COVID-19 Update 4th January: Society reserves remain open, however all hides are still closed, and the society walks and events program has been suspended until further notice. We will be publishing reports of rare birds in the County where it is felt it is safe to do so, please do continue to send in all records. See the Society Homepage for more information and a fuller statement from the board.
Cornish Choughs: The Society is now maintaining the dedicated Chough sightings database for Cornwall, adding to the many thousands of records received from birders and members of the public since 2001. Please send your sightings to choughs@cbwps.org.uk including, date, place, 6 fig grid ref if possible, and notes on any colour rings observed.
Please see the link for an update from the team on what has been a good year for our birds, and of course do continue to send your sightings in over the winter Chough update Dec 2020
Blackcaps: Have you seen a colour-ringed Blackcap in Cornwall this winter? If so, the BTO would love to hear from you! More details on the website here – BTO Blackcap Project
Garden Listing League 2021: Following on from the successes of lockdown listing last year we have decided to run a league for the whole of 2021 for lockdown in January and beyond. More details can be found on the website here- Cornwall Garden Listing League Whether you have fantastic coastal views or a small suburban garden see what you can see and record this year. Good luck! (Last update 24th Jan)
Online Bookshop: 12th Jan – we have added a further selection of second hand birding and natural history books to our online bookshop click Here to browse and find a bargain!
Possible Avian Flu in Cornwall: Sadly, on Saturday the 23rd of January, 7 Little Egret were found dead in Gillan Creek. This is obviously rather distressing and of serious concern as could be an indicator of Avian Flu within the County! Defra will be investigating this occurrence and have taken a sample of one of the birds to determine a cause of death. In the meantime they have requested that the following is adhered too: Do not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that you find. If you find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or other dead wild birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, you should report them to the Defra helpline 03459 33 55 77. We then collect some of these birds and test them to help us understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of bird, not all birds will be collected.
More news and updates from the Society: can be found Here
The Birdwatchers Code The Nature Photographers Code Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 Schedule 1 Birds