A few hours pre-rain at Welshpool, Montgomeryshire this morning. Adult Yellow-legged Gull (with 50+ LBBG and 25 HGs), 12+ Great White Egrets, 15 Little Egret, 9 Curlew, 2 Oystercatcher, 130 Lapwing, 44 Wigeon and 2 Goosander being the highlights. #Birdingwales #UKbirding

A walk at Gronant, Flintshire - Water Pipit, Jack Snipe, 2arsh Harrier and 4000+ Common Gulls. A Norwegian ringed and UK ringed Common Gull amongst the throngs. Gulls were arriving all the time so an evening visit in calm conditions is on the cards! #ukbirding #birdingwales #cr-biring #euring

Distant + pouring with rain, but I think there’s just enough to i.d this as Anglesey’s second Caspian Gull. Dark tertials, long gangly legs (especially tibia), thin black bill + white rounded head, size. It also showed a nice black tail band + white auxiliaries when it flew #birdingwales #ukbirding

Great day out on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) and North Wales coast with Paul Leafe yesterday. bufflehead, 3 Great N Diver, 3 Slavonian Grebe, Caspian Gull, Med Gulls, Yellow-b Warbler, Green winged Teal and this superb Peregrine chasing 1000s of waders! #ukbirding #birdingwales

Finally caught up with the Morfa Madryn LNR Green-winged Teal today. The Yellow-browed Warbler showing well in its usual spot with 2 Chiff-chaff. All birds vocal today with YBW calling regularly and Chiff-chaff in full song. #ukbirding #birdingwales

Nice to Year tick the Welsh Bufflehead this afternoon. An Anglesey tick to boot. Good to catch up with the Anglesey birders who were celebrating a good bird on their patch. ☺️👍 #birdingwales #ukbirding

Catching up with a few local year ticks after being out of the country. The Yellow-browed Warbler was at Morfa Madryn NR along with a showy Firecrest. 11 Greenshank and 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the saltmarsh too. #birdingwales #ukbirding

This card in my Brooke Bond tea card collection as a boy has always excited me. Today I finally saw my first species of Archer Fish, and even saw it squirt water! Also Needle Fish! Awesome Thailand! With @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social @philwoollen.bsky.social

The last few days have been awesome! Too many highlights to mention. Pics here of Collared Scops Owl, Orange Headed Trogon, Crimson Sunbird + Great Hornbill, of which we saw 24 in one tree! 282 species in the first 6 days😜. Off up north now with @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social @philwoollen.bsky.social

Bingo! A Spoon-full of Thailand with Birdwatching Trips is a success! With @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social @philwoollen.bsky.social with ace Thai birder @jay-shrike.bsky.social Walk away views. Now to enjoy a fortnight of Thai birds ☺️👍 #thailandbirds #birding

A few of today’s Birdwatching Trips tour highlights from around our hotel in Bangkok. Orange-headed Thrush, Black Baza, Grey-headed and Red-wattled Lapwing. Without really trying we amassed 84 species on our ‘rest day’! ☺️👍🇹🇭#birdingthailand @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social @philwoollen.bsky.social

Great start to a two week birding trip with @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social in Thailand. Orange-headed Thrush, Chestnut-sided Starling, Pink-necked Pigeons + Eastern Yellow Wagtail amongst the 44 sp. seen around our Bangkok hotel this p.m. I think this is going to be good ☺️👍 #birding #birdingthailand

A brief early visit to Anglesey with @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social came up trumps with great views of the Bewick’s Swan. Initially at Cors Ddyga it flew to Pont Marquis with 20 Whooper Swans. 3 Egyptian Geese + Cattle Egret too. 6 Great N Diver + 5 Slav Grebe near Holyhead #birdingwales #ukbiring

70 species seen at @rspbburtonmere.bsky.social Burton Mere RSPB today. I wasn’t expecting Willow Tit here, calling and showing on the track to Bridge screen. 3 Short-eared Owls, Barn Owl, Little Owl, 4 Ruff, 15+ Marsh Harrier, 2 Water Rail, 12 Fieldfare the highlights. #ukbirding #birdingwales

The day started with the Lesser Yellowlegs showing continuously for an hour on the River Clwyd. 2 Kingfisher, 5 Goosander, 5 Pink-footed Goose + good numbers of waders + ducks. This evening 25+ Marsh Harriers came into Neston Reedbed to roost along with at least one Bittern #ukbirding #birdingwales

2 Snow Bunting at Gronant still. Very showy male and female. Seem as though there are very few about this winter. A bonus Water Pipit here too. Mixed Sanderling, Knot, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Turnstone was cool and fun looking through the gulls #ukbirding #birdingwales

A great day guiding along North Wales coast today with @alandaviesbirds.bsky.social - Shorelark, 10 Chough, Whooper Swans, 3 Slavonian Grebes, lots of Ducks and waders, great views of Red Squirrels and 3 very showy Water Rail at @rspbcymru.bsky.social Conwy. Great weather and stunning scenery too ☺️👍

The long-staying Shorelark on the Great Orme showed well this afternoon. Finally got it on the year list on my fourth visit of 2026! Where on earth does it disappear to? Great bird and with patience shows well ☺️👍 #ukbirding #birdingwales

