Sunday morning reading. Battered, second-hand but the prose is still incredible and the message as vital as ever. #booksky #cranes

Nearly 1 in 6 UK species are threatened with extinction.

We've lost 97% of our wildflower meadows since the 1930s.

We have 73 million fewer birds than in the 1970s - a decline of almost a third.

And yet some politicians still just see wildlife as a blocker to progress.

Nice to find a Blue-headed Wagtail at Wykeham Lakes this morning. Distant record shot attached. Common Scoter still present also. #UKbirding @northyorksbirds.bsky.social @nybirdnews.bsky.social

A Mistle Thrush on the ground shows its brown back, greyish nape and crown and spotted breast and belly. To the left, white wording on a blue background reads: Out now! The latest population trends for breeding birds in the UK. The BBS logo featuring a Goldfinch is top right of the image.

1/ The 2025 BBS Report is out now! It was a record year for volunteers taking part, with 2,800+ visiting 4,058 survey squares across the UK, Channel Islands & Isle of Man. A huge thank you to our volunteers!

@btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social #Ornithology

Great morning put up nest boxes in the first instalment of our Tree Sparrow project. Landowner at the Mill Inn kindly allowed us to use his land. With fellow Scarborough Birders officers @longnabbirder.bsky.social and Chris Bell, plus some local Yellowhammers for company. @nybirdnews.bsky.social

Dipper and Grey Wagtail at Scalby Beck LNR and a hunkered down Little Ringed Plover at Harwood Dale Lake. @nybirdnews.bsky.social @northyorksbirds.bsky.social

‘A national scandal’: trawlers scour seabeds of supposedly protected UK waters ‘Precious ocean life is being pushed to the brink’ say campaigners, arguing that overfished marine areas are ‘protected only on paper’

Regardless of the issue, it's always the same story: commercial interests allowed to ride roughshod over everything and everyone else. Faced with the urgent need for action, successive governments twiddle their thumbs.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What a special book V is. Will have to dig my copy out actually, not looked at it for years.

Good call Richard. Kittiwakes back on Spa Bridge this morning in Scarborough. First time this spring.

Too many conservation charities are afraid to tackle this issue in case they offend pet owners. Literally billions of birds and animals killed annually like this.

Two boar in urban Warsaw. It isn’t unusual for them to traverse the green fringes along the banks of the Wisła, and occasionally find their way to the bigger city parks. But these two were in a very built up area with a busy road network. #WildBoar #Poland

One of the very obliging Tawny Owls in Łazienki Park, Warsaw today. A Syrian Woodpecker earlier in the morning was a nice tick for the trip. #Polishbirding

Two of five Common Crane at Mokre Łąki in Kampinoski National Park near Warsaw this morning. Highlights though were two Wild Boar and an Elk. #polishbirding #Poland

Another trip to Poland. Another chance to try and find one of these. Hoping a bit of research increases my chances! #polishbirding

Rewilding linked to dramatic increases in birds across Scotland New research across Scotland's Northwoods Rewilding Network has revealed striking biodiversity gains on rewilded land, with bird diversity increasing by more than 260% and pollinating insects rising m...

‘On rewilded land, biodiversity surged across the board, with the number of bird species up 261% and their breeding territories up by 546%.’ #ukbirding #nature #rewilding

www.birdguides.com/news/rewildi...

Took a while but finished this recently. Raw and real. I deal with the grittier, heavier side of what this book contains on a daily basis so I can say with some confidence that there’s truth and gut-wrenching honesty contained within. It’s also beautifully northern. #Keshed

bsky.app/profile/bobb...

Thousands of gulls heading south-east to roost in Bridlington Bay. Always nice to see.

It’s sad to see and I think there are gaps in Derek’s argument. But I do think it would be a mistake for the conservation community to ignore or sideline him. He’s a ‘doer’. He won’t always get things right but in a crisis you need ‘doers’. And we are in a crisis.

UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced

This government is so disappointing on just about every level. This is just unforgivable. #climatecrisis

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Found three potential territories in Wykeham Forest, North Yorkshire yesterday. Seven birds in total, but six of them in pairs and appeared to be establishing territories. Responded to playback. Two territories quite close - one pair singing and posturing on what I guess was the territory boundary.

🙏🏼

Study charts dramatic westward spread of Blyth's Reed Warbler across Europe A comprehensive review of records published in Dutch Birding has documented the continued westward spread and population growth of Blyth's Reed Warbler, with new breeding locales now established well ...

Coming to scrubland near you… potential for this species to become a more regular vagrant to the UK, if not a more established breeding species in the future. www.birdguides.com/articles/wes...

Not on the site (therefore not on this list) but PLEASE investigate @bobbygant.bsky.social amazing collection A Decade Of Drinking With Ghosts. See thread below for text of the mini-review I did on my SubStack 🙏🖤

razurcuts.com/shop/a-decad...

Making sure culled wild deer gets onto the market increases supply and so should/could lower the price, making it less worthwhile keeping herds.

He surely has to be sacked and should be investigated by the police, as laws could have been broken here.

A 1st winter male Black-throated Thrush in N. Yorkshire at Wykeham in 2023 - ©Andy Hood, many thanks. 👍🏻

Tengmalm's Owl on Shetland at Bixter in 2019. © One and three - Phil Woollen, two Chris Bromley, many thanks. 👍🏻

February 19th: 🧾

There were eleven (11) accepted records on this day... 😃

#UKrares
#rarebirdsUK
#UKbirding

Welsh charity buys more than 405 hectares for rewilding Project in Ceredigion aims to help country catch up with large-scale nature recovery projects elsewhere in UK

Another step in the right direction.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This Shorelark showed well yesterday near Sandsend, North Yorkshire. Great find by Ollie Metcalf, as it was often skulking low in the winter crop. Photo by @longnabbirder.bsky.social

@northyorksbirds.bsky.social @nybirdnews.bsky.social

Sun is up at Long Nab! Great Northern Diver flew north and a few early morning Curlews the best so far.

#Keshed Been looking forward to this one for a long time. @stuhennigan.bsky.social