The 2016 Report is sponsored by 10 Ivegate, Yeadon, Leeds LS19 7RE 0113 3910 510 website: www.birdholidays.co.uk email:
[email protected] Report Production Editor: Paul King Sub-Editor: Keith Moir Contributors: Keith Moir, Paul King, John Armstrong, Martyn Priestley, Brian Sumner. Records Collation: Stephen Lilley with assistance from Shaun Radcliffe and Paul King Photographs Front Cover: Black Grouse - Ian Hargreaves Inside Front Cover: Garden Warbler - Keith Allen Whitethroat family - Nigel Priestley Back Cover: Cuckoo - Brian Vickers Little Owl - Phil Matthews Others: As individually credited Editorial This, the 30th Annual Report, represents a milestone for Bradford Ornithological Group. When that first tentative gathering of birders met in a Bradford College classroom in 1987, none could foresee that from such an inauspicious start would be developed the well-respected and authoritative Group of which we are a part today. A camaraderie blossomed and knowledge was shared through a simple (by today’s standards) communication system. There followed the acquisition of land at Stockbridge for our very own nature reserve and access to Thornton Moor Reservoir, Esholt and Marley Sewage Works was granted by Yorkshire Water. A six-monthly publication and website were launched, and the !1 new technologies were harnessed to enable the Group to communicate with its members. Through our monthly meetings we were able to inform and enthuse the growing membership with talks given by visiting speakers and occasionally from our own knowledgable colleagues. And so to 2016 and the latest Report, in which you will find details of 180 species compiled from 19,000 records contributed by 58 individuals and two organisations (Calderdale Birders and Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society).