The OSME Summer meeting and 40th AGM
In 1968, The Ornithological Society of Turkey (OST) was launched, and in 1978 its geographical remit expanded to become the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, with the addition of The Caucasus and Central Asia in 2001. Taking the formation of the OST as our founding, this year we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary with a number of initiatives including a special supplement of Sandgrouse, a pocket checklist of the Birds of the OSME Region and a series of historical tweets via the OSME Twitter account (#osme50years). There will of course be the usual annual events such as the Summer Meeting, AGM and Birdfair.
The OSME Summer Meeting and 40th AGM will be held at BTO Headquarters, Thetford, Norfolk on Saturday 30th June. Doors will open at 10.00am for members and non-members to meet old and new friends over coffee and cake. There is no charge for attending the summer meeting and non-members are most welcome. There is an exciting range of talks lined up focussing on birds and birdwatching across the OSME region. We are also in the process of arranging some additional parts to the programme and we will announce these soon.
We have again arranged a meal at the Mulberry restaurant in Thetford after the meeting. All are welcome and we hope that you can join us. Bookings for the meal need to made in advance and please contact Sajidah Ahmad via email secretary AT osme.org – from whom further details can be obtained.
The full programme is as follows:
10.00 Doors open
11.00 Introduction & welcome – Rob Sheldon, OSME Chairman
11.15 The history of OSME – Richard Porter
12.00 Dangers of a journey south: illegal bird slaughter on Cyprus– Georgia Locock
12.30 OSME updates – Rob Sheldon, OSME Chairman
12.45 Lunch break
A range of sandwiches and drinks will be available.
14.15 40th Annual General Meeting
15.00 Conservation in the Iraq Marshes – Nadheer Fazaa
15.45 Break
16.15 Birds and birdwatching in Iran – Steve Rooke
16.45 Drawing of raffle and closing remarks.
17.15 Close of meeting
Getting to the BTO
By Rail to Thetford Station Thetford is on the Birmingham-Norwich line. From London travel via Cambridge. Taxis are available at Thetford station.
By Road The Nunnery is on Nuns’ Bridge Road which is off the A134 to the south of the town. To obtain a map of the area visit www.multimap.co.uk and enter postcode IP24 2PU. There is a large car park at The Nunnery.
The full programme and agenda for the 40th AGM can be downloaded here.