Ibis on the move

Following the successful, and ground-breaking, transfer of a small number of Northern Bald Ibis from the semi-wild population at Birecik, Turkey to the only known wild breeding colony in Syria, the birds are now on their way to wintering grounds in southern Arabia and Ethiopia. Currently, the wintering area of juvenile ibis is unknown so discovering this will make a major contribution to developing strategies for long term conservation of the ibis, the rarest bird in the Middle East. Follow the story at
www.rspb.org.uk/ibistracking

The Nature of Iraq – from Marshes to Mountains

4 - 25 July 2010 at the BIRDscapes Gallery, Glandford in North Norfolk, England.

Hosted by Nature Iraq and BirdLife International.

A story in photographs and words of the work of Nature Iraq in a forgotten wildlife paradise.

OSME Summer Meeting 2010

The Programme for this year's OSME's Summer Meeting and AGM is now finalised. It will be held from 11.00 on Saturday 10 July at BTO, Thetford, Norfolk. Doors open 10.00. All welcome. Speakers include Simon Busuttil, Raffael Ayé, Manuel Schweizer, Azzam Alwash, Graham Lobley, Geoff Welch. Countries and topics covered include Afghanistan (Conservation in a Conflict Zone), Tajikistan (Discovery of Large-billed Reed Warbler), Iraq (Conservation Issues), Saudi Arabia (Birding in an Underwatched Country), Central Asia in general (Important IBAs). Join us for dinner at Watton’s Restaurant in Thetford afterwards.

32nd Annual General Meeting

Copies of the Minutes of the 31st AGM and the Accounts for 2009 will be available at the meeting. If you would like copies in advance please write to the Secretary, OSME, c/o The Lodge, SANDY, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK or e-mail:[email protected]

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

As indicated in last year’s Chairman’s Report, OSME started 2009 facing a year of financial restraint but thanks to concerted efforts by all of Council and excellent financial planning and management by the Treasurer, John Warr, we ended the year with a budget surplus of almost £4,000. Given the turmoils of the global economy this is no mean feat. The 2009 raffle generated much needed funds to support the day to day management of OSME and the Conservation and Research Fund and we will be running another raffle in 2010 which I hope will be even more successful.

OSME News – from the Chairman of Council, Geoff Welch

Like any organisation, OSME needs to constantly evolve and adapt to changes, especially in relation to its membership, conservation and research activities in the region and the wider global situation. One of the privileges of being Chairman of Council is that it gives an opportunity to indulge in a little ‘crystal ball gazing’ regarding how OSME could and should develop in the coming years and I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my, and Council’s, thoughts with you.