Eating at the Woodburn Grange pub this evening, and it’s been suggested I should be sharing my chips… #birds

After almost a full day of RBBP meeting, we got out just in time to see this female Ring-necked Duck on Ladyburn Lake in very murky conditions #NEbirding

No great rarities, but my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count at East Chevington was hooching with birds with much disturbance from Otters and Marsh Harriers. A Raven was a site first for me #NEbirding

Great entertainment from this Otter, one of two at East Chevington today. Pretty sure it was playing with the eel it had caught, releasing it and catching it again

Raptor recovery… Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, White-tailed Eagle and Osprey have all increased substantially over recent decades. Ospreys have colonised new counties at the rate of one a year, including Co. Fermanagh in 2023, the first breeding on the island of Ireland in 200 yrs #ukbirding #ornithology

The sound of a Dusky Warbler giving it large at Craster this morning #NEbirding

Two (!) Dusky Warblers at the south end of the Arnold Memorial reserve, Craster. Only one seen but the two birds heard calling at each other. Very pleasing self-found ✅ #NEbirding

Some good news for Friday: the new RBBP report reveals that five species of large wading bird reached record totals in 2023, including Spoonbill. See the trend since 2010 below… even the bird itself looks shocked by the increase! Read more at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #ukbirding #ornithology

4 dead and 3 sick Greylags at Branton Pits Northumberland today (reported). Worrying #NEBirding

Both the Red-spotted and White-spotted races of Bluethroat try to breed in the UK occasionally but breeding has only been confirmed on five occasions, in 1968, 85, 95, 2016 (Red-spotted) and 1996 (White-spotted). There were single possible breeding records of both in 2023 #ukbirding #ornithology

Rock royalty without even having to leave Alnwick this evening. Martin Barre - the sound of Jethro Tull - at the Playhouse

The latest report from the RBBP, Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2023, is out now in British Birds. It reports on the 104 species and races of rare breeding birds recording breeding, or showing signs of breeding, in 2023. Read the summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #ornithology #ukbirds 🧵[1/15]

Our report for 2023 is out now in @britishbirds.bsky.social. There's a summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... but if you prefer to watch rather than read then here's RBBP secretary @markaeaton.bsky.social with a few key points and some lovely photos! #ornithology #ukbirds youtu.be/arj1m7NfKmY

Hoopoes bred in Leicestershire & Rutland in 2023, the first confirmed breeding record in the UK since 1996. Here’s the family - parents and three offspring. Can you see them all? Read more about rare breeding birds in 2023 at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... 📸 Carl Baggott

Another species returning to breed in 2023 was Temminck's Stint; a pair laid a clutch of four eggs in Highland, although the nest was later flooded out. This tiny wader bred regularly in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but this was the first confirmed breeding since 1997 #ornithology #BirdingScotland

This month's fascinating talk is about Recording Rare Breeding Birds in the UK and Essex, by Mark Eaton from the RBBP. It's streaming live on YouTube from 8pm on Friday: youtube.com/live/VlTi7GS... #essexbirding #RareBirdsUK @ukrbbp.bsky.social

I asked a while back about people collecting (and now missing) physical tickets and it got us thinking After a couple of months of work we made something amazing (props to tech wizard Andrew and our Merch Market team) Totally free, yours to use from Friday *sound up*

Epic stuff from Japanese post-rock band Mono at the Cluny tonight

Some Belfast sightseeing this morning #VanMorrison

The eBird taxonomic reshuffle is still underway, but Lagopus has been processed, and Red Grouse is now a UK species-level endemic #UKBirding macaulaylibrary.org/asset/609783...

Extreme range birding… one of those dots is a Great White Egret, about two miles west of Oxford Island, Lough Neagh #birds

A beautiful start at Oxford Island, Lough Neagh, for the @bto-ni.bsky.social birdwatchers’ conference

Looking forward to talking about the work of @ukrbbp.bsky.social at this tomorrow - should be a great conference

We are still interested in any found twite feathers for a study on the relationships and genetic diversity between the British groups - particularly now for birds of Scottish origin in the NE of England or, birds on the Avon. DM me for me more info. #birdringing

One man and his dog. Crosby, Merseyside

I am being followed around by rainbows at the moment. This one at Cullernose Point this morning was not as dramatic as others, but comes to you with added dogs

Not as many birds as hoped for in brisk northerlies at Cullernose Point 10.00-11.30 - Great Northern Diver & 2 Long-tailed Ducks the best. The waves didn’t disappoint however #NEbirding

