Francis Daunt talks to us in our first meeting of 2025 on The ecology of North Sea seabirds.

Francis has 25 years’ experience of research into seabird population ecology. His main research interest is in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic change on seabird populations, in particular climate, fisheries and marine renewables. He leads UKCEH's long-term seabird study on the Isle of May, one of the longest running and most comprehensive of its kind in the world. He has led numerous projects on drivers of change in seabird populations funded by research councils, government and industry. He is an Honorary Professor at the School of Biology and Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews.

Join us at 7.30pm on Monday 9th December in the Eildon Suite of Melrose Rugby Football Club at the Greenyards in Melrose TD6 9SA.
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£2 to members, £3 to non-members to cover room hire. Not to forget biscuits and tea or coffee!

Neil Stratton, our Secretary and club representative of branch on SOC Council, takes us through the Breeding Birds Survey and Waterways BBS results for the Borders 2023 including selected highlights.

Join us at 7.30pm on Monday 9th December in the Eildon Suite of Melrose Rugby Football Club at the Greenyards in Melrose TD6 9SA.
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£2 to members, £3 to non-members to cover room hire. Not to forget biscuits and tea or coffee!
Female pochard image copyright Richard Jackson 

This outing will be to The Hirsel, Coldstream. Meet in the car park (cash payment of £2) beside the courtyard at 10am. Expect to see wildfowl including Mandarin Duck, Gadwall and geese species, and we'll look for Hawfinches near the house. Dress for the weather. Walking boots or trainers will suffice. We'll lunch in the cafe so bring cash (I don't know if it accepts card payments).
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Contact via WhatsApp or Facebook if you want to share transport. Telescopes will be available for sharing. Depart by mid-afternoon.
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Picture of Little Grebe copyright Richard Jackson

For 35 years, Ronnie Graham has been fascinated by forest-nesting raptors and owls monitoring local populations and recording their many ups and downs. Ronnie is happy to embrace new technology and shares what satellite tagging of the species has revealed.

Join us at 7.30pm on Monday 11th November in the Eildon Suite of Melrose Rugby Football Club at the Greenyards in Melrose TD6 9SA.
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£2 to members, £3 to non-members to cover room hire. Not to forget biscuits and tea or coffee!
Picture credit copyright Alistair Cutter

On Sunday 10th November we will explore Bemersyde, Whitrig and Smailholm and hope to turn up some some regulars and perhaps some unexpected autumn visitors.

Meet at Bemersyde hide at 10am (NT615339. what3words smallest.steadier.warm). This is a half day outing; you will only need a flask & snack. Check the forecast before you set off and wear suitable clothing ie bring a raincoat! Contact us via our Facebook page or WhatsApp group if you need any more information.

Bring binoculars. Telescopes will be available to share. No dogs please as this trip includes a hide visit and farmland access. 

BirdTrack is an exciting project, through a partnership between the BTO, the RSPB, Birdwatch Ireland, the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and the Welsh Ornithological Society, that looks at migration movements and distributions of birds throughout Britain and Ireland. BirdTrack provides facilities for observers to store and manage their own personal records as well as using these to support species conservation at local, regional, national and international scales.

The idea behind BirdTrack is that if you have been out birdwatching or simply watching the birds in your garden, records of the birds you have seen can be useful data. The scheme is year-round, and ongoing, and anyone with an interest in birds can contribute. Full details here https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/birdtrack/about

David Raffle our new Birding and Science Officer at the SOC takes us through the app and how to get the most out of it and make our own contribution to "citizen science". We recommend that you download the app before you come to the meeting so that you can try it out and come prepared with any questions

Join us at 7.30pm on Mon 14th October in the Eildon Suite of Melrose Rugby Football Club at the Greenyards in Melrose TD6 9SA. £2 to members, £3 to non-members to cover room hire.

Come and enjoy St Abbs Head in peak migration season in good company.

Meet in N.T.S.car park at Northfield Visitor Centre at 10 a.m. (NT913674. what3words wimp.submits.clumped) .
Bring a packed lunch and clothing suitable for forecast. Contact Richard Jackson via Facebook or WhatsApp group.
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Bring binoculars. Telescopes will be available to share. No dogs please. 

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 9th June at 10.00am for our SOC Borders Branch outing to the Lower Tweed. We will meet in Sprouston NT 756352 What3words - invents.vertical.crescendo  and will walk downstream along the river before returning along the former railway line. Expect to see riparian species and hedgerow passerines.

Dependent on the weather and how far you want to walk this will be a 3 mile or a 6 mile walk. Bring a packed lunch for the longer walk. Binoculars advised. Telescopes available for sharing. This is a good outing for novice birders.

Dress for the weather. No dogs please because of adjacent farms and livestock. Contact us via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/socbordersbirdwatching or on our WhatsApp group for more information.

Thank you to Tom Brewis for allowing us to use his image of the lower reaches of the Tweed. 

Earlier in the day three individuals/groups from our group will have walked three different marked routes on the Bowhill estate, recording bird species and numbers of each species in a notebook. After the walks we will hand over the data to Andy Beverley, Bowhill Countryside Ranger.  Catch up with what we saw and all our activities by popping over to our stall which has information about SOC and our branch activities. There is plenty else going on to make this a fun day out.
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The Courtyard will act as the Main Events Hub, with Bowhill partners hosting stalls and the Old Kitchen Café serving an assortment of refreshments, light lunches and treats. Stall holders will be on hand to provide species specific information and there will be some engaging activities including “Are you stronger than a Golden Eagle”, “Make your own Bird Feeder” and “Pond life identification”. There may also be chance to catch a glimpse of the iconic Red Squirrels, on a live feed provided by Go Wild. And of course you can enjoy beautiful Bowhill!

More details here: https://www.bowhillhouse.co.uk/event/bioblitz-2024/