22nd December
2015
Probably the last for this year, latest sightings
updates from Iain for the past month or so -
On 20th November, John Smith had a male Blackcap in his
garden which was followed two days later by a Tree Sparrow
which was really good. A Magpie was seen in Fingland Court
and they have been regular at the Reserve for the past few
weeks too. A pair of Redpoll were regular at the Davisons
at Meadowbank Rise, coming in with the Siskins. Also on
the 24th George Carlyle from Mearsdale Drive had his first
Nuthatch in his garden. Garry had a female Red Breasted
Merganser on the Reserve on the 29th (which was a first
for the Reserve) that then moved onto the Community Reserve
lochan. A few days later, on the 2nd December, there was
a pair of Goosander on the Reserve with a regular flock
of 20-25 Teal. John Smiths garden in Greenwood Close continued
its "wee purple patch" with a male Brambling on
the 6th. A belated report of a pair of Red Kite regularly
being seen over Moffat Golf Course over the summer was most
interesting. Another belated record of an Otter family playing
up at The Rockies pool on the River Annan was another fine
record. While down at Torthorwald on the 16th, Garry had
a lovely flock of 17 Waxwing and two days later saw a pair
of Widgeon on the Community Reserve lochan. Finally, on
the 19th John Smith was working hard at the Reserve on his
own (due to commitments and "till problems" in
the shop) but he was well rewarded with a fine view of a
magnificent male Merlin.
14th December
2015
Dave Bradshaw has sent us 11 excellent photographs
of Waxwings that he took at Gateshead recently. Too many
to show them all with our limited webspace but here are
three of them.
12th November
2015
On the 20th October, Garry reported two Green Woodpeckers
at Howslack up Annan Water with good numbers of Redwing
and Fieldfare in the Poldean to Wamphray area and the following
day he also had 28 Meadow Pipits along the Barnhill Road.
While out on a Mountain Rescue exercise on the 24th in the
Archbank area Garry also saw 8/9 Stonechat, 40 plus Goldfinches,
8 Raven and good numbers of Meadow Pipits. At the Reserve
a Peregrine flew over with Redwing, Fieldfare, Meadow Pipits
and Pink Footed Geese moving overhead. Down at the Reserve
on the 28th were 3 Mute Swans and 150 plus Siskins. As we
are "opening up" the Wetland area on the Reserve
which was well overgrown with many years growth of pond
weed and various reeds and rushes there has been a noticeable
increase in the numbers of Mallard and Teal using the site
while the Moorhens are enjoying the open spaces being created
and both Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail are fairly regular
visitors.
15th
October 2015
Sightings update -
From Dave Bradshaw:
30/09/15 - 4 Swallows on telephone wires Younger Place, Beattock
01/10/15 - 6 Swallows Ayr harbour terminal
02/10/15 - 5 Swallows Easter Earshaig, 6 House Martins feeding
over the village than moved on.
Other birds of note up at Earshaigs - 3 Redwings & a pair
of Bullfinches. My neighbor told me we had a Red Squirrel
in the back garden by the bird feeder and it was disturbed
by a cat on Wednesday.
From Iain :
Garry had last three House Martins at Templand on 7th October.
The brood of 9 juvenile Mute Swans that bred at Craigielands
pond at Beattock were on the Community Reserve lochan on
Saturday 10th October with their parents and another pair
of Mute Swans. Redwing arrived in earnest from Monday 12th
when Iain saw 17 Redwing and 3 Fieldfare at The Pines/Larchhill
area and over 50 Redwing the following day and 80 plus over
Moffat High Street on Wednesday 14th. Garry had a Sea Eagle
over Moffat on the 14th which then headed up Moffat Water.
While on the Community Reserve lochan were 14 Tufted Duck
and 7 Little Grebe.
