Obligatory blog post, written from Copeland #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/05/otmo...

Very pleased to pick up this Black Kite at Otmoor today whilst teaching Biology field course with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social. Not the most satisfying find, being a speck confirmed from photos as it headed north. Apparently also seen well by an independent observer 15mins earlier over the main reserve

Rather behind with my blogging, particularly on the South Africa series. So a quick one about the recent AGP and thoughts on Oxfordshire listing #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/05/amer...

In addition to my own blog, I've been tasked with rejuvenating Adam's original Port Meadow Birding blog. Have now done a few patch updates, quite an impressive list of sightings last month - want it to be more like a log book than my blog #ukbirding portmeadowbirding.blogspot.com/2026/05/apri...

Well that livened up a dull bank holiday Monday! Nothing quite like finding a local mega on your patch. Amazing to see so many familiar faces come and go. Another splendid evening at Broom GP. Kentish Plover, 4th May 2026 #BedsBiding

1/ A fantastic Oxon Big Day by Bike yesterday, with @sheldonbirds.bsky.social @tmbirding.bsky.social & Max Buckley. 115 species is 3 short of our record, weather was too good this year! Covered 175km by bike, 15km on foot: www.outofthebluesky.co/oxon-big-day... #UKbirding #BirdingByBike #BigDay

Similar conditions for #PWC2026 with the waders passing straight through - Barwit again early yesterday and this morning a Wood Sand flyover going high north calling. Everything crossed for Black Tern - no way that they'd hang around in this weather so have to be there at the right time #ukbirding

Just shows you don't need cloud and rain for a wader fall. Blasting easterly and not a cloud in the sky but somehow still a flock of 10 Greenshanks, a Barwit and a Whimbrel on the puddle this morning. The two singles departed southeast shortly after I arrived #ukbirding

Round up of some fantastic county birds in March, topped by an excellent Ring-billed Gull found by @tmbirding.bsky.social. April looks set to continue the great form the county is currently in, quite the start to 2026. oxonbirding.blogspot.com/2026/04/marc... #UKBirding

Nice lunchtime visit to twitch @tombedford.bsky.social's urban Redstart, a male singing on Warneford Meadow just a few minutes walk from my house. Fabulous bird especially against the ominous grey sky #ukbirding

Now with updated images - realised how blown out most of the originals were now that I've processed them properly...

The introduction and Part 1 of my South Africa blog are now published. Beware that this post is extremely long - so long, in fact, that I'm not sure how I'm going to find the time to keep this up for the rest of the trip tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/sout... tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/sout...

An amazing 3 minutes in the Lye Valley, Oxford this morning, as an OSPREY circled over the Churchill Hospital before flying north! 🤯 ebird.org/checklist/S3... An incredible new species for the Lye Valley area! @friendlyevalley.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social @headingtonnews.bsky.social

Went with Max Buckley for another look at the Otmoor American Wigeon this morning and ended up finding a Green-winged Teal! Surely not many inland sites have had a day with "the double", so I'm very pleased with this! A self-found tick for me as well, hopefully it moves to Port Meadow now #ukbirding

Have added a new page to my blog to record Port Meadow daily sightings, collated mostly from eBird and WhatsApp groups, just to have it all in once place for spring migration. Will aim to backdate it to the beginning of the year when I have a spare evening tmbirding.blogspot.com/p/port-meado...

The Port Meadow Ring-billed Gull blog post is now out, photos will be replaced in due course with better versions as I don't currently have the computer I usually use for image processing with me. Some identification pointers inside #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-da...

An appalling record shot in the gloom this evening of a very good find - @tmbirding.bsky.social pulled a first winter Ring-billed Gull out of the hat at Port Meadow. A really superb find and reward for much dedication. Fortunately there are some much better photos!

Apparently patch birding does all come good in the end. 1w Ring-billed Gull this evening and glad some people managed to connect after my rather garbled attempt at putting news out. Blog post to follow #ukbirding

Blogging slowly continues #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/smal...

Traditional collage of record shots of a rewarding yr's local birding. Highlights: Red-foot, Savi's Warb, Marsh Sand, Bluethroat, Twite & Tundra Bean; most of all friendly year-listing with @conormackenzie.bsky.social @tmbirding.bsky.social Simon Myers & Peerawant Chiaranunt collectively 202 species

Starting to focus on the blog again, ahead of preparing South Africa write-up #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2025/12/patc...

More of the current wild goose influx today with @tmbirding.bsky.social's flock of 21 Russian White-fronted Geese on Port Meadow a rare chance to see undoubtedly wild birds at this urban site. Inevitably disturbed by dogs off lead - hard to conceive that there was once a regular wintering flock here

Just landed in South Africa for birding trip and upon opening my phone the first message I see concerns a Spotted Redshank on Port Meadow (would be a patch tick). Disastrous scenes

Like many others enjoyed the two Pallid Swifts and Dusky Warbler at Foreness Point this morning, no opportunity for frame filling photos unfortunately as the birds were high over the housing estate but pleased to get a few shots with both in the frame #ukbirding

Sorry for the late news, ridiculously busy first couple of hours so not had time to post a photo of the Black-faced Bunting trapped in the Crown Estate Field on the first net round of the day - ta to Duncan Walbridge for this pic

