Julian Hughes

Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Having declined massively in numbers and range in Britain over the last few decades, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dryobates minor is a priority...

Following the December 2025 paper on detecting& monitoring Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, we’re inviting your questions.
We’ll put them to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Network next weekend when they meet,&publish their answers soon
The paper: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
Add your questions below

🗓️ Dydd Gwener 6 Mawrth

Dewch i gymryd rhan mewn sesiwn ysgrifennu creadigol wrth i ni ddysgu am y frân goesgoch a'i chysylltiadau eiconig â'r Brenin Arthur chwedlonol 👑

Anfonwch e-bost at hanna.baguley@rspb.org.uk neu ffoniwch 07540 682905 i gadw eich lle!

#NaturamByth

🗓️ Friday 6 March

Come along and take part in a creative writing session as we learn about the chough and it's iconic connections to the legendary King Arthur 👑

Email hanna.baguley@rspb.org.uk or call 07540 682905 to reserve your spot!

#NaturamByth

Getting DOI not found...?

I was invited to be guest editor on a history journal yesterday by the same brand...

Skipping through timeline after a busy day. Initially assumed this is what you'd won last night....

Congratulations on the actual award. Well deserved.

BirdLife Malta condemns the Government’s decision to reopen new trapping licences BirdLife Malta strongly condemns the Government’s decision, announced through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU), to reopen applications for new General Trapping Licences. This move represents a...

Beyond commenting really.

Maltese gov reauthorises finch trapping in defiance of the EU law and ECJ judgements.

@jessikaroswall.ec.europe.eu needs to take immediate action.

birdlifemalta.org/2026/03/bird...

Thanks to @birdsinwales.bsky.social for the numbers. Little Auk is now rare enough for records to be assessed by @welshbirdsrarities.bsky.social.

For more on @rspbcymru.bsky.social's call to Welsh Government, read www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...

Winter storms wreck seaBIRDS A Little Auk found swimming close inshore at Trearddur Bay for a few hours last week is an increasingly rare visitor to North Wales. It really is a small auk: at 165g (6.5oz), it is less than half...

A rare, and brief, appearance by a Little Auk off #Anglesey headlines the week's @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes, as thousands more #seabirds starve in North Atlantic storms.

This and the week's other sightings in #NorthWales.

📷 John Oates #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/winter-...

Number Of Sea Bird Species In The World

17 more maps in the series: brilliantmaps.com/biodivers...

Number of days per year when temperatures exceeded 30ºC (85ºF) In Europe

Credit: Josh Holder (NYT)

Source: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/...

PhD opportunity: I am looking for someone with a passion for the natural environment and an interest in developing applied research collaboratively with the RSPB.
ONly two weeks left to apply!
#phd #ecology #rewilding #naturerecovery #bird #plant #invertebrates #biodiveristy #research #teesside

Now and the next 4 weeks are the very best time of year to find Willow Tits, which are paired and defending territories. They're at their most vocal and obvious until the leaves come out. Report all certain sightings to county recorder and @birdtrack.bsky.social to help monitor remaining populations

Natural Resources Wales has confirmed that the exclusion zone at a protected coastal site will remain for 2026, following encouraging signs of wildlife recovery during 2025 wp.me/p8Mk4U-1fZE

Hotspots of accelerated North American bird decline linked to agricultural activity Though previous research has shown that bird populations are declining across North America, a new study is the first to show that the pace of loss has picked up speed since the mid-1980s in three regions: the Midwest, California and Mid-Atlantic states.

Accelerated declines in North American bird populations since the mid-1980s are concentrated in regions with intensive agricultural activity, affecting a wide range of species and habitats.

The exclusion zone at a protected coastal site on Anglesey will remain in place for 2026, following encouraging signs of wildlife recovery during 2025.

🙅 People across Europe are demanding a lead-free future.

7 in 10 European citizens support a strong EU ban. Yet the latest draft weakens the restriction by excluding bullets.

