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Sightings last updated 11:30 29/07/10; last reported sighting 28/07/10
Latest news posted - 11/07/10
Please report your bird and other wildlife sightings to us as soon as you can please. You can send them by e-mail here
or if you don't have access to e-mail, you can telephone me on 01442 822471 - and if you leave a message, don't forget to leave your name.
WE NEED YOUR SIGHTINGS - so that they can be shared with our other members and help to give a fuller record of what we have.
Latest Sightings of birds and other wildlife appear below the Latest News section. To go straight there click here
And, please note that unless a reported sighting is clearly a mistake, I try to post them without too much delay, regardless of their source. Therefore many of these sightings are unchecked and not all of them have been officially accepted by the appropriate rarities committee, or even by the FoTR Committee! Please bear this in mind when checking sightings below and, if appropriate, please send me further corroborative records or any other information you may have.
For other bird sightings in the area please visit Herts Bird Club. For information about other wildlife see Hertfordshire Natural History Society.
And don't forget Lee Evans' website Birding Tring Reservoirs which looks at the reservoirs and other local sites, including the surrounding hills.
Other News follows the Latest Sightings listing
It has been reported that there are two active wasp nests in the hide at Wilstone, both at the end furthest from the door. One is by the flaps and the other, large one, is on one of the roof beams.
Please take extra care when visiting the hide.
The life cycle of the social waps is fascinating. The queen wasps seek nest sites and begin their nests in the spring. Once the first adult wasps - the workers - emerge in May, the nest develops in earnest, with worker wasps gnawing wood to build and extend their paper nests. Wasp larvae - the grubs - are carnivorous and the worker wasps - all females - forage for prey, mainly insects which they feed to the larvae in the nest. Many of their prey are garden pests and for most of the summer the wasps are too busy tending to the larvae in the nest to cause us problems - I have even seen wasps taking small pieces of meat from a ham sandwich to take back to the nest. However, the adult wasps are not carniverous, but are vegetarians. The larvae in the nest exude a sweet honeydew like liquid which the workers eat, so that in the nest's life cycle, the workers feed the grubs and the grubs feed the workers.
At the end of the summer the queeen wasp stops laying eggs, so that there are no new larvae to feed the workers. As the remaining larvae devlop, the supply of sweet food for the workers dries up, so they have to look elsewhere. While they do eat some flower nectar and the sugar from ripe fruits, many find it easier to go for our ice creams and picnics, which is why wasps are only a real nuisance at the end of the summer - which unfortunately always coincides with the school holidays! The workers eventually die, leaving only the mated queens to over-winter, sometimes in our houses - in a previous house, I regularly had two or three in the folds of a north-east facing window.
(Posted 11/07/10)
See latest pictures of sightings: No recent pics.
2010:
Wed 28 Jul Wilstone: Yellow-legged Gull over (Steve Rodwell)
Tue 27 Jul Wilstone: 27 Great crested Grebes inc. 7 juvs, 6 Shoveler and 5 Teal (Steve Rodwell)
Tue 27 Jul Startopsend:
Red-crested Pochard (Steve Rodwell)
Mon 26 Jul Wilstone: 2 Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, 120+ Lapwing (S Richards HBC)
Sat 24 Jul Wilstone: early am: 2 Little Egrets, 3 Common Sandpipers, 1 Curlew and 2 Redshank (briefly), 1 Hobby (Roy Hargreaves)
Sat 24 Jul TWTW: 2 Green Sandpipers (David Bilcock)
