Saturday night saw the annual gathering of Oxfordshire birders, at Majliss Indian Restaurant in Abingdon: 
As usual, the event was superbly organised by Badger, who also asked if I would be happy to present the awards again. Despite this, it was a great evening, with good bunch of people, decent food and much beer and wine. It is always great to get the local birding community together and the awards – mostly tongue-in-cheek – are a nice way of thanking people for their efforts over the year. To get an award you have to attend the meal (a hint for those thinking of attending next year!). This year the winners were:
The final award of the evening was a Lifetime Achievement Award for Barry Hudson. Barry is the secretary of the Oxford Ornithological Society and in many ways is the public face of the OOS. As an ex-farmer he has the credentials to work and influence the farming community towards more environmentally sustainable farming methods. Barry’s work on local Tree Sparrow conservation is well known. I first met Barry when he contacted me about putting up nesting platforms for Hobby in Cuddesdon, see here. Always open, friendly and generous, Barry has made a real difference to wildlife conservation within Oxfordshire. As Barry said on Saturday night, we must keep fighting for wildlife, because wildlife itself has no voice. It is our species that will decide the fate and diversity of the various bird, mammal and insect species in Oxfordshire and in the wider countryside. We need more Barry Hudsons.
