The Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield
Covering a full range of natural history interests in Sheffield and the surrounding area, providing for both interested beginners and specialists.Sorby Ornithological Group
| Secretary: | Andrew Darby, |
| Recorder: | Nigel Hopkins, |
Coal Tit (Periparus ater).
Welcome to Sorby Ornithology Group
The Sorby Ornithology Group co-ordinates activities for members interested in birds, bird-watching, ornithology, and bird surveys. The group aims to cater for all levels of experience.
Background
The Sorby Ornithology Section was founded in 1946 by Leonard Carr and has been continuously active ever since without a break. For many years it was the only organisation in Sheffield catering for birdwatchers, and amongst other things jointly organised the annual RSPB Film Show. In 1972, when the Sheffield Bird Study Group was formed as an independent organisation, the Sorby Ornithology Section almost folded, but members voted to keep it going. It was later renamed as the Sorby Ornithology Group. In the early 1990s, the Recorder, Harold Smith, set up a computerised database and maintained it for the next 30 years, retiring in 2022. Once again members voted to maintain the Group as a focal point for birders in the society and a link to local birding groups.
Sorby Bird Records on BTO BirdTrack and the NBN Atlas
In 2024 a joint project with the British Trust for Ornithology commenced to review, clean and reformat all bird records collected from 1908 to 2021. As of January 2025, this work is ongoing, with the aim of uploading 301,000 records to BTO BirdTrack database and from there to the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas for all to access.
Activities
Field trips are organised to known good birding sites for members to enjoy a range of species and to observe bird ringing at first hand with Sorby Breck Ringing Group. Visits are also made to poorly known sites to gather bird records. Novice or inexperienced birders will find advice and a helping hand at meetings.
Reports
Papers on various aspects of ornithology are published in the Sorby Record. A selection can be downloaded free of change from our reports page.
Ornithology Email and WhatsApp Groups
All members of Sorby are members of all Groups, some of which maintain specific email lists of interested members and have a WhatsApp Group for day to day sharing of information and sightings about that subject area. If you would like to join the Sorby Ornithology Group email and/or WhatsApp groups, please send your name, email address and/or mobile phone number to the SOG Group Secretary at ornithology@sorby.org.uk.