Fri 23 Jul Wilstone: 2 Little Egrets, Whimbrel flew through calling, Common Redshank calling repeatedly, 1 Common Sandpiper, (numerous) Lapwing, Hobby, plus 1 Chinese Water Deer nr. Rushy Meadow (Roy Hargreaves)
Thu 22 Jul Wilstone:
5 Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret (S Richards HBC)
Tue 20 Jul Wilstone: 2 Grey Wagtails, 3 Common Sandpipers (Geoff Young); plus 9 Gadwall, 17 Lapwing, 2 House Martin, 73 Common Tern, 22 Sand Martin, 3 Little Egret, present for 4th day (Lee Evans HBC); plus 2 Common Sandpiper, juv. Grey Wagtail (S Richards HBC)
Mon 19 Jul Startopsend: 13 Mute Swans, 25 Greylag Geese and 52 Coot (Lee Evans)
Mon 19 Jul Marsworth: 6 Mute Swans (inc. 4 cygnets), 8 Great Crested Grebes (inc. 1 juv.), 2 Grey Herons, 50 Greylag Geese, 93 Mallard-types, 2 Red-crested Pochard (ad. F & juv. F, this year's surviving F youngster), 2 Tufted Ducks, a family group of 4 Coot, 2 Moorhen, 4 Common Terns (including a noisy youngster), 5 Western Reed Warblers and a singing male Reed Bunting (Lee Evans)
Sun 18 Jul Wilstone: 4 Common Sandpiper (S Richards HBC); 2 Little Egret, Kingfisher (Jeff Bailey HBC)
Sat 17 Jul Wilstone: 3 Grey Wagtail , 3 Little Egret, 50+ Lapwing, 2 Common Sandpiper (S Richards HBC)
Wed 14 Jul Wilstone: early am: 2 juv. Little Egrets, Common Sandpiper (Roy Hargreaves); later: 57 Mute Swan,
3 Little Egrets (Lynne Lambert); 1ad. 2 juv. Little Egrets (Mike Campbell)
Wed 14 Jul Startopsend: early am: Common Sandpiper (Roh Hargreaves)
Tue 13 Jul Wilstone: early am: 3 Common Sandpipers, 4 Eurasian Teal, 1 Redshank (briefly), 1 Dunlin (Roy Hargreaves); time unspecified: 24 Lapwing (S Richards HBC); late pm: 16 Great Crested Grebe (inc. 1 juv.), 42 Mute Swan, 39
Greylag Geese, 3 Common (Eurasian) Teal, 15 Tufted Duck, 16
Northern Pochard, 2 Hobby, 6 Lapwing, 87+
Common Terns, 117
Common Swift, 15
House Martin (Lee Evans)
Sat 10 Jul Wilstone: early am: Common Sandpiper (on straw bales), 2 (M&F) Eurasian Teal , plus dragonflies : Ruddy Darters nr. Rushy Meadow and butterflies: Ringlets, Small Copper, Large Skipper and Gatekeepers; and pm: more Dragonflies and Damselflies: Red-eyed Damselflies (on surface vegetation), Common Blue Damselflies (close to bank), Blue-tailed Damselflies, Small Red-eyed Damselflies, Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer and Four-spotted Chaser (Roy Hargreaves)
Fri 9 Jul Wilstone: late pm: 3 Whimbrel (briefly) (Rob Andrews)
Thu 8 Jul TWTW: Green Sandpiper (Lynne Lambert)
Wed 7 Jul Wilstone: early am: 6 Common Sandpipers, F Eurasian Wigeon (presumably summered locally), plus a Chinese Water Deer in crops nr. Rushy Meadow (Roy Hargreaves); 17 Sand Martins (Lynne Lambert)
Tue 6 Jul Wilstone: early am: 2 Common Sandpipers (Roy Hargreaves); Kingfisher, 9 Lapwing (S Richards HBC)
Sun 4 Jul Wilstone: early am: 3 Barnacle Geese, 6 Common Sandpipers; & late pm: 3 Barnacle Geese still (David Bilcock)
Sun 4 Jul TWTW:
early am: Green Sandpiper (David Bilcock)
Sat 3 Jul Wilstone: early am: 2 Common Sandpipers, juv. Little Egret (David Bilcock)
Sat 3 Jul TWTW: early am: Green Sandpiper (David Bilcock)
Fri 2 Jul Wilstone: 2 Common Sandpiper (Roy Hargreaves)
Fri 2 Jul TWTW: late pm: Green Sandpiper (David Bilcock)
Wed 30 Jun TWTW: 6 Mandarin ducklings (Johne Taylor)
Mon 28 Jun Wilstone: am: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper (Roy Hargreaves)
Sun 27 Jun Wilstone: juv. Marsh Tit (Johne Taylor); Common Sandpiper, 5 Lapwing (S Richards HBC)
Thu 24 Jun Wilstone: 2 Red Kite, Hobby (Geoff Young)
Wed 16 Jun Wilstone: 25 Common Tern chicks ringed (Johne Taylor)
Tue 15 Jun Wilstone: 2 Hobby, c80 Sand Martin (Alan Gardiner HBC)