1st October
2015
Latest update of sightings from Iain -
At the Reserve on the 12th September were 8-10 Mistle Thrush
and 8 Teal while on the 16th there were two Willow Warblers
along the wetland edge at the Reserve with a good movement
of Meadow Pipits overhead. A Red Fox was in the Park Circle
field on the morning of the 17th with a number of Badgers
reported in the housing scheme area all month. A bat flying
in daytime (probably a Noctule) at the Reserve on the 19th
was an unusual sighting and a Kingfisher was also present.
A Pine Marten was reported coming into a garden at Rosehill
Cottage on the Raehills estate on the 22nd and from the
24th there was a large southerly movement of many thousands
of Pink Footed Geese. Pied Wagtails always roost on the
trees on Moffat High Street for a few weeks at this time
of the year though no count has been made this year but
a count by Mr Roulston on wires at the turn off to Dyke
Farm Nature Reserve of 72-74 birds indicate a pretty successful
breeding season. On Sunday 27th Dave Bradshaw reported 27
House Martins and 6 Swallows moving south over Beattock
with Garry reporting some in the Wamphray area a couple
of days later.Still 4 Swallows at Moffat Can on the 1st
October. At the Community Reserve on the 30th were 3 Mute
Swans, 8 Little Grebe and a Tufted Duck.
11th September
2015
Latest update from Iain -
On the 3rd August, Garry had a Hobby at the Beattock
roundabout. John had a male Blackcap in his garden at Greenwood
Close. At the Community Reserve on the 23rd was a Red Kite,
ten Little Grebe, female Tufted duck, a Common Sandpiper
and a Kingfisher. On Dyke Farm Nature Reserve on the 29th
were 25 Mistle Thrush, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and 4 Bullfinch
which are pretty regular and a Kingfisher which is often
seen/heard. There were 6 Bullfinch at the top of Old Well
Road on the 31st while Lindsay Bowman had the last two Swifts
though they stayed a little longer this year with many seen
up to the 20th. Stella Marrs reported a small flock of Fieldfare
up at Earshaig on the 5th September and while I was out
delivering papers on the morning of the 11th a group of
9 Raven flew over which was quite a sight and sound with
their loud"kronking" call quite distinctive. House
Martins and Swallows are either away or gathering in good
numbers at a few places before setting off on their long
migration South (John had a flock of 50 or so mixed House
Martins and Sand Martins in Greenwood Close at about 4pm
on the 6th, all gone by 4.30pm). John also recorded a Hedgehog
on the night camera in his garden in the early hours of
this morning, an animal that we rarely see these days.
10th August
2015
So where were you all? Our 'Open Day' on Saturday
was very poorly attended even though weather was ideal for
a day out. Very disappointing, to say the least.
Our moth trapping, under the guidance of Peter Norman, went
quite well with a reasonable number recorded. Some of these
may be 'first's' for the reserve but we will know once we
compare lists and will update accordingly. There was one
small bonus - while wandering through the 'meadow' at the
Community Reserve looking for potential sites for the moth
traps, we did come across a small number of orchids scattered
around, probably Heath Spotted Orchids but we have no formal
identification. Nice to see them though. Peter also drew
our attention to a fungus, bright purple, called 'amethyst
deceiver' which was one we hadn't seen before plus he identified
a few of the more common ones. We would appreciate anyone
with a decent (not necessarily expert) knowledge of wildflowers
and fungii to come and identify whatever they can find as
none of us really know many at all!
Pond dipping by Andy Riches produced good numbers of the
'usual culprits' - lots of newtlets (Palmate ones), larvae
of various damsel flies, dragonflies, hawkers and chasers,
plenty of water boatmen, back-swimmers, pond skaters and
a leech. All very indicative of a very healthy pond which
is good to know.
Our thanks to Peter and Andy for their participation, also
to Karen who, alas, had little trade for her face painting!
4th August
2015
Very
little to report about bird sightings at the moment. It
has been another bad year for our Mallard, only one brood
seen but, alas, it seems none have survived. Moorhen, though,
seem to have done quite well. Garden birds (Blackbird, Robin,
Dunnock, Sparrows,Tits, etc) all seem to have done very
well with numerous young birds out and about. Our Swifts
will be setting off for their winter holidays in the sun
about now. Swallows and Martins will also be on their way
soon. On a more cheerful note, bumblebees are making the
most of the blossom on John's hypericum bush with around
twenty White-tailed Bumblebees working away most of the
time and two Tree Bumblebees have also been seen regularly.
