Cambridgeshire Bird Club Meetings

2010 Program of Meetings

2010-01-01T20:00:00.000Z

St Johns Church Hall
8th Jan: Birds of the Pacific Coast of the USA by Colin Kirtland
12th Feb: Titchwell: Past, Present and Future by Paul Eele
12th March: Annual General Meeting followed by
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper – on the Brink of Extinction? by Christopher Zockler
Cottenham Village College
9th April: The Listening to Birds Project by Andrew Whitehouse
14th May : Into Africa: where do our Migrants Spend the Winter? by Phil Atkinson & Danaë Sheehan
10th Sept: Birds of the Russian Far East by Chris Collins
8th Oct: The Rutland Water Osprey Reintroduction Project by Tim Mackrill
16th Oct: CBC/BTO Conference
St Johns Church Hall
12th Nov: A Day Trip to the Farne Islands by Andy Cotton
10th Dec: Christmas social

Friday 8th January, St Johns Church Hall, Cambridge

2010-01-01T19:00:00.002Z

Please note this is a change of speaker because Mike Toms has had to cancel.

Birds of the Pacific Coast of the USA by Colin Kirtland

Colin Kirtland has made many visits to the USA and in this talk concentrates on birds of California's varied habitats -- deserts, mountains, marshes and the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Colin has been birdwatching for many years both in the UK and overseas, and is a Club vice-president and former county recorder.

Thanks very much to Colin for stepping in at such short notice.

Friday February 12th, St Johns Church Hall

2010-01-01T18:00:00.000Z

Titchwell: Past, Present and Future by Paul Eele
Paul Eele has worked for the RSPB for over 15 years on many reserves including Haweswater, Ouse Washes, West Sedgemoor and Otmoor before moving to Titchwell as Assistant Warden in 2002. He became Warden in 2007 and
isresponsible for the practical management of the reserve. Outside of work he is a bird ringer and when not injured, plays badminton.

The talk will focus on the changes that are going on over the next few years with the Coastal Change Project. For more information see -

See Titchwell Website

Friday March 12th, St John's Church Hall

2010-01-01T17:00:00.000Z

Annual General Meeting followed by

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper – on the Brink of Extinction? by Christopher Zockler

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeds only in remote Arctic regions of northeastern Russia, and winters mainly in Southeast Asia. Its population has declined precipitously over the past 30 years and it is now regarded as critically endangered. Threats on its breeding grounds may come from heavy nest predation and egg collectors. Habitat change following climate change may have impacted areas in the south. But the major threats are considered to be on the wintering grounds. Hunting and trapping birds at a large scale affects Spoon-billed Sandpiper and other species. Through its Preventing Extinction Programme, Birdlife International is supporting an array of conservation efforts to the save this species. Christoph Zockler has been studying Spoon-billed Sandpiper in collaboration with Russian colleagues for more than 10 years and will bring us up to date with news of the conservation efforts and latest surveys of Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Friday 9th April, Cottenham Village College

2010-01-01T16:00:00.000Z

The Listening to Birds Project by Andrew Whitehouse

The Listening to Birds project is an anthropological investigation of the ways that people think about and respond to bird sounds. This talk explores some of the key areas of the research, particularly the numerous stories that members of the public contributed through the project website. These stories have highlighted the significance of bird sounds to people’s sense of place, time and season and the connections that bird sounds have with people’s own life stories. The ways in which bird sounds come to be known and recognised has been another aspect of the research and is a subject that birders can make an important contribution to.

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/birdsong/

Andrew Whitehouse grew up in Northampton. He has been a birder since he was six and an anthropologist since he was twenty-four. Through his research into listening to birds he has productively combined these two interests. He teaches anthropology at the University of Aberdeen and previously studied for a PhD at the University of St Andrews.

Friday May 14th, Cottenham Village College

2010-01-01T15:00:00.000Z

Into Africa: where do our Migrants Spend the Winter? by Phil Atkinson & Danaë Sheehan

Dr Phil Atkinson - leads the BTO’s international research programme, which is diverse in nature but has a strong emphasis on collaborative projects with biological, social and economic aspects. He has a wide range of research interests including: the ecology of Palearctic-African migrants on their wintering grounds, understanding the impact of poverty alleviation policies on biodiversity and farmer livelihoods in central Uganda, biodiversity impacts of land use change in São Tomé e Principe, and the migration routes of waterbirds.

Dr Danaë Sheehan - is a Conservation Scientist working in the RSPB’s International Research Department. She leads on a range or research projects, including those relating to AfroPalearctic migrants on their non-breeding grounds in Africa, the development of a global Wild Bird Indicator, and the breeding ecology of spotted flycatchers in the UK. She also project manages common bird monitoring schemes with BirdLife partners in Uganda, Rwanda and Botswana.

As well as looking at the breeding ecology of migrant birds for the part of their life cycles that they spend in the UK, the BTO and RSPB are now beginning to focus on what is happening during the other half of these birds lives, in a major new collaborative project. The project aims to assess which of the changes in the African wintering grounds are likely to be key drivers of declines, initially by determining: 1) what habitats different species require, and 2) how and when they use them. We will also look at how the areas and management of key habitats have changed over time (and how they are likely to change in future) and what conservation actions could be undertaken to reverse declines in populations of migrant birds. This talk will provide an overview of the project and look at preliminary results from the first season of fieldwork.

