The Society was formed initially as a section of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1941, but soon outgrew its parent Society and became established in its own right. Since then LROS has gone from strength to strength and now has more than 500 members, mostly from Leicestershire and Rutland, but also from surrounding counties and around the country.

For the sake of consistency in our recording, the LROS continues to cover both Leicestershire and Rutland as a single county (vice county 55), regardless of changes to political boundaries. Indeed, the two counties were seperate entities when the Society was originally formed in 1941.

Each year, LROS members receive:
Ten issues of the Society's newsletter, The Grebe (one a month, with combined
June/July and August/September issues)
Annual Bird Report (usually sent with August/September or October newsletter)

LROS members are also welcome to attend:
All LROS indoor meetings (eight a year), free of charge
LROS Outings to places of interest both locally and further afield.

We have negotiated with Corus (formerly British Steel) for special access to the grounds of Eyebrook Reservoir for LROS members. An LROS membership card must be carried at all times. The Society also runs a feeding station during the winter months.

For details of how to take advantage of these benefits, go to the Join LROS section.

Our monthly newsletter, The Grebe, is the Society's regular contact with its members. It provides information on events, surveys, conservation issues and birdwatching sites, as well as a full set of field notes for the previous month's sightings. It also features news from neighbouring counties, tips on where to look and what to look for, trip reports and the 'stop press' latest bird news. Most of all, it is the soapbox from which any members can air their views to a like-minded (or not, as the case may be!) readership, exchange ideas, contact others, etc. A selection of articles from previous editions appears in the 'Articles' section. For further details, or to submit an article for The Grebe, contact the Editor, (contact details).

This is the Society's main publication. It is a detailed report of the previous year's sightings of each species recorded in the County, and is usually published by the autumn. A copy is automatically sent to every member; non-members can purchase copies at LROS Sales. The systematic list is compiled by the Editorial Committee from up to 20,000 records a year, and includes tables, counts and breeding details, as well as a mention of each species' current status. It also contains other articles of interest, such as weather notes and survey results, and is enhanced by line drawings and colour photographs.

Each year the Society stages eight indoor meetings (one a month with a summer break).In 2008 these will be held at two alternating venues: the Church Lounge at Oadby Trinity Methodist Church, Harborough Road, (off the central car park) Oadby Leicester LE2 4LA (click here for map), and the Rothley Centre, 12 Mountsorrel Lane, Rothley, Leicester LE7 7PR (click here for map). Both these venues are next to large car parks. There will also be two meetings at the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, Egleton reserve, Rutland Water (the spring meeting is yet to be arranged).

The meetings feature illustrated talks by experienced ornithologists, artists, conservationists or photographers, whilst you can also socialise with other members and meet the committee. All meetings are free to members. For more information, contact the Meetings Secretary (contact details).

4th January - Oadby
Ann & Phil Farrer - 'Mongolia - the birds, scenery and plants'
Ann has been a Group Leader of the Hemel Hempstead RSPB Members Group for over 12 years, and Phil is a publisher and chartered biologist.

1st February - Rothley
Chris Bowden - 'The South Asian Vulture Crisis, an Update'
Chris Bowden is in charge of the Vulture Programme for the RSPB.

7th March - Oadby
Trevor Gunton - 'Birds and Pits, a year in the life of a reclaimed gravel pit and its wildlife'
Trevor worked for the RSPB at Sandy for over 30 years, and locally is an active volunteer at his local nature reserve of Paxton Pits.

4th April - Rothley
Allan and Sue Parker - 'Seabird City, the birdlife and flora of Northumberland and the Farne Islands'
Allan and Sue live in South Yorkshire.

18th April - Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, Egleton
Andrew Musgrove - 'The Little Egret'

2nd May - Oadby
AGM + Chris Gerrard- 'The Great Fen Project'
Chris is Project Manager of the Great Fen Project, the restoration of a 3700 hectare wetland between Huntingdon and Peterborough.

3rd October - Rothley
Keith Offord - 'Chasing the Day, the extraordinary effect of light on birds, and their behaviour'
Keith is well known to our members from his previous lectures. He is involved in raptor research for the Countryside Council of Wales, runs birdwatching courses, travels extensively photographing wildlife, and gives talks on his travel experiences.

7th November - Oadby
David Cromack - 'Magazines and the Art of Bird Photography, a tribute to the photographers whose work has lifted British bird magazines to new heights in recent years'
For 20 years, David was the editor of Birdwatching magazine, but is now the editor of Birds Illustrated magazine, publishes birdwatching site guides, and lectures.

21st November - Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, Egleton
Nick Williams - 'Bird Islands, a talk on Sea Eagles'
Nick is well known to our members for the superb audio-visual talks he has presented to LROS on many occasions.

5th December - Rothley
Nicholas Watts - 'New Zealand, the Ross Sea and Antarctica'
Nicholas is a farmer in Lincolnshire, who grows and sells seeds for the wild bird food market. When he was at school in Rutland he was a member of LROS. He is a member of the BTO Council, the Welland and Nene Area Environment Group and the Welland and Deeping Internal Drainage Board.

LROS Outings 2008

Please contact Andrew Cliff one week before the outing to book a place.

January 19th – Potteric Carr, Yorkshire
Meet at the car park 09:00. Target species Bittern. Click here for further details (pdf file - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

February 16th – Ouse Washes
Meet at the reserve car park 08:30. Target species Bewick’s & Whooper Swans. Click here for further details.

March 29th – Attenborough Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire
Meet at the reserve car park 08:30. Target species early spring migrants. Click here for further details.

April 26th – Hambleton Wood & Rutland Water
Meet at the end of the lane to the Old Hall, Hambleton 07:00. Target species are Nightingale, Osprey and other spring migrants. Click here for further details.

May 17th – Coombes Valley & Churnet, Staffordshire
Meet at the reserve car park 09:00. Target species Pied Flycatcher, Redstart,
Wood Warbler and Dipper. Click here for further details.

June 21st – Blithfield Reservoir & Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
Meet at the Reservoir Education Centre car park 09:00. We will travel over to Cannock Chase for the evening. Target Species Wood Lark, Nightjar & Woodcock. Click here for further details.

July 5th – Bempton Cliffs & Blacktoft Sands, Yorkshire
Meet at the Bempton reserve car park 09:00. Seabird bonanza, target species are Puffin, and Skuas. Click here for further details.

September 13th – Holme & Titchwell, Norfolk
Meet at the Holme village car park 08:30. Target species Bearded Tit. Click here for further details.

October 11th – Leighton Moss, Lancashire
Meet at the reserve car park 09:00. Target species Bittern. Click here for further details.

November 15th – Snettisham, Norfolk
Meet at the reserve car park, time to be confirmed. Target species Pink-footed Geese, and the spectacle of thousands of waders. Click here for further details.

December 6th – Rutland Water
Meet at the Egleton reserve car park 09:00. Target species winter wildfowl. Click here for further details.