WOS Annual Conference / Mimicking Birds

Last week I attended Welsh Ornithological Societies annual conference, at which I gave my first ever talk on mimicking birds. It was quite a nerve-racking thing for me but it was received well, despite having magor issues with the sound. I have since been asked to do the same talk at Gwent Ornithological Societies AGM in January so if you missed it, please come along. 

In my talk you'll learn more about how birds learn the sounds that they produce, why mimicking birds prefer certain sounds to others and also learn the different types of mimicry that help us work out why they use these techniques and how it influences their breeding success. Below is a slide from my presentation showing a birds unique filtering system. If you're interested, the GOS AGM is on the 21st of January. 

Big Moment

It's all becoming very real for me this year. New Job in September and followed by my first conference talk at Welsh Ornithological Societies National Conference in November. Having my name last on that poster list isn't at all daunting... with Iolo Williams as our opening speaker and some fantastic topics / speakers throughout. Nice to see some familiar names on there too, with Steve Smith being the very guy who helped get me my new Job at the Brecon Beacons National Park.  

Details of the conference can be found Here with a brief description of the topics for the evening. My Topic is a particularly interesting one for me, 'Be aware of what you hear: how mimicry can influence breeding success '. Without giving away too much, I will be speaking about the art of mimicry and what it means to be a mimic from as close to a birds point of view as I can get. I will also talk about a new mimic on the scene from which you'll have to attend to find out just what that is. I'll speak more about this in future blogs. #exciting

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