© Mark Andrews

On May 5th OBC Council Member Mike Edgecombe will be attempting to cycle from the WWT reserve in Welney, Cambridgeshire, UK over 60 miles to Cley/Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast.

At the same time OBC Council Member John (3 peaks in 24hrs) Gregory will be running, along with a few others, from Titchwell RSPB reserve, racing against me to finish first at Salthouse.

Why are they doing this? Because there is a race on, a real race to save the Spoon-billed Sandpiper from extinction and this project urgently needs your support.

Please help these two intrepid OBC Council Members to raise as much money as possible to support the ongoing work to save Spoonie.

Please visit their joint JustGiving page  and in the words of Bob Geldof – “GIVE US YOUR MONEY”

Thank you!

OBC grants have previously supported conservation efforts for the Cheer Pheasant, a species threatened by habitat degradation, hunting and other pressures. (c) Richard Thomas / OBC

OBC makes an annual offer of small grants for bird conservation projects in the Oriental Region. The grants are particularly aimed at people resident in the region, to promote greater involvement in conservation. Grants can cover both research and practical conservation work and results are reported regularly in BirdingASIA.

We currently offer small grants of up to GBP 1500 (USD 2370 at today’s exchange rate).

The deadline for the 2013 offer is 31st March and final decisions on funding will be announced in early July. Full details (including funding priorities and how to apply)

Proposals should be submitted by email to mail@orientalbirdclub.org We confirm the receipt of all proposals by email (regretably, emails from Asia are often lost in transit, so please contact us again if you receive no response).

If members, at any time, learn of promising conservationists with good ideas for projects then please point them in the direction of the various grants offered by OBC.

Posted on behalf of Dave Buckingham, Chair OBC Conservation Committee

OBC members will soon receive or have already got the latest issue of the Club’s biannual publication, BirdingASIA.

As ever, the issue is packed with the latest information and ornithological sightings from the Oriental region. It includes articles on the exciting rediscovery of Sillem’s Mountain Finch in China (see news item below), all the latest taxonomic changes and updates proposed for Asian birds plus updates on conservation breeding efforts to conserve the Spoon-billed Sandpiper right through to notes about the nesting of the rarely seen Hoogerwerf’s Pheasant in Sumatra.

The full contents and sample articles from each issue are posted here on the OBC website, but it’s a publication you simply can’t afford to miss: so join OBC today and you will receive two issues of BirdingASIA every year, plus once a year, Forktail, the Club’s peer-reviewed journal publishing original ornithological research from the region.

For more information on forthcoming OBC Tours, please contact Mike Edgecombe, OBC Promotions Officer via mail@orientalbirdclub.org.

Laos and Cambodia, 24 February – 10 March 2013
The sixth Oriental Bird Club tour to Cambodia again includes the equally fascinating Laos, adding more rarities to this exciting tour. View details.

Mishmi Hills, Dibru Saikhowa & Nagaland, 26 April–11 May 2013
Join Sujan Chatterjee for a visit to these little-known areas. Travel is now easier than in the past and good accommodation and food are available at most of the locations visited!

North-east Tibet, Koko Nor, Roof of the World & SE Qinghai, 23 June – 14 July 2013
This popular tour will run again in 2013. Contact Mike Edgecombe for details.

This is the ongoing development of the Oriental Bird Club website. We hope to have it up and running soon, but in the meantime, please bear with us as we add content and test out the site. Thanks – the OBC team.