NFY at Festival Gardens this morning: lapwing (on a gravelly, undeveloped part of the site, so not a strange sighting) and reed warbler (ignoring its name 🙄); 23 species in all, inc blackbird, blackcap, chiffchaff and song thrush all singing away 🪶

Common Gull colony count submissions were entered for just 7 sites in 2025, down from 194 in 2018. If you can monitor Common Gulls (mainly in Scotland) to help improve our understanding of their breeding abundance, email [email protected] #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

There are quite a few unclaimed #buyastrangerabook offers today. I have more to offer too. Look, it's not a "repost & follow for a chance to win" thing. Just ask for any of the books on offer, and I'll send you the book (if nobody else hasn't already asked). So check it out. UK only

It's the @biggreenbooks.bsky.social #Buyastrangerabook day, the best day of the week! Join in and you could receive (or offer) a gorgeous book like this one 😻

Spent a lovely 40 minutes watching harbour porpoise off Festival Gardens this morning 🩶 At times, a Cetti's burst into song from the bushes behind me and swallows zipped above the water. (There are 2 porpoise doing some synchronised swimming in the not great video - middle left and bottom right.)

Hobbies hunting over Whixall Moss #ShropshireBirding

Magical moment - watching a pair of #Yellowhammers land on the road and start a courtship dance! Never seen that before. #birdingWales @birdsinwales.bsky.social

Hey. @gracequantock.bsky.social & I did a Crowdfunder to get as many copies of Grace's book "Living Well with Chronic Illness" as we could in to hospitals and libraries. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/86e1e73e29... It was great & we sent out loads! But we've kept a few back. It's a two part post!

Called in at Harrock Wood to see/hear the rooks (as noisy & charming as ever) & was also serenaded by willow warbler, blackcap, chiffchaff & - surprisingly - grasshopper warbler (in scrub by the wood). Other highlights: swallows hunting low over the fields, house sparrows, goldcrest. #UKbirding 🪶

Festival Gardens looked lovely this morning, even under an ominous grey sky. Birding highlights there and in the Southern Grasslands: lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, Cetti’s, blackcap, chiffchaff, song thrush and blackbird all singing away, and swallows and a sparrowhawk overhead 🪶

This beautiful bird is a stock dove - an amber listed species of conservation concern in the UK. The Government is currently consulting on shooting seasons for wild birds. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation is lobbying to add stock dove and many other species to the quarry list.

For the #BirdoftheDay alternative theme: spot the robin chicks waiting for a #mouthful of food 😍

Calling #WildlifeRescue centres across Europe! Do you have data on #swifts? We’re studying how heatwaves affect rescued chicks, and we’d love to collaborate. Quick survey, no data sharing yet. Info: giuliamasoero.github.io/project/resc... #Ornithology #ClimateChange @alecorr-castro.bsky.social

Happy #MayDay #Beltane #InternationalWorkersDay to all who celebrate 🌸 At Festival Gardens, the theme of the day was birds in strange places: 2 moorhen roosting 15ft up a tree, 2 shelduck on wasteland, & a grey heron wondering where all the water went (there's a leak in the liner, apparently) 🪶

Strolled around the Hale circuit this morning. NFTY: yellow wags & swifts. Other highlights: reed, sedge & Cetti’s warblers, wheatear, grey partridge. Then rushed around Priory Wood, Festival Gardens & Southern Grasslands on a wild cuckoo chase (like a wild goose chase only worse 🙄) 🪶

IT'S WEDNESDAY! It's #buyastrangerabook day! The grooviest day of all. I'll give out TWO books. FOR FREE. If you'd like one, let me know. Also, if you'd like to #BuyAStrangerABook too, let me know. It's a thing! Look. www.biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi... UK only

It was so warm and sunny at the farm yesterday that we had lunch al fresco 🌞 (Plus the swallows want to nest in the refreshments barn.) On the theme of nests: the robins have chosen an interesting spot - hopefully the caravan's owners aren't planning a trip any time soon 🙄

