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Mark Lewis

@fatpaulscholes

Birder: patch birding , sound recording, migration, and rare birds occasionally

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Latest posts by Mark Lewis @fatpaulscholes

Definitely of interest! Really great that we have these areas of ‘constant effort’ to help answer questions like this! Thanks. Would be interesting to see a similar dataset for the Scillies.

26.02.2026 22:58 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Hello Alan! Yes - if you signed up to the conference you will receive a link to the recordings next week I believe. If you didn’t sign up then let me know and I will forward it on (just don’t get me into trouble with SOC for doing so!)

26.02.2026 13:12 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

And more great stuff to come tonight…

26.02.2026 08:26 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Thanks again for all of the support Steve. Two really great, totally different but totally complementary talks tonight.

25.02.2026 20:48 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Thanks for the feedback Steve and really glad you enjoyed it.

24.02.2026 22:28 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Still time to sign up for this today! But don’t wait, the sign-up form will go down before the end of the week #BirdingScotland

19.02.2026 07:02 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Yeah I agree. I think with the number of gulls that were along the beach earlier there could easily be two around, but it’s not possible to say with these pics.

08.02.2026 20:21 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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I think you could make a reasonable case for these being different birds! Not sure you could be sure, but it looked different when I saw it....

08.02.2026 19:59 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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A few more photos of this bird today, from about a km up the beach in Aberdeen bay. Not sure they add much that will change the outcome but the primary pattern is clear here.

08.02.2026 15:06 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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We're delighted to be celebrating 90 years of the SOC with a talk, Q+A & book signing from wildlife cameraman, author & TV presenter, Hamza Yassin. Don’t miss this inspiring celebration! Book your place to be part of this milestone event in our history. Tickets: £10 - £20. See tinyurl.com/3ab3ujw2

29.01.2026 14:45 👍 18 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 1

#BirdingScotland

10.01.2026 20:06 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Great news from the SOC that loads of folks are already signed up to join us at the end of February. I don’t think there’s a limit to numbers so it’s not too late to sign up now too!

10.01.2026 20:04 👍 10 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1

Come and hear more from the author about the birds behind this book at the free online SOC/SBRC conference in February! www.the-soc.org.uk/pages/event/...

21.12.2025 07:07 👍 8 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Just like permanently having ear-binoculars. Sounds good to me!

18.12.2025 21:30 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Scottish Birds Records Committee Online Conference The SOC

You can sign up here: www.the-soc.org.uk/pages/event/.... Sign up once for all three nights and dip in and out as you please. For FREE. Did I mention that? You do not need to be an SOC member or based in Scotland to join. All welcome! #BirdingScotland #RareBirdsUK #UKbirding

18.12.2025 21:14 👍 22 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 3

Alex Lees - Global change and the future of vagrancy

Ross Ahmed - North American landbirds in Scotland and beyond...

Mark Lewis – What's first next?

Ok, so the ending might be a bit of a damp squib…. But there should be plenty there to keep birders from Scotland, the UK and Europe interested in!

18.12.2025 21:14 👍 11 🔁 1 💬 2 📌 0

Paul Dufour - Why lost birds matter: What the study of vagrancy can reveal about bird migration

Dave Douglas - Finding rare birds on Scotland's underwatched frontiers, illustrated by 15 years on Sanday

Niall Keogh - Birds on a Boat

18.12.2025 21:14 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

The line up of speakers and talks looks like this:

Ian Andrews - Fair Isle Bird Observatory: revelations from a million records collected over 75 years

Scott Reid - Madeiran Monsoon: Two years of the Challenger Expedition

Alan Lauder - Trends in migrant birds on the Isle of May

18.12.2025 21:14 👍 9 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Christmas can be an expensive time of year, so how about something for free?

The @scottishbirding.bsky.social and Scottish Birds Records Committee are hosting a FREE online conference over the evenings of February 24th to the 26th. Three talks per night and some real belters among them.

18.12.2025 21:14 👍 52 🔁 29 💬 1 📌 5

Sono looks good for OBP. Reaches 8 kHz and less modulation than in tree pip.

08.11.2025 07:36 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

For any bird recorders who want to easily convert eBird data into a more recorder friendly format

12.10.2025 07:11 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

It was never me processing the data, but I think the intention was that once amalgamated, records would be assessed (where necessary) in the normal way.

11.10.2025 18:35 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

It was developed by @d.bradnum@bluesky.social . I reckon he’ll be a much better person to ask about it!

11.10.2025 18:26 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

But even if they can’t effect that much change on the recording scene overwhelmingly everything else they do is worthy of support. Glad you decided to stick with it - from someone who had a similar wobble, let my membership lapse and then re-joined!

11.10.2025 05:47 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Completely agree with Steve’s assessment. SOC is a force for good, bringing county recorders together for meetings being a great example. What SOC can achieve in this area is really limited as ultimately recorders can do whatever they want (and not all are affiliated with SOC.

11.10.2025 05:47 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Hi Jared, the conversion tool you talk about does exist - converting eBird data to BirdTrack and recorder friendly things like grid refs, Uk naming conventions etc. I think in Borders the issue is a personal dislike of eBird/loyalty to the BTO and BirdTrack. Not much else to it, unfortunately.

11.10.2025 05:41 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 3 📌 0
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Awful pics, but any thoughts on what these two dark hybrids are? Barnacle crossed with something, obvs…

30.09.2025 17:20 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Ooooof. My only record was in late September too. One I thought might remain a blocker for a while…

21.09.2025 17:10 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

You’ll be glad when they’re no longer description spp!

28.08.2025 18:42 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I’m hearing that a lot this year

28.08.2025 11:53 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0