events

9^th January 2026 Tracking Cuckoos - Dr. Chris Hewson (Zoom)

Chris is a Senior Research Ecologist, International Research Team British Trust for Ornithology.

Chris will talk about the highly successful Cuckoo tracking project, which is being run by the BTO, sharing information on findings and future directions. This project has yielded some intriguing data so far and provided important information on the conservation of this declining species.

6^th February 2026 Bars and Spots- Dr Ken Smith (Zoom)

Ken Smith is now retired and lives in Sussex but for almost 30 years he worked for the RSPB in what is now the Centre for Conservation Science. Over that time, he worked on a wide range of species and habitats and contributed to many conservation initiatives. In the 1980s he completed his first RSPB project on woodland birds – a national survey of woodland breeding birds which was repeated in 2003/4. That first project was enough to kindle an enduring interest in woodlands and especially woodpeckers. In 2015, Ken with his wife Linda set up woodpecker-network.org.uk with the express purpose of promoting the study of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and collecting important data on their nesting success.

The talk covers the mixed fortunes of British woodpeckers compared with the rest of northwest Europe, Britain has a relatively impoverished woodpecker avifauna with only three widespread species – Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, Great Spotted Dendrocopos major and Lesser Spotted Dryobates minor. Green and Great Spotted woodpeckers are increasing in Britain whereas Lesser Spotted is in serious decline and is red-listed. We use our long-term studies to explore the reasons for the contrasting trends of Great and Lesser Spotted woodpecker populations and the prospects for the future.

6^th March 2026 AGM Golden Eagles – Alan Fielding Where Eagles Fly ( Live talk)

Alan Fielding is active in golden eagle research including supporting Irish birds of prey re-introductions and the very successful south of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. Alan will show how satellite tracking has enabled us to understand much more about the lives of golden eagles and how they might soon return to England

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