Quite a lot of people lost someone, maybe an elderly relative, during the heatwave. My Aunt Barbara, very ill with advanced dementia, died yesterday aged 91. She was unmarried, no kids and I had been taking care of her affairs for the past few years. That’s the least interesting thing about her. 1

An amazing find in Perthshire- an adult Robin repeatedly feeding a recently-fledged Dipper! Interspecific feeding is recorded from time-to-time, but it's rare and a phenomenal thing to witness first-hand. Huge thanks to James Clements for reporting it. #BirdingScotland

Late visit for the @bbs-birds.bsky.social A much needed relief with reduced temperatures. So many fledglings (discounted); Great and Blue Tits, Nuthatch, Starling and Great Spots. Highlights include a singing Woodlark (1st for this square) and overflying Swift - and a Hobby.

Trying to get a tan in the hot weather.

House Martins need your help! Sussex Ornithological Society is doing a county wide House Martin Survey this year and are in need of volunteers - can you help? @sussexornitholo.bsky.social  @lewesswifts.bsky.social  📸Roger Wilmshurst  https://soshousemartins.birdsurvey.org.uk/

Early visit for the @btobirds.bsky.social Breeding Bird Survey yesterday. The main highlight was a group of at least 4 male Marsh Tits pursuing a female. Lovely to see (and hear) a noticeable increase in Song Thrush this year, too. @birdtrack.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Ready for the @sussexornitholo.bsky.social AGM and conference, being held at the University of Sussex. Looking forward to a range of talks and presentations!

First Willow Warbler heard at Ashdown Forest. Lovely to have them back. @birdtrack.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Something I’ve been considering for a very long time. Yesterday I made my first donation. I’m sharing, not for the adoration but to spread the word and hope it encourages someone else to sign up.

A very enjoyable last visit for the BTOs Winter Bird Survey in pat of East Sussex. Observed my first Firecrest and saw the same pair of Marsh Tits I’ve seen previously, in the same territory. Also, plenty of Redwing fattening up on Ivy berries. @birdtrack.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Third visit for the BTO Winter Bird Survey. Highlights this time were; Marsh Tit (in the same territory as the December visit), Greenfinch and Chaffinch. @btobirds.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social

First Woodlark of the season on a beautiful sunny day at #Ashdownforest @sussexwildlife.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

A lovely walk on Winter Solstice for my second BTO Winter Bird Survey. The highlight of the morning was finding a large Redwing Roost in a Holly understory. @btobirds.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social

Calling all #nature lovers! 🐦🌳Sign up to the #Birds in Greenspaces newsletter for updates on this project that starts next spring, and see our FREE Resource Pack with bird ID guides and activities to warm you up this winter at www.bto.org/greenspaces Nuthatch by @willrose.bsky.social

Beautiful skies on my evening walk at #Ashdownforest @sussexwildlife.bsky.social

Nice group of Candle Snuff fungus found on a walk this morning. The name is very apt, looking abit like an old candle wick.

A lovely early afternoon spent birding at Old Lodge. Delighted to find Crossbills, both male and female seen. My first in Sussex. Also a female Kestrel, a mixed flock of Coal & LT Tits. Plenty of Wren & Goldcrest, a Green Woodpecker and a couple of Great spots. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

So many of these about this year… #Ashdownforest

@ellabeard11.bsky.social I’ve been missing your updates - hope all is well? (Sorry to do this publicly but can’t DM for now.

A beautiful sky over the forest early this morning. You can even see the curve of the earth. #Ashdownforest

Beautiful morning out on the forest 😎

What a beautiful sunrise this morning. Worth getting up for. #Ashdownforest

Not what I was expecting to find on my evening dog walk. Just set off from the car and came across this beautiful female Purple Emperor butterfly 🦋 A ‘first’ for me and now recorded on Birdtrack. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social #Ashdownforest

It’s always a good evening when the badgers come out to play, even better when the whole family has a nice synchronised scratch! 🦡🦡🦡 Our live cameras are streaming over on BBC iPlayer from 10am to 10pm so be sure to head on over and watch the action unfold. 🎥🐣📺 #Springwatch #Springwatch20 #badgers

It's been a quieter few days for new migrants on Barra, but there are a lot of young birds about including the first brood of Shelducks down on the shore. #BirdingScotland #Birds

There must be more ‘Watchers’ on here so lets build the community by reposting & following, give our presenters & contributors some love, & celebrate 20Yrs of #Springwatch together 💚🥳 How big can our flock grow by end of this season? #BBCSpringwatch #Springwatch2025 #Springwatch20 #wildlife #nature

Support our work in an ever-changing world by becoming a BTO member. ➡️ www.bto.org/how-you-... We'll update you with BTO news, including exclusive members content, so you can see the meaningful and measurable impact your support makes. We can build a better future for birds and people, together.

