Beijing were recently awarded the Winter Olympics for 2022 but it has emerged that the downhill ski slope is going to be built within one of only two national nature reserves! More here >

A new mystery has been discovered in the migratory behaviour of birds! Many songbirds travel long distances during their annual migrations.
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Bob Flood describes an unbelievably close encounter with a Fea's Petrel 11 miles north east of Scilly onboard the MV Sapphire.
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Sightings of three short-haired bumblebee workers on an RSPB nature reserve mark a new milestone for a reintroduction project aimed at bringing this native species back to the UK.
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RSPB Scotland have issued an appeal for information after post-mortem results confirmed that a Hen Harrier found dead on a grouse moor in south-west Scotland.
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Wildlife conservationists are celebrating this week after young wild Common ranes took to the air in the West Country for the first time in four centuries.
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The news was dominated by Black Stork sightings from multiple counties. Elsewhere off south west Ireland a Fea's Petrel is photographed along with Wilson's Petrel.
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Lush cosmetics are releasing a new bath bomb named by TV presenter Chris Packham to help raise funds for Hen Harrier conservation.
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The first White-tailed Sea Eagle nests in Co. Kerry in over 100 years have successfully fledged chicks in 2015.
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A press release issued today by Natural England has announced that there were just six successful Hen Harrier nests in England in 2015 with a total of 18 young fledging.
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The rare seabird season gets under way with Barolo Shearwater and Fea's Petrel both seen. Elsewhere there were breeding Bee-eaters in Cumbria, Black Storks a plenty plus much more.
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A team of scientists have recorded 968 Black-capped Petrels, over the mountains of Dominica for which the last confirmed date of nesting of that species is 1862. More here >

Conservationists studying Little Terns nesting on Chesil Beach have discovered that two of the birds are now fifteen and sixteen years old, and have notched up over 100,000km each. More here >

A new study of White-tailed Eagle foraging behaviour in Germany has shown that they are no competition to fishermen.
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The RSPB have announced the presence of a colony of six Bee-eaters in Cumbria, four of which have bred, making it the second year running the species has done so in Britain. More here >

The RSPB's chief executive, Dr Mike Clarke, is calling on those within the shooting industry to take responsibility for both the positive and negative impacts their industry has. More here >

The results from the latest Breeding Bird Survey are in and for many of Britain's birds 2013 - 2014 was a good year despite continued long-term declines.
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A Hudsonian Godwit found on the west coast of Ireland was easily the stand out bird of the week. Elsewhere rarities lingered and an unseasonal Paddyfield Warbler on Shetland was certainly notable.
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Conservationists from the Netherlands and UK have teamed up to fit satellite tracking devices to three Montagu's Harriers in East Anglia this month.
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Conservationists are seeking the help of millions of holidaymakers heading to the coast this summer in a bid to solve the mystery of a disappearing butterfly. More here >

Galway birder and rarity finder extraordinaire Dermot Breen describes finding Ireland's first Hudsonian Godwit near Ballyconneely in Co.Galway.
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New figures have shown that EU's Birds Directive has had a huge impact in protecting Europe's most threatened bird species.
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Bob Flood tells the tale, when during a pelagic trip off Scilly in July 2007, he found what would become Britain's first accepted Madeiran Storm-petrel.
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British Common Scoters, have been tracked here for the first time to find out where they go in winter, and the answer turns out to be rather surprising.
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Calls to defend nature beat the record for responses to European public consultations. More here >

A Least Sandpiper is found on St.Agnes, Isles of Scilly, the third for the archipelago and first in Britain since 2011. Elsewhere other Nearctic waders heralded the beginning of the autumn for many.
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The Rutland Osprey Project celebrated a major milestone this week, when the 100th Osprey chick to fledge from a nest in the Rutland Water area took to the air. More here >

A new study has revealed the extent of moorland burning across Britain's upland areas and shown that SACs and SPAs are in unfavourable condition due to the burning. More here >

