Cumbria Bird Club
Cumbria Bird Club
Cumbria Bird Club was formed in 1989, with its main aim being to bring together enthusiasts, from all over the county and beyond, in a desire to improve our understanding of Cumbrian birds. It has a membership of approximately 250.
The Club produces annually a county bird report Birds and Wildlife in Cumbria under the auspices of the Cumbria Naturalist’s Union, which is available free to all members, along with a quarterly newsletter. It also organises meetings for its members, which include field trips and talks. These take place at venues across the county, sometimes in conjunction with local natural history societies. A Conservation Grant Scheme is available to members, which has helped fund a number of small scale projects.
The Club has instigated several ornithological surveys since its formation. It’s most outstanding achievement was the production of The Breeding Birds of Cumbria, a Tetrad Atlas 1997-2001, which won the prestigious Hunter Davies Prize as Lakeland Book of the Year, 2003. We are now heavily engaged in survey work for the Britain and Ireland Atlas, the results of which will feed in to the production of a comprehensive county avifauna, the first since 1892.
Cumbria has a greater variety of bird habitats than any other English county and its ecological diversity goes far to explain its richness in breeding birds. In addition to the mountains of the Lake District and the Pennine moors, it has an extensive sea coast, including the internationally important estuaries of Morecambe Bay and the Solway Firth and the sea cliffs of St Bees Head. It also has extensive areas of mixed farmland in the Solway Basin and the Eden Valley. Sadly, its Golden Eagle population is currently down to a single bird, but it has a substantial population of Peregrines and Ravens and the Osprey is a fairly recent addition to its breeding population.
The Club welcomes new members. Membership is available to anyone with an interest in the birds of Cumbria. For more information on the Club, its activities and officers please visit our website: www.cumbriabirdclub.org.uk
Are you a birdclub partner? Would you like to be featured here?
If so contact Ieuan Evans (ieuan.evans [at] bto.org)
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