Annual General meeting and Birding in the Balkans

The 2011 indoor seaason kiked off with our AGM and an excellent talk by Paul Bowden on Birding in the Balkans

Paul showed some exellent pictures and video in his short presetation on his trip to visit a friend and  felowe birder for a week in the sunshine - YES SUNSHINE !

Paul of rouce is not just a birder, but showed some really good pictures of the insects he saw along the way.

It was a real tonic to see some blue skies at this time of year 

Regards
Andy

2011 - 2012 Programme now on-line

As you can see on the Programme page above or on the website at http://www.cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/programme.htm our 2011-12 programme has now gone on-line

2011 Indoor meetings
Wed	Sep	21	AGM followed by an Illustrated talk on Birding in the Balkans	Paul Bowden
Tue	Sep	27	The Valleys from Green to Black and Back	Dr. David Llewellyn
Mon	Oct	3	Danau Girang Field Centre, a research and Training Facility in a Tropical Rainforest in Borneo	Dr. Benoit Goossens.
Wed	Oct	19	Butterflies in UK and Underwater exotics	Cate Barrow
Thur	Nov	3	Northern Territory and Queensland	Margaret and John Samuel
Mon	Nov	28	The Wildside Of Crime	PC 3626 Mark Goulding
Wed	Dec	7	Xmas Bash - Guest of Honour Dr Mary Gillham	Members
2012 Indoor meetings
Wed	Jan	18	Members Evening	Members
Tues	Jan	24	Small Can Be Beautiful, The Micro Moths of Glamorgan	David Slade
Thurs	Feb	9	Birds, Ecosystems and Climate Change	Dr Rob Thomas
Tues	Feb	21	The Caves of Cefn Meiriadog, Denbighshire , a Bishop Darwin, a Chimney Sweep, Landmines and Science	Elizabeth Walker
Thurs	Mar	8	Parasites of The Eurasian Otter Ellie	Sherrard- Smith
Tues	Mar	27	Urban Tree and Woodland Management	Cameron Lewis

Outdoor meetings
2011
Sat	Sep	17	10.00	H/F	Parc Tredelerch
2012
Sun	Jan	8	9.00	F	Birdwatch, Channel View		Rob & Linda Nottage
Sat	Feb	25	10.00	F	Ogmore, Geology		Steve Howe
Sun	Mar	25	10:00	F	Blaenavon, above and below the surface		Rhian Kendall
Sun	May	13	10.00	F	Roath Park		Tony Titchen
	Jun	9/10	10.00	F	Whitford,		Gower Steve Bolchover
Sun	Jul	1	9.30	F	Cowbridge & Siginstone		Rob and Linda Nottage
Wed	Jul	11	18.30	H	Lisvane		Mike Dean
Sat	Aug	11	10.00	F	Leckwith Woods		Ben Rowson
Sun	Sep	16	10.00	F	Ashton Court, Bristol		Tony Titchen

Normally this would be posted to members with the AGM newsletter, but we've had a slight snag getting things printed this year and we will get the cards to you as soon as possible

In the mean time please spread the word to any of our members who are not on-line (or possible members who've not yet joined us) so that they can plan to come along and have some really good evenings fun during the darker months ahead

if you prefer just a list of the indoor meetings it can be found here http://www.cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/htmfiles/indoor.htm
and if you want a poster to put up at work or somewhere local then that can be found here http://www.cardiffnaturalists.org.uk/pdf/currentposter.pdf

Regards
Andy

Obituary - Graham Duff (1939-2011)

It is with great sadness that I have to announce that Graham died on Thursday August 18th 2011, after a lengthy fight against cancer. Those who knew Graham will remember a 'gentle giant' with a lovely West Country accent and superb mutton chop side burns.

He was a long-standing member and active supporter of the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society making contributions in many ways. He sat on the society council but was perhaps best known for his tireless technical support at the indoor meetings. Graham was also an accomplished nature photographer, a skill he acquired relatively recently and he entertained members of the society with vibrant talks from the trips he and Margaret had made around the globe.

