Red-backed Shrike at John O’Groats this morning. Glad I stopped as we nearly cycled past it #CaithnessBirds #PWC2026

The clear star of the past week was the Northern Parula which spent four days around Vaila’s Trees, giving many observers some great views. Other highlights include Rustic Bunting and Rosefinch. Catch up over at www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/latest_sight... 📸 L Marriner

The 2026 SMP Newsletter is here! Read it (and sign up to receive future editions) here: www.bto.org/our-work/sci... to find out about the SMP's 40th anniversary, latest developments, the science of seabird poo, and more! #birds #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

The SMP is lacking breeding success data. In 2025, colony count data were submitted for 861 sites, but breeding success data were submitted for just 133 sites. If you can monitor seabird breeding success, email us at [email protected]! #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Following interest in our Dec 2025 paper on Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and acoustic monitoring, we invited readers' questions to the experts britishbirds.co.uk/news/ask-exp... Thanks to Linda Smith and @LesserSpotNet.bsky.social 📸David Tipling

Images have power. How would you think about the heatwave if this image was of elderly people in a stuffy care home, roofers or builders sweating at work, or a hospital ward with nurses helping patients sip water?

For decades, researchers have measured #PlasticPollution by counting individual pieces. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story: internal damage caused by plastic (eg. inflammation) is largely invisible

Latest (early view) papers in #BirdStudy are available on the link below. Camera traps for Corncrakes Urban Coots and river disturbance Nightjars in storm-damaged forests Scottish Water Rail migration Diet of breeding Little Terns in Morocco www.tandfonline.com/action/showA... #ornithology

🐦 WSU is seeking nominees for our Board & Officer elections. Positions available: Regional Representatives (6 regions) and Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary & Treasurer. Self-nominations welcome! bit.ly/4dEyiDM #Ornithology #Conservation #WSU

⚖️ 🌍 ⚡ 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 🇳🇱 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, @milieudefensie.bsky.social et al. v. Shell. #ClimateJustice #ClimateCaseShell 🧵 ⬇️ analysis in thread below

1/ The latest Winter Gull Survey revealed that over the two decades since the last count, the total number of gulls wintering in the UK has decreased from 3.9 million to just under 2.5 million! 📉 #Ornithology #Seabirds 📖 Read the report www.bto.org/WinGSReport#Ornithology#Seabirds

Job alert! Apply via www.bto.org/jobs Are you passionate about birds with an interest in data and admin? We're looking for someone to join our Surveys Team and support UK bird surveys. 📆 Full time, Permanent. 📍 Thetford, Norfolk (Hybrid). 📝 £29,754 per annum. Closing date: Sunday 7 June

Do you know of an inland or coastal Common Gull colony? Any abundance or productivity data on this under-monitored gull would be incredibly valuable for the @smp-seabirds.bsky.social #seabirds #ornithology #ScottishBirds

New research by the University of Leeds and the RSPB reveals that moorland burning exposes millions to unsafe air pollution. Find out more: environment.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news... @universityofleeds.bsky.social

NEW on #theBOUblog from Oluwadunsin Adekola My First BOU Conference: BOU2026 bou.org.uk/blog-adek...#theBOUblog #ornithology 🪶

More than 100 UK datacentres plan to burn gas to generate electricity www.theguardian.com/business/202...

🔈 BOU COUNCIL NOMINATIONS We are seeking nominations for 5 positions on Council, for appointment at the 2027 AGM A great opportunity to be involved with the governance of the BOU Nomination deadline: 15 June 2026 bou.org.uk/about-the... #ornithology 🪶

The newly ploughed observatory crop has played host to a colour-ringed Knot in the past few days. Initially seen in poor weather and post submission we discovered it’s also carrying a geo-locator from @globalflyway.bsky.social you can follow Arenicola’s progress on the globalflyways network website

Colony managers know it The literature ignores it! Many seabirds are young - juvenile, immature, subadult, prebreeder - and we know v little about them! Here's our paper on why you should care about young seabirds for conservation! W/ @ejgnam2.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/fee....

Another hard year for the #birds & our team. In 2 weeks we removed 1.1 kg of #plastics from Australian #shearwater chicks (>8850 pieces). Balloons clips, clothes pegs, tiling spacers, strapping tape, drink lids, nurdles, toys, cutlery - the list goes on & on 😞 #SeabirdSaturday #PlasticPollution

A sunny morning for my early @bbs-birds.bsky.social visit - lots of Skylark and Meadow Pipits as usual. Nice to have the Arctic Skuas back. #CaithnessBirds

Our new research shows that HPAI increased Northern Gannet mortality by a factor of ~6 and ~4 at two of the world’s largest colonies. We predict this impact will take almost two decades to recover from. #biologicalconservation #seabirds #hpai Full paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111887

Nominate now and celebrate the achievements of an inspiring ornithologist, birder, volunteer, young person or group for the BTO & Marsh Awards! 🎉Vote at www.bto.org/awards Nominations close on 31 May! #Ornithology

Another new Seabird #38 paper❓ Yes, indeed! 🙌 Kwant-Heida et al. (2026) explore corridor use by seabirds in an offshore wind farm. Read the full article here 👇 doi.org/10.61350/sbj...

