A STUNNING exhibition exploring the wonders of bird migration will be hosted by Haslemere Educational Museum from May 7 to June 25.

The exhibition brings together artworks from Flight Lines, a joint undertaking by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) made possible by a legacy from former Haslemere Educational Museum trustee Penny Hollow.

It shows off some artwork created during and after the project, along with examples of bird-tracking equipment used to understand why so many summer migrants are in decline.

The project had several strands, including sending SWLA artists to sites across the UK, west Africa and Italy, resulting in a well-received book, Flight Lines – Tracking the Wonders of Bird Migration.

Flight Lines brought artists together with scientists and volunteers tracking the migration of birds to learn more about the reasons behind these challenging journeys and to capture data and images of the process, destinations and encounters.

During the exhibition the museum will have related programming including a talk entitled Our Changing Birdlife, a workshop for children making bird prints, a family event creating bird art, the return of FalconHigh and a chance to see live birds of prey in the museum garden.

Storyteller Malcolm Green and musician Joshua Green will give an evening performance of Gone Cuckoo, an exploration of the cuckoo and its changing fortunes.

For more information and to book events visit www.haslemeremuseum.co.uk/whatson/whatson.html

Artworks on display will be for sale and prints of some artworks will also be available to buy.

Mike Toms, BTO lead on Flight Lines, said: “Working with artists, photographers and writers has enabled BTO to communicate its scientific research on migrant birds to new audiences, and our partnership with the Society of Wildlife Artists has been a particular success in this regard. We are excited to see artwork from the project coming together for this exhibition at Haslemere Museum.”

Malcolm Green said about Gone Cuckoo: “It is shortly after dawn at RAF Fylingdales and a cuckoo is having a BTO transmitter strapped to his back. A few weeks later he will have flown thousands of miles across Europe and over the Sahara Desert to equatorial Africa. For millennia, the cuckoo’s call has inspired songs, stories and poems. Does he bring the spring? Tell our fortunes? Now the voice of the cuckoo is fading – where has it gone?”