Wow, what a week! Highlights included a Black-winged Pratincole in the north-east, Shetland's first Bridled Tern on Fair Isle, a Scops Owl ringed on North Ronaldsay, Black Scoter in Cleveland, not to mention the long-staying Short-toed Eagle and Spectacled Warbler plus Black-winged Stilt chicks hatch at multiple sites!
Read the round-up here

Andy Stoddart reviews this new title which looks at 100 items that have profoundly shaped how people have watched, studied and engaged with the avian world. Items covered include early cave paintings, aluminium bird rings and even our own RBA pager. Read the review here

Black-winged Stilt, which have not bred successfully in the UK for nearly 30 years have hatched their first chicks on RSPB reserves in Kent and West Sussex in south-east England today.
Read the full story here

The Short-toed Eagle is re-found and goes on a tour of Southern England whilst in Norfolk the nest building Spectacled Warbler continues, its now record breaking stay. Elsewhere there were few new rarities of note but still a good number of scarce migrants to keep the summer lull at bay a while longer.
Read the round-up here

Cornwall's famous population of Choughs have had a hugely successful year with 17 Chough chicks now fledged and out on the wing experiencing the drama and beauty of the Cornish coast.
Read the full story here

England's most threatened bird of prey has taken a small step back from the brink of extinction.
Read the full story here

SWAROVSKI OPTIK are launching another "Digiscoper of the Year" competition.
Read about it here

In Dorset a twitchable Short-toed Eagle delighted the masses and in North Norfolk a nest-building Spectacled Warbler was equally well received and meant it was a two-tick week for many! Elsewhere a first summer Ross's Gull was present in Devon having been previously identified as a Little Gull.
Read the round-up here

Having spent much of the spring birding Gunhill and Burnham Overy Dunes on the north Norfolk coast Neil Alford's persistence pays off in a big way when he unearths a singing Spectacled Warbler.
Read his account of the find here

The RSPB is concerned to learn that Natural England - the UK Government's nature conservation agency - is considering a licence application to trap and shoot 10 Buzzards to protect young pheasants. Natural England is expected to make a decision on the fate of the Buzzards imminently.
Read the full story here

A bumper May week included a brief appearance of a Slender-billed Gull at Titchwell, Britain's first in 14 years! Elsewhere there was Calandra Lark on Fair Isle, Baillon's Crake in Kent and a Collared Flycatcher in Argyll.
Read the round-up here

Andy Stoddart reviews Gerard Gorman's photographic guide to this enigmatic group. Covering 239 species it is a comprehensive, authoritative and visually stunning piece of work.
Read the review here

The bolt from the blue this week came in the shape of a Bermuda Petrel photographed in Irish Waters. Elsewhere a super showy Terek Sandpiper proved to be a real crowd pleaser.
Read the round-up here

A newly-hatched Common Crane chick - filmed at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire - could be the first wild-born crane to survive in the west of Britain for 400 years.
Read the full story here

Ninety years to the day since the first outside broadcast of nightingale song on the BBC, the RSPB has decided to do it all over again to celebrate the anniversary and mark the plight of the threatened, long-distance migrant bird. Read the full story here

The RSPB is calling on wildlife watchers to help build a picture of seabird declines.
Read the full story here

Farmers and birdwatchers are being urged to keep a lookout for Montagu's Harriers - the rarest breeding bird of prey in the UK, which nests almost entirely on arable farmland.
Read the full story here

Fair Isle turns up Britain's third ever spring Hermit Thrush. Elsewhere a Myrtle Warbler relocates to Unst from North Ronaldsay. And in Northumberland a Bonelli's Warbler sees a belated compass point change, to something altogether rarer... Read the round-up here

A Myrtle Warbler on North Ronaldsay and Britain's first spring record of American Buff-bellied Pipit in Lancashire were this week's highlights. With lingering megas such as Cretzschmar's Bunting and Caspian Stonechat it proved to be another very good week indeed.
Read the round-up here

David Lindo reviews the first comprehensive title covering the avifauna for the London area. The status, distribution and history of every species on the regional list is discussed in rich detail Read the review here

Since 2007 Steve Evans has been documenting the rarest birds to turn up in Britain. The latest in his series includes some stunning footage of Rock Thrush, Harlequin Duck, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat to name but a few. Read the review here

