| 10
Jan 2008 |
“Taiwan
– the other China” by Ann and Phil Farrer
Ann
& Phil's talk was an excellent insight into the relatively
unknown world of Taiwan. The reason for the general lack
of knowledge is not the result of any government secrecy, far
from it, it is simply the lack of the usual facilities that make
so many places tourist havens.
The
trip started in Taipei and went down the west coast before going
into the Chungyang Shanmo, the high mountain range that forms
the backbone of the island. Following a brief visit to the east
coast they went to Lan Yu a small island off the south east
coast, peopled by indigenous Taiwanese. The birds were
truly spectacular and the presentation, both with the excellent
photographs and the great delivery made the evening truly
memorable.
|
| 7 Feb
2008 |
“Scilly
Rarities and Silly Twitching” Chris Ward.
A
really different and unusual but nevertheless fascinating
talk. Chris divided his presentation clearly into two
halves in the reverse order of the title. The first half
was spent trying to persuade us that we all were twitchers at
heart to a greater or less degree. He proceeded to give
examples of twitching trips he had been on and illustrated these
with excellent photographs. He used to be a self confessed
twitcher and used to go on extreme trips to catch a glimpse of a
rarity and agreed that he must have been mad to undertake some
of them. Whether it was due to awareness of the carbon footprint
that he was leaving behind he undertakes far fewer trips of this
type. He managed to convince very few of us that we were
twitchers though that did not take anything away from his talk.
The
second half was a fascinating description of a visit to the
Scillies in time for the October arrival of rarities. He
contrasted the different scenery of the main four islands and
showed the relatively minimal impact the bird watchers have on
the islands apart from the increase in income to the
islanders. Whilst showing us mass crowds trying to see a
rarity it was possible to get away from them with comparative
ease and enjoy the beauty and quietness of this beautiful area
|
| 6 Mar
2008 |
“On the
Trail of the Crane” Ralph & Brenda Todd.
Ralph
and Brenda have a passion for cranes. This was evident when
Ralph, supported by his wife Brenda, gave an inspiring talk on
their quest to observe this small group of birds, less than
twenty species world-wide, which are well-spread across the
globe. The talk was well supported by excellent photography
including close-ups of individual birds and spectacular images
of cranes en masse on migration. An excellent lecture.
|
| 3 Apr
2008 |
“Butterflies
Across Europe” Martin Davies.
Martin
gave us a fascinating insight into the many varieties of
butterfly that occur within the palearctic region. His
talk covered a wide range of this region and covered the area
within Finland, Morocco and the Canary Isles. His
knowledge is extensive and his photography excellent. He
is an enthusiast par excellence and his talk stimulated the
group. A really excellent talk.
|
| 1 May
2008 |
“The Great
Fen Project” Chris Gerrard.
Chris
gave a real insight into the working for a new wetland project
as carried out by the Wildlife Trust. It was particularly relevant as
it could be compared with the development of the RSPB Otmoor
Reserve. The Great Fen Project aims to restore over 3000
hectares of fenland habitat between Huntingdon and Peterborough.
In doing so it will connect Woodwalton Fen NNR with Holme Fen
NNR to create a very large site with conservation benefits for
wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people. A truly fascinating talk.
|
| 11
Sept 2008 |
“Time to
Fly – Bird Migration” by Graham Appleton.
Bird
migration could seem to be the subject of a very academic
lecture. How wrong that would be! Graham who is head of Fundraising & Publicity with
BTO gave a very varied and thoroughly exciting insight into the
movement of birds through the various seasons. His talk
varied from the humorous to the more serious, but Graham never
ceased to entertain the group. We look forward to having
him back in the future.
|
| 2
Oct 2008 |
“The
re-introduction of the Great Bustard” David Waters.
David
is the original member and founder of the Great Bustard Group
and gave a clear insight into the background to the introduction
of Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain from 2004 and planned up to
2013. The birds have been obtained from Saratov in Russia
and the methods used in the capture and in the quarantine and
ultimate release of these graceful birds was covered in
detail. It was good to learn that after a number of years
criticism, the RSPB seem to have come aboard the project and it
is hoped that we can give more news later.
A
small number of the group are to visit Salisbury on 12th October
and a report on this visit can be seen on the web site.
|
| 6
Nov 2008 |
“Highlights
of Local Wildlife around Llangollen” John L Roberts.
John
has lived in the Llangollen area for the last twenty five years
and has studied the flora and in particular the fauna in
considerable depth. His talk cover several habitats, from
the streams and rivers, to the lowland areas near the rivers, to
the lowland ancient woodlands and upland forests. His talk
covered the various breeding habits of many different birds and
the difficulties encountered when trying to get photographs of
nests high in trees.
|
| 4
Dec 2008 |
“Our
Polish Christmas and Spring” Bob and Ann Scott.
For
a change the talk was given by Anne on her own. She explained
how they had met with Marek Borkowski
at the Bird Fair at Rutland Water and how they had struck up a
really close friendship. (Marek, many of you will remember
visited us in November 2004 and gave us an insight into his work
in Poland). Sometime later Marek had invited
Anne and Bob to visit him in Poland and suggested that Christmas
would be an ideal time. Not unnaturally they jumped at the
idea and the talk was initially based on their wonderful
experiences with him at his home and the exploration of the
frozen marshes. The second half was based on a return to
visit Marek in the spring some couple of years later during
which time they managed to see many birds and other natural
features, which were well illustrated. An ideal talk fir
the last meeting of the year.
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