British Owls, with Chris Sperring

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

How many pairs of Red Kite are breeding in the North Cotswolds?

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

Fourteen years of Peregrines at Cheltenham Christ Church

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

Goshawk Summer – An evening with James Aldred

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

New talk – Wednesday 30th November – “The Peregrine Falcon”

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

FIPL grant success

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

The return of the Halmore Hobbies

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

Christ Church Peregrines Update

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.

Goshawk Monitoring Project

Members of the Gloucestershire Raptor Monitoring Group (GRMG) have been monitoring the county’s Goshawk population for over 20 years, gathering a wealth of information on the distribution of breeding pairs, timing of breeding and productivity. The Goshawk’s secretive lifestyle has, however, limited the number of ringing recoveries to a handful of records of dead and … Read more

A collaboration for Cirencester Peregrines

GRMG, Raptor Aid and Cirencester Wildlife Group collaboration to install a Peregrine nest box on the roof of St John the Baptist Church, Cirencester. We are delighted to report that on 18 December 2020 this Peregrine nest box was installed by Raptor Aid in conjunction with GRMG, the Cirencester Wildlife Group and St John the … Read more

Summer of the Hobbies

Many thanks to Chris Newton for sending in his story of how the summer of 2020 gave him a passionate interest in the Hobby. Chris’s excellent observations from close to his Severnside home covers the entire season from the establishing of a territory to return migration, and his notes are accompanied by some superb images. … Read more