Wild Japan – Paul Alistair-Collins

Paul is an award-winning nature photographer and guide from London. His images, which often feature birds in low light and minimalist landscapes, have been awarded in the British Wildlife Photography Awards and Bird Photographer Of The Year among others; and he regularly leads bird photo tours in the UK and Europe. He also works in television, co-producing documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery Network.  

A photographic journey into the wild heart of Japan – where birds meet culture in landscapes shaped by both nature and tradition. From red-crowned cranes dancing on Hokkaido’s snowy plains, and golden pheasants that inhabit Nagano’s shrines, to endemic species found only in the tropical Amami and Izu Islands, award-winning photographer Paul Alistair Collins will share the stories and creative process behind some of his favourite bird images captured across this rich and varied archipelago. 

University Lecture – Professor Andrew Gosler – Ethno Ornithology

Andrew Gosler is Professor of Ethno-ornithology at the University of Oxford, where he holds a joint position between the Department of Biology (Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology) and the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. He is Head of the Institute of Human Sciences, and a Priest in the Church of England.

His research over 40 years spans pure and applied aspects of ornithology, including eco-morphology of birds, the function of speckling on birds’ eggs, the ethno-ornithology of bird folk-names, the natural-history knowledge of people in post-industrial communities and the role of religion in environmental stewardship. He is Research Director of the Ethno-ornithology World Atlas, a collaborative project with BirdLife International, and a Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford. His undergraduate teaching includes an Introduction to Ecology, Principles of Evolution and Biological Conservation for the BA degree in Human Sciences; Ornithology, and Ethno-ornithology for the BA degree in Biological Sciences.

His many publications include Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society.

BOC Photographic Competition 2027

Time again for members to display their photographic skills in our annual photographic competition!

There will be the usual three categories : Portrait, Flight/Action and Birds in Berkshire with first and second prize gift tokens – kindly donated from the London Camera Exchange!

We have introduced a new category for 25’s whereby you can submit one additional photograph on any of the subjects.

 

Birds, Birding and a career in Ornithology – Oliver Slessor

Oliver’s talk will cover his fascinating career in Birding and Ornithology.

He will speak about a variety of the different jobs he has had with birds in the last 20 years ranging from Bird Observatory work, to seabird protection and bird guiding in Costa Rica and Ecuador. The talk will show many of the incredible birds I have had the delight in seeing.

The Cornish Chough – a remarkable conservation success – Hilary Mitchell

Hilary moved down to the far west of Cornwall in 2013 having visited for holidays and birding for many years. She and her partner became Chough monitoring volunteers straight away, and have been involved with Chough conservation ever since. They are the joint editors of the county bird report ‘Birds in Cornwall’ and Hilary also manages the records data for Cornwall Birds, the county bird club. When not watching Choughs, she is an active amateur geologist in the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall and enjoys birding trips abroad.
She will cover the history and extinction of Cornish Chough, the successful recolonisation since 2001 and the conservation and volunteer work that has made it all possible. Plus some stories about the birds themselves, population stats and trends and current conservation goals.

30 years of the Breeding Bird Survey – James Heywood

James is the National Organiser for the Breeding Bird Survey.
He has been lucky enough to be a BTO staff member for four years where he coordinates the UK Breeding Bird Survey, the most important long-term monitoring scheme for the UK’s ‘terrestrial’ birds in the breeding season. Before that, he worked as an ecologist for a small company of ecologists working with local authorities and developers, undertaking ornithological and habitat assessments for planning and conservation management.
The talk will be split into two halves.
Part 1: 30+ years of the Breeding Bird Survey in Berkshire. We will chart the history of the UK Breeding Bird Survey, both nationally and within Berkshire and the Home Counties, celebrating the contributions of individual participants as well as looking at what the survey has achieved.
Part 2: The 2027-2031 Bird Atlas. The last Atlas in 2007-2011 contributed much to our understanding of UK bird population changes. What will the next Atlas – 20 years on – tell us and how will it work.

Birding on Remote Islands – Keith Betton

Keith Betton is a very familiar and popular visitor to the BOC over several years, always delivering fascinating stories and facts and this is no exception.
He is one of a handful of people to have seen over 9000 bird species. He will tell us about two amazing journeys he took recently:  from Argentina to South Georgia, then the remote islands of Gough, Tristan da Cunha, St Helena and Ascension, and from New Zealand to its remote islands. These are some of the most rarely visited bird locations in the world. He will share with us what he saw, and how conservationists are working to protect them.

Bird Flight – Jeff Blincow

Jeff began county birding in Northamptonshire during the 1960’s, British birding in 1970’s and World birding in the 1980’s. He works as a teacher of Information Technology and has been lecturing about birds since 1980 on such topics as Birds of Australia, Birds of Ecuador, Bird Flight and Bird Families. He has travelled widely, most especially in South America. He has helped to write a book on South American Mammals and in recent years has spent each summer recording wildlife in Finnmark.

AGM then David Massie – The Golden Triangle, India

For some light entertainment after the AGM, member David and his wife Nancy, who have visited India several times, will talk to us about the country and experiences they love and they hope to have captured the atmosphere of the place in this shortened version of their trip to The Golden Triangle.