7th July
2015
Further to our mystery plant (24th June), have received
two emails over the weekend, one from someone identified
only as 'Andy J', the other from Eileen Hayes. Both suggest
the plant is Ajuga reptans (Bugle). This was a single
plant, nothing similar to be seen, and bears no great resemblence
to what we normally call 'Bugle' (with its deep red/purple
flowers) that is quite prolific in the area. However, we
much appreciate the probable identity. Thanks to you both.
On another note, where have our Sandmartins gone? There
was great activity earlier with a lot of very active nest
holes in the bank. We would have expected them to be still
there, probably looking at a second brood. But they have
all vanished, not even any flying around. In similar vein,
a pair of House Martins was busy nesting near John's house
and appear to done a similar vanishing act without raising
a brood. There also seems to be less Swallows than usual.
What's going on?
Last Tuesday there
were a dozen or so Mallard ducklings down at our reserve
but by Saturday we could only see four, possibly five. The
mortality rate is serious, whether by predation or due to
the rain (ducklings are NOT waterproof, if they get wet
by rain then they will die of the cold).
1st July
2015
It gives us great sadness to inform you that Scott
Little, a greatly valued member of our commitee, passed
away yesterday. Funeral will be on Friday, 3rd July. Scott
was a stalwart of our 'work squad' and his practical approach
to our work was a wonderful asset. Never short to crack
a joke or to do a bit of teasing, his passing is a great
loss to all.
24th
June 2015
We are pleased to announce that our Mute Swans have
successfully produced two cygnets.
 |
Now
can any of you botanists out there identify this orchid-like
plant that we found on our reserve today? Not one we have
seen before. Very pretty and, yes, it really is blue.
Click for a bigger image. Answers to John, please.
|
18th June 2015
A couple of unusual sightings by Dave Bradshaw -"I
had a garden warbler calling and flying back and forward in
the trees in Beechgrove Centre car park/Hope Johnstone 7pm
on 16th. On 17th at 13.10, Red kite circling over the hillside
bottom of the Cooked Road for about 4 mnutes, watched from
our front window".
And three pictures from Dave - the first is a male Pied Flycatcher,
photographed at our reserve, the second a male Redstart photographed
in Bankend Wood and the third of a Tree Pipit photographed
at Earshaigs.
15th June 2015
Our program schedule for next season is now ready.
Note that we will be starting a week earlier than usual, our
first meeting is on 4th September. You can see the
full list on our "Events" page.
 |
Graeme
Stephen photographed this male Pied Flycatcher down at
our reserve recently. This is the first record of one
there for about 10 years! Has been heard calling regularly
for the past two weeks. By the slightly brownish(rather
than full black) colouring, this could be a 'yearling'
male bird. |
1st June 2015
Latest late-April/May report from Iain -
Colin Brydon came upon three Dotterel on Swatte Fell while
out walking on the 18th April. While out delivering newspapers
on the morning of the 21st a skein of 40 Pink Footed Geese
flew over and 6 Canada Geese and 2 Cormorants were also seen.
A Common Sandpiper was reported from the Community Reserve
the following day with two Blackcaps on our Reserve. Scott
and Janet Little reported seeing a number of Wheatear up the
Crooked Road. Sandra Wilson reported a male Redstart at Newbank
Farm on the 25th. While out carrying out the National Rook
Survey on the 27th, I saw a Grey Squirrel in Torthorwald Wood
and earlier in the day while coming back from Dumfries I saw
a tagged Red Kite near Ae Village. Nicola Bowden saw three
Roe Deer in Park Circle/Fingland Court area on the 28th which
she photographed on her phone and, while out at night counting
more Rooks, the cold snowy weather in the local hills resulted
in over 60 Meadow Pipits at Auldton with well over 300 Meadow
Pipits on Hunterheck Hill presumably because of the wintry
conditions. While out on a day trip with Lorna on the 4th
May, we saw a Hooded Crow at Kirkudbright and had fantastic
overhead views of a Red Kite at Stroan Loch near Mossdale.
