On Saturday 16 May 23 members met at the National Trust’s Longshaw Hall for a day’s birding organised by Derbyshire Ornithological Society. Alan Wragg, Steve Thorpe and his partner Rachel from DOS met us at 08.30. The aim was to find woodland and upland birds that in Peterborough we see on passage or not at all. There were 3 Jays near the car park before we walked through an avenue of rhododendrons with Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs singing loudly and Wrens and Robins singing too. After we passed the Hall we came to an area of flower-rich meadows and open ancient woodland. This was where we had our first targets with Common Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers showing well, notably a very confiding male Pied Fly which came and perched on a dead tree right in front of us. To our right was Longshaw Pond which, as well as the usual suspects such as Mallard and Moorhen, is a site for breeding Mandarin Ducks. Swallows flew above us and a Nuthatch was on a tree just beyond the pond at the side of the path. We continued on through Granby Wood, named after a son of the Duke of Rutland, and crossed the B6521 before traversing the bridge over Burbage Brook and entering Padley Gorge, an area of ancient sessile oaks and birch trees with the brook running through it. Dipper and Grey Wagtail were found in the Brook and a Treecreeper was above the path. What was first thought to be a Spotted Flycatcher turned out to be a female Pied. Spot Flycatchers appear not to have reached Padley yet and, at the outset, Alan and Steve had explained that Wood Warbler, formerly a shoe-in at Padley, has not bred there for two years and has not been seen this year. We re-traced our steps back to Longshaw Hall café for lunch before driving to Cutthroat Bridge on the A57 east of Lady Bower reservoir. After parking we walked back for 100 metres before crossing over the road and climbing along the rocky path to gain a vantage point looking out towards the moor. Red Grouse and Ring Ouzel were soon found in good numbers as were Golden Plover, Curlew and Lapwing. Kestrel, Buzzard, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit added to the count.
We got all our target species and everyone was delighted, expressing their gratitude to Alan, Steve and Rachel for their planning and guiding. They offered to repeat the visit next year to some different locations and we look forward to that very much. KEITH
BIRD LIST : Jay Blackcap Chiffchaff Robin Wren Willow Warbler Common Redstart Pied Flycatcher Mallard Mandarin Duck Moorhen Nuthatch Blue Tit Great Tit Chaffinch Greenfinch Great Spotted Woodpecker Siskin Mistle Thrush Swallow Collared Dove Wood Pigeon Pied Flycatcher (F) Dipper Grey Wagtail Treecreeper Goldfinch Dunnock Blackbird Long-tailed Tit
Swift Red Grouse Ring Ouzel Meadow Pipit Linnet Stonechat Golden Plover Curlew Lapwing Kestrel Common Buzzard Raven Jackdaw Carrion Crow Pied Wagtail
Essex, Kent and East Sussex Trip
May 19, 2026
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Richard's Poster
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May 7, 2026
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Hi, this site has been upgraded recently
replaced Calendar with an Events tab
you can see a summary of all the events in one place using the download button on the new Events page
new Species tab showing all the species that have been seen, when and where. It allows you to search for a particular species eg. Snow Bunting and see when it has been seen and where.
A few bugs have also been addressed
Trip Report Castor Hanglands
May 4, 2026
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20 of us met at Willowbrook Farm on Sunday for the annual visit into Castor Hanglands to listen to Nightingales. As I explained it has not been a great year this year and the monitoring group reached 16 singing males last Friday. On Sunday we eventually got to 6 or 7. But there was a good selection of other species, see below. Let me know what I have missed. It was a pleasure to welcome several new members and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings, both outdoors and indoors. I should add that I discovered this morning that yesterday was International Dawn Chorus Day so our trip was timely.
List: Greylag Goose Swallow Pied Wagtail Goldfinch Common Whitethroat Red Kite Wren Blackcap Garden Warbler Nightingale Robin Wren Chaffinch Great Spotted Woodecker Greenfinch Tree creeper Song Thrush Blackbird Crow Wood Pigeon Chiffchaff Willow Warbler Blue Tit Great Tit
Details of the arrangements for the Padley Gorge trip on 16/5/26
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.
No facilities at this location but depending on how long people want to spend here we can stay until we’ve seen/enjoyed enough.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
May 3, 2026
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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
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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
Trip Report – Great Bustard – 26-28th April 2026
May 1, 2026
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The latest PBC out-of-area trip was to Salisbury Plain and The New Forest. It was attended by 14 club members – Bob, Clare, Hilary, Ian H, Jayne, Judy, Kevin, Liz, Richard, Rozanne, Steve, Sue W, Sue Y & Tricia.
View from the back
We met at RSPB Winterbourne Downs, a reserve established to conserve Stone-curlew in Wiltshire. Inevitably we spent time trying to metamorphose lumps of earth or pieces of flint into a bird, but once we got our eye in, we managed to find five increasingly active Stone-curlews. They were then joined by the hares, who mindful of the array of optics pointed in their direction, put on an impromptu boxing display.
We then devoted a great deal of time searching for a Spotted Flycatcher flagged up by the Merlin App. We knew that it was a little early for these birds, but it was entirely possible that the first birds were starting to arrive in the south. Eventually we worked out that the sound was in fact coming from a newly hatched Chaffinch. Merlin’s great but it’s not infallible and we all learned something.
