Chairman's Page

Chairman's Welcome

Welcome, and thank you very much for visiting our web-site.

History Lesson

Summerhill Bird Club originated from a project with Friends of Summerhill and Durham Bird Club. The very first meeting in 1999 was held in house of John Johnson from Friends of Summerhill and followed with meetings in the Park Hotel public bar.

The first Indoor Meeting at the Summerhill Centre was in March 2000 and was attended by 25 guests, we have never looked back since. The Club has a membership of around 75 and this has been stable since 2002. We have members in North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Durham and all over Tees Valley. In these days of dwindling membership we feel this is testament to our strategy that we maintain our members.

The focus

The focus of the Club is to promote birdwatching at a level that allows beginners to feel comfortable. There is no elite crowd at the Club, no cliques. We have indoor meetings once a month from September to May inclusive and have field trips using a mini-bus around 5 times a year. We go to places further afield such as Dumfries, Cumbria and Northumberland. We also run local trips to promote local birdwatching in the Tees Valley area. Once a year we have a weekend trip. This year we ventured to the north Norfolk coast. In past years we have visited Wales and Scotland.

We aim to maintain the friendly atmosphere by having a break in indoor meetings so people can chat over a coffee. We keep members informed by the web-site and through the Newsletter that is published monthly during the indoor season.

We manage the Feeding Station at Summerhill to promote conservation and education around birds to the 70,00+ visitors to Summerhill every year. This is being upgraded this year and will further enhance the birdwatching at Summerhill through CCTV cameras and even more information.

The future

The future is bright for the Club. Membership is strong and the feeding station project is allowing the Club to progress even further.

We welcome all newcomers to the Club, you don’t need to be a member to enjoy the Indoor Meetings. New members bring in new ideas and the Club is progressive in it's outlook, as you will see if you visit us, or even better join the Club.

We have maintained the membership fees all the way from 1999 and intend to do so in the near future too. £5 doesn’t buy a lot these days, the Club prides itself on how much it delivers for so little.

We have a good library of books for members to access and a wealth of slides to enhance the talks, these are being updated in the near future too.

The evenings are informative and friendly. We have a thriving junior section that meet on the same night and they even help the adults!

If you would like to come along please do so. You will be made more than welcome.

Kevin Spindloe

Club Chairman