An otherwise quiet week was turned on it's head with news of a Hudsonian Godwit in Somerset whilst Gloucestershire scored its 1st Pied-billed Grebe which then relocated to Lancashire.
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Andy Stoddart reviews the latest offering from the Sound Approach Team - Undiscovered Owls, and he is mightily impressed.
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Tom Raven describes finding Britain's 3rd Hudsonian Godwit at Meare Heath on the Somerset Levels.
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Birder and photographer Mark Carmody travels to Antarctica on the trip of a lifetime and returns with unforgettable memories and photos to match.
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Ashley Fisher describes finding Britain's second Great Blue Heron on the Isles of Scilly in the same spot he found the first one eight years ago!
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The highlight of the week was the Great Blue Heron on Scilly which commuted between three islands much to the delight of many and the frustration of a few!
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Bob Flood from the Scilly Pelagics team travels from Muscat, Oman to Djibouti, northeast Africa in search of Jouanin's Petrel at their main breeding grounds off Oman and the Socotra archipelago
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The BTO have tracked breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Suffolk to show how they use areas of sea where around offshore wind farms.
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Andy Stoddart reviews this new title in which Charlie Elder goes in search of Britain's rarest and most endangered animals.
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A six year old female White-tailed Eagle has been found dead on her nest in Connemara, subsequent post-mortem revealed the bird was poisoned.
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Spring well and truly arrived this week. Highlights included a Great Blue Heron on Scilly, a Scops Owl in Ireland, a massive influx of Hoopoes, multiple Black-winged Stilts and more.
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Terry Townshend from Birding Beijing takes a look at White Wagtail complex in and around Beijing.
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For the first time, the same Golden-winged Warbler has been caught at both a migration hotspot and in its wintering grounds.
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Populations of Yellow-breasted Bunting have been rapidly declining across their range and help is needed to find breeding localities in Mongolia.
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A group of 10 high profile wildlife and conservation organisations are calling on the Scottish Government to impose a three year ban on all Mountain Hare culling on grouse moors. More here >

A recent discovery of oil off the Senegalese coast could have serious consequences for the world's largest breeding colony of Royal Tern.
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Maltese citizens lost the opportunity to put an end to the controversial spring hunting of birds in their country during a national referendum. A decision that will have consequences for bird conservation across Europe.
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Spring arrived proper this week as a flood of common migrants appeared with some rarer counterparts including a single-observer Crag Martin on the Isles of Wight and a Black-winged Stilt in Dorset.
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Allan Conlin describes his quest to find the Wirral's first Surf Scoter amongst the Common Scoter flocks off East Hoyle sandbank.
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RSPB NI is warning that 100% cuts to the Natural Heritage Grants Programme will have a devastating effect on nature and the environment.
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At the end of March and into early April an influx of over 40 Pallid Harriers was recorded in north east Spain. Alex Olle and Ricard Gutierrez discuss the increase in records in recent years.
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As the breeding season gets under-way Birders Against Wildlife Crime have produced a very informative article on photographing Schedule 1 birds.
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One of the UK's rarest butterflies has recorded its best year for a decade thanks to 2014's warm spring weather and work to restore its habitat.
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For the first time biologists report 'irrefutable evidence' that Blackpoll Warblers complete a nonstop flights of up to 1,700 miles in just two to three days.
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A showy Alpine Swift performs well near Gatwick Airport, whilst elsewhere the drake Harlequin in Aberdeen continues its transformation into summer smartness. More here >

Previously thought to have gone extinct after it was last seen on Midway Atoll in 1991, it has been confirmed that Bryan's Shearwater are nesting in Japan's Ogasawara Islands.
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Following a number of sightings in 2014 it has been confirmed that Scarce Tortoiseshell has successfully overwintered in Britain for the first time.
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The second Champions of the Flyway Bird Race took place in southern Israel on March 25th and over $75,000 has been raised for Birdlife Cyprus.
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The iconic Tasmanian Swift Parrot is facing population collapse and could become extinct within 16 years, new research has found.
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After five years the final phase of baiting has taken place on South Georgia. It is hoped that it will be free of rats for the first time since humans inhabited the island. More here >

The results of the RSPB's annual Big Garden Birdwatch are in and whilst most species increased the number of finches has dropped.
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News from China where a record 10,405 Relict Gulls have been counted at a single site, but it's not necessarily good news.
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A paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B says that mercury levels in Ivory Gulls have risen almost 50 fold over the last 130 years.
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The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Garden BirdWatch survey is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, thanks to the dedication of its participants.
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A Desert Wheatear on St.Agnes was a surprise find this week and in Norfolk a very brief Booted Eagle was reported but not see again.
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An e-petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting to protect raptors from illegal persecution enters it's final week.
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Substantial swathes of mountain habitat in western Ireland went up in flames during a large wildfire at the weekend, just as the breeding season begins.
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A study of Gannets off the northwest coast of Scotland has found the birds' numbers have increased rapidly over the last decade.
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The RAF have confirmed that a seasonal ban on low flying military aircraft above Cley and Salthouse Marshes is to be extended to a year round ban.
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The Blue-bearded Helmetcrest, a hummingbird not seen for 69 years and thought to be extinct, has been re-found in Columbia and photographed for the very first time. More here >

