The Birds of Berkshire 2002

1st October 2004

Reading Ornithological Club, Berkshire's leading club for birdwatchers has just published a fascinating summary of the records of birds seen in Berkshire during the year 2002. This Annual Report contains details of species, common or rare, found during the year and explains the status of each of them.

The book also summarises a number of survey results from 2002 that contain surprising stories. The spread of the Red Kite, a rare bird of prey is now seen often in the west of the county, including Reading where it has been recorded in several gardens. The Buzzard may now be the commonest bird of prey in the county. The sight of several Buzzards in the air over Reading is no longer rare for those who watch birds here.

The articles and accounts also tell a story of the decline of other species such as the Tree Sparrow, Redshank and Snipe while at the same time providing interesting accounts of rarities found such as a Golden Oriole at Caversham. This bird is featured in a beautiful cover painting by Robert Gillmor, a former President of the Reading Ornithological Club and nationally recognised artist whose work features in many books and publications related to ornithology. In addition, other artwork and photographs of Berkshire's birds are included in the publication along with a map of the county showing all the main places where interesting birds are regularly seen and reported.

The views of the Club on the massive development proposed south of Reading by Prudential is also mentioned along with how it plans to approach the issue.

This Report is produced annually by the Club as an historical record and is available from the Hon Secretary Renton Righelato on 0118 9264 513 or by email at renton.righelato@theroc.org.uk, for £5 plus £1.50 post and packing. Further details of the Club and its publications are available from their website www.theroc.org.uk.

Editors Notes

1. The Reading Ornithological Club was founded in 1947 to promote the education and study of wild birds. It is a registered charity.
2. The Club produces an Annual Report of the birds of the county of Berkshire, compiling records from birdwatchers from all over the county. This report is as up to date as most county reports from around the UK and it takes around 18 months to collect the records from a variety of electronic and paper records before the writing of the content is possible.
3. Records included in the report cover all major towns and places in the county including Slough, Maidenhead, Newbury, Hungerford, Reading and interesting sightings for each of these areas are available if required.
4. The Club supports the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in its surveys and some of the results are published in the report where they relate to Berkshire.
5. Annual reports are paid for out of Club funds and copies are distributed free to members. They are sold to local interest groups and occasionally through local bookshops to recoup some of the costs.
6. The report for 2002 has a full colour cover for the first time. This has been made possible by a generous contribution by Thames Water who have provided funding towards the cost of the reports for a three year period.
7. The Reading Ornithological Club meets at Reading University, Palmer building during the winter months on two evenings a month. Further details of meetings are available from the club website www.theroc.org.uk or from the Membership Secretary, Dot Lincoln on 0118 9427 563.