Membership for 2004 reached 371, the highest total since the Society was founded back in October 1988. Council ran with one non-executive member short for part of the year. Mark Feltham in his role as Bird Report Editor, and Charles Hull as BTO Representative, were co-opted on to Council in April 2004. Derek Kelly was also co-opted for his expertise on Conservation; however, it was with regret that towards the end of 2004 Derek resigned from this position, so ending a long and valuable association with CAWOS Council. It is to be hoped that we can still call on him from time to time.

The Cheshire and Wirral Atlas, the biggest project ever undertaken by the Society, dominated the Society’s year, both in interest generated and workload! By the end of 2004 submissions for the first breeding season of the survey were received for 428 tetrads out of the county total of 670 (although not all of these have been covered in detail). Approximately 10,000 hours of recording were generated by over 300 observers, many of whom were both new to systematic bird recording, and non-CAWOS members. Hopefully, more CAWOS members will get involved – this will be essential to achieve full coverage of the county over the three-year survey period. As I write this in mid-February the first winter survey of the Atlas is drawing to a close.

Volunteers are still needed to help with other aspects of the project as well, like publicity and fundraising, data-inputting and so on. Special thanks go to David Norman for coordinating the project, David Cogger for handling the administration side, Geoff Blamire for setting up the import programmes for the CAWOS database and Andy Harmer for designing the Atlas website.

A very successful Recording Forum and Atlas Training Day was held on 28th February 2004, attended by 57 delegates. Besides looking specifically at the Breeding and Wintering Bird Atlas, short talks in the morning included ‘Recording and the Importance of Records’ and ‘Identification Hints’. Workshops were then held in the afternoon when delegates could choose to attend two out of three topics: ‘Submission of paper and electronic records’, ‘Identification’, and ‘Fieldwork’. Feedback afterwards was very positive, and everybody involved agreed the day was very worthwhile.

Brian Martin continued co-ordinating the House Martin Survey, which entered its 13th consecutive year.

The Society welcomes applications for financial support to assist projects or surveys within the county. CAWOS grants made last year included a grant towards the Nantwich Natural History Society’s feeding station at Hurleston, to enable it to operate all year round.

There are now approximately 170,000 records held within the CAWOS database, not including any Atlas submissions. 2004 records are currently being received and imported. An increasing number of contributors are now submitting their records electronically and this is a welcome trend, both in terms of reduced workload generated and also by reducing the potential for errors with manual inputting. It is, however, a big learning curve for some and their effort to submit in the ‘correct’ format is appreciated. Help and advice is always available.

A great deal of discussion was generated towards the end of 2004 by the new version of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR 2004), due to come into operation on 1st January 2005. ACRE, the Association of County Recorders and Editors, is seeking clarification on a number of issues on our behalf. This has meant that the exchange of records with rECOrd, our Local Record Centre, has been put on hold until the wider implications for biological recording societies and schemes, and other voluntary biodiversity organisations, resulting from these revised regulations are known and understood.

We were pleased that Howard Fearn took over the role of Rarities Secretary at the beginning of 2004; chasing up and collating county rarity descriptions is not an easy task.

The eight Local Area Representatives, each covering a Borough Council within the CAWOS recording area, continued to keep the membership informed of conservation issues within their areas via Bird News.

The Society contacted all County and Borough Councils to ensure that CAWOS is included on any mailing list on matters concerning wildlife conservation.

The role of Conservation Co-ordinator has still not been filled after Jeff Clarke resigned three years ago.

Input from the Society was provided where habitat was threatened by development or other activities, or to support various conservation projects. Examples of these include:

Congratulations go to the Bird Report Team, who continue to improve the standard and content of Cheshire & Wirral Bird Report. In March 2004 the Society learnt that the 2002 Bird Report had come ‘joint 3rd overall’ in the ‘Best Annual Bird Report Competition’ run by the BTO, with 50 out of a possible 53 points - three points more than the previous year’s report. 50 local bird reports published during 2002 had been considered for the award. We eagerly await the results from last year’s competition to find out how the 2003 Bird Report, published well before the agreed end of 2004 deadline, has fared.

At the end of 2004 Mark Feltham resigned his role as Bird Report Editor owing to pressure of work. Our thanks go to him for all his hard work over the last two years, and for the many new ideas he has brought to improve the Bird Report.

