News

Friday, 30 November 2007

Editor's Annual Report - 2007

And so it is - the first field meeting of the year was held at Bowling Green Marsh where some 300 avocets were on view. At Cheddar Reservoir, best birds seen were goldeneye and female scaup, while Chew Valley gave superb views of a splendid male smew.
In March, superb raptors included a hunting peregrine at Catcott and the wonderful hen harrier at Greylake.
The cattle egret at Budleigh; singing nightingales at Hinkley; a lesser spotted woodpecker, redstart and pied flycatchers at Bincombe; a splendid day at Portland in June when masses of manx and balearic shearwaters streamed past the Bill; the brilliant nightjar experience at Staple Plain; spotted flycatchers and dippers at Robbers Bridge; the continuous stream of migrating swallows through Brean Down; hunting hobbies at Ashcott; cirl buntings at Prawle Point; the white fronted goose, peregrine and 27 avocets at Steart; and, most recently, the unforgettable sight of an arctic skua harassing a group of kittiwakes off Portland Bill.
Meanwhile, there has been the usual outstanding programme of indoor meetings. January's speaker was RSPB Conservation Officer Richard Archer who provided a very interesting and detailed talk on the work of the RSPB including much of what has taken place on the Somerset levels and moors.
Our old friend Robert Khan entertained us in February with "Bird Migration Through the Holy Land", in which he followed the path of the main migration from Africa to Europe through Israel with a fine selection of photographs and a great deal of information.
In March, Ethne Conlin took the group to Brazil where she had been doing voluntary work and shared some of her experiences while searching for the red-breasted toucan.
First of the autumn indoor meetings was an unforgettable experience with an opportunity to view the exceptional photographs of Mike Wilkes, acknowledged as one of the finest wildlife photographers in the world. Mike has had two of his pictures accepted for a publication of "The World's Best Wildlife Photographs" - what better recommendation could there be!
The last indoor meeting at the time of going to press was the Annual General Meeting followed by the opportunity to see the photographic work of some group members.

Evan Williams