I was in the library at The Lodge the other day, reading for writing. It’s inevitable that I bump into quite a few people I know, and have a few conversations about life, the universe and everything. They are mostly conversations about birds and nature conservation. Two of them illustrate the scale of change in…
Category: VERY BIRDY: birdwatching and birding nattering
B(l)ooming great!
There are more Bitterns breeding in the UK than at any time in living memory. In fact, there are about 13 times as many bitterns now as there were in 1997, as there are over 140 booming males compared with 11 then. That’s one hell of a recovery – in fact, one heaven of a…
Vote – for your national bird
We are getting close to the end of the first round of voting in this poll for the National Bird– organised by David Lindo (The Urban Birder). There have been over 60,000 votes so far – but things are quite tight at the top. You’ve got until the end of the month to influence the…
Results of that ornithological teaser
I gave you a list of 73 bird species that I saw or heard on five visits to my local patch of Stanwick Lakes in early September and asked you to pick 5 species that I had seen on all five visits and 5 species I only saw on a single visit. This was a…
A national bird
David Lindo, the Urban Birder, has launched a vote, whose winner will be announced on election day next year, for Britain’s National Bird. Currently it is the Robin – a feisty little bird with a nice song that is familiar to almost all. There’s nothing wrong with Robins. On the long shortlist of 60 species…
Bee-eaters on IoW
The National Trust has announced that there is a pair of Bee-eaters (the only bird with three consecutive ‘e’s in its name? Probably not, though I can’t think of another) nesting on the Isle of Wight. As someone who spent six summers studying bee-eaters in the Camargue, I must say I am delighted. The birds…
Talking Point from British Birds
The following article appeared in the May issue of British Birds and I am grateful to them for permission to reproduce it here. We are outnumbered – but we shouldn’t give up! In response to Iain Robertson’s editorial in the March issue of BB, I contend that bird conservationists in the UK actually have a…
A good year for Cuckoos?
I’ve heard lots of Cuckoos this year. It seems like a good year for them – what do you think? Last year, around now, I headed off to the USA to research my book on Passenger Pigeons and I had had two records of Cuckoo up until this date (I know, because Birdtrack lets me…
Nearer to home
It’s not just in Malta that birds of prey are killed illegally, of course. My nearest station is at Wellingborough, and because I am always early I get to do a few minutes birding from the station platform every now and then. Waxwing, a flock of them, is my ‘best’ bird from the station but…
Most unfairly ignored UK bird?
What is the UK’s most unfairly ignored bird? Well according to you, and your votes, it is the Stock Dove (and I agree with you)! This wasn’t the most popular poll on this blog, but nearly 150 of you responded and this was the result: Stock Dove – 33% Little Grebe – 21% Reed…