Another week dominated by seabird news with Barolo Shearwater and Fea's/Zino's Petrel seen from the mainland, yet more massive counts of Wilson's Petrels off Cork and Scilly is shearwater heaven. More here >

Our Book of the Week is a copiously illustrated account by an acknowledged expert of all the major aspects of the fascinating lives of shorebirds
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The RSPB has fitted a record number of chicks with tags, across a wider geographical area than ever before, more than doubling the number it tagged in 2016. More here >

At least 18 young Griffon Vultures died in a major fire that affected the Portas do Rodao, a large griffon colony near Vila Velha de Rodao, in central Portugal. More here >

An ambitious project to save Orkney’s native wildlife has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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A new study explores the role of melanins in creating complex plumage patterns in 9,000 species of birds.
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In a landmark case a Spanish court has ordered an electricity utility to pay the penalty for the electrocution of 4 Griffon Vultures in Ossa de Montiel last year.
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In over 700 pelagics off the Isles of Scilly Bob Flood thought he had seen it it all - he was wrong!
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After drawing more that 10,000 visitors it looks like the breeding Bee-eaters at East Leake in Nottinghamshire will be unsuccessful as the RSPB report that the nests have failed. More here >

As part of the their commitment to encourage young birders to visit they obs SBO are offering free digital membership for 18y/o and under from 1st Sept.
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Huge numbers of Wilson's Petrels were found off the south west coasts of Britain and Ireland, whilst in Somerset we hear news of breeding Night Herons.
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There is photographic confirmation that, for the first time in recorded history, a pair of Night Herons has bred in the UK.
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The RSPB has released figures for 2017 Hen Harrier breeding season and it has proved to be another disastrous season as only 10 young were fledged. More here >

Animals that rely on camouflage can choose the best places to conceal themselves based on their individual appearance, new research shows. More here >

Chinese Crested Tern have been discovered breeding in the Korean Peninsula. This new stronghold could help the it bounce back from near-extinction. More here >

Years of dedicated habitat management have paid off as Stone Curlews have successfully bred for the first time at the National Trust's Dunwich Heath. More here >

¾ of 3,000 plant and animal species in England are likely to be significantly affected by climate change by the end of the century. More here >

Like humans, some birds can spend years learning and exploring before developing more settled habits.
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Researchers have discovered the bones of a new extinct species of songbird, a bullfinch which they have named Pyrrhula crassa. More here >

We're on track for a record summer for Hummingbird Hawk-moth sightings in Britain, with more recorded in gardens this June than in previous years.
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The new field guide fro Collins covering the South-East Asia region is our overseas book of the month for August.
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Ian Newton discusses the changes that have occurred in British agriculture over the past seventy years, and the effects they have had on bird populations.
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It was eyes offshore this week as epic sea-watching conditions deliver Wilson's Petrels (and more besides) in south-west England.
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The latest national survey of Scotland's population of Capercaillie, the world's largest grouse, estimates there to be only 1114 individuals. More here >

A public vote has opened on the Oxford City Council to choose the winner of the Swift Tower competition with three designs participants can vote for. More here >

A new study has found that larger buildings in rural areas pose a greater threat to birds than if those same-sized buildings were located in an urban area. More here >

Alberta's oil and gas infrastructure is providing a great living to the Brown-headed Cowbird, a bird species that tricks other songbirds into raising its young. More here >

Two couples supported by fellow residents in a Kent village have bought their own nature reserve to protect Turtle Doves. More here >

Sandwich terns successfully breed at the flagship RSPB nature reserve on the Suffolk coast, for first time since 1978.
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After touching down in East Leake quarry on 25 June, the Nottinghamshire Bee-eaters have successfully hatched chicks, just the third time this has happened in a decade.
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Our book of the week is the new edition of Donald Watson acknowledged classic - The Hen Harrier, with forward by Mark Avery.
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A record 13 Black-winged Stilts have fledged in the UK from nests across Kent, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, including nine on two RSPB reserves.
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Cornwall's Amur Falcon reappears but gives birders the run around, Other highlights include Swinhoe's Petrel, Collared Pratincole and a number of rare breeders are revealed.
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Cattle Egrets have bred successfully for only the second time ever in the UK and the first on an RSPB reserve at Ham Wall in Somerset.
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Gannets, puffins and razorbills are among the hundreds of thousands of seabirds that make up the largest mainland seabird colony in the UK on the Flamborough and Filey Coast. More here >

