WOS trip to Blashford Lakes will go ahead on 5th February

This field meeting will still go ahead. Snow tonight is expected to turn to rain tomorrow. Please meet in the car park by the tern hide, which is on the opposite side of Ellingham Drove from the visitor centre.

Please note there is a change of leader. For enquiries about the trip, please phone David Winnie, mobile: 0797 115 5131.

Cotswold Water Park online survey

Do you visit the Cotswold Water Park for birding? Where do you generally go and do you send in your sightings? Would you like more information to be made available about birding in the Water Park? Gareth Harris and Bob Philpott have put a short online survey on the Cotswold Water Park Bird Blog and would like to hear your views. The information gathered may be used as a basis for future articles for the Newsletter.

Please go to: http://cotswoldwaterpark.wordpress.com and click on the link on the home page.

Many thanks!

WOS subscriptions 2012

Please remember that the WOS annual subscription for 2012 (both individuals and families) is £15.

Our treasurer has received a number of cheques for the wrong amount. So if you haven’t paid yet, please make sure you send £15.

If you have already sent a payment for the wrong amount, please can you now send the additional money.

Many thanks!

Cotswold Water Park – Re-engaging with the local birding community

Below is a short extract from the Cotswold Water Park blog outlining some of the problems that have been experienced lately.

For the full text click on the link below:

http://cotswoldwaterpark.wordpress.com/about-cwp/re-engaging-with-the-local-birding-community/

Some recent history…….

On the 19^th April 2010, following a discrete but intensive internal investigation, the Cotswold Water Park Society staff reported its own Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Grant, and Finance Director, Nick Hanson, to Gloucestershire Police for the theft of a large sum of money and other financial irregularity. Following this, they were duly arrested on the 28^th April 2010. Further investigation by the Society and Gloucestershire Constabulary highlighted theft and fraudulent activity by Grant and Hanson amounting to almost £700,000. Whilst Hanson died of a heart attack before he could be brought to justice in summer 2010, Grant went to trial and was sentenced to 4 years, 4 months imprisonment on the 13^th July 2011 for six counts of theft, fraud and false accounting.

We began the process of trying to recover as much of the stolen funds as possible in 2011, and whilst we are unlikely to recover them all, we hope to recover some. This is ongoing at present so we are unable to disclose more than this, but I hope in future articles to be able to share good news of some funds recovered.

This theft and the costs of the ensuing investigation has cost us dearly, both in direct financial losses, but also in legal costs, broken relationships with local partners and communities and pride in ourselves and our work. The effects will be felt for some time.

Follow the link to read the whole article:

http://cotswoldwaterpark.wordpress.com/about-cwp/re-engaging-with-the-local-birding-community/

Great Bustard nude calendar! (And some news about the birds)

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/9449290.Great_Bustard_nude_calendar/

Flock of endangered Corn Bunting birds gives renewed hope for breed

The healthy flock were spotted making themselves comfortable on a set-aside field near Devizes, Wiltshire.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080644/Flock-endangered-Corn-Bunting-birds-gives-renewed-hope-breed.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Confusing year of weather for Britain’s wildlife

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/27/confusing-year-weather-britain-wildlife?newsfeed=true

Great Bustard flies again across South West – after 180 year absence

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8965576/Great-Bustard-flies-again-across-South-West-after-180-year-absence.html

e-petition for Introduction of offence of vicarious liability for raptor persecution in England

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/23089

Thanks to

https://twitter.com/#!/charliemoores

for this link.

Bird Podcasts!

I discovered this on Daily Express website.

http://www.express.co.uk/blogs/post/268/blog/2011/11/27/286347/Top-talk-from-the-podding-shed

To go straight to the podcast site to see what this is all about go to

http://www.talking-naturally.co.uk/

Sounds interesting! If you think this is worth listening to let us know.

Also bird trip reports and a photogallery. And if you are on Twitter it might be worth following Charlie Moores for comment etc.

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