The Course

The course is aimed at beginners, and people who want to increase their knowledge of birds, and their ability to find and recognise them in the field. It is organised by The National Trust, together with the Church Stretton branch of Shropshire Ornithological Society (SOS).

It consists of six evening classroom sessions, each followed by a field trip, starting in March 2009.  Each indoor session will cover a group of birds which can be found at that time of year, and cover identification, behaviour, habitats, song and how to go out and look for them.  The following field trip will visit places where these birds are likely to be found, to provide practical experience to reinforce the content of the indoor sessions.

An additional indoor session will be held specifically for beginners and anyone else who needs advice on acquiring and using binoculars and field guides.

The indoor sessions are on a Tuesday, at approximately monthly intervals, starting on 31 March (with a break in July and August).  Sessions will start at 7.30pm, last for two hours, and be held in the tea room in the National Trust Pavilion at Carding Mill Valley (Church Stretton - OS Grid Ref SO443946).  The outdoor field trips will mainly be on Sunday mornings, starting at 9.30 and lasting two and a half hours, although two full day trips are planned towards the end.  Each outdoor meeting will be at a different place, where the birds covered in the previous indoor session are most likely to be found.

Course Leaders and Tutors

Most of the indoor sessions will be led by Martin George. Martin is a lifelong birdwatcher and an experienced trainer and Adult Education tutor.  He is a member of SOS and works as wildlife adviser for CJ WildBird Foods. This includes giving illustrated talks to organisations across the country, particularly about birds, and he often writes about garden wildlife in the national media.
He has led many field trips in Shropshire and beyond, is a licensed bird ringer and a keen ‘local patch’ birdwatcher, although he does admit to regularly travelling out of the county to indulge his enthusiasm for coastal birds.

Leo Smith is the local ornithologist who has been monitoring the bird populations on Long Mynd since 1994, and he was the lead author for Wild Mynd – the Birds and Wildlife of the Long Mynd. Leo will present the upland birds indoor session in June, supported by Peter Carty, Property Manager for the Long Mynd and other National Trust properties in the South Shropshire Hills. Pete previously managed bird reserves for the RSPB, and has ticked off around a quarter of the world’s birds.

John Arnfield, co-ordinator of the Shropshire Bird Atlas area centred on Church Stretton, will help the other course tutors with the final indoor session.  John is the SOS Church Stretton branch Treasurer, and is interested in the impact of climate change on bird distribution.  Although he has been birding since childhood, he has spent most of his adult life in North America and, as a result, can identify a Cerulean Warbler quicker than a Willow Warbler!

As a major aim of the course is to help participants find and identify birds in the field, all four course leaders will be at all the field trips, to provide as much personal one-to-one assistance as you want.

Booking and Costs

Booking is essential: contact the National Trust on 01694 722 631.

The course has been planned as a whole, and can be booked for £45. If places are available, individual sessions can be booked for £5 each. The additional indoor session for beginners is free for people who book the whole course, but there will be additional costs for the last two field trips, to cover transport and admission to the Reserve (to be discussed with participants)

Suitable footwear and outdoor (water- and windproof) clothing is needed for all outdoor field trips. Participants will need to make their own way to the starting point of the first four, though car sharing can be arranged at the previous indoor session.  Depending on the preferences of participants, car sharing will be arranged for the final two trips (to Slimbridge and Gigrin), or, if there is sufficient interest and participants are willing to pay, a coach may be arranged. 

Course Outline

The following indoor sessions (in blue) and field trips (in red) are planned. Locations for these meetings are as follows:

Tuesday, 31 March, 2009
Introduction to the course - what we intend to cover, introduction to tutors and other course participants. Discussion of what participants hope to get out of the course, so we can tailor it to your wishes. Introduction to common and resident birds, particularly garden birds.

Tuesday, 7 April, 2009
Optional session, for those that want it - choosing and using binoculars and field guides.

Sunday, 26 April, 2009
Introduction to common and resident birds. Rectory Wood, Church Stretton. (Meet at Rectory Wood Car Park, Cunnery Road, Church Stretton SO448936.)

Tuesday, 12 May, 2009
Breeding birds (the less-common residents, and summer visitors like Swallows, Martins and Warblers).

Sunday, 24 May, 2009
Carding Mill Valley and New Pool Hollow Reservoir, Long Mynd. (Meet at Chalet Pavilion SO443946.)

Tuesday, 9 June, 2009
Uplands birds - the specialities of the Long Mynd - birds of prey, Raven, and residents of the upper valleys and open moorland such as Whinchat, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

Sunday, 28 June, 2009
Around Pole Cottage, Long Mynd (the upper parts of Ashes Hollow and the heathland of Pole Bank). (Meet at Chalet Pavilion SO443946.)

Tuesday, 8 September, 2009
Migration - why do birds migrate?  More on summer visitors (breeding birds), winter visitors and passage migrants.

Sunday, 20 September, 2009
Venus Pool Reserve near Shrewsbury (owned by Shropshire Ornithological Society).  "V.P." is mainly a wetland. The last of the summer visitors, passage migrants, and the first of the winter visitors should all be present at this time. (Meet at Venus Pool Car Park [SJ547061]. Car sharing will be arranged.)

Tuesday, 6 October, 2009
Winter wild fowl - large numbers of ducks, swans and geese come to Britain for winter.

Sunday, 25 October, 2009
Slimbridge, near Gloucester, the flagship reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. (Full day trip. Meeting & travel arrangements, and costs, to be confirmed after discussion with participants.)

Tuesday, 10 November, 2009
Birdwatching & Conservation - how bird watching and reporting results as part of a coordinated project can help conservation - everything from "Garden Bird Watch" to participating in community wildlife groups to help Lapwing and Curlew, helping with the Shropshire Bird Atlas (organised by Shropshire Ornithological Society) and the Breeding Bird Survey (a national project run by the British Trust for Ornithology), and conserving threatened species like Red Kite.

Sunday, 22 November, 2009
The Red Kite spectacular at Gigrin Farm near Rhayader, and the work of the Welsh Kite Trust. (Full day trip. Meeting & travel arrangements, and costs, to be confirmed after discussion with participants.)

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