Dawn Balmer

We ended up at Welney on Sunday as there was no sun at all and not a good day to look for Goshawk. Typically, some decent weather this week when I'm at work!

Ship assistance in North American landbirds in the Western Palearctic To the end of 2023, a total of 3,084 individual North American landbirds of 94 taxa had been recorded in the Western Palearctic. The most frequent of these...

End of 2023, a total of 3,084 North American landbirds of 94 taxa had been recorded in the Western Palearctic. The most frequent of these species include Red-eyed Vireo, American Pipit & Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...

📸 Mike Durkalec
🥇Subscriber Content

Abberton so far today
St Andrew's Church
Drake Lesser Scaup
5 Scaup
3cy Caspian Gull
2cy Yellow-legged Gull

Layer Breton Causeway
Redhead Smew

Layer de la Haye
Drake Smew

40 Russian White-fronted Geese in field opposite Wisborough Bay Hide
#Essexbirding
@birdguides.bsky.social

Got Sunday ear-marked for looking for Goshawk in the Brecks. All the good days lately have been work days!

March and April are the best time to look & listen for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers calling and drumming in wet, broadleaf woodland. Find out more about Woodpecker Network, listen to Ken Smith's zoom talk for Essex Birdwatching Society from January. ebws.org.uk/talks/jan26

With spring migrants starting to arrive, our first migration blog of the spring looks at what's been reported so far and what to look out for in the rest of March #ukbirding

www.bto.org/our-work/new...

Photo: Sand Martin by Liz Cutting / BTO

A short-eared Owl perches on a post. Wording alongside reads: Free Zoom Session. Meet the BTO (focusing on the geographical area around BTO HQ). Monday 16 March, 7pm - 8.45pm.

Do you live close to BTO HQ in Thetford, Norfolk? If you do and would like to find out more about the birdlife in your local area, why not sign up to take part in our ‘Meet the BTO’ Online Session on Monday 16 March?

Register before Friday 13 March ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/eve... #NorfolkBirding

Graphic Displays: A guide to monitoring Black Guillemots, including an image of likely habitat, and images of Black Guillemots. There are numerous headings and a checklist which capture the survey methods and timings. Caption reads: The peak time to monitor Black Guillemots is fast approaching... Have a look at our quick guide below, and let us know if you're ready! #seabirds #birds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

The peak time to monitor Black Guillemots is fast approaching...
Have a look at our quick guide below, and let us know if you're ready! #seabirds #birds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

A graphic promoting the training event, with an image of a male Reed Bunting on a flowering Hawthorn branch.

Our friends in @btocymru.bsky.social BTO are running a free Breeding Bird Survey training event at Llandrindod Lake on 28 March. This survey is incredibly valuable for conservation, but takes just a few hours to do!

Open to the #ShropshireBirding community, too! Click on the link to sign-up.

BirdWatch Ireland CEO Andrew Kelly & BTO CEO Juliet Vickery are sitting at a table outside smiling as they get ready to sign a partnership agreement for the Bird Atlas 2027–31.

RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight & BTO CEO Juliet Vickery are sitting together at a table in the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge holding pens ready to sign a partnership agreement for the Bird Atlas 2027–31.

BTO CEO Juliet Vickery & Scottish Ornithologists Club President Ruth Briggs are sitting at a table smiling and holding pens ready to sign a partnership agreement for the Bird Atlas 2027–31.

BTO CEO Juliet Vickery & Welsh Ornithological Society Chair Anne Brenchley are sitting at a table together looking down and holding pens as they get ready to sign a partnership agreement for the Bird Atlas 2027–31. Wildlife and nature themed artwork hangs on the wall behind them.

1/ Five leading charities forge partnership for bird conservation for the Bird Atlas 2027–31! 🐦 But what is the Bird Atlas? ⬇️🧵 #Ornithology

@btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social

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

Landing on your doorsteps - The British Birds journal’s March 2026 issue

Highlights:
• Eurasian Curlew conservation
• North American landbirds on boats
• Britain’s first ever Canada Warbler

britishbirds.co.uk/journal/volu...

The graphic displays an image of the SMP Online home page, which displays a map of SMP sites with the new updates, including a 'Species Type' search function to find sites. You can now also search by postcode and the map legend has been updated. Caption reads: Some SMP Online updates have arrived! You can now search for sites by 'Species Type' or find sites local to you using the new postcode search. The SMP monitoring period starts soon; now's the perfect time to find a site to cover! #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Some SMP Online updates have arrived!
You can now search for sites by 'Species Type' or find sites local to you using the new postcode search.

The SMP monitoring period starts soon; now's the perfect time to find a site to cover! #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

Spring has begun... over the last week we have received 35 reports of Sand Martins, seven of Swallow, four each of Wheatear and House Martin, and two Red-rumped Swallows! #ukbirding

Consider the 10x32 too!

