Deep within a Gloucestershire valley is a hidden world. The wider countryside is covered by mixed-age beech woodland in a complex mosaic of forest, commons and farmland. But in this quiet corner, a strikingly different blend of habitats can be found - and with it a mix of unusual species. (1/10)

Can recommend becoming a blogger for the Avon Bird Blog. I’ve learnt a huge amount about birds and birding in the region with the support of the blog team @bristolbirding.bsky.social avonbirding.blogspot.com/2026/05/bank...

1/ With your help, we can create a more positive future for birds like Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank and Golden Plover. Donate today via www.bto.org/breeding... and support our breeding wader research. Thank you. #Ornithology

🐝Garden Bumblebees are active April–September. Look for yellow bands on the thorax, one yellow band on the abdomen, and a white tail. Their long face and tongue help them feed from foxgloves, honeysuckle, vetches, and red clover.🌸 Seen one? Add them to your list! 📸 Debbie Frazer (GBW Ambassador)

Final visit to my @btobirds.bsky.social Heronry Census site. No nests seen over the three visits but a good number of woodland species showing including a family of Marsh Tits which is a year ✅ @bristolbirding.bsky.social #Avonbirds

Lovely to see a female Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeder this evening @bto-gbw.bsky.social @bristolbirding.bsky.social #avonbirds

(1/) This Cuckoo wants to tell you that we are now halfway through the BBS & WBBS survey season! Thank you to all of you who have done your Early visit to your square or stretch. Extra thanks if you have already entered your data. @btobirds.bsky.social JNCC RSPB Science

TBOSG: MAY 14th 🔎 Our first, and to date, only record of Red-spotted Bluethroat - Luscinia svecica; with an adult male found at the bottom of a hedgerow on Rushmead Lane, Marshfield on May 14th 1998. www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk #UKbirding #Southglosbirds

Good to see at least 9 fledgling Starlings(as well as 4 Feral Pigeons) on the grass today @bto-gbw.bsky.social @bristolbirding.bsky.social #avonbirds

Local Starlings have started to fledge. Two being fed by adults this morning @bristolbirding.bsky.social @bto-gbw.bsky.social

Good views of Spoonbill and 7 L RPlover at Pilning Wetland. 3 Yellow wag on the foreshore. Thanks to @oscardewhurst.bsky.social and @matthall95.bsky.social for pointing out the Temiminck’s Stint. Nice to meet @rose-setter.bsky.social and @markcoller.bsky.social and see @aravindramesh19.bsky.social

Early visit to @bbs-birds.bsky.social square today. Good to see Swallows and a decent number of skylarks. Over winter planting for Pucklechurch Forest will change the habitat over time @bristolbirding.bsky.social

In the last of our series of videos about the BBS Team’s Early visits to their BBS squares, here is David from his square in Dorset. More about what the survey involves: www.bto.org/get-involved... @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Severn Beach produced a Dark-bellied Brent Goose early morning and a Pale bellied bird flew North there this evening when 100's of Terns, a few Little Gulls, an Arctic Skua, flocks of Whimbrel, a few Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Med Gulls etc. were seen. I papped Arctic Terns flying East beneath the Moon.

(1/) This week’s vacant BBS square is close to Spurn Point in East Yorkshire. If you live in that area and you are up for a bit of a challenge, why not consider signing up for it?! @btobirds.bsky.social JNCC RSPB Science Spurn Bird Observatory #BirdingYorkshire

Last chance to apply for work experience at BTO➡️ bit.ly/WorkExp2026 This is for young people currently studying for their GCSEs or A-levels, aged 14 to 18. We're also delighted to be able to provide local group accommodation & travel bursaries. 📆Application deadline: Sunday 26 April 2026.

Today is the April WeBS Priority Core Count! WeBS data contributes towards reporting how our wetland birds are faring and the latest WeBS report, Waterbirds in the UK 2024/25, was published this week and can be read here - www.bto.org/wituk! #ornithology #birding UK/IRE

(1/) According to the 2025 BBS Report, finches are fluctuating in England. The fortunes of 3 familiar species that regularly visit gardens, Greenfinch, Chaffinch & Goldfinch are changing. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social #Ornithology #CitizenScience

The RSPB has issued updated guidance on feeding garden birds, urging the public to adopt seasonal and hygiene-based measures to reduce the spread of disease:

Spring migration is hotting up after the warmer weather this week! Find out all about which spring specialities to keep your eyes peeled for in our latest blog ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/new... and don't forget to submit your sightings to @birdtrack.bsky.social 📷 Hoopoe by Edmund Fellowes / BTO

Great morning on Chipping Sodbury Common, 3 whitethroat, 5 redstart, 4 swallow, sand martin, lots of chiffchaffs, and blackcaps. @bristolbirding.bsky.social

Spring is an active time for garden birds. 🐦 By recording what species visit your garden each week, you can contribute to research on how populations are changing in the UK. 🪶 Just a few minutes, with little birding experienced needed. Take part in BTO Garden BirdWatch ➡️ https://www.bto.org/gbw

