Bird of the Week: Grey Partridge Coveys are gathering now across the county, especially where there are good margins, stubbles and beetle banks. Heard that sharp “kerr-ick” or seen a covey slip along a hedgerow yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Teal are gathering again on Durham’s winter wetlands. Sites like Castle Lake and the Teesmouth marshes. Have you seen them in numbers yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #WinterBirds #Wildfowl #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Starlings are gathering over Durham’s lowland carrs, early signs of winter murmurations. Seen one forming yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #WinterBirds #Murmuration #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Listen for Pink-footed Geese over Durham – their wild “wink-wink” calls mark autumn skies. Heard them passing over yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Fieldfares are back across Durham, their “chack-chack-chack” calls marking winter’s arrival. Seen your first flock yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Fieldfare #WinterBirds #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Redshank bring life to Durham’s wetlands with their bright legs & loud “teu-teu-teu” calls. (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham

Bird of the Week: Snipe often stay hidden in reeds till, with a sudden whirr, they burst from cover. Seen any at your local wetland this week? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #AutumnBirding #BirdMigration #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Are Goldcrests arriving in numbers after Storm Amy - fresh in from Scandinavia? Heard their high “see-see-see” calls yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #AutumnMigration #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Common Sandpipers bob along Durham’s rivers & reservoirs, their “wee-wee-wee” call sharp in flight. Have you seen one lately? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #birdmigration #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Wheatears are on the move across Durham’s coasts & uplands. Have you seen any of these bold little travellers pausing on passage? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Migration #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Swallows are flocking across Durham, gathering on wires & reedbeds ahead of their long journey south. Where have you seen big gatherings? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Greenshank – elegant waders on passage through Durham. Seen one yet among this week’s flurry of waders? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Waders #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the week: Spotted Flycat her. Have you noticed Spotted Flycatchers near you this year – perhaps in new places, or nesting somewhere unexpected? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the week - Common Tern. These fiesty fishers have been hard hit by bird flu in recent years - how do you feel they've done this year in (Old) County Durham? Photo: Mark Harper #DBCat50 #DBC #DurhamBirdClub #birding #durham #rspbsaltholme #wwtwashington #dwtshibdonpond

Bird of the week: Reed Warblers chatter from reedbeds in steady rhythm, unlike the Sedge’s random song. Heard one this summer? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #BirdwatchingUK #Durham #DBC

Bird of the week 31 - House Martin - preparing to leave. Our dainty, feather footed, white rumped visitor are starting to gather for their autumn journey. Have you heard their twittering? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBC #DBCat50 #durhambirdclub #durham #birding

Bird of the Week: Little Ringed Plovers are back on Durham’s gravel shores - bright-eyed & full of attitude Seen any this year? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #BirdwatchingUK #WetlandBirds

Bird of the Week: Sleek & acrobatic, Hobbies are turning-up more and more in Durham? Seen one over your patch yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) (Map: Steve Evans) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Hobby #Birding #Raptors #BirdwatchingUK #Durham

Save the date - our AGM will be at WWT Washington on 10th September at 7pm

Bird of the Week: Meadow Pipits are everywhere (aren't they?), moor, coast & pasture, parachuting through summer with their soft song. Seen one lately? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #MeadowPipit #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week - Grey Wagtails bring a flash of yellow to Durham’s rivers, becks & burns - acrobatic, elegant, and never still. Seen one lately? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #GreyWagtail #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Red Kites are now starting to be seen well beyond the Derwent Valley. Have you spotted one soaring near you? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #RedKite #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

🌼 Botany Walk 🗓Sat 28 June 10am 🌳Skerne Woods Netpark Join expert ecologist Roni Howard on a flora walk of Skerne Woods. There’s also a wide range of birds inc Gropper, Whitethroat & Crossbill. See advert - pls email if you’d like to attend @teesbirds.bsky.social @durhambirdclub.bsky.social

Bird of the Week: Tree Sparrows remain regular across lowland Durham farmland & reserves. Heard their chirruping calls this spring? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #DBC #Birding #BirdwatchingUK #FarmlandBird

Glad you're enjoying it, @andyfirth.bsky.social! If anyone else would like to buy a copy, contact the club via our website www.durhambirdclub.org.uk/publications

Bird of the Week: Tree Pipits are parachuting through our upland glades, scrub and woodland margins, in full song. Seen or heard one yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week 23: Unmistakably yellow, the Yellowhammer’s distinctive song still wheezes from some of our Durham hedgerows Heard one lately? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #Yellowhammer #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #BirdwatchingUK #FarmlandBirds

