Talks Programme 2023-2024

Talks Programme 2023-2024

September to November will be held in the small hall at the St. Mary's Community Center, Rylands Road, Kennington, Ashford. TN24 9LL at 7.30pm. We will use Zoom for some of the meetings and will let you know details nearer the time.

September 13th   Birds on Lanzarote and Fuertaventura, by Paul Hale
We look at endemic species, local races of familiar birds and desert specialities such as Houbara Bustard and Cream-coloured Courser.  We explore the geology of the Canary Isles and Picon culture.

 A short AGM will be held this evening.

 October 11th   Saving Nature in Kent and Essex by Alan Johnson RSPB regional manager for the area.
There are huge pressures on our wildlife from house building and intensive agriculture through to the global threat caused by the climate crisis. I’m sure Alan will have much of interest to discuss with us. So come along to this thought provoking talk.

November 8th What’s in a Name? by Clive Nuttman.
An exploration of some of the names of British wildlife and the stories behind them

2024- Meetings will be on Zoom

January 10th The Wildlife of Kruger National Park and the Cape Peninsula by Rob Wharton
Rob, our Club treasurer, who gave us an interesting talk last year on Romania, will present his trip to South Africa and Kruger, to see its many birds and animals.

February 21st Costa Rica: cloud forests and coasts by Andrew Lapworth.
Andrew was our previous chairman. He now lives in county Durham, and still travels abroad so will show us an update on Costa Rica after a recent trip to different regions of the country.  Note change of date.

March 13th The Birds of Paradise- by Ray Hale
A trip to Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia in search of the Birds and Butterflies. An illustrated talk on this fascinating country and its birds.
Ray Hale is a new speaker for us and has travelled to Indonesia many times. Birds of Paradise are very colourful and fascinating to learn about.

April 10th Bird senses and Migration by Brian Nobbs
Birds have a similar range of senses to us - vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell - but often with different sensitivity and the information from the suite of senses is collated and interpreted in the brain. The senses are called upon when birds undertake migration, this will be discussed.          

We also plan to have outdoor field meetings, details will be sent about 2 weeks prior to the walk, with a reminder 1 week beforehand.


Talks Programme 2022-2023

September to November will be held at the St. Mary's Community Center, Rylands Road, Kennington, Ashford. TN24 9LL. January to April will be held on line at a cost of £3.00 

2022
September 14th: Cape Point and Flock to Marion - Gill Hollamby
October 12th: Swifts, Turtle Doves and Red Kites - Andre Farrar
November 9th: Birds of Amani Nature Reserve - Clive Nuttman

2023
January 11th: RSPB Dungeness bird reserve updates - Craig Edwards
February 8th: A trip to Romania including a criuse on the Danube - Rob Wharton
March 8th: Birds of Armenia - Eastern gem of the Cauasus - John Buckingham
April 12th: Flights of Fancy - Brian Nobbs. An examination of the structure and use of feathers in camouflage and display.

TALKS PROGRAMME 2021-2022 

I hope that we will be able to meet again in September 2021 at Kennington WI Hall at 7.30 pm, but if not, we will have our meetings on Zoom as we did last season. 

The committee have discussed the future programme and will contact members before September asking if you would attend a meeting in the Hall or not;  we will then decide what to do. 

Jenny Jackson

Chair of Ashford Birdwatchers' Club

July 2021

 

September 8th Birdwatching in Spain, travelling in a campervan, by Paul Hale 

An adventurous trip visiting Spain, following on from last year’s talk. 

October 13th Stepping up for Nature by Andre Farrar 

Andre worked for the RSPB at Sandy for many years, and now lives in Kent. He will give his thoughts on conservation and managing areas for wildlife. 

November 10th The work of the RSPB in the Thames Estuary by Rolf Williams. 

A bird’s eye view-the ever-changing landscape. Each March for the past 6 years, Rolf has taken a microlight flight over the North Kent Marshes, and introduces the wildlife, conservation management and surprising history of the area stretching from Gravesend to Whitstable. 

December 8th Christmas Social 

2022
January 12
th Rewilding Britain-are we ready for large animals by Anne Riddell 

Rewilding has been the new conservation buzzword for many years but are we ready to embrace what this means – welcoming back the large herbivores that restore landscapes, and the large carnivores that keep them in check. The talk will look at what is happening in Europe and the prospects for rewilding Britain. This talk will be on Zoom only. 

February 9th Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory through the seasons by John Buckingham
John has been involved with SBBO for many years as a bird ringer and lecturer and is well known to our club. It will be interesting to learn more about SBBO. 

This talk may be on Zoom as we often have to cancel winter meetings. 

March 9th A trip to Mongolia by Gill Hollamby 

An illustrated talk on this fascinating country and its birds and wildlife, Gill is one of our members and is well known to us. 