As usual it seems I've totally failed at finding my own birds during my visit to Portland but at least managed to connect with this Pallas's Warbler at Avalanche Road this morning - a particularly difficult individual to see and photograph well #ukbirding

Could not believe my eyes whilst surveying on Wraysbury Reservoir this morning when this juvenile Sabine’s Gull flew into view. Incredible views of a species I’ve only seen once before - just wish I had a better camera! #UKbirding @berksbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

A 1cy Caspian Gull currently in Sennen Cove. Digiscoped pic as it's miles off on the island #cornwallbirds #ukbirding

One of the most incredible WTF!! moments I have witnessed in 41 years birding Belvide. 8 White-rumped Sandpiper on the north shore between 4pm-5.30pm. Just short of a British Record of 11 on the outer Hebrides. Thought I'd lost the plot when I saw them. Still pinching myself. #UKbirding

Quick turnaround for a blog post about today's Bluethroat event in Oxfordshire, written from Flamborough #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2025/10/last...

Dual blog posts summarising local birding and some trips away over the past couple of months. Now I've got the backlog cleared can hopefully be a bit more timely with future trip reports this autumn! #ukbirding tmbirding.blogspot.com/2025/09/loca... tmbirding.blogspot.com/2025/09/non-...

Yellow-browed Bunting trapped, ringed and released at the Swannery. It's flown to the hedge which runs alongside the Swannery grounds and the bird may be viewable from the permissive path heading west from Grove Lane.

Getting in on the influx - Glossy Ibis just flown low west over Port Meadow just now, photo taken straight into the sun! Think this is the 7th one I have seen on patch #ukbirding

Collected leaf-mines of Dialectica scalariella on Viper's Bugloss/Echium vulgare from Freshwater Bay, Portland (VC 9) on 13th Sept - adults emerged on 25th Sept @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Some good vismig on patch with the change in wind over the past two days so decided to go out ringing yesterday with @plewin.bsky.social and caught over 200 birds. 81 Chiff, 33 Blackcap, 33 Mipit, a late Whitethroat and the first Stonechat ringed on site being the highlights #ukbirding

LESSER KESTREL on #StKilda! Retrospectively identified from Will Miles' excellent images on 16th Sept. We'd recorded a Kestrel from 12th, possibly the same bird, but sadly not relocated today. @birdguides.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @hebridesbirds.bsky.social

With @tmbirding.bsky.social finding so many Caspian Gulls at Portland, I was hopeful some might make it to Keyhaven (still scarce here). At least two 1w birds yesterday and a third today, plus a bonus distant Grey Phal #patchbirding #ukbirding #hantsbirds

The Portland Caspian Gull deluge continued today with at least 3 new birds (3 seen together at Culverwell + another or one of the same on this morning's seawatch). Wrecked Sabine's in Chesil Cove also good to see after fleeting views of one off the Bill earlier this week #ukbirding

A new and rather pristine-looking cachinnans today. Pied Fly best of the rest of this morning's efforts #ukbirding

Seemingly a small influx of Caspian Gulls at Portland in amongst thousands of gulls brought in by inclement weather - 3 in the area including this massive male showing point blank off the Bill @portlandbirdobs.bsky.social #ukbirding

BOOTED WARBLER trapped in the Crown Estate Field

Stonking Oxon county Mega on Friday in the form of a Marsh Sandpiper. Write-up here: oxfordbirder.blogspot.com/2025/09/oxon... Photos courtesy of @tmbirding.bsky.social

Not the storm-driven small gull (or spinny wader...) that I was hoping to find, but these are always such a delight - adult winter Little Gull currently at Farmoor, dip-feeding on F2 #ukbirding

I was about to give up in the miserable weather on Saturday when I noticed an unusually large roost of gulls on Keyhaven Lagoon. Persistence led to patch gold - Bonaparte's Gull! Appears to be the 1st for the reserve. #patchbirding #ukbirding #hantsbirds

Had a pleasant time yesterday evening watching this juvenile Little Stint at Farmoor (before all the Marsh Sand excitement). Interesting to see that its favourite food was flying insects. Photos were a bit soft in the poor light and intermittent heavy rain but managed to salvage a few #ukbirding

Ropey pic of the juvenile Marsh Sandpiper found yesterday at Standlake Pit 60 by Jeremy Dexter but not confirmed until this morning. In the pouring rain! #ukbirding

Autumn getting into full swing at our Oxford ringing site today 🍂 62 birds, mostly blackcap and chiffchaff. Highlights were the first willow warbler of the autumn, a juvenile female Sparrowhawk, a rare pulse of acros for the site and the hoped-for addition of tree pipit to the site ringing list!

After getting back from Suffolk at midnight it was a brutal turnaround to be out ringing on patch early morning, thankfully paid off with this Tree Pipit. After ticking this species heard only last week was a joy to see in the hand. Less happy about a flyover WTE report this afternoon 😡 #ukbirding

Zitting cisticola Walberswick, Suffolk, 23/08/2025 I thought I was having a good day with an image of one of the juveniles from the 1st recorded breeding of Zitting cisticola in the UK. On review I found four juveniles and the adult female🤯 @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #suffolkbirding #ukbirding

Just watching Black Stork at Boyton Marshes and had two Dotterel in off the sea calling, did a couple of passes of the fields but don't think they landed #ukbirding