A Grasshopper Warbler called at the Reserve on the 6th May
while a pair of Mute Swans began building a nest. Osprey sightings
are fairly regular with the local breeding pair and one was
watched by myself, John Smith and Doug Shilton over The Green
Frog on the 9th. Garry had a male Pied Flycatcher at Three
Waters on the 12th and Spotted Flycatchers were back at the
Reserve the following day while four 7-spotted Ladybirds were
seen while clearing weeds from some of our planted trees in
the Orchard area. Two Grey Squirrels were reported from the
Auchen Castle area though a good few Red Squirrels were also
reported in the area. Earlier in the morning an impressive
flock of over 40 Canada Geese flew over Moffat. While down
at the Reserve on the evening of the 14th with Lorna, we saw
a male Pied Flycatcher while four Whooper Swans were on the
lochan on the Community Reserve. Garry reported a male Redstart
at Toot Corner on the 15th with two singing male Pied Flycatcher
at the Reserve on the 16th which will hopefully nest for the
first time in at least 10 years. The first two Cuckoos and
only ones so far were reported from Lochwood Oaks. Two Hedgehogs
were seen by Sandra Watson at Frenchlands Drive on the 19th
while my dad saw one near the Coop the same day. A House Sparrow
with lots of white was reported in the Haywood Road area on
the 22nd. While checking the nest boxes at the Reserve on
the 27th the following birds were recorded, with more likely
to use nest boxes if the weather improves - 11 pair of Great
Tits, 14 pairs of Blue Tits, 2 pair of Nuthatch, 1 pair of
House Sparrow, 1 pair of Blackbird, 6 pairs of Starling, 4
pair of Stock Doves and a pair of Tawny Owl.....40 in total
which is good. A Peregrine flew over the Reserve with prey
while being mobbed by Swallows and crows. Garry watched a
male Hobby in the Barnhill area on the 29th May.
John's latest
Italy visit report is now being typed up and will be posted
in the near future.
3rd May
2015
Our Coffee Morning yesterday raised a total of £1501.
This will all go to good use in maintaining and improving
our Dyke Farm Nature Reserve. Our thanks go to all who helped
out by working on the stalls and behind the scenes in the
kitchen, also to all who generously donated items for the
stalls. We also thank everyone who attended and spent their
hard-earned money in supporting the Wildlife Club.
18th April 2015
At a recent 'club night', Jock mentioned Tree Bumblebees
and suggested we keep a look out for them. John picked up
a dead one in Star Street this afternoon. Common in Europe,
it was first recorded in the UK in 2001, it has been spreading
steadily northwards and reached Scotland in 2013, particularly
along the eastern coast areas. Still something of a rarity
in our area.
(Added later). May not be such a rarity after all! In evening,
a few 'bummers' working the flowering cherry in front of John's
house. On closer inspection, at least two (one quite large,
one small) were also Tree Bumblebees. Another, initially dismissed
as just being one of our very common White-tailed Bumbles,
actually turned out to be a Buff-tailed one (needs a good
view to tell the differenece), not all that common but we
do do see them now and then.
John
also saw a male Blackcap in his garden yesterday. Jock apparently
saw one earlier in the week.
Down at the reserve
this morning, some 25-30 Sandmartins are flying around and
exploring the holes in our Sandmartin bank.
12th April
2015
Dave Bradshaw reports Chiffchaff calling in wood
above Beechgrove on Thursday and a Swallow over the Sports
Barn carpark. And, on Friday, Margie saw 4 Swallows over
the Beattock/Evan Water bridge.
10th
April 2015
First butterfly of the year in John's garden today
- a Peacock.
6th
April 2915
Dave Bradshaw reports that he and Margie heard a Yellowhammer
on Saturday near Station Park carpark. This is the first Yellowhammer
report for many, many years! Also heard Chiffchaff in same
general area.
