I don't often twitch long-distance anymore, but with 3 dips over nearly 30 yrs, Ross's Gull was up there as most wanted. And being a first winter, its even more special to the ID aficionados. Just a few 1000 pics to go through... #RareBirdsUK

Why oh why are we sacrificing everything to AI? It can't even get the bits right its supposed to be good at. How can you present the wrong answer, quote the source, then the source appears below with the actual correct answer!! But yeah, folding proteins.....

Complete change in fortune for my recently abysmal WeBS counts. The new realignment at Weeton has taken the majority of roosting waders, leaving me free to enjoy this Black Brant, plus a delightfully squeaky Otter. 3 GW Egrets, SEO and 40+ Rock Pipits in support.

Get a taste for British Birds in this month's Open Access paper: BB eye: A birder’s guide to High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...

Does anyone know of any Long-tailed Skuas resembling the North American race pallescens being seen in the North Sea/Shetland areas? Birds resembling this form seen in SW and Spain (+ tracking data down mid Atlantic), but issue is paler birds in N Euro breeding grounds #RareBirdsUK

The new Missing Records file is now live on the BB website, please have a look at britishbirds.co.uk/rarities-com... and consider submitting any outstanding rarities that you may have been lucky enough to discover in 2025. Thanks.

This is a very worrying story with implications. Personally I'd like to fire the whole of AI into the outer Oort. stonefactionbirding2014.blogspot.com/2026/01/1492...

Oh shit! Our #TheTwoJonnies podcast guest this evening is our sister from another mister @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social 's very own Rob Hunton! ♠️ Got any questions for Rob? '26 fashion trends? Minor medical ailments? Life advice? Or even something to do with birds. Let us know! We might ask him.

Our long Dutch weekend comes to a glorious end, with some quality(!) WP tickage. Thanks to @gt1366.bsky.social for braving the perils of Amsterdam to give me a Cat C(rap) tick, and for the photo. Cheers mate!!

Our trip to Texel going very nicely so far, some Dutch megas with a few beers and quality bants. And who doesn't love Smew!!??

The Little Terns at Beacon Ponds have made a remarkable recovery, but they need urgent help to thrive in 2026. Your support can fund a professional warden, ensuring these birds are protected from threats. Please share and contribute if you can! gofund.me/83bf3bdd8

How is AI going to rule the World when you can't even share a contacts list from Outlook nowadays? The shittification of these things is mindblowing.

"nuffin to see here guv'", says falconry expert who also happens to supply the Gulf royals with falcons 🥸 share.google/3kuF0oOSPv6K...

While in the eBird garden year list, I'll happily take top 5. Always good to break 100, but amazing to see once again that both Tim Appleton's gardens score the same. How does he do it!!?? 😜

In a fairly decent year for the garden, we soared to the dizzy height of 174, with Cattle Egret, Crane, Glossy Ibis and White-tailed Eagle all new. Most importantly, I won the predictions competition between myself and @clickbeetle85.bsky.social. A new year and new competition begins tomorrow.

For ID purposes videos can be great for familiarising yourself with seabird flight actions, structure, etc. but it’s a pain tracking down useful clips. I’ve collated video links for various N Atlantic species here #seabirds #seawatching #birding #birdID chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2025/12/23/s...

Three Suffolk Shrikes - I have a signed, limited edition giclee print of a painting of the 3 rare shrikes in Suffolk this autumn (Isabelline, Turkestan and Brown). Just 50 available and only £50 window mounted (add £12 for P&P): PM me if interested and please repost, thanks

🏆 Carl Zeiss Award 2025: Celebrates top rarity submissions to @britishbirdsbbrc.bsky.social – the observations, images & recordings impress, visit: 🔗 britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti... 🏅Winner: Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, by Frank Moffatt. Thanks #ZEISSbirding for sponsoring & the prize binoculars!

Super article in December @britishbirds.bsky.social detailing use of passive bioacoustic recorders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - thanks to @lesserspotnet.bsky.social @simongillings.bsky.social @hosbirding.bsky.social et al A glimmer of hope? 🙏 Read here: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...

Me: 'huh, Oscar Wilde died at age 46, I'm older than that now" Wife: 'tick-tock muthatrucker' 🤔

Birdwatchers who are under 40 will not appreciate just how many breeding waders there were in Scottish farmland back in 1990. If your benchmark is 2015, look at what happened in the previous 25 years: wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/11/30/2... 🎂8️⃣ And things have not improved since: #ornithology

Above link fails! tinyurl.com/2026-Assista...