April 13th Getting to grips with Britain’s Summer Migrants by Simon Ginnaw. 

Join Simon as he guides us through Britain’s spring and summer birding scene, looking at identification of our summer migrants by plumage and sound.
A short AGM will precede the talk 

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2021


13th January 2021  7.15 for 7.30pm        

Britains coastal birds and their secret lives, by Simon Ginnaw. 

Simon is an excellent Zoom speaker  and photographer, so we are in for a treat with his return to the Club



10th February 2021  7.15 for 7.30pm

South Africa, the Cape and Kruger National Park, by Jenny Jackson. 

Our Club Chairperson's visit to 2 wonderful wildlife areas.


10th March 2021   7.15 for 7.30pm
Mexico: Maya nature; birds and other wildlife of the Mayan world, by Andrew Lapworth.
Based on two trips to Mexico to see endemic hummingbirds of the Yucatan peninsula and birds and animals of the Mexican highlands and Lacandon rainforest, in and around spectacular pyramid sites.

14th April 2021 7.15 for 7.30pm
The BTO's Garden Birdwatch, by Heather Silk. 
A look at the changing populations of garden birds and  how to participate in this survey. Also  ecology and ID of optional groups to record i.e. butterflies and bumblebees.



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2020

FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL SEPTEMBER ZOOM MEETING THE COMMITTEE HAS ARRANGED OUR NEXT MONTHLY ZOOM MEETINGS AS FOLLOWS:

OCTOBER 14 2020 AT 7.30PM        Clive Nuttman: Madagascar

NOVEMBER 11 2020 AT 7.30PM        Paul Hale: Spain by camper van

DECEMBER 09 2020 AT 7.30PM        Christmas seasonal meeting including quizzes

NB.   To view and participate in each meeting you will need to email jenny.jackson28@btinternet.com no later than 24 hours before each meeting so that you can receive an email link to each Zoom meeting. 

Please note that in order to cover our speakers' fees and Zoom subscription there will be a charge of £3.00 per event; when you sign up for a meeting you will be provided with details of how to pay.

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Please note changes to order of speakers doing talks Jan-April 2020 (not changes of dates)


All meetings start at 19:30 and include a break for teas and coffees.In order to help reduce use of single-use plastic cups please bring your own cup or mug.

2019
September 11th Birds of Namibia, by Clive Nutman. 
The spectacular landscapes of Namibia and Etosha National Park are home to plentiful birds and varied wildlife


October 9th Wildlife in Winter in Northern Japan, by Paul Hale
From Japanese Cranes and Stellars Sea Eagles to Japanese Macaques bathing in hot springs,we also look at Japanese culture.


November 13th My kind of birding by Colin Page. 
This talk looks at birds in the local Rye area, including woodland birds, and also further afield.


December 11th Christmas Social, including quizzes and a raffle 


2020 

January 8th A Winter break in Kuwait by Gill Hollamby.


February 12th  Scottish Spring by Andrew Lapworth. Some of the iconic birds, mammals and flora of Scotland's Caledonian forests, uplands and coasts.


March 11th   Local birdwatching and the BTO by Robert Carr.    ABWC Member Robert will explain about birding a local patch, and keeping records of birds seen in an area. The records can then be submitted to local organisations and the British Trust for Ornithology in order to follow the fortunes and population trends of birds in an area.


April 8th AGM & raffle followed by a talk:  South Africa, the Cape and Kruger National Park, by Jenny Jackson.




Indoor Meetings 2018-2019

2018
September 12 th The Barn Owl Project- Lynne and Peter Flower

October 10 th Birds of The Gambia – Don Wilks

November 14 th Kent's Wild Year  – Simon Ginnaw

December 12th Christmas Social, Quizzes and Raffle- Members


2019
January 9 th Birds and Wildlife of Kerala- SW India – John Buckingham

February 13 th The River Stour from Source to Sea – Michael Walters

March 13 th The Turtle Dove Project- Nicole Khan

April 10h Members’ Evening –AGM, Raffle . Followed by Canada & Alaska - John Bartlett

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Indoor Meetings 2017-2018





 
Sep 13th Birds beyond the boughs. Simon Ginnaw
Oct 11th  The Land that time forgot: New Zealand’s birds and natural history. John Buckingham
Nov  8th Adventures in Angola – An overland camping journey across Angola seeking out the localised and endemic birds. Barry Wright
Dec 13th  Christmas social, quizzes and raffle. Members
Jan 10th Birds and wildlife of Rye Harbour. Barry Yates
Feb 14th  A year on Dungeness Point. Gill Hollamby
Mar 14th  An introduction to the birds of the Neotropics. Andrew Lapworth and AGM. 

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