Tue 8 Jun Wilstone: pm: 6 pr Great Crested Grebe (one with two young), 10 Cormorant nests, 25 Grey Heron nests (with many young), 15 Mute Swan, 23 Greylag Geese plus unspecified Canada Geese, 6 Gadwall, 3 M Shoveler, 10 M 4+ F Pochard, 52 Tufted Duck, 1-2 Red Kite, 2 (pr) Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, 2 pr Red-legged Partridge nr. Dry Canal, several Common Pheasant (fairly common in surrounding fields, many Moorhen (presumably breeding), 351 ad. Coot (with 5 broods totalling 15 young, 25 Common Tern nests with 6+ young, 330 Swift, 16 Sand Martin, 3 prs Skylark in fields nr. res., 3 singing M Common Whitethroat on dry canal, 2 or 3 prs Linnet nr. dry canal, 2 M Yellowhammer nr, Rushy Meadow, plus Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Robins, Blackcaps, Sedge Warblers, Goldcrest, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Jays, Chaffinch, and Woodpigeons, Barn Swallows, Pied Wagtails, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Starlings, Goldfinches (Lee Evans)
Tue 8 Jun Startopsend: pm: 1 pr Great Crested Grebe, 82 Greylag Geese with unspecified Canada Geese, 2 M Pochard, F Red-crested Pochard, 16 Tufted Duck, 23 Coot (Lee Evans)
Tue 8 Jun Marsworth: pm: 6 ad. Great Crested Grebe (one pr. with 2 young), 1 Mute Swan, 9 well-grown young Mallard, 1 young Red-crested Pochard, 2 pr Coot, one with 6 young, first-year Lesser Black-backed Gull over, Cuckoo calling from behind reedbed, 6 House Martin, plus Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Collared Doves, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings, Chiffchaff, Blue Tits, Chaffinch, and Woodpigeons, Swifts, Barn Swallows, Pied Wagtails, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Starlings, Goldfinches (Lee Evans)
Tue 8 Jun Tringford: pm: 16 Mute Swan, 2 F Mallard with 7 young each, 4 Tufted Duck, 12 Coot, 13+ House Sparrow nr. Angler's Retreat pub, plus Robins, Blackcaps, Jays, Jackdaws, Rooks, Greenfinches, and Woodpigeons, Swifts, Barn Swallows, Pied Wagtails, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Starlings, Goldfinches (Lee Evans)
Sat 5 Jun Wilstone: early am: Little Egret, Turtle Dove in tree towards Drayton Beauchamp (Roy Hargreaves)
Fri 4 Jun Startopsend: 2 Yellow Wagtail (M & F) (S Richards HBC)
Fri 4 Jun Marsworth: 3 Red Kite (S Richards HBC)
Thu 3 Jun Wilstone: 2 Red Kite, 4+ Yellowhammer, 30+ Common Tern (Drew Lyness HBC); M Cuckoo singing (Mike Wallen/Drew Lyness HBC)
Wilstone Res (Tring Reservoirs),
Wed 2 Jun Wilstone:
early am: Red-footed Falcon (still) (Roy Hargreaves); 3 Hobby, Cuckoo (Graham Knight HBC)
Tue 1 Jun Wilstone: Red-footed Falcon (still) (early am by Roy Hargreaves, late pm by Mike Wallen); Cuckoo, 6 Sand Martin, 6 Hobby (S Richards HBC)
Tue 1 Jun Marsworth: late pm: Grasshopper Warbler singing (Ian Williams HBC)
Mon 31 May Wilstone: early am: Red-footed Falcon (hassled by Jackdaws), Little Egret, 1 pr. Yellow Wagtails nr. jetty (Roy Hargreaves); early am: 1,000+ Swifts, Turtle Dove purring close to Rushy Meadow (Johne Taylor)
Sun 30 May Wilstone: am: Red-footed Falcon, lots of Swift, 1 Oysterctacher over (Mike Wallen); late pm: Red-footed Falcon, 10+ Hobby (David Bilcock)
Sat 29 May Wilstone: Red-footed Falcon (Ben Miller, Lee Evans, Mike Wallen); plus c2,000 Swift (Mike Wallen); Cuckoo, 2 Sand Martin (S Richards HBC); 5 Hobby (Mike Wallen HBC)
Sat 29 May Startopsend:
13 Mute Swans (Lee Evans)
Sat 29 May Marsworth:
1 Red-crested Pochard chick (the sole surviving bird), Cuckoo calling from trees behind sewage works, M Chiffchaff singing from wood, and in reedbed: 6+ Reed Warbler & singing M Reed Bunting, plus 18 House Martins, 25 European Barn Swallows, 1 pr Coot with 5 newly fledged chicks (Lee Evans)
Fri 28 May Wilstone: Red-footed Falcon (Mike Collard via Ben Miller); Spotted Flycatcher, Dunlin (Jan Wilczur); c8 Hobby (Alan Gardiner HBC)
Thu 27 May Wilstone: 2 Red-footed Falcons, Dunlin (David Bilcock, Lee Evans, Roy Hargreaves); plus 8 Hobby, Dunlin, c2,200 Swift, pair Shoveler, 1 pair Great Crested Grebes with 3-4 young, 13 Mute Swans, 2 first-summer Black-headed Gulls, Cuckoo calling, Green Woodpecker, 15 House Martin (Lee Evans); plus Little Egret, 2 Shelduck (pr) (Lee Evans HBC)
Wed 26 May Wilstone: first-summer M Red-footed Falcon (Roy Hargreaves and others); plus pm: 12 Great Crested Grebe (5 young seen), 11 Cormorant nests, Little Egret,
Grey Heron, pr.
