Michael Henderson is going to talk about two very different areas, both rich with wonderful birdlife.  He is a director for sustainable development at global engineering firm AECOM, associate lecturer in sustainable development at Oxford Brookes University and founder of Raptor Retreats birding holidays. While COVID has decimated the travel industry, Michael is keen to continue to celebrate the amazing diversity of birdlife around the world and the dedicated people that are working hard to protect them. In his talk, Michael will focus on:

• The Bribri people of Kakoldi in Costa Rica and the annual raptor migration
• The birds of Rajasthan, decline of Indian vultures and the work of the Jatayu breeding and release centre.

As we are unable to hold meetings indoors due to covid precautions, this meeting will be held online via Zoom. Members will be sent the Zoom link by email a few days before the talk.

Des is a naturalist, working for Natural England and in our talk this evening he tells us of some of the ways that farmers are helping to bring back wildlife onto their farms by restoring and creating habitats. The talk will cover some of the Government schemes which help to fund farmers and will focus on some examples of habitats created and the wildlife that has benefited in Berkshire.

We will also hear a little about ‘post-Brexit’ proposals for rural funding.

Len is a member of the Bristol Ornithological Club, RSPB and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. He is a frequent visitor to Spain and speaks from personal experience on all of the habitats covered in his talks.

Our talk this evening starts in the Spanish Pyrenees, goes west to the Picos de Europa, visiting high peaks, mountain meadows, deep gorges, wooded valleys, old oak forests, fields and scrub with birds including the magnificent Lammergeier, Wallcreeper, Snow Finch, several Woodpeckers, Alpine Chough, Citril Finch etc  then on south to the Belchite Steppes, to Extramadura then south west to the Donana and Cadiz province including the Gibraltar Straits!

In the present circumstances with the coronavirus epidemic we cannot be sure when and how we will be able to hold indoor meetings in the coming season. However, it is our intention to hold meetings if it is safe and permitted to do so. If not, we will endeavour to offer talks electronically live via Zoom or as recordings. Please check this website for details.

We continue with our new-style christmas social as it was very successful last year!

There will be three talks to enjoy – Sally Wearing will take us to Tanzania for half an hour, Rob Godden will transport us to the tropical climes of N. Peru . We will then have tasty refreshments at this point before the final  talk, the subject of which is yet to be decided.

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel this meeting due to the current situation.   This is a very disappointing end to a lovely season of talks but we hope to recommence the talks in October.  We will also try to rearrange for Stephen Lovell to visit us in the future.

Stephen is Lincoln born and bred and is a keen birder and all-round naturalist.

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust has worked for almost 70 years protecting wildlife and wild places, and educating, influencing and empowering people. It manages almost 100 of the best sites for wildlife in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire.

Stephen will tell us of how its work is helping to secure the future of many important habitats and species, which might otherwise be lost.

Please note that this meeting will be held at St Peter’s Hall, Church Road, Earley.

Apologies for not announcing this before, but tonight’s meeting, and the final one in two weeks time have both been cancelled, due to the current situation.
The photographic competition will be judged online by Colin Wilson and Ashley Grove, and we hope that the results will be announced in due course.
This is a very disappointing end to a lovely season of talks but we hope to recommence the talks in October.

Gary has been called the most famous Green Birder!

In 2010 he cycled to every RSPB and WWT nature reserve in the UK, around 220 nature reserves cycling over 9,000 miles and seeing 251 different bird species!

He has also cycled over the Andes to try and get the World Green Birding year list record, needing to see more than 618 bird species.

We will hear this evening about these and other amazing stories and anecdotes, about the birds and mammals seen in the UK and Peru.

Shearwaters are amongst the most elusive creatures on earth, spending most of their lives far out to sea and coming on land only to breed.  From navigating trans-global migrations to understanding the threats to their future existence, Professor Tim Guilford will introduce us into the shearwater’s world, unravelling the mechanisms by which they map the environments through which they travel. What cues do these birds use to navigate home across familiar areas? What do their maps look like? How versatile is the spatial knowledge they store?

It will be a fascinating talk!

Ashley developed an interest in nature – and birds in particular – while growing up in the Warwickshire countryside, before setting up as a wildlife photographer in 2005. He now lectures widely and leads regular photographic and birding tours to The Gambia – his favourite destination – as well as the Shetland Islands, Isle of Scilly, Trinidad & Tobago, the Spanish Pyrenees and elsewhere. He is particularly keen on birds of prey and hummingbirds, and regularly delivers workshops and seminars throughout the UK.

We welcome him back this evening to hear about his visits to The Gambia. With close to 600 species of birds, most of which are colourful and approachable. We begin at the coast, then up the river and back again,  seeing  Kingfishers, Bee-eaters & Rollers amongst many others  with a magnificent supporting cast of multicoloured extras!