branch meeting programme 2009/2010

Welcome to the 2009/2010 Winter Meetings Programme. We hope that you enjoy the selection of topics and speakers this year. Please support your local branch by going along once a month to listen to the superb presentations and to meet up with your fellow SOC members.

Your SOC membership entitles you to attend meetings anywhere in Scotland so, if you find yourself away from home in another branch area, feel free to go along to any of the meetings. It's an excellent opportunity to meet new people.

All the best for the 2009/2010 season!

Ayrshire

Meet at Monkton Community Church and Pioneer Cafe (Tue 7pm for 7.30pm). Contact: Duncan Watt 01294 832361.

  • 08 Sep: Malcolm Henderson – Goshawks in Border forests
  • 13 Oct: Eric McCabe – Photo shooting in a Perthshire estate
  • 10 Nov: Darren Rees – An artist in the Arctic
  • 08 Dec: John Simpson – Wild Caledonia
  • 12 Jan: Angus Hogg – Seabird islands of the Western Pacific
  • 09 Feb: Paul Walton – Birds in a marine environment
  • 09 Mar: Neil Grubb – Roslyn Glen: Local patchwork
  • 13 Apr: AGM & Gordon Riddle – Kestrels for company

Borders

Meet at Scott Room, George & Abbotsford Hotel, Melrose (Mon 7.30pm). Contact: Graham Pyatt 01721 740319.

  • 14 Sep: Neil Grubb – Esk valleys: A local patchwork
  • 12 Oct: Ron Forrester – Birding in Africa
  • 09 Nov: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 14 Dec: Members' 10 Minute Night
  • 11 Jan: Edmund Fellowes – Some northern birds. Joint with RSPB
  • 08 Feb: John Chalmers – Birds and plant life in the sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand
  • 08 Mar: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 12 Apr: AGM & Social Evening

Caithness

Meet at Thurso Club, Janet Street, Thurso (Wed 8pm). Contact: Stan Laybourne 01847 841 244.

  • 07 Oct: Graham Wren – Bird nesting habitats past, present and future
  • 04 Nov: Carol James – Namibia: Whydas, warthogs and welwitchia
  • 03 Feb: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 03 Mar: Mike Betts – In the land of Prester John: A birding trip to Ethiopia

Central Scotland

Meet at The Allan Centre, Fountain Road, Bridge of Allan (Thu 7.30pm). Contact: Roger Gooch 01259 742326.

  • 01 Oct: Derek McGinn – Birds of Western Australia
  • 05 Nov: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 03 Dec: Richard Daly – Birds, wolves, butterflies and more in the Canadian Rockies
  • 07 Jan: Ken Shaw - Western Palearctic Birds (NOTE VENUE: Smith Institute, Dumbarton Rd, Stirling)
  • 04 Feb: Rory Crawford – Coconuts and conservation: Birds, bats and survival in the remote Seychelles
  • 04 Mar: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 01 Apr: AGM & Liz Humphries - B.I.G. (Biodiversity in Glasgow)

Clyde

Meet at Zoology Department, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow (Mon 7.30pm). Contact: Hayley Douglas 07715 634079.

  • 07 Sep: Members' Night
  • 05 Oct: Derek McGinn – Birds of Western Australia
  • 02 Nov: David Anderson – Buzzards in Central Scotland
  • 07 Dec: Gillian Gilbert – Bittern ecology
  • 11 Jan: Darren O'Brien - Cuckoos Uncropped * NEW DATE *
  • 01 Feb: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 01 Mar: Duncan Watt – Sky dancer (Renfrewshire Heights)
  • 12 Apr: AGM & Members' Night * NEW DATE *

Dumfries

Meet at Cumberland St Day Centre, Dumfries (off Brooms Rd Car Park) (Wed 7.30pm). Contact: Pat Abery 01556 630483.

  • 09 Sep: Karl Munday – NTS and conservation
  • 14 Oct: Ron Forrester – Birding in Africa
  • 11 Nov: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 09 Dec: Richard Hesketh – Ringing and tracking Icelandic Whoopers
  • 13 Jan: Dave Fairlamb – Mersehead on the move
  • 10 Feb: Gordon Yates – Arctic and Hebridean Odyssey
  • 10 Mar: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 14 Apr: AGM & Brian Smith - Pied Flycatchers

Fife

Meet at St Andrews Town Hall Supper Room (Wed 7.30pm). Contact: Rob Armstrong 01334 838279.

  • 09 Sep: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 14 Oct: Rob Armstrong – Japan in winter: A birding extravaganza
  • 11 Nov: Stan da Prato – Baja California: Humming Birds to Whales
  • 09 Dec: Members' Night
  • 13 Jan: Jeremy Greenwood – How bird watching has reformed the European Agricultural Policy
  • 10 Feb: Neil Grubb – Roslyn Glen: Local patchwork
  • 10 Mar: Peter Slater – The how and why of birdsong
  • 14 Apr: AGM & Members' Night

Grampian

Meet at Sportsman's Club, 11 Queen's Road, Aberdeen (Mon 7.30pm). Contact: Graham Cooper 01339 882706.

