SBBOT has a long tradition of offering courses, lectures and talks. Apart from the presentations below we also present evening programmes via zoom, such as our Wednesday Courses.
Thursday Evening Winter Lecture Programme
Live at the Field Centre at 7.30pm
£5 per person including a hot drink and a biscuit - payable at the door on the night.
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31st October - Where Yeeeha! meets Olé!
Ralph Todd
Royal Tern
Some winter sunshine (mostly) as Ralph and Brenda travel through some Southern States, Texas (Yeehaa), New Mexico and Southern California (Olé).The South California deserts of Joshua Tree and Anza Borrego provide some outstanding landscapes, wildlife, flowers, cactus (and cactus wrens), at the nearby Salton Sea incredible large numbers of wintering wildfowl and waders. From San Diego, a 11 night boat trip into the “best whale watching” in the world has close encounters with gray, blue and humpback whales plus a great selection of birdlife including pelicans and hummingbirds. The second half finds us in Texas, the Gulf coast, Roseate Spoonbills, Whooping Cranes, the Lower Rio Grande with an abundance of wintering birdlife, green jays, orioles and warblers. Finally to the somewhat cooler Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico with the spectacle of 1000’s of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes and much more besides
Brown Pelican
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7th November - Birding the Caucasus and the “Stans” Barry Wright
Barry’s talk will take us on his journey through Georgia, Armenia and the 'Stans'. He will be showing us the Birds, the amazing scenery, and explaining about the Culture plus not forgetting the other wildlife that he encountered. It was a month long trip of big skies, mega birds and fantastic food!
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14th November - Kent’s magnificent Moths & brilliant Butterflies
Rebecca Levey
Butterfly Conservation Canterbury Mural ©Jim Higham
Butterfly Conservation’s Southeast Ecologist will share what the charity’s conservation, engagement and ecologist work has involved across Kent since the Kent’s Magnificent Moth project began in 2021. Encouraging updates will also provide details on how some of the rarest butterfly species have benefitted from landscape-scale management efforts targeted to increase habitat for them.
Prospect Field Moth Night 2021 ©Emma Pestridge
Large tortoiseshell adult and caterpillar sightings also increased substantially in Kent this year, so details of the particular areas and times of year to look out for them in 2025 will also be highlighted at the end.
Moths Matter Engagement Board, Wildwood 2022 ©Alex Sedgemond
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Cheese & Wine Evening
21st November - Birding Australia (part 1)
Rob Rackliffe
Australia is home to nearly 750 bird species of which almost half are only found there (endemics). Many are brightly coloured stunning species, which, along with a host of unique mammals and other wildlife, make this a fantastic birding destination. To do the country justice a trip needs to be several weeks - something that can be tricky during a working career! So having semi-retired last year it was time to realise a retirement plan and begin exploring the Continent “down under” ! In July this year, four of us set off on part one of our Australian Adventure - five and a half weeks in Northern Territory and Queensland!
This talk highlights the birds and wildlife we found and gives an insight into how to get the most of a DIY trip to Oz without it costing an arm and a leg! Rob also talks about some wonderful highlights including Kakadu, the Great Barrier Reef, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Lodge and Uluru (Ayers Rock)!
Enjoy this talk along with a glass of Australian Wine, Cheese and Aussie Snacks - included in the ticket price! Remember, tickets will only be available via Ticket Tailor (to enable us to plan your refreshments!)
NB This talk will be bookable via Ticket Tailor £10 per person
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28th November - Wardening at Spurn Bird Observatory during autumn migration season
Jonathan Dodds
“It’s raining Redwings!” - an autumn spent at the internationally renowned Spurn Bird Observatory.
Jonathan’s talk will explore the different dynamics of birding, the unique geography and eclectic nature of the place. What makes Spurn so special? How does Spurn compare to other observatories? Can we get more young people involved? These were all questions he asked himself, then he experienced it first hand.
Join us to find out why Jonathan will continue going back at every opportunity.
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5th December - Save Minster Marshes & Pegwell Bay (National Grid’s SeaLink project) Kent Wildlife Trust
Nik Mitchell (et al)
SeaLink are proposing a major infrastructure project development on the Minster Marshes which will also affect Pegwell Bay.
This project is part of National Grid's upgrade work and will entail the building of a very large Converter station and a sub-station on part of the Minster Marshes alongside the laying of a cable under Sandwich and Pegwell National Nature Reserve.
Unfortunately there are a range of areas that will be affected based on current proposed plans including areas for construction vehicles and materials.
One of these areas is currently home to a large variety of breeding species, some of which are critically endangered. Another area affects land that is used by roosting waders at high tide plus another is Pegwell Bay itself, where they plan to lay another cable into the bay and not just through the tidal mud but also the salt marsh.
The presenters will give an overview of National Grid’s plans including the latest position, and then go on to highlight its impact on all the areas affected. They will particularly focus on the wildlife, the wider environment and of course, local communities. They will also inform us about what we can do to influence the final decision when planning permission is sought.
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12th December - Rewilding the Chagos Archipelago in the Central Indian Ocean
Dr Peter Carr
Peter’s talk is about the birds of the Chagos Archipelago, particularly the breeding seabirds and how their presence hugely benefits the surrounding marine ecosystems through nutrient transfers (mainly from seabird guano).
However, many of the islands are environmentally degraded through the presence of invasive rats plus the clearance of native habitat for copra production also the waters surrounding these islands are in poorer marine life.
Peter will conclude his talk by explaining how he & colleagues are planning to "re-wild" these islands to restore lost breeding seabirds and the health of seas around all islands.
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19th December - A look back through 2024 at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory
Greg Lee
Our assistant warden Greg, will be giving us an illustrated update on the past year at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory.
Greg will take us through the year with photographs and commentary of the many birds, dragonflies, flowers and reptiles that have occurred during the year.
It will be a great look back for all of us, but for new members it will provide and an excellent introduction into what to look out for and when during 2025.
Plus we will be providing some festive refreshments!
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