Banbury Ornithological Society

The BOS has published annual reports since 1966. Each report summarises the activities of the society over the year and a review of the bird sightings.

A status update is provided for each of the reserves the society owns and manages. A detailed report on the ringing undertaken is provided along with results. Fieldwork activities, including a our summer and winter surveys, is summarised. A major part of the report is the Systematic List, which is an annual review of the sightings and status for each of the bird species on the list.

Each member of the BOS is supplied a printed copy of the Annual Report as part of their membership fee. Copies of the report are distributed to the county bird clubs and national ornithological organisations.

Digital copies of older reports are available for reading from the list presented below. Note that the reports from 1989-2002 have the membership list omitted since those reports also included the addresses of members.

Content may be reproduced in part as long as it is suitably credited to the society and, where relevant, the author of the material.

A combined list of contents has been compiled to make it easier to locate specific material: Contents of BOS Annual Reports.

Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury visited the BOS reserve at Balscote Quarry recently, to see conservation in action. Steve Holliday, one of the site wardens said, “Balscote may be a small site (6ha) but, through positive management, it holds Red List birds such as Lapwing and Yellowhammer, 24 species of butterfly and much more." We looked at the vital role volunteers play in habitat management on site and, in light of BOS data on local bird declines, how we can develop a more joined-up approach to nature conservation locally. We finished by discussing how new proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill can benefit, not harm, biodiversity.

Two Islands - Handa, Scotland & The Farnes, Northumberland - Graham Lenton

Handa a beautiful island off the north-west coast of the Highlands of Scotland boasts up to 150,000 seabirds. Its location seems to have its own weather pattern and the island is uninhabited apart from a seasonal warden and reserve volunteers. It is accessed by a ten-minute ferry from the hamlet of Tarbet and its white sandy shores and clear blue waters make it appear almost tropical. The seabird colonies of puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake and fulmar are easily viewed from the top of the island where sea cliffs of the Torridonian Sandstone reach over 300ft (100metres). Other notable birds that breed on the island are great and arctic skua, stonechat, wheatear, cuckoo, twite, oystercatcher, arctic tern, common, herring and great black-backed gulls, shag, eider, red grouse, ringed plover, snipe, rock dove, meadow and rock pipit and reed bunting. Most of the divers can be seen flying or on the sea around the island and black guillemots are often seen in the bay. Read more ...

Annual Reports

Sean Woodcock MP visits Balscote Quarry

14 September 2026 - Indoor Meeting at 7.30pm