INDOOR MEETINGS FOR 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.

“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

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.