We record the county's birds in our Annual Report, so we need your Records. We have a stunning Gallery, so we need your photos. We discuss things on Cambirds, we do Research, we have indoor Meetings, we have a Partnership with an African bird-club and we inform you with our regular Bulletins and lots more.
You can see 'What's About?' and we urge you to report promptly interesting sightings to the County Recorder
We hope you enjoy your visit and come back soon.
Please vote for the Photo of the Year 2011
VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED
The winner and runner-up will be announced at the AGM on March 9th
Click here to see then entries
Next indoor meetings:
Friday 9th March, St Johns Hall, Cambridge 
Annual General Meeting followed by
The Arabian Bird Atlas by Mike Jennings
An overview of Arabian birds looking at the issues that fashion bird distribution in Arabia and the atlas project which brought it all together.
Bird distribution in Arabia is a result of a number of important factors. The arid climate restricts breeding species over large areas to a few Saharo-Sindian arid land specialists, several with a nomadic tendency. A varied topography and natural habitat, which includes a wide range of geology; granite, sandstone, lave flows, limestone, not to mention sand dunes; mountain rising to 3700 m, juniper forests and mangrove swamps. More...
Friday 13th April, Cottenham Village College 
Dragonflies: the Ancient Aerial Predators by Henry Curry
In a broad ranging talk Henry will discuss the life history, sight, flight capabilities, mating, evolution & fossil history and identification of dragonflies. He will also talk about the Dragonfly Project and the British Dragonfly Society.
For over 20 years, the Dragonfly Project has been working to raise public awareness of dragonflies first through its Sanctuary and then through our Biomuseum, now at Wicken Fen - and consistently on TV and radio.
See: www.dragonflyproject.org.uk
Bob Jarman running the Cambridge Half Marathon
Your first chance to support the forthcoming atlas, and support a club member at the same time........
Bob Jarman, long-serving Bird Club member, is running the Cambridge Half Marathon on March 11th 2012, and you can give him moral support by sponsoring his efforts in aid of the club.
He says: "The main Charity is Cancer Research UK and I am also collecting for the NSPCC. However, I would be very happy to be sponsored for the Cambridgeshire Bird Club as an alternative. Cheques should be made payable to the Cambridgeshire Bird Club and sent to Bob Jarman, 5 Longworth Avenue, Chesterton, Cambridge, CB4 1GU. If I don't make it, I don't send 'em"
CBC Raptor Watch 31 March 2012
In March 2010, the Club organised a raptor watch day, with considerable success when over 50 observers recorded hundreds of raptors at 22 vantage points. We have therefore decided to organise another raptor watch this year. Club members and non-members are encouraged to visit vantage points across the county on Saturday 31st March and watch raptors from there for a period of at least two hours from 10am. As previously, we will offer the chance to join in at a few predefined vantage points or you can pick a vantage point of your own. We would like to have coordinators for several vantage points who can show interested people raptors on the day. Please contact Louise Bacon if you can be the coordinator for a vantage point of your choosing, or if you would like to participate at a spot of your own.
Owl pellet workshop – Cambridgshire Bird Club / Cambridgshire Mammal Group meeting
Wednesay 11th April, 7.30 pm, at Anglia Ruskin University
Pellets are masses formed from the undigested, regurgitated remains (bones, teeth, fur, feathers, etc) of prey animals. Pellets are produced by owls and many other raptors. Analysis of the pellets not only provides information on the diet of the raptor, but also on the presence of small mammal species in the raptor habitat.
This workshop provides an opportunity to dissect pellets and identify their contents, with the help of experienced ‘pelleters’. All necessary equipment and identification guides will be provided. If you are able to bring pellets yourself, please do so, but we hope to have sufficient pellets available for those who are interested but do not have access to a source of pellets.
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL.
To book and for further details, contact Vicki Harley.
For information on the Mammal Society’s National Owl Pellet Survey see: http://www.mammal.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=328&Itemid=362
Bird song workshop at Fowlmere NR on 19 May
As in previous years, the Club is organising a bird song workshop at Fowlmere Nature Reserve in collaboration with the RSPB.
The aim is to help interested bird watchers to learn how to identify various songbirds by sound. Members and non-members of the Club and the RSPB are welcome. There is no formal charge, but a donation in the reserve collecting box would be appreciated.
Meet at 6.30am on Saturday 19 May 2012 in the car park at Fowlmere NR (directions can be found, with more information on the reserve, at http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/fowlmere/index.asp).
Please bring binoculars, a pen and paper. The workshop will take place regardless of the weather and is expected to last approximately 4 hours. As numbers will be limited, it is essential to register with Peter Herkenrath (chairman@cambridgebirdclub.org.uk).
Cambridgeshire Bird Club now has a Facebook page.
Please take a look.
Do we have your email address?
The bird club bulletin is now available in an electronic format (pdf) that allows us to save paper and also includes enhanced content (such as colour images)
If you would like to receive your bulletin in this format instead of the paper copy please contact cbcbulletin@cambridgebirdclub.org.uk
Bob Scott Prize for Ornithological Research in Cambridgeshire
The Cambridgeshire Bird Club has established the Bob Scott Prize for Ornithological Research in Cambridgeshire. It will be awarded for ornithological field research on wild birds in Cambridgeshire. Work directly or indirectly supporting bird or wider nature conservation, as well as work undertaken by young people, would be especially welcome. The prize is open to non-professionals. The Club would particularly welcome submissions by school, college and university students (undergraduates).For more information, click here.
WILD BIRD FOOD
Members of the Cambridgeshire Bird Club can buy wild bird food at a 10% discount from Rectory Farm, Landbeach (on the A10 just over 1km N of the A14). Just show your most recent Bulletin or Annual Report as proof of membership. Just one more benefit of joining CBC.
Video site
The Cambridgeshire Bird Club now has a video blog site here.
Instructions on how to get your videos on the site are also on the page. We will not host videos due to space issues but can embed them if you sent a YouTube (or similar) link.
