And the Western Reef Heron reappeared at Sandy Haven, just a mile from home, which was nice #birdingWales #rarebirdsuk

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

September sees the return of the @skomer.bsky.social Autumn Bird Migration event. I will be leading this event for @wtsww.bsky.social. The first event was back in 2014, where has the time gone! Just 3 places remaining, details of how to book are on the poster 👇

Pleased to have played a very small part in this excellent piece of work.

Pied Wheatear at David Gareji Monastery, Georgia, 8/5/2026 on our @wisebirding.bsky.social tour. At least one definite Pied/Eastern Black-eared hybrid also present, but this one looked good and sang perfectly for Pied #birds #Georgia 🇬🇪

Great first 3 days on the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Georgia & Armenia. Some super birds and photo opportunities. First up: Wallcreeper. At least 5 seen!

Loved watching this pair of Red-billed Chough at the Deer Park, Martin's Haven, Pembrokeshire this evening. One of my absolute faves and an iconic Pembrokeshire bird! #BirdingWales

Mediterranean Gull is my favourite gull, and I love nothing more than reading a colour ring. So this beauty in Neyland, Pembrokeshire, today was particularly enjoyed. It's from Poland. #BirdingWales

All of our 2026 pelagic trips into the Celtic Deep are now sold out. We may add more dates in late August / September, but won't make that decision until early/mid August. Hoping for a good year for these beauties: Wilson's Storm Petrel. #BirdingWales

Bird of the day was a Red-necked Grebe at Goultrop Roads, but these 2 Russian Greater White-fronted Geese at Marloes Mere was a close second. #BirdingWales

Please help to end the senseless harvesting of Gannets. It’s a ‘tradition’ that needs stopping. Please sign the petition which is already over 80,000 and I’m told the highest signed petition ever for a Scottish Parliament petition. #birdingScotland

Another day, another Caspian Gull! 3rd this week at the Gann, a clearly different adult to Wednesday's bird. What next? #BirdingWales

Pleased to announce we are putting on some pelagics into the Celtic Deep again this year. Starting with 4 dates, more may be added depending on demand. Details 👇 #BirdingWales #pelagicbirding

First good local find of 2026, a 2CY Caspian Gull at the Gann Estuary late afternoon. Lisa picked up an adult almost next to it just a minute later, a superb double! #BirdingWales

Final day of the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal. Another boat trip on the Saloum Delta this morning, and a trip to Sipo Island. Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Purple Roller & West African Crested Tern the highlights. Next stop: Blaise Diagne Airport, Dakar....home time.

A brilliant day 7 of our @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal. A boat trip on the Saloum Delta produced the much prized White-crested Tiger-Heron, Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle & Goliath Heron. Birding near Toubakouta this pm produced an armful of new birds including Pygmy Sunbird, a stunner!

Early success on day 6 of the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal: the mythical Quail-plover! Incredible views of 2 birds, field guides do not (and cannot) do them justice. They walk with a jerky gait like a chameleon. Simply stunning.

Day 5 of the @wisebirding.bsky.social Senegal tour. A long journey south today from St Louis to Kaolack for the incredible spectacle that is the Scissor-tailed Kite roost on Kousmar Island. A rough estimate of 5,000 birds came in!

A very watery feel to our 4th day on the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal, with a day long visit to Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary. A long list of good birds, including Black-crowned Crane, African Jacana, Kittlitz's Plover & African Wattled Lapwing. Tomorrow we head south!

Quality all the way today on day 3 of the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal. Starting at Podor, we worked west to St Louis via Richard Toll & Les Trois Marigots. Some big trip targets seen including Temminck's Courser, Saville's Bustard, Allen's Gallinule & a bonus Standard-winged Nightjar.

4 of my favourites from day 2 of the @wisebirding.bsky.social tour of Senegal, along the Senegal River on the border with Mauretania: Dark Chanting Goshawk, Cricket Warbler, Horus Swift & Red-throated Bee-eater.

A brilliant 1st day on the @wisebirding.bsky.social Senegal tour even though much of it was spent travelling. Verreaux's Eagle Owl, Little Grey Woodpecker, Sennar Penduline Tit & finished up with 3 roosting Golden Nightjars! Watching the pair wake up at dusk, stretch, yawn, & fly off was magical.

Looking forward to heading back to Senegal tomorrow to co-lead the @wisebirding.bsky.social trip there with local guide Carlos, the top guide in the country! Hopefully re-aquaint myself with these beauties and perhaps a few new birds too. Some amazing birds and bird spectacles await 😊 🇸🇳

Another top Oman target bird is the enigmatic Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak. Never easy to see, and wary, I was delighted to get great views of this male yesterday. #Oman #omanbirding #birds

My favourite Oman bird is Desert Owl. It's a stunner that lives in beautiful, remote, wadis. It can be hard to see: I only saw my first one on my 4th Oman tour. We heard (but didn't see) it on our 1st tour, so I was really pleased to find this one last night. Hoping it performs like this for tour 2!