Mute Swan with 3 cygnets, Greylag & Canada Geese, pr. Common Shelduck, 3M 1+F Shoveler, 10+ Pochard, 33
Tufted Duck, 10+
Red Kites, 6+
Common Buzzard, pr. Sparrowhawk feeding young nr. hide, M Kestrel, 6+ Hobby, 2 pr
Red-legged Partridge (nr. Dry Canal), pr Coot with 6 young, first-summer Black-headed Gull, 25
Lesser Black-backed Gull, 84
Common Tern, 4
Stock Dove, M Cuckoo, 820+ Swift, 3 Kingfisher, 5 pr. Skylark, 25 Barn Swallow, 4
House Martin, 2
Pied Wagtail, 3 M Common Whitethroat 3 singing nr. Dry Canal, 1 Cetti's Warbler singing, pr
Great Tit, 3-4
Jay, 4
Linnet nr. Rushy Meadow, 2 pr Yellowhammer nr. Rushy Meadow (Lee Evans); plus Curlew over (Lee Evans HBC)
Tue 25 May Wilstone: 2 Lapwing (S Richards HBC)
Sun 23 May Wilstone: early am: F Ruddy Duck with Pochard, Shelduck, plus family party of 4 or 5 Treecreepers (Roy Hargreaves); F Cuckoo calling (Johne Taylor)
Sun 23 May Marsworth: F Cuckoo calling (Lynne Lambert)
Sat 22 May Wilstone: pm: Shelduck, 3 M Shoveler, pair Pochard, 12 Gadwall, 10 Great Crested Grebes, 4 Greylag Geese, plus 1 Common Whitethroat nr. Cemetery Corner (Lee Evans)
Fri 21 May Wilstone: first-summer Marsh Harrier, 2 Shelduck (David Bilcock);
2 Cuckoo (pr) over reedbed all am (Mike Collard and others HBC)
Wed 19 May Wilstone: Common Sandpiper (S.Richards HBC)
Wed 19 May Marsworth: Cuckoo, calling at approx 8pm (Ian Putman/Nick Goss HBC)
Tue 18 May Wilstone: F Marsh Harrier seen twice flying briefly low over reedbed, 5 Hobby (Derek Girvan HBC)
Sat 15 May Wilstone: early am: 3 Greenshank (David Bilcock); Little Owl, Green Sandpiper in cemetry corner (Nick Goss HBC); Cuckoo (S Richards HBC)
Wed 12 May Wilstone: mid-late pm: 2 Marsh Harrier (1 first-summer M, 1 a dark first-summer F), 13 Hobby, plus some Red Kite and Common Buzzard, plus 8
Great Crested Grebes, 9 Cormorant (nesting), 2 Little Egret, 21
Mute Swan, 4
Greylag Geese (two pairs with 5 goslings in total), 12
Gadwall, 2 (pair) Shoveler, 83
Tufted Duck, 10 Northern Pochard (inc. 6 M and a nasal-banded F from France - with a pale blue band marked =P), 1 Common Sandpiper, 1
Black-headed Gull, 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull, 52
Common Tern, c330
Common Swift, 64 Barn Swallow, 53 Sand Martin, 14 House Martin, 1 M Yellow Wagtail over, 1 Blackcap (Lee Evans); late pm: 17 Hobbies, c100 Common Terns, 1 first-summer Common Gull (Steve Rodwell)
Tue 11 May Wilstone: early am: 6 Shelducks (David Bilcock); 1 Common Sandpiper (Steve Rodwell); 7 Hobby, 50 Common Tern, 200+ Swift (Jeff Bailey HBC)
Mon 10 May Wilstone:
late pm: 1 Shelduck (Steve Rodwell)
Sun 9 May Wilstone: Cuckoo called briefly, 2 Arctic Terns (Steve Rodwell)
Sun 9 May Marsworth: Grasshopper Warbler calling, Garden Warbler singing (Steve Rodwell)
Sat 8 May Wilstone: early am: 3 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel (all briefly!),
