Castor Hanglands Morning Chorus And Big BreakfastOutdoor Event
Date
Location
Castor Hanglands
This, the second and more traditional of our Dawn Chorus walks, which is nicely followed by breakfast at the Granary café at Willowbrook Farm. As well as a good selection of warblers there should be several singing Nightingales. Last year was a good year for these so we hope to see as well as hear these elusive summer visitor. The breakfast is nice and timely at the end of a nice walk.
Anybody with an interest in nature, from beginner to expert, are welcome to join us on our Outdoor Events that are free. It is a good way to get to know existing members and possibly improve your expertise.
Meet: At 06:30 at Willowbrook Farm car park. The breakfast is optional with an associated charge dependent upon selection. Post code: PE6 7EL. Map ref: Leaders: Keith Lievesley
This, the second and more traditional of our Dawn Chorus walks, which is nicely followed by breakfast at the Granary
café at Willowbrook Farm. As well as a good selection of warblers there should be several singing Nightingales. Last
year was a go...
AGM and An Overview of Bird PhotographyIndoor Event
Date
Location
St Mark's Church Hall
Mike Alibone, the Optics Editor for Birdwatch magazine, will present a high-level overview of options for available equipment, of in-field photography and of post-photographic techniques for obtaining quality images of birds.
Mike Alibone
From standard photography, through digi-scoping and phone-scoping to contemporary software use, Mike will look at how to improve what goes into and comes out of your camera, with an emphasis on improving the end result.
Indoor Events are free to members and we warmly welcome nature loving non-members for a small donation of £2.50 cash on the door —————————— PETERBOROUGH BIRD CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 13TH MAY 2026 AT ST. MARK’S
CHURCH HALL.
AGENDA
1. Apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of 2025 AGM.
3. Chairman’s Report.
4. Treasurer’s Report.
5. Appointment of independent auditor.
6. Honorary Members.
7. Election of Committee members.
8. Election of Officers:
• Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Membership secretary
• Web-site officer
• Indoor Meetings Organiser.
• Outdoor Meetings Organiser
• Safeguarding Officer.
9. Nominations of bank signatories (3).
10. Proposal - days for midweek outdoor meetings to be variable.
11. Date of next AGM - 28 April 2027
———————————
PETERBOROUGH BIRD CLUB
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 30th April 2025 at 7.30pm in
St. Marks Church Hall, Peterborough.
Apologies for absence.
14 members of the Club attended with apologies from Richard
Whitticase, Rozanne Williams, Hilary Hoyle, Graham Boyden, Mark
Cunningham and Judy Potts.
Minutes of the 2024 AGM.
The Chairman asked if the minutes of the last AGM were a true
record. The motion that the minutes of the last AGM were accepted
as a true record was proposed by Ian Wilson and seconded by
Stewart Short and passed unanimously as a true record.
Chairman’s report for the year.
Having meetings at St Marks Church Hall has proved to have been
worth it, all the radiators now work and we provide our own
refreshments. Recruitment to the Club has been discussed by the
Committee as our ageing membership has lost us some members.
However, word of mouth and low key articles have had some
success resulting in the recruitment of two young members.
Unfortunately, our contact at the ARU failed to meet expectations.
Our financial position has improved helped by the lower cost of the
new venue. The White Hart at Ufford provides us with a free room for
Committee meetings. Our website has been improved and
continued improvement is dependent on our hosts. Unfortunately,
the number of members attending both indoor and outdoor
meetings in the post-Covid period are still down.
The current membership stands at 70 (68 adult and 2 youngsters)
compared to 84 a year ago, with 7 Honorary members. The Club lost
25 members during 2024-2025 but gained 11 with some more to be
added.
Indoor talks this year have ranged from John Clare Countryside to
Scotland and Spain, from Cuckoos to Stonechats and Seabirds with
an interesting talk on avian influenza.
Ian Gordon and Stewart Short have taken on the role of planning the
outdoor meetings from Bob Titman. However, bad weather once
again affected attendances at some of the early year meetings. After
some discussion the Committee has concluded that the closer
meetings tend to get better attendances with venues like Titchwell,
Frampton and the Brecks being at the limits of the distance to travel.
However, a reciprocal visit with the Derbyshire Ornithological Society
may be arranged. Richard Whitticase has organised weekend trips
further afield to East Yorkshire and Kent in 2024 and 4 days in North
Wales in May this year. All have been excellent trips producing
brilliant birds, especially in North Wales. The next is Essex in
September.
The Club’s website continues to be developed and improved with
further improvements to come. A link has been made with Vine
House Farm for members to get a discount on on-line purchases.
Also a link has been made with the Langdyke Trust.Treasurer’s Report.
The Treasurer reported a balance of £4360 in December 2024, up
from £4015 in 2023 giving a profit of £345 in 2024 compared with a
loss of £170 in 2023. Incomes rose from £1029 in 2023 to £1528 in
2024 helped by a donation from Vine House Farm and the sale of
books donated by members. Total subscriptions increased by £30.
