Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
Trustees
We have continued to hold Trustee meetings using Zoom this year, finding this to be convenient and carbon friendly.
Ceri Jones has continued his post as Treasurer this year, dealing with the bank, independent examiner, insurers and managing the HLF grant for the Cardiff Bay Swift Tower, as well as the day to day running of the club accounts.
We are still actively looking for a Secretary. At the moment the tasks are shared between us, but we would like to have someone to take on any of these. Please apply if you’d like to join us.
After many years of service, Rhos Williams has decided to step down, but will still take on an active volunteering role, as has Mary Gallagher, who will continue her work with the Porthcawl Swifts project. We'd like to thank them both for their time, commitment and enthusiasm.
We are very pleased that David Hibler has agreed to stand for election and that John Western is now able to re-join us, and is also applying for election, both at this 2022/23 AGM.
There have been no safeguarding issues to address this year.
Charity Commission Public Benefit Statement
GBC Trustees are aware of, and have regard to, the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance whenever we exercise our powers to make decisions on those aspects of GBC activity to which the guidance is relevant. This applies to all GBC conservation projects, production of the annual East Glamorgan Bird Report and quarterly newsletter, field trips, Kenfig NNR public walks, indoor and Zoom meetings, donations made, sponsorship given and grants awarded.
Venue
We are very thankful that we've been able to have a combination of face to face and Zoom indoor talks this year, and have found both to be popular. Pencoed Rugby Club has proved suitable, since the room is spacious enough for social distancing, and the location convenient, but we are of course willing to use other venues. We had a well-attended talk at Peterston-super-Ely village hall.
We plan to continue using the mixed format of Zoom and in-person meetings next year.
East Glamorgan Bird Report – EGBR
Following on from John Wilson retiring after many years in the EGBR Editor role, after producing the 2021 report, Ceri Jones became the Editor and has begun producing the 2022 Bird Report. As this will be an electronic version only and in a
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
slightly different format, producing it will be easier, more environmentally friendly and will save on printing and postage costs. It will also provide opportunities for a more varied content.
Tate Lloyd, one of our younger members, has taken on the important task of Photo Editor from Tom Wright, who is busy working on birding and nature projects further afield. Although we do have more help we are still looking for additional Species Summarisers – support will be given for the tasks involved.
Newsletter
Alan Rosney has continued to produce our much enjoyed quarterly newsletter, all copies of which have been digital this year. Many thanks to Alan.
Policies and Procedures
These have been updated according to our schedule.
Kenfig National Nature Reserve
GBC continues to have a good relationship with Chris Jones, the Warden. Most of the work on repairing the South Hide has been done. Chris, with his few volunteers - including some club members - has cut back the reeds in front of the Southern hide, affording folk more opportunities for good views of the birds. Nest boxes have been placed on the building, most recently 9 swift boxes in memory of GBC member and ex-committee member Matt Evans.
Conservation Projects
- Cardiff Bay Swift Tower
We're awaiting the return of the Swifts, hoping they may nest in the tower during the 2023 season. When clearing out the boxes this year it was found that House Sparrows had used a few of them, which is always a good sign. The damaged noticeboard by the tower has been replaced with what is hoped will be a 'vandal proof' design. Regular meetings with our partners, RSPB Cymru and Cardiff Bay Harbour Authority, are still taking place with regard to maintenance, and ongoing responsibility according to the terms of the HLF grant. An event for all involved to mark the end of the project is being planned, together with the production of school information packs.
*Other Swift Projects
Strinda Davies continues monitoring the boxes erected at Marlas Estate, North Cornelly and has been working with Pyle and Kenfig Hill Community Council, who have been very positive and have declared the communities swift-friendly.
Mary Gallagher contacted Porthcawl Town Council about their breeding swift population and has had very positive meetings with them, resulting in Porthcawl
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
being declared a 'swift friendly' town. Mary also organised the erecting of swift boxes on a local primary school.
As well as being involved with the Swift Tower project and Cardiff Swifts in general, Alan Rosney has worked with developers and housing associations in the Vale of Glamorgan and Merthyr, and several boxes have been installed in those areas, often with the practical support of club member Howard Driver.
