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 (X) 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
Photo of the Year for 2024 was voted by members to be Chris Kenyon's Hobby. Congratulations to Chris. Runner up was Jan Michalec's Marsh Harriers and in third place was Rachel Lennard's Bearded Tit. See them here
Picture of the Month for February is Roger Cresswell's Peregrine Falcon - see it here
This is an invitation to members past and present and their guests to be at the Club's centenary Dinner at St Catharine's College,on Wednesday 16TH APRIL. All the details are here
Urgent request by the RSPB for volunteer birder for farm surveying - see below
The Club's audited financial statement for 2024 can be found here.
Club e-Bulletins up to November are now available to all to read. They contain records, photos, articles and event reminders: read the recent ones here
The 2023 Annual Report (No 97) is now available to purchase. Look here for details.
Less urgent announcements
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
The 2019 Annual Report (No. 93) is now available to read on this website - read here 2020 Annual Report coming shortly.
This caught the Webmaster's eye: Construction of a Coot's nest in Amsterdam can be dated back to 1991 by reading plastic expiration dates. See below
X (fomerly Twitter)
We are attempting to reset the X (Twitter) feed. Meanwhile, birders can view the latest tweets by clicking on @Cambs Bird Club
The Club is exploring BlueSky as an alternative platform.
Twitter feed: many thanks to Brendon Doe for setting this up on our website, and maintaining our Twitter account.
Photo of the year 2024
Congratulations to Chris Kenyon for his winning photo of a Hobby. Second place goes to Jan Michalac with his Marsh Harriers and Rachel Lennard's Bearded Tit takes third place. Click here to view all three photos. and click 2024 candidates to see all the candidates.
Picture of the Month - February
Peregrine Falcon © Roger Cresswell 25 February 2025, undisclosed site
February's Picture of the Month was chosen by Louise Bacon and Vince Lea.
"Our top two choices were both birds being 'busy', instilling a bit of activity into the photo. Our runner-up is Garth Peacock's Egret, in landing mode. Its lovely flight feathers are clearly visible as it angles into land. Or maybe it’s taking off? And our top choice was Roger Cresswell’s Peregrine. Face-on, feathers all puffed out, and the speckled breast feathers looking very different to the sleek version of the regular view of a Peregrine. Also, the talons match the colour of the lichen so well."
Request by the RSPB for bird volunteers to help in farm surveys - respond asap
Jenny Atkins of the RSPB is asking for birding volunteers to help in farm surveys.
She says “I’m posting on behalf of the RSPB for a non-member of this group [Cambirds}.
Dear Cambs Birders,
I’m looking for your help this breeding season. I’m an Agricultural Project Manager for the RSPB and manage the Volunteer Monitoring of Farm Wildlife. It is designed to:
• Give farmers an understanding of what birds are on their farm and how abundant they are.
• Help farmers and volunteers understand more about wildlife within the farmed landscape.
• Connect farmers with advice and case studies to assist them plan conservation.
• Provide opportunities for volunteers to gain new skills and experience through an enjoyable and rewarding activity.
The survey season runs from 1st April to 30th June. Within this time period, we require an initial visit to a farm to be carried out and then two survey visits.
We will endeavour to pair volunteers with a farm which should be no further than approximately 25 miles from their home (and pay travelling expenses) and in Cambs. at least, currently need a volunteer in each of the following areas: Feltwell, Littleport, Ely, Soham (x 2 farms), Welney, Southery
Please feel free to drop me an email at jenny.atkins@rspb.org.uk (jenny DOT atkins @rspb DOT org DOT uk) as soon as possible because already we’re in the process of matching volunteers to farms and need to wrap it up in the next few days.
Thank you.
Jenny Atkins”
Plastic waste in bird nests can act like a tiny time capsule
Expiration dates help biologists trace the building of some avian homes back in history—in one case to 1991 Coot's nest in Amsterdam
"Trash-rings allow dating of bird nests"
"Researchers have unpicked a bird nest made of layers of plastic going back 30 years. The Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) nest was taken from an Amsterdam canal. The outer layers contained a dozen face masks from the pandemic and the base held a Mars bar wrapper promoting the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Usually, Coots build a fresh nest every year; but in cities, “reusing the foundation of older plastic nests may save time, giving these birds more opportunities to forage or defend their territory”, suggests biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra, who led the work. “But all these face masks in their nests — our pandemic layer — are a dangerous trap for coots, with their chunky, dinosaur-like feet.”
See more at
The Cambridgeshire Bird Report 2022, No. 96 is now available to buy at £15.00 including postage and packing. Go to Annual Reports
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 in 2023 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.
