My wife's definition of birding: "Birding consists of either being out birding, or scrolling and being grumpy about what others have seen and/or found, but you haven't.".... thoughts?!

It's coming to the end of lesser spot season, and chicks are fledging. Listen out for calling chicks if you're in the woods. Video by Paul Cox (thanks Paul for permission to use).

This past fortnight, I've managed to see a few mammals around Kent, from brown hare, pipistrelle bats emerging from their roost - to beaver, a family of fox and rabbit.

To anyone birding in Kent, please remember to take & submit good notes of the UK Rare Breeding Birds you see. For ducks look out for male/female pairs, females and ducklings. #kentbirding #ukbirding @ukrbbp.bsky.social

Some heavily cropped photos of the adult female red-footed falcon I found today at Reculver. #kentbirding

Back home and reviewing some of my photos from Cyprus. One of the best birding locations I've experienced in Europe/Western Palearctic. Lots of amazing birds, including a wonderful selection of stunning wheatear, with lots of variation too. #cyprusbirds

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Savi's warbler from earlier in holiday. All the birds I heard reeling were from dense scrub. #cyprusbirds

Highlight from yesterday was watching 2 little crake, and as I was leaving a small flock of blue-cheeked bee eater flew over. #cyprusbirds.

A wonderful selection of Mediterranean birds this morning, at Greco, Cyprus. #cyprusbirds

Some other highlights from yesterday's afternoon arrival, all within a stroll from the holiday digs. #cyprusbirds

Got lucky this afternoon when I found this stunner, during a bit of fall. Turkestan shrike. #cyprusbirds

Nice late afternoon find near the holiday digs. #cyprusbirds

After playing hide and seek, and then deciding to head back to the car, the masked shrike decided to fly and land in front of me. ##cyprusbirds

Always a good day when you find a bluethroat on migration. This is from today, but probably the same bird from yesterday. Cape Greco #cyprusbirds.

Enjoying my morning strolls and bumping into a few of these beauties each morning. Across 3 visits to Greco I've seen the following sylvia warblers (all well): eastern subalpine; ruppell's; eastern orphean; cyprus; sardian; spectacled; lesser whitethroat; whitethroat & blackcap. #cyprusbirds.

What a weekend! It was a privilege for Kent to host 2026 @lesserspotnet.bsky.social workshop in the Blean! Interesting discussions had between different regions, good connections made, exciting things ahead. Some Lesser Spots didn’t go a miss either @kentishplover.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social

@lesserspotnet.bsky.social took five hours to locate this little fella - The Blean, Kent, 21st March

I saw some early signs of excavating at the weekend and come hail or shine this male lesser spot was busy excavating today. My earliest views of excavation. @lesserspotnet.bsky.social #Birds @angusrobin.bsky.social

Away from the adopted holiday patch, we bumped into two great spotted cuckoo. A species high on the UK self-found dream list. Targets corvid nests, particularly magpie. #cyprusbirds.

One of the birds of the day from Cape Greco. #cyprusbirds

One of my highlights from today whilst out for a late afternoon stroll with my wife in Cyprus. Wasn't expecting such a corker. #cyprusbirds.

Back from a great @lesserspotnet.bsky.social weekend in Kent discussing the monitoring, ecology and conservation of our smallest woodpecker. Infectious enthusiasm and a wealth of skills and experience shared, topped off by actually seeing them! xeno-canto.org/1086062 #ornithology

Had a superb weekend in Kent courtesy of @lesserspotnet.bsky.social’s workshop, hearing of all the exciting developments in Lesser Spotted Woodpecker monitoring & research, topped by great views of the birds themselves 😍 - my first for a decade!

