If you enjoyed this #NUTCRACKER please consider donating to the local Lifeboat. Big twitches in small villages can be fractious with local residents. Let's make a positive contribution to the community to help ease any tensions. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... #rarebirdsuk @birdguides.bsky.social

Many of us could do with a reason to get outside, connect with nature, and make a difference for conservation, for our own wellbeing as well as our environment's. Here are 5 reasons why WeBS might be your answer 🍂 @rspb.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social #UKBirding #Ornithology ➡️ www.bto.org/webs

Honeybees are barging aside wild pollinators in hunt for pollen and nectar, study finds

Honeybees are barging aside wild pollinators in hunt for pollen and nectar, study finds

As a surge in beekeepers has lead to increased numbers of honeybees, researchers record them pushing bumblebees and other rival species away from flowers

theguardian.com

New job alert 🪶🧪 We are hiring a Conservation Scientist to work on links between hydrological restoration and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker conservation Deadline: 7/10/26 Apply here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car... #SpeciesRecoveryProgramme @naturalengland.bsky.social 📷Ben Andrew

But it would be noticed if all of a sudden those birds ‘disappeared'. The current 2/3 wanderers are also 2026 juveniles. The species that does appear to have been 'guerrilla released' in the South-West is Black-crowned Night Heron …

I have to say at Febrigg I have always found the cattle get a bit too close for comfort and follow people around. Have heard some scary stories from others as well where they’ve been surrounded by them www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Felbrigg Hall remains closed after man's death involving cattle

Police say a man, understood to have been seriously injured by cattle, died at the scene.

bbc.co.uk

Good news: #NaturalEngland have offered RSPB funding through the #SpeciesRecovery Programme Working in partnership, this funding will allow the RSPB to take action for 25 threatened species in England - from Turtle Dove & House Martin to Lesser Spotted Woodpecker & Shrill Carder Bee #wildagain

Pleased to say that all 5 young successfully fledged from the nest through late afternoon and early evening today. And all wearing legs rings having been rung by approved BTO ringers @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social

Matt Livesey@mlivesey.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Spotted Flycatchers confirmed as nesting on our driveway in Weston Colville. 1 egg laid as of yesterday morning with birds around again today - will monitor for @btobirds.bsky.social Nest Record Scheme @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

The Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT) challenges the conclusions of a recent review by Ingate calling for radical new strategies in managing the British Swallowtail (Papilio machaon britannicus). www.sbbt.org.uk/latest-news/...

So far so good - chicks hatched a week ago and so far all five still being fed @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

Matt Livesey@mlivesey.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Spotted Flycatchers confirmed as nesting on our driveway in Weston Colville. 1 egg laid as of yesterday morning with birds around again today - will monitor for @btobirds.bsky.social Nest Record Scheme @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

Nest protection an emergency room conservation intervention that is unlikely to be scalable to reverse declines, but may prevent local extinction and thus warranted. Ultimately we need to stop giving generalists like Great-spotted Woodpeckers a leg up by feeding them #Ornithology

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The last Willow Tit nest of the season now fledged, successfully protected from Great Spotted Woodpecker predation. No GSW predation in protected nests this year, in stark contrast to 100% predation rate by GSW in unprotected nests. Very promising results.

The last Willow Tit nest of the season now fledged, successfully protected from Great Spotted Woodpecker predation. No GSW predation in protected nests this year, in stark contrast to 100% predation rate by GSW in unprotected nests. Very promising results.

I've spent quite a few evenings at one of Hertfordshire's most infamous birding attractions this spring and summer - Ashwell dungheaps. Watching and photographing Yellow Wagtails from the car with nothing but the wind and birdsong is the perfect soundtrack to end the day with #hertsbirds

Spotted Flycatchers confirmed as nesting on our driveway in Weston Colville. 1 egg laid as of yesterday morning with birds around again today - will monitor for @btobirds.bsky.social Nest Record Scheme @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

The last few days in the nest are a dangerous time for Willow Tit nestlings, their constant loud begging calls giving away their location. On this occasion they attracted the attention of a Tawny Owl, which tried its luck as one of the nestlings was calling from the entrance. This was a close call!

Pair of Spotted Flycatcher around Weston Colville for at least the 5th year in a row. Slightly further from my house this year, so can't watch them through the window like last year! @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

Deep within a Gloucestershire valley is a hidden world. The wider countryside is covered by mixed-age beech woodland in a complex mosaic of forest, commons and farmland. But in this quiet corner, a strikingly different blend of habitats can be found - and with it a mix of unusual species. (1/10)

Great good sense - and careful diplomacy - from @tonyjuniper.bsky.social on R4 Today just now: the evidence is that white storks were simply never a breeding bird in the UK, so they’re not a conservation priority.