@skomerisland.bsky.social autumn bird migration is back! 3 days on the island in September, watching migration in action and learning how to identify tricky species with expert guidance. Details below 👇

Well that’s the first of this year’s Oman tours wrapped up, with a total of 230 species. We ended in style yesterday with great views of Sociable Lapwing and this cracking Caspian Plover. Now onto tour 2 with some time for mammals too 🤞🏻 #Birds #Oman #WiseBirding

30th November marks Remembrance Day for Lost Species and we are remembering the Slender-billed Curlew. We want to keep the name of the Slender-billed Curlew alive and hold it in our hearts as we learn from the loss. This cannot happen again on our watch. 💔 📷 Chris Gomersall

Always a treat to come across Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse during daylight hours. Our @wisebirding.bsky.social group had amazing views of 7 birds in Mudayy, Oman, yesterday #oman #omanbirding #birds

Off this evening for my 8th visit to Oman, a fantastic birding destination. Working for, and with, Chris from @wisebirding.bsky.social, good birds are guaranteed and hopefully this lovely quartet will be enjoyed 😊

A family party of 6 Whooper Swans has been resident at Sandy Haven, Pembrokeshire, for a few weeks now. Wonderful birds. #BirdingWales

Skomer Island guided birdwatching trips 2026, an update! Anticipating that boat/landing tickets will go on sale on 1st December, if you'd like to book a place on one of my day trips you need to get in touch soon. Availability on scheduled dates as follows:

We were saddened to hear the news that Mike Alexander has died aged 77, after lifetime dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places in Wales. Mike will be missed by many at the Trust, but his incredible legacy will live on. Read more: champ.ly/7M2Z8TbO

The impacts of avian influenza are profound and far reaching. Hopefully 🇮🇸 Gyrfalcons will recover in time but this is near catastrophic #RaptorResearch 🌎 🪶 Avian flu taking a severe toll on Iceland’s falcon population icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...

2nd day of a 3-day Norfolk long weekender, another enjoyable one. Finished with Dusky Warbler (pic) and Yellow-browed Warbler at North Point Pools, Wells-next-the-sea #RareBirdsUK @norfolkbirds.bsky.social

Cracking views of this Pallas's Warbler at Beachy Head this afternoon. Also great to catch up with @dungenessowen.bsky.social and @stephenmessage.bsky.social on a brief visit to Dungeness this morning. #RareBirdsUK

My highlights on Dungeness today included Catching up and having a chat with @westcoastbirds.bsky.social after decades Enjoying Martin’s Crimson Speckled behind The Sanctuary First sarnie of the autumn on the bonfire…

It was great to track this ringed Firecrest at St Brides, Pembrokeshire, back to @skokholmisland.bsky.social. A first-winter female, she was ringed there on 1st October. #BirdingWales

2026 guided trips to @skomerisland.bsky.social are now available for booking! The 2025 season may only recently be over, but it's already time to plan ahead for 2026. Expecting the tickets to go on sale on 1st December, I have set my dates for guided day trips as follows:

Stonking views of the Mullock (Pembrokeshire) Glossy Ibis today #BirdingWales

Wonderful to see this family party of 6 Whooper Swans at Sandy Haven today, all the way from Iceland #BirdingWales

Glossy Ibis still today in fields at Mullock, near Marloes #BirdingWales

A excellent 2.5 hours at Strumble Head this morning. Lots of large shearwaters too far out to ID (for me, anyway) but of the closer shearwaters 91 Greats, 1 Corys, 5 Sooties and a handful of Manxies. Also an adult Little Gull and 2 Whooper Swans. #BirdingWales

Seeing a Turtle Dove in the UK is always a treat, although checking for leg rings from half-arsed reintroductions tempers the thrill slightly... This bird at St Brides, Pembrokeshire, today thankfully seemed to be ringless #BirdingWales

A good few hours in the field today around Dale, highlight was this smashing Firecrest in the village #BirdingWales

A fantastic week's holiday in the far west of Cornwall. As well as the birds, always nice to catch up with friends, which included Paul St Pierre, @juddhunt.bsky.social, @philb609.bsky.social & Alex Bevan. Today it was the turn of Pete and @debalmer.bsky.social, great to share a coffee with them 😀

A fairly ropey handheld phone 'scoped pic of today's Brown Shrike. Great find by @peninsulabirds.bsky.social, a new bird for Wales and, by default, Pembrokeshire. #BirdingWales #RareBirdsUK

The Brown Shrike at St Davids today - a belter and a bit of a show off. Found it whilst driving down to Porthclais to look for Yellow-browed Warblers. First for Wales if accepted. Hope it sticks around. #birdingWales

Fantastic to find 2 American Golden Plovers on Dale Airfield, Pembrokeshire, this afternoon. Such an elegant wader. #BirdingWales #RareBirdsUK

#manxshearwater #birdingwales