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Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ page). Below, we have tried to answer the most common questions visitors to this our Web site may have. If you find that your question is not answered on this page, please email us contact@gbc-online.org.uk
I don’t live in the United Kingdom, do you have any contacts in my country?
How can I pay my membership fee?
Why is it cheaper if I take out a standing order?
I’ve paid my membership, when can I expect to hear back?
I’m interested in joining, but I’d like to find out what the Club’s like first, is that possible?
I’d like to come along on an event, but I’m not openly gay and I don’t want to be outed.
Will there be any other women on the event?
Will there be any other men on the event?
Does the GBC have a constitution?
What is the privacy policy for this site?
I’d like to join an event, but I don’t have a car. How can I get to the event?
When does Out Birding get published?
I don’t want to receive any written publications, do you produce an online newsletter?
Why do you separate yourselves from the straight birding world?
How can I join the Club?
You can fill out a membership form via this web site, but if you prefer, send an email with a request to send you an information pack and membership form. When we receive a request for information or an online application to join the Club, we reply to you to ensure your request is genuine before processing.
Once you have applied to join, you need to send a cheque, postal order or bankers draft to the Club postal address, included with your own name and postal address. We don’t accept payment by credit card - the costs of doing that for a small club like ours are too great.
I don’t live in the United Kingdom, do you have any contacts in my country?
Thankfully, the UK is not the only country where there is organised gay birding. Here’s a run-down for places we have contacts:
The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - there’s a new group called GBC Benelux. They are still sorting out an email contact point, but for now email the UK GBC, and we’ll gladly pass on your details to the organiser.
USA and Canada - there are groups of lesbian and gay birders across both countries, as you might expect. The most active of these is probably GAGGLE (Greater Atlanta Gay Lesbian Birders) in Georgia, but there’s a women’s group in Oregon (LES) and fledgling groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and New York. The UK GBC has now visited the USA three times, and we’re sure there will be more visits in the future. There’s a North American email list for lesbian and gay birders - to join you can click the following button:
Click to subscribe to GayBirding
Australia - there’s an Australian GBC and there have been two trips from the UK. You can email them at gaybirdersaustralia@yahoo.com
Elsewhere - well, I’m afraid we don’t know of any other organised groups. If you know of any, please let us know because we’re very pleased to pass on details or include information here. Or perhaps you’d like to set up a gay birding group for your country or area? If so, we’ll happily publicise your group and give help and advice as best we can.
How can I pay my membership fee?
We accept payment in the form of UK cheques, postal orders, bankers draft or cash. We are unable to take payment by credit or debit card because the cost of taking payment this way is too great.
When paying by cheque, postal order or bankers draft, please make them payable to GBC
Please ensure payment is in £ (pounds Sterling) if paying from overseas because we cannot accept payment in any other currency. Not even Euros, but perhaps in the future?
We can accept payment for several years subscription if you wish. This offsets the cost of raising a bankers draft.
Why is it cheaper if I take out a standing order?
We encourage as many people to pay this way as possible, because it saves our membership secretary having to send out letters to chase up payment each year. This might not seem a big deal, except all the officers of the Club are unpaid volunteers with busy lives. So, if you’re about to renew your membership, why not spend a bit of time filling out the Standing Order form; it’ll certainly be a great help to the Club.
I’ve paid my membership, when can I expect to hear back?
Generally, it takes around 3 - 4 weeks to turn around an application to join the Club, so if you’ve just joined and haven’t heard anything, please be a bit patient while we go about the checks. For example, making sure your cheque clears at the bank. Some times there will be longer delays, for example if the membership secretary or treasurer goes off on a well-earned holiday.
I’m interested in joining, but I’d like to find out what the Club’s like first, is that possible?
Yes, it certainly is possible. If you email our events organiser, we will work out a good event for you to go on and put you in contact with the organiser. Why not take a look at our Events page to see if any of these grab your fancy!
I’d like to come along on an event, but I’m only a beginner and everyone else will know more than me and think I’m stupid.