Sir David Attenborough has warned that UK butterflies face a critical summer after a string of poor years has seen the numbers of many common species decline. More here >

A breeding pair of Pallid Harriers has been discovered near Groningen in the Netherlands: the first time the species has bred Western Europe.
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The British Dragonfly Society are asking people to record their dragonfly sightings during a week long citizen science survey.
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Nesting in cavities provides birds with some protection from predators - but it isn’t foolproof according to a new study.
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A new study shows that ravens, can plan ahead for different types of events and are willing to forgo an immediate reward in order to gain a better one in the future. More here >

There are now 46 breeding pairs left in Northern Ireland - a fall of 22% since 2010, when there were 59 pairs - and the numbers are also declining elsewhere in the UK. More here >

Andy Stoddart reviews this comprehensive, authoritative and beautifully illustrated new guide. Both beginners and seasoned wader watchers will find much of value here. More here >

Sea-level rise may be a big problem for saltmarsh birds, but so is predation, and birds sometimes find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
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Britain's 2nd Amur Falcon is found in Cornwall, Fair Isle's fascinating Phylloscopus lingers in the Obs garden whilst a Fea's (type) Petrel is videoed drifting past Berry Head in Devon.
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The new hide designed by Biotope will be flood resilient, accommodate large numbers of people and have dedicated area for photographers.
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Eight Osprey chicks have safely arrived in Poole Harbour as part of a five year translocation project, aimed at re-establishing Osprey's on the south coast.
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Philip Bloor finds Scotland's first Pacific Swift at his local patch of four years, Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire.
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Studies of Willow Warbler in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States show that 'migration genes' differ, depending on where the birds breed in the summer.
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A study by zoologists from Switzerland and the US shows: praying mantises all over the globe also include birds in their diet.
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Ninety four critically endangered White-backed Vultures have been reported dead after feeding on a poisoned elephant carcass recently in Zimbabwe.
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New research has identified the most important areas for Britain and Ireland's seabirds at sea, with the majority of 'hotspots' revealed in the coastal waters of Scotland. More here >

Some of the UK's rarest wildlife has been given a big boost, it was announced, thanks to funding from Coastal Communities Fund, for an ambitious project on one of Orkney's islands. More here >

Our Book of the Week is the stunning new photographic guide by Lars Gejl. Through outstanding photography and concise, detailed text, Waders of Europe is indispensable for anyone interested in learning more about waders. More here >

A Pacific Swift in Aberdeenshire was the standout bird of the week. Other highlights included Bee-eaters possibly breeding Notts, Black-browed Albatross on the east coast plus we roundup the best from around the WP.
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One of only two female Welsh Ospreys breeding successfully in the UK has hatched out two chicks in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
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Five European environmental organizations are re-launching a campaign to ban veterinary diclofenac in Europe.
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Mexico announced plans recently to use trained dolphins to corral the last remaining Vaquita Porpoises into a protected breeding ground, a last-ditch bid to save the critically endangered species.
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RSPB Scotland is asking birdwatchers to keep an eye out for Roseate Terns in the Firth of Forth this summer.
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Five remote Pacific islands are once again safe havens for four of our world's rarest bird species following the success of one of the most ambitious island restoration projects ever implemented.
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Several Bee-eaters have been found at a quarry in Nottinghamshire, raising hopes that they might breed.
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A stunning White-throated Needletail spent a few hours on Barra, Western Isles, the Elegant Tern popped up in Dorset plus Bee-eaters in Nottinghamshire and much more.
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Our book of the week is ReWild: The Art of Returning to Nature by Nick Baker. A beautiful book and inspiring exploration of the art of returning to nature.
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The latest Hen Harrier survey reveals a UK population in 2016 of 545 territorial pairs, a drop of 88 pairs since the last national survey in 2010.
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Handmade reed wigwams have attracted Bearded Tits to nest at RSPB Old Moor nature reserve, in South Yorkshire, for the first time.
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Bruce Taylor describes finding a truly stunning mega on the island of Barra in the Western Isles. More here >

