"The analysis revealed that harriers secondarily disperse intact seeds from 137 plant species across 23 families, including 64 monocots and 73 dicots."

American Golden Plover - Eyebrook Reservoir - 18/10/25 On my way to Willow Tree Fen when the message came through of an American Golden Plover at Eyebrook Res, so a quick detour was in order. A terrific find by @leicesterllama.bsky.social @lrosbirds.bsky.social

Snow Bunting - Beacon Hill Country Park - 17/10/25 As is often the case, a very obliging bird. Showing down to just a couple of feet. Actually, I almost stood on it when I first arrived. Also, 4 Crossbills over A great find by Barry Ingram. @lrosbirds.bsky.social

(1/) The UK Wild Bird Indicators for water birds show contrasting fortunes for two summer migrant bird species. Whereas Reed Warbler increased by 156% between 1975 and 2023, Yellow Wagtail declined by 95% over the same time period. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

A really good article highlighting the prominent issues surrounding the proposed reintroduction and how it will almost certainly never be needed in order for them to colonise cities.

Occurrences of people dumping live or even dead exotic snakes seem to be on the increase. Not only are the snakes likely to perish but there's a risk of transmission of disease vectors to native species. uk.news.yahoo.com/scary-24-inc...

BirdLife International has issued a firm warning against proposals to cull Great Cormorant across Europe, arguing that the measures would fail to address pressures on fish stocks and could damage years of conservation progress:

Had a super afternoon watching this late juvenile Osprey at Belvoir, Leics., perched and fishing. Blue ringed 8M7, anglers say it's been plundering fish for 3 weeks. #UKbirding

The aftermath, still smouldering in places. #muirburn #cnpa #dinnetnnr #tarland

Couldn’t really ask for better views, the juvenile Baird's Sandpiper showed very well yesterday in the afternoon light. Laying in goose droppings was worth it. More photos to come, who needs a Needletail anyway...

...also on the ringing front: we've received notification of a fantastic recovery of a Firecrest ringed here last October that was controlled a few days ago by a ringer in the Czech Republic - the first movement of a UK-ringed Firecrest to the Czech Republic or indeed to anywhere in central Europe

29 'missing' Hen Harriers & nearly 40 birds of prey poisoned, trapped or shot in Yorkshire Dales National Park since 2015. Not so much a National Park - more of a National Disgrace. #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology #Yorkshire raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/04/2...

A great thread dismantling the latest 'conservation populism' to be floated in Britain. With funding available for species recovery, this is business for some. We'll see more of this pitching for commercial projects that scientists & species experts think is useless. #ornithology #ukbirding

Goshawk doing far better in lowland Derbyshire than its previous strongholds in the Peak where it was persecuted. Rather close to Derby and other towns now so why the need to “reintroduce”? Can’t help but think it will happen anyway with abundant food and good wooded areas.

Turkestan Shrike - ad male, Dunwich Heath this afternoon. An excellent bird and find; photos in gloomy light not the best and was a little elusive early evening #ukbirding #suffolkbirding

Natural England confirms ongoing & relentless illegal persecution is reason why Hen Harriers are still rare in England. #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #Ornithology raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/02/h...

We're incredibly concerned about the welfare of two satellite-tagged golden eagles, Tarras and Wren, that have recently disappeared in Dumfries and Galloway. Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland. Read more 👉 bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce80l4jgd1qo 📷 Chris Gomersall, RSPB Images

Gosh, what a mystery. Whatever could have happened to them? No bodies, no tags, no prosecutions, no accountability, no deterrent. This will continue. #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/29/t...

This was a satellite-tagged territorial pair so the sudden disappearance of both of them at the same time is highly suspicious.

Stanford Reservoir - more #patchgold when I found this moulting eclipse drake Lesser Scaup, first for the site & for Northants. Also, 3 Glossy Ibis, Bittern, 2 Pintail, Common Tern, Common Sand & Great Egret. @lrosbirds.bsky.social

A lovely film of Leicestershire’s first confirmed breeding by Goshawks, filmed under licence by county recorder Carl Baggott youtu.be/FhI39qG4pQo?...

NB: Comments are turned off as criminal proceedings are live ⚖️ raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/17/c...

“They’re perfectly capable of breeding & recolonising their former range, over a relatively short space of time, IF, and only IF, their survival isn’t curtailed by grouse moor gamekeepers shooting, trapping and poisoning them, pulling off their heads and legs, or stamping on their eggs and chicks.”

Mary Colwell asks whether it's time to talk about a fox cull. I argue it's time to talk about the absurd annual release of 60 Million non-native gamebirds that undoubtedly supports the over-abundance of foxes & other mesopredators. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

At what point are Rooks and other corvids going to be given special protection, similar to primates, based on their intelligence and greater capacity for suffering? In England they can be shot, trapped and kept alive as decoys to trap & kill others. Little/no enforcement of limited protections.