Conservationist in Portugal are celebrating the hatching of the first wild Black Vulture in the south of the country for over 40 years.
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Andy Stoddart reviews The Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy, one of Britain's leading writers on the environment.
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Staff and volunteers at RSPB Lakenheath Fen nature reserve, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, are celebrating the best breeding season to date.
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Bob Dawson finds the third Least Sandpiper for the Isles of Scilly on St.Agnes and the first in Britain since 2011.
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The Minsmere Black-browed Albatross was without doubt the highlight of the week but there were still plenty of other good birds on offer.
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Phase one of the RSPB's Wallasea project was completed at the weekend when the new sea walls were breach to create new marshland
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RSPB Scotland has said it is pleased with the success of T in the Park festival in avoiding disturbance to local breeding Ospreys.
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Last week, an amateur photographer and wildlife recorder sent two photographs of a Pine Marten to Shropshire Wildlife Trust which sent a wave of excitement through the charity.
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What motivates birders and drives their passion for wildlife? Mark Avery and Keith Betton, interview members of the birdwatching community to answer these and many other questions.
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On a day out birding at Minsmere RSPB Peter Hobbs happened to be in the hide with his camera when a Black-browed Albatross was discovered.
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In Pursuit of Butterflies provides a profound encounter with one of our great butterfly lovers, and with a half-century of butterflies in Britain.
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A Red Kite born in Wales and reintroduced in Northern Ireland as part of the reintroduction project, has been found shot dead.
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As one would expect for the beginning of July new rarities were thin on the ground though new finds included a Turkestan Shrike on Scilly and a Terek Sandpiper in Northumberland
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Spring 2015 will be remembered for a number of top quality birds, and although some were untwitchable many were available for the masses. Mark Golley takes a look back at the highlights.
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Somerset locals are celebrating a rare arrival for the county - a brood of four Avocet chicks at the WWT Steart Marshes reserve, which was only completed in Sept 2014. More here >

The Heronries Census, run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), counted its first Grey Heron nest way back in 1928; 400,000 nests later it has gone digital.
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The Neotropical Bird Club's 2015 AGM and summer meeting will take place in Cambridge on 25 July and includes a variety of illustrated talks.
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Russia has introduced a law banning large-scale driftnets in their waters which should save tens of thousands of seabirds and sea mammals each year.
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The UK's rarest breeding seabird, the Roseate Tern, is enjoying a bumper breeding season on RSPB Coquet Island.
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Andy Stoddart reviews Mark Avery's latest book, in which he turns his attention to driven grouse shooting, making a detailed and unapologetic case for its banning. More here >

A new wildlife webcam based in Orkney is now online on the RSPB website, offering a rare glimpse into the life of a pair of Red-throated Divers.
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A very quiet week was highlighted by the long staying wader duo in the south - the Hudsonian Whimbrel and Greater Yellowlegs, with a smart Pacific Golden Plover in Norfolk. More here >

Putting the UK's largest seabird under surveillance highlights the need for a precautionary approach to development in the English Channel.
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Steve Stansfield recounts the story of a very hectic eleven days on the island, following the discovery of Wales's first Cretzschmar's Bunting.
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The Scottish SPCA has saved the life of a White-tailed Eagle chick, which had ingested two fishing hooks.
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Bob Flood and Ashley Fisher (aka Scilly Pelagics) travel to Finland in search of its speciality owls and come away with 5* views and stunning footage of the lot!
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New film footage proves that England's only wild beaver population is growing. See the footage, taken by local film-maker Tom Buckley.
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On his annual pilgrimage to Bardsey Island, Elfyn Lewis finds one of the year's rarest and most twitched megas, and Wales's first, Cretzschmar's Bunting.
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We are auctioning a t-shirt signed by Chris Packham Michaela Strachan, Martin Hughes-Games and David Lindo to raise money for Hen Harrier conservation.
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Scilly scores a Cedar Waxwing whilst on Shetland an Eyebrowed Thrush doesn't hang around. In West Sussex the Hudsonian Whimbrel is joined by a rather smart Terek Sandpiper.
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The migration route of a UK breeding Turtle Dove has, for the first time been revealed, providing valuable data in the conservation fight to help save the species from UK extinction. More here >

A tranquil area of wetland and grassland on the south-eastern edge of Alloa has become RSPB Scotland's newest nature reserve, and the charity's first in Clackmannanshire. More here >

Following near extinction in Britain the Bittern has been recorded at it's highest numbers for over 200 years thanks to a concerted conservation programme.
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The BTO have fitted state of the art satellite tags to eight more Cuckoos during the last few weeks to help understand why this iconic bird is disappearing from large parts of the UK. More here >

BBRC Secretary and Isles of Scilly resident tells the tale of a Cedar Waxwing on St.Mary's on 9th June.
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In a report published in Conservation Letters, scientists from across Europe, Africa and North America have published the first continent-wide estimates of decline rates in African vultures.
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Andy Stoddart reviews this joint publication by the Hawk and Owl Trust and Norwich Cathedral on the Norwich Peregrines.
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A singing Cretzschmar's Bunting settles down on Bardsey whilst a brace of Cedar Waxwings both prove untwitchable and Hampshire hosts an Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.
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Andy Last describes the finding of the second Swainson's Thrush of the Spring, this time in Shetland. More here >

