Banbury Ornithological Society - 1889 - The Birds of Oxfordshire, O.V. Aplin

This book, published by Oliver V. Aplin in 1889, presents the first definitive list of the birds of Oxfordshire. Aplin was a resident of Bloxham, just outside of Banbury, so there is a significant amount of content relating to the BOS coverage area.The bulk of the book is given over to a species-by-species account of all of the birds that were regarded has having occured within the county along with their current status.

The frontspiece is notable for giving pride of place to an Alpine Chough, shot in the locality, but much disputed, even at that time, as not being a wild bird but rather more likely being an escape.

There are 242 species listed, of which 60 are classified as resident and 71 migrants, the rest being occasional or accidental visitors. 92 species are noted as being regular breeders.

A digital copy of the book can be downloaded and read from this link: The Birds of Oxfordshire.

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.

The Gambia - Richard Hall

Richard has visited The Gambia a couple of times and will explore the different habitats and regions of The Gambia as well as giving us some ideas of what birds are likely to be seen.

The Long Day Count is carried out by teams of observers in each of the twelve 10km squares recording the number of bird species seen during a maximum of 12 daylight hours on the second Sunday in May each year. Read more ...

1889 - The Birds of Oxfordshire, O.V. Aplin

Sean Woodcock MP visits Balscote Quarry

13 April 2026 - Indoor Meeting at 7.30pm

Long Day Count: 2 or 3 May 2026