GOA logo winner !

Congratulations to Radar for his winning entry. With a little manipulation the logo has been completed and with any luck will be added to mechandise.
Watch this space.

Scops-eared Long Owl - Tresco

News reaches the GOA that a first for the world has been found on the Isles of Scilly.

A Scops-eared Long Owl ( Scops asio otus) of unknown origin was found by keen and observant G.O's on the isle of Tresco and showed well to passers by & dogs alike. A full and detailed account will hopefully be submitted to the GOARS and if all is well then the GOARC will include it on the GOABB list.

The GOA on tour 2007 - Shetland

Well the time is nearly upon us when the GOA embark on its pilgrimage to britains most northerly isles. The intrepid quartet (YoYo,LeDonis,The Apprentice & Radar) will be hoping for some real General Ornithology and with the prospect of a bird or 2 and maybe the odd rarer one.
With news that the islands are going to be swarming with twitchers the GOA will be present to make sure the welfare of the birds comes first.

GOA 'members only offer'.

The GOA are pleased to announce the next generation in General Ornithilogical Optics, The Hubble Birding Telescope. This innovation in birding technology allows even the most inexperianced G.O. to bird from great distances with no loss of image quality. With this state-of-the-art telescope troublesome bird identification will be a thing of the past. And with image stabiliser and inward lighting it makes it easy to use in high winds or in the dark. Be the envy of all G.O's and the laughing stock amongst twitchers with this once on a lifetime offer. Although slightly used it is in perfect working condition and can be yours P.O.A. All interested parties should visit www.GOAway.com

Radar tours Sweden !

The GOA are in possesion of some very disturbing news. It has come to light that GOA member Radar is to depart the UK for Sweden in the morning. We at the GOA are led to believe this visit is not for work purposes (as he told us) but an attempt to reform and join the swedish supergroup ABBA. If this news is true we shall be deeply disturbed and will only reinforce his desire to still live in the 70's

Eye Candy discovers Pecs on comeback tour.

This has nothing to do with the discovery of his nipple ringh during a body oiling session before meetinghis adoring largely female (or should that be large female) audience on his recent tour. It does however relate to his experiances with his own personal Venus. Contrary to rumour he was not examining Venus's pecs (she would have clattered him with her tennis racket). The Venus in question is a pool and the Pec a bird (not a muscle).
The honarary member of the GOA had discovered his own Pectoral Sandpiper and will now have to submit his record to the GOARC who will examine its mitochondrial DNA from photographs to determine its authenticity.

GOA member.

One of the original founder members of ther GOA, MP has many guises and alias's such as, Rick (above), Harry P and Adrian M to name but a few but with his be-spectacled look is easily recognisable in the field. Although he may look approacable be warned looks are very deceiving, in the field this GOA member can be very unhelpful and at times down right devious. His main attributes are his ability to upset the dead with his wicked tongue and manner and is an enemy of any twitcher.
You have been warned.

GOA Rarities Secretary (GOARS) request for information.

Dear Members after the recent sightings of Red-billed Herring Gull (Larus Chernobylus) at Hinkley Point, Somerset and an unknown location in Glamorganshire we are asking members to submit descriptions so the GOARC can substantiate these claims. The bird is believed to show characteristics similar to the picture above.
Please forward your descriptions to the GOARS.

GOA rarities commitee (GOARC) Press Announcement

With reference to the recent sightings of Yorkshire Swift (Apus Yorkshirus) in York, Chinatown Warbler (Acrocephalus Blackbeanus) in Greater Manchester and Bishops Rosefinch (Carpodacus Bashinus) in Hale, Cheshire. These species have now been accepted onto the GOA British Garden list by the rarities commitee. In light of this the GOA Garden list now stands at 642 species. Can all GOA members please amend your life/year list totals.

Please note scientific factual incidence using the very latest up-to-date DNA testing of feathers was undertaken and has thus proven beyond reasonable doubt that these species are new to science hence there appearance within the GOA's listing criteria.

Duck watching with the GOA.

To the G.O. the sound of a 'quack' from a duck is music to ones ears. So when news reached the GOA that a lost duck from the USA had taken up residence in cleveland (why, god only knows) we decided to make the perilous journey across yorkshire. This was a valuable excerise in duck accents, 'did it quack in a yank accent ?' this was what we went to find out. On arrival my good self, LeDonis and Bluebirder made the exhaustive trek over an embankment to view the pool the duck was residing on. With news from some G.O's that the duck may have flown back to the USA we were a little down hearted but decided a thorough GOA scan was in order to be sure. About an hour had passed and it seemed the G.O's were right there was no sign. But wait had Bluebirder seen the yank duck ? by the time my good self and LeDonis got to Bluebirder there was no sign. In vain we searched listening for the faintest hint of an accent but all we could hear were planes, cars, motorbikes and a fat woman with three children and a dog but no quacking. Using my Telescope i happened to see a duck that looked kind of good, so in true GOA style i stood looking at it for 3 hours waiting for it to quack but all it did was sleep, which in hindsight was a good idea having flown from america. G.O's came and went in the time some with fieldguides some with old fashioned telescopes but none with any clue if this could be the duck. LeDonis was becoming increasingly irratable (i think it was his bowels) so decided to go for some 'private time' around the pool, during his 'private time' the duck decided it was a good time to stand up and show of a fine pair of yellow legs and thus providing the GOA with the unfortunately necessary identification features of the duck. Unfortunate because maybe just a yank quack would have confirmed its identification a lot earlier. A brown duck, grey bill, eye ring, dark eye stripe, blue wing bar and yellow legs but no quack. Oh well theres always next time ?

GOA Honanary member #3

Sir Patrick Moore was born on 4 March 1923 in what was then the little Middlesex village of Pinner. At the age of six months he and his parents moved to Sussex where he has lived ever since - not counting the war years when he was a ringer for the YOC and a brief time in Ireland in the 60’s where he couldn’t list (GOA rules).Between the ages of six and sixteen Patrick was ill, on and off, and this fortunately prevented him from twitching and so he became a general ornithologist, working his local patch. Patrick has written over 60 books mainly on astronomy, but has penned some books on night time bird migration and owls. But it is his dedication to sea-watching that earns him a place as our 3rd honorary member of GOA. Patrick’s favourite bird – the clown of the seas – aka the Puffin.
Sir Patrick in death we salute you.