Venus Pool WeBS early morning 660 Canadas, Canlag, 21 Greylag, 12 Egyptian, 61 Teal, 21 Shoveler, 15 Wigeon (influx), 3 GWE, L Egret, 2 W Rail, 210 Lapwing, 5 Snipe. 2 L Grebe & GCG on CF. Influx of 22 Corn Bunting with 4 Y'hammer, 35 Linnet, 35 Greenfinch, 15 Reed B, 2 Chiffs. #shropshirebirding 🪶

A flood of 44,110 Woodpigeons past #salopobs this morning was a new site and county record, and almost overwhelming at times. 5 Egyptian Geese high east were a bit of a surprise #vismig #ukbirding

Today is the November WeBS Core Count! Remember to look out for any sick or dying birds and report these in the Core Count form and to DEFRA for possible testing. in England, Wales & Scotland, contact @DefraGovUK , in Northern Ireland contact @daera_ni & in ROI @agriculture_ie

Autumn migration is coming to a close, so here's our final weekly Migration Blog for now. As always let us know what you spot when you're out and about, and don't forget to log your records on @birdtrack.bsky.social. www.bto.org/our-work/new... #UKbirding 📷 Iceland Gull, by Scott Mayson / BTO

Ahead of the Core Count weekend, don't forget to record any dead birds you see on your WeBS Count on the data entry form in WeBS Online, as well as reporting to Defra for possible collection

Did you know that Tom McKinney’s morning programme on BBC Radio 3 starts with a short dawn chorus piece just after the 6:30 news? Tom is a birder! Love the feature, @tommckinney.bsky.social, birdsong and classical music are a great start to the day! Too early? ⬇️ www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/sched...

We've had two separate reports of sick Mute Swans in North Shropshire today, and referred both callers to Defra. Please be vigilant, and report any sightings of sick birds to Defra (link in thread) and also log them in BirdTrack. #ShropshireBirds

The BBS Team is currently busy verifying 2025 data. For the next couple of weeks, we are going to share some species info from 2024. This week, we share the 10 most numerous species recorded on BBS squares across the UK in 2024! @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

A pretty depressing day counting sick & dead Whooper Swans. Avian influenza is within the population. Please report all dead birds for possible collection & testing. In 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 this is Defra gov.uk/guidance/repor… Reporting to @birdtrack.bsky.social also helps with monitoring.

2025 has been a good year for our BBS coverage, but we can do better! 51 BBS and 7 Wetland BBS squares were surveyed, or 88% of our allocation, by 49 volunteers. A huge thank you to all of them. There's always room for more! ➡️ www.bto.org/get-involved... #ShropshireBirds @bbs-birds.bsky.social

2025 has been a record year for BBS coverage! 4,054 visits to BBS squares have been made this year. This beats the 2018 record of 4,048. Thanks so much to all of the BBS volunteers across the UK who have contributed to this! @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

In this week's Migration Blog we look at Little Auks, await the arrival of Woodcock and ask if this could be a Waxwing winter #ukbirding www.bto.org/our-work/new... Photo: Woodcock by Liz Cutting / BTO

🐦 With their red faces and tinkling calls, Goldfinches bring a splash of colour to our gardens. Once scarce, they’re now seen in around 60% of Garden BirdWatch gardens. Their increase is likely linked to changes in supplementary feeding as well other ecological factors. #Birds #UKBirding

The latest BTO Migration Blog looks at the cryptic Jack Snipe as it arrives in Britain for the winter, as well as more arrivals of winter thrushes, Yellow-browed Warblers and the latest rare vagrants #ukbirding www.bto.org/our-work/new... Photo credit: Jack Snipe by Allan Drewitt / BTO

Should be an inspiring day in the presence of like-minded people! Around a dozen of the #ShropshireBirds clan were at the 2025 conference so we're hoping to see even more Shropshire folk in Northampton 🙂 If there's demand we could try to organise car sharing or train buddies. DM if interested.

Impressive visible migration or VisMig from Tom at the Salop Observatory this morning 😮 Sometimes all you need is a little time, some good observation skills and a notebook. Or the #BirdTrack app, of course!

A magical morning at #salopobs (even though I overslept 🤦🏻‍♂️) with 4 Whoopers SE (obs yeartick 128), a Great Egret high south, 10,060 Woodies, 20 Crossbills, double Gos 😍 ebird.org/checklist/S2... #loveautumn #vismig #ukbirding

Pleased to announce that two of these three sites have now been allocated to new WeBS surveyors, but we still have room for new team members who can identify and count wildfowl and waders on the monthly count date! You can view the vacant sites map here: www.bto.org/get-involved... #ShropshireBirds

We're here as volunteers to support the work of @btobirds.bsky.social in #Shropshire. See our profile for contact info. Our updated header pic shows what may be the largest Lesser Black-backed Gull roost in the country, at #Ellesmere. So impressive, people stop their cars to enjoy the spectacle!

A great example of VisMig - visible migration - from Tom. Autumn migration sees billions of birds head south to escape the northern winter, and sometimes all you need is a little time and to look up 🙂

The latest edition of Waterbirdnews should be arriving on your doormats this week. 🗞️ 💻Or read it online here: bto.org/our-work/sci... As always, thank you to all of our WeBS and GSMP counters for your amazing contributions. #Ornithology #UKBirding

We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Heathland Birds Survey! 🙌 All remaining survey returns are urgently required, before 30th November, to inform future conservation action. If you need any help submitting your records please email [email protected]. Thank you!