Delighted to hear willow warbler singing at Liverpool Marina today 🎶 There were numerous warblers around the Southern Grasslands, inc. a lesser whitethroat - which was later ringed by @btobirds.bsky.social. Other highlights inc. more house martins and swallows; 31 species in all. #UKbirding

Three NFTY for me with whinchat, reed and sedge warblers on another lovely sunny day. Then I went for a sit-down on the #allotment - this birdwatching lark's harder than it looks 😂

Otterspool Prom and the #allotment looked lovely in the sunshine today 🌞 There were starling and linnet feeding amongst the dandelions and daisies, whitethroat singing from the brambles, greenfinch from the tree tops, chiffchaff, blackcap, blackbird, song thrush, wren from just about everywhere 😍

This is why I haven't been on social media much! I've been horrified by what we found about Natural England pausing designation to SSSIs - and the consequent loss of nationally important sites for nature to development: wildjustice.org.uk/unprotected-...

Common sandpiper at the marina was a good start to the day. Then off to the #allotment to be greeted by a singing willow warbler 😍 The Cetti’s piped up every hour or so, presumably patrolling his territory between here and River Oaks, and the blackbirds were in great voice, too 🖤

Spent the weekend volunteering at the farm, bookended by birding 😁 Highlights: lesser whitethroat and Cetti’s - Southern Grasslands; sparrowhawk, grey partridge, male common redstart, whitethroat, more swallows arriving, and a lovely brown hare lolloping past me in the farm fields. #UKbirding

Back to the Southern Grasslands and Festival Gardens this morning: Cetti’s still singing away but didn't hear the gropper today. Blackbird, blackcap, chiffchaff, greenfinch, song thrush, wren all in good voice and a joy to hear in the sunshine 🌞 🪶

Rehabilitation of the Dandelion! No other plant in the Netherlands attracts as many bee species: 107. In early spring, when nothing else is blooming, it is simply there. Meadow bird chicks that have just hatched depend on the insects that are drawn to dandelions. No dandelion, no insect, no chick.

At this time of year when I'm out birding I really try to make an effort to add breeding evidence to my records. It's really quick and easy in @birdtrack.bsky.social and adds value to my records, especially for @ukrbbp.bsky.social species. Added P for pair in suitable habitat. #ornithology

Delighted to hear grasshopper warbler (my 1st of the year) and Cetti’s warbler (my 1st there) in the Southern Grasslands by Festival Gardens this morning. Other highlights: raven, bullfinch, more singing chiffchaff, blackcap, greenfinch, song thrush, wren, etc.; 23 species in all. #UKbirding

A busy day's birding: Festival Gardens 1st, but no pied flycatcher for me today. Then River Oaks Meadows: Cetti’s, whitethroat, blackcap, chiffchaff; didn't see the reported redstart. Then Speke Hall Meadows for the great-tailed grackle; more warblers & 2 swallows the other highlights. #UKbirding

Pied flycatcher still at Festival Gardens this morning and showing really well over this pond (obvs not in the photo!). #UKbirding

Brilliant views of this beautiful female pied flycatcher at the festival gardens with @wordsanddeeds.bsky.social who found it this morning , great find 🥳 It’s ringed too Good catching up with @daveliverbirder.bsky.social Plenty of other birds about including blackcap,willow warblers,chiffchaff

Unexpected highlight of the bird walk I led at Festival Gardens today: female PIED FLYCATCHER 😍 Very poor record shot below. 21 species in all, inc. lots of singing chiffchaff and blackcap. #UKbirding @birdguides.bsky.social

Great few hours with @birderjack.bsky.social around Speke Hall meadows and Garston shore. Highlights: our first singing willow warblers of the year and four house martins, plus blackcaps, chiffchaffs, 2 little grebes, 2 buzzards, 2 jays, kestrel, etc. Also saw a poor dead mole 🫤 #UKbirding

Spent the last three days volunteering at the agroforestry farm in various weather conditions, from high winds to bright sunshine 🌞 Saw my 1st swallow of the year there today, 10 days later than last year 🪶

@nicolawriting.bsky.social The amazing agroforestry farm where I volunteer has started a series of online conversations with authors about nature, food & our impact on the planet. I think you'd be a great fit, if you'd be interested in doing one? Details of 1st one: kindling.org.uk/event/readin...

