A flashback to last May and the Woodchat Shrike @StaffsWildlife Doxey Marshes, Stafford. U.K. What a great record and my favourite Staffordshire Bird of 2025. 🦉🪶 #birding #birds

Another tree sparrow soft sculpture. Probably my last commission for 2025! #sparrow #bird #birb #sculpture #needlefelting #felt #felting #art #figurine

…in golden light…a beautiful pair of Common Goldeneye at Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld, Scotland, yesterday. #birds #birdphotography #birding 🦉🪶

Went looking for a no show Drake Smew at Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld today, but found a cracking late year tick Eurasian Bittern instead! Showed well for at least two hours. Footage at about 250m & cropped! 😎 #Birds #UKbirding 🦉🪶

What is know as a ‘Bird in habitat’ capture…. an image to show the vastness of the floodwater at River Sow Meadows, east of Stafford on the 20th of December. This Drake Goosander is actually swimming over the middle of a field. 🥴 #Birds 🦉 #Birding

Umbrella Birding at Stafford’s answer to King Arthur’s Avalon Marshes…@StaffsWildlife Radford Meadows this AM. 378 Golden Plover, 712 Lapwing, Snipe, 58 Shoveler, 5 Pintail, 6 Gadwall, Goosander, 2 Tufted Duck, 100’s of Wigeon & Teal #Birding #ukbirding #Birds

A fine Drake Ring-necked Duck @rspb.bsky.social Marshside Reserve, NW England. If you look closely you can just make out the maroon neck ‘ring’ ! (I will have to look up who named this Bird! 🧐) #Birds #Birdphotography #Birding 🪶🦉

An enjoyable visit to Musselburgh Lagoons, East Lothian recently. The highlight being 16 regal Whooper Swans🤩… also plenty of Waders (shorebirds). Very impressed with the well thought out, vast new scrape area with a backdrop of the distant, Edinburgh skyline. .

Fiery-throated Hummingbirds thrive in the rainy highlands of Costa Rica. Paraiso Quetzal Colibri Garden, Cartago, Costa Rica #birding

Even minus its upper tail covert plumes, this male Resplendent Quetzal is a stunner. The extraordinary sheen on the Birds plumage gives it a ‘wet look’! Observed in fantastic #Panama, April 25… a must see Bird for me, fulfilled. 😌#Birds #Birding #Birdphotography 🦉🪶

Homage to Xavier Bou: little swifts at the Olifants River high-water bridge, Kruger National Park. Unstacked from video taken with an Iphone 14. #birds #photography #SouthAfrica #iPhone

The weather is shifting now in the mountains of northern #CostaRica, with more rain and less food in the forests, and some birds are now starting to come down to the banana feeders for a snack. This male Red-legged Honeycreeper wanted me to see his new hairdo. At @tapirvalley.bsky.social #birds

This 2nd winter Caspian Gull was at the west end this afternoon. Also a great turn out for this mornings work party, where we cleared a load of encroaching willow scrub along the south east bay and Scott hide reed bed.

One of two Northern Long-tailed Tits on the island of Yell, Shetland early this morning. It was like watching excited golf balls with wings and I'm not sure there is a word that can justify their beauty. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #Birds #UKWildlife

The cruelty of bird migration laid bare at Cley this morning as a tired Woodcock reached the end of its sea crossing to be met by a hungry Peregrine. Knocked into the water the Woodcock ultimately succumbed to the rough breakers while the Peregrine left with just a tail feather. #NorfolkBirding

A delayed Volunteer work Party season, but it kicked off this morn @WestMidBirdClub Belvide Reserve, Staffs with 16 souls turning out. A lot of willow regrowth cut .. here Mike, Kevin & I worked in the main Scott Hide Reedbed to clear some stubborn regrowth. A nice 2-3hrs ‘willow workout’! 🤪👍🏻

More from #Panama Trip April ‘25..a marvellous Birding Country. Rare Capped Heron in the Darien, Green Heron, Imm’ Little Blue Heron and close Great Blue Heron! #Birds #Birding #Birdsseenin2025

