2013 AGM Saturday March 2nd at Mere Sands Wood, 10 am.

2011 Lancashire Bird Report

Members should receive their copies iby mid October this year. Copies can be purchased at a number of reserves around the county: Martin Mere WWT, RSPB at Marshside, Leighton Moss and Fairhaven Lake and Lancashire Wildlife Trust locations of Brockholes Wetland NR, Mere Sands NR and Seaforth NR.

Winter Atlas Update

The map below shows the current status of what has been surveyed during the winter or those currently allocated for 2010 - 11. As you can see, with one winter period to go, we still have several gaps to fill in, especially in the east of the county. If you can help at all, please contact us or you local area organiser as soon as possible.

Atlas Newsletter April 2010

The latest newsletter is now available on-line in pdf format. Click here to go to the Atlas page.

Tawny Owl Distribution

Please can you help with nocturnal visits to Atlas tetrads. On the adjacent distribution map, red dots show distribution of Tawny Owl (winter and breeding combined) so far in the current surveys (TTVs plus RRs) and the khaki ones show breeding tetrads from the 1997-2000 atlas for which we haven't yet got any current records. As you can see there is a major discrepancy. Although it's possible that Tawny Owls have decreased in the past 10 years it seems extremely unlikely that it's been so dramatic. It is much more likely that our nocturnal coverage this time around is far less comprehensive. It's therefore also likely that coverage for other nocturnal species is equally weak. You can help by visiting these tetrads nocturnally and recording the results as roving records on the BTO website. A larger version of the map can be seen by clicking here.

Work on the 2009 Bird Report begins

We've got most people's records now for 2009 so the authors are starting the unenviable job of making sense of them all. If you still haven't sent in your records, get them to Steve White as soon as possible, please.

We're still looking for articles for inclusion in the next General Report. Please send anything you've got to Frank Walsh for consideration.

PDFs for 2003 - 2007

It was agreed at the AGM that we would put PDF's of previous reports (older than two years) on the web site. You'll find these on the publications page with the appropriate PDF link.

Bird Fair: 21/22 Nov 2009: Martin Mere

Thanks to Frank Walsh, Rob Yates, Peter Hornby, Roy Ekins, Mike & Pauline McGough, Stuart Meredith and Maurice Jones for helping me on the stand at the bird fair. It was good to see so many members and have a bit of a chat!

Dave and Rob on Sunday. Thanks to Tony Cooper for the photo.

Back copies
Go to the publications page to see the current stock-holding of back copies of our reports. These are free to members (though postage is extra and a contribution would be appreciated if you want several). If you want any, please contact the secretary by e-mail (click here) stating the numbers of the publications you require.

Next AGM at Mere Sands Wood LNR, 10am March 5th 2011

A little bit about what we do

The society was formed in 1914 and has been a registered charity since 1971. Its aims are to record and publish data on all the faunal groups that occur in the region.

In the early years, there was a pronounced bias towards insects, spiders, butterflies, moths, beetles and other invertebrates. Over the years, the emphasis has switched towards the avifauna of the region as this was the most popular aspect of natural history observation. During the past quarter of a century, the society concentrated on the Birds of Lancashire, with the Cheshire Ornithological Society reporting on Cheshire birds.

We also publish occasional general reports on other faunal groups and general papers specialist interest. We have endeavoured to re-introduce some regular articles on other faunal groups which have a broad interest base within the birders of the region.

In November 2001, the society published "The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside". Widely lauded, It was compiled and written by Lancashire birders following four years of survey work (1997 - 2000). It is the only atlas to have ever been published the year after the survey work has been completed and it provided a complete and up-to-date breeding distribution of all Lancashire's birds at that time. In 2008, "The Birds of Lancshire" was published, bringing up to date the status of Lancashire's bird populations in a very accessible format.

Past copies of the societies reports, the Lancashire Bird Atlas and the avifauna of Lancashire are available from the Secretary and you will find a full listing on the site.

Publications

The Lancashire Bird Report is available from the Secretary and various locations around the county.. Members will have received their copies through the post before this date.

Published 8th February 2008: "The Birds of Lancashire & North Merseyside". Available from Subbuteo.

A list of the errata and updates since publication can be found here.

Membership

Membership of the Society is only £10 per annum and that includes the Bird Report and any General Reports published that year. Subscriptions are due on 2nd Jan. If you wish to join the society, send an e-mail to: Dave Bickerton, the Honorary Secretary.

Atlas

April 2010 Newsletter

Take part in the BTO and Lancashire Survey of wintering and breeding birds. Click here for information.