Over the next decade we may well also lose Corn Bunting, Curlew, Snipe, Puffin and Grey Partridge. Some of these losses are perhaps inevitable but knowledge of the requirements of specialised species, gained through the observations of amateurs and liaison with land owners, might well save or bring back some of these in the future. However, it is not all doom and gloom as we have gained Great Crested Grebe, Black-headed Gull, Little Egret, Hobby, Crossbill, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Collared Dove, Cetti’s Warbler and may well gain Goshawk and Goosander in the near future; the Dartford Warbler has already returned to breed in Cornwall in recent years and of course the best news of all is the return of the Chough and the Cirl Bunting as breeding birds in Cornwall. The Choughs are doing extremely well, as can be seen from the regular news reports on the Society’s website and the summer of 2011 saw a dramatic increase in the Cornish Cirl Bunting population, with record numbers of chicks being born in the County. We know all of this because of observations from our members, collated and published in the annual reports, valued documents of great historical interest and a very useful research source for conservation projects in Cornwall.

All of this work is undertaken on a voluntary basis and cannot be effectively achieved without the support of a growing membership. When the Society was launched in 1931 the dedicated group of founding members could not have imagined the fantastic growth in interest in birds, let alone have foreseen the dramatic changes and pressures on our countryside over the ensuing years. Your membership is a highly valued contribution and your subscription will be spent wisely in protecting and researching birds and spreading the word about the importance of maintaining a varied natural avifauna in our beautiful county. Simply by joining the Society you have shown you care for Cornwall’s birdlife.

Thank you very much for your support.

Ian McCarthy (President)