Also
on Saturday, Iain counted over 1200 Pinkfoot Geese passing
northwards during his paper round. And down at the reserve,
two Goosander and two Teal were on the main pond.
From Peter Ball - "thought I heard whoopers calling about
11pm last night so I got up early this morning and found a
couple of them on the MDCNR Wader Scrape about 7am. One with
immature plumage."
Yesterday, John
had a walk round our reserve and noted almost every ditch
had a few frogs in it. The big ditch had very high numbers,
estimated at 40 or more over only part of it! Two more frogs
seen in the Woodland Pond and half a dozen or so in the
Middle Pond. Pleased to see quite a few Sticklebacks active
in the big ditch again following its excavation.
31st March
2015
From John - was sitting in front of my computer
when a spider came abseilling down past my nose. Grabbed
the magnifying glass and chased it around the desk while
noting its appearance as it was a type I'd not seen before.
Got a container to hold it to try for a photo but, sure
enough, in those few seconds it had escaped somewhere! However,
after much browsing of spider info, I finally got the answer.
It was a Steatoda bipunctata, one of the false widow
spiders, commonly known as a 'rabbit hutch spider' as often
found there. Apparently quite common throughout the UK yet
first time I've come across one.
26th March
2015
Signs of spring! Chiffchaff heard calling down at
our reserve yesterday morning.
22nd
March 2015
A message from Jean (Hoppertitty):
"Thought I'd send you this pic of frogs yesterday. Counted
22 at one point in our pond - plenty of croaking and interestingly
the copious spawn has been deposited in a much deeper part
of the pond this year.
Saw first bumblebee of this year briefly yesterday too.
Lovely to see a bit of sunshine."
(Photo has been cropped to fit the page
better!)
Frogs
are also active down at the reserve now with a fair number
on the Woodland Pond yesterday though none evident on the
other ponds as yet.
Further on what
triggers activity, a source giving lots of info about frogs
and toads states that activity normally starts when the
nighttime temperature reaches approximately FIVE degrees
over a few nights but can be occur when THREE degrees is
reached, especially when rain is expected. A further source
informs us that his frog activity always seems to occur
at the first full moon after the latter part of February!
John's frogs seem to have retired after two weeks - night
camera now showing only the odd one or two - but still no
explanation on why active only at night this year, never
in the daylight.
13th
March 2015
A couple of recent reports for you.
The first from Ken Hines, Smith Way,Beattock
" It's been a rather unusual year with little bird activity
other than the regulars, chaffinch, house sparrow and starling.
However the last week to 10 days has seen a sudden influx
of assorted birds, approx 30 siskins, a similar number of
goldfinches, 2 reed buntings, 2 lesser redpolls and great
spotted wood pecker. All this despite same food being available
all winter, no idea why the sudden change."
The
second is from Iain with various sightings -
Peter Ball saw and photographed a wader on the raft on the
Community Reserve lochan with a group of 15 or so Oystercatchers
on Tuesday 10th March. After having sent photographs to various
people and myself and Garry seeing the bird on the Wednesday/Thursday
it has turned out to be a female Black Tailed Godwit......which
is a great sighting and to the best of my knowledge a first
for the Moffat/Beattock area. Also at the Community Reserve
on the Thursday were 31 Whooper Swans, 3 Mute Swans, 4 female
Goosander, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Cormorant and the odd Curlew.
While last Saturday on the newest dug out pond on the Meadow
were a family of 6 Whooper Swans with 3 Curlew passing overhead.
Michael Currie reported seeing the female Peregrine over Moffat
for the first time this year today.
And
from Ron Lewis-Smith on the subject of frogs -
"Regarding the latest news item about the lack of frog
(and toad?) activity is most likely because of their sensitivity
to temperature. Typically, at this time of the year, as soon
as the night air temperature reaches around 10 degC they suddenly
appear in their hoards making for their spawning ponds. I
guess we haven't experienced that so far, whereas we did by
this time last year."
