In view of the success of the ‘Zoom’ meeting on Tues 20th Oct, which was the ‘Lost Peatlands Project’ talk by Mike Shewring, and of the Zoom presentation by Sophie-lee Willams of the Eagle Reintroduction Wales project on 5th Dec, we have now organised three more. These are listed in the events below. Joining links will be published a few days before each presentation.

As previously stated, the AGM which was scheduled for 28th April this year [2020] was cancelled and given the timescales we have decided to effectively have a 2 year summary etc at the AGM in 2021, which is currently scheduled to take place on 27th April, all being well. The accounts for 2019-2020 will also be presented at that meeting along with those for 2020-2021.

In normal circumstances, Glamorgan Bird Club indoor events are held at 7:45pm on the first Tuesday of each of the winter months at:

The Miners Welfare Hall, Heol-Y-Groes, Pencoed, Bridgend CF35 5PE.

The meetings will make a prompt start at 7:30 p.m. at this venue so please aim to be there at 7:15. This is because there is a finish time limit on the hall. It’s very close to J.35 of the M4. Here’s the details: Pencoed Miner’s Welfare Hall, 51-53 Heol-Y-Groes. CF35 5PE
M4 Junction 35
Take A473 North to Pencoed.
First left at the next roundabout, onto Felindre Road. Go past the Rugby Club and swimming pool on the left.
Turn right at the T junction onto Coychurch Road.
Turn right at the crossroads by the monument, just past a garage on the right.
The Miner’s Welfare Hall is on the left, access to the car park is just past the building. A map is below.

Contact: Paul Denning (01443 202607) for details.

2020

Tues 28th April – AGM – of necessity this was initially postponed but is now cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and there will be a ‘combined’ in 2021 – the date is at the end of this list. See also the top header on this page.

Tues 6th October – The lost peatlands project. Mike Shewring has been working on this initiative to try and restore our degraded peat uplands. We hope to learn about the work to bring these areas back to life. Snipe, Dunlin, Curlew, and Golden Plover rely on such habitats. This was held on Tues 20th Oct via Zoom, and had a remarkable 45 participants. We were very grateful to Mike for agreeing to give us his presentation via Zoom.

Tues 3rd November – 30 years of Glamorgan Bird Club. Richard Smith was one of the founding members. This is currently being written up by Richard as an article, possibly for the website.

Tues 15th December Zoom meeting – Eagle Reintroduction Wales project 7:30 p.m. Sophie-lee Williams will talk to us about an exciting project investigating the possibility of reintroducing Golden Eagle and possibly also White-tailed Eagle into Wales. This was very successful with 48 participants and Sophie-lee gave us a very interesting presentation.

2021

Tues 5th January – Zoom presentation – John Wilson will be giving a presentation about a trip to Thailand in January 2020 from which he and Anne, and also Paul Roberts of GBC [and Oriole Birding] returned to the UK not long before the dreadful pandemic hit us – lucky! Expect some stunning birds and scenery. Start time 7:15 p.m. – it’s a fairly long talk.

Tues 2nd February – Zoom presentation – North Africa. Paul Bowden will take us to warmer climes – Morocco, Libya and Egypt. His photos and video are always first class. Start time 7:15. A link to join the meeting will be posted on our Facebook page and also here and in the News section, on Sunday 31st Jan.

Weds 3rd March – Zoom presentation – Swifts. Edward Mayer will be talking all about Swifts, the subject obviously, of our biggest ever project. Start time 7:30 p.m.

Tues 27th April – AGM & Quiz – effectively a ‘dual’ AGM for 2019-20 and 2020-21. We will have to decide nearer the time as to what to do if large indoor gatherings are still taboo. Currently planned as a Zoom meeting.

Weds 5th May – Zoom talk – Rob Thomas on “Conservation of Welsh woodland birds in a changing climate”

Tues 1st June – Zoom presentation – Anthony Caravaggi will be talking about his research on the birds of the Severn Estuary. We have had to cancel this meeting as we have not been abole to make contact with the speaker recently.

Tues 6th July – Zoom presentation – Recording birds. The GBC Trustees will be discussing our Under-recorded Species project, highlighting ways in which we can all contribute.

Tues 3rd August – Zoom presentation – Richard Facey has has undertaken a long-term study into the gulls of Flat Holm island. He’ll be taking us through his research findings. Unfortunately Richard is indisposed at the moment and has requested a postponement of this presentation. We do not have a substitute.

Tues 7th September – Zoom talk – Mike Smart – Curlews in decline – Collour ringing of Curlews in South Wales”

Tues 5th October – GBC trustee and local BTO representative Wayne Morris will be telling us about our WOS funded “Willing for Willow Tits” project that we have been running for the past three years. Meeting is via Zoom starting at 7:30 p.m. Members please contact John Wilson for the login link – johndw1948 at gmail dot com.

Thurs 11th November – Tom Mabbett, a tour leader for the well known tour company Naturetrek, will be giving us a Zoom talk entitled “The Best of Britain – from Ardnamurchan to the Forest of Dean”. This is a new departure for us, taking advantage of Naturetrek’s offer of giving free talks to charitable wildlife groups. There are many to choose from but we chose this one has having a broad general interest.

Tues Dec 7th – A talk by Scott Mayson of the BTO on the BTO’s online recording facility, Bird Track, entitled ‘Getting the most from BirdTrack’ an introduction and delve into BirdTrack. This is where the majority of observers record their sightings now, so it will be very informative, especially if you are thinking of using it.