(1/) This week, we focus on two species of birds of prey that feature in the Upland Birds Wild Bird Indicator for the UK. Whereas Red Kite increased by 579% between 1994 and 2023, Peregrine declined by 82% during the same time period. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

Crossbills at Haughmond Hill, Shrewsbury #photography #birds #Nature #wildlife #ukwildlife #shropshirebirds #birdphotography

We have several vacant Wetland Bird Survey sites across Shropshire (three examples shown) and you only need basic wildfowl ID skills to join the team and start #YourWeBSJourney 🙂 For more info and to see all of the vacant sites go to www.bto.org/get-involved... #ShropshireBirds #WeBSSiteInsight

Both of the winter thrush species (Fieldfare and Redwing) are back in Shropshire now, and today the first Bramblings of the winter were photographed . Please record any winter visitors you see in the @birdtrack.bsky.social app or website 🙂

An excellent choice, Julian is a very worthy winner of this award. Congratulations from your readers just across the border @penrhynbirder.bsky.social!

Little Brown Jobs (LBJs) can present a challenge for many Garden BirdWatchers when it comes to ID. Sparrows, Dunnocks and winter-plumage Reed Buntings can all seem similar at first glance. Watch our helpful Bird ID video for advice on how to tell them all apart. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKjt...

(1/) After we covered Moorhen last week, this week, we are covering the closely related Coot this week! This feisty and sometimes aggressive species declined by 19% across the UK 1995–2023. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social #Ornithology

Here are Ed Wilson's sightings from Priorslee Lake and The Flash, Telford, Shropshire #shropshirebirding Photo: A "Brownhead" Goosander friendsofpriorsleelake.blogspot.com/2025/10/13-o...

A nice #WeBS bonus for our County Bird Recorder at Cound Fishery (adjacent to Venus Pool Nature Reserve) this morning. You never know what you might find on a @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count! We have several vacant sites in Shropshire at the moment. Tempted?!

If you're heading to the North West Bird Watching Festival this weekend, come and say hi! We're looking forward to chatting birds and BTO surveys. 🦢 #lancsbirding @wwtworldwide.bsky.social Find out more ➡️ www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-cent... 📷 Pink-footed Geese by Chris Knights/BTO

These courses are excellent, bringing training produced and delivered by expert birders into your home. This one will help you get gull roost ready and equipped to visit the big roosts at Chelmarsh Reservoir and Ellesmere with confidence. Eight species possible in the autumn! 🙂 #ShropshireBirding

Today is the October WeBS Priority Core Count day! Time to get out and count our birds!

David White & James Heywood from the BBS Team have returned from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme Conference that took place today! If you would like to find out more about taking part in the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on a BBS square, take a look here: www.bto.org/get-involved...

We currently have several vacant WeBS sites in Shropshire, including large, easy to access and count wetlands such as Priorslee Lake. Check the map on the WeBS pages or DM for more info.

Grab yourself a cup of tea, and sit back and enjoy this week's BTO Migration Blog. And then head out and let us know what you spot over the weekend! www.bto.org/our-work/new... 📷 Whooper Swans by Sarah Kelman/BTO #UKBirding #ornithology @birdtrack.bsky.social

As every @btobirds.bsky.social volunteer knows! Taking part in BTO surveys also meets the internationally recognised five steps to wellbeing: Connect with others Be active Learn new skills Give to others Be mindful (pay attention to the present moment) There's a BTO survey for everyone 🙂

Our autumn newsletter has just been sent to BTO members and supporters in Shropshire. It opens with a great account by @saloplarus.bsky.social of an aerial survey of nesting gulls in Shrewsbury, and also has lots of local BTO news. It's online here: padlet.com/martin690/bi... #ShropshireBirding

A Manx Shearwater was found grounded on an Oswestry industrial estate on 9 September and was safely released from Ynyslas beach the following day 😮 #ShropshireBirds www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/2552177...

(1/) Hi, I’m David, and I help to run the BBS social media channels. This #DyslexiaAwarenessWeek, I am sharing something about myself, rather than the usual BBS posts, in order to raise awareness of my mild learning difficulties.

Marc's fascinating and accessible feature is our favourite #SciComm feature of the year. So far! BTO News is always a great read, with regular articles on science, practical fieldcraft and results of BTO research. Arguably worth the membership fee on its own!

Exciting news! We’re planning the upcoming Bird Atlas 2027-31, and have met with @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social and @birdsinwales.bsky.social to discuss how we can work together on what we hope will be the most productive Atlas yet. #Ornithology #UKBirding

Our online ‘Welsh Waders for Beginners’ course is now less than a week away! Book your place today on our website here: www.bto.org/our-work/eve...

Enjoyed a very quiet first visit to Haughmond Hill near Shrewsbury for the Winter Bird Survey, an addition to @bbs-birds.bsky.social for this winter. Just 24 species seen, but that does include a few Crossbills. Some sites are still available, see www.bto.org/get-involved... #ShropshireBirds

We're here as volunteers to support the work of @btobirds.bsky.social and BTO members and supporters in #Shropshire. See our profile for contact info. Our updated seasonal header pic is the view from Haughmond Hill towards the Stretton Gap, flanked by The Lawley/Caer Caradoc and the Long Mynd.

Some of us think the excellent BTO News magazine is worth the membership fee on its own, but then there's early access to highly regarded online training, and your gateway to the wonderful world of field ornithology, from simple garden surveys to ones requiring higher skills. Come and grow with us!

📊 Bird ringing helps answer BIG questions: ✨ Where do our garden birds migrate? ✨ How long do they live? ✨ How can we protect them from habitat loss? Every ring tells a story and every story guides conservation. 🌍💚

📖 🐦The new Issue of Bird Table is out now! Your subscription helps fund the science that guides garden bird conservation - while bringing you seasonal reviews🍂, wildlife tips & expert insight📈. Learn more: bto.org/gardenbirds