Single Grizzled Skipper seen on my lunch break at Magdalen Down today #ukbutterflies

Dartford Warbler perched on Gorse bush with prey in bill by Philip Croft/BTO.

📢 We need your help to record Dartford Warbler for the Heathland Birds Survey. Find a priority survey site near you ➡️ www.bto.org/heathlan... #UKBirding #BirdingWales

Our Chief Exec, Brian Bleese has spent the day on our Upton Heath nature reserve seeing the devastation the wildfire has caused across the nature reserve. (1/2)

Slide shows the number of bird records (not including those from structured surveys) contributed by birdwatchers in Wales to the national record through a variety of channels in 2024. Of 637,636 records, 67% were collected through BirdTrack, 27% through eBird, 4% directly to county bird recorders, 2% through the four Local Environmental Records Centres and the LERC Wales mobile app, and <1% through iRecord (figures are rounded). It is estimated that around 4000 people contributed records, making counts equivalent to 5.6 million birds. A map - produced by the British Trust for Ornithology - shows all the locations in Wales from which BirdTrack and eBird records were submitted. There was almost complete coverage around the coast and in the main river valleys but far fewer in the uplands of mid, west and north Wales. In total, records came from 277 of the 282 (96%) 10-km squares. The two main recording apps provided 26,089 complete lists which is the most useful way of providing records, during 49,573 hours of recording effort. Massive thanks to everyone who contributes, even bigger thanks to county recorders who manage all this data. My thanks to Simon Gillings at BTO, Sarah Woodcock at BIS on behalf of LERC Wales and all the county recorders who provided estimates.

How many people contribute records to county and local bird reports in Wales?

How much data do those county recorders manage and through which channels?

How wide is the coverage? More detail in Alt Text.

Number-wrangling while I'm writing the @birdsinwales.bsky.social 2024 report.

#BirdingWales

It's brilliant to have Cirl Buntings back as part of the Dorset soundscape. This one was singing its heart out yesterday. If you are lucky enough to find one please send in your record to recorder@dorsetbirds.co.uk. Breeding records will be treated in strict confidence.

If you used BirdTrack in 2024 but didn't receive a 'My BirdTrack year' email recently then you may need to update your contact preferences on My BTO to opt into receiving emails. You can also sign up for the BirdTrack newsletter under the 'Newsletter Subscriptions' tab
www.bto.org/my-bto

Very windy Spring Safari but plenty to see: 1 Forster's Tern, Marsh Harrier food pass, 1 Little Gull, c800 Blackwit, small pulse of Swallow, 1 House Martin, c50 Sand martin, c150 Med Gulls, c10 Sandwich Tern, 1 Red Kite
Photos: Sue Ketteridge
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social

Image of a world map showing the journey of Cuckoo Tom when he hitched a ride on a cruise ship. Arrows show the ships journey from West Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, across to the coast of South America, past Puerto Rico, the United States, up to Iceland and to the UK. A headshot of Cuckoo Tom features, alongside the wording: Tagged, Norfolk 2023. Current location: UK. Mode of transport: cruise ship. Outline of a cruise ship in white sits over the ocean. BTO logo features top right of the image.

One of our satellite-tagged Cuckoos has hitched a ride on a cruise ship and is now in the UK, the earliest one of our superstar Cuckoos has ever reached us! 😮🛥️🧵

Good grief- it's just one ornithological revelation after another today eh? News from @rspb.bsky.social on vocalisations. Maybe we need to re-think some of this week's refresher training on songs and calls.....

The front cover of a scientific journal titled Ornithologist, dated 1 April 2025. The main headline reads: “BIRDS: DECODED - Groundbreaking New Science.” Below that, a subheading says: “What are the UK’s birds really saying? Pioneering new research provides the answers.”

WORLD-FIRST: Ground-breaking research published today in the Ornithologist Journal has, for the first time, translated common UK bird vocalisations into equivalent phrases in the human language.

The results tell us a lot!

Extracts below... 🧵

Today is the start of our 50th year surveying butterflies #UKBMS50!

The UKBMS is one of the longest running invert monitoring schemes in the world.

Get involved here - ukbms.org

@jncc.bsky.social‬
@savebutterflies.bsky.social‬
@btobirds.bsky.social‬
@ukceh.bsky.social‬

Deceased Common Gull on ground with wings outstretched. Image by Dawn Balmer.