*Farm Partnerships
Farmland bird surveys have been carried out at Cefn Colstyn Farm, Pentyrch, Ty Tanglwyst and Ty Draw Farms in North Cornelly and on Coity Common, in partnership with a farmer who uses her commoners’ rights. Volunteers have also monitored bird boxes at Ty Tanglwyst Farm.
Ty’n-y-Caeau Farm - Regretfully, the Trustees have decided to cease the Ty’n-yCaeau farmland bird feeding project. The sacrificial crop there never really fared well, the cost of providing seed became expensive, the task of filling winter feeders became problematic and trustees were unable to commit to leading on the project any more.
*Willing For Willow Tits.
This project led by Wayne Morris and funded by WOS, has now been completed, but we will report on the outcome of further surveys.
*Green Sandpiper Survey in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Led by Dan Jenkins-Jones, and also involving Alan Rosney and a number of GBC members, this survey has been completed for the year 2022/23, with a maximum of 16 being found.
A well-attended event involving local residents as well our members was held at Peterston-super- Ely. This very professionally produced presentation explained the scientific methods used to obtain accurate data, and stressed the importance of the numbers of birds found as a percentage of the UK population.
*Nest Boxes.
Many nest boxes have been built and erected for various projects. Howard Driver has again produced several different types, especially for swifts and often at short notice – for which we are very grateful.
*Rookery Survey.
Alongside a Welsh Ornithological Society survey, Dan Jenkins-Jones and Ceri Jones have organised the final year of a two-year GBC survey looking for active rookeries in our reporting area. There has been an excellent response to these surveys by GBC members again this year.
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
Local Nature Partnerships
These groups are associated with each of our local authority areas and have regular meetings covering many aspects of concern and development, including the creation of new or refreshed Nature Recovery Action Plans. Many thanks to all our members who volunteer to attend these on behalf of the club.
Donations and Sponsorship
The Donations and Sponsorship subgroup - Rob Bradshaw, Strinda Davies and Ceri Jones – has formulated a Small Grants Scheme, in which we offer groups and individuals up to £250 to enable study or conservation of birds in our area. Full details and an application form can be found on the website.
Publicity and Promotions
Our social media platforms have again proved popular and useful for providing information and promoting club activities. They also attract lots of wider public interest. John Wilson and Alan Rosney post on Facebook. Total page followers are approximately 1,152. Rhos Williams has looked after our Twitter feed, this year with 1,730 followers as at 7th April. Since he is stepping down as a Trustee, John Wilson has kindly agreed to take on this task.
John Wilson is also our Webmaster. There is lots of activity on our website - during 2022 there were 73,175 views by 18,378 visitors with an average of 4 views per visitor. Various items featuring the club logo are available to order (from myself, as GBC Chair): badges, car stickers, hats, caps, polo shirts and fleeces.
Walks, Field Trips and Indoor Talks
Led by Dave Carrington, our excellent Kenfig NNR public walks have gone ahead as usual, usually very well attended with up to 24 folk on one occasion and with only one cancellation due to bad weather. The Portland weekend went ahead, with 14 folk participating.
Various birding locations near and far were enjoyed on our popular field trips, led by John Wilson and Alan Rosney. Some examples are Chew Valley and Blagdon Lakes, the Forest of Dean, Llanwonno - for nightjars, accompanied by Senedd Nightjar champion Vikki Howells, Whiteford Point on Gower, Ogmore Estuary, WWT Slimbridge and Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.
Members have enjoyed our Zoom presentations and in-person talks, organised by Paul Denning throughout the year. Some of these were - Tessa Boase speaking about 'The Women Who Saved The Birds' - the beginning of the RSPB; our own Paul Denning - 'Living The High Life In France’ consisting of fabulously illustrated flora and fauna in the Alps and Pyrenees; Birds of the Ely Valley' by Alan Rosney and Dan Jenkins-Jones and the Review of The Year (for 2021) presented and illustrated by Tate Lloyd.