Natural England has revealed that it does not believe White Storks to be native to Britain – and it views releases of the species as not a conservation priority:

White Storks 'not native' and releases 'not a priority', says Natural England

The government's nature agency said growing interest in rewilding projects involving storks had raised

bit.ly

UK Great Spotted Woodpeckers & Blue Tits destroy half of all Willow Tit nests, far higher than elsewhere, far higher losses than other tits. UK has among highest GSW & Blue Tit abundance in the World, as we've created a paradise of endless free food, safe nestboxes, and few nest predators (martens).

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · 6mo ago

For 7 days, a pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker kept a close eye on this Willow Tit nest. The male GSW took 3 minutes to destroy it. The clutch of 9 eggs were left by the GSW and abandoned by the Willow Tits. It’s touch and go if the WTs have a last nesting attempt this season…

Natural England’s view on White Stork releases, and whether there is sufficient evidence of whether they are native or not 👇🏻 naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/08/w...

White stork, black stork and other vagrant bird species

By Jeremy Sabel and Matt Heydon Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team Projects involving the release of white stork Ciconia ciconia capture the public imagination. If fairy tales a...

naturalengland.blog.gov.uk

One to watch. One theory I have heard as to why the species is declining in parts of its range is warming winters. Not something that Knepp can manage @chrisvanswaay.eurosky.social www.birdguides.com/news/black-v...

Black-veined White set for return to Britain at Knepp

A landmark reintroduction project at Knepp Estate in Sussex is aiming to restore Black-veined White to Britain for the first time in more than 100 years.

birdguides.com

Species go up and down annually, but a two-thirds (66%) decline of a resident bird in a single year is sign of accelerating terminal decline - that's not a slump that the single-brooded, low-density, low dispersal Willow Tit is going to bounce back from. Bad years get worse, better years are rare.

Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS)@bbs-birds.bsky.social · 6mo ago

(4) Similar to Tree Sparrow, despite being locally common in some parts of England, Willow Tit declined by 66% 2024-25. Sadly, it is now extinct in some parts of the country, especially in southern and eastern areas.

Blue Tits are a problem for Willow Tits, often taking over WT nest cavities by aggressive eviction. With 6 WT eggs inside, these BTs spent an entire day removing nesting material! The second day was full on warfare, ending in successful WTs. Now a full clutch of 8 eggs safely under incubation. Phew!

Nice news from Kent, but coppicing trends & deer don't seem to explain Nightingale declines nationally. Coppicing hasn't been common for almost a century, and they're disappearing from sites where habitat unchanged or improved (Paxton,Bradfield), esp north & west. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Sounds of hope in Kent as more nightingales join dawn chorus

Elusive nightingale ‘doing well’ at Northward Hill, Kent, but experts cite concerns around loss of habitat

theguardian.com

Very telling from the birdfood industry. Despite new RSPB/BTO advice on birdfeeding based on a solid scientific review, and RSPB taking a ££ hit themselves, EVERY major birdfood company is attacking/rejecting the guidance, claiming to know better, putting their incomes over conservation. Shameful.

RareBirdAlert@rarebirder.bsky.social · 7mo ago

RSPB advice to cut summer feeding sparks backlash from suppliers RSPB has said it will stop sales of seed and peanuts during breeding season but bird food companies push back against new advice www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/R...

Highlight of last night's first moth trap of the year was this pristine Chocolate-tip. The first I've ever had to the garden here in South Cambs. Also Brindled Beauty x 2, Streamer, Common Quaker, Nut Tree Tussock and Early Grey.

Some ominous footage gathered a few days ago from one of the Willow Tit nests we are monitoring. GSW are the most common predator of WT nests in Britain, and having increased by ~400% since the late 60s, it's not a threat that's going away. Let's hope this one has amnesia... #UKBirding #Yikes

Still think the birdfood industry is about 'conservation', rather than endless commercial growth in pursuit of £££? See how their industry leader reacted. The science is well known, but heaven forbid there'll be a threat to his industry's profits (and sod the wildlife): www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This new advice will sound familiar to older folk, as strong rule until 1990s was to only feed birds in winter. That changed when birdfood industry started wagging the dog, seeking huge commercial growth. Now we've got mass disease & waste. And not one species of conservation concern has benefited.

RSPB@rspb.bsky.social · 7mo ago

To reduce disease, we all need to make some urgent but simple changes to how we feed our garden birds. See our website for the latest guidance: brnw.ch/21x1t4w