BTO bird identification

Identifying some raptors from one another can be a difficult task, especially when you see a lone bird and have nothing to compare it to. The most common mistakes made by many birders, both new and experienced, are knowing the differences between the Buzzards, the differences between Kestrel and Merlin…

January records

The GRMG website opened on December 16th 2014. Yesterday marked the end of our first complete calendar month of accepting records of raptor sightings. We would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to submit their records, and we very much hope that people will continue to do so….

Rob’s Goshawk Diaries

Rob Husbands has been out observing Goshawks for the past couple of weekends. Many reading this will be well aware of Rob’s experience with this species, but even he is still learning new things about them through observation. Although the main period for displaying Goshawks is generally March through to early…

Species information

A quick note to inform that the species pages have been further updated. Each species now has short sections covering a basic description of the bird, its habitat, diet, breeding and survival, as well as some local information on distribution and population. This information will be expanded on over time….

A request to photographers

Only a month or so since creating the gallery, and it was already starting to become apparent that in time it was going to become something of a disorganised mess! Furthermore, it was suggested by some at the January meeting that it would be potentially useful, particularly for novices, to have…

Meeting slides

We would like to express a huge thank you to everyone who attended our first meeting today. As promised, we will shortly be in contact with everyone who attended. In the meantime, this is just a brief message to say that the slides shown prior to the discussion are now…

Meeting information, January 17th

Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group would like to remind everyone that it is our inaugural meeting on January 17th at St. Peter’s RC High School (Stroud Road, Tuffley). This meeting will start at 10am and tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided. The meeting will be held in Pavilion at St….

Seen a Barn Owl?

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group, we now have another new group dedicated to the monitoring of one special species – the much-loved Barn Owl. The Gloucestershire Barn Owl Monitoring Programme (GBOMP) comprises a number of the members of GRMG, along with Andy Lewis…

5 years of Peregrines at Christ Church

We are very grateful to Dave Pearce for providing us with two articles about the Peregrines of Christ Church, Cheltenham. The first gives a great insight in to the lives of the birds and their breeding patterns, from pre-laying activity to laying, hatching, feeding, first flights, and eventual dispersal of young….

GRMG’s first meeting reminder

Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group would like to wish everyone a very happy new year. We have been busy preparing for our first meeting, which takes place at St Peter’s RC High School, Gloucester, on January 17th. Full details can be found here. Please remember to let us know if you…