Finally finishing the processing of images from the superb Panama trip April ‘25! Trogon time 🤩- six species seen including White-tailed, Orange-bellied, Black-tailed & female Gartered on show 💥

River Sow Meadows, Stafford early AM..this guy has been on a vizmig session for a fair while, so I joined him for 90 mins to see 1240 Wood Pigeon, 38 Skylark, 18 Linnet, c30 Meadow Pip & 641 B H Gull S/SW. Also on site 3 Cetti’s, 2 Stonechat & 26 Teal. 😁 @staffsbirdnews.bsky.social #Birds #Birding 🦉

@staffsbirdnews.bsky.social Radford Meadows, Stafford this AM-2 Ruff, 102 Lapwing, 2 Cetti’s, 6 Siskin, 44 Wigeon, 4 Ring-necked Parakeet, Goosander, 30 Fieldfare flock, 12 Skylark flock, 9 Redwing, Chiffchaff. 👍🏻

Congratulations to Colin McShane, winner of The Bernard Tucker Medal! Thanks to his unique survey methods for roosting Jack Snipe, utilising a thermal imager, there’s been an increase in birds ringed. He’s inspired researchers & bird clubs, resulting in the deployment of 16 GPS tags. Thank you Colin

New @birdtrack.bsky.social migration blog! ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/new... Reports of winter thrushes are on the up, there’s been an increase in Yellow-browed Warblers after a below average autumn so far & records of Short-eared Owls arriving off the sea along the east coast of England. #Ornithology

Victorian attitudes towards birds of prey /predators in general remain stubbornly persistent in many parts of the UK. #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #BirdingScotland raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/07/s...

...also on the ringing front: we've received notification of a fantastic recovery of a Firecrest ringed here last October that was controlled a few days ago by a ringer in the Czech Republic - the first movement of a UK-ringed Firecrest to the Czech Republic or indeed to anywhere in central Europe

Our first pulse of Icelandic Redwings on Barra today, though other migrant passerines remain in very short supply. #BirdingScotland

Storm Amy at @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Reserve dropped in a Grey Plover & Curlew Sandpiper this AM. + Dunlin, 4 Ringed & 6 Golden Plover, BN Grebe, Drake Goldeneye, Peregrine,10+ Great Egret. A large tree casualty, is now blocking the spill weir, woodland path @staffsbirdnews.bsky.social

Tricolored heron in the rain, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Georgia. This is the same bird as in this video: bsky.app/profile/matt... #birds #wildlifephotography

….a bit of last light Snipe photography this eve, after checking in with the Stewardship mowing contractor @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Reserve, Staffs. Now all ready for the winter season refill. 👍🏻

@staffsbirdnews.bsky.social Radford Meadows, Stafford this morn. Whinchat, Wheatear, 5 Stonechat, 3 Cetti’s, Lt Egret, 5 Snipe, c120 Lapwing, c50 Wigeon, Shoveler, c150 Teal, 340 Greylag. Skywatch- Peregrine, 3 Sparrowhawk, 11 Buzzard, + 17 House Martin, 14 Swallow, 17 Meadow Pip, 3 Skylark south. 👍🏻

Drake Long-tailed Duck still at Clifton GP on the north pit this morning for his third day. Beginning to transition from summer to winter plumage, both of which are impressive in equal measure. Possibly the same drake seen at this site last year. #WorcsBirds #UKBirding

Gorgeous Grey Phalarope, early morn, in habitat @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Reserve, Staffs. UK. The first time I’ve ever seen the species out of the water. The mind ‘boggles’ where it will be wintering in a few weeks… middle of the Ocean? 😌 🦉 #Birds #BIRDING #Birdphotography #UKBIRDING

I’ve just set up a contractor to do some extensive mowing @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Bird Reserve, Staffs. Expect some disturbance today, then Sunday 21st or Tuesday 23rd. 👍🏻@staffsbirdnews.bsky.social