This month BirdLife South Africa staff and collaborators have published a 7-year study, showing that the hake trawl fishery in South Africa has reduced albatross deaths by 99%!
Read the full story here

Deryk Shaw recounts the moment he finds Britain's fifth Cretzschmar's Bunting on Fair Isle, Shetland.
Read the account here

Fair Isle scores Britain's 5th ever Cretzschmar's Bunting and the same day a Caspian Stonechat! In Norfolk a lone patchworker bags the first Alpine Accentor in a decade and in Borders a male Collared Flycatcher. Elsewhere plenty of quality scarce migrants to keep everyone more than happy!
Read the round-up here

It was by no means a stellar week for major rarities but there were still plenty of scarce migrants to be found. A fly-by Northern Harrier in Dorset topped the Bill whilst Irish birders were treated to only the 3rd Sardinian Warbler ever. Whilst in Devon a Collared Pratincole was a first in the county since 1956! Read the round-up here

After a previously quiet spring week things began to hot-up. A Crag Martin in East Yorks broke the one-day mould and stuck around for three! Leicestershire bags it's first Pied-billed Grebe whilst a record-equalling flock of Black-winged Stilts are found on the Isle of Wight Read the round-up here

Marcus Nash discusses the controversial first winter Two-barred Crossbill which has spent most of the winter at Lynford Arboretum in Norfolk. Read more here

The Baikal Teal appears to depart from Cambridgeshire as another Great Spotted Cuckoo arrives, this time in Devon, and the Sora re-appears in Scilly. Read the round-up here

A drake Wood Duck on the Western Isles and a drake Baikal Teal in Cambridgeshire provide plenty of discussion, while a Red-flanked Bluetail appears on Shetland. Read the round-up here

Almost half a million people who took part in this year's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch have discovered some interesting changes among our most popular garden birds, with some species that benefit from a bit of extra help creeping up the rankings. Read more here

Another comparatively quiet week but with a brief Snowy Owl reported in Essex and a distinct autumnal feel in Suffolk. Read the round-up here

The 2013 annual results for the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Garden BirdWatch (GBW) have just been published and reveal an interesting year for birds, with a very cold spring, a poor breeding season and a good autumn berry and seed crop all playing their part. Read more here

Fourteen teams of adrenalin charged birders will step boldly into the Israeli night at midnight on 31 March, as they cross the start line of a unique, new, bird race. Champions of the Flyway is the brainchild of SPNI (BirdLife in Israel) and will raise conservation funds to help BirdLife Partners tackle the illegal killing of birds in Southern and Eastern Europe. And RBA are delighted to be able to support one of teams. Read more here

We are delighted to have David Lindo, aka The Urban Birder, joining us to write a a regular piece on his passion for urban birding. In his first 'ramble' he introduces his beloved local patch, Wormwood Scrubs. Read the full story here

Plenty of birds were on offer as the weather generally remained fairly settled and favourable to more common March migrants and a few overshoots too. Whilst in West Sussex a hoaxed Savannah Sparrow was the unsavoury 'lowlight' of the week! Read the round-up here

A week that saw a bit of a shift from winter to spring with one or two long staying rarities departing and some new spring arrivals, including a Great Spotted Cuckoo. Read the round-up here

A Spoon-billed Sandpiper was snapped last week by birdwatcher Peter Ericsson on wetlands at Pak Thale in Thailand and identified as bird 'AA', which was hand-reared and released in Chukotka, Russia last summer as part of the effort to save the species from extinction. Read the story here

A week with not many new rarities but plenty of quality birds lingering as we start looking forward to spring migration. Read the round-up here

Provides a thoroughly engaging and authoritative history of modern ornithology, tracing how the study of birds has been shaped by a succession of visionary and often-controversial personalities, and by the unique social and scientific contexts in which these extraordinary individuals worked. Read the review here

After a huge response to our bird id competition to win Swarovski's 8x32EL Swarovision binoculars, the result is in... Full details here

Unlike their recent exploits in the Six Nations, Ireland managed a triple crown... of Ross's Gulls! Elsewhere it was a case of as you were with long-stayers such American Coot and Red-flanked Bluetail remaining in residence whilst the 2013/14 gull-fest continued.
Read the round-up here

