What is the LOSYBC and what do we do?

LOSYBC stands for Leigh Ornithological Society's Young Birders' Club.

We are an award-winning team consisting of four members of the Leigh Ornithological Society (L.O.S.) who visit schools and youth groups free of charge to give talks on birding, as well as the wider context of nature and the environment. To see some examples of the work we do please click 'Older Posts' at the bottom right of this page.

The L.O.S. is essentially a bird watching club whose members care passionately about the natural environment. It has been in existence for nearly 50 years and its founding members were directly responsible for helping create Pennington Flash Country Park as well as many other conservation projects in the area.

The Society meets regularly at Leigh Library where presentation talks are given by visiting speakers and these are followed by weekend fieldtrips on Saturdays or Sundays.  The L.O.S. has been recording the bird life in the Leigh and nearby areas since it began in the 1970's and an annual report is produced each year.

The LOSYBC team consists of:

  • Martyn Jones (former teacher)
  • George Pike (former teacher)
  • Brian Fawcett (former teacher)
  • Tony Bishop
  • We can also call on another five members of the L.O.S. for fieldtrips.

Sessions

We provide free interactive sessions which can last between 1 and 2 hours including a presentation about bird identification, practical work, quizzes and games.  We can deliver a programme suitable for Years 3 to 6 as well as for mixed age ranges at Cubs and Brownies.

Fieldtrips

We can also offer accompanied field trips to local places such as Pennington Flash and Lilford Park. We can provide all the materials needed to do a fieldtrip such as checklists, clipboards, binoculars etc and so all the school or association has to do is provide the transport and adequate supervision for the children.

Content

Our presentations consist of projected slideshows with photographs, drawings and videos showing different types of birds in various habitats. A key part of these slides is to describe how to identify the different types of birds in these habitats and to explain why the birds live there in terms of their adaptation to the environment.

We follow this with practical work which consists of making a Bird ID Dial and using this to do a number of quizzes, each with increasing difficulty. We also sometimes make bird feeders out of recycled materials which can be hung up in the school grounds or at home.

We often finish off a session with a game of Birdy Bingo in which all the bird identification skills learnt in the session are recapped and used to play the game.

If you click 'Older Posts' at the bottom right of this page, you will see examples of the work done in a number of schools and youth groups in the Wigan and Leigh area.