Had a superb weekend in Yorkshire with my family – got my share of the perfect combination of birds & people. We stayed with our dear friends Mark and Amity in Filey. We did lots of stuff together and enjoyed every minute of it. Birding highlight was of course the annual visit to RSPB Bempton […]
Tag: Tree Sparrow

Good stuff
Yesterday was cloudy and warm(ish) but clear skies overnight with a resulting heavy frost were going to cause a big change in bird activity this morning. The fields and marsh areas in Maridalen were covered in ice and there was hardly a thrush to see. With the clear skies any viz mig was so high […]

Wildlife Licences: Can’t Shoot Robins, but Egyptian Geese are Game
Landowners wanting to be allowed to shoot robins, pied wagtails, starlings and other favourite birds seen eating their crops have been rebuffed by the government. But shooters will be able to legally kill or destroy the nests of Egyptian geese and trap and release protected birds like song thrushes, blue tits and dunnocks found foraging […]

2013 Was a Great Year for British Wildlife
Despite some severe concerns about the world’s different species, 2013 actually turned out to be a bumper year for British wildlife. Here’s why, and a look ahead at what 2014 might have in store. An unusually warm summer that ended a spate of six dismal ones helped wildlife up and down the stretch of Britain […]

Review: The Bird Atlas tracks changes of Britain and Ireland’s birds
A new atlas of 1,300 maps shows the patterns of distribution, abundance and change among 296 bird species in Britain and Ireland. The Bird Atlas 2007-11 is a partnership between British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Scottish Ornithologists’ Club and Birdwatch Ireland and involved the work of more than 40,000 volunteers over four years. BTO used […]

Yellow-bellied Tit | Periparus venustulus
This small tit is supposedly endemic to China, however it has been recorded at least four time in Japan. This one has taken up winter residence at Kasuga Park, Fukuoka, and has attracted birders from all over the country. It is very small and also very agile and active – it never sits still! I […]