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Monday, 3 August 2020

Group Leader's News August 2020

The RSPB is not allowing Local Groups to recommence any physical activities. It is very likely that we will not be able to resume indoor meetings until the New Year. The possibility of holding local walks (limited numbers, bookings only etc. etc.) will next be reviewed by the RSPB in early September. On a positive note, it looks as if we will be able to continue to use 'The Settlement' as our indoor meetings venue, once we are allowed to do so. The committee met recently and the following decisions were made:

Indoor Meetings - in place of our indoor meetings for November and December we will hold internet 'Zoom' meetings, with (respectively) Guy Anderson and Peter Holden being the speakers, on the same dates. Although we appreciate that not all our members will wish to or be able to 'attend' these meetings, we hope that they will act as some sort of substitute for 'the real thing'. It is possible that other 'Zoom' meetings will be organised, once I have mastered the technology!

Outdoor Meetings - I hope that it will be possible to arrange some local walks during the latter stages of 2020, assuming that the RSPB gives the go-ahead. Numbers will likely be restricted and various Covid-19 precautions will need to be taken. Walks would take place on week days and at weekends. It will not be possible to go on the planned coach trips to more distant venues, at least until the New Year. However, I will be going by car to the first two venues (RSPB Frampton Marsh on Sunday 20 September and RSPB Dungeness on Sunday 18 October), where the coach would have taken us in normal times. Keen Local Group members might wish to visit the reserves by car on those dates and go round separately. I could then collate bird lists to come up with an 'unofficial' Local Group trip list, although these would of course be private visits.

Newsletter - Kathy plans to have a newsletter ready for circulation in September. The newsletter will be circulated as a PDF file to all our e-members and also uploaded here. We will make sure that all our members receive either an electronic or paper copy of the newsletter.

Membership and AGM - your membership will be extended, at least until we meet again in the New Year. We still intend to hold a short AGM, postponed from May 2020, at either the February or March 2021 indoor meeting, provided these meetings are held. We very much hope that we will be able to continue to hold indoor meetings at 'The Settlement' - watch this space!

That's all for now, folks, I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable late summer.
Martin