BTO press release – Volunteers’ data vital in wetland conservation

Data collected by volunteers as part of the Wetland Bird Survey, and published in a report today, play a crucial role in the designation of protected wetland sites in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and underline their importance in helping to conserve our waterbirds. Many of the UK’s wetlands are given protected status as a…

Tidy houses, tidy inboxes, messy hair

Being confined to one’s house enables one to do some of that decluttering that never gets done at other times. The inboxes of my email accounts are now slimmed down and many emails are filed away properly and an awful lot are deleted. And the same goes for the house, although that is a much…

The declining Chaffinch?

I received an appeal for money from the BTO recently and its subject was the declining Chaffinch. I wasn’t aware that the Chaffinch was declining – they are still a common widespread bird, and just very parochially, if anything they are commoner now in my garden than they once were. So I looked with interest…

Press release – RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results show milder winter helps small garden birds House sparrow remains at the top of the Big Garden Birdwatch rankings with almost 1.3 million sightings throughout the weekend. Almost half a million people across the UK spent an hour watching the birds that visit their garden or outdoor space as part…

Bird song (14) – Chaffinch

Now that April is here I can write about the Chaffinch singing on the orchard bough, although I’ve been hearing Chaffinch song , sometimes from our small apple tree, since February. This one was recorded in Brandenburg today! Whereas this one is from Yorkshire… And this one is from Lincolnshire… It’s a song that is…