The Easington Hume's Wblr showed nicely on Friday, although the unseasonably bright sunshine made it surprisingly difficult to get a shot. Too much light combined with operator incompetence! #spurnbirds

A video from earlier in the autumn during some particularly heavy Pheasant migration in Highland! #highlandbirds

Its been a long while, but finally finished editing photos from my bucket list trip to Guyana last November. Bird of the trip? Barbados Bullfinch while transiting through there, of course!! www.flickr.com/photos/38562...

The colours of autumn, a Siberian Chiffchaff on Vicars Lane, Easington shows just how its appearance can change against different backgrounds. Probably the split I'm most hoping for! #Spurnbirds

Well chuffed for @clickbeetle85.bsky.social finding this lovely little Hume's at the Tithe Barn, Easington. Now, if it will only scoot about 200m to the east, i'll be even happier! #Spurnbirds #RareBirdsUK

Cracking photo of South Polar Skua with a Bonxie, the evidence keeps building.

Nice to find a Water Pipit at Outstrays on this mornings WeBS count, plus a PB of 10 Great White Egrets. The pipit was in the north corner of the older realignment, near the new pumping station #Yorkshirebirding

While dipping on Pallid Swift, I was contemplating the future of the gas terminal. I reckon its got 15-20 years at current rates of erosion before the cliff top comes knockin'!

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]

I have 3 spaces available for the 2026 Challenger Expedition to the continental shelf edge in British waters. See images below for more information, dates and contact details… #seabirds #UKbirding

Google maps has been updated with new aerials of the Outstrays NR. A nice birds eye view of the developing realignment.

Managing to be more focussed and actually get some photos edited. Here is a taster from our recent trip to Scilly to do some pelagics and have a general wander. More images at www.flickr.com/photos/38562...

Vacancy on BOU Records Committee. Are you up for it? I found it a really interesting and educational experience. Happy to share my experience if you are interested. #RarebirdsUK #UKBirding

Hello, we have been working hard all year to keep this challenge running and would love to hear your feedback! Let us know of anything that we can do to make the challenge even better so we can have a think ready for PWC 2026. #pwc2025#patchbirding

Our garden Yellow-browed Wblr showed very nicely all day today. We'll be giving it a name soon! #SpurnBirds

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.

There are much closer photos out there, but in a mad dash "extended lunch break", I was happy just to see the Spurn Blk-faced Bunting. Then this Yellow-browed Wblr brightened up the afternoon back at my desk, giving our best ever garden showing despite just managing to see one every year #SpurnBirds

Turns out the pod of Bottlenose Dolphins that went north past Kilnsea & Easington yesterday morning contained a well known female called "Runny Paint" after the distinctive markings around her dorsal fin (visible in 3rd photo) @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social

The skies were dripping with thrushes today, but the arrival was localised mainly to the Kilnsea and south side of Easington. Despite looking out from the gas terminal for the whole morning, only 7 Redwings came in! But a few minutes walk to the south this pm, and I joined in the Fieldfare fun.

The 2024 BBRC report is now available via the website, and will be hitting doormats pretty soon: British Birds Volume 118 Issue 10 | British Birds share.google/ilqsS7ib34do...

Short news piece on the Challenger expedition and the Band-rumped fiesta: britishbirds.co.uk/news/band-ru... #RareBirdsUK

This tiny patch of rank grass on the Easington coast path held a much anticipated Yellow-browed Wblr tonight. Presumably fresh in at 1730hrs. Autumn is finally here!

Its a f*****g conspiracy!!

If the world adopted a plant-based diet, we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares We could reduce the amount of land used for grazing and croplands used to grow animal feed ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets

Possibly the worst picture of Glossy Ibis taken this year, but theres 11 of them and they're on patch.

Here's some Band-rumped images from the recent Challenger trip to the Canyons MCZ ebird.org/checklist/S2... #RareBirdsUK

Spectacled Eider accepted to Cat A by the CDNA. www.dutchavifauna.nl/news/2048/br... #ornithology

Fresh off the Challenger expedition to the Canyons MPA along the shelf edge at the limits of UK territory, we seem to have broken new ground with the status of Band-rumped Storm-petrels. A handful on the first two days were great, but on the third day, the cup truly runneth over, and 84 were...