Teesmouth Bird Club

For info of TBC members & visitors to our club website:
If you type "Birds of Teesmouth" into your internet search engine, then click on "Videos" on the upper toolbar, you should find a 37min documentary film produced by the RSPB Film Unit in 1966. I stumbled across it this week & found it to be very interesting & nostalgic. Best wishes, Dan.

A cased 'scope & tripod were found by John Regan at PetroPlus this evening, during the Whiskered Tern twitch.
I will have these at RSPB Saltholme tomorrow Mon 9th between 12noon and 5pm. I will leave my mobile number with staff on the reception desk. If this is your property, please go to reception so I can be contacted to meet you. Each item has very distinctive ID features which only the true owner can tell me!
Thank you, Dan McKie.

Hi Eddie,
Yes, Saltholme open every day except Xmas Day. Will be open tomorrow 10am-4pm. Hope the weather's a bit better than it was there today. Cheers from Dan.

The A178 Tees Road between Graythorp roundabout & Seal Sands roundabout will be closed from 8pm on Friday 13th November until 6am on Monday 16th November, as Greatham Creek Bridge requires essential maintenance re. a damaged expansion joint. Hartlepool Borough Council website states the road may be open by Sunday evening.

Don't know why Pound sign has been changed to a question mark - it wasn't in the print preview!

For a number of years, me & my fellow Saltholme Hide Guides have carried copies of a very handy little book, "The New Birdwatcher's Pocket Guide" by Hayman & Hume, published by Octopus Books a few years ago, ISBN 978-0-7537-1454-6 RRP ?9.99, bought at Guisborough Bookshop, 3 for ?10. Today I found another edition by the same authors/publishers, "The Pocket Guide to the Coastal Birds of Britain & Europe" at Strikes Garden Centre, Stokesley, again 3 for ?10, ISBN 978-0-7537-2179-7. Each book is 90 x 190mm & they have clear plastic waterproof covers. We find them ideal not only for our own information, but especially for the benefit of visitors to the Reserve, as we can quickly & easily show them pictures & provide details about the birds in view. The 1st book is great, covering 430 species with up to 12 colour illustrations, but the Coastal Birds Guide is, in my opinion, even better, being more focused on our usual suspects at Saltholme, listing 140 birds in greater detail & with up to 15 colour illustrations.
I understand these books are currently available at many other retail outlets around our area for the same price, 3 for ?10, or ?3.99 for 1 copy.
Best wishes from Dan.     

I want to inform TBC, & all my fellow birders, about a service I was completely unaware of until my recent experience with an injured barn owl. Since the RSPCA does not, I'm told, pay for veterinary treatment of injured/sick wild animals & most are "put to sleep", it was with some trepidation that I handed said owl over to them. He was taken to Jacqui Paterson's Vets, Preston Farm, nr. Stockton. When I rang for an update a few days later & the vet told me the bird might need a couple of weeks intensive care, I was relieved he was alive but also concerned about the cost of treatment. However, my fears were allayed; a couple of years ago this practice set up a charitable trust, a "Wildlife Fund" working alongside the RSPCA, Dogs Trust & a local cats orphanage. Check out their website for stories & photos of local casualties which they have treated/cured/released inc. a deformed swan, owl stuck up a chimney etc. Nice to know we have this facility on our doorstep & surely worthy of our support. Thanks, Dan.             

B & M Stores are selling Glennwood 12.75kg bags of wild bird seed (wheat, black sunflower seed, kibbled maize, yellow millet & red Dari) for £4.99 (rrp £12.99) while stocks last. Best price I've seen until today was £7.99; seems quite a bargain. ps. No, I don't work for them!

Perhaps the Shore Lark cleared off early on Saturday morning for reasons other than the poor fieldcraft skills of "Zombies, Clowns & over-enthusiastic Photographers". The fact that the earth-mound, north of the Jewish Cemetery, which it happily settled atop on Friday evening was beset at first light by lurchers, terriers, a huge Rottweiler & a charming helmetless shell-suited gentleman ripping doughnuts around the immediate area astride a Suzuki DR350 trail bike sans silencer may have influenced the bird's choice of place for repose.

Thank you, problem solved.

Sorry Jamie, installed Chrome but same problem. Will send you e'mail with further details.

No idea Stew, it's still u/s today. As reported yesterday we can only access the site by clicking either Recent Sightings or Forum, but Homepage & Tweets are always missing. Perfect via Laptop. Maurice & others have identical iPads - & identical system fault. Hope someone out there can help soon.

No, I haven't upgraded to ios7. Don't know if my two colleagues have but will ask them in due course. Problem still occurring this morning. Will keep you posted.

Until recently I've never had a problem in accessing TBC Website via Apple iPad, I simply click on the thumbnail icon & it loads Homepage instantly with Tweets on the right. However, for the last fortnight a problem has arisen. The Homepage starts to load but then freezes, just displaying the TBC Heading & a blank white screen. Two fellow Saltholme Hide Guides with Apple iPads are also experiencing exactly the same thing. From the blank screen if we then click on Sightings we get full access to the whole Site. In addition, some of our posts on Recent Sightings appear as normal, but a few hours later certain words/sentences change from black font to red, then later return to black. Last night I couldn't get any access at all to the Site via iPad. Curiously, access via Laptop is normal. No idea why; can anyone help? Thanks from Dan McKie.         

To the Chair & Hon Sec of TBC:
I have heard from several colleagues in the farming community that Mr Peter Hutchinson (local farmer) & his business partner a Mr Cook have recently purchased the land surrounding Crookfoot Reservoir from Hartlepool Water Authority. If this is correct I feel you ought to be made aware, in case there are any access implications for TBC members. Also our website Site Guide, "Location, Access & Strategy" may need updating re. HWA.
I'm afraid I don't have his phone number but I do know he is a thoroughly decent chap, so we should be ok.
Recently he had problems with a number of persons in a vehicle on his farm track whose dogs had worried his sheep (no suggestion they were TBC members). Perhaps someone from the club might speak to him.
If you are already aware then please disregard this message.
Best wishes,
Dan McKie, TBC Member