In common with many organisations , the Society has been feeling the effects of inflation, and in order to pay our way, it was necessary for subscriptions to be increased from January 1977. No sooner had this taken place, when it became obvious that the increase was not enough. We needed some "North Sea Oil" if the K.O.S. was to continue its high standards and provide the service-to which, the Members had become accustomed. Our choices appeared to be either to suspend a monthly bulletin, or for the standards of our Annual Report to be reduced. It is widely held, especially in this County, that the K.B.R. is the finest of its kind.

Fortunately, David Rosair proposed a sponsored bird watch as a fund raising exercise. Similar ventures had proved lucrative for the R.S.P.B. and Portland Bird Observatory. Some elder statesmen looked disapproving ("Is this Ornithology?") but more than 60 people have taken part, not only in Kent , but also in Suffolk , Scotland and in Greece . Nevertheless, the most birds in a 24 hour period were recorded in East Kent , where Bill Harvey totaled 122 species - but there were seven other "ton up boys" with most of their fieldwork taking place in that part of the County.

The event has been a great success and has been fun for the participants. It has raised over £960 which is vitally important if the Society is to continue and it is proposed that this will be an annual event in future. The total raised on this occasion will be sufficient to underwrite the production costs of the 1976 Kent Bird Report which will be published later this year.

Please remember that the prime function is to raise cash. A high total of species is a satisfying and stimulating achievement, but the money is even more important. Next year I hope that more members will involve themselves, and it would only need 200 members to raise £5 each to better this year's total. If you continue to take part in this event each year, you should bear in mind that it is much easier to convince friends to donate small amounts each year, rather than to claim a large sum from one person who will not be prepared to give again!

Some very good results were obtained by our very young Members this year, and we are most grateful to them for their interest and hope that they will wish to take part again. The ideal result is for a Member to obtain good sponsorship from a large, number of people so that he is gaining a significant amount for the Society for every species that he sees.

It may be of some interest to know that a total of 159 species were recorded in the County by the participants. The check lists on the green forms were very comprehensive and only three observers were able to add to the list in this country. The species added were :- Glossy Ibis, Pink Footed Goose and Barnacle Goose.

Two Members on holiday in Greece were encouraged to take part, and were sponsored by a Kentish lady. They were able to record without too much effort 103 and 96 species respectively. Their lists included amongst other exotica: ­ Spur Winged Plover, Slender-billed Curlew, Eagle Owl and Masked Strike, and later in the day they drank a toast to the Society in a local brew and the toast was "The Birds of Kent and a Kentish Bird".

"Ton Up" Boys 1977,                 Leading fund raisers in pounds

Bill Harvey and John Booker have each received a £5 Book Token, Don Taylor is to be highly commended for his all round performance and special mention should be made of C.R. Ireland from Wye who raised over £51 and recorded 98 species in the Stour Valley between Wye and Sandwich Bay . He covered the whole area by bicycle and cycled over 50 miles.

The aggregate total of 159 in the County does not include the following which could have been seen in the first half of May :- Spoonbill, Osprey, Ruff, Nightjar, Firecrest , Black Redstart or any real rarities.

It is interesting to know that Don Taylor has personally undertaken a "May Day" bird watch over the last 13 years, and in this time has recorded a total of 158 species in the County and this is very much in line with the performance of our sponsored bird watch this year. It is a remarkable total and shows just what a diverse Avifauna that we have in Kent . It makes one wonder why people bother to travel so far abroad in search of their birds! This has been a splendid performance and of vital importance to the Society and, as Treasurer, I should like to thank all those Members who took part, and encourage others to join in in future years.