Chris McInerny is a Reader at the University of Glasgow, where he researches cell division and its relevance to cancer. He has a long term interest in natural history, particularly birds, mammals, butterflies, Odonata and plants, especially orchids. In this he has had a number of roles including President of the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC), President of the Glasgow Natural History Society, and Chairman of Biological Recording on Scotland. Currently he is Secretary to both the British Ornithologists’ Unions Records Committe and the Scottish Birds Records Committee. He was an editor and author of The Birds of Scotland (2007), author of The Amphibians and Reptiles of Scotland (2016), and has published about 150 papers on natural history, particularly on Scotland. Currently, he studies birds and reptiles around the shores of Loch Lomond, with a particular fascination for Honey-buzzards and Adders.
Chris’s talk “Scottish orchids” will describe the 20 species of orchids that can be found in south-west Scotland, some relatively common and widespread, others much rarer and more difficult to find, but all beautiful to behold. He will outline their flowering period, habitat requirements and biology, and give tips on how to see them. He will also focus on one species rare in Scotland, the Bee Orchid, and describe some observations that he has made on a new population he discovered in south Ayrshire.