2 Common Sandpipers (David Bilcock); 6 Whimbrel, 3 Turnstones over, 4 Artic Tern (Steve Rodwell/Dan Forder); 3 Hobbies chasing hirundines or Swifts (Steve Rodwell); 120+ Common Tern (Mike Collard HBC)
Fri 7 May Wilstone:Cuckoo calling & 2 seen in trees in meadows behind hide, 3 Whitethroat by new canal cuttings on Wendover Arm (Richard Bennett); late pm: Good numbers of hirundines and Common Terns. Hirundines being hunted by 2 Hobbies (Rob Andrews); plus 3 Dunlin (Steve Rodwell)
Fri 7 May Startopsend: late pm: 200+ House Martins, 80+ Swallows, 100+ Swifts and the
regular tame F Pintail (Rob Andrews)
Thu 6 May Wilstone: late pm: 11 Hobbies (Steve Rodwell)
Wed 5 May Wilstone:late pm: 15 Hobbies, 2 Arctic Tern (Steve Rodwell)
Tue 4 May Wilstone: early am: Little Egret, Hobby (Roy Hargreaves); late pm: 4 Shelducks briefly (Steve Rodwell & others)
Mon 3 May Wilstone: early am: Oystercatcher, F Marsh Harrier over reedbed (05:50), Dunlin, Little Egret, 9 Arctic Terns (Roy Hargreaves); Marsh Harrier (still at 09.00), c 150 Swift, c 250 Swallow, c 80 House Martin, c 40 Sand Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear (F) (Mike Wallen HBC); 3 Hobby over disused canal, 2 Red Kite at Drayton Beauchamp (Nick Goss HBC);early pm: Marsh Harrier & Buzzard (Roy Hargreaves/Michael Nott)
Sun 2 May Wilstone: early am: Red-rumped Swallow, 9 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 1 Ringed Plover (in summer-plumage) (David Bilcock/Roy Hargreaves/Lee Evans); late am: 2 F Wheatear (prob. Greenland race) (Mike Collard); pm: Osprey, F Marsh Harrier, 2 Red Kites (Don Otter/Ian Williams and others); pm: 2 Wheatear (Greenland race) 3 Yellow Wagtail, 9 Hobbies, 116+ Common Terns, 2 passage Arctic Terns, a total of 11 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Sanderling through, 1 Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper (Lee Evans) plus 130 Swift, 36 Sand Martin, 350 Swallow, 135+ House Martin (Lee Evans HBC)
Wilstone Res (Tring Reservoirs), 2 Common Sandpiper (Lee Evans)
Wilstone Res (Tring Reservoirs),t; late pm: 1 Wheatear nr. Cemetery corner (Lynne & Colin Lambert)
Sun 2 May Startopsend: am: Turtle Dove flew across res, into the Horse Paddocks (Michael Frosdick); plus 2 Little Terns (at app. 1600), 2 M Lesser Whitethroats and a Cuckoo (Lee Evans)
Sun 2 May Marsworth: late pm: 2 Black Terns (Lee Evans/Mike Collard)
Sat 1 May Wilstone: early am: Whimbrel over, 8+ Hobby, plus lots of Swifts (Lee Evans); late pm: 94 Common Terns, 3 Hobbies (Rob Andrews)
Sat 1 May Startopsend: early am: 2 Common Tern (Mike Wallen)
plus 30 Swallow (Mike Wallen HBC)
Sat 1 May Marsworth:
early am: F Red-crested Pochards with 7 of her surviving 9 youngsters on causeway - first successful breeding of a pure pair of these (Lee Evans); plus 5 Common Tern (Mike Wallen)
Notes: HBC indicates sightings taken from Herts Bird Club website, with our thanks.
TWTW is FoTR's Tring Water Treatment Works site.