Even if you were stupid, probably nobody would bother thinking it, because people are much more interested in the birds and one anothers’ company at our events. If you’re a beginner to bird watching, you’ll find that Club events are a great way to learn about the birds you’re seeing in a supportive, non-aggressive and relaxed environment. We all had to start somewhere, just like when we first came out.
I’d like to come along on an event, but I’m not openly gay and I don’t want to be outed.
The Club has a strict policy on outing other participants at events by declaring our affiliation to the GBC. If you’re concerned about being outed, it’s a good idea to make sure the event organiser knows, so that she/he and other participants don’t let slip any information which might cause embarrasment.
Attending a GBC event is not completely risk-free, but anyone who interacts with other lesbian and gay people runs the risk of being discovered. We don’t wave rainbow flags at our events and to all purposes, look like an ordinary group of bird watchers. However, we’re a diverse bunch and some of our members are well known in the birding world and are openly gay or lesbian (without harming their reputation). We can’t prevent other birders putting two and two together and making four, but if you don’t take the odd risk, you’ll miss out on great birding in excellent company.
Will there be any other women on the event?
Just over 40% of our members are women, but attendance at events tends to be more evenly mixed.
Will there be any other men on the event?
Just under 60% of our members are men, but attendance at events tends to be more evenly mixed.
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Does the GBC have a constitution?
Yes we do. You will soon be able to download it by clicking here. We tried for a very long time to exist without the formality of a constitution, but as our membership grew, and the sums of money we were handling increased, it became clear we needed to be accountable for the way we run the Club.
What is the privacy policy for this site?
This part is still being written, but rest assured, we do not pass on your details to any third parties except in cases of abuse (see below). Any applicants for membership or access to password protected areas of this web site will receive an email requesting confirmation. If no response is received within an allotted time, we delete all record of the application.
Someone has abused me by using this web site to sign me up to your club. Do you have an abuse policy?
We take abuse through our web site very seriously. Abuse of someone on the basis of their sexuality is very damaging, whether the victim is homosexual or not.
If you feel you’ve been at the wrong end of a malicious prank, you can pursue the matter with the police and with the internet service provider of the prankster. We will supply you with details of the host internet service provider, an IP address (this is number given to the computer that was used to send the information) and a date and time when your details were sent to us. This is normally sufficient to trace the offender.
To do this, send an email to the following address abuse@gbc-online.org.uk
In 1999 and 2001, we provided information that resulted in three people losing their internet account, and in 2001 an abuser was successfully prosecuted as a result of information provided from GBC internet log files.
I’d like to join an event, but I don’t have a car. How can I get to the event?
Get in touch with the event organiser (details are listed with the event in Out Birding) and see if it’s possible arrange a lift for part of your journey. If someone does drive you to an event, please offer to pay a fair share of the petrol, your offer will, more than likely, be refused, but then they’re more likely to offer you a lift the next time.
Many of our events are organised at places close to good transport links.
When does Out Birding get published?
It comes out quarterly in February, May, August and November when we also publish the annual calendar.
I don’t want to receive any written publications, do you produce an online newsletter?
Unfortunately not. Perhaps some time in the future we might be able to streamline the way we do our publications to allow for dual formats. If you’re concerned that our mailings will have words like “gay” or “lesbian” on the outside, please rest assured that our mailings arrive in plain brown envelopes with nothing on the outside except a postage stamp and your postal address label.
Why do you separate yourselves from the straight birding world?
We don’t really. When you enjoy birdwatching, it becomes a way of life, just like being lesbian or gay. So it makes sense to merge two ways of life into one. The Club also serves to introduce people who are birdwatchers to the lesbian/gay way of life, and vice versa.
This doesn’t mean we don’t integrate. We try to keep a high profile in the birding world as individuals and as a club (without compromising our members’ privacy) and we have many straight ‘champions’. By keeping a distinct profile, we provide visibility for lesbian and gay people in a sphere where in the United Kingdom an estimated 3 million people are interested in environmental issues. If lesbian and gay people are to pursue the holy grail of ‘total acceptability’ then we must become visible and integrated within every aspect of society.
But visibility isn’t just about gay and straight. The Club is also about being visible as birders to the LGB community and providing additional outlets for gay and lesbians as alternatives to, for example, the pub and nightclub scene.
