Bird Watching 3
We meet on the last Wednesday of the month except for August and December. Meet at Caldy Valley car park for 9.30am unless otherwise arranged beforehand. Lifts arranged as and when necessary, fuel costs shared as per formula laid out by U3A. This is the only financing issue as far as I know - if there are admission costs etc, members pay individually although this is relatively infrequent.
No particular expertise required. We're a very friendly bunch with some experienced and knowledgeable members, but the emphasis is on sociability and enjoying oneself. It's a very collaborative experience, low key and supportive.
Because it is an outdoor pursuit, appropriate clothing and footwear definitely advisable as is a decent pair of binoculars. Membership of the RSPB is not compulsory, but probably advisable as we do tend to visit sites on a fairly regular basis, but not every time by any means.
Catering - usually bring your own but if there is a cafe available we might avail ourselves of that, but advice given in advance of each visit anyway.
Visits tend to last a bit longer in the summer months due to better weather & longer daylight. We tend to visit sites within an hour's drive of Chester, but, again, some visits in the summer can be further - e.g. last June we went to South Stack on Anglesey.
In theory, we take it in turns to arrange/scout out/suggest visits (but I seem to have been doing an awful lot of this in the last eighteen months...) and it's usually to ensure that there are toilet facilities available at some stage of the day.
Two of our current members have significant mobility issues which also impacts on choice of visits, but we aim to be as inclusive as possible, so we try to make each trip suitable for anyone who wishes to go.
We have had eight new members join the group in the last year or so. I wouldn't like the idea of turning anyone away at any time, but there is an optimum number for going to birdwatching sites I suppose so probably around 20 would be an absolute maximum. It's rare to get more than a dozen for any one trip, but a time is likely to arise when everyone is available and numbers make arrangements difficult.
Contact birdwatching3 for further information.
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