On Saturday 4th July OSME's Summer Meeting will be focusing on illegal bird killing in the OSME region. More here >

Gary Howard describes finding Hampshire's second Black-eared Wheatear, the first of the eastern form melanoleuca. More here >

The EuroBirdPortal (EBP) project and its demo viewer will be launched tomorrow in Brussels as part of Green Week 2015, the annual conference on European environment policy. More here >

RSPB Scotland has expressed its grave concerns for the fate of some special breeding birds if a contentious wind farm, planned for the heart of the Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland, gets the green light. More here >

The UK is braced for a once in a decade influx of Painted Ladies with the potential for millions of the butterflies winging in from southern Europe.
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David Attenborough and Ben Garrod have officially opened the new Aspinall Widlife and Education Centre at Cley NWT in Norfolk.
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In Sussex, Britain and Ireland's 9th Hudsonian Whimbrel is found at Church Norton, whilst a Slate-coloured Junco turns up on Dursey, Co.Cork and elsewhere Catharus thrushes remain on North Ronaldsay and Skokholm.
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We have a winner in our May Mystery Bird Id Competition which seemed to prove a bit trickier than we thought it might.
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When Mark Golley spent a week on Shetland in May he didn't think that a Corncrake would steal the show but that's exactly what happened.
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A fourth breeding male Hen Harrier has disappeared from Bowland, Lancashire, leading to the failure of yet another nest. More here >

BirdLife Species Champion Terry Townshend reports from southeastern Mongolia where a recent survey for Jankowski's Bunting drew a blank.
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The Yellow-breasted Bunting has declined by 90% and retracted its range by 5000km since 1980 and is mirroring the decline of the Passenger Pigeon.
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Swarovski Optik have launched their annual Digiscoper of the Year competition with some fantastic prizes on offer.
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Skokholm warden Richard Brown describes finding the island's second Swainson's Thrush and the third Catharus thrush of the spring.
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A new assessment of European birds has revealed that nearly one fifth are considered to be at risk of extinction across the European Union.
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Two Nearctic thrushes are the undoubted highlights with a Veery on North Ronaldsay whilst on Skokholm a Swainson's Thrush is found.
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For the first time the RSPB has written to all Local Authorities and major social housing providers asking them to step up for Swifts this summer as they return to the UK. More here >

Three of the most important sites in Madagascar for nature have been given permanent protection by the Government of Madagascar, thanks largely to the efforts BirdLife in Madagascar.
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BirdWatch Ireland is appealing to the public to take part in a national Breeding Curlew Survey and submit their sightings of this highly threatened species.
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BirdLife and the WWF have welcomed the news that the EU Nature Alert campaign has now generated more public responses to an EU public consultation than ever before. More here >

Dave Suddaby describes finding Ireland and Britain's first ever spring Grey-cheeked Thrush on the remote Mullet Peninsula on Mayo's west coast.
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We have now received from the publishers a full list of changes and errata to the 2nd Collins Bird Guide which includes new species, plates, text and a number of other changes. More here >

The first ever spring record of Grey-cheeked Thrush is found in Co.Mayo whilst Suffolk delivers its first Broad-billed Sandpiper in almost 20 years.
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A birder is raising money for Hen Harrier conservation by selling T-shirts with a striking and powerful design, with all profits going to RSPB.
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A ground-breaking study has revealed that the Beijing Swifts which breed at The Summer Palace in Beijing, travel more than 13,000km to spend the winter in southern Africa. More here >

Britain's second Moltoni's Warbler followed fast on the heels of last week's Norfolk bird, whilst in Ireland two Hooded Mergansers off the Donegal coast could be the 'real deal'. More here >

Andy Stoddart reviews the latest offer from Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein where she turns her attention here to climate change and the politics of environmentalism.
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Terry Townshend reveals the secret of a world-class birding site, visited by very few birders, just an hour from downtown Beijing.
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The RSPB is encouraging farmers, birdwatchers and walkers to keep a look out for Montagu's Harriers, the UK's rarest breeding bird of prey, after recently discovering the bird's African wintering grounds for the first time. More here >

Charlie looks at the badger cull in post-election Britain, the decline of the Yellow-breasted Bunting in East Asia, talks with author Simon Barnes and much more.
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Norfolk stole the show this week with Britain's second Citril Finch at Burnham Overy Dunes followed the day after with one, possibly two Moltoni's Subalpine Warblers on Blakeney Point.
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National Trust ranger Paul Nichols and Blakeney Point stalwart Andy Stoddart, describe the finding and identification of a Moltoni's Warbler the north Norfolk coast. More here >

100 voluntary organisations across the UK have joined forces to call for the protection of Europe's natural environment.
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