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
British Birds packing for the BTO conference 2026. Caption reads: See you there!
We’re excited to be at the @btobirds.bsky.social conference tomorrow and look forward to learning about all the great research underway and the upcoming monitoring work planned.
#BTOConference2026 #ornithology #research
BB eye: A birder’s guide to High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI)
A clear, timely overview of bird flu, outbreak history, and how we monitor its impacts on wild bird populations.
📰 Open access until the end of February!
🔗 britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
📸 Common Crane, by David Tipling
CALLING ALL YOUNG BIRDERS!
The British Birds Charitable Trust awards grants to young birders to encourage them in their birding. Successful projects have included research, habitat conservation, ringing, and visiting an observatory.
Read more & apply: britishbirds.co.uk/grants/how-t...
With love in the air this month, we delve in to the stories of three species published in British Birds.
20.02.2026 19:14 — 👍 14 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Get a taste for British Birds in this month's Open Access paper:
BB eye: A birder’s guide to High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza
britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
Britain’s first Western Olivaceous Warbler Iduna opaca was discovered on Whalsay, Shetland, on 20th October 2023. It remained on 21st October, when it was trapped and ringed.
17.02.2026 18:25 — 👍 22 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
Little Tern flying over colony, Beacon Ponds, Spurn, by Thomas Willoughby
In this month’s News & Comment: A new study examines how breeding Little Terns respond behaviourally to different types of human disturbance.
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
📸Thomas Willoughby
Delighted to see this Sparrowhawk photo on the front cover of @britishbirds.bsky.social February 2026 issue. Photo taken at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen from the Fen Hide on the 2nd October 2025. Incredibly lucky to get an in-focus photo, as it sped past the hide on a hunting mission.
10.02.2026 11:00 — 👍 21 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
Using data from the International Swan Census, the Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme, and recent GPS-tracking, this paper examines the subset of the Iceland/UK & Ireland population that winters at the Ouse Washes
britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
The Shropshire Eurasian Curlew population of around 160 pairs in 2010 represented over 20% of the roughly 500 pairs in southern England (south of a line from the Dee Estuary to The Wash), highlighting its regional and national importance for the species.
10.02.2026 18:25 — 👍 15 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
A study of Ordnance Survey data has revealed a marked increase in the number of new road names inspired by bird species that have undergone severe population declines and continue to be pushed closer to the brink.
Read more:
Do you like to keep hard copies of British Birds neatly displayed on your bookshelf? Why not consider having each annual volume bound?
Have your journal professionally bound by Blissetts Bookbinders, resulting in a sewn, hardback volume with a very smart finish
Our article, a birder’s guide to HPAI, was published today in @britishbirds.bsky.social - it’s open access this month.
We explain how bird-flu infected seabirds in 2021/22 and the importance of citizen science to montoring future outbreaks in the wild. 🪶🧪
britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
Prepare for the cold-spell with the February issue of British Birds Journal!
In this month's issue:
- Ouse Washes and Whooper Swans
- Britain's first Western olivaceous warbler
- Do Eurasian Wrynecks drum?
Available in Print or online through our Digital Subscription.
Interesting in reading more about Tengmalm's Owls? Take a step back to the June 2020 article featuring highlights from a long-term study.
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
Study in Animal Behaviour has revealed new insights into natal dispersal in European Honey Buzzards. Natal dispersal is a multi-step process: it commences when a juvenile departs from its natal site and concludes when it settles to breed.
28.01.2026 20:55 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
A new study provides a quantitative review of arthropod diets across 94 European insectivorous bird species, examining how diet richness and composition relate to taxonomy, developmental stage, climate, conservation status, and methodological approach.
Read more:
Early mornings. Quiet trails. Amazing birds.
Since he caught the birding bug through wildlife photography in his early teens, Harry has recorded 145 species within about two miles of home.
Read more about Harry's local patch of Tattenhoe in the January journal
britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
A Little Egret in flight showing its white plumage, black bill and legs, and yellow feet. Wording below reads: New Study. Producing breeding population estimates to monitor Little Egret trends. BTO logo is top right of the image.
1/🧵 New BTO-led research sheds light on the number and range of Little Egrets with population estimates higher than previously thought – likely exceeding 2,000 pairs in the UK! 🙌 #Ornithology @britishbirds.bsky.social
📖 www.bto.org/little-egret...
Kumelin’s Gull - Loch Oire (Moray) 17/1/26 #moraybirds #birdingscotland #rarebirdsuk #ukbirding #ukbirds #birding @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social
22.01.2026 08:52 — 👍 25 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
The Scottish Birds Records Committee (SBRC), in collaboration with the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC), will host a free online conference on 24th–26th February.
16.01.2026 19:14 — 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
New book reviews are out in the latest issue of British Birds!
There are topics relating to identification, sound recording, and life history plus species analysis.
Delve right in my flicking through the latest issue, or by exploring in the journal pages online.
8 White-fronted Geese were new in with another over Buckton, also there 24 Snow Bunting and 160 Corn Bunting while Short-eared Owl and 2 Woodcock were at RSPB Bempton.
Full details here
flamboroughbirdobs.org.uk/sightings/14...
Eastern black redstart, Sheringham, Norfolk
@birdguides.bsky.social
@birdsoftheworld.bsky.social
@britishbirds.bsky.social
@britishnatureguide.bsky.social
@rspb.bsky.social
@bbcspringwatch.bsky.social
#ukbirding
#NEbirding
A few more of the Snow Goose, as it left it's roost at Deeping Lakes @lincswildlife.bsky.social last week. More on justwildimages.blogspot.com @lincsbirding.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social #WildlifeOfBritain #SwanRoost #JustWildImages #CanonWildlife #UKBirds
13.01.2026 21:39 — 👍 42 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
Melanin levels affect feather weight:
Feather colour, important in signalling, camouflage and mate choice, is largely deter-mined by melanin pigments. Until now, little was known about the mass these pigments add or their potential energetic cost.
Read more:
Producing breeding population estimates to monitor Little Egret trends
The RBBP continues to monitor breeding abundance, with the latest figure being 1,614–1,696 pairs in 2023 (Eaton et al. 2025).
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...
🥇Subscriber Content
📸David Tipling, Thomas Willoughby
