The Ornithological Society of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia is a registered charity (no 282938) and exists to collect, collate and publish data on all aspects of the Ornithology of the Middle East region.
OSME members receive
Our journal Sandgrouse
which....
- publishes short notes on identification and first records for the region.
- publishes papers on bird distribution, behaviour, ecology and conservation issues.
- provides bird and conservation news from the region.
- lets you know about the best birding sites in the region.
- provides a comprehensive round up of bird sightings in the OSME region.
Sandgrouse is published twice a year in spring and autumn.
Join today
OSME Summer Meeting 2010
This year’s Summer Meeting and AGM will again be held at the BTO Headquarters (The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK) on Saturday 10 July, starting at 11.00. The day's programme is in the process of being finalised but will include talks on the taxonomy of Socotran birds, birding in Saudi Arabia and Important Bird Areas in Central Asia.
There is ample free parking. The bus station is about 10 minutes walk away and the railway station about 15 minutes. Road access is via the A11 London-Norwich road, connecting with the A14 from the north and Midlands. There are regular trains on the Birmingham-Norwich line, and also from Cambridge and London Kings Cross. We look forward to seeing you there.
OSME Region List of birds
A new consultation document, containing a definitive list of the species recorded within the OSME region, has been prepared. We invite any comments, corrections and suggestions for improvements. See OSME Region List here.
OSME News – from the Chairman of Council, Geoff Welch
Like any organisation, OSME needs to constantly evolve and adapt to changes, especially in relation
to its membership, conservation and research activities in the region and the wider global situation.
One of the privileges of being Chairman of Council is that it gives an opportunity to indulge in a little
‘crystal ball gazing’ regarding how OSME could and should develop in the coming years and I would like
to take this opportunity to share some of my, and Council’s, thoughts with you.
Despite the many social, political, economic and environmental difficulties currently facing many
of the countries in the OSME region, there is a steadily growing number of active and extremely
dedicated birdwatchers and conservationists and OSME is committed to supporting their efforts
in whatever way the Society is able. The most practical means of doing this are through providing
financial support via the Conservation and Research Fund and facilitating access to information
and contacts locally, regionally and internationally via the Supported Membership scheme, journal
exchanges and the OSME website. Inevitably all of these require money to a greater or lesser
extent and therefore OSME is reliant on the support of its individual and corporate members
to make this possible. Therefore in addition to continuing your membership of OSME, Council
would like to encourage as many members as possible to upgrade to Supporting Members which would
enable us to provide subscriptions to nationals throughout the region who are otherwise unable
to pay the annual subscription fee. I know firsthand that in many countries there is a new
and developing generation of birdwatchers often based around university bird groups
and whilst these students have almost boundless enthusiasm they have very limited
resources for optical equipment, field guides, reference material or transport.
A year’s subscription to Sandgrouse is a very effective means of encouraging a
continued interest in birds and conservation and as skills and knowledge increase
this is already leading to an increasing number of papers being submitted for publication.
Continuing the Sandgrouse theme, Council is researching the practicality of digitising back
copies of Sandgrouse and the OSME Bulletin for eventual posting on the OSME web site to make
this valuable archive available to all, especially as many of the earlier issues of Sandgrouse
are no longer available in print. The challenge is to find a means of doing this cost-effectively
but we hope to be able to make a start on this project within the coming year. Sandgrouse itself
has undergone a redesign recently and now has much more colour throughout and is continuing
to be at the forefront of bird club publications providing an excellent mix of scientific
and popular articles presented in a modern, attractive format. Following the very popular
Syrian Checklist (Sandgrouse Supplement 2), there is an increasing interest from organisations
in the region for more of this type of publication and preliminary planning is underway for
checklists for the United Arab Emirates and Central Asia.
OSME raffle 2009 and 2010
The winners of the 2009 raffle to raise funds for OSME’s core activities and the
Conservation and Research Fund were:
1st prize Opticron telescope and tripod kit - Ron Herbert
2nd prize Naturetrek holiday voucher - John Bartley
3rd prize Country Innovations coat – C Northwood
4th prize Birds of the Western Palearctic interactive - Clare Stringer
5th prize British Birds interactive DVD – Ron Herbert
6th prize Mule pack – Mike Jennings
7th prize Wildlife Recorder computer programme - Mark Day
8th prize Birds of Turkey book – Chris Spooner.
Congratulations to the above and very many thanks to the companies that donated the
prizes and to everyone who bought tickets.
We are running another raffle this year but unfortunately under UK Gaming legislation,
raffle tickets can only be sold in the UK so we apologise to overseas visitors to the
website that they are unable to participate, though those with access to a UK bank
account are able to buy tickets. Books of tickets (£10 for a book of 10) can be
obtained from Chris Lamsdell, 4 Hardings Close, Iver, Bucks SL0 0HL, UK or advertising@osme.org.
This year’s prizes are:
1st prize Opticron Imagic BGA SE 8x42 binoculars
2nd prize Naturetrek £250 holiday voucher
3rd prize Country Innovations New Venture waistcoat
4th prize BirdGuides Breeding Birds of the Western Palearctic DVD
5th prize A&C Black Birds of Turkey
6th prize A&C Black Birds of the Middle East (new edition)
