From Campaign Against Arms Trade……Earthlogs Landslides….North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory….
by Bernie Bell - 09:33 on 11 December 2023
From Campaign Against Arms Trade….
“On Thursday, over a thousand trades unionists under the banner "Workers for a Free Palestine", blocked four arms company sites linked to the manufacture of the F35 war plane, in:
- Dorset
- Lancashire
- Glasgow
- Brighton
They were joined by CAAT supporters and others in solidarity with Palestinian people.
The F35 has been used by Israel to bomb Gaza, and the picketers wanted to ask workers and fellow trades unionists on these sites to end their complicity saying,
"Genocide and war crimes: not in our name"
If you would like to join Workers for a Free Palestine on future days of action, you can find the link to sign up and for the solidarity fund on the Workers for a Free Palestine website.
You can find out more about the UK's arms exports to Israel by downloading CAAT's latest fact sheet, "Gaza and UK Arms Sales to Israel" which gives details of what is manufactured where.
If you would like to organise a demonstration yourself, we can help let other CAAT supporters in your area know about it: just get in touch by replying to this email.
Thank you for your continued support and resistance to the deadly arms trade.
Kirsten Bayes
Local Outreach Coordinator
Campaign Against Arms Trade”
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Earthlogs Landslides….
https://earthlogs.org/2023/12/09/using-lasers-to-map-landslide-risk/
And - A Birsay landslide!....
https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/09/13/a-close-shave/
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North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory….
As ‘Friends of…’ we receive the NRBO Newsletter……
“ North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory Newsletter
Autumn 2023
Recent Island Events
The Sheep Festival at the end of July saw the highest number of volunteers working on the Sheep Dyke yet, and a total of 242 metres built, as much as previous years, though in fewer days. Sections were rebuilt near Bridesness and Viggay, around the south-east coast. It was a very busy time for the Obs with a record number of campers, some returning volunteers and others new, hosting the ever-popular quiz night, an umami tasting workshop, and taking part in the annual football match, barbecue, and the dance. Other activities included a ‘flying fish’ race in the Community Centre!
There have been several Dark Skies events at the Obs throughout the year with talks on constellations, the Solstice, stargazing, Jupiter and night sky photography. In August, there was a weekend event on the ‘Thirteen Stone Miles’ heritage project on the Sheep Dyke, with talks at the Obs from the team of archaeologists, as well as a photographer, a film maker, an ecologist and artist.
The WaderFest Event in September, organised by Orkney RSPB staff, saw workshops and talks about the success of managing habitat, by creating scrapes and a mosaic of suitable habitat for nest sites and chick rearing, to increase breeding wader numbers. Lapwing and Curlew in particular, have declined by over 50% in Orkney between 2007 and
2017, and habitat management at 20 sites in Orkney, including at Westness in North Ronaldsay, has been successful in increasing breeding numbers of these as well as other wader species.
Bird News
Easterlies in the second half of August produced a small fall including Wryneck, Great Spotted Woodpecker, chats and warblers, with the highlight being a Booted Warbler. Good numbers of waders were moving and a week later was productive in late August and September with good numbers of Sooty Shearwaters, several Cory’s and Great Shearwater records and a Fea’s Petrel. Pinkfeet were moving very early, in the first week of September, and Long-eared Owl too, and a Citrine Wagtail on 6th was the first record for 6 years. Mid-month highlights were Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Rustic Bunting, followed by the second Arctic Warbler and a Lanceolated Warbler on 18th. Greenish Warbler and Little Buntings followed, with Bluethroats and a smart male Red-breasted Flycatcher.
October highlights included Richard’s Pipit, 2 Red-flanked Bluetails, a Stejneger’s Stonechat, Olive-backed Pipit and a big movement of Redwings around 10th. Seawatchers were rewarded again with a female Harlequin Duck (a first for the island) and it was great to see several Waxwings as an irruption began this autumn, and small numbers of Coal Tits – with only one previous record in 1985. Further falls of thrushes were accompanied by a third Red-flanked Bluetail, and good movements too of Goldcrests, Redpolls and Northern Bullfinches. Two Dusky Warblers followed, a Coue’s Arctic Redpoll and another island first, Oriental Turtle Dove, which though elusive, favoured the Obs bird crop field. Red-throated Pipit at the end of October was followed by a couple of late Barred Warblers and mid-November Shorelark was a late addition to the record species list for the year.
Obs Team
As well as George, Tom and Maddy this spring, Laura Doyle returned for the summer, helping with cooking, housekeeping and sheep work, and Lara Doyle for a few weeks to help over the busy Sheep Festival time. George’s parents, Paul and Diane (Di) moved to North Ronaldsay in September, and Di did some part-time housekeeping, helping with the shop and Fish & Chip nights, and Paul helped with some bar shifts and deliveries. This was invaluable as other part-time staff were less available - Alex was busy with another part time job and Charlotte stopped work to have a baby girl, Camille, in October (Congratulations!) More volunteers saw a strong birding team for the autumn: Nick Brown, a biology student studying in London, joined the Obs team for July and August, and Felicia Brady returned from Australia at the end of July for the autumn. Gavin Woodbridge also joined the Obs team during August, after climbing the Old Man of Hoy, staying until mid-October before leaving for another climbing trip. After Maddy left for university again in September, another former volunteer, Max Hellicar, arrived in late September for the remainder of the autumn. Max spent some time at various observatories this year, including at Ottenby earlier in the autumn. Rob Duncan and Simon Davies also helped out with ringing for several weeks in the autumn.
2023 Report
Work has already started on this year’s report, however, with the costs of getting the report produced, we are considering at making the report available in PDF format. With limited sponsorship/advertising, and a relatively small print run, it is not economically sustainable to continue to get the report printed; producing and printing the report has made a substantial loss for the last few years, due to increasing costs. The cost per report is around £40, depending on the size of the print run. Feedback or suggestions welcome.
North Ronaldsay in 2024
Why not visit us next year? You can now book online, through the freetobook link on the accommodation page on our website (www.nrbo.org.uk), or by email (enquiries@nrbo.org.uk) or by phone (01857 633200). Loganair’s 2024 summer timetable will available for booking by mid-December."
A Harlequin duck - I'd like to have seen that!
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Here’s one I made earlier… https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/12/21/memories-of-an-avebury-pie/
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