Late evening dash down to Budleigh Salterton gave very decent views of the Baird's Sandpiper on the LORP reserve with added bonus of Osprey over heading south. #ukbirding

Nice birding back in Avon over past 2 days. Red-backed Shrike showed nicely at Portbury early evening w/ 1 Willow Warbler, 18 Chiffs, 10 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler & 2 Spotted Flycatcher at Sand Point earlier. Balearic Shearwater was a Sand Point patch tick yday evening! @bristolbirding.bsky.social

Pendeen (07:00-11:00): 7 Common Scoter, 4 Grey Phalarope, 8 Sabine’s Gull, 5 Sandwich Tern, 10 Arctic Tern, 4 Great Skua, 2 Arctic Skua & 4 Great Shearwater. @runnelstone.bsky.social @marshallpaul.bsky.social

Cheddar Reservoir this evening: c.15 Ringed Plover, 6 Curlew Sandpiper, c.25 Dunlin, 2 Little Stint, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Tern, 1 Arctic Tern, 4 Black Tern, 2 Glossy Ibis, 80 House Martin & 1 Yellow Wagtail. #somersetbirds #ukbirding

Few pics from my recent tour of the highlands & coasts of northern Scotland (24-29/08): Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Grey Partridge, Red-throated Diver and Golden Eagle were all life ticks, w/ supporting cast of Black Guillemot, Black-throated Diver, White-tailed Eagle & Barred Warbler. #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope: 1 Swift, 205 Ringed Plover, 3 Knot, 2 Curlew Sandpiper, 7 Sanderling, 1 GBB Gull, 6 S. Martin, 520 Swallow, 210 H. Martin, 1 Firecrest, 2 Spotted Fly, 2 Whinchat, 6 Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wag, 3 Grey Wag, 11 Tree Pipit & 1 Clouded Yellow. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope AM: 1 Greenshank, 7 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler, 14 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 9 Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 1 Yellow Wag and a patch tick Corn Bunting! Hobby over my house later. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Rewarding weekend sea watching at Porthgwarra with @runnelstone.bsky.social. 1 Blackwit, 1 Ruff, 11 Sanderling, 2 Snipe, 1 distant Black Tern, 200+ Arctic Tern, 70 Common Tern, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Great Skua, 1 Wilson's Petrel, 1 Euro Stormie, 1+ Great Shearwater & 1 Sooty Shearwater. #ukbirding

Willow Emerald showing very nicely earlier today at a local site near Puxton (W-s-M). Amazing how well this species has spread across the U.K. in the past 20 years! #damselflies

Cracking few hours at Slimbridge yesterday: Garganey, 7 Crane, Little Ringed Plover, 172 Blackwit, 14 Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, 5 Ruff, Caspian Tern (life tick), 2 Spoonbill & 5 Yellow Wagtail. @slimbridge-wild.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope AM: 1 Whimbrel, 125 Curlew (Sand Bay), 1 Marsh Harrier over east, 5 Sand Martin, 11 Swallow, 4 (1 juv) Willow Warbler, 21 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 9 Lesser Whitethroat, 25 Whitethroat, 1 Grey Wagtail & 7 Meadow Pipit. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Nice views of a single Brown Hairstreak at Alners Gorse in Dorset yesterday (19/07/25) with supporting cast of Garden Warbler, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, 3 Purple Hairstreak, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma & 3 Silver-washed Fritillary. #ukbutterflies

Waldegrave Pool (Priddy) v. low on water on Sunday w/ just a small refuge left holding 2 Broad-bodied Chaser & 3 Keeled Skimmer. Southern pool was more productive w/ Red-eyed Damselfly, 2 Large Red Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer & Ruddy Darter. #ukdragonflies

Silverlake, Dorset (12/07/25): 5 Small Red-eyed Damselfly, 4 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 5 Emerald Damselfly, 6 Emperor Dragonfly, 7 Scarlet Darter, 3 Four-spotted Chaser, c.30 Black-tailed Skimmer, 4 Keeled Skimmer, 2 Red-veined Darter & 5 Common Darter. #ukdragonflies

Bernwood Forest (Oxford): 11 Purple Hairstreak, 4 Small Copper, 6 Purple Emperor, 34 Silver-washed Fritillary, 21 Marbled White, 4 Gatekeeper, c.200 Meadow Brown, c.400 Ringlet, 2 juv Marsh Tit in subsong w/supporting cast of Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler & Spotted Fly. #ukbutterflies

Ham Wall/Shapwick Heath (22/06/25): 1 late Cuckoo calling, 1 Bittern, 1 Hobby, 3 Garden Warbler, 1 Red-eyed Damselfly, 8 Brown Hawker, 1 Lesser Emperor, 12 Scarce Chaser, 400+ Four-spotted Chaser 2 Black-tailed Skimmer & 2 White Admiral. #ukbutterflies #ukdragonflies

Haddon Hill (21/06/25): 5 Red Kite, 1 Wood Warbler, 32 Willow Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Redstart, 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Redpoll, 2 Crossbill, 15 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, 15 Large Skipper, 1 Green Hairstreak, 1 Small Copper & 1 Painted Lady. Unfortunately no Heath Fritillaries.