Didn't see any porpoise along the estuary at high tide today, but it was a lovely day for another walk around Festival Gardens 🌞 The purple toothwort is just emerging as well 💜

Great to spot our 1st two harbour porpoise of the year from Garston jetty this morning - with @birderjack.bsky.social On the way home, I had a recce of Festival Gardens for the next bird walk - the birdsong was amazing, inc. chiffchaff, blackbird, blackcap & song thrush 😍🪶

The Cetti's was singing at the #allotment when I popped there earlier, as were chiffchaff and blackcap 🪶 🎶 The crow was on her nest and a pair of blue tits were in and out of a nestbox on the side of a shed.

Submissions are open! Delighted to be a judge for Natasha Carthew & Octopus Books’ Common Ground Nature Writing Prize, for writers self-identifying as working class. 1,000 words or less, in any form & great prizes! Further details & link to submit, here: www.octopusbooks.co.uk/landing-page...

Took advantage of the better weather today to walk down Within Way, visit Garston shore and spend a few hours on the #allotment; 17 bird species noted around the plot, inc. the nuthatch pair and a singing blackcap 🎶🪶

Duckling season has begun, and DucklingWatch is back for another year! Please submit your mallard brood sightings in GB to citsci.org/projects/ducklingwatch and share this post to spread the word 🦆

More walking today: Otterspool Woods and Prom, and Festival Gardens, where I heard my 1st blackcap of the year 🎶 🪶

Had a lovely day yesterday: new book club (sci-fi theme) in the morning followed by my 1st visit to Speke & Garston Coastal Reserve for ages. Great to see my 1st two wheatear of the year with @birderjack.bsky.social and hear the great-tailed grackle singing as dusk fell 🪶 And managed more walking 😀

A lovely afternoon #patchbirding with @wordsanddeeds.bsky.social Highlight was our 1st 2 wheatear of spring 😍🥳 A pair of treecreeper nest building Great -tailed grackle singing away , just before sunset

"don't worry it's recyclable" is a lie made up to market single-use plastic as something other than a planet altering horror

Lots of bird activity on the #allotment today. Pr of long-tailed tits & pr of goldfinch nesting nearby, & the crow pr, who are back up to 3 again. Last year's young going to help this year, maybe. Other highlights: 4 buzzard, sparrowhawk, raven, jay, GSW, nuthatch, chiffchaff; 24 species in all 🪶

2/ Releasing free data & maps of who owns the vast majority of land will enable greater public scrutiny of what goes on behind the barbed-wire fences that crisscross the countryside. The new Land Use Framework is an ambitious step towards making England a greener, fairer and more pleasant land.

‪ 🌳 Do you want to contribute to research on how humans perceive forests? Take this quick, anonymous 10-min survey 🌲 👉 www.biodiful.org#/forest This will help us explore how people experience forest biodiversity! Please share on 🦋 & tag @biodiful.bsky.social to reach more participants 🙏💚 🌐🌍🦤🦑🪴🍁🧪

Plenty of bird life at the #allotment earlier, with 20 species observed, inc. pair of long-tailed tits that were very interested in a neighbouring shed; think they were looking for insects as they also went to another shed. Other highlights: jay, GSW, nuthatch, sparrowhawk, mistle thrush, siskin 🪶

Wasn't keen on the early start to beat the road closures for the half marathon, but had a nice walk around the farm fields before the heavy rain came. Then I was on indoor duties 😁Kestrel, reed bunting, skylark, lapwing, large flock of fieldfare, goldfinch, robin, wren, RNPs, etc.