Oriental Bird Club: Autumn Meeting 2016
The Oriental Bird Club has a stellar line-up of speakers for their autumn meeting to be held in the Wilkinson Room, St John the Evangelist, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8RN on Saturday 29 October 2016. Dr Nigel Collar will attempt to get to grips with the thorny question of 'How many bird species ARE there in Asia?' while Dr Per Alstrom will share insights (doubtless, as ever, including breaking taxonomic developments) on 'Birding in China — 1984 to 2016'. The RSPB's Paul Donald will present new detail on 'The Bengal Florican in India and Nepal' and OBC Chairman Mike Edgecombe will lead us on a journey to 'Remote Sulawesi — a search for hidden avian gems'. Rounding off the day will be the BTO's Dr Chris Hewson who will bring us the very latest on 'The Beijing Cuckoo Project: tracking migrations to engage, discover and inspire'. The meeting starts at 11:00 and all are welcome — please bring your friends.
Bengal Florican (Photo: Bhaskar Das/Oriental Bird Images)
Hot and cold drinks, snacks and cakes will be available all day. WildSounds will be selling books, and there will be a prize draw in aid of the OBC Conservation Fund. The prize draw will include a prize sponsored by BirdGuides, offering a one-year subscription to the Platinum news service.
Programme
| 10:30 | Doors open — hot drinks & cakes available |
| 11:00 | Opening remarks by the Chairman |
| 11:15 | The Bengal Florican in India and Nepal — new insights from satellite telemetry — Paul Donald, Principal Conservation Scientist, RSPB |
| 12:10 | Annual General Meeting |
| 12:40 | Lunch break — refreshments and sales |
| 13:40 | How many bird species ARE there in Asia? — Dr Nigel Collar, Birdlife International |
| 14:30 | Birding in China — 1984 to 2016 — Dr Per Alstrom, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| 15:20 | Break for refreshments & sales |
| 15:50 | Remote Sulawesi — a search for hidden avian gems — Mike Edgecombe |
| 16:30 | The Beijing Cuckoo Project: tracking migrations to engage, discover and inspire — Dr Chris Hewson, BTO Senior Research Ecologist, International Research Team |
| 17:15 | Prize draw and closing remarks by the Chairman |
| 17:30 | Meeting closes |
Parking in side streets around the venue is very limited and we recommend that you travel by rail where possible or use the park and ride service.
Walking time from Cambridge Station forecourt is 15 to 20 minutes. Walk up Station Road to the junction with Hills Road and turn left. The venue is on the left hand side of Hills Road, about 400m after it crosses the railway, directly opposite Homerton College. There is a frequent bus service from Drummer Street bus station via the railway station forecourt, and along Hills Road. For a map, see here.
Further information is available at: www.orientalbirdclub.org/2016/09/12/2016-autumn-meeting.
The Oriental Bird Club (OBC) is a volunteer-run registered charity that aims to encourage an interest in wild birds of the Oriental region and their conservation. It seeks to promote the work of regional bird and nature societies, and to collate and publish information on Oriental birds.
OBC publishes their BirdingASIA magazine twice annually; it's a world-class publication covering all aspects of Asian birds, birding and conservation, with plenty to entertain anyone with an interest in Asian birds, including of course UK birders interested in Asian/Siberian vagrants. The OBC also publishes Forktail magazine annually, a respected periodical which focuses on longer and more in-depth scientific papers.
If you'd like a FREE sample copy of BirdingASIA, please just email your home address to chrisgooddie@me.com. There is no postal charge either, and no obligation to join. The offer is open while stocks last, max one copy per applicant.
If you would like to join the OBC to help avian conservation in Asia, please just have a look at the Oriental Bird Club website.
