Meetings
Indoor meetings will restart at the Banbury Cricket Club from January 2022 unless Government restrictions are re-imposed. Please note that the entrance to the cricket club has been redesigned and is no longer in Whitepost Road. Coming from Banbury from the roundabout follow the road into Bodicote, but do not turn left into Bodicote but follow the road into the new Davis Wilson Homes estate, Blackwell Drive. Turn left off Blackwell Drive before you get to the houses, as if you are going into the new primary school car park, but go right onto the club drive. A sign is on order and may be in position by the January meeting. View map.
The BOS will endeavour to take all Covid19 precautions; hand gel will be available and members are asked to wear face coverings in line with Government rules. The programme is still in development for the latter part of the year and may be subject to change.
13 December 2021 - Meeting via Zoom @ 7.30pm
The AGM and Quiz.
10 January 2022 - Indoor Meeting @ 7.30pm
A Members' Evening - Mike Pollard and Chris Mason will give us an update on the species they each study in the Banbury area. Read more ...
14 February 2022 - Indoor Meeting @ 7.30pm
Adventures in Peru - Alan Peters
In his illustrated talk Alan will describe a trip taken in November 2019 visiting a range of wonderful habitats from the Pantanos de Villa marshes south of Lima to see Great Grebe, Cinnamon Teal, Black Skimmer and many other species amongst 1000’s of Franklin’s Gulls while squadrons of Peruvian Pelicans patrolled just offshore. Going out in a fishing boat to circle an uninhabited island to get up close and personal with Neotropic, Guanay and Red-legged Cormorants and a small numbers Humboldt Penguins. Read more ...
14 March 2022 - Indoor Meeting @ 7.30pm
Sandwich Bay through the seasons: a video diary - Nick Smith
A talk illustrated by a film showing many of the birds and other wildlife around Sandwich Bay in southeast Kent. Filmed within the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory recording area, it covers a wide range of species as well as location shots and includes a sound track for many of the birds. Read more ...
11 April 2022 - Indoor Meeting @ 7.30pm
The Madagascar Pochard - saving the world’s rarest bird - Peter Cranswick WWT
Peter Cranswick has been at the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust for around 30 years, in recent times focusing on the conservation of threatened species. He enjoys project managing the new and unknown: aerial surveys of waterbirds, Flight of the Swans, saving the Madagascar Pochard – the more challenging - the better Read more ...
9 May 2022 - Indoor Meeting @ 7.30pm
Woodland Birds: What might the government’s tree planting targets mean for our birds? - Emma Garner CEH
Dr Emma Gardner is an ecologist and research fellow based at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. She works with researchers, NGOs, practitioners and stakeholders to investigate how human and biodiversity benefits can be achieved in tandem through woodland creation.
The government has pledged to increase tree planting to 30,000ha per year by 2025. This target is primarily motivated by the desire to use trees to absorb carbon dioxide, as part of efforts to arrest climate change. But where are all these trees going to go? If these targets really are put into practice, all these extra trees have the potential to drastically change our landscapes. Read more ...
Outdoor Meeting: 13 June 2022 @ 7pm
Details for this meeting will be pubished here and in the newsletter closer to the time.
Outdoor Meeting: 11 July 2022 @ 7pm
Details for this meeting will be pubished here and in the newsletter closer to the time.
Outdoor Meeting: 8 August 2022 @ 7pm
Details for this meeting will be pubished here and in the newsletter closer to the time.
Status of the Chaffinch in the BOS
In March 2020 the BTO launched their Chaffinch Appeal to raise funds to help them research why the UK population of Chaffinch is undergoing a significant decline. Read more ...
Winter Random Square Survey: 26 or 27 February 2022
A survey where observers are each given a randomly selected 1km square and record all species and numbers of each for a minimum period of 2 hours between 9am and noon. Read more ...