Many of last week's rarities were still in situ, in Ireland an American Herring Gull is found and in Norfolk a White-tailed Eagle goes wandering.
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This is a new third edition of a field guide which first appeared in 2002 and it remains an excellent introduction to Britain's fabulous butterflies.
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Andy Stoddart reviews this monograph on one of our most-loved birds - the Cuckoo - by one of our foremost field ornithologists.
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Following on from a 2010 survey which showed regional declines BirdWatch Ireland are looking for volunteers to help with their 2015 survey.
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A new take on bird illustrations using minimalist design and straight lines, but does it work?
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A prototype "bio-logging" device is being developed which is powered by the wing-beats of the bird it is attached to.
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Jon Dunn embarks on an epic weekend trip from Shetland to Costa Rica in search of hummingbirds.
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A study of the modern Red Kite population in Wales has revealed a north/south genetic divide running along the Towy Valley.
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After sitting in a museum drawer for more than seventy years, a new Tapaculo has been described.
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A new report on Scottish raptors shows that some species are faring better than in the past but species such as the Kestrel are in decline.
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The Scottish Ornithologists' Club and Isle of May Bird Observatory are looking for six young birdwatchers to take part in their Young Birders' Training Course.
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RSPB Scotland has today warned time is running out to reduce the impact of T in the Park on wildlife at Strathallan Castle in Perthshire.
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The first common migrants starting appearing this week with an arrival of Sand Martins, Wheatears and the first Little Ringed Plovers.
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A scientific team working in Myanmar has rediscovered Jerdon's Babbler which had last been seen in Myanmar in July 1941 and was considered by many to be extinct in the country.
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The numbers of trapped songbirds illegally killed on a British military base in Cyprus last autumn reached an estimated 900,000 birds, the highest level recorded in 12 years, according to the latest RSPB-funded research of trapping activity on the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area. More here >

A new research study, conducted on six farms across East Anglia, has recommended a new agri-environment management option that could help in the recovery of UK Turtle Dove populations.
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This is the third in Marcus Nash's series of reviews looking at smartphone listing applications, which can be used to replicate one of the main uses of the traditional notebook with an interactive and downloadable way of keeping lists. More here >

Just when it looked like it would be another quite week with the long-stayers dominating the headlines a juvenile Thayer's Gull is found in Yorkshire. Elsewhere there was still plenty of winter fayre still on offer.
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Ex-RBA newsman Tom Lowe, describes finding a juvenile Thayer's Gull at Rufforth Airfield in Yorkshire.
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A Peregrine found dead outside the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust offices at East Mill in Belper was found to have been recently shot, and the RSPB are now offering a £1000 reward for information.
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An ornithological search-team have caught a glimpse of the Critically Endangered Zapata Rail. The sighting is the first documented in more than four decades and offers hope to conservationists working to ensure its survival. More here >

News from the Isles of Scilly where on the 20th of February a 'mystery whale' photographed close inshore to St.Martin's has been identified by experts as the first ever Bowhead Whale to be seen in Britain.
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Humberside Police and the RSPB are appealing for information following the discovery of a Buzzard that had sustained injuries consistent with illegal trapping. The RSPB are offering a £1000 reward to anyone who has information that could lead to a conviction relating to the incident. More here >

Farmers, landowners, gamekeepers and conservationists will celebrate 30 years of joint conservation work for Stone Curlews in the Brecks, which has turned around the fortunes of this rare and iconic farmland species.
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Proposals by Scottish Natural Heritage to mount a fresh drive to help some of Europe's most important numbers of wader birds were today backed by community leaders in the Outer Hebrides.
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Panama Audubon Society is celebrating after winning a hard-fought effort to reverse the Panama government's 2012 decision to withdraw protected status for the Bay of Panama Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. More here >

Another of Ireland's re-introduced White-tailed Eagles has been found dead, this time in Co.Fermanagh.
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Another week without too many new birds but the rarity list is beginning to resemble the roll call from Noah's Ark! To join the pairs of Black Scoter, American Coots and Laughing Gulls we now have two Harlequins and two Pacific Divers and a brace of Black-bellied Dippers. More here >

Following our poll on noise in hides we asked Tormod Amundsen to tell us a bit more about Biotope and their innovative hide designs. Find out how this Norwegian company is changing the way we look at hides.
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The results are in of our latest poll where we asked you about the noise made in nature reserve hides by users and their equipment.
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Martin Garner looks ahead to the Flamborough Bird Observatory AGM in March and gives details of Flamborough Presents an evening with Martin looking and what birds to expect in 2015 and talks about his Challenge Series of books. More here >

Andy Stoddart reviews the latest offering from the Crossbill Guides covering Iceland. Previous guides, such as those to the Spanish Pyrenees, Hungary's Hortobagy and France's Loire Valley, have focused on famous bird-rich areas but here, for the first time, we have a guide to a whole country. More here >

