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est. 1992

website est. 1996

News Archive

31/12/07 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! to all!!

19/12/07 Contents from an email from Geoff Facer-"Hi all,I had a walk on NAPT this morning and found virtually all of the support canes for the newly planted saplings had been removed and the plastic wraps were scattered around. I replaced as many canes as I could find and also retied the rope which had been cut". (250 sapling planted by the group 10 days ago).

11/12/07 Joining Jenny & Tony with publicity will be Jan & Den Jarrold. Details to follow, thanks to them for helping out. The wader scrape continues to fill up following the heavy rain recently. There's now a shallow depth water over most of the scrape. Hopefully the rain over the winter will fill to the required depth, (another 10cm yet at least).

04/12/07 Jenny & Tony Drew have agreed to help out with publicising the group locally-so thanks to them we should hopefully get a higher profile on local radio and press, and with local groups. There details will appear in due course in the contacts page.

23/11/07 The next indoor meeting (November) is the last before our AGM in January (no indoor meeting in December). If you wish to stand, or offer assistance, then now is the time to act. We will probably be looking for assistance with publicising the group to the local/ national media-let any group Organiser know you are interested before the Jan indoor meeting.

19/11/07 The wader scrape is filling up nicely, following extensive work & heavy rain!

4/11/07 We are delighted to announce that we have received sponsorship from top Birding website-BirdGuides.Com -this has enabled us to purchase our own domain name www.sk58birders.com and web space, which means the site will be bigger & better. Thanks to BirdGuides for their sponsorship.

5/11/07We are delighted to announce that re-contouring work at NAPT has been completed. The wader scrape is now at the size it should have been, when originally dug out. Both the Forestry Commission and SK58 Birders are delighted with the work undertaken by contractors from the North Anston Butterfly House. From the pic on the right, you can see the reeds in the centre were originally part of the N shore, the black underlying slag, shows how much we've extended. On Saturday 3rd November Mick, Andy, Geoff Facer, Dave Thornley & Den Jarrold spent several hours removing bricks/ rocks from the scrape, as well fixing signs, and re-building the Willow weave fence by the hide. We hope to undertake more practical management work n the future-with a few willing volunteers.

4/11/07 Two of our members whist out around Letwell, discovered that the farmer at South Farm, Letwell has taken out 3 hedgerows to the S of the farm. It seems that he has at least done it legitimately as there were planning notices posted in the village dated 31st August.-there's one we missed! If ever you are out and about, an see any planning notices, do please get in touch with us, so we can, if necessary intervene and post out objections.

24/10/07 At long last work has started on the re-contouring of NAPT wader scrape, following lengthy negotiations, the group were granted permission to dig out the scrape to the correct size & shape, as originally planned all those years ago. We expect work to take about a week. The work will involve digging out to depth, and redistributing the spoil around the site, so if you go on in this next week don't expect to see much. But come next year the scrape should hold enough water, and evaporate correctly, leaving muddy margins, but not dry out during the spring & summer.

23/10/07 The group had an excellent long weekend at Spurn, highlights included Dusky Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler and American Golden Plover-thanks to Mick Clay for organising great accommodation, and to Mick & Andy for transport.

7/09/07 "Where int square" Christmas Competition now online, click here

28/09/07 Gannet added to the SK58 Official List.

27/09/07 We are launching a photo based quiz, to be drawn at the Christmas do, "Where in't Square" . Basically you have to identify 10 locations from photos on the quiz sheet. Entry forms plus £1 entry fee from Geoff Facer, or tel:01909 563108. The sooner you enter, the more time you have to find the locations within the square. Completed entry forms to Geoff, before or during the Christmas do.