All new buildings in England could soon be required to incorporate bird-safe glass and other wildlife-friendly features, after peers in the House of Lords tabled a series of amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill:

This is infuriating. What is the point of a Marine Protected Area if trawlers are allowed to keep ploughing it? Yet again, the government has succumbed to commercial lobbying. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

And pitching up just south of a Black-winged Kite...

Well done RSPB, raptor fieldworkers and everyone else involved with protecting breeding Hen Harriers on United Utilities land in Bowland. Elsewhere, HH breeding results on privately-owned grouse moors are down for another year. #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/05/r...

A ringed Great Egret in Lincolnshire has been confirmed as the first-ever recovery of a Hungarian-ringed individual in Britain:

Remembering the 'great fall' of 1965 Sixty years to the day of one of the most sensational falls of migrants ever to have been documented in Britain, Moss Taylor looks back at this once-in-a-lifetime event:

This week's column. The details will make you gasp and rage. This massive desecration of nature is almost unbelievable, but it is happening in the UK right now. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Golden Eagle may soon be reintroduced in England, following the results feasibility study by Forestry England:

Stanford Reservoir - another cracking species delivered by the efforts of the ringing group this AM with this smart Wood Warbler. Only the 5th site record - birds ringed in 1977 & 1982 with 2 other non ringing group records in 1999 & 2020. Great work by the team & well deserved.

Stanford Reservoir - the ringing group deliver again. In crappy conditions with low bird numbers a 1st for the site & for Northants - BARRED WARBLER. Well deserved for the dedicated efforts of the group in their 50th year ringing at the site. Haven’t sweared so much for a while!!

Wasn't until the use of nest cameras that it became clear just how important raptors are as nest predators: Goshawks, Sparrowhawks, Red Kites, Common Buzzards, all seem to regularly take chicks from a wide range of nests. Hobbies probably do, too. Footage like this is always a tough watch, though.

An extremely rare Reed Warbler × Sedge Warbler hybrid has been ringed in Wiltshire:

For the first time in several decades, France's population of Bonelli's Eagles has surpassed 50 breeding pairs, marking a conservation milestone for the country:

We have a final piece of exciting news for you this summer. Our first ever chick to fledge from the Poole Harbour nest in 2022, female '5H1' is now breeding in the East Midlands, meaning CJ7 and 022 are now Grandparents!! www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey-news/...

Miles & miles of maize but 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 insect—in 2 days of 🚴‍♀️🚴in Brittany. Maize is mainly 🐄 feed. Linked to high pesticide use—and damaging soil erosion. Governments must be honest about the hidden costs of meat. @georgemonbiot.bsky.social warned about maize a decade ago 👇

This is astonishing. Although actually, it isn't if your values are focused on having the 'right' to shoot gamebirds in the face for a bit of fun rather than protect wild birds of high conservation value from a devastating disease. #BirdFlu #Ornithology raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/07/31/f...

A dark day for Scotland’s seabirds. We're incredibly concerned that Scottish Government have granted consent for the Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, which could catapult some of our most vulnerable species toward extinction 🚨 We will carefully scrutinise the details and consider our next steps.

Brilliant news! Let's hope the adults & 4 juvs get out of England alive, unlike some of their predecessors. The area nr Sandringham, Norfolk seems particularly risky for Montagu's. For Hen Harriers, too, come to think of it. #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/07/31/p...

Wardens and police have issued an urgent plea to dog owners after uncontrolled pets attacked a colony of Little Terns on the Norfolk coast, killing at least four chicks and endangering dozens more:

There'd also be a a big biodiversity benefit, especially in urban/suburban areas, with fewer free-roaming cats killing wildlife.

I've huge sympathy for pet owners losing animals, but if they deliberately let them out as road hazards then the main responsibility is theirs. I agree with @rspcaoffficial.bsky.social that cats should be treated like dogs: with the legal/welfare onus on owners not allowing them to roam. 2/2

Very illogical from @rspcaoffficial.bsky.social They want legal legal onus on drivers to report hitting cats that are deliberately let out to roam by owners. They compare legal requirement for cars hitting dogs, horses, cattle. But it's illegal for them to roam. 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BIG NEWS: For the first time in six years, Britain's rarest breeding bird has successfully nested in the UK! A pair of Montagu's Harriers have raised four healthy chicks, all of which have taken their first flights.

Some more brilliant news from the region! We have successfully ringed three more Osprey chicks, meet 4R3, 4R4, & 4R5. This is the 3rd year the adults have been successful with all 3 birds fledging. Let's hope we see them back in 2027!! Those talons!! #birdringing

Four adult breeding Hen Harriers 'vanished' from nest sites in Cumbria & Lancashire in May 2025 - silence from police, valiant conservation efforts from RSPB staff & volunteers. RSPB press release & some questions from me 🔽 #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/07/24/h...