When David Sibley's North American Bird Guide was first published in 2000, it instantly became the definitive field guide for the region. Andy Stoddart gets his hands on this highly anticipated second edition and isn't left disappointed. SPECIAL OFFER £21.49 for RBA customers with £1.10 of every sale going to Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation. Read the review here

SPECIAL OFFER £41.99 for RBA customers with £2 of every sale going to Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation. The status, distribution and history of every species on the regional list is discussed in rich detail in Birds of London, the first comprehensive avifauna for the London area ever published. More here

There were two undoubted talking points this week, the first of which wasn't even a bird! The weather dominated, with Britain and Ireland seeing some of the strongest wind and heaviest rain ever recorded! Whilst in Kent a Chinese Pond Heron provided the avian topic of conversation. Read the round-up here

Although no longer the mega rarity it once was, away from Ireland and particularly on mainland Britain, American Herring Gull is still a fantastic find. Dan Brown finds only the second record for the Scottish mainland and describes his find here. Read the full story here

Any thoughts that 2014 might start to 'quieten' down were well and truly dismissed as three top quality finds were made. A classic near-adult Slaty-backed Gull in Galway was the star turn with a Myrtle Warbler in Co.Durham and Fea's Petrel in East Yorks providing heavyweight back-up! Read the round-up here

SPECIAL OFFER Pre-order for just £19.99 with £1 of every sale going to Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation. Andy is one of the first people to get his hands on a copy of this update to the classic 1989 edition and it would appear that it has been worth the wait! Read the review here

A look at the new generation of SLC binoculars from Swarovski Optik. Read more here

SPECIAL OFFER just £28.99 for first 10 purchasers!
This comprehensive title is the result of eight years of fieldwork by a dedicated team of volunteers documenting the county's importance for birds. Read the review here

A truly extraordinary collection of photographs of animals now extinct in the wild. Often tinted sepia or in black-and-white, these images were taken in zoos or wildlife parks and in a handful of cases feature the last remaining example of the species. Read the review here

A dead American Purple Gallinule in Co.Mayo was a case of what could have been whilst in Gloucestershire a dedicated patch worker stumbles across Britain's first ever wintering Red-flanked Bluetail. A new Ivory Gull in Ireland and plenty of long staying megas meant it was another busy week! Read the round-up here

Dedicated patcher John Barnett took a stroll in the Shire Valley hoping to add a few species to his patch year list. He couldn't have imagined that a few hours later he would have found Britain's first wintering Red-flanked Bluetail! Read the full story here

Compiled from data collected by over 40,000 volunteer surveyors through timed visits, roving records and other sources, over four summers and winters this is a landmark title and must have for all birders.
Read the review here

This an unusual book, tracing the story of a unique art project which has sought to explore and highlight the story of extinct bird species, the 'gone birds' of its title. Read the review here

Andy reviews this book which looks at the species that are most at risk from disappearing from our world - and what it will mean to us to lose them. Read the review here

In the first of a number of book reviews around the theme of extinction and threatened wildlife Andy looks at this authoritative title. Read the review here

In his first book review of 2014 Andy Stoddart gets his hands on this much anticipated title, and it certainly didn't disappoint! Read the review here

By recent standards it was a relatively quiet week but still there were plenty of quality birds to he had. Midland birders were treated to a county first in the shape of a Humes's Yellow-browed Warbler in Warwickshire. Read the round-up here

Arctic birds continue to dominate proceedings this week, top of the list being a Pacific Diver found at Lough Fea County Tyrone. Other highlights include a Ross's Gull in Dublin, Ivory Gull in Wexford, Thayer's Gull in Glamorgan and American Coot in Highland. Read the round-up here

On Boxing Day 2013, whilst photographing Scoters off Musselburgh, Owen Selly's wife photographed a White-winged Scoter. Subsequent analysis of the photos show what appears to be Britain's first occurrence of Stejneger's Scoter! Read the full story here

Two weeks into 2014 and we are still looking to the amazing year of 2013 to make the headlines. A White-winged Scoter seen off Musselburgh on Boxing Day gets identified as Britain's first Stejneger's Scoter! Elsewhere Ireland gets in on the Ivory Gull action with a super showy bird at Tacumshin. Read the round-up here