Contrasting weather conditions early morn to early evening, last Sunday at @rspbtitchwellsnett.bsky.social with non stop feeding action of Curlew Sandpipers. A good passage of the species through the U.K. at present. #Birds #Birdphotography #Norfolk 🪶🦉

The 1stw Grey Phalarope at Crosby Marine Park, Merseyside was typically confiding today, here's @gtalstonwader.bsky.social getting checked out by the waif @birdguides.bsky.social #ukbirding #autumnbirding #waders

One of the @ldvnnr.bsky.social reintroduced Corncrakes has pinged our MOTUS Tower! On 24th August at 21:32 it was picked up migrating over Spurn for 6 minutes! Amazingly, the same bird was detected just 90 minutes later at Weybourne, Norfolk! More info here www.facebook.com/share/p/1Arw...

@staffsbirdnews.bsky.social Nice Sky watch at Radford Meadows, Stafford early AM. Peregrine, Hobby, 3 Mistle Thrush, 2 Snipe + 98 Swallow south in small pulses. Unusual high flying flock of 8 Grey Heron SW.Also, 4 Swift, Whinchat, 4 Stonechat, Little & 2 Great Egret, Cetti’s, 81 Lapwing.

As rare as an honest UK politician, a Tufted Duck on Radford Meadows Flood, Stafford, early AM.. also 2 Whinchat, 5 Stonechat, 2 Yellow Wag, 4 Swift,150 House & 3 Sand Martin, 150 Swallow feeding over, 8 Gadwall, 25 Teal, 49 Lapwing, Snipe, Lt Egret. 150 Mallard😀 #Birds @staffsbirdnews.bsky.social

Relaxed first visit of the autumn, yesterday, to @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social 14 species of Wader, inc White-rumped Sandpiper (images) Whimbrel & Little Stint. Little Owl, Marsh Harrier, Med Gulls, Lt & Sandwich Tern, Black Redstart, Whinchat & Common Redstart. All in, a great day! #Birds #Birding🦉🪶

Another quiet migrant day on Salisbury Plain but over 500 birds ringed in the last 4 mornings. We have now passed 100 Grasshopper Warbler's in a year for the 1st time & it's a record year for Garden's with over 160. However, worst year ever for Willow's with only 70 ringed so far #birdringing

2 morn hrs on Stafford Serengeti (@StaffsWildlife Radford Meadows)… surprisingly c40 Swift in the blue, 3 Yellow Wagtail around the hooves of the Wildebeest, 8 Lapwing on the Savanna, c60 Goldfinch flock in the acacia & 2 singing Cetti’s in the canalside swamp @Staffsbirdnews

Prothonotary warbler, Huntley Meadows Park, Virginia #birds #wildlifephotography

All the scrapes/islands cut at #LadywalkNR and ready for another year of wintering wildfowl/breeding waders. Highlights were the Harvest mice and a Dewick’s Plusia (first for reserve) @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social @bcwarwickshire.bsky.social @warksmammalgroup.bsky.social #teammoth

On Monday our instagram account was hacked and then deleted. We received a ransom note to recover it; obviously we couldn't and wouldn't pay, and therefore lost thousands of followers. Meta support was useless. But we're BACK with a new account: @littletollerbooks. Can you follow us there and share?

Who is in Wales at the European Ornithological Congress #EOU2025 this week? We are! Please stop by the booth and see Shawn and Nick and ask about the exciting things happening with Birds of the World and our partner network.

Probably my favourite wader .. a fine Green Sandpiper at @westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Reserve, Staffs yesterday. #Birds #brilliantbirds #ukbirding #Birdphotograhy 🦉🪶

@westmidbirdclub.bsky.social Belvide Reserve, Staffs, Volunteer Work Party dates for the Aut/Winter. We’ve a lot of willow scrub to cut back this season, so all ‘hands on deck’ required. Make friends, meet other club members, get some exercise and have a good laugh! 😀👍

A pleasing to see, entertaining flock of bickering European juv’ Starlings at the Gazebo Hide (blind) Belvide Reserve, Staffs, U.K today. Hopefully showing the signs of a good Breeding Season. 👍🏻