Very informative, but temperatures in Moffat are still a long
way below 10 degrees at night and John's frogs have been busy
during nightime but absent in the day, quite a bit of spawn
in the pond and there are still a fair few frogs active at
night. Looks like there must be another explanation somewhere.
11th March
2015
Surprisingly, few reports so far of frog activity.
However, the pond in John's garden has seen quite a bit
over the past week or so and there is a good quantity of
spawn now. Oddly, all activity has been during the hours
of darkness with probably 50 or more present. My night camera
shows frogs in plenty from about mid-evening to around 5.00am
when they start to vanish and by full daylight there is
only an occasional frog to be seen. In previous years, activity
has been going on both day and night. Anyone got any idea
why the change this year?
5th March
2015
(Removed, no longer relevant)
3rd
March 2015
From Ron Lewis-Smith -
At last seen my first brambling this winter - in fact
a tight flock of at least 200 on the ground and in large oak
and beech trees on the Alton Motte, and vicinity, from c.
10-10.30 am today during flurries of snow.
This is by far
the biggest sighting we have heard of this season!
24th February
2015 - A change of program for the March meeting
Our scheduled speaker has unfortunately had to cancel. However,
all is not lost as Bobby Smith has stepped into the
breach. Although we don't have his topic yet, it will no
doubt be just as interesting as his previous presentations.
See you there!
20th February
2015
Have just received two annual reports from Andy
Riches. The first is for Castle
Loch & Hightae LNRs 2014. The second
is the County
Mammal Report for 2014.
Andy adds the following comment regarding the latter -
" You will have noticed that the Roe Deer distribution
map for 2014 shows a substantial reduction in distribution
from that of 2013. This is almost certainly not a true reduction
in distribution but a lack of records. It is crucial to
remember that the maps reflect records received and there
may well be areas and species that are heavily under recorded.
Under recording is a particular problem with common species
such as the Roe Deer or the Rabbit.
Now you know what I am looking for to include in the 2015
report! "
9th
February 2015 - European Tree of the Year
We have a message from Jonathan Pinnick, one of the team that
works for the Scottish Wildlife Trust at Loch of the Lowes
-
I
am part of the small team that works for the Scottish
Wildlife Trust at Loch of the Lowes, home to “Lady’s
Tree” which was named Scottish Tree of the Year back
in October, just ahead of your Gowk Tree – another
very worthy contender.
As you may be aware voting opened this week for European
Tree of the Year for 2015 with “Lady’s Tree”
representing Scotland. Competition between the 14 countries
represented has been fierce so far and we currently trail
the leading contenders by some thousands of votes.
Therefore I am writing to ask whether you would be able
to encourage your members to vote in support of “Lady’s
Tree”.
6th February
2015
Latest update from Iain -
Very little to report from the start of the year. Local
shooters reported seeing very few Woodcock in our area
but lots of Wood Pigeon feeding on Beech mast. Very few
winter birds around such as Redwing, Fieldfare, Brambling
and Waxwing. A lack of Tawny Owls being heard? Anybody
heard a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker? Only sightings
I have are a Golden Eagle over Moffat on the 13th and
a flock of 42 Brambling at Millhousebridge from Garry
Tait. At the Community Reserve lochan on the 14th were
5 Mute Swan and a Pink Footed Goose. Garry saw three Black
Grouse near Tweedshaws on the 16th. Hopefully the remainder
of Winter and the return of Spring will bring some more
wildlife sightings.
And some reports from Dave Bradshaw -
18/01/15 - 1 Brambling with Chaffinch Beattock country
park, still 1 juv Mute Swan on lake with 2 Adults. They
seem to have distanced themselves from it. Other 7 have
left. 2 Bullfinches outside in trees by railway bridge.
21/01/15 - Leadhills road 2 female Kestrels, 1 Red Grouse.
28/01/15 - Siskin numbers are building up here in Cornal
Court, usually peak late March, early April. There has
been a flock of about 15 Goldfinches since before Xmas.
