Talks
We're delighted to share details of the meetings season (September 2025 - April 2026) for members to enjoy. This year’s programme will be held as a hybrid (online/in-person) programme.
More information about each meeting will be emailed to members around a week in advance of the event. To receive these emails (including Zoom joining instructions and workshop booking information, where applicable), you must be signed up to the Branch News & Events - Talks & Workshops mailing list.
Please note: in order to cover room and equipment hire costs, there will be an entrance fee of £3 (£1 for students and for others at the discretion of the committee); there will be no additional charge for tea, coffeee and biscuits. It would be very helpful if you could bring with you the exact amount of £3. We do not have any debit card handling facility.
When:
In-person meetings are held at 7.00pm. Online talks are held at 7.30pm
Monday 8 September
Sophie Smith – Safeguarding Scotland’s Seabirds
Wednesday 17 September (online)
Alasdair Reid, John Simpson & speaker TBA – SOC Branch Survey Work
Monday 6 October
Kevin Sinclair – East Renfrewshire’s Tree Sparrows: back from the brink; a community success story
Thursday 16 October (online) NB change of date from originally advertised
Dr. Stephen Moss – Britain’s Favourite Birds
Monday 3 November
Toby Wilson – Edinburgh Swift City and Swift conservation in Central Scotland
Wednesday 19 November (online)
Douglas Russell – Interesting Bird Nests & Eggs – writing a popular book on 250 years of avian architecture
Monday 1 December
Stephen Inglis – My patch on the Eaglesham Moor: Shieldhill Farm
Wednesday 10 December (online)
Laurie Campbell – Photographing birds: more than just the species
Monday 12 January
Paul Noyes – Curlew and the Yorkshire Dales
Wednesday 21 January (online)
Adam Nicolson – Birds in the Hebrides and a Sussex wood; Q & A
Monday 2 February
Heather Ritchie-Parker – Conservation of the Capercaillie and Northern Rockhopper Penguins using genetic techniques
Wednesday 18 February (online)
Liz Myhill – Evocative encounters with the natural world; a talk & demonstration
Monday 2 March
Rachel Reid – The consequences of urbanisation and artificial light at night on avian health and physiology & Jessica Young – How do urban landscapes influence animal dispersal and ecological connectivity?
Wednesday 18 March (online)
Prof. Tim Birkhead – The Most Perfect Thing; Q & A
Monday 6 April
AGM & Rachel Steenson – Spring with the Midlothian Dippers
Wednesday 15 April (online)
Prof. Claire Spottiswoode – Show me the honey: communication between people and wild birds in Africa
Contact:
Venue for in-person meetings:
Partick Burgh Hall, 9 Burgh Hall Street, Partick, Glasgow G11 5LW (click here for a map of the venue and surrounding area)
Outings
If you have any questions, please contact Ania Owsianka. Bring a packed lunch. Excursion details will be sent to SOC Clyde branch members by email, if you have signed up for this (or click here if you haven't already done so).
Further information about each walk (including when and where to meet, terrain, and what birds you might see) are provided on the Birds in Clyde website.
Monday 8 September
Holy Loch Nature Reserve - more details can be found here
Saturday 4 October
Aberlady and Musselburgh Lagoons - more details can be found here
Contact:
Ania Owsianka by email.
Branch Committee
Secretary:
Rebecca Dickson, 07907 833114
Chairperson and representative of the branch on SOC Council:
Zul Bhatia
Treasurer:
Liz Parsons
Committee members:
Emma Anderson, Emma Davis, Ian Fulton, Kevin McCormick, Sandy McNeil, Fiona McLean, Andrew Russell, Kevin Sinclair and Toby Wilson.
Ex officio members:
Tony Hall, John Simpson, John Sweeney, Val Wilson
Clyde recorder:
Clyde Assistant recorders:
Val Wilson, John Sweeney, Tony Hall
Clyde Islands recorder:
Argyll recorder:
Other Information
Birds in Clyde, Clyde Branch Website
Take a look at the website here.
A fantastic resource for anyone interested in birds and birding in the Clyde area has taken flight! There is much to explore, discover and delight, but what's sure to prove one of the most popular pages on the platform, Recent Sightings https://www.birdsinclyde.scot/recent-sightings.html catalogues the many and varied ways to keep abreast of bird sightings in the region - from WhatsApp, to email, to social media. There’s also a handy step-by-step guide as to how to record and report the birds you see, and a host of useful resources associated with this. For anyone keen to get more involved with the Branch and other activities locally, a list of projects and a wealth of suggestions await under the ‘Get Involved’ tab. Across the website, the birdlife of the Clyde is brought to life both visually and artistically with stunning photographs from local members gracing each of the pages, and the striking artworks of Tommy Daniels peeking out in places.
The site will continue to grow and be regularly updated. Details of any updates/latest news will be posted on the platform's home page.
A massive congratulations to Clyde SOC! The website was designed and developed after a huge effort by Branch volunteers Emma Anderson, Zul Bhatia, Rebecca Dickson and in particular, Kevin McCormick, who was the technical and development lead. 
Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) on the Clyde Estuary
The national WeBS is organised by the BTO, and in Scotland coordinated by the SOC. In the Clyde area we have had excellent coverage for many years, but recently there has been a marked decline due to a shortage of volunteer counters. The most important site urgently in need of new counters is the Clyde Estuary, which requires a team of at least 12 regular volunteers and several reserve counters. The Clyde Branch has been coordinating monthly bird counts of the estuary for the past 45 years, with a break only in 1978 due to shortage of volunteers in that year. Two of our current team of volunteers have been counting throughout that entire period! If you are interested in joining the team either as a regular or stand-in volunteer, please contact the Clyde area organiser, John Clark. John can provide helpful guidance on how best to survey individual sectors, and the count methodology. He can also arrange for you to shadow an existing counter to gain experience. We are also looking for additional volunteers to take on a number of freshwater sites. Adopting a regular patch can be an enjoyable and very rewarding experience, as well as making an important ‘citizen science’ contribution to the conservation of our local wild bird populations.
For more information on the Wetland Bird Survey see www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/webs.
Branch grapevine:
To subscribe to Clyde branch’s (member-only) daily Grapevine email, contact Val Wilson. As well as sharing notable bird sightings from across the region, Grapevine incorporates images of birds and other wildlife, shares details of forthcoming branch meetings and also alerts members to national and local environmental notices and potential developments that might threaten a site.
AGM minutes:
The 2025 branch AGM minutes are available to download here.
Social media:
The branch shares sightings and website updates on its Bluesky account @clydesoc-grapevine.bsky.social. Give them a follow to keep up to date with the latest news from Clyde.
The branch is also on Facebook: Type ‘Clydebirds’ in the Facebook search bar.
‘Boxes for Barnies’
In 2021, Clyde Branch launched a new initiative to create nest boxes for breeding Barn Owls in the Lochwinnoch area with the hope of boosting the species' numbers and recovery in the region. Volunteers from the local community constructed and helped install 19 boxes in the area. These are being monitored annually with the help of volunteers. Find out more about the project here.
Bird watching in Clyde
The SOC's award-winning Where to Watch Birds in Scotland app is free to download, and includes many excellent birding sites in the Clyde region.
Bird recording in this area
Visit the Clyde recording area and the Clyde Islands recording area page for details of the latest bird report, back issues, species considered locally and for Local Recorder contact information.
