Chairman's Notes

Neil Glenn - March 2008

I had the honour of being elected as Chairman of Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers at the AGM on February 13th, 2008. I would like to thank everyone present for their support (those that couldn’t attend also missed a very good talk by the warden of Bardsey Island Observatory). I would also like to thank Bernie Ellis, the outgoing Chairman, for his work on behalf of our group over the past few years.

And so with a new Chairman comes new ideas and that’s where you, the membership can play a role. In my time as Chairman, I would like to achieve several goals but I will need considerable help from the good people of this group. There has never been a better time for individuals to become involved with the activities of Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers.

Firstly, I would hope we can tap in to the huge numbers of new birders taking up this great hobby of ours, attracted to the county’s avian delights by television programmes such as Springwatch and Nature’s Calendar, whilst still accommodating both the improvers and experts in our midst.

Birdwatching is the second fastest growing leisure activity in Britain (after gardening). We need to find ways of engaging, helping and encouraging these beginners so that they remain interested in birds and hopefully boost membership of NBW. “Are you a member?” should be the words on everyone’s lips whenever we see a new face on our travels within the county. We are all ambassadors for our club. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if I could report a membership level of over 500 at the next AGM?

To help in this aim, I am planning to try and negotiate a few benefits for members: a few pounds off a birding product here; a small percentage off some equipment there. Every little helps, so watch this space!

To attract these new faces to our club, I intend to organise regular, well-publicised events aimed at helping beginners identify birds in the field. Every new person on these walks would be made to feel very welcome and part of a friendly group of like-minded people. Word will soon spread that NBW is the club to turn to for birding advice and instructive, practical guidance.

To achieve this, the club urgently needs a volunteer to organise these in-county trips. The task isn’t arduous: we already have names and phone numbers of people willing to lead such walks; you would just need to phone these people to arrange a suitable date. Please consider taking on this vital task for the benefit of the club.

Secondly, I would like the club to become more involved in the conservation of the birds of Nottinghamshire. I feel we do a good job of recording the county’s bird life but we need to go further. What is the point of being efficient at detailing the decline of a species locally if we don’t take steps to try and halt that decline?

To this end, Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers has a sum of money available for conservation projects in the county. Unfortunately, it isn’t a great deal of money but individuals or groups may apply for some cash if they feel they can use it for the benefit of birds in the county. All such applications should be made to the secretary and will then go before the committee for approval: get writing!

Still on the subject of conservation, I feel we need to be more closely linked with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and other conservation bodies for the benefit of the county’s birds. I plan to write to the NWT as soon as possible to see how our two organisations can combine to help protect our avian treasures for future generations.

This brings me neatly onto my third aim. I would hope to get more youngsters involved with Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers. The committee needs to discuss the ways in which we can do this but the collapse of Nottinghamshire’s RSPB Young Explorer’s group gives us an ideal opportunity to step into the breach and nurture the next generation of birdwatchers.

Again, we will need volunteers to take the youngsters on walks and give talks aimed at instilling a love and appreciation of birds and nature. Yes, it’s over to you again for ideas and help! Is there a ‘small person’ in your family that would love to be involved in producing a Kid’s Page on our website? Get in touch!

I have already enlisted a youngster, Jake Hill, to produce a monthly column in the newsletter and I hope this will be the start of a burgeoning interest in the club by children and young adults. After all, I will need someone to push me round Attenborough in my wheelchair very soon so we need to get these youngsters involved as soon as possible!

My final aim is to reunite the birdwatchers of the north and south of the county. There seems to be a north south divide, which may be more perceived than actual, but I would hope we could all come together to help achieve the first three goals.

It is vital we attract more birdwatchers from the north of Notts to the club. To this end, I would hope to hold at least two committee meetings in the centre or north of the county each year, and with the help of local clubs organise talks and walks in that area. We could certainly split the cost of a speaker with local groups.

There is a vacancy on the committee for an organiser of indoor events. They would need to book a room somewhere in the county, find suitable speakers for the events and publicise it in the newsletter and the local press. There is even a new website to make the task easier, set up by Neil Pinder, a Nottinghamshire man eager to bring speakers and interested groups together.

The completion of the new visitor centre at Retford may help NBW have a stronger presence in the north of the county. If you know of any groups who you think would like to have closer links with Nottinghamshire Birdwatchers, drop me or the secretary a line (I have already spoken with the Lound Bird Club and have had a very positive response).

So how can you help? There are almost too many ways for you to become involved to mention! Can you lead a walk on your local patch to enthuse the county’s birdwatchers, or could you be the person to liaise with such leaders to produce an exciting, enjoyable and educational programme of in-county trips?

Maybe you know someone who is interested in birds but isn’t a member? Gently raise their awareness of our group and try to enlist them as a member. If every single one of you enrols one new member, then our membership total doubles! It may be stating the obvious but that would mean 400 extra membership fees and Gift Aids that could help to preserve Nottinghamshire’s birds and vulnerable habitats. Simple!

On a more practical note, we need volunteers to monitor Tree Sparrow feeding stations, help plot the Atlas of Birds in Nottinghamshire or the local Barn Owl groups could always do with a helping hand or two.

It is almost time to let you go out birdwatching now but if you think you can help the club in any way, or have any ideas about how to achieve the goals mentioned above, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me: n.glenn@ntlworld.com