CR5 Issue 169 June 2019

Lynda’s “Boatside” won our recent
triptych competition. “I took his photo
in Faversham Creek - it is the side of
a rusty old boat. I split the photo into
three overlapping the edges so they
repeat. I just love the colour tones.“
Why not check out the gallery on our
website to see some of the other
images
(look under “open competitions”).
We are on summer recess from June
to September but will continue
informal meetings at a local public
house (contact Lynda for details). We will also have a stall displaying our work at the Old
Coulsdon fair on July 6th. Why not come and meet us?
We meet Tuesday evenings (Sep to May) at 8pm in Cameron Hall, Canons Hill, Old Coulsdon.
Visitors £5 (refunded on joining). Visit oldcoulsdoncameraclub.org.uk, see us on facebook or
contact lynda@oldcoulsdoncameraclub.org.uk
Bird’s Eye View, June 2019
John Birkett, RSPB Croydon Local Group
Last month I asked people to keep their eyes
and ears open for swifts as they return to take
up their territories back in the UK.
As predicted, they started to appear at the
beginning of May and several people have
already reported sightings of swifts in the
Croydon area. Some have been reported
flying low near houses and screaming; this
suggests the birds will set up a territory
nearby. And to help swifts find somewhere to
nest, since we launched our appeal for
information, at least one household has put
up two swift nest boxes and another has
asked for details of where to get them. We
can only hope that the swifts will find (and
use) any new nest sites provided. Our swift
survey will continue through the summer so
please do email us (johnbirkett@hotmail.
co.uk) with information about when and
where you saw your swifts and what the birds
were doing.
As well as swifts, many other summer visitors
will be busy rearing families this month and
the young may turn up seemingly lost and
abandoned.
This is unlikely to be the case; they may have
left the nest, but the parents are probably
somewhere nearby and will be waiting until
you cease to be a threat before returning to
feed the fledgling. Unless the young bird is in
immediate danger, please leave it alone. And
towards the end of June you may get adult
great spotted woodpeckers bringing their
offspring to garden feeders.
To find out more about Croydon’s birds and
the group’s activities visit our website
(http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/croydon/) or
come along to one of our meetings. You could
also check out the Croydon Birders website to
see what birds have been reported.
Great spotted
woodpecker
by Piers Hubbard
To advertise call Lucy on 01737 557888 or 07703 209292
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