Each spring, the SOC and BTO Scotland organise the Scottish Birdwatchers’ Conference, in conjunction with a local branch of the Club. Our next event, The Birds of Tayside: conservation, migration and habitats, is being held on Saturday 14 March 2026 at Invercarse Hotel, 371 Perth Road, Dundee, DD2 1PG. There will be optional field trips on Sunday 15 March.
This year's one-day conference is being organised in collaboration with SOC Tayside branch. Join us in Dundee for a range of fascinating talks, chosen to be interesting and relevant to both local attendees and those attending from further afield.
Conference rates
We’re committed to making our Spring Conference welcoming and accessible to everyone. This year, we're offering a tiered pricing system to help ensure the event is accessible to all - please choose the rate that best fits with your circumstances.
-
Standard Rate – £50. Covers the full cost of attending and helps ensure a high-quality, engaging conference experience. This is the option most attendees choose.
-
Standard + Donation – £70. If you’re able to contribute a little more, this rate helps us offer supported places, ensuring that anyone who would like to attend can do so.
-
Supported Rate – £30. Available to anyone who would find the standard rate a barrier.
Note: Attendees under 18 are welcome; please email Katie Berry, mail@the-soc.org.uk, if you would like to attend. All rates include lunch, refreshments, and participation in the full event programme.
Bookings
Please use the link below to be taken through to our registration form. Please note that bookings will close on Sunday 1 March.
BOOK A PLACE
Programme
09:15 – Registration and tea/coffee
09:50 – Welcome and Introduction - Ruth Briggs, SOC President
10:00 – Montrose Basin through the seasons - Joanna Peaker, Montrose Basin Visitor Centre Site Manager, Scottish Wildlife Trust
10:35 – Restoring the River South Esk - Kelly Ann Dempsey, River South Esk Catchment Partnership
11:00 – Tea/Coffee
11:30 – Bridging the North Atlantic: The life of the Whooper Swan between Iceland and Scotland - Kane Brides, Iceland Whooper Swan Study Group
12:10 – An early 'heads up' about the forthcoming Bird Atlas - Dr Ben Darvill, Head of Development and Engagement (Country Operations), BTO Scotland
12:20 – Lunch
13:40 – Successful collaborations in the conservation and monitoring of raptors (Angus Glens) - Dan Spinks, Scottish Raptor Study Group
14:00 – David Hunt (RSPB) - talk title to be confirmed
14:20 – Baselines and birds: an upland opportunity in Glen Prosen – Gareth Ventress, Environment Forester, Forestry and Land Scotland
14:40 – Q&A session with Dan Spinks, Gareth Ventress and David Hunt
15:10 – Tea/Coffee
15:40 – Who said reedbeds are a transient habitat? - Steve Moyes, Tay Ringing Group
16:10 – Raffle prize draw
16:20 – Summing up - Dr Chris Wernham, Head of BTO Scotland
16:30 – Close of conference
Our speakers so far
Kane Brides, Iceland Whooper Swan Study Group
The annual migration of Whooper Swans from Iceland to Scotland is one of the UK’s most eagerly awaited wildlife spectacles, marking the longest sea crossing undertaken by any swan population. Each autumn, thousands make the 800-kilometre journey across the North Atlantic to reach Scotland’s wetlands, which provide both essential wintering grounds and crucial staging sites for the Icelandic population. Recent large-scale tracking studies are transforming our understanding of this remarkable migration, uncovering detailed flight paths and revealing the swans’ secret night-time behaviour and roosting habits.
Kane is a Senior Research Officer based in the Conservation Evidence department at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT). He leads the Waterbird Colour-Marking Group & Iceland Whooper Swan Study Group, coordinating efforts to track and study marked individuals across the UK and internationally. His research focuses on the demography of wildfowl species, using long-term datasets to understand population dynamics, survival, and movement ecology. He is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and works with international partners to advance research on migratory waterbirds and support evidence-based conservation.
Dr. Ben Darvill, BTO Scotland, Head of Development and Engagement (Country Operations)
Ben will provide an overview of the last Bird Atlas (2007-11), followed by an update on the plans for the next Atlas. The aim is to start the audience thinking about their own potential involvement, as well as opportunities for involving SOC groups, Bird Clubs and others.
Born to naturalist parents, Ben’s childhood was spent knee deep in ponds catching newts or visiting local birdwatching sites with his dad. A career in natural history was inevitable and a degree in Zoology was followed by a PhD. Ben worked as a scientist for a few years before launching a new charity, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which he ran for several years. As a lifelong 'birder', the chance to join BTO proved too great to resist and he joined them in 2012, leading on various aspects of public-engagement work, initially in Scotland. His role is now UK-wide, managing a team of engagement staff in all four nations and working behind the scenes on development work and strategy.
Steve Moyes, Tay Ringing Group
Steve will provide an overview of the Tay Reedbeds, including their ecological importance and a look at the key species which live there. He will then present and discuss the findings from the Tay Ringing Group’s recent studies, highlighting what the data reveals about bird populations and long-term trends within the area.
Steve has been studying the birds of the Tay Reedbeds since 1985, with a special interest in Bearded Tits and Marsh Harriers. He is a licenced BTO ringer and assists with Returning Adult Surveys on Bearded Tits and Reed Warblers.
Dan Spinks
From Golden Eagle translocation to long term studies of Peregrine numbers and their population dynamics, partnership working between Raptor Study Group members and other collaborators has been fundamental. His talk will cover several examples of successful collaborations in Angus, furthering our understanding and conservation of these iconic birds.
Dan has been an active member of Scottish Raptor Study Group (Tayside) for over 15 years, latterly coordinating the monitoring of several species in Angus. He has an enthusiasm and passion for raptors, having been a volunteer since 2000 in various nest watch projects with SWT and RSPB, in particular White-tailed Eagle, Peregrine and Osprey. Dan is a licensed bird ringer with Tay Ringing Group and is a full time primary school teacher with Perth & Kinross Council.
Gareth Ventress, Environment Forester, Forestry and Land Scotland
Focusing on the birds, Gareth's presentation will discuss the baseline surveys carried out on the 3,500 ha of former grouse moor in Glen Prosen. He will discuss the current bird assemblage, and what opportunities and plans for future habitat management on site might mean for those present, and those that are rare or absent.
Gareth has worked as an ecologist and environment manager in the forestry sector since 2009, moving to Scotland in 2011. The main focus of his work over the last 16 years has been protected species surveys and mitigation prior to forestry and civil engineering operations; and habitat restoration on the National Forests and Lands, particularly in ancient woodlands. He was initially involved with assessing habitat restoration opportunities on the intensively managed grouse moor at Glen Prosen before purchase. Since then, Gareth has led on gathering baseline ecological data and analysing it for habitat restoration potential, constraints and opportunities for upland species and biodiversity gains.
