Chilly at Fife Ness today. My first Long-tailed Duck (2) and gloves (also 2) of the autumn, plus a juv Pomarine Skua beating up and then killing a Kittiwake. Still remember from last autumn a juv casually beating up an adult G b-b Gull for no apparent reason #birdingFife

Oh look and I was so impressed with myself for making a video, that I forgot to say a) that it's the paperbacks of THE SALT ORACLE whoop! and b) hi @solarisbooks.bsky.social lookit shiny books!

Great 2025 BBRC report in the latest issue of @britishbirds.bsky.social and nice to see the Fife Ness Bridled Tern (2025) and Brown Booby (2024) accepted #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

Not exactly hooching with migrants at Balcomie Castle but Ring Ouzel and Pied Fly but the real surprise a Shore Lark lifting up from next to me at the edge of the track #birdingFife

Only my second Balearic Shearwater of the year at Fife Ness this morning (pic, honest). Plus 3 juv Long-tailed Skua, a juv Pom and a few Arctic & Great Skua #birdingFife

More westerlies. Lots of juv Gannets departing Bass Rock over the last week week or so and passing Fife Ness. Eider moving about a bit more too now they’ve (mostly) completed their moult #birdingFife

An all-dayer at Fife Ness started with torrential rain and thunder/ lightening overhead. Other highlights 8 Long-tailed Skua including a family party(?) of 2 ads + 2 juvs, a juv Sabine’s Gull, 2 Pomarine Skua, 100’s of feeding Little Gull & amorning pulse of 5000 Razorbill S #birdingFife

Some Bottlenose Dolphin arsing about at Fife Ness + juv Long-tailed Skua pursuing a Kittiwake the highlights of an hour early morning #birdingFife

Lovely dawn at Fife Ness this morning but rather quiet in yet more westerlies. Several hundred Little Gull well offshore (built up to c.500 this evening with similar no’s of Kittiwake) pulled in a few Arctic Skua. #birdingFife

Oof #rarebirdsUK cbwps.org.uk/recent-sight...

Sunday 20th September 2026 - Cornwall Birds (CBWPS)

Porthgwarra: 1 Red-billed Tropicbird. (P. Hall) RSPB Marazion Marsh: 2 Bearded Tit (1m, 1f), 1 Water Rail, 1 Kingfisher, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 3 Cettis Warbler (heard), 2 Stone...

cbwps.org.uk

Highlights from this evening at Fife Ness a pulse of 330 Little Gull north, watching a Great Skua effortlessly mug an adult Great Black-backed Gull, and a double rainbow #birdingFife

A great tutorial by Mike McKee explaining how he edits his sea watching videos (and worth a look at his website for Cornish Soft-plumaged Petrel, Scopoli’s Shearwater, etc.) #seabirds #seawatching www.michaelmckee.co.uk/videos/tutor...

macaulaylibrary.org/asset/663618... Just spotted this video of the ‘mystery shearwater’ at Estaca de Bares, Spain in August. Well worth a look #seabirds #seawatching

ML663618654 - shearwater sp. - Macaulay Library

Macaulay Library ML663618654; © Daniel López-Velasco | Ornis Birding Expeditions; A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

macaulaylibrary.org

Changing of the guard at Fife Ness this morning with a big push of Swallows departing south and my first Pink-footed Geese of the autumn arriving from the north. Also a Pomarine Skua and 8 Sooty Shearwater #birdingFife

juv Sabine’s Gull the highlight of an otherwise quiet hour at Fife Ness early morning #birdingFife

Great Shearwater N past Fife Ness at 06:50 #birdingFife

NEW on #theBOUblog from Lucy McRobert We Just Want to Go Birding: Everyday sexism in birding and the nature sector adds up bou.org.uk/blog-mcro... #ornithology 🪶

Adult Brown Booby just went north past Fife Ness 06:35 #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

I’m usually well into September before my Fife year list breaks 200 so it’s clearly been a decent year so far. Just hope it’s not two duff autumns in a row… #birdingFife #ebird

Great to see these two articles appear in the latest issue of Scottish Birds #birdingFife

Better views of the Anstruther Bonaparte’s Gull this morning (handheld camera so apologies for the wobbling) #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

Great to see the adult Bonaparte’s Gull at Anstruther harbour yesterday afternoon, another great find by Ken Shaw. Slightly eclipsed the 5 Curlew Sand and Little Stint at Guardbridge earlier in the day #birdingFife

The 3rd annual Fife Ness all day seawatch. Rather quiet so far (not a huge surprise considering the lovely weather) with Black Tern and 4 Sooty Shearwater the highlights #birdingFife

Seawatching at Fife Ness has been very slow the last couple of days despite the seemingly promising weather but was definitely livened up by a Great Shearwater late afternoon of 21/0826 #birdingFife

A summary of my June trip to Madeira including some hopefully helpful tips for the pelagics themselves chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2026/08/17/m...

Madeira Pelagics etc., June 2026

I’d been contemplating for several years going on the Madeira seabird pelagic trips run each year by WindBirds and late in 2025 finally took the leap and booked in for early June 2026. I’ve been on…

chatterstanes.wordpress.com

Just out in Dutch Birding... Galea R, Collinson JM, Cleere N. 2026. European Nightjar of Asian subspecies plumipes in Malta in November 2024. Dutch Birding 48: 236-241. First for Europe. Note genetic split between western and eastern subspecies of European Nightjar @birdguides.bsky.social

A detour to Morton Lochs this morning for Fife’s third Cattle Egret (the 1st being suppressed and the 2nd only briefly present). Presumably they’ll soon become as frequent as Little (now breeding) and Great White #birdingFife

Almost stepping on a Quail during my lunchtime run was an unexpected highlight (for me at least if not the Quail) #birdingFife

Eclipse watching London-style

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched tiny shadows on a piece of paper through a kitchen utensil near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.