News Archive

04/12/13 One month to go in the 2013 Year List Competition and its close at the top with Mick Clay on 125 and John Gallagher close behind on 123. But, no new birds were added to anyone's list is November, so are there any new last minute birds to be seen in the square this year? All will be revealed by the year end...

20/11/13 To celebrate the success of the group's annual photographic competition we've again produced calendars of the best images from each category. The 2014 desktop (CD style) calendars make ideal gifts and are great value for money. The calendars are £2.75 each (plus postage at cost) or an amazing 2 for £5.00 or 3 for £7.00 - why not solve your Christmas gift problems, help promote and fund SK58 Birders, get a really useful calendar and save yourself money! The calendars are available from Andy Hirst.

Below is a sample from the 2014 calendar.

20/11/13 In September Andy Hirst spent 5 days driving through 7 European countries in an old banger, and was sponsored for doing so in order to raise funds for the group. Thanks to everyone who supported Andy's efforts which raised almost £80. Well done Andy!

06/11/13 We are delighted to announce the results of the 2013 photographic competition. There were 60 entries of which the best overall photograph was judged to be a Kingfisher at Pit House West by Martin Garwell. Congratulations to Martin and everyone else who took part. Photo Competition 2013 Results

03/10/13 The SK58 Christmas Meal will be held on Sat 14th of December at the Parish Oven, Thorpe Salvin 19:00 - 19:30. There's a varied menu to suit all tastes. So if you wish to book, please contact Andy Hirst ASAP. There's a £5 deposit. Can you let Andy know what you would like from each course at the time of booking.

03/09/13 Following a short handover we welcome Jan Jarrold who takes over the role of Treasurer for SK58 Birders with immediate effect. Jan has been a member for many years, she is a keen photographer who has previously won several categories in the annual photo competition. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing Jan every success in the role. See Contacts page for email address. At the same time we offer our thanks to Chris Lilley who, as many of you know, has been our Treasurer for many years.

04/08/13 Following the SK58 visit to the RSPB reserve at Blacktoft Sands on 28th July Peter Kenworthy kindly sent a series of photos taken on the day. See Blacktoft Sands or for more images go to our Gallery Gallery

16/07/13 In September Andy Hirst will spend 5 days driving through Europe visiting 7 counties in an old banger! He's hoping to raise funds for the SK58 Birders, as well as having a great time and see some spectacular sites. Andy is hoping members of the group and the general public will sponsor him, either per mile, per country, per day or however they want to contribute. See Motoscape Rally 2013 for more information.

10/07/13 Following a couple of evening training sessions Farrell Kent has taken on the day-to-day responsibility for the SK58 website. I am starting off with the basic recoding of sightings and newsworthy stories with the aim of providing continuity to Andy's many years of service on the website. Its a great to be able to get involved so let me know if you have news and information to share. See Contacts page for email address.

01/07/13 A reminder that the deadline for submission of photo's for the calendar has now passed. We've only had a few submitted by one contributor. Unless we receive a lot more, then we won't be producing a calendar.

17/05/13 Farrell Kent has kindly agreed to take over the very responsible task of looking after the website! Farrell will have a few lessons to learn the ropes but we'll hopefully get him up and running soon. Please continue to send your records to recorder@sk58birders.com as Farrell will receive the records for the website as will Andy Hirst who will maintain the SK58 database which dates back to 1996!.

23/05/13 Peter Kenworthy has kindly emailed images from the recent SK58 walk to Wyming Brook & Stannage Edge Wyming Brook walk 19/05/13 or to see more images go to our Gallery Gallery

20/05/13 On Saturday the group held the "Big Sit"- The hide at NAPT was wardened from Dawn until Dusk and all the birds seen or heard from the hide were recorded. We were hoping for 50+ plus species, but alas after 17hours in the hide we managed a respectable 46 species. The cool spring and damp conditions during the post dawn period curtailed some bird activity.

