We are a friendly, informal group who meet for pleasant, usually easy, country walks interrupted by periods of bird watching. We are not fanatical ‘twitchers’. Most of us have a fairly similar, basic amateur knowledge of birds (though we have a few more experienced and knowledgeable members), able to identify common and garden birds but struggle with less familiar species and find it hard to differentiate between, for example, the different types of gulls or ducks. In particular the majority struggle to identify bird song and would love to be able to identify more birds just by hearing their songs.

The group meets roughly once a month. As members have other commitments, be they family or u3a, we meet on different days of the week each month rather than say ‘the first Monday’. The duration of each meeting depends upon the venue and location.

Whilst some meetings are local, there are plenty of members happy to drive the longer distances to get everyone there by car-sharing. Reluctant and non-drivers are consequently welcome to join us. This also minimises our carbon footprint.