Six, wild, twite returned to a breeding site in the Pennines on Friday
(📸: M Rowell)

There appear to be some birding applications for the Allister Heath headline generator. #UKBirding

Rather modest record shots of Red flanked Bluetail near Gressenhall, this morning. A 'lifer' for me. A popular bird, and my thanks to the knowledgeable local birders helping to spot this mobile bird to visitors. #Norfolkbirding

Muscovy is surely - are you going soft 🤪

you should get a little flurry of returning Redwings headed home mid March to early April all being well

@bsky.app Adult and 1 cy Red Kite at @nosterfieldnr.bsky.social today

No UK eBird records of Rough-legged Buzzard from 2026 yet (below); this species will likely be rarer nationally than Black-winged Kite in future. Both very visible signs of climate (and land-use) driven range shifts #UKBirding #Ornithology

There was a modest roost of c. 150 Dunlin and 100 ringed plovers at high tide on Gunner Point, Hayling Island. Down from the c. 1000 birds a couple of weeks ago. #ukbirding

In this recent paper in Journal of Ornithology, I used citizen-science data (Macaulay library) to resolves disputed subspecies limits in the lesser spotted woodpecker across the Balkans and Minor Asia.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Thank you for sending us the information about your paper. Well done, all very interesting

An increase in eastbound wildfowl passage offshore was todays highlight, including over 400 Brent Geese: www.dungenessbirdobs.org.uk

Agree- if I was her I’d put it right back on the table for this year

The UK has joined the PURL initiative to purchase US weapons for Ukraine. Defense Secretary John Healey told Politico that London will fund £150 million in US arms for Kyiv. About three quarters of NATO’s 32 members have joined the program, along with Australia and New Zealand. #Ukraine

The calmness of fog

Tundra bean goose at @nosterfieldnr.bsky.social late afternoon @nybirdnews.bsky.social #NEBirding

2026 is Already HELL for the Russians in Ukraine YouTube video by Jake Broe

It's past time for Ukraine to get NATO membership, #NATO soldiers in Ukraine & full weaponry support. Great news source on the Russian imperial war against Ukraine from Jake Broe. I Follow back #NAFO. #SupportUkraine #SupportDemocracy #SlavaUkraini
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8o3...

U.S. finds Ukraine did not try to kill Putin in alleged drone strike, source says Ukraine had been aiming to hit a military target in the same region as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s country residence, a source with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

A CIA assessment concluded that Ukraine did not try to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin at his country residence as alleged by the Kremlin.

www.nbcnews.com/world/europe...

Ukraine has warned that Russia is preparing a large-scale provocation

Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦

Absolutely monster!
Huge juv White-tailed Eagle on the river bank near Ellerton this afternoon from Thorganby. Looks to be unringed and untagged. Cheers @ldvbirder.bsky.social, @ollie333.bsky.social and @timsbirding.bsky.social for news Merry Christmas! @yorkbirding.bsky.social @ldvnnr.bsky.social

A late yank passerine roosting in the chimney no doubt 😜

Birdtrack sent me notifications about birds I'd reported this year, asking me to provide detailed descriptions of birds like Great White Egret and Little Ringed Plover. The former is a regular visitor to Lochwinnoch and the latter has bred successfully there for several years now. #BirdingScotland

More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland Further to the news yesterday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Police Scotland has…

Press release from Police Scotland 🔽

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/18/m...

😡In a final vote, the European Parliament stripped away remaining environmental safeguards in EU farm policy.

Two rushed “simplifications” gutted years of progress, giving Big Agri what it wanted: public money to pollute, no strings attached.

Here’s what we lost ⬇️

Russian White-fronted Geese in the Triangle, Spurn 7/12/25

Adult Russian White-fronted Goose, Spurn 7/12/25

“Should be some White-fronts around” were my words to Mrs B. as we walked the Outstrays yesterday, so nice to see 4 in the Triangle at Spurn this morning while the sun was still out #spurnbirds

Elmo has no clue

Kestrel and Fieldfare at Nosterfield nature reserve on the 3rd. #UKBirding

Individual Ospreys retain some distinguishing underwing patterns from year to year - though that only shows that can be possible and may not apply to a completely different species

I don't know. They arrived from south heading north, then when they saw the sea turned and headed east along the north coast of Sutherland. They don't breed here. Only other signs of migration in species I have seen in Highland was a March flock of 2.5k in Brora, too many to be local breeders

CEO of Birdwatch Ireland says buzzards aren’t to blame for decline in wild bird species – ‘It’s entirely the fault of humans’ Suggestions that the buzzard is responsible for the dramatic decline in native bird species in Co Wexford have been dismissed by the CEO of Birdwatch Ireland. Responding to an article in The Wexford P...

CEO of BirdWatch Ireland says Buzzards aren’t to blame for decline in wild bird species – ‘It’s entirely the fault of humans': www.independent.ie/regionals/we...