You can follow the work of this project on our project 'blog' pages at: migrantbirdsinafrica.blogspot.com .

Friday September 10th, Cottenham Village College

2010-01-01T11:00:00.000Z

Birds of the Russian Far East by Chris Collins
Chris Collins has been a freelance bird and wildlife guide for a number of years and in this talk discusses one of his favourite parts of the world – the Russian Far East. The lecture will concentrate on the Kuril and Commander Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula, areas which very few birders have been to and which have only been ‘open’ to foreigners since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

As well as looking at some of the land birds which live in this region, Chris will also discuss the extraordinary concentrations of seabirds, especially auks, and some of the other wildlife which can be found in this poorly known corner of the world.

Chris grew up in Surrey and has been a keen birder all his life. Whilst his early birding experiences were primarily restricted to the south coast of England, after University and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Chris became addicted to world birding and spent as much time as he could birding overseas and has now visited over 50 countries and territories. After a chance conversation in 2004, he was asked to set up a birding odyssey from New Zealand to Japan and then took the decision to change careers and become a full-time freelance birder.

Whilst boat-based birding is one of Chris’ passions, he is also very interested in the birds of the Neotropics (ie Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands) and for the last fifteen years has been on the Council of the Neotropical Bird Club, also serving as Treasurer and on the Editorial Committee of Neotropical Birding magazine.

Friday October 8th, Cottenham Village College

2010-01-01T10:01:00.002Z

The Rutland Water Osprey Reintroduction Project by Lloyd Pack

Lloyd has been the Assistant Warden at Rutland Water Nature Reserve for the past three years after studying conservation management at Brooksby college. He is very involved with the Osprey project, and all other aspects of life at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. He is passionate about nature conservation, particularly conservation of bird species and began birdwatching at a very young age. He began wildfowl counting with his father at Rutland Water whilst at primary school and at 15 joined the conservation volunteers. His talk will cover the full story of the project – from the translocation of young Ospreys from Scotland to satellite tracking of migration and the first successful nests in central England for more than 150 years. He will also cover the most recent developments, and consider the future for Ospreys in England and elsewhere across Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy where the Rutland project has led to similar reintroduction work

Saturday October 16th, Cottenham Village College

2010-01-01T10:00:00.001Z

CBC/BTO Conference

Farming and Bird Conservation

Cambridgeshire Bird Club conference in collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Saturday 16th October: Cottenham Village College
Sunday 17th October: farm visits in Cambridgeshire

Booking form can be downloaded here…

Farming is of fundamental importance to us all for food production. In the UK, 75% of land is farmed, so farming practices have major impacts on birds and other wildlife. Our conference will provide an opportunity for birders and farmers to meet and hear about the present situation of farmland birds and their conservation.

Saturday 16th October

SESSION 1 HISTORY AND HABITATS

The changing face of lowland farmland and its associated birdlife Andy Evans (RSPB)

Farmland conservation – encouraging non-avian biodiversity John Holland (Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust)

SESSION 2 POPULATION AND SPECIES STUDIES

Atlases and farmland birds – past, present and future Simon Gillings (BTO)

The RSPB Corn Bunting Project Rosemary Setchell (RSPB)

Winter food and farmland birds: causes of decline and means of recovery
Gavin Siriwardena (BTO)

SESSION 3 CONSERVATION

The conservation of farmland birds in Eastern England Simon Tonkin (RSPB)

Action for Barn Owls and Kestrels on farmland Peter Wilkinson (Barn Owl Conservation Network)

How FWAG helps farmers Elizabeth Ranelagh (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group)

From voluntary surveys to working for the Countryside Restoration Trust. A birding journey through farmland Vince Lea (Countryside Restoration Trust)

On Sunday 17th October there will be an opportunity to visit to farms in the county to learn about how the land is managed for both agriculture and to enhance its value for wildlife. The farms have been chosen to reflect the varied nature of farming in the county. Information on the sites can be found on their websites:
Countryside Restoration Trust Farm, Barton – www.livingcountryside.org.uk/larkrise.htm
RSPB Hope Farm, Knapwell – www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hopefarm
Park Farm, Thorney – www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/spotlight/michaelsly.asp
Shropshire Group, Hainey Farm, Soham – http://www.gs-growers.co.uk/ukgrowers/detail.asp?ItemID=14

Tickets must be booked in advance: £17.50 per person (includes coffee, lunch and tea)

Booking form can be downloaded here…

For enquiries contact Vicki Harley

Friday November 12th, St John's Church Hall

2010-01-01T10:00:00.000Z

A Day Trip to the Farne Islands by Andy Cotton

Andy Cotton started his career in conservation as Assistant, then Chief, Warden for the National Trust on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, in 1989 and 1990. Living & working on the outer group of islands, he was responsible for visiting arrangements on Staple Island, bird & wildlife surveys and estate & habitat management. Andy is now the Senior Site Manager of the RSPB's Ouse Valley nature reserves, in Cambridgeshire.

Friday December 10th, St John's Church Hall

2010-01-01T08:01:00.000Z

Christmas Social

Come and enjoy mince pies and mulled wine in good company while listening to inspiring short talks by club members. Please contact Vicki Harley if you would like to give a short presentation.