BirdTrack

A Goldcrest perches on the stem of a plant. Image by Graham Catley/BTO.

Read this week’s @birdtrack.bsky.social migration blog ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/new...

Highlights include 260 Goldcrests at Spurn, Yorkshire on 26/09, three Red-breasted Flycatchers on Holy Island, Northumberland on 28/09 & 31,300 House Martins flying over Dorking, Surrey on 26/09.😮 #UKBirding

A Brent Goose flies through a bright blue sky.

New @birdtrack.bsky.social migration blog ➡️ www.bto.org/our-work/new...

This week we look at reporting rate for Dark-bellied Brent Goose and Wigeon, and sightings of several eastern vagrants including a Pechora Pipit in County Durham!

#Ornithology #UKBirding

📷 Brent Goose by Liz Cutting/BTO

Grey Phalarope wading in water, by Neil Calbrade/BTO

It's Friday.

It's autumn.

It must be time for the latest installment of our BTO Migration Blog!

Find out what species to expect, and let us know if our predictions are up to scratch.

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

📷 Grey Phalarope by Neil Calbrade/BTO

@birdtrack.bsky.social

The late Steve Wing, BirdWatch Ireland's Cape Clear Bird Observatory Wildlife Officer, holding a Robin during a bird-ringing demonstration

It's one year today since we lost our dear friend and colleague, Steve Wing, Cape Clear Bird Observatory Wildlife Officer. In his memory, we are launching the Steve Wing Memorial Bursary, which will be open annually to aspiring ecologists/naturalists aged 18-25: birdwatchireland.ie/announcing-t...

This week's BTO Migration blog explores a recent arrival of drift migrants on the east coast, a record breaking influx of Glossy Ibis and what we might expect in the second half of September #ukbirding

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

Glossy Ibis by Philip Croft

Interesting to see very high numbers of Curlew Sandpipers in northern Scotland, while numbers in England are lower than average. Easterly winds across the northern North Sea have pushed birds to the Northern Isles and Outer Hebrides, while the opposite has happened further south #ukbirding

Swift departure and Ibis arrival The weather’s rapid switch into autumn has served as a reminder to summer visitors that they need to make a move. Through the weekend, thousands of Swallows streamed south, Wheatears dropped in to...

The largest flock of Glossy Ibis ever seen in #Wales heralded an unprecedented influx into Britain & Ireland. Plus other sightings from across #NorthWales, bookings open for the @birdsinwales.bsky.social Conference and finally my Swifts have left the building.

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/swift-d...

This week's BTO Migration Blog explores the recent influx of seabirds, autumn waders, and what might be seen over the next week #ukbirding
www.bto.org/our-work/new...

Grey Phalarope, by Neil Calbrade

Last week saw a big increase in the BirdTrack reporting rate for Curlew Sandpipers - look out for a slightly larger wader with a peachy breast amongst flocks of Dunlin #ukbirding

Birding with Hearing Aids A startling proportion of the UK population suffers from hearing loss, with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) indicating that one in five adults are deaf, have hearing loss or suffer…

I wrote this short note on birding with hearing aids and thought I’d post the link here in case of interest/relevance to some birders out there
#birding #birdingScotland #birdingUK

chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/b...

Last week saw an excellent arrival of juvenile Little Stints, with the BirdTrack reporting rate reaching 3% across Britain and Ireland as a whole. Records were most frequent on the east coast of England - in Lincolnshire it appeared on 22% of complete lists! #ukbirding

A group of young people are looking into the distance, with countryside around them. Wording alongside reads: BTO Youth. Join Our Youth Advisory Panel! Scan the QR code to find out more and apply. A QR code sits to the right of the wording.

Apply to join BTO's Youth Advisory Panel👉 bit.ly/_YAPVolunteer

If you're aged 16-24, passionate about nature and people’s engagement in the natural world, then this is your chance to have a positive impact.

📆 Applications close on Sunday 7 September. We look forward to hearing from everyone!

