The Scottish Raptor Monitoring Group (SRMG), which is the steering group for the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme (SRMS), met on Tuesday 22nd September. Many biscuits were consumed!

At the meeting, Andrew Stevenson handed over Chairperson duties to David Stroud. Andrew will continue to represent NatureScot on SRMG. We are hugely grateful for the time and effort Andrew has put into the scheme during his 16 years as Chairperson and are delighted to welcome David to the role. David has decades of experience in ornithology and conservation, and was involved in the establishment of SRMS and in SRMG through his role at JNCC, who were formerly a partner.

The BTO also recently said goodbye to Chris Wernham, who retired as Head of BTO Scotland. Chris was integral to the establishment and continuity of SRMS as well as developing methodologies for surveying British raptors and representing the BTO on SRMG. We are sad to see Chris go but rest assured that she’ll still be around in birding circles and through her role as Vice-President of Birding and Science on the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club’s Council. Thank you, Chris, for your contributions to the conservation of Scottish raptors.