Wednesday 16 November 2011

Great Tit bill ornament

We were very interested to see a recent blog post by The Barley Bird-er (Trevor Codlin) on a Great Tit that he encountered with a rather unusual addition to its bill. Find out more

Somerset conference good to go!

This Saturday sees the second GBW conference of the autumn – this time in Taunton, Somerset. Over 200 people will be attending, making the day an exciting prospect. The conference is being run collaboratively between the BTO and Somerset Ornithological Society (SOS). Other organisations will be represented with stands, including Somerset Wildlife Trust, Somerset Trust Badger Group and the RSPB.

Topping the programme are two celebrity speakers – Dominic Couzens and Stephen Moss. Dominic is a full-time writer and speaker on birds and other wildlife. His books include Garden Bird Confidential and The Secret Lives of Garden Wildlife. He also writes for magazines including BBC Countryfile and BBC Gardeners' World, and leads birdwatching field trips at home and abroad.

Stephen is a lifelong naturalist, author and TV producer, whose credits include SpringwatchBirding with Bill Oddie and Birds Britannia. He has written many books, including This Birding Life, and A Sky Full of Starlings. His most recent book is Wild Hares and Hummingbirds: the Natural History of an English Village, an account of the wildlife of his home parish. A Londoner by birth and upbringing, he now lives in the village of Mark on the Somerset Levels.