However we did rack up an impressive list. The highlight however was an Osprey >N over the hospice at about 07:45. More importantly we introduced the site and the birds to a few new people as well as meeting some old friends. All in all it was a great success. An article should appear in the Dinnington Guardian on the 30th May.

Species recorded:

1. Reed Warbler	17. Chiffchaff	32. Kestrel
2. Lapwing	18. Great Tit	33. Swift
3. Wren	19. Willow Warbler	34. Collared Dove
4. Mallard	20. Carrion Crow	35. Skylark
5. Song Thrush	21. Pheasant	36. Pied Wagtail
6. Moorhen	22. Magpie	37. Goldfinch
7. Robin	23. Meadow Pipit	38. Mistle Thrush
8. Reed Bunting	24. Stock Dove	39. Greenfinch
9. Blackbird	25. Woodpigeon	40. Blue Tit
10. Chaffinch	26. Jackdaw	41. Osprey
11. Canada Goose	27. Rook	42. Lesser Black-backed Gull
12. Little Ringed Plover	28. Starling	43. Buzzard
13. Whitethroat	29. Swallow	44. Black-headed Gull
14. Dunnock	30. Sparrowhawk	45. Greylag Gooe
15. Blackcap	31. Linnet	46. House Martin
16. Grey Partridge

09/04/13 Just a reminder that the annual subs are due this month see Join Us

08/04/13 We are holding our "Big Sit" event again this year at NAPT on Saturday 18th May. The hide will be open from dawn until dusk and we'll be recording everything we see or hear from dawn until dusk. It'll be a long day, but we hope to record over 50 species from the hide. Come along at any time during the day and see what we've recorded, we usually get a few unexpected species!

18/03/13 We have several vacancies within the group and are desperate to attract individuals or couples to take on these roles. Without these posts being filled, the group will be severely impacted. We urgently need a treasurer otherwise we'll have to seriously look at curtailing our meetings as we'll have no one to sort out the finances associated with these. Andy Hirst is also stepping down after 18 years as Recorder and looking after the website. See Contacts for current vacancies.

28/02/13 Andy Hirst has a Fuji bridge camera for sale. Click here for details.

05/02/13 We had a very successful AGM and Members night in January. Unfortunately we still have several vacancies. The most urgently required is someone or a couple to take over from Chris as Treasurer. This is a vital role with SK58. If nobody comes forward this may have significant impact on indoor meetings as we have to pay for the room and keep accounts. See any group organiser if you think you'd might be interested. Its not arduous but is a responsible role. We are also looking for a person or couple to take on the Publicity for the group. This is another important role which ensures the group moves forward and our work reaches a wider audience and recruits new members.

16/01/13 Our Treasurer, Chris Lilley has given notice he wishes to step down. So we are actively looking for someone to take on this important, but not difficult role. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris for his many years of service in the role and wish him well with his future projects.

The role is straight forward as we do not handle large sums or have lots of transactions. Essentially it's paying speakers fees at indoor meetings, collecting cash at meetings and subs in the spring, paying them in and keeping a spreadsheet/ balance sheet, as well as being co-signature on cheques. For details contact Andy Hirst or Chris Lilley. Contacts We do have several vacancies at the moment. A few more helping hands would take the strain off the remaining group organisers. See Contacts for list of current vacant posts.

02/01/13 HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013 kicks off with more events within SK58. A reminder that the January meeting is our AGM. Do please attend as we have a special members night following the brief AGM. Instead of a single speaker we have several short presentations from group members. So far we have the following:

12/11/12 For next years calendar we aim to include just images from within the square, so these can be of anything, so long as they are taken within SK58. These images will be used to compile the calendar with the best images from categories within SK58 used from the photo competition. So the deadline for SK58 calendar images (non photo comp) will be the end of June, and the photo comp deadline remains the September meeting.

A group focused on recording the bird life of a single 10km square between Sheffield, Rotherham & Worksop

content & design by Andy Hirst