Lead puts human, wildlife and nature health at risk. Ignoring science and public demand is not leadership.

#BanLeadNow

A rainbow forms over Gough Island

First confirmed cases of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) on Gough Island represent one of the most geographically isolated detections of HPAIV to date. But how did it get there?

Read on for a summary

Full paper: doi.org/10.1080/2222...

🧪🪶🌍
#seabirds

Good news for largest MPA Network in Europe.
#OceanOptimism #30x30

Plus there are just a few places left in Porthmadog next month on a @btocymru.bsky.social session for anyone new to @bbs-birds.bsky.social, or who would like to be.

Geese flock in but Twite fade away The recent influx of European White-fronted Geese into Britain has been unprecedented in modern Welsh ornithology. Last week, 215 of these Russian-breeding waterbirds accompanied Pink-footed Geese...

Catch up on the week's sightings in @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes, including the largest flock of European White-fronted Geese in Wales since 1979. And nice to see a flock of Twite on the Dee, but for how much longer?

📷 Dave Williams. #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/geese-f...

Chart showing the number of bird records from BirdTrack in Wales since 2000, and eBird since 2018. Over the last five years, the number of BirdTrack records has averaged 448,000, with the number from eBird increasing (average 172,000). The total from both sources in 2025 was 667,473.

I haven't repeated that for 2025, but for those two routes alone, two-thirds of records are submitted via BirdTrack and one-third via BirdTrack.

More eBird users contributed than BirdTrack users, but BirdTrack users averaged 280 records compared to 107 per eBird user. Less eBird use in winter.

Graphic showing 2024 Welsh bird records in numbers. Of 637,636 records, 423,878 (66.4%) were entered into BirdTrack and 170,676 (26.7%) were from eBird. The remainder arrived directly to county recorders (24,761), via the Local Environmental Records Centres (12,821) or via iRecord (5,230). The graphic also shows that c.4000 people contributed sightings, totalling 5.6 million birds in 26,089 complete lists in 49,573 hours of recorded effort. At least one record was received from 96% of the 10-km squares in Wales.

Interesting to see that eBird trend in RoI. For Wales in 2024, I produced this graphic to show where how records arrived, and in that year two-thirds were from BirdTrack and just over a quarter from eBird.

Goosanders?

#BirdingWales

Maps of Wales show all sites for which records were submitted to BirdTrack and eBird in 2024 (left) and 2025 (right), using the central grid reference of each user's site

Taking a dive into the wealth of data produced by users of @birdtrack.bsky.social and @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social eBird in Wales in 2025 for @birdsinwales.bsky.social Report.

Number of users, records and time spent were up almost 20% on 2024. Thank you @btobirds.bsky.social for the data pack.

Certainly looks the right size, but hard to tell from a single photo and without a look at the head/bill size.

This is becoming a pervasive issue, for example involving the sidelining of actual experts and the heaping of pressure on regulatory bodies to move forward with dubious (re)introductions. A quick ecology 101 for ‘conservation gurus’. Thread 🌍🦗🦋🪶🦬🧪1/

Buglife Jobs: Senior Conservation Officer - Natur am Byth! | Uwch-swyddog Cadwraeth - Natur am Byth! Latest vacancy at Buglife - Senior Conservation Officer - Natur am Byth! | Uwch-swyddog Cadwraeth - Natur am Byth!. Browse our range of Jobs, Volunteering and Internship positions available.

#SwyddiGwylltCymru #WalesWildlifeJobs
Senior Conservation Officer | Uwch-swyddog Cadwraeth – Natur am Byth! gyda/with Buglife

www.buglife.org.uk/job/senior-c...

Dyddiad cau / closing date: 02/03/26

"Biodiversity, forests, and healthy landscapes matter—not only for their own sake, but because they shape the everyday experiences through which nature supports a good life."

But not everyone benefits equally: access, safety and inclusion in natural spaces influences participation.