My father in-law is 80 years old, on his own + can’t get out. We put up some bird feeders outside the window he sits at day in day out. It brings him so much joy, he’s even singed up to the @rspb.bsky.social Big Garden Birdwatch. Today he couldn’t stop talking about today’s visitors (in the vid!) ☺️👍

Bonkers weather and road chaos scuppered a proper shot at a New Year bird race however great fun with Tony Kearney + Owen Parsons. A close Slav Grebe at the Spinnies NR was the highlight until @alexhj.bsky.social found a superb Lesser Yellowlegs on the Clwyd! cracking bird ☺️ #ukbiring #birdingwales

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Happy New Year. 62 species at Conwy RSPB 7.30-10am. 2 Jack Snipe, 2 Pintail, 2 Knot, Cetti’s Warbler, 14 Dunlin, Stock Dove, 154 Lapwing and these fine Red-breasted Mergansers. 13 of them displaying on the lagoon ☺️👍 good start to local birding 2026. #ukbirding #birdingwales

Only six species seen all day on an 8 mile epic from Penmaenmawr to the summit of Drum and back. At least 12 Red Grouse seen, a species I could only dream of seeing up there as a young lad. Red Kite, Raven, Stonechat, Kestrel and a Carrion Crow made up the rest of the list! #ukbiring #birdingwales

Hard to come by this winter, two Snow Buntings on Talacre Beach were a welcome surprise this afternoon. 600+ Pink-footed Geese flying west, a Water Pipit and a Jack Snipe were the highlights of a walk from Prestatyn to Gronant and back. #ukbirding #birdingwales

An unseasonal Common Sandpiper on the River Clwyd near Rhuddlan this afternoon on enjoyable walk with @angnatur.bsky.social 55 Pink footed Geese, 47 Black-tailed Godwits and many many Wigeon, Teal and Dunlin to search through. #ukbirding #birdingwales

A fine Great Northern Diver off Colwyn Bay today. No sign of any Surf Scoters, despite the perfect light. 3 Purple Sandpiper at Rhos Point in the wader flock. #birdingwales #ukbirding

An Asda shop was quickly aborted when Simon H-Roberts found a fine Drake Bufflehead at the Foryd Bay, Caernarfon today. 45 minutes later and I was watching this superb Yank duck. Great to see so many friends too making it a nice social occasion. A Welsh (and UK) tick ☺️👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 #ukbirding #birdingwales

#birdingwales At least one drake Surf Scoter showing well off Colwyn Bay promenade this winter. Ranging between Porth Eirias to Llanddulas. I wonder if this was the drake we had on an October seawatch flying west earlier in the year? #ukbirding

3 weeks in Thailand to look forward too. A tourist day in Bangkok to start with. Asian Koel, Asian Pied Starling, Black-collared Starling and Red-collared Dove in photos. Nearly everything was new! Enjoyed seeing several Yellow-browed Warblers and Asian Brown Flycatchers- got the juices going 🇹🇭☺️👍

The annually returning Drake Green-wing Teal was back is back on the Tain Links Duck Pond. Fast asleep while I was there. A flock of 20+ Siskin were far more active and showing well around the pond too. 28 Bar-tailed Godwit and 5 Knot on the estuary. #ukbirding #BirdingScotland

Great to be in the company of flocks of Twite while in Sutherland. This group showed particularly well today. They’ve become very scarce back home in Wales. These birds on Coul Links near Loch Fleet where around 50 are feeding in the Saltmarsh. #ukbirding #BirdingScotland

Pre-work visit to Udale Bay RSPB to see the Goose and Woldfowl spectacle. Wow! A cacophony of noise. 1000s of Pink-footed Geese, Wigeon + waders. Several Slav Grebes + Scaup too. If you have time + patience, watch the video and spot the odd one out amongst the Pinkies ☺️👍 #BirdingScotland #UKBirding

A cracker of a day in the Highlands around Brora, Golspie and Loch Fleet. A Yellow-browed Warbler, 2 White-tailed Eagle, 750+ Eider, 70 Twite and 9 Little Gulls. Not to mention the many Purple Sands, Long tailed Ducks and hundreds of Sanderling. Stayed dry too! #UKbirdong #BirdingScotland

Visited Udale Bay today on the Black Isle. Thousands of birds! 487 Scaup, 28 Long-tailed Duck and 17 Slavonian Grebes. Many thousands of Wigeon, Pink footed Geese and waders filling the bay. Hundreds of Fieldfare and Reding arriving + 4 Brambling showing well in the rain. #BirdingScotland #UKBirding

A whole day at Tarbat Ness. The sea was kind with 3 Sooty Shearwater, 5 Little Gull, Pom and Arctic Skua, Great Northern Diver, 23 Long-tailed Duck + 4 Manx Shearwater. Many Fieldfare, Redwing + Blackbirds in-off the sea. Golden Plovers, Purple Sands + a showy Otter ☺️👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #ukbiring #birdingscotland