Our final bird of the day was a wonderful Garden Warbler perched out in the open singing its heart out. Merlin’s services were no longer required – we could clearly see and hear the bird.
We spent the second day in The New Forest (see pic) – we started at Telegraph Hill before moving on to Bolderwood. The weather was perfect, and the forest was full of the sound of birds. However, hearing birds was one thing, seeing birds was quite another. We could hear Firecrest everywhere, but it wasn’t until late afternoon that we eventually got a decent view of one.
Fortunately with perseverance and luck we returned to the hotel with a respectable tally including, Crossbill, Cuckoo, Dartford Warbler, Firecrest, Hawfinch, Marsh Tit, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Stonechat and Willow Warbler.
That evening we went out for dinner in Salisbury (see pic). On the way we made a brief visit to the cathedral where we were entertained by Peregrine and Swift.
Day 3 was the big day – the day of the Great Bustard tour courtesy of the Great Bustard Group. We were loaded into three Landrovers and taken up on to Salisbury Plain. Along the way, it was lovely to see so many farmland birds such as Corn Bunting, House Sparrow, Skylark, Whitethroat and Yellowhammer. On arrival at the hide we were rewarded with about a dozen Great Bustard. Let’s face it you can’t miss them – according to our guides, they are the largest flying bird in the world. And we got to see them fly; we saw males displaying and unimpressed females walking away feigning indifference (see pics courtesy of Kevin & Steve). Then, not to be outdone, the Stone-curlews joined in with some calling and a flypast. A trip out with the Great Bustard Group is definitely recommended.
We then adjourned to Honeystreet Café, in Honeystreet, Wilts (a delightful place) before heading home.
We saw loads of great birds and we had enormous fun.
What did we learn (apart from Merlin can’t differentiate between an adult Spotted Flycatcher and a baby Chaffinch)? We learned that Great Bustard are a little bit easier to spot than Firecrest!
The Great Fen - Woodwalton Fen NNR
Apr 29, 2026
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19/04/26
14 members attending
This was an early morning walk to see and hear Warblers at a reserve which has traditionally held good numbers of a wide variety of warblers. Unfortunately when we arrived at 0700 there was a note on the entrance advising the south end of the reserve was closed due to deer control. So we were only able to use the north end of the reserve from the bungalow. First bird seen was a Treecreeper as we left the cars. A cuckoo was also heard. We walked to the bungalow then headed for the large Northern reedbed. A Mistle Thrush was singing and showin well close to the bungalow Enroute to the hide we heard the first of several Grasshopper Walkers reeling and Sedge, Willow Warblers and Black cap all singing. Once we reached the hide almost immediately a Ringtailed Hen Harrier was seen being chased by a male Hen Harrier and eventually driven out of the reedbed. After that excitement we settled down and watched the Male Marsh Harrier and the 2 females he is supporting. We then made our way via the bungalow to the western flood wall with a view over farm land. En-route we added Cettis Warbler to our total. Fronm the western bank we had excellent views over the recently acquired farmland in the process of being rewilded. This rough, wet land was being hunted by 2 male Marsh Harriers which seemed most interested in the many Snipe in the small pools. We then headed back across the reserve to the entrance. Some present called it a day and the remainder followed the Great Raverly Drain north to the pumping station. Here we had a Buzzard overhead and then a Spparrowhawk being harassed by a pair of Corvids. This area also held plenty of singing warblers including Blackcap and Chiffchaf. Heading back to the entrance a small detour was made to try and find a previously reported Whitethroat. Unsuccessfully alas. As we left the parking space a Red Kite was scavenging farmland for carrion.
Overall a very good result with some excellent birds seen and/or heard considering we were unable to access the south half of the reserve whick holds some of the best warbler habitat
This walk was explore the area SW of Maxey following the new reserves that have been opened by the Langdyke Trust between the Maxey Cut and the South Drain. . Over the last 2 years Langdyke have taken over management of College Pit,John Clare Pit, Westings Pit and Pochard Pit. A large amount of scrub has been cleared and a path created linking these pits and creating a walkway through the area so there is now a continuous circular walkway Maxey Road and Main Road and back again. We were fortunate that Langdyke Trust allowed us the use of their car park and Steve Zealand who manages the new pits joined us for the walk.
The first sighting, as we parked our cars was a semi leucistic Dunnock on the hedge.. A great site with a pure white head and upper body. We thwn walked through the area covered by the 4 new pits. Here the highlights were a pair of Red-crested Pochard and Common Pochards. Following the trail through the pits there was a good assortment of common water birds and we walked quietly past a nest box said to house a breeding Barn Owl. When we reached the green bridge we left the Maxey Cut and followed the Green Lane. Here there were floode pools in the field between the Cut and the Green Lane. Amongst others these pools held Avocet, Redshank and Lapwing. Also a first Willow Warbler was heard by 2 members. Finally we reached Vergettes Meadow, which is a large reedbed that often holds breeding Marsh Harriers. On reaching Main Rod we turned left and followed the road to the Maxey Cut and turning left onto its North Bank. An interesting sighting here was 4 Goosander (2 pairs ?) this was a good sign for breeding again this year. We followed the bank of the Maxey Cut back to our parking place and as we arrived there a Marsh Harrier flew past heading west.
A very pleasant walk.
Please click on link below to access the trip list.
