September Social: Stephen Lea of Marshall UK Direct will be attending the September social. He will be fitting Trackpacks to any hawk on the night for a nominal fee still to be confirmed. This fee will include a donation to the club so everyone's a winner. In addition, should anyone want to order any items he is willing to bring them along on the evening so that you avoid any P&P costs. He can be contacted on 0161 8706518 or www.falconryworld.com

Stop Press: Following on from the ABM the Secretaries and the Regional Reps positions ARE STILL vacant and the remaining two committee members would welcome support from within the region. If you are interested in either position please contact Steve Smith directly. The region would like to thank Darren Chadwick and John Callaghan for all of the hard work they have put into the region over the years and hopes they will remain committed to the success of the region.

Longwing Co-ordinator: We have a new field meet co-ordinator for the pointy winged chaps and this is the illustrious Gus Gough. A number of field meets are already at the planning stage, including a 3 day meet similar to last seasons Nidderdale meet, albeit at a different location. You are reminded that attendance at at the regional meetings is imperative to qualify for field meet places and subsidies.  

Future Speakers: Darren has already arranged for a number of future speakers including Simon Tyers (dog trainer) for the March meeting. In May there will be a chap called Wilf who carries out bird surveys on North York Moors. His information on Merlins in particular will be very interesting. For July we have John Frankland and Mike Nicholls from the Peregrine and raptor study group in Sussex. They are the first to record the hybrid breeding situation with wild peregrines so this is another not to be missed.

Newsletter: The winter 2008 edition is now old hat. Many thanks to everyone who provided information and made my life a little easier. Please remember that articles are constantly required for the newsletter and I am already working on the next one and so please don't be shy. Please share any funny stories, observations, successes, failures, etc. If you havean article to submit please forward to myself by clicking on the link at the end of the page.

Last season was once again very successful and we are already looking forward to the start of the new season. This region is blessed with some of the finest countryside England has to offer and within it are some of the top hawks,falcons, falconers and austringers. Our thanks to Nick Dearing, Darren Chadwick, John Callaghan, the gamekeepers and landowners who made this all possible.

Everyone is eligible to attend field meets. However, if any field meets are over subscribed then attendance to business meetings may be taken into account to help prioritise. If you plan/hope to attend any such events please complete and return a Field Meet Application Form. (Click the link to download a PDF copy of the form)

 For further details, please contact the Regions Secretary or the Field Meet Co-Ordinators, Gus Gough (gus.gough@ntworld.com or 01332 758726) & Dave Williams (shortwingfalconry140@msn.com or 01226 248931).

2008/9 DATES

To be announced nearer the season