In the most comprehensive study of egg shapes to date, scientists say that the best predictor of long or pointy eggs is a bird's flying ability.
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Researchers try a new approach for determining what Bobolinks eat after they head south for the winter, by analysing the carbon compounds in their plumage.
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Spoonbill, one of Britain's rarest breeding birds, has continued to break new boundaries after a pair nested for the first time in Yorkshire at RSPB Fairburn Ings.
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Our book of the week is the RSPB-DK Pocket Birds of Britain and Europe (revised and updated 4th edition) by Jonathan Elphick & John Woodward.
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A hot midsummer week brought a stunning male Myrtle Warbler to Skokholm Island, while the Elegant Tern remained in West Sussex and there was a smattering of late spring arrivals.
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Ethical Consumer magazine's new campaign calls on all UK businesses to publicly distance themselves from corporate grouse shooting days.
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2017 is proving a bumper year for Black-winged Stilts with six pairs having bred in five different locations – a UK record.
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Seabirds and Marine mammals will continue to use the waters around operational wave and tidal renewable energy devices.
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For the first time, researchers have shown that a marine birds can hear under water. This offers new possibilities for the protection of marine birds in trafficked waters. More here >

When army ants move out, a new study found that, instead of chasing each other away, birds work together to follow the column.
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The new project has been given the go ahead to take place in Poole Harbour this year as a first stage in establishing a south coast breeding population.
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Mark speaks with Jonathan Meyrav, Israeli birder and one of the brains behind the Champions of the Flyway birdrace.
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Another rare tern makes the headlines this week, elsewhere major new rarities were thin on the ground but there were still plenty of goodies on offer.
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With the help of infrared binoculars, GPS and a heck of a lot of rappel rope, a team has managed for the first time to scale the sharp, inaccessible cliffs where the Mascarene Petrel nests. More here >

25 rare Black-tailed Godwits were released into their new home in the Cambridgeshire Fens yesterday [12 Jun] by conservationists from RSPB and WWT.
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Andy Johnson finds an Elegant Tern on his patch at Hayling Island in Hampshire, the same colour-ringed bird in France has been proven, using DNA, to be a pure Elegant Tern. More here >

A week long auction has begun for a one-off book containing 99 pieces of original art, to raise money for the BTO's Curlew Appeal and the UK Little Owl Project. More here >

If projections for melting Antarctic sea ice through 2100 are correct, the vanishing landscape will strip Emperor Penguins of their breeding and feeding grounds and put populations at risk. More here >

In the third instalment of our regular new series of interviews with some of the most well known (and not so well known) birders from Britain and around the world, Mark talks to Brett Richards.
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Our book of the week is the new paperback edition of David Cobham's history of Britain's birds of prey.
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Three Peregrine falcon chicks, which were rescued from a nest in Shropshire after their parents were found dead, have found new foster homes.
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Argyll and Bute birders score Scotland's third Sooty Tern. Also this week a perplexing Greenish Warbler sp. trapped and ringed at Portland, plus Black Scoter, Iberian Chiffchaffs, Black-eared Wheatear all feature.
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Media giant, AOL, reported that the East Yorkshire coast attraction was ranked number five in their Top Ten list of Trip Advisors’ best-rated natural outdoor attractions.
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Machrihanish Seabird Observatory warden, Eddie Maguire, describes finding Scotland's third ever Sooty Tern.
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One of the world's largest expanses of mudflats now has special protection thanks to one tiny bird: the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.
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This summer RSPB Scotland is asking visitors to Puffin colonies around the UK and Ireland to play a vital role in an innovative project aimed at helping Puffin conservation. More here >

Roseanna Cunningham MSP has announced the setting up of an independent enquiry into gamebird shoot licensing, a move welcomed by RSPB Scotland.
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The Spurn MigFest has very quickly established itself as one of The birding events in the British birding calendar and tickets for this year's event have gone on sale. More here >

A Two-barred Greenish Warbler on Foula becomes Britain's first spring record and 1st since the BOU adopted the IOC taxonomy. There's late news of a Lesser Kestrel, Red-foots galore, WP roundup and much more. More here >

It's possible that the cold, dry weather and prolonged northerly winds across much of the country during April held them up and stifled the start of breeding activity.
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Andy reviews the latest annual report from the Spurn Bird Obs team. With in-depth coverage of the best birds including the Siberian Accentor it will be of interest to many well beyond Yorkshire.
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The RSPB have confirmed that Cattle Egrets are breeding at their Burton Mere Wetlands reserve in Cheshire.
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With specially commissioned paintings of over 900 species on almost 250 plates, this book is the most comprehensive field guide to Australian birds ever published.
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A new guide from the team at WildGuides with over 300 stunning photographs, maps and charts showing distributions and a complete list of the spiders recorded in Britain.
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A new study has shown that migrating Sooty Terns are threatened by hurricane-force winds and storms, which are predicted to increase with climate change.
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