Richard Porter becomes a Birdlife Member of Honour

At the recent Birdlife International World Congress held recently in Ottawa, Canada, Richard Porter was made a BirdLife Member of Honour for his work in Yemen and Iraq. The award was presented by HIH Princess Takamado, BirdLife’s...

Latest News from Nature Iraq

25/07/2012. The following link takes you to the latest Newsletter of Nature Iraq – and an important online petition concerning the Ilisu Dam Project in Hasankeyf, Turkey which will affect the famous and important marshes in southern...

Black Lark research in Kazakhstan

Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis is one of the iconic birds of the steppes of Kazakhstan and is the subject of a research project, part funded by the OSME Conservation and Research Fund, looking at the species’ breeding...

OSME Raffle 2013

OSME Raffle 2013

This year’s raffle will be raising funds to support work by Nature Iraq on the globally endangered Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis, one of the most threatened passerines in the OSME region. The species is classed as endangered...

New Council members request

New Council members request

OSME relies on its volunteer Council members in order to operate efficiently and we are currently seeking new members to join Council. Council members serve for 5 years and Council meets formally three times a year but...

Last Northern Bald Ibis in Syria?

Last Northern Bald Ibis in Syria?

OSME has received the following sad news on the Northern Bald Ibis http://www.iagnbi.org/en/news/ (International Advisory Group for Northern Bald Ibis – IAGNBI) Despite the current crisis in Syria, the field team have continued to monitor the ibis, and...

Request for recordings of bird sounds

Request for recordings of bird sounds

Bloomsbury are doing an eBook of Birds of the Middle East (Porter & Aspinall (2010) and it is planned to include bird sounds. Most of these have been obtained but there are still a few outstanding and...

OSME Summer Meeting 2012

OSME Summer Meeting 2012

The 2012 Summer Meeting and AGM on Saturday 7 July were again held at the BTO headquarters in Thetford and attended by 43 members and guests. The day had the theme of migration and the first speaker,...

Raffle 2012 – results

Raffle 2012 – results

The winners of this year’s raffle in support of research and conservation of White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala in Kazakhstan were: 1st Opticron Imagic BGA SE 8×42 binoculars (value £439)- S Starling 2nd Naturetrek voucher for £250 – E Moran...

Crowd-sourcing an atlas of migratory bird hunting

Crowd-sourcing an atlas of migratory bird hunting

OSME has received a request from Dr Paul Jepson of the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, asking us to help with a project to create an atlas of migratory bird hunting. As he...

2012 Annual Prize Draw

2012 Annual Prize Draw

Proceeds will be used to support the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan White-headed Duck conservation project 1st Opticron Imagic BGA SE 8×42 binoculars (value £439) 2nd Naturetrek voucher for £250 3rd Birdguides – BWPi:...

Champions of the Flyway- Birdrace

On the 1st of April 2014 The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI – Birdlife International Partner) hosted the first ever ‘Champions of the Flyway’ 24 hour bird race in Eilat. The event is...