⚠️ Please report all sightings of dead birds for possible testing for Avian Influenza. #UKBirding
📌In England, Wales & Scotland: www.gov.uk/guidance/rep...
📌In Northern Ireland: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/services/dae...
📌In Republic of Ireland: aviancheck.apps.services.agriculture.gov.ie/report

Image of a Blue Tit perched on a branch in front of a purple background. Wording to the left of the image reads: Volunteer with us! Garden BirdWatch Ambassador. Text inside white box reads: Contact gbw@bto.org. BTO logo is top right of the image.

🐦🌿 We’re looking for Garden BirdWatch Ambassadors!

Love sharing your garden wildlife stories? Want to inspire others to take part in the UK’s longest-running garden wildlife survey?

✨ Flexible & fun
🤝 Full support provided
💚 Help your local community connect with nature

Get in touch! 👇

Jay on grassland with the bird's face lit up by sunlight. Image credit reads: Jay © Tom Streeter/ BTO

Sneak peek of exciting news! 😀 In April, we’re launching a new UK-wide pilot survey of birds in greenspaces & we need your help! 🐦 We’ll be looking for people to record birds in greenspaces like parks, cemeteries & sports pitches. 📝 Keep an eye on our social media for updates on how to take part.

Time for a #BirdTrack reporting rate quiz - which scarce migrant has seen a big spike in reports this week? #ukbirding

Image of a Redstart perched on a branch with prey in bill. Wording to the left reads: Breeding Bird Survey Introduction & Practice Session. Tyndrum Community Woodland, Saturday 5 April. RSPB Lochwinnoch, Sunday 6 April. Find out more and book: www.bto.org/events. BTO Scotland logo top right of the image. Image credit reads: Redstart © Edmund Fellowes/BTO.

Join our FREE training sessions this April on the Breeding Bird Survey. 🐦 Book a place ➡️ www.bto.org/events

We'll introduce the survey and practise methods used in a supportive environment with our expert team. #BirdingScotland @bbs-birds.bsky.social

A male Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus) perches atop a reed stem at RSPB Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk

After working on wetland reserves for years it has taken till today to get a good view of Bearded Tits, the blighters!
#RSPBLakenheathFen #UKBirding #SuffolkBirding @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social

Came down to pay my respects to the Forsters Tern at #RSPBArne Shipstal and got distracted by 5 White-tailed Eagles in the distance! @rspbengland.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

It has to be Fulmar for me.

Don't miss out on our FREE Bird Camp in Northern Ireland! The deadline for applying is Sunday 30th March 2025! Apply now ➡️ www.bto.org/bird-camp

Bird Camps are a fun way to meet other young people, learn from our experienced staff and guides and of course see some really cool birds too! 🐦

Forsters Tern flown past Middlebere Lookout, Arne again heading to Shipstal
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
@birdguides.bsky.social

The Forster’s Tern has apparently just flown past Middlebere! Welcome back old friend. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Amazing School Bird Boat today. 3 WT Eagle, 1 Peregrine, 2 Marsh Harrier, 1 Great White Egret, 1 Spoonbill, 2 Ruff at Swineham and 2 Little Ringed Plover at Stilt Pools.
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Only 6! White-tailed Eagles from our first Spring Safari of the season this AM. Also 1 ringtail Hen Harrier, displaying Marsh Harriers, 1 Red Kite, 3 Black-throated Diver, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Swallow, 3 Spoonbill, c50 Avocet plus ‘the usual’ @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social

Sorry, I was just being silly!

Yes it was, I was just being silly!

Great to see my @birdtrack.bsky.social summary from 2024. It seems that I was out birding for more days than there were in the year! Top quality summary sent to my email as well, with loads of insights into the my birding year! Let's see if I can be out birding even more days than I was last year!

Huge thanks to Simon Johnson for providing us with this great info from a colour-ringed Turnstone he photographed at Baiter late last year:

Ringed as an adult female on 08.03.2024 near Alert, Nunavut, Canada

Alert is the northernmost continuously inhabited place in the world about 4000km away!

Arrived in Newtown and catching up on a few emails in the B&B and amazed how the sky went from grey to this in just 10 minutes! Looking forward to the @btocymru.bsky.social Regional Network meeting tomorrow.

YouTube video by Rare Breeding Birds Panel Some advice on looking for displaying Goshawks

If and when we get some clear, sunny days, February and March provide the best opportunity to record breeding Goshawks as they display over territories - here’s some encouragement from RBBP Secretary @markaeaton.bsky.social #ukbirding #ornithology

youtu.be/hVgl6jYOX6A?...