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SeaWatch SW early summer update (Conservation News) |
Go to article The latest update from the SeaWatch SW project is out with interesting observations indicating that small numbers of Balearic Shearwaters are essentialy resident in British waters! |
Written by: SeaWatch SW (10 Jun 2008) | |
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NEW LOOK "Month Ahead" Feature: June (The month ahead) |
Go to article We have revamped our Month Ahead feature which now has much more information on what you can see in June. As the madness of May passes, June can throw up a few gems but it is also a great time of year to see some British breeding species too. Get some top tips. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (24 May 2008) | |
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North-south divide revealed (Press report) |
Go to article The publication by Defra of bird trends across regions of England shows that the UK government will face difficulty in meeting its target of halting wildlife declines by 2010, says the RSPB. |
Written by: RSPB (24 May 2008) | |
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The month ahead: May (The month ahead) |
Go to article May is one of the best months of the year for migrants and vagrants. With spring migration underway in full, there is a chance of interesting birds anywhere. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (05 May 2008) | |
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No spring hunting on Malta this year (Conservation News) |
Go to article After a history of illegal bird killing, the Maltese government finally has been ordered by the European Court of Justice not to allow the spring hunting of birds – a practice which is in direct contravention of European bird protection laws. |
Written by: RSPB (30 Apr 2008) | |
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Welsh reserve goes national (Press report) |
Go to article The Newport Wetlands Reserve is today recognised as being nationally important for wildlife with its declaration as a National Nature Reserve |
Written by: Birdwatch (18 Apr 2008) | |
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Shorebird staging-sites in short supply... (Press report) |
Go to article Migratory shorebird populations wintering in south-eastern Australia have plummeted in recent years, with the key cause thought to be loss of suitable feeding habitat at staging sites, where birds refuel along their epic flights. |
Written by: BirdLife (17 Apr 2008) | |
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Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds needs your help (Conservation News) |
Go to article The first volume (passerines) of the long-awaited book by Hadoram Shirihai & Lars Svensson, the Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds , is now being readied for publication but has a few holes in its photo collection and needs your help. |
Written by: Hadoram Shirihai (11 Apr 2008) | |
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An early egg for Glaslyn Ospreys (Conservation News) |
Go to article Only a few days after returning to Glaslyn in Wales a pair of Osprey are currently incubating an egg raising hopes for a successful breeding season. |
Written by: RSPB (10 Apr 2008) | |
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Big Garden Birdwatch 2008 results are out (Press report) |
Go to article The RSPB’s 2008 Big Garden Birdwatch results show the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a fifth since 2004, however four species of finch, which spend the winter in the UK, have increased. |
Written by: RSPB (28 Mar 2008) | |
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EU bird success challenged (Conservation News) |
Go to article Two leading universities are disputing claims that EU conservation policy has been successful in protecting endangered birds. A study by RSPB and BirdLife International and published last year was flawed, they say. |
Written by: Birdwatch (05 Mar 2008) | |
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Identification of American Herring
Gull (ID Article) |
As the number of records of American Herring Gulls in the British Isles increases this comprehensive article by Killiam Mullarney and Pat Lonergan should tell you all there is to know. Note this is a PDF article & about 3.5mb large. |
Written by: Pat Lonergan & Killian Mullarney, Dutch Birding (13 Feb 2008) | |
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BOU Records Committee 36th report (Conservation News) |
Go to article The 36th report of the BOU Records Committee has been published in the BOU's journal Ibis in which a number of additions, changes and reviews are announced. |
Written by: BOURC (16 Jan 2008) | |
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The month ahead: January (The month ahead) |
Go to article January can be one of the busiest times of year at RBA and we send more messages on January 1st than just about any other day and yearlisters are out ticking those species which might prove hard later in the year. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (03 Jan 2008) | |
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The month ahead: December (The month ahead) |
Go to article Wildfowl, gulls, geese and raptors can dominate the birdnews in December but there is usually plenty of other good birds to get you out in the cold. Here is our roundup of what you can expect, or hope in some cases, to find in December. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (03 Dec 2007) | |
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Separation of Western and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (ID Article) |
In light of the recent occurence, in Devon, of what is either a Pied or Black-eared Wheatear we bring you the first of two comprehensive identification articles from Magnus Ullman published in Dutch Birding. Note: this is a pdf and is 1.5mb in size. |
Written by: Magnus Ullman, Dutch Birding (21 Nov 2007) | |
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Identification of Pied Wheatear and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (ID Article) |
It is notoriously difficult to distinguish Pied
Wheatear Oenanthe pieschanka and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear 0 hispanica melanoleuca.