02/08/07 It's with sadness that we have to report the demise of the Anston Conservation Society. Because of a falling membership, and fewer people to run the group, we hear the group is to fold. The group has had a great impact locally and was at the forefront in promoting the conservation of local areas, especially in Anston Stones Wood, years before SK58 Birders was formed. As a result of their demise, they have promised to donate a substantial amount of money to us, and with this we will continue to battle for the protection of local habitats and wildlife. The money has been ring fenced for conservation projects within Anston Stones Wood and at North Anston Pit Top. We thank them enormously for this generous gesture.

19/05/07 What follows in an extract from an email, from a friend of SK58's, a local photographer who recently visited Brown Bailey's Pond. What goes through some peoples heads??!!

"I was at Brown Baileys on Saturday morning last (19th) and whilst
looking for dragonflies emerging, came across a youth of about 17. He had
in one hand a young Canada Goose gosling and in the other an air pistol.
He was shooting the bird in the head at point blank range.

I didn't have a phone available, but decided, probably rashly, to
intervene. I approached the youth and removed the pistol from his hand.
As I stepped back he decided to make a break for it and ran off towards
Worksop. As he ran he looked back to see me throw his new pistol into
the centre of the lake. I have notified the bailiff who arrived later that
morning, the police have not been alerted. Reading your notes I guess I
should have alerted them at the time.

The bird was dead when I got back to the spot. It was one of 13
goslings, now sadly down to 11."

23/04/07 A reminder that annual subscriptions are due this month ( Join Us) Garganey added to the official SK58 species list.

20/04/07 As a result of the item below we've been asked to clarify what constitutes an illegal shooting, well in a nutshell, if you witness a gun (air rifle/pistol, shotgun or rifle) out in the open, or being used, it's probably an illegal act, because you are probably on a public right of way or in a public place-it's an offence to carry a loaded firearm (including air rifles/ pistols, shotguns or rifles) in public full stop, let alone use it. All bird species are also fully protected by law, although some species such as crows and pigeons are classed as pests and can be controlled, providing they are shot on private land, with land owners permission, and not over a public right of way. If you witness someone with a loaded air rifle/ pistol in a public place please call South Yorks Police on 0114 2202020. However if you witness someone actively shooting birds, or has something other than an air rifle I wouldn't hesitate to call 999-for a ARV (Armed Response Vehicle) to be deployed-make no mistake the Police take this sort of thing seriously-as should we all-Hope this helps.

09/04/07 It's come to our attention that illegal shooting is taking place along the Cesterfield Canal, particularly at the Kiveton end. If you witness this happening please contact the Police immediately. We have noted a sharp decline of waterbirds along the canal, particularly Little Grebe & Moorhen. One of our members found a female Mallard, shot dead this weekend, no doubt she would have had a clutch of eggs ready for hatching close-by.

12/02/07 Since Yorkshire Forward/ Renaissance South Yorkshire & Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council have dismally failed to create an adequate (or to plan) wader scrape at NAPT, and appear to absolve themselves of any blame for the un-level, shallow, undersized scrape, SK58 are hoping to put right the botched job, by doing the job ourselves, and digging out the scrape to the correct levels and size. We are in negotiations with the Land Reclamation Trust (who own the site) and the Forestry Commission who manage the site. Any work will be undertaken at the end of the breeding season.

01/02/07 Following the groups AGM, all the previous post-holders were voted back in 'en-bloc'

25/01/07 The group has an old computer for sale, it's Pentium 2, Windows 98, 19Gb hard drive, with CD Drive, complete with 17" monitor and Canon bubble jet printer-50 the lot. Ideal for Internet/ email and office work. Email us or call Andy Hirst for further information. Also, everyone who took part in the 2006 yearlist competition is invited to a curry on February 5th, see Andy Hirst for further details.

24/01/07 Don't forget the AGM, the meeting is next week. All current incumbents are standing, so any extra help you can offer in any post would be appreciated. Any Nominations to Mick Clay before the meeting.

08/01/07 It's the Groups AGM during our January meeting. If you wish to help, or nominate someone to help run the group, then please let them Mick Clay have their name, before the meeting on the 31st.

01/01/07 SK58 Launch New Look website!