4+ Water Pipits commuting between cut reedbeds at Westbere and the water meadows to the south this evening, as viewed from the north bank of the Stour #kentbirding

What a thrill, my first 🇬🇧 Beavers! Saw two along the River Stour east of Fordwich, Kent this evening - located in the darkness by the loud wood-munching sounds! #ukmammals #uknature

Success! Lesser spotted woodpeckers, a male and female pair. The morning after the lesser spotted woodpecker workshop. @ukrbbp.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

It’s nearly March, spring is springing, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel has emerged from hibernation again to encourage you to get out recording rare breeding birds #UKbirding #ornithology

Bossenden Wood last couple of days: Lesser Spot, Great Spot, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Firecrest, Goldcrest, Stock Dove, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Blue Tits, Great Tits and LT Tits. #kentbirding

And we’re off! With conditions less than favourable so far, it was good to get out to the Blean. Between 5-6 birds, including drumming and two territorial females ‘chittering’ started the LSW season off nicely #kentbirding @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

I’ve now set up a YouTube channel called Kent Birding with some poorly taken videos of some things I have seen, very rough no editing. Here is my latest uploaded, follow if you like! #kentbirding youtu.be/6ejXbcCjfMI?...

This Thursday evening’s talk at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory is about wardening for a year on the island of Bardsey All are welcome #kentbirding

New book on rewilding! A curated collection of 27 articles published in British Wildlife over the last 5 yrs So, accessible & nicely produced for a broad readership And I’m one of the authors. Cheap at the price (£16.99)! www.britishwildlife.com/wilding/

Seawatching from King George Park got that more lively when this brute of a Glaucous Gull(!) materialised from the melee of gulls. Meanwhile two of each Little Gulls and Red-breasted Mergansers were highlights between hundreds of birds #PWC2026 ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Very pleased to share #OpenAccess paper, which we think is important to understand woodland bird declines and impact of forestry on native ancient woodland in Britain. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #ornithology @ukceh.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @mizpas.bsky.social 🧵1/n

I normally err towards pale northern Herring, but this beauty on the north side of Shrewsbury this morning looked smooth, pale and Glaucy enough to be a Viking #lovegulls #shropshirebirding

The Lesser Whitethroat (Halimodendri) still thriving in my small garden for its 26th day. #UKBirding

It was only 200 metres more to Surrey 🧐🫣😎. Kent and LNHS won though 🫣🤗. Red-flanked Bluetail found by Will Oliver yesterday afternoon and very very elusive . Still difficult today but a few saw it well with patience . Also in the area, Woodcock, Brambling, Crossbills

A flooded Stour Valley, and tons of beaver field evidence. Suprise flock of bewick's flew over, 3 egret species, raptors, ducks and water pipit.

Great to see this article published in @peopleandnature.bsky.social. The paper presents valuable perspectives on #rewilding from a discussion among scientists & practitioners during the @britishecologicalsociety.org Policy Training workshop. 👉 tinyurl.com/ykwfrjmh

NEW JOB in #ornithology and #conservation with @rspb.bsky.social to plan and support #island restoration projects in the UK Overseas Territories: buff.ly/yQfjqWI

No. 8 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours was the superpod of White-beaked Dolphins off the coast of Shetland - the 6th species of cetacean we saw that week! Aerial footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

📢 APPLY NOW For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants Now funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference Low-carbon travel encouraged ⏰ Deadline: 5 January 2026 bou.org.uk/funding/m...

Our paper in December's @britishbirds.bsky.social describes success in using sound recording for detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. We found Lesser Spots still present in woodlands where they have not been seen/heard for years. This is very exciting www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

This time, the washes were ready! 🦢✅ After a 570km U-turn north to Aberdeenshire, likely due to low water at the Ouse Washes, the same swan has migrated south again & arrived to restored, higher levels. A real-world example of landscape-scale habitat assessment by migratory birds.

Goldeneye from a gloomy afternoon (15/11/25) Coldharbour Lagoon, Reculver. A nice suprise. #kentbirding

Highlight this morning, two black redstart and tree sparrow. Reculver. #kentbirding

Wonderful self-found suprise today in the form of this wryneck, at Chambers Wall, Reculver. Fair few birds around, but had to scoot for a 10am meeting. #kentbirding #selffoundbirding.

As a county bird recorder I can honestly say that the best and easiest way for you to make your birding count, is to upload them to either eBird or BirdTrack. Doing so contributes directly to #ornithology and bird #conservation at both local and national levels. #birdingScotland #birdingWales

Blimey, a proper seawatch off Estaca de Bares yesterday with 2 Black-capped Petrel, 2 Zino’s Petrel and a bunch of other good stuff #seawatching ebird.org/checklist/S2...