Come stay at the Observatory this spring with the season being well underway with plenty of offshore passage the last couple of days! Theres plenty of availability and for a very reasonable price of £15 per night for friends, and £20 per night for others! Come along and see some migration in action!

A gorgeous first day back on Alderney. 🌞

Did I see it kill any deer? No. Am I still ticking it? Yes. Killdeer ✅️

£8,282 raised — thank you 💙 Next milestone: £9,000 Weekend goal: £10,000 Every share helps: 👉 gofund.me/31d302f20

We're closing in on our first £6,000 milestone for the Beacon Ponds Little Tern Project. It’s just the start, but hitting this today would be huge. Please share if you can. Thank you for all your support so far!

The Little Terns at Beacon Ponds have made a remarkable recovery, but they need urgent help to thrive in 2026. Your support can fund a professional warden, ensuring these birds are protected from threats. Please share and contribute if you can! gofund.me/83bf3bdd8

Take a look at the Patchwork Challenge 2025 review which is now live on the blog! Thanks to everyone who took part and hopefully we will get more participants for #PWC2026! Good luck #UKBirding patchworkchallenge.blogspot.com

Don't forget to join our Patchwork Challenge Bluesky feed, which is where we collate all the posts from ourselves and participants relating to the competition. Just post either #PWC2026, #Patchbirding or #PatchGold and it will get added to the feed. To join, click the link: bsky.app/profile/did:...

A very cold Michael Clegg Bird Race yesterday, but we still managed to come out with 81 species after a grueling 15 mile walk. Please donate to Yorkshire Swifts for our efforts if you are able to do so. www.gofundme.com/f/yorkshire-...

The moment you've all been waiting for, the #PWC2026 Sign Up Sheet is here! We look forward to seeing how many patches take part next year and don't forget to encourage your friends to sign up to keep the challenge alive. We hope that it is a fun year's birding! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

A gorgeous foggy sunrise this morning, Pallas's Warbler in the afternoon and an incredible Starling murmuration this evening. What a day! @dungenessbirdobs.bsky.social

Not a bird I ever expected to see. Thanks Andy!

Sea watching yesterday morning was certainly worthwhile, with Leach's Petrel, Grey Phalarope, 3 Little Auks, 2 Sooty Shearwater and over 3000 Razorbill and 1000 Kittiwake. We also had over 3500 Starling coming in off over the sea. @dungenessbirdobs.bsky.social

A spontaneous dash up to Spurn for the Black-faced Bunting certainly paid off with great views of the bird on a couple of occasions. @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Now over 4000 Meadow Pipits south past the Warren so far with birds over the land, Humber and sea! Giving an amazing spectacle #MigFest25 #spurnbirds

What a fantastic sunrise to spend with seabirds!

Even more Orca today at St Abbs with at least 6 individuals! @seabirdcentre.bsky.social @nationaltrust.org.uk

Saw my first Orcas today! The pod of 4 contained a massive male and they swam very close past the headland. @seabirdcentre.bsky.social @nationaltrust.org.uk

⚠️ Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing for Avian Influenza. #UKBirding 📌In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/rep... 📌In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/services/dae... 📌In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/report

Purple Heron in off! Alderney Bird Observatory

My first Rustic Bunting! After an otherwise slow start following a week of strong winds, it was fantastic to spot this in a bush and then get a closer look when it later ended up in a net.

Found, caught and ringed my first ever Rustic Bunting 😳 @birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social

Migration really picking up now with Black Redstart, 5 Wheatear, 3 Fieldfare and a flock of 22 Redwing grounded by the rain. @alderneywt.bsky.social

Seabird breeding season about to start, seabirds pouring back into the North Sea as they head to colonies down east coast…and this is a breaking headline we didn’t need today… #seabirds

2 Sand Martin North, it's all happening!

Whilst it was fantastic to watch the Gannets diving to collect seaweed for their nests, it was sad to see the amount of discarded fishing gear they had also chosen as nesting material. @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @alderneywt.bsky.social

Today I cycled across the island to check out the Gannet colonies. There were plenty of birds already settling back on territory and nest building.

😍😍😍

My first Wheatear of the year 🥳

The sun has been glorious but hopefully the upcoming winds will bring in some fresh migrants!

Signs of spring in the air today 🌼

Home for the next 2 months!

What a beast! #hantsbirds @birdguides.bsky.social @rarebirder.bsky.social

A whirlwind tour of Texel last week with Spectacled Eider, Baikal Teal and more White-fronted Geese than you could shake a stick at!

Black-throated Thrush! ✅️

We’ve started Motus tagging Jack Snipe this week as a part of the Motus Tracking Project! Last week, 3 Jack Snipe were tagged in the @ldvnnr.bsky.social , and now we have captured and tagged an individual here at Spurn! 1/6 📸 C Foote

It was great fun to participate in @patchbirding.bsky.social last year. Unfortunately, I won't be in one place long enough in 2025 but I look forward to seeing how everyone gets on! #pwc2025

Very privileged to see one of my dream birds: the Wallcreeper.

Hopefully birders have been out today on their patches, starting up for a big #PWC2025! Here is the sign up and score sheet. Please follow the instructions, and then add your patch to the sign up sheet. Any questions, please get in touch! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

So long 2024! Year list: 241, my first 'proper job' working with seabirds, and plenty of amazing birds seen. Hopefully 2025 brings plenty more excitement and adventure.

After first seeing this Curlew in 2020, it was fantastic to see they had returned again for the 5th consecutive winter. This individual was ringed as a chick in the Netherlands and their data shows the importance of protected estuaries as habitat for wintering waders. @waderstudy.bsky.social