Nigel Rylance [Forestry Commission]

With Stuart Baines/Ian Robinson.

Stuart will talk about cetaceans off Scarborough and the Yorkshire Coast and will cover his work as Assistant Regional Co-ordinator for the Sea Watch Foundation, local cetacean sightings and the species which are likely to be observed.

Ian, Director at Filey Brigg Ornithological Group & Bird Observatory has been a keen 'whale watcher' for almost 30 years and his talk will be a quick dash around the world looking at cetacean hotspots and what you can expect to see at his favourite destinations.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Bird migration in our area – discussion led by Robin Hopper.

In addition Melanie Earle will give a tutorial for members on how they can post their sightings directly onto our web site.  If you have any recent sightings with or without photos and want to put them on, please bring them along.

The meeting is open to members past and present, friends and those with an interest in natural history who wish to learn more about the Scarborough Field Naturalists society.

AGM and Lecture "Dissecting the decline of a farmland icon"  by Dr Phil Wheeler

Brown hares have declined markedly across their range in Western Europe and in Britain particularly in pastures. Much research has been dedicated to figuring out why these declines have occurred.

For the past 6 years, most of that research has been conducted in fields around North East Yorkshire by Dr Phil Wheeler and his research team.

This talk will present a summary of this work, including the latest results from field and lab work where the team have employed increasingly detailed methods to unpick the ecology of our most iconic farmland mammal.

AGM Agenda:

1.   Welcome.
2.   Apologies for Absence.
3.   Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 11^th December 2012.
4.   Matters Arising from the previous Minutes.
5.   Correspondence.
6.   Secretary’s Report for 2013.
7.   Treasurer’s Report for 2013.
8.   Adoption of Treasurer's Report
9.   Honorary Life Membership – Nan Sykes
10. Election of Officers for 2014.

The meeting is open to members past and present, friends and anyone interested in finding out more about Scarborough Field Naturalists.

Bring along your records and photographs of  2013 natural history highlights in the Scarborough area, to share with others.

Debbie Seymour, Chief Executive of Scarborough Museums Trust will give an update on the current situation at the Wood End Museum and the collections held there as well as mentioning other museums in Scarborough.   There will be opportunity to discuss how our members may be able to help out with the collections.

The meeting is open to members past and present, friends and those with an interest in natural history who wish to learn more about the Scarborough Field Naturalists society.

Lecture:  "Bots & Warbles – An Introduction to Oestridae (sensu lato)" by professional Entomologist, Andrew Grayson.