Sussex Ornithological Society has arranged a series of free online webinars for the winter months and Surrey Bird Club members are welcome to attend. The next one of these is entitled :

Raptor persecution and its impact: RSPB Wildlife Crime Unit

Tuesday 21 February 2023, 7 pm

The RSPB team are keen to reach out to birders on how to act and what to do if they come across something ‘suspicious’ in the field. Case studies will be mentioned from Southern England during the presentation.

Further details can be found at:

Sussex Ornithological Society’s online webinars | Eventbrite

29/01/2023

Biodiversity is hard to measure, poorly understood, mobile, mostly invisible and inherently complex. The last COP9 agreement, from 2010, was an abject failure, where not a single target was reached. A key focus of the recent Montreal global biodiversity conference, COP15 (held jointly with Kunming, China), was ‘30×30’: protecting at least 30% of land and sea by 2030.

Just before Christmas, the meeting secured an historic global framework (The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2030.  This was apparently forced through by the Chinese president, ignoring objections from some African states who wanted … Read more

The birding fraternity has seen a shift in attitudes recently, with many birders turning their attention from twitching to more intensive study of a local patch. The advantages of watching a local patch are obvious. Low fuel costs, environmental benefits and travel time aside, great pleasure can be derived from getting to learn a place inside out, adding detailed information to the bird databases and getting value from common species that otherwise wouldn’t get a second glance. The Patchwork Challenge adds a structure and a little friendly competition to patch birding.

The score each bird earns will be related to … Read more

Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year to all members.

21/12/2022 (Photo: Colin Varndell at Tice’s Meadow)

Last week saw the official handover of Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve to Surrey County Council. This wildlife haven on the outskirts of Farnham saw its long-term future safeguarded when a partnership of six councils came together in December 2021 to purchase the site and protect it as a natural space. 

Surrey County Council acquired the site from Hanson UK with funding support from Hampshire County Council, Guildford Borough Council, Waverley Borough Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Farnham Town Council.  The 55 hectare former quarry site which is fully restored as a nature reserve now forms part of the Surrey County … Read more