A few new images taken at Ogston have been added to the Members Gallery

All the images shown in the gallery are the work of Ogston Bird Club members. All images have been taken at either the Ogston or Jim Mart nature reserves.

A few members have contacted the website team to let us know they have not had their copy of the latest newsletter. This may have happened because we do not have an up to date e-mail address for you.

If you’ve not received the latest newsletter could you please let Steve Slack, the club’s Publicity Officer know. You can contact him by E-mail

As per the latest Ogston Bird Club newsletter, can we remind all members that as of next year, the gate lock numbers will be changed in the first weekend of February 2014. NOT May as in previous years.

Please note, membership renewal will take 7 to 10 days in January, so can you please ensure that you get your membership renewal forms to the Membership Secretary as early as possible. This will allow him chance to process them and allow you continued access to both the Ogston and Jim Mart reserves.

Copies of the 2014 membership renewal forms are attached to the latest Ogston newsletter e-mail. If you haven’t received your copy of the December newsletter, please contact the club’s Publicity Officer, Steve Slack by E-mail

As previously mentioned, RSPB Snettisham is closed for the forseeable future, we now know that the large Sanctuary hide was completely washed away in the storm surge and the Roost hide is now badly listing at 45 degrees into what’s left of the lagoon.

The RSPB have also announced that both Blacktoft Sands and Frampton/Frieston are entirely closed

The full report for the Ogston Guided Bird Walk in December has now been added to the website. Thanks to Peter Faulkner for the report.

Not sure if you’ve seen the notice but the following has been added to RSPB Snettisham’s website:

Important Notice! The reserve will be closed for the foreseeable future because of severe damage caused by the storm surge. The path has been badly damaged.

This is a link to a photograph showing three hides at Cley Nature Reserve: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=475223&d=1386345453

The November monthly bird report for Ogston and the September monthly bird report for Carsington have now been added to the Bird Report Index pages of the website.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of Ogston bird club Life Member Mr James Derek Mart of Alton.

Mr Mart approached Paul Beard and myself during 2005 offering Ogston bird club a parcel of land on Press Lane at Alton should we be interested, he also offered to pay all legal fees for the transfer, after a short discussion we decided to accept and that became the start of the story of the Jim Mart Nature Reserve. Mr Mart went on to present us with another parcel of land closer to his home.

As Chairman of Ogston bird club I had the honour of presenting Mr Mart with his Life Membership certificate and remember clearly saying to him that it seemed a very poor exchange, a parcel of land for a framed certificate, his response was that he was delighted that the club had transformed the land into something he could and was very proud of.

Many members have spent lots of hours on JMNR and it has produced a phenomenal species list, particularly Dragonflies, and Butterflies and Birds, the interest in the site I am sure will continue for many years to come and will provide a lasting memorial to his name.

Keith Turton.
Chairman Ogston Bird Club.

It is with great sadness that I have to report the passing of Ogston bird club member Mr Cyril Lee after a lengthy illness. He was a very regular attendee on the clubs monthly guided walk, something he and his wife Vivien really enjoyed being a part of.

His main claim to fame was his enthusiasm and passion for working at the Jim Mart Nature Reserve, his gardening skills were second to none and he laboured many hours on site. He will be sadly missed but we will always have “Cyril’s Patch” at JMNR to remember him by.

He held the respect of most members as he was one of life’s gentlemen and his favourite phrase which he used on almost everyone was that of “Guvnor”. I am sure the membership of Ogston bird club will join me in offering condolences to his wife Vivien, family and friends.

Keith Turton.
Chairman.
Ogston Bird Club.