Graham Jones

Rewarding seawatch at Point of Ayr this morning, with a single Leach’s Petrel and 3 Arctic Skuas including these two very dark chocolate brown juveniles. Beautiful markings. Glad I had my camera at the ready when they flew along the beach. #birdingwales @birdsinwales.bsky.social

The next @birdguides.bsky.social photo of the week…

Fantastic day on the Wirral watching wind blown Leach's Petrels leaving the river Mersey. The last couple of birds passed within metres over the beach on the ebbing tide!

👌

Between Moon Tides: hacking nature to save the saltmarsh sparrow Sea levels are rising in New England at some of the fastest rates in the world. On a quiet ribbon of saltmarsh in Rhode Island, septuagenarian Deirdre isn't prepared to accept the loss of her beloved ...

This is fantastic. Well worth a watch.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

💚 #Waders #Shorebirds

It’s hilarious. Every birder should watch it. Commendable they’ve decided to post it ad free too.

Just watched it. Fantastic stuff.

😍

First for Wales: Great Whites breed on Anglesey ​Exciting news from Cors Ddyga, the wetland restored in the Cefni Valley over the last quarter century, where RSPB Cymru has announced that four Great White Egrets have fledged from two nests this...

The long-awaited first proven nesting of Great White Egrets in #Wales, with young fledging from nests on an #Anglesey wetland. Read all about it in this week's @northwaleslive.bsky.social BirdNotes.

📷 @rspbcymru.bsky.social and Bob Garrett. #BirdingWales

www.birdnotes.wales/blog/first-f...

#BirdingWales

Good news from Wim Van den Bossche:
"decree published, no Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit hunting allowed in #france till (at least) 1 july 2026 🙏"
legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORF...
#ornithology
Hunting bans can make a difference - see what happened in GB:
wadertales.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/c...

Montagu's Harrier pair successfully breeds in England A pair of Montagu's Harrier, Britain’s rarest breeding bird, have successfully raised four chicks at a secret site in England, the first UK nesting success since 2019. Monitored by the RSPB and a farmer, the rare birds' return offers hope for the species' future in Britain.

Wonderful news this evening! A pair of Montagu's Harrier has bred at a secret location in England this summer, the RSPB has announced:

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

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

Good news Friday! 🌞 Even with a super dry spring at RSPB Ynys-hir we kept water levels high in two swampy spots, and guess what? FOUR singing male Spotted Crakes showed up! 🎶 That’s a reserve record AND the first ones we’ve heard in years.

📸 : Andy Hay

Quote from Chris Packham: “In pipes, paint and petrol, we said goodbye to lead poisoning in humans years ago. But down to the cruel belligerence of the shooting industry, which ironically and pathetically postures as pro-conservation, 100 thousand wild birds a year have been dying through the accidental ingestion of lead shot. I don’t call that conservation, I call it a colossal, wilful waste of wildlife. Top work from Steve Reed and Emma Hardy - thank you.”

GOOD NEWS: Lead shot will be banned! RESULT!

After years of campaigning, the use of toxic lead ammunition by the shooting industry will be banned. This is excellent news for people's health and for wildlife.

Read the Defra press release here: wildjustice.org.uk/general/toxi...

Reading this now. It’s a great book. Somehow slipped under my book-radar when it was first published. Recommended reading for all wader-philes

A CHECKLIST OF THE LEPIDOPTERA OF THE BRITISH ISLES (2nd Edition) - British Entomological & Natural History Society

New digital publication available for free on our website! A checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles (2nd Edition): covering all British macro-moths, micro-moths and butterflies, this is an indispensable reference for any serious lepidopterist. www.benhs.org.uk/publications...

The Roseate Tern continues it's stay at Seaforth NR and showing well, we can only hope it brings a mate back and join the Common Terns on the island, ringed on Couquet Island in 2021 as a chick so it's 4yrs old and ready to breed. #Lancsbirding #UKBirding #Terns

😍

Those Rosy shots are ace, Jon.

#Lancsbirding

Cracking shots, Pete. I do love a Rosy.

Is this HOM east or west?

Candidate for front cover of Lancashire Bird Report, I reckon.

Wet at RSPB Burton Mere 1st thing but great birding @gnature.bsky.social @britbirdweather.bsky.social @whitbynats.bsky.social gropper, reed warbler, whitethroat. Plus LRP, common sand. Spotted red., barwit, blackwit, knot. 4 song thrushes singing

Roadside verge with a mass of dandelions.

This is what roadside verges should look like in April. These are not weeds - they are wildflowers essential to the survival of early Spring bees.

👏👏👏👏

Further to various comments from eg @markavery.bsky.social, @chrisgpackham.bsky.social and @raptorpersuk.bsky.social, about the decision by @privateeyenews.bsky.social not to take any more ££ from @wildjustice.bsky.social for their "pheasant" advert... I find myself at this week's letters page. 🧵1/8