Simon Eaves recounts finding Britain's 7th ever American Coot and the first mainland record for over 10 years. Read the full story here

A tracking device, which weighs less than a paperclip, has helped scientists uncover one of the world's great bird migrations Read the full story here

In a double helping covering the Christmas and the New Year fortnight, Jon Dunn brings you details of all the best birds. In Dorset a long-staying Brunnich's Guillemot delighted those who could drag themselves away from the turkey leftovers! Read the round-up here

2013 will go down as one of the most memorable years in British and Irish birding history. We received many excellent photographs for inclusion on our weekly round-ups and so to give credit to those photographers who have been generous enough to post their images, it was decided to hold the inaugural RBA Review Photograph of the Year award. See the contenders and winners here

Eddie Williams describes finding the first American Buff-bellied Pipit for north west England along the tideline at Burton Marsh in Cheshire. Read the full story here

In the last round-up of 2013, Mark Golley brings us the weeks highlights. A possible Steller's Eider in Lothian got the pulses racing for a short while. Cheshire scored a first in the shape of an American Buff-bellied Pipit and in E.Yorks the juvenile Ivory Gull continued to perform at Patrington. Read the round-up here

Some Festive Greetings from the RBA Team Read more here

A very wintry feel to the round-up this week with gulls taking the limelight. In Co.Donegal an adult Thayer's Gull was a top-drawer find whilst back in Britain an Ivory Gull in East Yorkshire drew the largest crowds. Read the round-up here

Conservationists, farmers and wildlife enthusiasts have rallied to the cause of one of England's most threatened birds, the Turtle Dove, which has seen its worst year yet. Read the story here

Andy Stoddart gets his hands on the latest in the award-winning Crossley ID Guide series and at last it covers Britain and Ireland. And we have a fantastic special offer for RBA users, just £11.96 inc p+p! Read the review here

Following the huge storm surge which struck the east coast of England on 5th December Andy Stoddart looks at the damage caused in North Norfolk. Read the story here

Some 'proper' winter weather brings in five Ivory Gulls whilst on South Uist a Pied-billed Grebe is found and the Baikal Teal remains in Lancashire. The most talked about news this week however was probably the huge tidal surge on the east coast. Read the round-up here

The British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) has removed Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris from the British List. Read the story here

As we near the end of 2013 there was no let up in quality birds. Top-billing this week was a drake Baikal Teal at Marshside RSPB in Lancashire. In a close second was a Bruinnch's Guillmot photographed off the Yorkshire coast and with a supporting cast of Ivory Gull and Caspian Stonechat it was another superb week. A new member to the weekly round-up team, Jon Dunn, tells all Read the round-up here

Britain's fourth Caspian Stonechat was identified on Scilly and an American Robin was found on the Western Isles. Meanwhile the Western Orphean Warbler remained in it's favoured garden in Pembrokeshire. Read the round-up here

A Western Orphean Warbler in south Wales was the undoubted highlight of the week. In a close second place was a Short-billed Dowitcher on North Ronaldsay whilst Devon made the headlines for all the wrong reasons following news of a suppressed Dusky Thrush. Read the round-up here

A rare hand-reared Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been spotted for the first time in the wild, more than 8,000km from where it was released. Read the story here

A Black-throated Thrush on Mainland, Shetland was the rarest bird of the week but no doubt the highlight for many was a Pied Wheatear in Nottinghamshire. Elsewhere winter seemed to be taking hold as the rare and scarce ducks and geese section starts to grow. Read the round-up here

It was the first week in a very long time without a new major rarity turning up, a sign that [perhaps] this amazing autumn has started to quieten down. However with a star studded roll-call of long staying megas there was plenty to write about! Read the round-up here

During his annual half-term family holiday on the Isles of Scilly North West birder, Steve Williams, finds a highly coveted White's Thrush on St.Agnes. Read the full story here

Whilst going about his normal routine of recording birds in his garden, Isle of Rhum resident and keen patch birder Sean Morris finds Britain's fourth ever Mourning Dove amongst the Chaffinches. Read the full story here

The early part of the week was dominated by news of a Cape May Warbler on Unst but following one of the biggest Atlantic storms in recent years a deluge of mega rare rained down across Britain and Ireland. Mark lifts the lid on a week which will go down in birding folklore and be talked about for years to come. Read the round-up here