Checked to see if the Long-tailed Duck was still on Ladyburn Lake, only to find two. If I remember my A-level biology correctly, this is duck mitosis. #NEbirding

The juvenile White-winged Black Tern at East Chevington today. After catching a tiny fish (at the bottom of the photo), it dropped and caught it at least 20 times… maybe trying to position it to eat, or knocking spines off, but just looked like it was playing! #NEbirding

More of that rainbow from Boulmer, now with added #birds

It’s always a pleasure to see a late autumn Northern Wheatear - can imagine, if just for a few seconds, that it’s something rarer. “Brightening up a dull day”, as Bill Oddie put it. This one was at Boulmer this afternoon #birds

A few days up at Boulmer...outside 2 Marsh Tits, this Velvet-type Scoter was most interesting yesterday aft with @markaeaton.bsky.social Surf-like, with quite a bit more white around the face and different bill/head profile, though very changeable in pics... Appreciate any thoughts...

Boulmer: Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Little Gulls, 46 Arctic Terns, all north; 9 Whooper Swans south. 1 Wheatear. And one of the best rainbows I’ve ever seen #NEbirding

Berwick Bank could kill more birds than any other windfarm on Earth, devastating colonies of Gannets, Puffins and Kittiwakes off Scotland’s coast. 🚨 We support renewables, but not at catastrophic cost to seabirds already in crisis. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3JE...

Amazing golden light at Seaton Pt this evening, tempting me into some arty photos. This is a Stonechat! #birds

Should I stay or should I go?🐦 Fancy a #PhD studying Pied flycatchers in the Peak District to help better understand what drives individual & population performance? Think #habitat #movement #ecology #genetics 🌍 Make use of this nestbox PIT tag study system and join us! Email me #LJMU #NationalTrust

Did this between some commission bird learning, but now not sure whether to add a blue wash to the background of the main bird now... I rather like it as it is but🤔

Rosie practicing her film star impersonations in the car today. Can you guess this one?

This Long-tailed Duck was new in at Ladyburn Lake, Druridge Bay CP. An adult female I reckon, on account of its long tertials (I have just learnt). #NEbirding

Not much at East Chevington and Druridge Bay CP this morning ☹️. Some finch passage inc 20 Twite & 26 Crossbills. Thought I heard a Richard’s Pipit going west but failed to see it 🤷‍♂️. Can’t even find a YB Warbler this autumn although I’m sure some of you would be jealous of the Willow Tits #NEbirding

A few opportunities to learn about rare breeding birds and the work of the RBBP. If your bird club/wildlife group/RSPB group would like an online talk from our Secretary @markaeaton.bsky.social, get in touch.

The wonderful Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan @warringtonruncorn.com in Newcastle tonight. Glorious retro synth techno with a backdrop of nostalgic 70s town-planning videos which made me all warm n fuzzy for my childhood in Milton Keynes. Contender for gig of the year

Beal-Goswick totals: Todd’s Canada & 3,200 Barnacle Geese, 1 Whooper, Greenshank, c25 Twite. 1 Woodcock, 3 Bramblings, c25 Redwing and c55 Fieldfare in-off #NEbirding

Todd’s Canada Goose with c3200 Barnacles west of Beachcomber House, Goswick #birds #NEbirding #WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear

Over 1,100 wildfowl north in 80 minutes at Seaton Pt this morning. 5 Velvet & c155 Common Scoter, 1 Pintail, c230 Wigeon, c80 Teal, c30 Mallard, 4 D-b Brent, c630 Barnacles. Also c85 Redwings in-off. #SoundOn #NEbirding

JOB ALERT: We have an exciting Senior Research Assistant post available for a project tracking predators and prey simultaneously starting early 2026. We need someone with experience tagging adult raptors or wader chicks. This you? app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

Siberian Chiffchaff at Bracken Hill Alnmouth this evening as I scanned the skies hoping for a northbound swift. Then a Common Sandpiper calling at Foxton Bends as I stopped to take this photo #NEbirding #birds

@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social at the Glasshouse this evening. The only band I’ve seen serve themselves mojitos from a cocktail trolley mid-gig. Fabulous music too…

Needle-tailed Swift (think I’ll stick to the old name, as that’s the one I’ve used to dream about this bird for years!) at Scarborough Castle this morning #birds #rarebirdsUK

Selfie with Needle-tailed Swift (and smug grin)