The May issue of British Birds is now out and includes papers on the Identification of ‘American Pipit’ and ‘Siberian Pipit’, Kelp Gull in Cambridgeshire and The changing status of Cetti’s Warblers in Cumbria and northern Britain.

➡️bit.ly/4bivr0w

Important and informative article in the latest issue of BB, documenting the rapid and stark disappearance of Willow Tits from former stronghold just up the road in Barnsley Birders area. Hat tip to Geoff Carr Sophie Pinder & Jeff Lunn

If you have any bird records for East and West Yorkshire for last year (2023) that have yet to be sent in, please send them to myself so that all data is compiled. Any relevant records to the end of year Scarce Migrant and Rare Breeding Bird report can then be used in each report

The April issue of British Birds is out with papers on subspecies, vagrant Subalpine Warblers, Willow Tits, apparent 'Pale Iceland Redpolls', short notes, book reviews and recent reports.

➡️bit.ly/3U4O0zq

It's that time again. Complicated by the fact some of the car park is needed for parking but we will be watching and ready to rope off nests in parking lanes

Tyninghame Bay afternoon walk w ⁦Andrew Whewell⁩. 50+ spp incl 2 pb Brent Geese, 2 Gadwall, 668 Pinks (no WF), 79 Shelduck, 3 Whooper Swans, 2 LT Duck, 5 Greenshank & 3 Little Egret incl. this one with full plumes. Nice dessert after the Firecrest ⁦Birding Lothian⁩

A fantastic achievement. Well done all those who made it happen. Woke up thinking of my late RSPB colleague Richard Evans, such a defender of eagles, who would have been so happy to hear this news

It’s also important to think carefully before sharing sightings (e.g. on social media) of rare breeding birds in the breeding season - could this lead to disturbance, or worse? Read the RBBP guidance here tinyurl.com/RBBPsound. If in doubt, don’t!

So it’s the time of year for finding, recording and enjoying rare breeding birds, but we must remember to put their welfare first! Here’s some advice from RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton, and there’s a blog here tinyurl.com/RBBPsafe [1/2]

The European Parliament just adopted the law to #RestoreNature !!!

Thank you for voting for our future.

Our reaction will follow soon.

Wow. Just found this new ⁦BirdTrack⁩ feature where you can explore where & when you saw selected species. Works as long as you log your sightings in #BirdTrack of course. And why wouldn’t you? - it helps county bird recorders, supports species conservation & it’s great fun

In BB this month Mark Eaton and co-authors present a paper on Actions for Birds in England focused on Natural England and RSPB Science species-focused conservation projects
➡️bit.ly/3uhx2E0
📷David Tipling

Great work Stephen!

UK ‘used to be a leader on climate’, lament European lawmakers. Just as we expected, the UK government let us down in this most crucial area when we left the EU. With elections this year, speak to your candidates about why the environment matters to us all theguardian.com/environment/20…

NEW LOCAL BIRD RECORDER

George Dunbar has taken on the role of local bird recorder for Perth & Kinross.

George can be reached by email at [email protected]

the-soc.org.uk/bird-recording…

Have you ever found breeding Fieldfares in the UK? An appeal for unsubmitted records for a new paper in production rbbp.org.uk/2023/12/26/app…