A fresh look for our Annual Conference, a new format and venue for 2026. A chance to catch up with old birding friends and see presentations from around the county.
This will be held on Saturday, 18th April at the University of Brighton’s (UoB) Falmer Campus and will incorporate the SOS Annual General Meeting. Registration will open at 09:30 and the event will close at 16:30. This event will be free to attend for SOS members. Non-members are welcome, with a suggested £5.00 donation that can be made at the welcome desk.
The presentations will be
- University of Brighton: Ecology Student Presentations introduced by the UoB’s Dr Rachel White: Imogen Vowles (Migratory Passerines); Flynn Smith (Corn Buntings in the South Downs).
- Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in Sussex by Ken and Linda Smith
- The UK and Ireland Bird Atlas Project by Katie Phillips and Dawn Balmer of the British Trust for Ornithology. Work on the new ‘Atlas’ will start soon and this introduces how we can help.
- Young Birders 2026 Initiatives (Jack Thompson, SOS Council Member and Sussex Wildlife Trust)
- Nature Sense monitoring by James Whitehead a student from the University of Sussex .
- Friends of the Adur Initiatives presented by Sarah Hunt.
- The fascinating World of House Martins by Paul Stevens, Hirundine Champion.
- Sidlesham Ferry Conservation Project presented by Anthony Smith, Site Manager RSPB Pagham Harbour
- ‘Keynote’ Presentation: ‘Bird Girl’ by Dr Mya-Rose Craig
Registering for Conference: There will be no printed registration form this year, but members with email addresses will be able to register via a Google Form which will be sent to out shortly. If you have not received an email (there are some gaps in our email information), please send an email to jackthomascurry@gmail.com and he will arrange a link to that form to be sent to you. For those members without email addresses, please call Jonathan Cook on 07854 060720 and leave a clear message with your name and telephone number for him to call you back.
The venue: is the Checkland Building at the University of Brighton’s Falmer Campus. This is ideally situated south of the A27, a few miles from the centre of Brighton (adjacent to the Amex Stadium). There are easy and regular public transport links to the venue and the venue has good car parking facilities (charged). Information on this will be sent out via a registration pack sent to those responding to the Google Booking Form.
Exhibition: Conference 2026 features an expanded range of exhibitors. The exhibition will take place in the Asa Briggs Foyer, which is conveniently situated adjacent to the main auditorium.
In addition to perennial favourites (do not forget some cash for the Annual Raffle!) this year we are introducing a ‘Silent Auction,’ featuring a range of fantastic items to bid for including:
- Passerine bird ringing experience at Knepp with Clare Buckle
- Searching for Lesser Spotties and other woodland wildlife with Ken and Linda Smith
- Visit Adrian Thomas’s exceptional wildlife garden
- A walk with butterflies with Chris Corrigan
- Barn Owl ringing experience with Sussex Barn Owl Group’s Terry Hallahan
- Honey Buzzards with Mark Mallalieu
Food and drink: There is a small coffee shop and sandwich bar operated by the UOB. This is situated in the main Checkland Building foyer, near the welcome desk. As on-site catering will be limited, packed lunches are strongly recommended. There is a range of seating options, both within the main foyer and an outdoor terrace/picnic area. Teas and coffees will be served in the exhibition area during the morning and afternoon breaks, but there will be a charge for this.
Conference volunteering: Help is needed in staging this event. There are a range of ways in which you could help. If you are interested in volunteering on 18th April please contact David Porter at dfp47@btinternet.com
David and the Conference Team
(Keynote from Dr Mya-Rose Craig – Bird Girl)