As screenshot of a web page promoting Dawn's talk. The text reads "Wednesday, 4 March, 2026 7:15 pm – (approx) 9:15 Rare Breeding Birds in the UK and Bird Atlas 2027-31 with Dawn Balmer with a short introductory talk on 50 Years of the Shropshire Rookeries Project by John Tucker Originally from Shropshire, Dawn is Head of Surveys at the BTO, Secretary of the European Bird Census Council and Chair of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel. Her many roles also include Director of British Birds and Editorial Board Member of British Birds and Trustee of the Eric Hosking Charitable Trust. Dawn is a member of the British Birds Rarities Committee and is a keen birdwatcher, ringer, general naturalist and enjoys photography. Dawn will be providing an update from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, highlighting recent trends, key species developments, and the ongoing efforts to monitor and protect the UK’s rarest breeding birds. She will also introduce plans for the launch of the next Breeding Bird Atlas with data collection set to begin in 2027. This major national project aims to build on previous atlases by using new technologies, expanding volunteer participation, and delivering vital insights to support future bird conservation."

If you missed the BTO Conference today there's another chance to hear from BTO this Wednesday (4 March) when @debalmer.bsky.social will be talking about Rare Breeding Birds in the UK and Bird Atlas 2027-31, in Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury.
👉 www.shropshirebirds.com/index/indoor...
#ShropshireBirds

CHOUGH CRITICAL BREEDING PERIOD. Please avoid posting photos of the Choughs during the breeding season and divulging their location and nest sites from 1st March to 31st July. #Choughs #CornishChoughs #Palores #CornwallBirds #BirdsInCornwall #CBWPS #Bird #Birds #Birdwatching #ConnectWithNature

Rare and Sensitive Breeding Birds. Please avoid posting photos of rare and sensitive breeding birds and divulging their location and nest sites from 1st March to 31 July. #CornwallBirds #BirdsInCornwall #CBWPS #Bird #Birds #Birdwatching #ConnectWithNature #WildIsles #BritishWildlife #WildCornwall

Final call for any outstanding 2025 bird records. Please send to norfolkbirdrecs@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Not required if already submitted to Ebird/Birdtrack.

Thanks

It’s nearly March, spring is springing, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel has emerged from hibernation again to encourage you to get out recording rare breeding birds #UKbirding #ornithology

BB eye: A birder’s guide to High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI, bird flu) virus infections have historically been most commonly associated with wild Eurasian waterfowl with...

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

Black-headed Gull Project summary 2,450Birds colour-marked 16,300Sightings received 2011Year project started Colour-marks used Blue leg ring, 4 white characters (2, letter, number, number) on one leg with BTO metal …

Have you popped the details in the app?
waterbirdcolourmarking.org/black-headed...

Not posted from East Wretham Heath for a while but been visiting regularly. 17 visits and 66 species recorded. Langmere is still dry (since August) but thrilled to see a Green Sandpiper on Ringmere this morning. Pleased to see NWT have cleared the Birch saplings too!
#NorfolkBirding

Final visit for the Winter Bird Survey on my square in Thetford Forest this morning. Nice to watch a pair of Crossbill with nesting material going into a tree. Yellowhammers have arrived back in the forest for the breeding season and singing
#NorfolkBirding
@bbs-birds.bsky.social

📢 Job Alert: Monitoring officer

I am looking for an experienced ornithological fieldworker to join the team this spring to lead on the monitoring of Black tailed godwits at WWT Welney.

Closing date: 6 March 2026

Apply ➡️

vacancies.wwt.org.uk/vacancies/77...

Thanks for the reminder! last visit planned for tomorrow - finally dry!

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the Winter Bird Survey on BBS squares across the UK over the last few months. We hope you have encountered a good variety of species. The survey season finishes at the end of this month, and please enter your data no later than 30 April. #Ornithology

Graphic displays three images of Great Black-backed Gulls, one standing on a rock, one with a large fish it has caught, and one in flight. Text and labels highlight the species' bulbous bill and black back, which contrast with their surrounding white feathers. Caption reads: With a wingspan up to 1.66 meters, Great Black-backed Gulls are the largest species of gull globally. They're also the most predatory, often eating crustaceans, fish, and birds. Head to the coast for the best chance of sightings! #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

With a wingspan up to 1.66 meters, Great Black-backed Gulls are the largest species of gull globally. They're also the most predatory, often eating crustaceans, fish, and birds.

Head to the coast for the best chance of sightings!
#seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social

📢 CLOSING ON FRIDAY!

BOU Committee nominations

➡️ Awards Nominations Committee
➡️ Engagement Committee
➡️ IBIS Management Committee
➡️ Meetings Committee
➡️ Records Committee

Plus NEW Committee Shadowing Scheme

Full details: bou.org.uk/about-the...

#ornithology 🪶

A deceased Puffin lies on its back on the ground. Wording above reads: Please report sightings of all dead birds. A graphic showing an exclamation mark in a triangle features.

⚠️ We've had reports of seabirds washing up. Please report ALL species of dead birds ⬇️

📍 In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/...
📍 In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/...
📍 In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.serv...

#UKBirding #BirdingWales #BirdingScotland