To celebrate the Berkshire Ornithological Club’s 75th anniversary, the Club has published a lavishly illustrated, booklet, Berkshire’s Birdscapes, by Renton Righelato, which reviews the changes in the Royal County’s landscapes and breeding birds since the Club’s inception in 1947. Changes in agriculture, changes in woodland management, urban growth and extensive development of wetland reserves have driven major changes in our breeding birds.
Despite losing some much-loved species, the last 75 years have seen a substantial increase in the number of bird species breeding in Berkshire. Several farmland species have been lost or have declined substantially, largely as a result of arable intensification, and some woodland specialist birds are being lost. However, warmer winters, growing areas of coniferous woodland and, above all, the restoration of gravel working to create wetlands have brought us many more new species than we have lost.
Berkshire’s Birdscapes can be purchased from the BOC. whose members will receive a free copy.