A day in the Highlands was rewarded with 2 Golden Eagles being mobbed by Ravens. 7 Red Kite in the air at the same time too. Lots of crossbills in the conifers and surprising numbers of Bullfinches. 6 male Black Grouse feeing in Birch Trees too! Superb ☺️👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #ukbirding #birdingscotland

What a difference a week makes! Many Long-tailed Ducks and Scoter have arrived since I last visited the Golspie / Brora area of Highland last week. A good candidate for ‘Siberian’ Chiffchaff, Brambling + Otter highlight at Helmsdale. Lots of Mergansers and Goosander too. #ukbirding #birdingscotland

A chilled seawatch from the car with heater on, coffee and music. 7 Little Gulls (4 ads + 3 1st winters) past Rhos Point btn 7.30am- 10am, also 1 fem Long-tailed Duck, 5 ad. Med Gulls, 3 Manx Shearwater, 2 Drake Eider, 1 Gannet, 2 Kittiwake, 150+ Common Scoter, Golden Plover #ukbirding #birdingwales

A cracking afternoon searching through thousands of waders and ducks at Llanfairfechan. A Yorkshire ringed Curlew, a Cork ringed Black tailed Godwit and another ringed locally but moving back + forth to Wirral. 300 Wigeon, 170 Pintail, 23 Black tailed + 55 Bar tailed Godwit #ukbirding #birdingwales

Two Little Gulls and 7 Arctic Skua offshore at Golspie, Highlands today. Two White-tailed Eagles entertaining and three Black Grouse in the hills. This Arctic Skua flew straight at me and over my head. Off back home to Wales tonight but back up here next week #ukbirding #birdingscotland

Another good day in the Highland of Scotland. 2 White-tailed Eagles, Golden Eagle, 2 Black Grouse, Red-necked Grebe, 15 Long-tailed Duck (including one on an inland Loch), 500+ Eider, Great-northern Diver and 7 Purple Sandpipers. Also 4 seasons of weather in one day! #birdingscotland #ukbirding

A morning at Tarbat Ness, Highland. 3 adult Pom Skua, 3 Arctic Skua, 5 Long-t. Ducks + 7 Great N. Diver, 17 Eider flew north. 150 Pinkfeet + 52 Whooper Swans in-off. A new fungi for me, Scarlet Caterpillar Club, apparently grows from dead insect pupae! Aurora last night 😀👍#birdingscotland #ukbirding

Superb weather today in NE Scotland. 12 Long-tailed Duck, 4 Slavonian Grebe and a Basking Shark off Golspie, 52 Scaup, 15 Barnacle Geese + 120+ Whooper Swan Loch Eye, 400+ Eider at Littleferry and great views of several Yellowhammer #birdingscotland #ukbirding

The drake Green-winged Teal finally woke up today and showed well at Loch Fleet. Arctic Skua, 23 Whooper Swan, 100+ Pink feet, 350+ Eider, 37 Red-breasted Merganser on the loch. Nearby at Loch Buidhe great views of an adult Golden Eagle. #birdingscotland #ukbirding

What a day! White-t. Eagle at Helmsdale. Green-winged Teal at Loch Fleet. All 3 Divers, 2 drake Long-t. Duck, 1000s Pink-feet, 8 Arctic Skuas, 100+ Sanderling Arctic Tern at Brora and stars of the show, 8 Orcas off Dunbeath! A UK (and land-based) first for me. Wow! #ukbirding #birdingscotland ☺️👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Tens of thousands of birds in the Moray + Dornoch Firth this morning. Tarbat Ness was a great place to watch. Skuas, Divers, Seaduck, Shearwaters, Kittiwakes + Auks moving from Moray Firth into Dornoch. Many passerines moving with at least 3 Sparrowhawk hunting offshore #BirdingScotland #Ukbirding

Not a bad way to dip a Needletail. Great views of Otter at Helmsdale, Highlands this afternoon. 2 Merlin, 3 Swallows, Hen Harrier, Great Northern Diver, a steady stream of seabirds and fantastic landscape #birdingScotland #ukbirding

Great morning with 32 Pomarine + 10 Arctic Skua, Sooty Shearwater, 4 Velvet Scoter, Long-t. Duck, 21 Manx Shearwater, 8 Great northern, Black-th.+ 14 Red-th. Diver past Tarbat Ness. 1000s of Kits and Auks. Snow Bunting in off the sea. 323 Whoopers on approach road #birdingscotland #ukbirding ☺️👍

#birdingwales #ukbirding

A super couple of hours on the Great Orme between 12.30-2.30pm today - Lapland Bunting, 2 Ring Ouzel, 2 Firecrest, Brambling, 3 Fieldfare, 26 Redwing, 7 Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, 2 Song thrush, 2 wheatear + 9 stonechat. What a difference a change of wind direction makes! #ukbirding #birdingwales

A relaxed couple of hours with Rob Sandham on the Great Orme this morning. 7 Whooper Swans flew west, Redwing (Rob had 2 more), Crossbill, 7 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting over. 25 birds ringed mostly Goldfinch + Greenfinch. A flock of 28 Chough yesterday. Nice Shaggy Inkcap too. #birdingwales #ukbirding