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
Full programmes of Field Trips, Walks and Talks for next year have been produced, by John Wilson, Alan Rosney and Paul Denning, the details of which are on the website.
Membership
The number of Memberships as of 31st March 2023 was 299, an increase of 40 from 2021/22.
We actively strive to encourage young people to join the club, continuing to offer free membership to under 24's, and we also offer sponsorships. This helped one of our younger members, Matthew Binding, to attend a residential course on Skomer in the summer of 2022.
As a further incentive to attract new members, the Trustees agreed that anyone joining as a new member in January to March each year, would be offered up to 15 months membership.
Sadly, we have lost two members this year - Arthur Furze, from Bristol, passed away in the summer, and Mike Pearson from Cardiff in May. We also received the sad news of the passing of Pat Everett, a former member and club secretary for a number of years. Our thoughts go to their families.
Birding highlights enjoyed by a number of our members during the last year have included – a Red-Backed Shrike at Kenfig NNR, Waxwing at Maesteg, Brent Geese and a Hoopoe at Ogmore, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the Taff Trail, a Little Gull at Cardiff Bay and an Alpine Swift at Porthcawl.
Finally, as always, I'd like to thank the trustees and all member volunteers for their work throughout the year.
Jean Haslam, Chair, on behalf of Glamorgan Bird Club Trustees
April 25[th] 2023
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 March 2023
| Income Member Subscriptions Donations Carbon Offset Book/Bird Report Sales Merchandise Sales Nest Box Sales Interest Received Total Expenditure Annual Bird Report Newsletter Postage Merchandise Nest Box materials Admin/Stationery Indoor/Zoom meetings Cardiff Bay swift project Design work GBC website/domains Atlas website hosting Pull-up banner Gifts Donation re Carbon Offset Other donations Affiliate memberships Insurance Bank charges Travel expenses Other Total (Deficit)/Surplus |
2023 2023 2023 Restricted Unrestricted Total £ £ £ - 4,125 4,125 - 582 582 - 388 388 - 135 135 - 8 8 - 252 252 - 150 150 - 5,640 5,640 - 1,145 1,145 - 50 50 - 548 548 - - - - 105 105 - 129 129 - 394 394 4,428 - 4,428 - - - - 133 133 - 50 50 - 89 89 - 4 4 - 418 418 - 810 810 - 115 115 - 315 315 - 96 96 - 102 102 - - - 4,428 4,503 8,931 -4,428 1,137 -3,291 |
2022 2022 2022 Restricted Unrestricted Total £ £ £ - 3,599 3,599 - 842 842 - 257 257 - 20 20 - 24 24 - 20 20 - 4 4 |
|---|---|---|
| - 4,766 4,766 |
||
| - 945 945 - 139 139 - 92 92 - - - - - - - 26 26 - 223 223 915 - 915 - 125 125 - 170 170 - 60 60 - - - - 111 111 - 290 290 - 984 984 - 115 115 - 287 287 - 30 30 - - - - 92 92 |
||
| 915 3,689 4,604 |
||
| -915 1,077 162 |
Glamorgan Bird Club
Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts - Year ended 31 March 2023
Balance Sheet 31 March 2023
| Debtors - Membership Secretary Prepayments Cash at Bank - Current Account Cash at Bank - Deposit Account Represented by: Unrestricted Funds: Members' Fund brought forward Surplus for the year Members' Fund carried forward Restricted Funds: Swift Fund brought forward (Deficit) for the year Swift Fund carried forward Total Funds carried forward |
31/03/23 £ 64 362 |
31/03/23 £ 426 36,439 36,865 17,371 19,494 36,865 |
31/03/22 £ 79 315 |
31/03/22 £ 394 39,762 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 373 36,066 |
126 39,636 |
|||
| 16,234 1,137 |
15,157 1,077 |
|||
| 40,156 | ||||
16,234 23,922 |
||||
| 23,922 - 4,428 |
24,837 - 915 |
|||
| 40,156 |
Note: The Swift Fund is a restricted fund to be spent on the Swift Tower and associated expenses.