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Click on these links to see previous sightings:
Earlier 2010 Sightings
2009 Sightings
2008 Sightings
2007 Sightings
2006 Sightings
A female Pochard with a band attached to its upper beak was seen at Wilstone on 12 May. This type of ringing uses a small soft-plastic band, which is attached to the upper mandible, and is known as a nasal saddle. This one was pale blue, marked "=P". David Bilcock reports that the bird was originally ringed at Mezangers in Northwest France back in 2007 and since then, she has been reported on seven previous occasions, before arriving in Tring:
31/05/2007 Mezangers, France
17/06/2007 Mezangers, France
24/06/2007 Mezangers, France
03/08/2008 Seaton-Burn, Tyne-and-Wear UK
08/08/2008 Seaton-Burn, Tyne-and-Wear UK
16/02/2009 Mezangers, France
22/03/2009 Mezangers, France
12/05/2010 Tring, Hertfordshire UK
Thanks to David for this fascinating information. (Posted 17/05/10)
Mike Collard, from the Tring Ringing Group, has asked us to look carefully at the legs of our returning Common Terns, to see if you can spot any with coloured rings. If you do see any, please let us know the colour combinations you see (e.g. which leg and what colours, as well as where and when). You can report your sightins to me by e-mail or by telephone to 01442 822471.
Mike reports that since 1992 over 200 Common Terns have been colour ringed at various sites in Bucks, including nearby College Lake and also at Wilstone. So have a good look. (Posted 08/04/10)
It is time to renew your membership again. You will all be please to hear that we have not raised our subscriptions for yet another year, helped immensely by all our e-members, who read the Grebe online, saving us the ever increasing postage costs. If you have already paid for this year, thank you.
Our membership year runs from January to December, so all subscriptions were due in January. If you have forgotten, we would be grateful if you could send in your membership renewals as soon as you can please. You can download a membership renewal form here, which you can print off before filling it in and sending it back with your subscription.
If you are not already a member and would like to join our subscriptions are only £4 for individuals (£2 for under 18s) and £6 for families. You can fill in an application form by clicking on this link.
(Posted 08/02/09 Updated 20/02/10)
FoTR are pleased to report that the accessible hide overlooking Startopsend Reservoir has been completely refurbished and is once again back to its original condition, or even better. The hide, situated on the causeway between Startopsend and Marsworth reservoirs, had been extensively damaged through vandalism, and let us hope the refurbished hide remains in good condition for many years. The work has been funded by the Friends of Tring Reservoirs with grants from The Chiltern Conservation Board and the Rothschild Foundation with help too from The Tring Anglers and British Waterways. We would like to thank all those involved for their generous support. The work was carried out by Jon Graves Fencing. (Posted 11/12/09 Updated 13/01/10)
Do not to leave valuables in your cars. Please exercise caution when parking your vehicle at the reservoirs of other local beauty spots and do not leave items, such as handbags, wallets, mobile phones - nor bird watching gear - in your vehicle. Do not be tempted to 'hide' items in your vehicle before you leave it, as a potential offender may be watching where you place the item. Take all valuables with you.
Report any suspicious activity in rural car parks to the Police. If possible, make a note of the registration number and type of vehicle if one is being used and pass this information to Hertfordshire Police on 0845 3300 222 (or Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505 505 for Bucks). Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111. These are the non-emergency police telephone numbers, but please use the emergency number 999 if there is a risk of injury to someone, or a risk of serious damage to property, or you suspect a crime is in progress, or if there is a serious incident which needs immediate police attendance. (Updated 04/07/09)
We have had an e-mail from the webmaster of www.fotr.org (note the omission of .uk) about e-mails sent to their site instead of ours. They are an organization similar to ours, the Friends of the Trinity River in California. So, if you send e-mails to us, please make sure you use the full fotr.org.uk, address, because if you miss off the .uk, they will go to the Friends of Trinity River in California, not us! And for other sites with links to fotr.org.uk, we would be grateful if you can please check you are using the correct address, including the .uk at the end. (Posted 07/07)
Many members subscribe to e-Grebe, choosing to view the newsletter online, instead of receiving paper copies, which saves us printing and postage costs, giving us more for conservation work.
And the pictures are in colour, with additional pictures where possible.
We always send e-mails to all e-Grebe members, to tell them when the newsletter is published online.
The e-mails are sent to the members last known e-mail addresses, so if you have changed yours, or if you are an e-Grebe member and haven't received an e-mail notification, we would be grateful if you could please let us know. This will avoid us getting e-mails returned 'address unknown'.
Send your new e-mail address to Keith Evans by e-mail here
(Updated 07/09)
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