The migrants continued aplenty during my weekend away from Paris, birding the farmland around Strasbourg! Random bits of habitat that somehow feel like autumn at Spurn!

The nearby lake here in Paris does not have much in the way of shoreline, so I didn't hold too much hope for it attracting any migrant waders! So this flock of 13 Common Sandpipers was quite the surprise!

I've spent the last week searching for migrants in the parks of southern Paris with phenomenal success; 2 Redstarts, 1 Tree Pipit, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 13 Pied Flycatchers and so many Blackcaps, well over 50 in total, among other species! Surprisingly excellent birding!

The Masked Water Tyrant is one of my all-time favourite South American birds! However, it had been a few years since I had seen the species, so I very much enjoyed a lively pair whilst in Ecuador! Simply superb birds!

The mysterious 'San Isidro' Black-banded Owl is a key target in northern Ecuador... So it was very good of this individual to sit outside the restaurant, saving us the hassle of needing to go and search for it in the dark!

My previous encounters with Ocellated Tapaculos had been limited to brief glimpses in dense vegetation! But thanks to the guys at Paz de las Aves, we were treated to incredible views of a pair devouring worms at a feeder! Perfect for a Tapaculo lover like myself!

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my first roosting Oilbirds whilst here in Ecuador! Seven years ago I saw them in flight, and I clearly misjudged just how big they actually are! Very cool birds!

It’s been 4 years since I visited the famous Angel Paz, so I was very excited to get to meet the latest version of Maria the Giant Antpitta! And she performed extremely well for us all!

I love looking at Cloud Forest hotspots on eBird and seeing random observations of wading birds sat in the road! It was something I always wanted to encounter for myself! And today it happened, with this Bairds Sandpiper sat on an Ecuadorean Cloud Forest road!

Borneo was excellent for mammals, with 35 species recorded during our three weeks, including a whopping 13 different species of squirrels! Some highlights here; Bornean Gibbon, Philippine Slow Loris, Bornean Pygmy Elephant and the standout, a Sunda Leopard Cat at Danum Valley!

The standout bird from our time in Borneo has to be the stunning male Bornean Peacock Pheasant and his outrageous plumage! Thanks to a hide, this once mythical species now offers incredible views!

Despite showing for 6 consecutive days, day 7 was unlucky for me with Giant Pitta at the Kinabatangan Hide this morning! But thanks to this absolute stunner, it was not a double-pitta-dip-day! Absolutely glowing Blue-banded Pitta near Lahad Datu this afternoon! What a bird!

Well… we had an eventful first evening on the canopy walkway at Sepilok… absolutely incredible!

Despite spending 4 days searching, we failed to find the Whiteheads Spiderhunter at Mount Kinabalu, leaving our Whiteheads trio incomplete! But we had some excellent compensation with a completely unexpected Jambu Fruit Dove! Even in the mist, its vibrancy could not be subdued!

Only four days in to our Borneo trip, and we’ve already landed 8 (EIGHT!!!) species of Squirrel! Undoubtedly the highlight was this delightful Tufted Pygmy Squirrel, which is endemic to the Bornean highlands!

As a lover of small awkward to see birds (like Tapaculos) the Bornean Stubtail was one of the birds I most wanted to see in Borneo! And it did not disappoint, with absolutely phenomenal views on Mount Kinabalu!

A great start to our Borneo trip at the Trusmadi Bird Hide, where this stunning Bornean Banded Pitta was the highlight! Bouncing around the arena! Just a female Bulwer’s Pheasant made a visit to the hide, but since they have been AWOL for a while, we were happy to see her!

💥SOIL HILL PATCH TICK💥 💥NUMBER 135💥 💥TREECREEPER💥 A Soil Hill Treecreeper was not something I thought I would experience this morning, but the Hill is nothing if not unexpected! A species I always wondered if I would ever get on the list! Absolute scenes! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

This morning delivered a true Soil Hill mega! Only the 4th record of Nuthatch for the Hill, and the first for five years! It did not linger for long before flying off over the fields heading north! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

💥SOIL HILL PATCH TICK💥 💥NUMBER 134💥 💥QUAIL💥 🇬🇧 FULL FAT BRITISH TICK 🇬🇧 My days of British ticks on Soil Hill were long gone, or so I thought! Absolutely thrilled to hear (and briefly see) this Quail on the Hill today! Halifax MEGA! What a time to be alive! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

So far it has been an excellent spring for Ring Ouzel on Soil Hill, with this very handsome male now continuing into his third day! However, he is a particularly elusive individual, and my sightings have been restricted to brief appearances! #SoilHillBirding

I was beginning to wonder where the Soil Hill Wheatears were this spring... So it was a relief to find a fresh dumping of 10 this morning! Quite simply the finest bird in Britain! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

An excellent morning birding on Soil Hill, in pleasant spring conditions! The undoubted highlight was my 7th Soil Hill Osprey heading distantly north! A very nice backup cast, including this rather conspicuous Jack Snipe not even requiring the thermal to spot! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

Paraguay 2025 was an awesome trip, with 417 birds, 28 mammals and a host of other wildlife! We had such a blast that the trip report required 93 pages! I can absolutely recommend Paraguay as a fantastic birding destination! www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download... @neobirdconserve.bsky.social

I initially missed notifications about Common Scoters heading inland last night, so didn't start listening until 21:30! A flock heard over the house at 21:40 convinced me to head up to Soil Hill, but after an hour I only managed a single flock of 6 birds! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

A glorious return to Soil Hill for the week! I hoped for some Whooper Swan action, and I got some with birds distantly on Mixenden Reservoir! But the show was very much stolen by this handsome male Ring Ouzel, my 1st March record here! The Hill never disappoints! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding

Nice to bump into a little flavour of the UK whilst out and about birding in Paris today! Enjoying the succulent Parisian lawns alongside two White Wagtails!

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! Finally! After dipping in 6 (SIX!) different counties, in my seventh I was able to rectify my most obvious omission from my British list! #UKBirding

💥SOIL HILL PATCH TICK💥 💥NUMBER 133💥 💥ICELAND GULL💥 I was not expecting much today, it being a blustery February morning! But Soil Hill always produces! Absolutely incredible scenes when this stunning white-winger flew past! #soilhillbirding #UKbirding

Great Black-backed Gull!!! For just the second time in my 19 years watching Soil Hill! It's been a steady February on Soil Hill for my first visits of 2026, but I certainly enjoyed this brute heading north this morning! #SoilHillBirding #UKBirding