Bird of the week: Cuckoo - still calling over Durham’s uplands. Have you heard one yet? Seen one? Or a host feeding a chick? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #Durham

Bird of the week: Corn Buntings hang on in parts of east Durham farmland. Still hearing that jangling song near you? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DBC #Durham #CornBunting #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Birding #SpringBirds #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the week 20: Whitethroats are back - full of scratchy song & bouncy flight along Durham’s hedgerows. Noticed any yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #SpringMigration #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the week 19: Little Terns are back on Durham coast - diminutive seabirds have endured their long annual journey to make their fragile nests. Seen them at Seaton Carew? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #DurhamBirdClub #SpringMigration #BirdwatchingUK #Durham

Join us on Sunday 11th May, from 10:00 -16:00 at Bishop Middleham Village Hall to celebrate our 50th Anniversary.

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Pied Flycatcher – Woodland Sprite of Spring Neat, monochrome males back in upland woods, ahead of females. Have you seen them this year or noted any interesting behaviour or changes in local sites? #DBCAt50 #DurhamBirdClub (Photo: Mark Harper)

Bird of the week: Redstarts are back - flashing orange tails & unfinished, melancholic songs in Durham’s upland woods. Seen one yet this spring? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #SpringMigration #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Avocets are back - elegant, black-and-white waders sweeping their bills through the County’s pools. Seen one yet? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBCAt50 #BirdOfTheWeek #SpringMigration #CountyDurhamBirds #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #BirdwatchingUK

Bird of the Week: Skylarks are singing again - pouring their tumbling song from high above fields and moors. Have you heard one yet? #DBCAt50 #DBC #durhambirdclub #durham #birding (Photo: Mark Harper)

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week 14: Sand Martin First of the hirundines, the Sand Martins are back! Watch them skim water with flickering wings at any of our County’s waterbodies. #DBCAt50 #DBC #Birding #durham #SpringMigration (Photo: Mark Harper)

Bird of the week 13: Golden Plovers are gathering now, their gold-spangled plumage dazzling before heading north to breed. Seen any? #DBC #DBCat50 #DurhamBirdClub #Durham #Birding #SpringMigration (Photo: Mark Harper)

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Whooper Swan On their way back to Iceland, these wild swans have been spotted on lakes across the county - have you seen or heard any? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBC #DBCat50 #WhooperSwan #Birding #SpringMigration

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Chiffchaff Spring’s first song! This little warbler’s chiff-chaff call is a sure sign of the seasons changing. Heard one yet? #DBC #DBCat50 #Chiffchaff #Birding #SpringIsComing (Photo: Mark Harper)

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Lapwing A spring acrobat, tumbling & calling over farmland & moors. Once common, now declining - have you seen one? (Photo: Mark Harper) #DBC #DBCat50 #Lapwing #Birding #Conservation

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Curlew The UK’s largest wader, its haunting call defines our moors & meadows. Declining fast due to habitat loss & predation - have you seen one? #DBC #DBCat50 #Curlew #Birding #Conservation #Durham (Photo: Mark Harper)

Check out the Club website - durhambirdclub.org.uk - new pages on our Stonechat Survey, on Willow Tit, 50th anniversary event at Castle Lake in May and an archive of our Bird of the Week series

DBC at 50 Bird of the Week: Willow Tit UK’s fastest-declining resident bird, but Co Durham remains a stronghold. Scrubby woodland along old railways & former industrial sites may be helping them. Seen one? Let us know! #DBC #DBCat50 #WillowTit #Birding #Conservation (Photo: Mark Harper)

Black Grouse, North Pennines @durhambirdclub.bsky.social

Bird of the Week 7: Hen Harrier A ghost of the uplands, the Hen Harrier is one of our County's most thrilling residents. Ringtails hunt low over moors & coastal grassland. Despite persecution, pairs have nested in the county. Seen one? Let us know! 👀 #DBC #DBCat50 #Birding

Bird of the Week 6 – Brambling These handsome finches, with their orange-washed chests, crisp white bellies, and black-streaked heads, add a splash of colour to our winter landscapes. Have you spotted any Bramblings this year? #DurhamBirdClub #DBC #DBCat50 #Durham #Birding (Photo: Mark Harper)

#birdsindurham #durhambirdclub #DBCat50 #birding #ornithology #avifauna #ecology

Bird of the Week 5 – Short-eared Owl – A Daytime Hunter of Moors & Marshes Have you seen a Short-eared Owl this winter? Tell us about it and share any photos you’ve managed to capture - we’d love to share in the excitement. #DurhamBirdClub #DBC #DBCat50 #Durham #Birding (Photo: Mark Harper)