Lakenheath field trip 19th June 2011 – change of leader

Due to Colin’s absence abroad the leader for this trip will now be Ray Reedman. Please contact Ray if you intend to go on 0118 9864338 or ray.reedman berksoc.org.uk.

Colin Wilson –

Berkshire Nature Conservation Forum conference

Saturday 11th June at Oracle Corporation, Thames Valley Park, Reading.

The theme of the day is Habitat Restoration & Creation in Berkshire. In addition to the presentations there will be a poster display along this theme. If you would like to contribute a poster highlight this on the booking form (Kelly Thomas will then contact you to discuss the details). To support this event BritishFlora will be providing some free samples for a selection of wildflower plugs.

Once the afternoon session has closed there will be an optional guided walk, kindly led by the Berkshire Ornithological Club.

It looks set to to be an interesting and informative day, as well as a fantastic opportunity to meet others involved in the conservation of Berkshire’s wildlife.

Whilst the conference is free, to help contribute towards the costs with organising the conference, and to support the future work of BNCF, a suggested donation of £5 (on the day) would be welcome.

Booking a place at the conference is essential as places are limited. To reserve a place please complete the booking form (available from the website) and return to Kelly Thomas via email or post.

Mike Turton –

BOC Photographic Competition 2011 ? Results

 
The results of the annual competition are now available here. Again we have a new winner of the Gordon Langsbury Cup and we congratulate Dave Bartlett on his achievement. 150 entries show the popularity of the contest and the mix of winners over the years shows the wide ranging skills of Club members in this field. For the first time we have a gallery of all the images that scored maximums from both judges to demonstrate the high standards displayed. Watch this website for news of a slightly revised competition for 2012.
Our thanks go to London Camera Exchange, Station Road, Reading for their valuable and generous support and to our judges, Dave Cromack, Editor of Bird Art and Photography and Gordon Langsbury, our President, for their time and expertise shared with all the members on the night.
Colin Wilson –

BOC Photographic Competition ? 16th March 2011

For all you budding and expert photographers we are holding our Photo Competition on March 16th and it promises to be another great evening. As always Gordon Langsbury and Dave Cromack bring their specialist skills and not a few disagreements to the judging with the Gordon Langsbury Cup the ultimate prize to the overall winner and vouchers to our category winners and runners up.

Year after year we have been turning up new winners showing how open the competition is so please feel free to join in with up to 4 entries in the Bird Portrait section and 4 in the Bird Action section.

Further details are here but note that due to limited entries we have dropped the digiscoping section and the final date for entries to colin.wilson berksoc.org.uk is 9th March.

Colin Wilson –

Change to published Programme

1. A change has had to be made to the indoor programme (the workshop planned for 13th April) which will now take place at a different venue and on a different date from those published in the programme card. The revised announcement is provided below.
2. The leader for the mid week walk to Wishmoor on Thursday 17th March has been changed – Ray Reedman is now the point of contact. The revised announcement is provided below.

Revised programme

6th Apr 2011 – Identification Workshop: Frequent Finches and Basic Buntings

Earley St Peter’s function rooms (same venue as Christmas Socials)
The focus of this ?improve and revise? workshop will be on the more common finches and buntings.
Contact: Ray Reedman (0118 9864338)

Thursday 17th March 2011

Mid-week walk: Wishmoor, Berkshire
All the heathland birds can be found here and sometimes a Crossbill.
Meet at the north end of Kings Ride, Camberley (SU875621), which is north of the A30 at Knoll Road traffic lights.
Contact Ray Reedman (0118 9864338)

Bill Nicoll –

Raffle Winners

Mike Dilger Meeting 19 Jan 2011

Prize winners in the raffle were

1. Bob Walker
2. Charlotte Faulkner
3. Peter Roberts
4. Miss S. Jones

Our thanks to all who supported this raffle.

John Roberts –

Lavell?s Lake car park

Car park charges now apply in ALL car parks at Dinton Pastures Country Park, from 08:00 to 18:00. The nearest ticket machine to Lavell’s Lake is in the middle of the sailing club car park (now called the multi activity centre).

Prices are shown via the link below but in summary are 50p for up to 1 hour, £1 for up to 4 hours, £2 for 4 hours plus. There are annual season tickets at £76.50 available from the Countryside Service Office above the Cafe, disabled can park free.

http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/parks/parks/country-parks/dinton/

We are advised that tickets will be checked, so please be aware you may get a fine if you choose not to pay.

Colin Wilson –

Reading Museum Display

Reading Museum has a current special display entitled ?Celebrating Biodiversity?. There is a sizeable section on the subject of birds and the BOC helped provide information and items for the display. Other material has been provided by BBOWT. If you are in Reading with a few minutes to spare please go along and see it. The display is there until 28 November and is in the Reading People and Places gallery on the ground floor.

Colin Wilson –

Optics demonstration day, Lavell?s Lake 3 October 2010

Please come and support an optics demonstration day at Bittern Hide, Lavell?s Lake, Dinton Pastures. This is on Sunday 3 October between 10am and 4pm. Paul Hackett, a top digiscoper and bird photographer will be there demonstrating how to use the equipment and to answer questions. This day has been arranged by London Camera Exchange and Kowa who have kindly provided joint sponsorship for our Mike Dilger lecture on 19th January 2011. Thanks also go to Friends of Lavell?s Lake for their help in organizing the day.

We recognise that many members may not be looking to buy or upgrade their optics at this time, but it provides a good opportunity to see the latest equipment and compare it to what you have now. Advice will be provided and it should prove an interesting day. We hope to see as many members as possible come along to support the event.
Colin Wilson –

Berkshire Bird Index 2008

2008 was the ninth year of the Berkshire Bird Index (BBI). The BBI was started in 2000 to use statistically analysed hard data to try to measure changes in bird populations in the county, especially for the more common species. It uses the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) methods and data, and the BTO carries out the analysis. The BBI achieves a much larger coverage across the county than is usual for a BBS, to give as thorough a picture of Berkshire?s birds as possible, and Berkshire has one of the highest number of BBS observers of any county in the UK, with 95 squares surveyed in 2008 (about 5.2 % of the county).

The report discusses the changes in both resident and migratory species in Berkshire over 2000-2008 (the period for the BBI) and 1994-2008 (the period for the BBS). The changes for 1994-2008 are compared with changes in the South-East of England over the same period.

The BBI is a work in progress, and the population trends will become clearer and more reliable the longer the survey runs. Consequently, we very much hope that we can maintain or expand the number of squares surveyed, so if you do not have a square, volunteer today!

Patrick Crowley –