John has been birding since the late 1960’s as a teen, mostly in Hampshire. He co-edited Birds of Hampshire published in 1993 and wrote Rare Birds of Hampshire published in 2022. He was County Recorder from 1993 to 2010. He became interested in world birding from the 1980’s and began to travel extensively after taking early retirement from teaching in 2008. He has now seen just under 9,000 species!

John’s talk describes a five-week long expedition he took part in in September-October 2019. Starting in Tahiti, the capital of French Polynesia, he flew to Mangereva then sailed east to Pitcairn, Henderson and Oeno Islands on a converted cargo ship. They then returned west towards the Tuamoto Islands and then on to Mangareva. While the ship sailed 1000 km north to the Marquesas Islands, they returned to Tahiti for a couple of days before flying out to the Marquesas to rejoin the ship. They then visited six different islands before sailing back to Tahiti via some of the Society Islands. Having finished the tour of the British Overseas Territory and French Polynesia, they flew to Rarotonga to spend a few days in the Cook Islands before returning home through Auckland where they saw some 70 endemic land and seabirds during the trip – the my talk will feature photos of most of them.

This is Steve’s 2nd visit to the BOC, speaking before on Peregrines. He is an active member of the Gloucester Monitoring Raptor Group and committee member of Southwest Peregrines. His recently published book The Peregrine Falcon has won critical acclaim and is widely regarded as the most up to date, complete piece of work on this species.

This talk will include HD quality video and stills at the nest and in flight. Steve will talk about population levels and dynamics, flight, hunting strategy, and breeding activity and timing,

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

Conor Jameson will describe what inspired him to write Silent Spring Revisited. He will look at the impact made by Rachel Carson’s momentous book Silent Spring in 1962, and what happened next, picking out the highlights year by year. This talk reveals the heroism of its author, the flak she took, and her lasting, inspirational legacy.

Conor is an author, conservationist and naturalist. He has written for the Guardian, BBC Wildlife, The Ecologist, the New Statesman, Birdwatch and Birdwatching magazines, and has been a scriptwriter for the BBC Natural History Unit.

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

Our annual photographic competition again and we are once more anticipating the high standard of  images that our members submit! Gift vouchers for the London Camera Exchange are awarded to the three category winners and runners-up, plus the Gordon Langsbury Cup is awarded to the overall winner.

The categories are Portrait, Flight/Action and Birds in Berkshire, so get snapping!

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

Monitoring nests for the Nest Record Scheme (NRS) is easy to do, with little prior experience required.  This talk will cover what the scheme is about, how to record the information needed, while prioritising the birds themselves.

Lee Barber works for the BTO, coordinating the NRS and several national ringing schemes such as the Constant Effort Site Scheme, Re-trapping Adults for Survival and the Winter Ringing Project. He trains trainee bird ringers to ring birds and monitor their nests safely, while collecting the best information they can.

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

Kevin Cox will talk about species recovery this evening. How science can support declining and endangered species to make a comeback. He’ll cover examples from the UK such as Bittern and Cirl Bunting but also overseas, including Vultures and Blue-throated Macaw. He will also talk about the importance of habitat creation and management as a condition for evidence-based species recovery.

 

Kevin is Chair of Council RSPB. His interest in international conservation led to his involvement with the World Land Trust where he is a Council member and Chair of its trading company.

He is a former Chair of Devon Birds and a member of the BTO, WWT and Devon Wildlife Trust amongst other conservation organisations. He lives in Devon on the edge of Dartmoor where he and his wife manage 150 acres of woodland and meadows as a nature reserve.

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

A photographic journey through some of Europe’s great birdwatching hotspots – from Greece’s wetlands and the Spanish Pyrenees, to the icy Arctic tundra. Paul will share the stories and creative process behind his favourite images.

He is a very successful wildlife photographer and camera man based in London. He has won and been highly commended in many competitions since 2005 as a junior entrant. Photography has taken him from the cobalt glaciers of Alaska and the mangrove swamps of Florida to the remote caves of Slovenia and the fierce winter seas of South Africa.

His work has featured in numerous publications including The Guardian, The Times and National Geographic Italy.

Please note – all our indoor meetings now start at 7.30 pm.

We will be meeting in person in Room 109 in the Palmer Building at usual, but you can also join remotely via Zoom if you prefer.  Please click here to join the meeting. You can join from 7.15 pm and the meeting will start at 7.30 pm.  You will be muted when you join; please stay muted except when you have been asked to unmute, for recent sightings, questions, etc.

It’s our annual Christmas social event with Christmas refreshments. We will entertain you with a quiz from Neil (a bit easier this time!) and one or two other little items! Please come!