Mike Mills, who has a long financial background, kindly agreed to
review the accounts with Richard and confirmed them to be true and
accurate.
Appointment of independent auditor.
Mike Mills has agreed to act as auditor and the Chairman’s proposal
to re-appoint him was agreed unanimously.
Honorary members.
The current honorary members are: Nicholas Watts, Charlie Kitchen
(warden, RSPB Nene Washes), Jon Taylor (warden, RSPB Ouse
Washes), Philip Parker (warden, Kings Dyke), Sarah Lambert, Chris
Park (Nene Park Trust) and David Needham (Peterborough Natural
History Society).
The proposal from the Chairman to re-confirm them as Honorary
members was put to the meeting.
The proposal was agreed by the members present.
Election of Committee Members.
The current committee members standing for re-election were Annie
Fox, Ian Gordon, Adrian Hallam, Keith Lievesley, Bob Payne, Stewart
Short, Richard Whitticase and Ian Wilson. The Chairman asked if
there were any further nominations. None were forthcoming.
The proposal from the Chairman to re-confirm them as committee
members was put to the meeting.
The proposal was agreed by the members present.
Election of Officers.
The current committee officers appointed at the AGM in 2024 are:
Keith Lievesley - Chairman and Indoor meetings organiser.
Richard Whitticase - Treasurer.
Bob Payne - Secretary.
Ian Wilson - Membership secretary.
Adrian Hallam - IT officer.
Ian Gordon and Stewart Short - Outdoor meetings organisers.
The Chairman made the proposal to re-appoint the current officers
to the meeting.
The proposal was agreed by the members present.
Adoption of the Safeguarding Policy.
The Chairman proposed that the Safeguarding policy, previously
circulated to members,m be adopted by the Club.
The proposal was adopted by the members present.
Election of the Safeguarding Officer.The Chairman proposed Ian Wilson as the Safeguarding officer and
Bob Payne as the Deputy Safeguarding officer.
The proposal was agreed by the members present.
Nomination for Bank signatories.
The current three cheque signatories are Richard Whitticase, Kieth
Lievesley and Bob Payne.
The Chairman proposed to the meeting that the three signatories be
re-appointed.
The proposal was agreed by the members present.
Date of the next AGM.
Next year’s AGM will be held on Wednesday 29th April 2026
Mike Alibone, the Optics Editor for Birdwatch magazine, will present a high-level overview of options for available equipment, of in-field photography and of post-photographic techniques for obtaining quality images of birds.
[Mike Alibone]
From...
This trip is organised with the support of Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS).
The plan is to arrive at Padley Gorge at 08.30 AM, to ensure parking, to look for species such as Wood Warbler and Common Redstart before going to Cutthroat Bridge, east of Ladybower Reservoir, to look for upland birds such as Red Grouse, Ring Ouzel, Golden Plover, Whinchat, etc. This is a good chance to see birds which are either not found in our area or are only seen on passage. DOS have a bird race on the 9th so that will give their members guiding us an up-to-date picture of what is around and where. It should be a good day, even with an early start. More details will follow on how to get there and where to park at Padley.
Padley Gorge
Anybody with an interest in nature, from beginner to expert, are welcome to join us on our Outdoor Events that are free. It is a good way to get to know existing members and possibly improve your expertise.
Facilities - parking cost £6, NT members free. Toilets available at the Hall, which we will be passing on the first part of our walk.
The walk will last around 2 hours. We will progress after the Hall past the pond and down into Padley Gorge. The walk is on tracks with some steps, rocky areas in the Gorge itself so walking boots are required. There is one steep section to access the upper part of the woods and onto the moorland at the top.
On return to the car we can utilise the café to get some refreshments before moving onto our second location.
This trip is organised with the support of Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS).
The plan is to arrive at Padley Gorge at 08.30 AM, to ensure parking, to look for species such as Wood Warbler and Common Redstart before going to Cutthroat Bridg...
A second visit to the Brecks. This time to the fabulous RSPB Lakenheath Fen reserve. The reserve is recently extended with additional land added along the river. At this time of year, we have an excellent chance of multiple Bittern sightings, nesting Marsh Harriers, Hobby hawking dragonflies and Cuckoos. There is also a chance of seeing the breeding Crane population. Please carry a packed lunch and drink with you as the plan is to take lunch at Joist Fen to give the maximum time searching for target species from this fabulous viewpoint.
Anybody with an interest in nature, from beginner to expert, are welcome to join us on our Outdoor Events that are free. It is a good way to get to know existing members and possibly improve your expertise.
Meet: At 10:00 at the visitors centre car park at RSPB Lakenheath. This has entry charges for non-members. Post code: IP27 9AD. Leaders: Stewart Short/Ian Gordon
A second visit to the Brecks. This time to the fabulous RSPB Lakenheath Fen reserve. The reserve is recently
extended with additional land added along the river. At this time of year, we have an excellent chance of multiple
Bittern sightings, ne...