On a half-term family break in Cornwall, Ken Arber and friend Paul Callaway find Britain's first Hermit Thrush to occur on the mainland at Porthgwarra, Cornwall. Read the full story here

In an autumn that keeps throwing up mega finds, Mike Pennington got in on the action in a major way as he finds Britain's second ever Cape May Warbler on Unst, Shetland. Read the full story here

In a change to the general pattern of the autumn it was a mainland county which stole the show this week, with Hampshire scoring a Semipalmated Plover. Fair Isle did its very best to compete with a cracking male Siberian Rubythroat. A presumed Northern Harrier in Cambridgeshire was another major talking point plus plenty or other rare and scare birds to keep everyone interested. Read the round-up here

In a week which included the busiest day ever for messages at RBA (721 on Sat 12th!) it was scarce, rather than rare migrants which largely stole the show. Rarities included a Sora on Scilly, Grey-cheeked Thrushes on Western Isles, Shetland and Scilly and elsewhere Daurian Shrike, Northern Harrier, Coues's Arctic Redpolls and Parrot Crossbills were the highlights. Read the round-up here

Shropshire birder and photographer Jim Almond shares his experiences of photographing White-tailed Eagles on Mull. Using some fantastic images Jim describes all the elements needed to get that perfect shot. Read the full story here

A week packed full of quality birds. News of a Cedar Waxwing on Tiree came too late for anyone to twitch but a Thick-billed Warbler on Mainland Shetland hung around long enough for the keenest to add it to their lists. Other highlights included an Ovenbird , Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, two Red-eyed Vireos, White's Thrush, Daurian Shrike and much more. Read the round-up here

Whilst leading a tour for Shetland Wildlife, guide David Fairhurst unearths a dream bird on Shetland - Britain's fifth Thick-billed Warbler. Delighting birders already on the island it hung around overnight allowing mainland twitchers to score also. Read the full story here

Magnus Robb and Arnoud van den Berg from the Sound Approach team have today announced the discovery of a new owl species in Oman. The Omani Owl, named in honour of the people of Oman, is the the first (non-cryptic) bird species to be discovered in Arabia for 77 years! Read the full story here

Following requests for information on the boat services being offered from St.Mary's this autumn, we contacted Joe Pender of the St.Mary's Boatman's Association, owner of the Sapphire, and operator of the Scilly pelagics. Joe gave us details for this October. Read full details here

An amazing roll-call of birds this week: Eastern Kingbird, Blackpoll Warbler, Sykes's Warbler, White's Thrush, Upland Sand, Lanceolated Warbler, three Brown Shrikes, Isabelline Wheatear, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Pechora Pipit and much more besides! Read the round-up here

Western Ireland turned up the country's second Eastern Kingbird 11 days before the anniversary of the previous one. And just like the previous one it would frustrate those brave birders who made the overnight journey to try to see it. Elsewhere, Shetland stole the show with a glut of top quality rares. Read the round-up here

An Elegant Tern in Co.Kerry was the main highlight of the week and provided much to discuss. The amazing run of Barolo Shearwaters and Fea's Petrels continue whilst in East Yorkshire an incredibly showy Great Snipe was a huge draw until it met an untimely demise. Read the round-up here

A new initiative in India is aiming to protect Amur Falcons after the astounding mass hunting came to light where an estimated 120,000-140,000 were being hunted and killed in Nagaland, India, every year. Read the story here

Leach's Petrels and Swallows are the successes from St Kilda's bird breeding season this summer, conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland reports. Read the story here

Fetlar took the top prize this week with a Black-and-white Warbler. Elsewhere there was a Yellow-breasted Bunting on the Farnes as well as another Fea's and another Barolo Little Shearwater. Read the round-up here

In a week largely dominated by Nearctic waders Cheshire stole the show with its second ever Stilt Sandpiper. Elsewhere it was all about Semipalmated Sandpipers and in particular a bird found on a webcam in Dorset which then stuck around allowing birders the opportunity of the first 'virtual twitch'! Read the round-up here

This book is ambitious indeed. It sets out to document nothing less than the whole spectrum of our relationship with birds. Reprising some of the themes first rehearsed in Birds Britannica, it goes truly global, delving deep into our shared worldwide history. Read the review here