Last night was one of those rare occasions when the TV licence fee seemed worth paying. England U21s beating Germany in the Euro finals, followed by Neil Young at Glastonbury. Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were. He was great.

Eyes now opened I found lots yesterday in HLS scheme grasslands in the Manifold Valley, Staffs, where the Curlew breed. A small patch in a margin between silage grass near home - no Curlews there.

Thanks. Good to see that. Bush vetch here inland in Derbyshire but not Tufted.

And some nearly ready to fledge.

Slightly older chicks.

Recently hatched chicks.

Various stages of development from incubation of eggs.

Glen Tilt, Marble Lodge - amazing - 50 House Martin Nests under the eaves of one small building. Sample inspection with a smart phone driven endoscope indicates most are active.

#BOU2025 MJE 6/6 Likewise, camera technologies can assist where researchers develop the field skills to use them effectively. Exchanging experiences in that respect will similarly be of mutual benefit.

#BOU2025 MJE 5/6 Other recently introduced technologies, such as GPS/GIS, can facilitate fieldwork enormously. Sharing tips on how these tools can be used to advantage will be to the mutual benefit of researchers.

#BOU2025 MJE 4/6 The use of thermochrons provides improved estimates of the dependence of the timing of egg-laying on temperature locally and demonstrates how some species are shifting range up the elevational gradient to maintain springtime synchrony with the required environmental conditions.

#BOU2025 MJE 3/6 Field deployment of thermochrons, calibrated for improved accuracy, also allows for territory-scale temperature monitoring during breeding #phenology studies, providing insights into climate change impacts on breeding success.

#BOU2025 MJE 2/6 For example, thermochrons, mini temperature loggers, provide a simple and cost-effective means of continuous monitoring of nests during incubation, pin-pointing nest predation timing and assisting in understanding declines in ground nesting birds.

#BOU2025 MJE 1/6 Pushing back the frontiers of knowledge in #ornithology requires field data. Technological advances can provide new sorts of data and more efficient data gathering in general. We should constantly be on the lookout for such opportunities.

Early Willow Warbler singing for me today in Horse Dale, Derbyshire. The earliest in 11 years I have been following this site. Redstarts should follow soon.

Time to write to my local (Labour) MP on behalf of the bats & newts & the rest of the ecosystem. Growth at all costs is not an option! Rachel Reeves, like Liz Truss, is a scary career politician with a PPE degree from Oxford and evidently no appreciation of the wider picture. She has to be stopped!