This problem also occurs in north-western Europe,
where both taxa have been recorded as vagrant
. In this paper, the differences between the
two are summed up. NOTE: this is a PDF and is 1.5mb in size. |
Written by: Magnus Ullman, Dutch Birding (21 Nov 2007) | |
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Back from the brink: corncrakes come back (Press report) |
Go to article Numbers of corncrakes have risen again to their highest in almost three decades of monitoring, taking the population of the threatened species in Scotland to more than 1,270 calling males. |
Written by: RSPB (07 Nov 2007) | |
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The month ahead: November (The month ahead) |
Go to article Although migration is all but over November can very often throw up big surprises in the shape of megas, last year's Long-billed Murrelet being the most extreme of examples. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (30 Oct 2007) | |
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Unique spoon-billed bird facing extinction (Annual Rarity Review) |
Go to article Populations of one of the world’s strangest birds have crashed over the last decade, and surveys this summer of its breeding grounds in the remote Russian province of Chukotka suggest that the situation is now critical. |
Written by: BirdLife (12 Oct 2007) | |
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Cyprus bird of prey massacre (Conservation News) |
Go to article BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB's partner on the Mediterranean island, has recorded the worst reported slaughter of birds of prey on the island, and indeed Europe, in recent years. |
Written by: RSPB (09 Oct 2007) | |
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The month ahead: October (The month ahead) |
Go to article October can be the most exciting, and busiest, month of the birding year. Rarities can turn up anywhere but the hotspots still remain The Scillies and The Shetlands. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (29 Sep 2007) | |
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Scilly pelagics 2008 (Personal Account) |
Go to article Bob Flood has organised two special 'birder only' pelagics for August 2008. Full details and booking form can be found here |
Written by: Bob Flood (24 Sep 2007) | |
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From the Field: Fair Isle 16-22 Sept (Weekly Roundup) |
Go to article Mark Breaks' latest update from Fair Isle where it was generally quiet with south-westerly winds and only a scattering of migrants. However the best bird of the month thus far was found right at the end of the week. |
Written by: Mark Breaks (24 Sep 2007) | |
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Autumn seawatching in Ireland (Personal Account) |
Irish birder Anthony McGeehan writes about the excellent seawatching in the autumn in Ireland with particular reference to the places to watch from and the species seen. (Please note this is a pdf file and may take a few seconds to download) |
Written by: Dutch Birding (16 Aug 2007) | |
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Contributing factors sought as Red Knot population plummets (Conservation News) |
Go to article A new report has revealed a drastic population decline in the Red Knot subspecies Calidris canutus rufa. Numbers at their wintering grounds in southern South America have fallen drastically in recent years; from 51,300 in 2000 to approximately 30,000 in 2004, and still further to just 17,200 in 2006. |
Written by: BirdLife (15 Aug 2007) | |
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Court threat halts wetland destruction (Conservation News) |
Go to article The threat of court action has forced the Polish government to halt work on a controversial highway that would irreparably damage one of Europe's most pristine wildlife sites. |
Written by: RSPB (05 Aug 2007) | |
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BBRC appoint new chairman (Conservation News) |
Go to article Following a call for nominations earlier this year, the board of directors of British Birds have appointed a new Chairman of the Rarities Committee. |
Written by: BBRC (27 Jul 2007) | |
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Birding in August (The month ahead) |
Go to article August means the back of the summer blues and the expectations of what the autumn may bring. It is "the" month for seawatching and many will head to the west coast of Ireland and headlands throughout Britain in search of shearwaters, petrels and skuas. |
Written by: Rare Bird Alert (27 Jul 2007) | |
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Mixed bag for Scotland’s birds (Conservation News) |
Go to article Each year, hundreds of birders go out with notebooks to count Scotland’s birds, as part of the annual BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey. Some of the main findings include worrying declines in Lapwing and Kestrel numbers whilst there is better news for House Sparrows and Whitethroats. |
Written by: BTO (26 Jul 2007) | |
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Magnificent Frigatebird admitted to The British List (First for Britain) |
Go to article The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has accepted the record of an adult male Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens near Whitchurch, Shropshire on 7 November 2005, as the first British record. |
Written by: BOURC & BBRC (25 Jul 2007) | |
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Seabirds struggle again (Conservation News) |
Go to article Mid-season reports from RSPB coastal reserves suggest that Scotland's seabirds are suffering another poor breeding season. |
Written by: RSPB (18 Jul 2007) | |
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Yellow-nosed Albatross - a First for Britain (First for Britain) |
An exhausted sub-adult Yellow-nosed Albatross was found by walkers on Friday 29 Jun on Brean Beach, Somerset. Taken into care it was released Saturday at 4pm when it flew out to sea. Apparently an attempt was made to contact a local birder but he was out. See photos here and watch video here |
Written by: Lee Evans (03 Jul 2007) | |
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The RSPB launches new monthly podcast. (Conservation News) |
The RSPB is launching a new monthly podcast called Nature's Voice and in the first edition Prince Charles talks about the plight of the worlds albatrosses |
Written by: RSPB (25 Jun 2007) | |
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