Cambridgeshire Bird Club
Welcome to the Club
The Cambridgeshire Bird Club promotes the study, recording and conservation of birds in Cambridgeshire and encourages a wider interest in natural history and the protection of county wildlife habitats.
We record the County's birds in our Annual Report, so we need your records. We have a stunning Gallery, so we want your photos. We have field projects, we have indoor meetings and trips, and we keep you informed with our monthly emailed bulletins. We have links to active bird ringing groups. And have a look at our Facebook and our Twitter sites.
You can see What's About? and we urge you to report interesting, sensitive or confidential sightings to the County Recorder.
We hope you enjoy your visit and come back soon.
Announcements
Club Christmas Social Friday 8 December, 7.30pm. At Cottenham Community Centre, 250A High St, Cottenham CB24 8RZ
Picture of the Month for October is Tracey Graves' Mallard See it here
Club e-Bulletins up to August are now available to all to read. They contain records, photos, articles and event reminders: read here
Congratulations to George Walthew for winning the 2022 Photo of the Year competition with his photo of a Sedge Warbler. View here
The Cambridgeshire Bird Report 2021 No. 95 has been published. Copies can be purchased from the Club - see here
The 2019 Annual Report (No. 93) is now available to read on this website - read here
The CBC recording checklist can be viewed and downloaded here
Club Bulletins back to the first issue in 1951 have now been digitised and were added to the website in 2021- read them here
Twitter feed: many thanks to Brendon Doe for setting this up on our website, and maintaining our Twitter account.
Club Christmas social 8th December, 7.30pm: in the Main Hall at Cottenham Community Centre, 250A High St, Cottenham CB24 8RZ
See https://www.cottenhamcc.org/map/
On street parking. Enter via the side door, where there is a ramp.
(Please note: this is not the usual Village College venue).
The Centre is opposite the Co-op store.
Join us for some festive refreshments and four short talks:
Noah Bailey - ‘Being a young birder’
Louise Bacon - ‘A wee wander’
Brendan Doe - ‘L'isola di Ventotene: Italy's hidden birding jewel’
Andrew Dobson – ‘An influx of American Warblers - which one will be next?’
Free for members; small charge for non-members
Picture of the month: October
Mallard © Tracey Graves, Milton GP, 11 October 2023
Peter Bircham chose October's Picture of the Month:
"While I am not a gull person I think the photos this month are very good and helpful to people who find gull identification more difficult. Joanna Kubica's Whooper Swans are so evocative of the arrival of winter and no birder can surely tire of photos of owls, any owls, and Neil Bramwell is an expert at finding and photographing them. But for me the photo of the month has to be Tracey Graves' female Mallard bathing. A dull bird 'tis true, but the showering droplets of water are frozen by the photo in a moment the human eye would not quite capture and the whole image is simple but unusual."
Photo of the year: 2022
Congratulations to George Walthew for winning the 2022 Photo of the Year competition with his photo of a Sedge Warbler. Runner-up was Roger Hardie's Yellowhammer, and in third place was Neil Bramwell's Gargeney. Click here to view these three photos, and click 2022 candidates to see all the photos that had been entered.
Where's that site?
If you are unsure of the location of the less well-known birding sites, check our Gazetteer, which also provides standardised names to include in recording checklists for the Club's database and Birdtrack. Check the Grabagrid map which provides precise site grid references, and also shows pop-up vice-county boundaries
Avian Flu
AVIAN FLU: The Angling Trust’s Voluntary Bailiff Service reported last winter that avian (bird) flu was confirmed in fenland swans. They advised, "Please be aware that you may see dead swans on the Nene or Drains. Dead swans may be found elsewhere too. Please under no circumstances go near or touch them. Phone Defra: 0345 933 5577, option 7: 'all other enquiries'. They will direct you to the correct local swan rescue (recovery ) people as all dead swans must now be collected for investigation". Email: defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk and provide details. More info at Avian influenza (bird flu) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For sick swans, the RSPCA is the first place to contact and they will give help as to who should be informed.
Lists and facts
County birders life lists, individual record year lists / record day lists, garden lists and other records - view them here
Found and injured bird? Contact a rehabilitator. Baby birds? Read here and also here
Local bird news from Cambirds.
