meet at 9:30 am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. Please wear good walking shoes or boots and clothes appropriate for the weather; it can be very cold and wet at Ogston this time of the year. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved. Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to return to the Car Park between 12 noon and 12:30pm however this can be earlier if the weather is bad. In case of bad weather please check this website to see if the walk is still on.
YOUR HELP NEEDED
Due to the low water levels, the vegetation in front of the hides and surrounding areas has grown considerably this year. This needs clearing during the Autumn and Winter months. However small a contribution, your help is urgently needed. Please remember that without your help this cannot be done, the vegetation will not go away on its own.
Every bit of help, however small in terms of time and effort will really be appreciated. This is your club and clearing the vegetation can only be done as part of a joint effort. The first of the works parties will start at 09.30 on Sunday the 6th of November. See below for the later dates.
A small amount of refreshment will be provided, although it would be advisable to bring your own drinks. If at all possible, your help is greatly needed on these works parties. So we can work out what refreshments are needed, please get in touch with John Parlby on 01773 861262 or by E-mail to let him know you will be attending.
OGSTON TRIP REPORT
On Sunday 9th. October the OBC trip took place to Frampton Marsh, a fine but windy day was had and a total of 67 species were seen.
A Pectoral Sandpiper was the highlight, some Swallows were still hanging about and a Marsh Harrier was over the salt marsh.
Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Black-Tailed Godwits were all present along with Ruff, Shelduck, Whooper Swans even the Skylarks were up singing.
Thank you to everyone who supported the occasion.
Wa are planning some further full day and evening events for 2012, these will be put on the website and in the hides from January 2012.
Report from Diane Haynes.
A big thank-you to Diane on behalf of all who went. Her hard work being much appreciated. John Parlby
OGSTON BIRD WALK
The first Saturday of the month, Ogston Bird Club guided walk will take place next Saturday 5th November. Meet at 9:30am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. We aim to return between 12noon and 12:30pm depending on the weather and what we see. In the case of bad weather please check the website to ensure the walk is still on.
Please wear walking boots or good walking shoes and clothes appropriate for the weather conditions. Bring binoculars if you have them. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved.
JIM MART RESERVE WORKS PARTY
The next organised work party at the Jim Mart lower reserve is this Saturday, 15th October, starting at 9:30am and ending around lunchtime. Everyone is welcome and no previous experience is necessary.
The main task will be to remove the old fencing along the north side of the reserve. This is the prelude to planting a new hedge along this side of the reserve in the coming months. The work involves cutting back overhanging hawthorn branches, extracting nails and fencing staples, and untangling and removing the old barbed wire, stock netting, wire mesh and posts. The work site will need to be cleared away at the end of the morning as we will be working from our neighbour's side of the fence.
Please wear stout shoes/boots/wellies, and heavy duty gardening type gloves. Tools we will be using include loppers, bow saws, wire cutters, claw hammers and general purpose/fencing pliers.
For further information contact Peter Faulkner by email jimmart@btinternet.com or by telephone (01629 732688 or 0784 214 8888).
NEW DATES FOR OGSTON WORKS PARTIES
The dates for the Ogston works parties have now been confirmed. They are: Sunday 6th November, Sunday 4th December, Sunday 8th January, Sunday 5th February and Sunday 4th March. More information will be provided nearer to the day.
If at all possible, your help is greatly needed on these works parties. So we can work out what refreshments are needed, please get in touch with John Parlby on 01773 861262 or by E-mail to let him know you will be attending.
VOLUNTEERS DESPERATELY NEEDED
We're sure it has not gone unnoticed that the vegetation in front of the hides and surrounding areas has grown considerably this year. This needs clearing during the Autumn and Winter months. We also have a couple of projects in mind to carry out.
Every bit of help, however small in terms of time and effort will be really appreciated. These works parties will be carried out monthly on Sunday mornings, dates will be announced here on the website.
A small amount of refreshment will be provided although it would be advisable to bring your own drinks.
So now you've guessed it, WE DESPERATELY NEED HELP FROM VOLUNTEERS. If you can help, please contact John Parlby on 01773 861262.
OGSTON BIRD WALK
The first Saturday of the month, Ogston Bird Club guided walk will take place next Saturday 1st October. Meet at 9:30am in the West Bank Car Park, all welcome. We aim to return between 12noon and 12:30pm depending on the weather and what we see. In the case of bad weather please check the website to ensure the walk is still on.
Please wear walking boots or good walking shoes and clothes appropriate for the weather conditions. Bring binoculars if you have them. Dogs are allowed if kept on a lead and are well behaved.
OGSTON BIRD CLUB OUTING
There will be a coach trip to Frampton Marsh on Sunday the 9th October. The cost of the outing will be £10 per person.
For further details please click on the Events Diary button at the top of the page or contact Diane Haynes on 01332 757710 after 4pm. MORE ABOUT FRAMPTON MARSH A major new extension to this coastal wetland reserve includes a reedbed, large freshwater scrapes and wet grassland. These are all being created to bring the wildlife of the Wash closer to you.
New facilities include a visitor centre with toilets; the centre has a refreshments area where you can get a hot or cold drink and a snack. We also have three hides - two with 360-degree views - and over 3 km of new footpaths to explore.
Frampton Marsh is at the leading edge of visitor and habitat nature conservation planning. We have designed every aspect of the new habitats and facilities to maximise the value for wildlife and the opportunities for visitors. Ideally positioned between Norfolk and the Midlands, a visit will be well rewarded. If you are new to birdwatching... Large numbers of waders and ducks can be seen from the visitor centre, hides and paths. Information for families Families are always made welcome. You can get really close views of birds from the visitor centre, where we've provided telescopes for adults and children to use. There's also an RSPB guide on hand who will be happy to answer your questions. Binoculars can be hired free of charge from the visitor centre and taken out around the reserve. There are free games available for children to play, keeping them interested as they walk around the reserve. The 'Kids' Zone' in the 360 hide has been specially created for children's activities.
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