Priddy Pools (15/06/25): 2 Downy Emerald, 13 Four-spotted Chaser, 5 Black-tailed Skimmer, 4 Large Skipper, 2 Comma, 1 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 2 Dark Green Fritillary, 13 Meadow Brown, 3 Small Heath, 3 Ringlet & 15+ Southern Marsh Orchid. #ukbutterflies #ukdragonflies

Late evening WhatsApp alert for Desert Wheatear had me scrambling over to Keynsham for an early morning visit. Was rewarded with stunning views! @bristolbirding.bsky.social

Westhay Moor (08/06/25): 30 Swift, 3 Cuckoo, 2 Hobby, Garden Warbler, Spotted Fly, ++ Azure/Variable/Blue-tailed, 1 Red-eyed Damselfly, 1 Brown Hawker, 1 Norfolk Hawker, 3 Emperor, 1 Broad-bodied, 3 Four-spotted, 6 Scarce Chaser, 2 Black-tailed Skimmer & 20 Small Tortoiseshell. #ukdragonflies

Fontmell/Melbury Downs: 2 RL Partridge, 1 L. Whitethroat, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Stoat, 3 Large, 1 Dingy Skipper, 3 Brown Argus, 32 Adonis Blue, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 6 Marbled White & 36 Small Heath. Silver-studded Blue photo taken in New Forest the other day. #ukbutterflies

Normandy Marsh in Hampshire absolutely alive with terns on a brief visit there last week, with both Common and Little Tern present and very active. Shame the pair of Roseate Terns were not around this year but a pair of Med Gulls were nice to see. #ukbirding

Made a trip to see the Common/Sandwich Tern colonies on Brownsea Island last week and was awarded with very close views of both species. Even got to practice taking photos in flight! Several Med Gulls present too. #ukbirding

Nice to get close-up views of some of the common U.K. migrants whilst I was in Poland. Both Redstart and Black Redstart were very regular in all of the villages, with Spotted Flycatchers absolutely everywhere! #Bialowieza

Four nests have been found so far across Devon and Somerset, including one brood of six). There’s still time to find more this week @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Spent some time around Biebrza National Park during my recent trip to Poland. Montagu's Harrier, Great Grey Shrike, Blue-headed & Citrine Wagtail were all lifers for me but Whiskered Tern & Bluethroat also showed well. Picked up Ortolan Bunting on the way there, which was another lifer! #Biebrza

Sensational views of Pygmy Owl and Lesser Spotted Eagle in the Bialowieza Forest in Poland last week. Plenty of other raptors too with an Osprey seen attacking a White-tailed Eagle and a Honey Buzzard over.

Small selection of some of the many warbler species I encountered in Poland. These included Barred, Grasshopper, River, Savi's, Marsh, Great Reed, Icterine & Wood Warbler, with the highlight being the now increasingly rare and endangered Aquatic Warbler. #Bialowieza

Back from Poland now. What an amazing trip! Saw 8 species of Woodpecker incl 3 life ticks (Black, White-backed & Three-toed). So nice to see a place where much of the natural forest is still intact & where so many species now lost in the UK are thriving. Great company too! @ianhayes.bsky.social

Day 6 in eastern Poland: White-winged Black Tern (pic taken on iPhone 15!). Plenty of Black Terns too w/ Caspian Gull, Greater Spotted Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, White-tailed Eagle, Hoopoe, Black Woodpecker, Barred Warbler, Bluethroat, Crested Tit, Blue-headed Wagtail & Citrine Wagtail also seen.

Superb trip yesterday evening to see Great Snipe lek in eastern Poland. Quail and Corncrake also singing around the lek area and this Elk seen on the journey there. Nice to see Woodcock flying over too. #bialowezia

Forest of Dean: 2 Wood Warbler, 14 Willow Warbler, 3 Garden Warbler, 2 Firecrest, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Pied Flycatcher & 2 Tree Pipit. Arctic Skua & Guillemot off Sand Point this morning and LRP seen today elsewhere. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Red-footed Falcon from Ham Wall this afternoon. The bird was mostly circling w/ 4+ Hobby and c.50 Swift but perched just long enough to get a photo. Other highlight from today was a possible Red-rumped Swallow over St. Thomas's Head nr W-s-M. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Fantastic time at Slimbridge today. 1 Garganey, 5 Crane, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Temminck's Stint, 1 Glossy Ibis & the Bluethroat still showing. Great to catch up with a few people too! @slimbridge-wild.bsky.social #ukbirding

