Gav Woodbridge
@gavnorthron.bsky.social
Northern Isles birder on a sabbatical to Australasia... www.birdclimbrun.com
A brilliant day trip twitch to Papa Westray for the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. Bonus Reed Warbler in a geo that @papaybirder.bsky.social was telling us he never sees anything in (apart from a Greenish), the Reed got a good laugh when it popped out! Massive thank you to all the Papay community
Amazing twitch across to Papay with the @northronbirdobs.bsky.social crew for an outrageous bird. The spectacle of it roosting at Hundland was a sacred experience for the birding disciples. #birdingorkney
Semipalmated Sandpiper @northronbirdobs.bsky.social today! Skills from the team and very pleased it hung around #orkneybirding
Decent weekend just gone in familiar haunts @birdinglothian.bsky.social brings back great memories of the pinnacle of my adolescence birding. #birdingscotland #birdinglothian
@gavnorthron.bsky.social in at the back post with a late spring (it might be summer) mega with this very smart Oriental Turtle Dove (ssp. meena) at Westness #OrkneyBirding
Late spring mega! Initially views were fleeting but it settled in the field and revealed itself as an ORIENTAL TURTLE DOVE. What an unexpected and most welcome find! #birding #orkneybirding @northronbirdobs.bsky.social
Cracking day checking out the famous Western Treatment Works near Weribee, Victoria. Amazing volume of waterbirds. Best included good flocks of Red-necked Stint; Little and Fairy Terns; good volume of raptors and best was Black-shouldered Kite. #birding #birdingaustralia
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too! preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵 Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/9
NZ trip would not be complete without a visit to Kaikoura for accessible pelagic birds. Early memories of Feb '06: same skipper, many of the same species but seem to have gained sea-legs in the interim! #birding #birdingnewzealand
Otago Peninsula has NZ's only mainland breeding great Albatross - chicks looking fluffy and apparently on for a record breeding season to date with 38 hatched and carefully watched over. #birding #birdingnewzealand
Another geographical extreme and amazing bird spot in NZ is Stewart Island - great volumes of endemic birds, esp on Ulva island, sea lions, kiwis, seabirds. An idyllic paradise reminiscent of colder but more familiar haunts back home...
I've taken to a period of travel. New Zealand. Tiritiri Matangi - open sanctuary just north of Auckland - has an awesome feel and maybe a window into the past, but certainly what the present can be. Awesome volume of endemics. #birding #birdingnewzealand
Cracking pelagic out of Eaglehawkneck last Friday (30th Jan). Super views of Shy Albatross as usual but best were 20+ WF Stormies, Grey-backed Stormie, my first ever Wilson's Storm Petrel, Fluttering Shearwater and White-chinned Petrel. Super day out. Worth the sunburn. #birding #birdingtasmania
In late October, North Ronaldsay produced an incredible double of rare Asian robins – Rufous-tailed Robin and Siberian Rubythroat – which were discovered within days of each other. Finders George Gay and Robert Duncan recount these unforgettable moments:
Rarity finders: Rufous-tailed Robin and Siberian Rubythroat in Orkney
In late October, North Ronaldsay produced an extraordinary double of rare Asian robins – a Rufous-tailed Robin and a male Siberian Rubythroat – which were discovered within days of each other. Finders George Gay and Robert Duncan recount the two unforgettable moments on the island.
bit.ly
Research in the Cairngorms NP has shown that non-lethal predator management can significantly boost breeding success for Western Capercaillie:
Diversionary feeding of predators boosts Capercaillie breeding success
Research in the Cairngorms National Park has shown that non-lethal predator management can significantly boost breeding success for Western Capercaillie. The three-year study revealed that with the number of chicks per female more than doubled in areas with diversionary feeding taking place. With fewer than 550 individuals left in Britain, there is a serious risk of Western Capercaillie becoming extinct for a second time nationally.
bit.ly
Who doesn’t love a contextually significant rubbish bird. A nice pair of Mandarin on Gretchen this morning, only the second time I’ve seen Mandarin in North Ronaldsay #OrkneyBirding #NotPlasticStillFantastic
A conversation on here earlier reminded me of a thing that I’ve always loved and occasionally bang on about. It’s the care taken by Mackenzie Crook to specify which bird species we can hear in the background for many scenes in Detectorists.
A big month in January continues and I am pleased to finally tick off Australian Crake + Latham's Snipe at Goulds Lagoon yesterday. #birdingtasmania #birdingaustralia
Building that yearlist by securing common species at local sites... Gull chicks wandering about muddy loch fringes in January messes with my Northern mindset. #birding #birdingtasmania #birdingaustralia
Happy New Year from all of us at NRBO. We’re looking forward to seeing you in 2025!
Arctic Terns travel the equivalent of three trips to the moon in their lifetimes. We don’t want to live in a Scotland without these incredible seabirds. Tell the Scottish Government how important it is to act now: https://action.rspb.org.uk/page/154240/action/1?ea.tracking.id=RSPB_Scotland_Bluesky
Orielton Lagoon today had plenty of crisp winter plumage Pacific Golden Plovers and best of all Whiskered Tern at 'Greenshank Bay' - a local rarity! #birdingtasmania #birdingaustralia
Finally got round to getting out of town and finding some waders at Orielton Lagoon. Red-capped Plovers and Black-fronted Dotterels were very nice to look at. Too Red-necked Stints, Pacific Goldies and more. Good site. #birdingaustralia #birdingtasmania
🚨JOB OPENING🚨 We are looking to employ a housekeeper for the 2025 season! Accommodation at the observatory included. For more information and to apply please contact alison@nrbo.co.uk Please share!
🚨VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITY🚨 We are looking for a volunteer for the 2025 season to help with bird monitoring, ringing, and obs maintenance! Full board included. Long term volunteers preferred, but all applications welcome! Contact alison@nrbo.co.uk for more info. Please share!
Up to 5 individuals frolicking around Hobart Rivulet today
