CAWOS INDOOR MEETINGS 2006 - 2007

All meetings are held in the Cranford Suite, Civic Centre, Toft Road, Knutsford, on the first Friday of the month, unless otherwise stated - please check the programme.

An entrance fee of £1.50 for members and £3.00 for non-members will be charged at all meetings except at the AGM when there will be free admission. A coffee break is taken halfway through the evening.

The doors open at 7:30pm for a 7:45pm start.

For further information contact Sheila Blamire: email progsec@cawos.org

2006

6th October 2006 ‘WILDLIFE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC’ by Terry Pickford

Terry shares his love of this unspoilt part of eastern Europe with us tonight. The talk starts off with Terry’s early work with Czech Conservation groups to reintroduce Peregrines back into their natural environment in the mid-1980s from stock UK birds. This work was featured by the Nature Watch TV programme with Julian Pettifer. We’ll then see various aspects of wildlife throughout Bohemia and Moravia, including the Beskedy Mountains, taking in interesting habitats and the birds that can be observed. The talk also features ongoing attempts to reintroduce the Saker Falcon back into parts of Southern Moravia using birds from captive bred stocks. The evening will conclude with the story of the reintroduction of the White-tailed Sea Eagle from a German captive breeding project into the Trebonsko Reserve south of Prague.

3rd November 2006 ‘BIRDING LA MANCHA & EXTREMADURA’ by Allan and Susan Parker

The talk tonight takes a look at these bird rich areas of central Spain, just a two and half hour flight from the UK. Birds such as Griffon Vulture, White Stork, Black-winged Stilt, Eurasian Bee-eater and many more species are common. We visit superb birding areas which include La Serena with both Little and Great Bustard; Monfrague National Park with breeding Griffon, Black and Egyptian Vulture, plus many other birds of prey and also Black Stork; the Gredos Mountains with Rock Thrush, Alpine Accentor, Ortolan Bunting and Firecrest; and the La Mancha lagoons of Pedro Munoz and Miguel Estaban where Black-winged Stilt, Great Reed Warbler, White-headed Duck and Purple Gallinule all breed. The superb scenery is shown along with much of the area’s flora and fauna.

1st December 2006 ‘IN PURSUIT OF PENGUIN’S by Tom Lawson

‘In Pursuit of Penguins’ starts at Tasmania, visits Macquarie Island, then on to the Ross Sea in Antarctica, before returning to New Zealand via the subantarctic islands of New Zealand. Tom will show us some of the amazing birds that can be seen during the trip, primarily penguins, albatrosses and petrels, but he will also cover the stunning scenery, the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, and the fascinating natural history of the various remote islands. A truly wild place not many people will have travelled to, and a talk not to be missed!

2007

5th January 2007 ‘BIRDS OF A WELSH MOORLAND’ by John Lawton Roberts

We’re very pleased to welcome John back tonight with his talk portraying the unique world of one of Wales’ most wildlife-rich moors, home to several birds now considered to be under threat. The ‘Welsh moorland’ in question has seen significant and interesting changes in its bird-life in the last 25 years. It’s one of Wales’ richest heather moors, intriguingly different from those even a short distance to the west. The talk looks at the birds themselves, their history over 30+ years and at some of the puzzles uncovered by a series of studies carried out in this period.

2nd February 2007 ‘THE RIVER’ by Paul Hobson

Water is a very important habitat for birds and Paul’s talk tonight looks at the life of a river, starting off as a tumbling, upland stream, down to the reed beds fringing the margins of the river in the quieter lowland reaches, and out into the vastly different world of the estuary. The species found in these, and other, river habitats are variable, and certainly include some of our favourite birds such as the Kingfisher. It should be an interesting and relaxing evening!

2nd March 2007 AGM followed by ‘50,000 HOURS OF FIELDWORK – FOR WHAT?’ by David Norman