Welcome to the SBSG website
Sheffield Bird Study Group was formed in December 1972 as a forum for birdwatchers in and around the city with an active interest in ornithology. The group's recording area, covering twelve 10km squares with the city roughly in the middle, is hugely diverse, stretching north to the outskirts of Barnsley, south to Chesterfield, east to the lowlands beyond Rotherham and Bolsover, and west to the highest tops of the Peak District National Park.
We aim to promote an interest in birds in the community, provide something of interest to all levels of birder, co-ordinate fieldwork and recording in the area, and work with and complement the work of like-minded local and national organisations for the benefit of birds. SBSG is registered charity No 510857. Click here for more.
Diary Dates
Wednesday 12th March
REVIEW OF THE YEAR AND AGM
The Diamond LT2 and via MS Teams
Andy Deighton will present the Review of the Year
Agenda:
1. Annual General Meeting - see meeting pack for details (Richard Hill and Ron Blagden on behalf of the SBSG Committee)
2. Review of the Year 2024 - Andy Deighton (SBSG Recording Team)
3. Interval
4. Recorder's Report (Ron Blagden)
MS Teams link to the meeting and the AGM document pack will be found in the March E-Newsletter.
News
SIMON BAILEY
The SBSG is sorry to announce the recent sad passing of Simon Bailey. Simon was a member of the Group for many years and served with distinction on the General Committee from 2007 to 2015, during which time he led the redesign and relaunch of the SBSG website. The ground-breaking format of the website, particularly its record collecting functionality, remains ahead of the field today. Simon was a kind, generous and intelligent man, who was equally at home in front of a computer as he was pottering around his farm at Grindleford. The Committee’s recent decision to commit to upgrading the website will hopefully ensure his legacy lives on into the future. The SBSG wishes to pass on its condolences to Simon’s friends and family.
LIVE TREE SPARROW CAMERA
In the 1970s Tree Sparrows used to be fairly abundant in the 1200 square km of the Sheffield region. They were present in over 60% of the area and sometimes seen in large flocks - in 2024 draft data shows only 27 birds were seen at only three sites; with 20 of them visiting my garden - this is the largest remaining stronghold so I'm sharing them live from Green Moor. This year I have had at least 22 birds together on the garden.
Footage will be live when possible - the birds feed frequently but patience might be required.
Click the Image to be taken to the live page of my YT channel - here you will see previous streams and if currently running the latest Live Stream.
Peter Garrity
The Incompleat Birder
Martin Hodgson is the latest SBSG member to author a book
It’s a light-hearted account of his struggle over the years to gain some competence in birding. In short, a story without a happy ending! Printed by the University Press in the same style as the Annual Report, Martin hopes that it will attract people to make it their own. Priced at £10 and containing 127 pages with many colour photos, it will be on sale at the March meeting and £2 of every copy sold that evening will go to SBSG. Those who are interested but can’t make the meeting should contact him on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group
The Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group are fund raising to buy some Satellite tags to go on Short-eared Owls, this year and next. Below is the link to their Go Fund Me page. The details of who Raptor Aid are are included, along with details about NERF.
Raptor Aid Grant Fund & Short Eared Owl Tag Fund, organized by Jimmi Hill
MEMBERSHIP LATEST
A reminder that when you first access your SBSG account in January you will be asked to renew your membership or continue as a guest. The Membership Mojo information pack can be found here - it has detailed joining/renewal instructions to help you with any queries.
Easyfundraising
New QR Code to use when shopping on-line - why not take a picture and store it on your phone for use in the future
If you shop online, don’t forget to support SBSG at no extra cost by channelling through easyfundraising - Here's how to do it
Results from the National Willow Tit survey
In recent years, our endemic race of willow tit (Poecile montanus kleinschmidti) have been lost from large areas of southern and eastern England and from parts of north and south Wales. Senior Conservation Scientist Simon Wotton explains why a survey was needed for this woodland birds, and what it shows us.
A blast from the past
For those of you looking to while away the long winter nights, a copy of the 1985 publication Birds of the Sheffield Area by the late Messrs. Hornbuckle and Herringshaw has just been uploaded to the site. Available to members, it can be found via the "publications" tab under the annual reports section.
Membership
Good news for younger members
Free membership is now available for persons under the age of 25. The age limit was previously 22. And it’s available regardless of whether you’re in full time education or not. Existing members should by now have received revised membership certificates from Martin Hodgson, the Membership Secretary. If you haven’t but you think you ought to have, or if you are a paying member who now qualifies for free membership, please contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.