  • 12 Oct: Norman Elkins - Climate Change and Wildlife
  • 16 Nov: Mark Grantham - BTO – 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 14 Dec: Mark Tasker - Albatross conservation from a government perspective
  • 11 Jan: Robert Sheldon - Research and conservation of Sociable Lapwings in Kazakhstan and beyond
  • 01 Feb: Harry Scott - Goldeneyes in Deeside
  • 01 Mar: Chris Spray - Swanning around Scotland and Ireland : the Whooper Story
  • 12 Apr: Andy Webb - AGM + Special Protection Areas for seabirds at sea

Highland

Meet at Culloden Library, Inverness (Tue 7.45pm). Contact: Ann Sime 01349 862650.

  • 08 Sep: Sam Bailey – Conservation on MOD estates in the Highlands (Lossiemouth, Tain and Cape Wrath)
  • 06 Oct: Graham Wren – Nest boxes: More than 40 years' experience
  • 03 Nov: Carol James – The Highlands visit the Islands: a look at trips to Orkney, Fair Isle and Shetland
  • 01 Dec: Bob McMillan – Over the sea from Skye: Birding trips to maritime Canada and Guatemala
  • 05 Jan: Andrew Stevenson – Pacific Odyssey
  • 02 Feb: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 02 Mar: Mike Betts – In the land of Prester John: A birding trip to Ethiopia
  • 13 Apr: AGM & Patric Baird – Birds of Lauwersmeer and the Rivers Tizsa and Odra

Lothian

Meet at Meadowbank Stadium, London Road, Edinburgh (Tue 7.30pm) except **Waterston House, Aberlady. Contact: Colin Beckett 0131 663 4143.

  • 08 Sep: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 13 Oct: Ian Thomson – Wildlife crime in 2009**
  • 10 Nov: Angus Hogg – South Atlantic seabirds
  • 08 Dec: Members' Night and quiz
  • 12 Jan: Mike Betts – A birding trip to East Bhutan
  • 09 Feb: David Anderson – Buzzards in Central Scotland
  • 09 Mar: David Steele – Farne Islands uncovered**
  • 13 Apr: AGM & Members' Night

Orkney

Please check time and venue before each meeting (Thursday). Contact: Colin Corse 01856 874484.

  • 08 Oct: Graham Wren – Bird nesting habitats past, present and future
  • 05 Nov: Carol James – Namibia: Whydas, warthogs and welwitchia
  • 04 Feb: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 04 Mar: Mike Betts – In the land of Prester John: A birding trip to Ethiopia

Stewartry

Meet at Kells School, New Galloway (Thu 7.30pm). Contact: Joan Howie 01644 430 226.

  • 24 Sep: Karl Munday – Nature conservation and the National Trust for Scotland
  • 15 Oct: Ron Forrester – Birding in Africa
  • 12 Nov: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 10 Dec: Bryan Nelson – Highlights of a life with seabirds
  • 14 Jan: Edmund Fellowes celebrates 2010; followed by New Year's Welcome * CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER *
  • 11 Feb: Gordon Yates – Arctic and Hebridean Odyssey
  • 11 Mar: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 15 Apr: AGM & Members' Night * NEW DATE *

Tayside

Meet at Methodist Church Halls, 20 Marketgait, Dundee (Thu 7.30pm). Contact: Brian Boag 01828 686669.

  • 10 Sep: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 20 Oct: Eric McCabe – Antarctica: The land of the Emperors. (Tuesday) Joint meeting with SWT, RSPB, Dundee Naturalists & ADBC (D'Arcy Thomson Lecture Theatre, Dundee University)
  • 05 Nov: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime
  • 03 Dec: Colin McLeod & Bob McCurley – Natural history of Barry Buddon
  • 07 Jan: Russell Nisbet – Birds of Goa
  • 11 Feb: Mike Carrier – A look at migration
  • 04 Mar: Peter Slater – The how and why of bird song
  • 08 Apr: AGM & Members' Night

West Galloway

Meet at Stranraer Library, North Strand Street, Stranraer (Tue 7.30pm). Contact: Geoff Sheppard 01776 870 685.

  • 13 Oct: Ron Forrester – Birding in Africa
  • 10 Nov: Mark Grantham – BTO: 100 years of bird ringing in Scotland
  • 08 Dec: Chris Rollie – Birds and Burns
  • 12 Jan: Members' Night & Social Evening
  • 09 Feb: Gordon Yates – Arctic and Hebridean Odyssey
  • 09 Mar: Ian Thomson – RSPB investigations and wildlife crime