DATE: Thursday 26th November 2026
TIME: 7.30pm to 9.30pm
A BIT ABOUT THE SPEAKERS AND THEIR TALKS: Members' Night means 4 club member speakers with 4 mini talks of about 20 mins each. Always a highlight of the talks season!
“Fieldwork to finished painting” with Mark Boyd
You may have seen him wielding a blunt pencil in a local hide, but what happens to his drawings or field paintings next? In this talk, Mark will run through some of the thinking that accompanies his pencil - in the hope that it may also encourage you to have a go - before going on to show how it relates to some of his finished work, which varies from heavily abstracted paintings via brush drawings and original prints to ceramics. He is gearing up for his first one-man show “Birds out of line” in the Cley NWT Visitor Centre from 2nd-15th December.” Mark moved to Holt seven years ago, having been a north Norfolk birding regular since the 1970s. Following natural science degrees, he spent most of his working life communicating nature conservation as a writer, editor and educator, but one of his real passions is for drawing and painting wildlife, especially birds.
“An introduction to birding on Arran” with Trevor Williams
Trevor will share his recent discovery of the wonderful and varied birdlife of this beautiful yet accessible Scottish island. Often described as Scotland in miniature, the island habitats provide sanctuary for some fascinating species - where all three regular diver species occur, eagles and Hen Harrier are reasonably common, where sea-birds are plentiful and can be enjoyed on the short 'pelagic’ ferry crossing, where the occasional rarity turns up - most recently Surf Scoter and Black-headed Bunting, and mythical Dotterel and Ptarmigan can be looked for in breath-taking and remote mountain landscapes. With good birding intel yet plenty of opportunity to find your own, Arran is an ideal birding holiday destination. Founder member of NENBC and Club Chair through to 2025, you all know Trevor and here he is talking again on a new passion.
“Researching in the fjords - what could possibly go wrong?” with Tim Turner
A summary of an 18 day research trip to Porsanger fjord, Northern Norway during May this year. A team of eight wader enthusiasts monitored Knot in the Fjord system as the Knot transited the area enroute to the breeding grounds in Greenland and Ellesmere Island ,Canada. All part of a twenty five year project sponsored by Norway's Natural Environment body. What we did, what we saw and raw results from this trip and trends from the study. Accompanied by lots of photos and a few anecdotes.
"A few Islands off Australia" with David Harper
"Australia may be the largest island in the world, but its mainland is surrounded by hundreds of smaller ones. While visiting family and friends last winter, conveniently living in Perth, Adelaide & Brisbane, Maureen and I travelled to six of them.
This talk quickly hops between them, showing their unique wildlife." David retired to Cromer with his wife Maureen in 2015, after a career researching and teaching in fresh water ecology. Now he can be found (sometimes up to his waist) in the Bure, Wensum and their tributaries, extolling their values.
AT THE HALL: Those of you attending in-person at the hall can expect a selection of home-made cakes plus tea, coffee, hot chocolate, wine and cold drinks during the interval and of course the chance to socialise with other members. We can cater for gluten-free or other requirements if you let us know in advance. We have a 2nd hand ‘natural world’ book stall for you to purchase from / contribute your no-longer-required stock to, supplies of our publications to buy (including our annual bird reports), a display of member photos and details on our upcoming events. We are happy to offer members’ old birding equipment for sale at our events (or in our newsletter) with a contribution going to club funds.
BOOKING ARRANGEMENTS: It is always nice to know if you are coming to the hall but by no means essential so if it takes your fancy on the evening, please just turn up as we would love to see you and we have plenty of space!
ACCESSIBILITY: The hall is wheelchair accessible. The level car park at the hall is shingle but we can reserve a space next to the entrance if you need it.
GOING GREEN!: The hall isn’t really accessible by public transport but if you are able to walk or cycle to the event that would be fantastic! Alternatively, car-sharing is encouraged. Have a chat with folks at any of our events or message them through our website to arrange something for next time, or let us know and we will try to put you in touch.
DIRECTIONS: Gresham Village Hall, East Beckham Road off Church Lane, Gresham, Norfolk, NR11 8RT but note the published postcode might not take you to exactly the right spot! If you are coming through Aylmerton and Lower Gresham, turn right by the church (just after the school) and the hall is on your left. If you are coming through Gresham, turn left at the church (just before the school) and the hall is on your left. If you are dropping down from East Beckham, the hall is on your right opposite the church.
PARKING: Access to the hall car park is off East Beckham Road, opposite the church. There is additional parking on the road along the side of the church itself and an overflow car park has kindly been offered to us by Gresham Village School. The school car park is located on Cromer Road to the left of the school as you face it and at the left-hand end of the row of houses – about a 300m walk from the hall. Please park considerately to allow maximum number of cars in the car parks and on the road but with enough space for passing traffic to be able to get through, including agricultural vehicles. We can send you a map of the locality on request.