The owner of Westfield Farm, Cropton, North Yorkshire, has been found guilty of permitting the use of a pole trap on the farm on 11 June 2014, and has been fined £4,000 at Scarborough Magistrates' Court today.
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Despite the all-too gloomy news of the terrible troubles in Iraq, there are still highlights, little jewels, that show the resilience and determination of the Iraqi people to treasure and protect their natural heritage.
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In our reader poll this week we are asking you about nature reserve hides and if you find that people in them make too much noise.
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A quiet week on the new rarity front with Harlequin, Black Scoters, American Coots and Pacific Diver all remaining put. The Laughing Gull in Cheshire also continued to put on a show and off Filey a splendid drake Surf Scoter proved very popular. Plus this week you can compete against Mark in a feature we are calling the Long-stayers Lottery! More here >

A video camera deployed in 2014 by RSPB Scotland to monitor a Goshawk nest in Aberdeenshire captured footage revealing a group of men repeatedly visiting the area in what appears to be an attempt to kill the birds and destroy the nest. More here >

Migratory songbirds in East Asia are in trouble, according to new research. The study calls for national action and international cooperation to deal with threats, as well as more monitoring and research to help understand and protect this unique migration system. More here >

The Government has listened to the pleas of over 12,400 people concerned about the future of Britain's finest Nightingale site and has called in for public inquiry an application to build 5,000 homes on Lodge Hill, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, in Kent. More here >

Barratt Developments has joined forces with the RSPB to set a new benchmark for nature-friendly housing developments - the first national agreement of its kind in the UK.
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A new website, created and run by the Swedish bird observatory at Ottenby, aims to provide a user-friendly, practical and accurate guide to ageing and sexing of birds in spring and autumn.
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Norfolk Police and the RSPB have appealed for anyone with any information about the shooting of a Little Bustard in Norfolk last month, to come forward.
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One of Scotland's most iconic birds will be the subject of a fourth national survey to see how its population is faring. The six-month survey of Golden Eagles is co-funded by Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland.
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In the 2nd in his series of reviews of listing apps Marcus Nash gives Bird Journal a comprehensive review. Available for both iPhone and Android and designed to be used alongside a desktop application.
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Another week and the winter's long-stayers were still in situ including the Harlequin, Black Scoters and American Coots. The Laughing Gull in Cheshire proved a photographers delight whilst a super showy Little Bunting in South Wales was one of three found this week. More here >

Following a record breaking Birdfair 2014, a £280,000 cheque was handed to BirdLife International to help advance the designation of new marine protected area and to enrich worldwide marine wildlife.
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As spring gets underway, the RSPB is asking people who spend time in the English uplands to keep their eyes peeled for Hen Harriers, England’s most threatened birds of prey.
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Black-headed Gulls in urban environments are better at responding to human foods than their rural counterparts, shows new research in Bird Study; the Journal of the British Trust for Ornithology.
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Unmanned drones have become increasingly affordable which is leading to their widespread use for wildlife observations and ecological research. French researchers have tested the impact of unmanned drones on three species of waterbirds, Mallards, Flamingos and Greenshanks. More here >

A reasonably quite week to end January and start February. In Aberdeenshire the Harlequin remained on show on the river Don whilst Lincolnshire landed a rare winter record of Pacific Golden Plover and Cheshire birders enjoyed a first winter Laughing Gull. More here >

We have the results of our week long poll on the position taken by the Hawk and Owl Trust on a Hen Harrier brood management trial. More here >

Money raised from Birdfair 2015 will go to protecting migratory birds in the Eastern Mediterranean it has been announced. More here >

A satellite-tagged Hen Harrier was shot dead this week in Co Kerry. The young female bird was known to thousands of people who had followed her since her first flight from a nest in east Kerry two years ago.
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Last year's Champions of the Flyway birdrace, organised by Birdlife and other organisations, was hugely successful and so is back in 2015. RBA are supporting a team from the BBRC and we hope you can get behind them too to raise money to stop the slaughter of birds on Cyprus. More here >

As an 18-strong international team recently departed for South Georgia to begin the final phase of the world's largest rodent eradication project, they were buoyed by the discovery of a nest of five South Georgia Pipit chicks in an area previously overrun with rats. More here >

News from Igdir province in Eastern Turkey where Black and Griffon Vultures have been poisoned resulting the deaths of five vultures.
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In Aberdeenshire the Harlequin remained on the River Don whilst remains of another kind made headlines in Norfolk. Elsewhere it was typical winter fayre with plenty of geese, ducks and gulls.
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This winter has seen incredibly low numbers of Siskins, a small finch that traditionally turns to our gardens for food during the winter, according to the BTO Garden BirdWatch and is probably due to a bumper crop of Sitka Spruce seeds. More here >

Recently the Hawk and Owl Trust's chairman confirmed that the the organisation has agreed in princliple to take part in a trial of brood management for Hen Harriers. We want to know what you think of the decision.
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Bardsey Bird Observatory warden Steve Stansfield looks back a year of highs for the small Welsh island off the Gwynedd coast.
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