Easterly winds across the North Sea last week led to a small arrival of Pied Flycatchers along the east coast between Essex and Yorkshire and an uptick in the BirdTrack reporting rate. Reports usually peak in mid to late August but later influxes can occur in the right conditions #ukbirding

This autumn's first BTO Migration Blog looks at what we might expect in the second half of August, as the first wave of Pied Flycatchers arrives on the east coast #ukbirding
www.bto.org/our-work/news/blog/migblog/14-aug-2025

The second half of August will see the peak period for autumn migration of Tree Pipit. Usually detected when calling in flight, they can occur across a range of habitats on migration #ukbirding

Nice pic from @tomcadwallender.bsky.social
About 300 Green Sandpiper winter in the UK (BTO BirdFacts) but far more stop for a bit in autumn.
Blog about tagging Green Sandpipers to study migration:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/g...
Old graph from @birdtrack.bsky.social
#ornithology

2024 NE Wales Bird Report now available to download from @cofnod.org.uk Big thank you to all contributors. Majority of records via @birdtrack.bsky.social.
@birdsinwales.bsky.social @btocymru.bsky.social @rspbcymru.bsky.social

Diversionary feeding of predators boosts Capercaillie breeding success Research in the Cairngorms National Park has shown that non-lethal predator management can significantly boost breeding success for Western Capercaillie. The three-year study revealed that with the number of chicks per female more than doubled in areas with diversionary feeding taking place. With fewer than 550 individuals left in Britain, there is a serious risk of Western Capercaillie becoming extinct for a second time nationally.

Research in the Cairngorms NP has shown that non-lethal predator management can significantly boost breeding success for Western Capercaillie:

Crossbills are not a typical seasonal migrant but are an irruptive species that move in response to the availability of food. This summer has seen a notable arrival of Crossbills into Britain and this was clearly reflected in the BirdTrack reporting rate in June and July #ukbirding

Swallow in flight against a blue sky showing its long tail streamers, red throat, white belly, and bill that is wide open.

11 years, 1 month & 11 days is the longevity record for Swallow in Britain & Ireland! 😮 🪶

You can share your sightings with us by using @birdtrack.bsky.social at www.birdtrack.net

📷 Swallow by Philip Croft/BTO

Where a site is defined as a point (which all sites created on the mobile app are) this will result in an eight figure grid ref, but there is no uncertainty measure and this should not be taken as a pinpoint for a specific record

polygon and I assume the grid reference will be the highest possible based on this - 1km if within a 1km square, 2km if within a tetrad, 10km if it crosses squares in different tetrads. So in the example below, the given grid ref is SU42, but the actual location must be within the circle

Hi all, the issue here arises when sites in BirdTrack are defined as polygons rather than points. If you go to record details you will see the coordinates of the centroid of the polygon and an uncertainty measure reflecting its size. iRecord creates a radius based on this rather than the original...

A Swift flies through the blue sky showing its sooty brown plumage and pale chin. Image by Graham Catley/BTO.

Have you heard Swift screaming parties? ✋😀Our historical @birdtrack.bsky.social data shows in July we reach peak Swift records! Come August, birds will begin their migration to their non-breeding grounds in Africa. 🌍

📷 Swift by Graham Catley/BTO

First 'autumn' Little Stints and Curlew Sandpipers are being reported in UK.
Will the first (Siberian) Pectoral Sandpipers be far behind?
Blog about autumn migration:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/w...
Graphs from 2023 - @birdtrack.bsky.social
#ornithology

Dark green background with the image of an illustrated computer monitor, keyboard and mouse in white. Wording to the left in a white box reads: System update ‘My BTO’ login will be unavailable on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

⚠️ Advance warning that this weekend certain areas of the BTO website will be unavailable. This includes 'My BTO', and event and membership registration. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Are you a young birder under 16? Enter the Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder competition at Migfest at @spurnbirdobs.bsky.social!

Enjoy this bird migration festival and be in with the chance of winning an award that celebrates young birders! Apply here: bit.ly/_MGSYB

Migfest: www.spurnmigfest.com

Slide titled 'Work with us!' followed by 'Seabird Monitoring Support Officer' and a link to the BTO's job webpage: www.bto.org/jobs

📢Job alert! We’ve got a great opportunity for a part-time Seabird Monitoring Support Officer to join the
@btobirds.bsky.social Surveys Team!🔭📈

ℹ️ For more information and to apply: bto.org/jobs
🗓️ Deadline for applications: Thursday 24th July 2025.

#Seabirds, @jncc.bsky.social, @rspb.bsky.social

Please also report all dead and sick birds to BirdTrack for monitoring purposes. The ‘Deceased bird’ tool on the BirdTrack mobile app is a really quick and easy way to report dead and sick birds