📢 APPLY NOW For BOU Member Conference Attendance Grants Funding member attendance at any #ornithology conference Low-carbon travel encouraged ⏰ Deadline: 29 May 2026 🪶 bou.org.uk/funding/m...

Almost a third of UK Hawfinches used artificial birdfood when available, with implications for disease transmission. Investigating supplementary food use of UK Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes populations using DNA metabarcoding doi.org/10.1080/0006... #BirdStudy #ornithology

A close encounter with an Otter on Dunnet Beach yesterday! I thought it was a dog running towards us at first 😁

We have an Optics Loan Scheme! Open to members & non-members, the scheme offers the chance to borrow optical & acoustic monitoring kit from HQ: www.the-soc.org.uk/pages/gettin.... Why not try out binoculars, telescopes, a tripod or even an AudioMoth for your next birding trip? #opticsloanscheme

👉 @pietrosemprebon.bsky.social is exploring the effects of atmospheric heatwaves on Little Terns and Audouin’s Gulls 👉 @diomedea09.bsky.social is looking at sex-specific strategies of Cory’s Shearwaters during the pre-laying period www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/grants 📸 Julien Renoult (CC) (2/2)

Congratulations to the four recipients of our research grants! ✨🎁🔬 👉 Theo Kyprianou Rivers is looking at the effects of LED lighting conversion on Manx Shearwater 👉Yinka Adeniji is using acoustic recordings to estimate individual Manx Shearwaters (1/2)

There's a mini jobs bonanza just now at BTO! 🐦 Apply to become our next Scottish Raptor Monitoring Coordinator, Biological Data Manager or Research Support Officer via www.bto.org/jobs Birds Science People; it is a powerful combination – will you be part of it?

Smart male Ring Ouzel at John O'Groats this morning, plus a Magpie! #CaithnessBirds

After a 3 year absence, the Ranger’s Blog is back! You can read what Ranger Carla has been up to over on www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/ranger_blog.... New blogs will be shared at the end of each month.

It's great that some @btobirds.bsky.social surveys are accessible without cars! Helps with access to nature & enabling more people to take part etc. Aware some areas are difficult without car (I don't have one so very aware of this), but not everyone can drive or access a car for various reasons.

🚨Seabirds are in real trouble!🚨 In 2023, a marine heatwave in Australia wiped out 5% of all short-tailed shearwaters. And it's not just one bad year - these events are getting more common as the planet heats up. Find out what's happening 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

That's this weekend sorted! Full of amazing data (and photos) @fairislebirdobs.bsky.social #Ornithology #BirdingScotland

An important study showing that drones detect more murres than boat-based surveys, especially in upper cliff areas 🛥 🔎 Drones could greatly improve counts of cliff-nesting seabirds! But we need to work out how to integrate historical estimates with those made using new tech 📈 #ornithology #seabirds

This stunning male Pallid Harrier was an unexpected distraction this afternoon 🩶 #PatchBirding

🎺 Roll-up, roll-up! Another new paper has just been published in Seabird #38! 🎺 Hunter et al. (2026) explore the wintering-site fidelity of Brünnich's guillemots in Greenland. 👇 Read all about it here 👇 seabirdgroup.org.uk/seabird-38-2

🚨 New Paper 🚨: Evidence for colony attendance by immature Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas during the chick-rearing period by Helen M. Pružina et al. #seabirds #OpenAccess www.marineornithology.org/PDF/54_1/54_...

1/ The latest 2024/25 Waterbirds in the UK report has just been published and can be viewed online www.bto.org/wituk 🎉 Physical copies will be reaching your doorsteps very soon! 🗞️ To view the updated numbers and trends, visit www.bto.org/webs-reporting #Ornithology #CitSci

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

This month's main paper in British Birds: Observations on the use of a solar park by Corn Buntings in southern England Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti... 📸Thom Shannon

Have you signed up for our Birds in Greenspaces project yet? ➡️ www.bto.org/greenspaces Starting 1 April, we'd love to know the birds that use your local greenspaces, whether it’s a single species record or complete list, so we can discover their importance for nature and people. 🌳 🪶

🗞️❗ Another early release from Seabird #38❗🗞️ Scotwin et al. investigate feeding rate and breeding success in Atlantic puffins. Have a read here 👇: seabirdgroup.org.uk/seabird-38-1

To reduce disease, we all need to make some urgent but simple changes to how we feed our garden birds. See our website for the latest guidance: brnw.ch/21x1t4w

EARLY VIEW in IBIS Early Professional Award 2026 - Andrea Flack Citation by Annette L. Fayet and Hester Brønnvik doi.org/10.1111/ibi.... #ornithology 🪶

EARLY VIEW in IBIS Janet Kear Union Medal 2026 - Graham F Appleton Citation by Jennifer Smart doi.org/10.1111/ibi.... #ornithology 🪶