Graham was also a long-standing member of the Glamorgan Bird Club. He attended many field trips and indoor meetings, as well as giving talks on his photographic trips in the UK and abroad. Graham designed the replacement Arthur Morgan hide at Kenfig National Nature Reserve, arranged supply of the materials from his own hardwood timber merchant firm that he ran in the Vale and organised the building of the hide. Graham was very diligent in keeping records of wildfowl counts on Roath Park Lake and helping out with the British Breeding Bird Survey annually.

Graham was one of the founding members of the Glamorgan Wildlife Photographic Club and we have run the club together over the last 6 years, with the help of several other members. Graham was instrumental in developing the programme to its current successful format and his dogged determination led to the launch of the club website late in 2009. This now contains a database of almost 600 photographs taken by club members, almost a quarter of these taken by Graham himself. I have worked closely with Graham over these last 6 years and he has contributed a tremendous amount to running the club, it will be strange for him not to be there.

Graham was also an active member of the local Cardiff Group of the RSPB and local groups of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, contributing widely to nature conservation and the overall appreciation of wildlife.

Graham, you will be greatly missed for these reasons and many others, and for just being you. I'm sure all those in the society who knew Graham will wish to convey their heartfelt condolences to Margaret Morgan.

Paul E. Bowden
Friend and Colleague
August 2011

Graham Duff

We bring the sad news that Graham Duff a long time member of the society and a valued friend to many of us has passed away following a battle with cancer on Thursday 18th August 2011

This was a shock to many of us as we had not heard that Graham was ill

I know that I personally will miss his cheerful demeanour and the discussions we had when we got together

We will post more information as we have it, in the mean time the society would like to pass on our condolcences to Margaret and to all of his family and friends

Regards
Andy Kendall

Building stones walk date

If you have not yet read it in the newsletter or seen it on the website we can now confirm that the Cardiff bay Building stones walk is now set as

Thursday 11th August 2011 starting at 18:30 

Meet at the junction of Bute Street and James Street

Click on the location information below to see a map of the starting point

Chinese Flora

Recently returned from a botanical tour of Sichuan in western China.

Fantastic flora and scenery. Lillies and Thalictrums hanging over roads, Gentians thick underfoot, uncountable species of colourful Louseworts and tens of species of Primulas including the 'famed' Black Primula. Even had two species of 'Slipper' Orchids, (see Cypripedium tibeticum attached). Almost forgot the Meconopsis Poppies-Blue's, Red and Yellow, fantastic!

The mountainsides were often decorated with colourful Prayer flags, especially near the tops of passes and near the highly decorated Monastrys.

Highly recommend the trip if you can tolerate high altitude.

Coedarhydyglyn

What an absolute delight today was !

I'm certain that a full write-up will appear in due course in the newsletter and it will be written by someone with a much better botanical knowledge than me. However, for now, and maybe to whet your appetite for other events this summer here are some pictures and some thoughts from what was a fantastic day out for the 30 or so of us that made it to this event

First off the location. we were honoured to be allowed to walk around these private gardens and admire the house as well. This is a private house on land which has been owned by the Traherne family back to Henry VII. Most notable of the family were the Reverend John Traherne, who during the 19th Century was a scholar and collector of scientific manuscripts, and Sir Cennydd Traherne, who was Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan from 1952 to 1974. We were lucky not to see any Cybermen on our visit

Next the trees and the leadership - Tony Titchen (in red shirt below) is rightly recognised for his excellent leadership of such events

Third the weather .. mind you we had to shelter in the shade sometimes as the skies were almost unbroken blue which at this time of year can be a little too much.

Thank goodness this was a tree walk as they provided the necessary shade in abundance. You can play spot the CNS member in this picture

And the trees were magnificent as well including this filbert (Corylus maxima)

And these fascinating resin oozing cones of Abies kawakamii

Regards
Andy