Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group was established in 2014 to contribute to the scientific knowledge of raptor populations within the county of Gloucestershire, to contribute to conservation, educate and inform others and to increase awareness of raptor persecution.

April records

Apologies for the lack of updates on the website over the last month. Needless to say, the group has been very busy what with the ongoing county Peregrine and Goshawk surveys, amongst other things which we’ll soon be able to provide news about. It’s been another great month again with…

March records

Thank you to everyone for continuing to send in your records of sightings to GRMG. March has been another successful month for the group, with lots going on (see previous posts), and a busy time ahead! Once again, predictably it was the Common Buzzard that was the most frequent addition to…

Species information updates

Our species information pages have now been updated with audio recordings of example calls of all of the species that GRMG monitors. There is only one recording per species, so it is in no way representative of the full repertoire of each bird, but hopefully some will find it to…

Goshawk ID morning at New Fancy

A few notes from Rob regarding the Goshawk ID morning that GRMG hosted this morning, in preparation for the county-wide Goshawk survey… The morning looked like it could be a washout when the group of a dozen or so set off to the top of New Fancy viewpoint. Everyone introduced…

Common Buzzard and Goshawk Lead Poisoning

Over the last two months the ICBP has had two birds admitted with cases of lead poisoning. This account explains further, and might help others recognise the symptoms in other birds in the wild. The first case was of a Common buzzard which was admitted to the hospital by a…

Monitoring pollutants in predatory birds

This poignant image was photographed on the hard shoulder of the M5. It’s a sad visual description of the dangers faced by our birds of prey every day – not just Barn Owls, as pictured here. This owl appears to have been in prime condition prior to what was almost…

Goshawk ID morning with GRMG

GRMG will be running a Goshawk identification morning on March 28th 2015 at New Fancy View in the Forest of Dean from 10am. This identification morning is being run by GMRG member Robin Husbands, an experienced nest finder and ringer. Rob currently spends a lot of time studying, observing and…

Rob’s Goshawk Diaries

Rob has updated his Goshawk Diary with the following entry… 07/03/2015 Goshawk display in full swing now, excellent weather today for soaring birds bright and breezy. Pairs are now nest refurbishing or prospecting for nest sites, spending more time around the nesting area proclaiming ownership of their territory by calling…

February records

We’ve just completed our second full month of collecting sightings, and we’re pleased to report that in February we received 261 records, totalling 390 birds. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to submit records. A quick tip for those that prefer to submit their records all in one go,…

Countryfile

Just a quick note to let everyone know that our Honorary President, Helen MacDonald will be appearing on Countryfile this Sunday, BBC1 at 7pm. “Ellie Harrison meets award-winning author Helen MacDonald and hears how Helen overcame personal grief through a love of goshawks and turned the experience into a literary…