In advance of our AGM to be held at our main meeting this coming Friday 25th from 2.30pm, please see the Agenda, 2024 AGM minutes and this year’s accounts below for your information.

AGENDA

1. To receive the Chairman’s Report
2. To approve the Minutes of the 2024 AGM (below)
3. To receive the Treasurer’s Financial Statement
4. To elect Officers and Committee members for 2025-2026

(The following will be nominated:

Chairman – Pete Coe; Vice-Chairman and Secretary – David Bettiss; Treasurer – Colin Annis. Other Committee members – Jane Hayman, Graham Tuppen, Stephen Abbott, Julie Wallace, Michael Pritchard, Ed Miller).

Other nominations are welcome.

5. Any other business

David Bettiss (Secretary)

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 26 APRIL 2024

1. David Bettiss opened the AGM with a review of the year’s activities. It had been a good year for meetings, visits, walks and practical conservation work. All activiities had been well supported and membership was still high and approaching 900. He thanked all Committee members for their work during the year and looked forward to a full programme for 2024/25.
2. The minutes of the April 2023 AGM were agreed.
3. The Treasurer’s report was accepted with thanks . There was an underspend  of £79.56 23/24 financial year with a balance of £4820.77
4. The following were nominated, and elected, as follows: Chairman – Pete Coe; Vice-Chairman and Secretary – David Bettiss; Treasurer – Colin Annis.

Committee members: Chris Green, Jane Hayman, Graham Tuppen, Diana Howard.

5. There was no other business, and the AGM was closed.

Ed Miller (Secretary)

Accounts audited week beginning  31.03.2025

FCG Accounts for 1 April 24 – 31 March 25

Income                                                                      

Subscriptions                         1840.00                             

Talk entry                                   1311.00                             

Donations                                    491.20                              

Social Tkts. & Sales                     719.00

Christmas Card Sales                 602.50

Outing – Boat Trip                     731.00

                                                     —————

                                                    £5694.70

Expenses

Speaker Fees                              723.80                          

Tea Provision                               236.63                            

Card Printing                                342.00              

Hall Hire                                       454.75            

Web Site                                       104.40             

Insurance                                    134.40            

Bank Charges                               108.21              

Magazine Printing                    1554.40                         

Stationery                                       38.97

Social                                             743.40

Outing – Boat Trip                      705.00

Various :       Wreath                   20.00

                        Equipment             49.39

                        Water Testing       37.20         £221.68

                        Plants                    100.09                                                              

                        Christmas Tree      15.00

Donations:   St Barnabas          250.00

                       Gifts                          25.60        £350.60

                       Sea Scouts               25.00

                       CPRE Sussex            50.00

                                                    ————–

                                                   £5718.24          Therefore overspend for year £23.54

Balance @  1.4.24     £4820.77        @ 31.3.25    £4797.23

Cuckoo: sound of spring                                                                             May 2025              

By Kerry Williams – Communications Officer: Conservation

It’s become a tradition of mine to go camping locally for a few nights in May. Being emersed in nature, spending evenings by firelight, and absorbing the abundant buzz of wildlife; it’s a good-for-the-soul time to be outdoors in Sussex.

Hawthorn, or the May tree, is flowering in fragrant blooms. Bats are flitting enmasse from maternity roosts at dusk to forage. Badgers are on the trundle and Foxes on the trot. And yes, there are loads of lovely baby bunnies. In Sussex, we are lucky to retain a population of visiting Nightingales, and on uninterrupted May nights the males are in full rattling, palpitating symphony. Tawny Owls ke-wik and Barn Owls shriek. Woodlands burst into carpets of indigo as Bluebell scent fills the understory.

Amidst this, an undulating ‘beep-boop’ can be heard, a natural metronome. It is one of our most recognisable bird calls, and the onomatopoeic sound of spring and summer; the Cuckoo.

Arriving from Africa in March, Cuckoos infamously lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, sneakily replacing an egg of an unsuspecting parent for them to incubate, feed and fledge. The not-so-little Cuckoo nestling shunts other eggs, and even youngsters, out of the nest, outcompeting any remaining for resources, becoming the last chonky chick standing. Regularly hoodwinked are Reed Warblers, Dunnocks and Meadow Pipits.

Mostly insectivorous, with a penchant for Hairy Caterpillars, adult Cuckoos spend their days feeding prior to their homeward migration. Having not had chicks to rear and fledge, they leave around June, with the new generation following later in summer.

Overall, it sounds like Cuckoos are having a pretty easy time of it. However, as is the story of so many of our native species, they are under threat. Cuckoos have declined by 65% since the 1980s and are now on the UK conservation Red List. The usual suspects are at play of habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide use resulting in food scarcity. Additionally, these issues have befallen many of their host species, leading to similar population declines, or, at the least, Cuckoo-bewildering behaviour changes such as earlier breeding.

Despite their size and familiarity, these elusive birds are not an easy spot. In a second act of mistaken identity, their barred chest can often resemble that of a Sparrowhawk. Although their calming calls have accompanied many a spring sundowner for me, I’m still yet to see one myself. Perhaps this year could be my year. Maybe.