Job Alert 📢 Join BTO as a Senior Research Ecologist! Apply now➡️ www.bto.org/jobs This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of BTO’s climate change work! 📆 Application deadline: Sunday 26 April. 📝 £44,637 per annum. 📍 Hybrid, HQ in Norfolk or one of our country offices. #Ornithology

(1/) The 2026 BBS season has now officially begun! The survey is all about consistency, so here are a few tips to help to ensure that consistency of recording is maintained across the UK. @btobirds.bsky.social JNCC RSPB Science #Ornithology #CitizenScience

Eyes to the skies this Easter weekend! Spring migration is well underway, so learn about the latest arrivals, departures and what to look out for in our latest blog ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/new... Don't forget to submit your sightings to @birdtrack.bsky.social 📷 Willow Warbler by Allan Drewitt / BTO

Did you know? If you tag a post with #avonbirds, it will appear in the Avon Birds feed but will also be automatically included in Jamie Dunning's Birding UK and Ireland Feed? No need for double-tagging!

Unfortunately, the Black-crowned Night Heron at Newbridge, Bath, has perished overnight. Although it was feeding well yesterday, the cold temperatures have probably taken their toll.

Work Experience applications now open! 🎉 Discover more and apply ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs We offer five days of work experience for young people currently studying for their GCSEs or A-levels, aged 14 to 18. 📝 Deadline for applications: Sunday 26 April.

I’m leading a birds and birdsong tour at Arnos Vale Cemetery this Saturday. It’s aimed squarely at novice bird watchers, with binoculars provided. #avonbids arnosvale.org.uk/birds-and-bi...

1/ Five leading charities forge partnership for bird conservation for the Bird Atlas 2027–31! 🐦 But what is the Bird Atlas? ⬇️🧵 #Ornithology @btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social

New role! 📢 We're looking for a dynamic and experienced Science Manager to join us at BTO. Apply now ➡️ www.bto.org/jobs #Ornithology 📆 Full time, Permanent. 📝 £46,344 per annum. 📍 Hybrid working. Deadline for applications: Monday 9 March.

This #NationalNestboxWeek, remember not all birds nest the same way! Here's a few options to get you started... Robins and Wrens like to keep hidden, tucking their nests away in dense cover. An open-fronted box placed low down and out of sight is just their style. (1/4)

We're delighted to be welcoming 10 new BTO Youth Reps! 😀 Read all about their passion for nature and connect with your local rep at www.bto.org/our-work...

(1/) This week’s featured vacant BBS square is situated in South Lincolnshire. If you would like to explore the possibility of taking on a BBS square near where you live, please read on! @btobirds.bsky.social JNCC RSPB Science Lincs Birding #LincsBirding

Loving the summary of my @bto-gbw.bsky.social 2026 year. The addition of a pond brought in 2 frogs and 2 species of dragonfly.

BLOG: Ian Woodward, senior research ecologist at @btobirds.bsky.social, describes how combining data from the RBBP and the BTO’s Heronries Census has improved our knowledge on the UK’s Little Egret population, as in new @britishbirds.bsky.social paper #birds #ornithology rbbp.org.uk/2026/01/30/l...

Thank you again to everyone who carried out swan counts for the International Swan Census on 17th-18th January. Just a reminder to please enter your data. For more information: www.bto.org/gsmp-isc Find out how to report swan colour rings on www.ring.ac 📷Bridget Hiza/BTO

3rd WinBS visits completed for my two squares. Highlights being singing Skylarks, 2 Kestrel and a Raven @btobirds.bsky.social @bristolbirding.bsky.social

avonbirding.blogspot.com Check out the Avon Birds blog, compiled by the Bristol Ornithological Club.

The Youth in Nature Summit is back! 😀Book a FREE ticket➡️ bit.ly/YouthNatureSu... 📅 Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 February. 📍 David Attenborough Building, Cambridge. 📝 Tickets: Free! Organised by BTO Youth with Green Jobs for Nature. Supported by Opticron, Raptor Aid & private donors

Did you know that by submitting your garden wildlife sightings regularly to BTO Garden BirdWatch, you are directly contributing towards research which looks into the year-round importance of gardens for wildlife. 🪶 Discover more at www.bto.org/get-involved... 📷Philip Croft / BTO

(1/) Corn Bunting, with its song that sounds to some like a set of keys being jangled, declined by 83% across the UK between 1967 and 2023. However, in more recent years, this species has increased, especially in certain areas. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

Just 1 teaspoon of neonicotinoids can kill 1.25 BILLION bees. Yesterday, over 1 million voices told the UK Government: stop allowing banned pesticides in our countryside. DEFRA, it’s time to end ‘emergency’ use. Protect pollinators vital to nature's recovery & our food security.

1/ Great news! 🎉BTO, JNCC and RSPB are making decades of Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data freely available for everyone in the conservation and research community. This includes over 7 million records! 📝 Find out more ⬇️ or read the paper➡️ bit.ly/_BBSData #Ornithology #UKBirding

The #BigGardenBirdwatch will be here before we know it! Let's get some ID practice in with 10 familiar faces... 🐦👀 From dazzling Goldfinches to cheeky Robins, are any regulars on your patch? PS - Don't forget to sign up: www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...