Zoom Meeting, Tuesday 8 March

There will be a joint Durham RSPB/DBC Zoom meeting at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 8 March, when Dr Robert Flood will speak on The rediscovery and conservation of the Bermuda Petrel. Login for the meeting will be available from 7.15 p.m.

Prior to the discovery of a small breeding colony in the mid-20th century, the Bermuda petrel was believed extinct for many years. Bob, who has published widely on tubenoses, has been involved in some of the conservation efforts to help preserve and restore the species.

The Zoom link will be sent to DBC members for whom we have up-to-date e-mail addresses a few days before the event. Anyone else interested in attending is invited to contact Richard Cowen (richard.cowen313@gmail.com) to request the link.

DBC AGM, 4 May 2021 and Talk by Mark Pearson

Planning is now underway for the 2021 Club Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Tuesday 4th May at 7.00 p.m. Covid restrictions will still be in place, so this will be a "virtual" meeting, using Zoom technology, and the link will be made available by e-mail to Club members closer to the date. The documentation for the business part of the meeting will be added here over the next few weeks.and will be complete no later than 20 April, with most papers available well before that.

The meeting will include annual elections. It is vital for the future of the Club and the development of its activities that we should strengthen the Board of Trustees. At present several of the permitted twelve seats are vacant and it has on occasion been impossible to take decisions because meetings have not been quorate. A printable/downloadable form for nominations to the Board can be found here

Following the formal agenda there will be a presentation by Mark Pearson entitled Champions of the Flyway: How to Win the World's Greatest Bird Race. Mark is a well-known nature writer, field ornithologist, nature guide and communications specialist, based in Filey and he has appeared on Springwatch and Autumnwatch. He describes his talk in the following terms - "24 hours non-stop bird-racing in the desert - the crazy climax to months of campaigning and fund-raising, all to combat illegal bird killing on the Mediterranean flyways. Will Mark's team bring the trophy back to Britain? An exclusive, unique behind-the-scenes story about the incredible birds, the cause, the people and the adventure, all set against the backdrop of the beautiful Negev."

Global Birding

Global Birding is a new initiative founded by Tim Appleton , who was also a co-founder of Birdfair. It “aims to build a global community who is passionate about nature and ready to help fund vital Global conservation action.”

It is organising a “Global Bird Weekend” over the 17th and 18th October this year. The 17th will be a sort of international Big Garden BirdWatch, when the organisers hope that at least 25,000 participants worldwide will record species seen in their local area, using the e-Bird App, with a goal of more than 6000 bird species. Birders can take part as individuals or as teams.

Global Birding is also seeking to raise funds for the BirdLife International “Stop the Illegal Bird Trade” campaign.

Websites, etc.:

https://globalbirding.org

https://twitter.com/global_birding

http://www.birdlife.org