My best ever day birding in Somerset. Purple Heron showed brilliantly at Shapwick at 17:30. Goshawk, 7 Wood Warbler, 7 Firecrest, 5 Spotted Fly, 8 Pied Fly, 1 Tree Pipit & 3 Crossbill on the Quantocks and patch year✅Hobby over Middle Hope early. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Some lovely views of another Spotted Flycatcher today around Sand Point car park. Other highlights incl a Goosander upchannel, 23 Gannet up (on welsh side), 26 Swallow, 2 H. Martin, 6 Lesser Whitethroat, 30 Whitethroat, 4 Yellow Wag, 4 Tree Pipit & 1 Redpoll. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Last night there was a moorland fire in the valley where most of England's twite are now nesting. This is terrible news. (Photo: Tim Walker)

Sand Point/Middle Hope: Female Cuckoo still present today & being mobbed by pair of Mipits. Vismig: 1 Swift, 21 Arctic Tern, 1 Fulmar, 9 Gannet, 1 Spotted Fly, 1 Yellow Wag. Present: 2 Garden Warbler, 6 L. Whitethroat, 33 Whitethroat, 2 Whinchat & 1 Tree Pipit. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope: 4 Common Scoter, 1 Cuckoo, 50 Whimbrel, 24 Barwit, 1 Sandwich Tern, 2 Arctic Skua, 4 H. Martin, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Garden Warbler, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 30 Whitethroat, 3 Spotted Fly, 1 Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 3 Yellow Wag & 1 Tree Pipit. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Brilliant birding today w/ 1 Common Scoter, 1 Swift, 20 Commic, 3 Sandwich Tern, 5 Little Gull, 4 Gannet, 2 Yellow Wag, 4 Tree Pipit & 1 Redpoll off Middle Hope & 3 Spotted Flycatcher grounded. Quantocks later produced 2+ Wood Warbler, 9 Pied Fly & 1 Redstart. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Trip up the Brecon Beacons today: 2 Cuckoo, 4 Wood Warbler, 33 Willow Warbler, 3 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 6 Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 4 Dipper, 5 Tree Pipit, 2 Redpoll & 4 Siskin. #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope: 7 Whimbrel, 77 Arctic Tern, 212 Commic Tern, 1 Arctic Skua (video below), 1 Great White Egret, 90 Swallow, 39 House Martin, 1 Sedge, 1 Reed, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 10 Yellow Wag, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 28 Whitethroat & 2 Wheatear. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope AM: 10 Whimbrel, c.160 Swallow, 10 House Martin, 7 Willow Warbler, 3 Grasshopper Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 20 Whitethroat, 2 Redstart, 18 Yellow Wagtail (site spring record!) & 7 Tree Pipit. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Another excellent day birding with Cirl Bunting at St. Thomas's Head this morning whilst on the BOC walk (2nd patch record & 2nd in Avon this century) and Whiskered Tern at Durleigh Reservoir this afternoon. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope AM: 1 Egyptian Goose over, 6 Whimbrel, 1 Osprey, 8 Jay, 6 Swallow, 22 Willow Warbler, 24 Chiffchaff, 13 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, 4 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Grey Wag, 32 Mipit & 2 Tree Pipit. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope AM: 839 Woodies, 1 Cuckoo, 21 S. Martin, 39 Swallow, 4 H. Martin, 27 Ww Warbler, 43 Chiffs, 1 Gropper, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Nuthatch (patch ✅), 6 Redstart, 5 Wheatear, 289 Mipit, 14 Tree Pipit, 1 Y. Wag, 328 Linnet, 1 Redpoll & 236 Goldfinch. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope: Site record count of Meadow Pipits with 1350 over, heading upchannel. Other highlights incl: 47 Sand Martin, 31 Swallow, 7 House Martin, 5 Willow Warbler, 23 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 1 m Redstart, 5 Tree Pipit, 23 Linnet & 77 Goldfinch. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Nice selection of migrants at Middle Hope w/ 2 v. mobile Ring Ouzels the highlight. Good passage overhead: 2 S. Dove, 336 Woodpigeon, 4 S. Martin, 21 Swallow, 9 H. Martin, 1 Wheatear, 1 White Wag, 472 Mipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 185 Linnet, 3 Redpoll & 178 Goldfinch. @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Sand Point/Middle Hope highlights from today: 1 Mediterranean Gull, 47+ Gannet, 1 Red Kite, 3 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler (1st of the year), 10 Chiffchaff, 1 Firecrest, 80 Redwing, 21 Fieldfare, 238 Mipit, 39 Chaffinch & 1 Siskin. Brimstone & Speckled Wood also @bristolbirding.bsky.social #ukbirding

Three LSW were heard (one seen) on a Somerset OS Quantock walk today looking for signs and holes of woodpeckers. Sadly no LSW encounters yesterday on the same route, despite better weather. Thanks to the brave folk who braved the hills and I hope we find more territories and nest sites this year.