August Birdwatch

August’s Birdwatch magazine arrived with me yesterday and I’ve already read lots of it – even though it is a bumper issue with 96 pages.

There’s an interesting article on what I’m still going to call Marsh Harriers in normal speech (Western Marsh Harriers, more correctly these days) which reminds me that I probably saw my first 49 years ago at Minsmere in my school summer holidays on my first trip to East Anglia. Minsmere was almost the only place you could see Marsh Harriers then and their increase since that time is a conservation success story. Some things have gone well.

My column is basically a reminder that August sees a Hen Harrier Day event at Carsington Water in Derbyshire on Sunday 11 August and then you have a few days off before the three-day festival of birdwatching at Rutland Water’s Bird Fair.

Inside the magazine, Rebecca Armstrong, Birdwatch‘s editor, writes about Wild Justice.

Elsewhere in the magazine there are articles about rewilding and the first 120 years of Wicken Fen as a National Trust nature reserve.

But don’t worry, birders – there is plenty of rare bird news and a guide to snipe identification too.

As, always, a great read. And in this month’s edition you also get a free Bird Fair programme which is invaluable because the three Bird Fair days are so packed with good things that you need a month of planning to get the most out of it. Birdwatch is a great read and I’m proud to write for the team there and pleased to read the magazine every month.

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