Last night was the annual Oxon Birding Awards, held as usual in the Abingdon Spice restaurant:
It is always great to see so many of the birding community turn out, even if they do have to tolerate me reviewing the birding year and hosting the awards ceremony. I forgot to take a picture of the room this year, but one from last year sums up the atmosphere: birds, beer and good company:
Reviewing 2019 was a tough task, as with only 200 species recorded, it is regarded as the least diverse year for bird species on record. However, there are always some superb birds recorded and always some deserving winners:
Despite the alleged comedy value of the award categories, the real function of the Awards is to thank members of the birding community for their work over the last year, although finding a good bird helps too! Jon Uren represented all the volunteers who do so much to maintain Otmoor as our premier wildlife site and there was recognition for all his database and bird record work over the years. Peter Law, who unfortunately could not be present, got an award and thanks for his beautifully written monthly summaries that appear on the Oxon Birding Log every month. Badger, who along with Adam Hartley, runs the website and organised the dinner, was also thanked for the countless hours that he puts in every month. Without these people there would be no Oxfordshire birding community – we thank them all!