RSPB

ON Tuesday, April 8, RSPB group member David Massie gave us a guided tour of the birding highlights of Northern Thailand, lavishly illustrated with his excellent photographs.

David and his wife Nancy have travelled widely in Asia but went to Thailand for the first time in February last year.

Their 15-day tour covered a wide variety of habitats from salt pans close to Bangkok, through mangrove swamps and national parks, and up into the mountainous region of north-west Thailand, reaching the highest point in Thailand at Dori Inthenon.

There, boardwalks over the forest revealed an incredible variety of birds, including Mrs Gould’s sunbird dazzlingly arrayed in a palette of red, yellow, green and black. The range of birds seen was truly impressive totalling around 350 species and, although some were birds we might expect to see in Europe, others were definitely Asian specialities.

One of the more curious stories was that of Germain’s swiftlets, which use a man-made structure full of nest holes in which they raise their young each year. Once the young have fledged the nest material is harvested and sold to China for bird’s nest soup.

Another attraction of Northern Thailand in February is the chance of seeing one of the rarest waders in the world — the spoon-billed sandpiper, with a global population estimated to be between 100 and 200.

The bird migrates from its wintering sites in South Asia to its breeding ground in Northern Russia but overfishing, hunting and loss of habitat on its route mean that it is perilously close to extinction.

Captive breeding in the UK and conservation work with communities on the migration route are now giving some hope that the species can be brought back from the brink.

As well as David’s superb photographs of birds, we were treated to mouth-watering images of Thai dishes enjoyed along the route. Several members of the audience left with a new-found destination for their bucket list.

On Sunday, April 13, five of us met for a very windy walk round Aston Rowant nature reserve north of Reading.

At this time of year, birds such as ring ouzels and wheatears, which are heading to the uplands of northern England and Scotland to breed, regularly stop off in open windswept places like this, but we were out of luck.

The most noticeable resident birds were the red kites and buzzards flying overhead, while summer visitors such as chiffchaffs and blackcaps were singing in the scrub.

A bullfinch kept calling from the bushes but stayed hidden, which is a shame as it is a very smart bird. In all, we recorded 18 species and some lovely spring flowers.

On Wednesday, April 16 we went to Blackbushe Common, which is behind Blackbushe Airport and also visited the adjoining Castle Bottom and Yateley Common.

It was another very windy day, mostly sunny but with a shower mid-walk.

The windy conditions meant that many birds were heard but not seen and these included four willow warblers, which are heathland birds, some chiffchaffs and blackcaps in the woods and a whitethroat in scrub near the car park. After the walk, we stopped for coffee in the airport café and sat outside watching the airport activity, mainly of the feathered kind, a skylark and a couple of linnets putting in brief appearances. In all, 26 species of bird were recorded.

May will get off to a flying start with a dawn chorus walk at Clayfield Copse in Caversham at 5am on May 4.

This will be followed on May 13 by a short annual meeting and then a talk by Ben Andrew on his work as RSPB picture researcher.

On Sunday, May 18 there will be a minibus trip to RSPB Pulborough Brooks in West Sussex and on May 20 there will be a morning walk at Fobney Island nature reserve on the Kennet.

The final indoor meeting before the summer break will be a talk on The Gambia by Jonathan Forgham on June 10.

Outdoor meetings for this season conclude with a minibus trip to Nagshead nature reserve in the Forest of Dean on June 15 and an evening walk on Greenham Common on June 24.

All indoor meetings are held in Pangbourne village hall starting at 8pm. Visitors are very welcome.

There is an entrance fee of £5 for non-members, juniors half price. New members are always welcome with annual membership set at a modest £15 (£10 for juniors).

For more information visit group.rspb.org.uk/reading