‘Early visit’ for the BTO’s Breeding Bird Survey. Lots about, despite a foggy start. Notable increases in blackcap and song thrush compared to recent years. Good to see the usual suspects. @bbs-birds.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

New spring arrivals, in the form of singing male Willow Warblers and a Red Start. Excited to welcome both back to the Forest. #AshdownForest @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social @bbs-birds.bsky.social

Is this still my favourite Finnish tradition? Absolutely.

I was at the park earlier and a man arrived with a dog and a small electric car. Won’t pretend I wasn’t hugely disappointed when his wife and small child then appeared and realised the car belonged to the kid so I wasn’t actually going to get to see the dog driving round the park.

WORLD-FIRST: Ground-breaking research published today in the Ornithologist Journal has, for the first time, translated common UK bird vocalisations into equivalent phrases in the human language. The results tell us a lot! Extracts below... 🧵

One of our satellite-tagged Cuckoos has hitched a ride on a cruise ship and is now in the UK, the earliest one of our superstar Cuckoos has ever reached us! 😮🛥️🧵

Spring flowers - the Early Dog-violet. It has no scent (unlike the Scented Violet). Its cousin, the Common Dog-violet, traditionally flowers in April, the Early Dog-violet in March. The flowers are similar but the Early Dog-violet has a darker purple spur behind the petals. 📷 Graeme Lyons

Best I could get before the mist blocked out the view. #bloodmoon #wormmoon #astrophotography

Overtaking someone on foot: -Accelerate to uncomfortable speed -Once past, continue for at least two miles -Never look behind you -Collapse from exhaustion

The first BTO News of 2025 has just landed! 🙌 BTO News is our member-exclusive quarterly magazine. If you're not already a member, join us today from just £3 month to start receiving BTO News! We'll send you the Spring 2025 issue as part of your welcome pack. ➡️ www.bto.org/how-you-...

With all this sunshine it’s a great weekend to keep an ear out for a #chiffchaff . Listen for their repetitive call as they sing their own name ‘ Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff’. Learn more birdsong in episode 02 LISTEN of my animated bird guide here : youtu.be/mWZ_19tlbcw?... @btobirds.bsky.social

It's bird nesting season - here's a gardener's guide to doing your best to help them!

The first week of March has been a bit quiet in my shop. Does anyone need a greeting card or two? 😊 #shopindie #linocut #BSNM #artist www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Sara...

A beautiful ice rainbow on a beautiful day! @kerriedoodles.bsky.social Thought you’d appreciate this 😊

Lovely early morning walk at Ashdown Forest. Freezing fog made for dramatic views - a pair of Woodlark took flight and a Yellowhammer was in full song. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @btoengland.bsky.social

A morning of surveying. First the late visit for the Sussex Winter Bird Survey - three singing Mistle Thrushes the highlight. Then to my local patch as part of the BTO Heathland Bird Survey. Delighted to find a singing Woodlark over farmland. @btobirds.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

It’s a great time to look out for woodpeckers! Learn which woodpecker is drumming, which feeds on the ground and which is small enough to feed at the very end of tiny branches. Watch my new animated woodpecker guide here youtu.be/GEQBrT-587Q?... @btobirds.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Teasel keeps going in Wren’s bed, so I put her bed close by…… not quite what I had meant to happen! 🤣🤣🤣 #TeaselCat and Wren

1/ Can you help us survey Woodlark for our Heathland Birds survey? Monitoring has started for this species, so visit our website to sign up. ➡️ www.bto.org/heathland-birds-survey #Ornithology #UKBirding

Tonight, the Snow Moon rises. 🌕❄️ Named for February’s deep snows, this full moon was also called the Storm Moon or Ice Moon in Old English, reflecting winter’s cold grip. Look below its glow tonight, and you may spot Regulus...one of the brightest stars in the sky. Moonrise: 17:06*

We’re here and excited to join the #birding community. 🐦 #BirdTrack is a free online and in-field tool for your bird sightings. You can keep up to date with what others are seeing, view the latest trends, and contribute your data to #BTOScience ➡️ www.birdtrack.net #UKBirding #Ornithology

I don't want to be on ghastly x anymore but it's where a lot of my sales come from so this post is a brazen request for shares to spread the word about my work on a kinder platform that isn't run by a dangerous megalomaniac! www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Sara... #selfemployedartist #ukgifthour #shopindie

The @btobirds.bsky.social, @jncc.bsky.social and @rspb.bsky.social Breeding Bird Survey and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey are now on Bluesky! 🐦🦆 Follow us to find out more about the surveys, including how to take part and our key findings. Posts by the BBS team. #Ornithology #UKBirding #addBirder