David Cogger and Richard Gabb continued to take responsibility for the distribution of the Bird Report, seeking new outlets and involving affiliated societies.

To reduce stocks held of back copies of Bird Reports, these are still available to members and other organisations for the cost of post & package, and a small donation where appropriate.

Bird News continues to receive high acclaim from both within and outside the Society. However, the newsletter has been without an official editor for three years now, though thanks must go to all the people who have stepped in to write a wide variety of Guest Editorials. Thanks also go to Hazel Raw for proofreading and Geoff Lightfoot for stapling Bird News.

A new printer was purchased at the end of 2004, specifically to keep the printing of Bird News ‘in-house’.

The task of cataloguing the wealth of information contained within Bird News is virtually complete, although it will obviously be an ongoing job to keep it up to date. Our thanks go to David Simmons for undertaking this job.

A 20% increase in the cost of the ‘Pre-paid in Cash’ postage, used to send out Bird News and the Bird Report, will cost the Society approximately £100 more a year.

Changes, corrections and additions to sites held within the Cheshire and Wirral Gazetteer have continued apace. Because of this it has proved impractical to print addenda showing these new sites. A new printed version of the Gazetteer will eventually be published. In the meantime an up-to-date electronic version is available on request, which will also be put on the CAWOS website shortly.

The website has not been updated as often as it should have been due to time constraints. However, it is still considered an important window to reach other birdwatchers, and the ‘Discussion Forum’ continues to provide a platform for the exchange of information and ideas.

A varied programme of indoor meetings was held in 2004:

- In January Keith Offord explained how the behaviour of birds is driven by a number of factors, none more so, arguably, than light.

- Whilst in February André Farrar, the RSPB Public Relations Manager, described how wetlands, and other important habitats and their birds, are under pressure from man’s activities.

- After the 2004 AGM, Tony Smith, Senior Crown Prosecutor, and Steve Hogarth, Police Wildlife Officer, brought us ‘Operation Easter’ a real-life ‘whodunnit’ about a recent wildlife case.

- Mike McKavett in October looked at bird migration along the ‘Great Eastern Flyway’ of North America.

- November took us to Venezuela and the great flood plains of Los Llanos, brought alive by David & Sigrun Tollerton.

- At the December meeting, held at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, Paul Hobson looked at the attractions of Florida as a great birding destination. Thanks to Paul for stepping in at short notice.

I would like to thank all those people who helped with the interval drinks and also Birdnet for supporting the majority of our meetings.

The Society aims to support and help where possible with the organisation and publicity of a number of outdoor events, including various workshops and guided walks.

The annual Migration Watch attracted many birders and the High Tide Birdwatches, organised by the RSPB and the Cheshire Countryside Management Service, provided the usual excitement.

CAWOS was represented at the ‘National Bird Club Forum’ held in Sutton Coldfield in February 2004, and attended by 47 bird clubs. It quickly became apparent that Cheshire and Wirral was unique within the country, in that there were such a large number of active RSPB Groups and local societies, meeting many of the needs of the county’s birdwatchers. A report to Council from those representatives who attended this inaugural forum formed a major topic for discussion during the year. This has resulted in specific actions being put into place.

The Society has successfully negotiated a further five-year renewable term with English Nature to manage the Observatory. The voluntary wardens and subcommittee members carried out external painting in 2004 and the place is in good shape. Permit numbers remain stable and with the bank account again showing a small profit, annual permit fees are yet again held at £7. The issue of day-permits has actually increased. Regarding access: it is necessary to retain some level of security and to limit the knowledge of the whereabouts of the key; however, each new permit holder will be sent a map with the key location marked.

It is with regret that I am stepping down as Chairman of CAWOS, having completed five years in this position. I would like to give sincere thanks to all the people involved with the running of CAWOS, who have given me such support over the last 5 years, but especially to the Society’s Secretary, David Cogger, who does so much and who works so tirelessly, to enable the smooth running of the Society. It has been a pleasure working with him.

It must be said that the question of workload within the Society is still a serious concern for Council and will continue to be debated in 2005. Realistically though, we either cut down on the number of projects or even the standard of publications produced by the Society, or we bring on board new volunteers. With the onset of the Atlas project, many new and enthusiastic people have become involved with CAWOS, which brings renewed optimism that the Society will continue to flourish in 2005 and beyond, without having to make any cutbacks.