Our next talk is coming up soon, on Thursday 7th December, when Dr Anthony Lowney from Hartpury University will talk about the tiny African Pygmy Falcon – Africa’s smallest bird of prey. Anthony spent seven years in South Africa where he carried out his PhD and post-doc at the University of Cape Town and in the Kalahari where he … Read more
Richard is a lifelong birder and photographer who lives on the Cotswolds and has studied Hobbies there for many years.With great patience – and with help from landowners and gamekeepers – he has found many territories and nest sites. Richard will share his detailed knowledge of this notoriously secretive species, and show his remarkable photos … Read more
The Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group has been studying the diet of goshawk using nest trail cameras for the five years 2017-22. In many nests the non-native grey squirrel constitutes a high proportion of prey delivered by the adults. Grey squirrel can cause significant damage to trees, recently estimated to cost £37 million a year across … Read more
Chris Sperring is a professional wildlife conservationist who has worked for the Hawk and Owl Trust for over 30 years. He also presents and broadcasts on TV and Radio, lectures on a wide range of subjects, is a wildlife photographer, and writes articles for magazines and newspapers… and always enjoys a good debate!Chris will talk … Read more
by Anna Field (January 2023) Last winter I was asked to estimate the number of breeding pairs of Red Kite Milvus milvus in the North Cotswolds for a presentation being given by Andrew Bluett. From a back of an envelope calculation based on breeding sites known to me and other local birders and suitability of … Read more
Many thanks to Dave for providing an update on his long term monitoring of the Peregrines at Cheltenham Christ Church, having added details about what turned out to be a disappointing 2022 season. The document summarizing the lives of the birds that breed at Christ Church can be downloaded here or found on the documents … Read more
Blackfriars Priory, Gloucester, GL1 2HN – Wed 11th Jan 2023. Come along to this historic venue and hear the Emmy Award-winning documentary wildlife cameraman and filmmaker talk about his work and his new book, which won the 2022 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. James has filmed around the world and has collaborated with Sir David … Read more
Our Winter Talks are up and running again and the first one is part of the launch of a major new book about the species, written by two Gloucestershire-based raptor enthusiasts, Richard Sale and Steve Watson. Using brilliant new video footage and photographs, Steve and Richard will give a detailed insight into the contents of … Read more
We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in our application for a grant under DEFRA’s new Farming in Protected Landscapes programme for 175 barn owl, little owl and kestrel boxes to be installed this winter in the North Cotswolds. We are working with over 30 farms and estates in the area to increase … Read more
by Chris Newton. A year ago I gave an account of a successful breeding attempt by a pair of Hobbies on farmland near my home in Halmore, Berkeley. I thought those who have seen that article would be interested in hearing what happened in 2021. Last year my final sighting of one of the adult … Read more
Many thanks to Dave Pearce for updating his chronicles of the Peregrines of Christ Church since 2010. The revised document is now available to download here. Dave is already looking forward to the coming season as we look forward to hearing his insightful observations.