This morning 3 Bullfinches on the trees dropping on to
the grass alongside the garages to feed. Also a Treecreeper.
My feeder and gardent his morning at one time had 13 Goldfinch,
5 Siskin, 5 House Sparrow and 8 Chaffinch. At the reserve
yesterday a pair of Mute swan. 2 Dippers at Beattock bridge,
1 at Station Park bridge. 170 Pinkfeet over the co op.
And John adds - was complaining to Iain on Wednesday that
hadn't heard any Tawnies for months only to hear one calling
that evening! Blue Tits are scouting nest boxes and House
Sparrows inspecting the spaces under roof edges around
Greenwood Close so spring must be on its way.
7th
January 2015
Here we are with another year and with little to
report! Our usual winter visitors have been few and far
between this season, a few small flocks of Redwing, likewise
of Fieldfare, only an occasional sighting of Brambling and
no further reports of Waxwing since November. It looks like
most of us have has a distinct drop in the number of birds
coming into our gardens, they must still be finding plenty
of 'natural' food and prefer that to our offerings. Numbers
have gone up on the few hard days we've had, only to drop
off again as soon as the frosts have lifted. There is no
cause for concern, the bird population is as healthy as
it ever was. John's garden is renowned for the lack of birds
in wet weather and last week saw a record low - Blackbird
and Chaffinch only and only a few of each - offset by a
more normal 6-8 types of bird in much greater numbers the
following day.
Two
bits of information from elsewhere. The first is from Any
Riches -
"This
is to let you know that Scottish Badgers will be running
a Level 1 Registered Badger Worker Course in Dumfries
& Galloway this autumn.
The purpose of the Registered Badger Worker Training Scheme
is to build a network of surveyors certified as competent
to undertake specific tasks as identified by Scottish
Badgers. Inclusion on the Register is a nationally recognised
qualification.
The course costs £120.00 which includes a comprehensive
training manual, classroom and field-based training, personal
tutoring, assessment fees and completion certificate.
Full details of the course and an application form are
attached but if you have any queries please do not hesitate
to contact me."
(We haven't been able to put the details/application
form on-line but, if you contact John, we can forward
it on request or put you in touch with Andy.)
The
second is from Neighbourhood Watch regarding a scam -
Sky
Television and Broadband Phone Scam
We've had recent reports of scammers phoning
pretending to be from Sky Television and Broadband so
please make sure friends and family are aware. Sky have
confirmed that this is not a genuine call.
The scammers attempt to appear authentic by asking for
you by name and stating that "our information"
shows you pay by direct debit. The scam involves claiming
that your Sky viewing card is about to expire and that
they need some information in order to send you a new
one. They then proceed to ask for your sort code before
then asking for the last four digits of your account number.
Like many scammers they may get pushy when not given this
information.
This call is then followed up by a second call where they
claim you have overpaid and that they wish to refund you.
It is at this point that they ask for the rest of your
bank details.
A Sky Spokesperson said
"We would never contact a customer to request payment
over the phone for a replacement viewing card.
If you are due a credit on your account it’s very
unusual for us to ask for your bank details over the phone,
if you are suspicious at all please hang up and call us
on 03442 414141. "
If you've received this scam call or a similar one and
given over account details you should contact your bank
immediately. If you received such a call and didn't give
over details, it would be helpful if you could report
the incident to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
The reason these scams work is that they contact thousands
of people and so, purely by coincidence, a few of these
people will not only have a Sky account but may have recently
completed a transaction with Sky and so will be expecting
such a call.
If you receive this or another suspicious phone call...
• Remember, you do not have to get into discussions
over the phone with anyone, and never give out any personal
information, such as bank or credit card details. These
could be used fraudulently.
• Keep your business, your business. Just say "No
thank you, I am not interested" and hang up straight
away.
• To find out more about True Call the call blocking
device tested by Trading Standards, which stops 99% of
nuisance calls visit http://www.truecall.co.uk
Also remember ... No genuine lottery or competition would
ask you to buy goods or send money to claim a prize!
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