Thank you! 👽

Red Kite on the house list this afternoon😀. My 8th raptor from my very urban living-room in Dundee (Kestrel, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, White-tailed Eagle, Osprey, Peregrine, Merlin the others - not counting escapee Saker). #BirdingScotland

The X-Files Has Made Me Nostalgic for a Time I Never Experienced In a time before crypto, Twitter, and AI slop, we had communities, real experiences, and beautiful TV…

Don’t know if I have any X-Files fans as followers since I mostly talk birds on here, but I wrote about how watching it for the first time makes me yearn for the nineties as a child of the new millennium -

midnightmurmurations.substack.com/p/the-x-file...

#TheXFiles

Black-throated Thrush at Mayshiel in the Lammermuirs this afternoon, feeding continuously on worms in the field east of the main track by the lambing shed @birdinglothian.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

An RSPB Scotland branded panel with text reading: We welcome today's conviction of a gamekeeper in Perthshire for the illegal killing of a Goshawk, battered to death after it was caught in a crow cage trap. Again, RSPB video evidence was decisive in securing this verdict. Sentencing will follow on 24 April.

Today, RSPB video evidence was once again decisive in securing a conviction for the illegal killing of a bird of prey.

Sorry but more White-billed Diver shots from a very sunny & pretty calm Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland. I have birded this area since autumn 1982, so i am enjoying our 1st ever WBD's here, very much, still 3 different birds present too. 😀
#birds
#fifebirding
@rarebirder.bsky.social

Two Swifts in flight against blue sky

Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

Developments can – and must – be a part of the solution to turn things around.

Ahead of the Scottish election, our manifesto calls for new developments to help restore nature in Scotland 👉 www.rspb.org.uk/scotland/new...

A Ptarmigan in winter plumage showing white feathers.

1/ To celebrate Seachdain na Gàidhlig / World Gaelic Week we’ll be sharing some interesting bits and pieces connecting birds with the Gaelic language. 🐦

Airson Seachdain na Gàidhlig am-bliadhna bidh sinn a’ roinn cuid de rudan inntinneach mu eòin agus a’ chàna.

Discover more ⬇️🧵

White-billed Diver defending its crab catch from a Herring Gull just before dark.
#birdingscotland

White-billed Diver off Broughty Ferry today (found a week ago by @lainy.bsky.social ). Increasingly goes missing for hours but sporadically shows rather well.

#BirdingScotland #Birds #UKbirding

A few more of the Common Crane near St Andrews earlier today. #birdingFife #BirdingScotland

A stop-the-car-now moment: fabulous views of this Eurasian Bittern feeding in a roadside burn at the northern end of Loch of Spiggie today. A rare bird here in Shetland with less than 30 records of this cryptic heron!

#BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife #Birds

Hamlet the Golden Eagle being released into the wild after recovering from being shot

We’re relieved to hear that Hamlet, a 4-year-old Golden Eagle, has recovered from his injuries and been released back into the wild after being shot in the Borders.

It comes after the suspicious disappearance of two other Golden Eagles, Tarras and Wren, in the south of Scotland in August.

🧵

Golden Eagle found shot in Scottish Borders – Police Scotland appeals for information Press release from Police Scotland (9 February 2026) APPEAL AFTER GOLDEN EAGLE SHOT IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS Wildlife officers are appealing to the public for information after a four-year-old golde…

Golden Eagle found shot in the Scottish Borders - Police Scotland appeals for information.

'Hamlet' is the sixth victim of eagle persecution in south Scotland in recent years.

Details in blog ⬇️

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #BirdingScotland 🌍

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/02/09/g...

Thanks so much 🙂

Thank you! Very kind :)

generative AI has become widely available in the summer of 2022 and entered mainstream in 2023

people are working themselves up in a frenzy, convinced they're utterly helpless without software younger than still-fresh canned tuna. we have been making art for at least 50,000 years, get a grip

I Want To Believe the species taking on a supernatural presence in birding culture

I forgot to mention on here that I wrote a little thing on substack about birds that are likely extinct, but have people hoping they are still out there.

Uni is going to be ramping up but wanted to post something else in case I can’t for a while!
🪶
open.substack.com/pub/midnight...

Context is everything in birding- I barely broke my stride observing 4 White-tailed Eagles today- then frantically grabbed my camera for this Magpie- still a very scarce bird in the NW Highlands and a real treat to see one! #Highlandbirds

Ring-necked Duck at Queens Park Glasgow this morning

Tears of joy! SCOTLAND HAS JUST PASSED SWIFT BRICKS INTO LAW unanimously!
4 years of asking England & Scotland sorts it in a month led by ACE ⁦‪ MARK RUSKELL MSP‬⁩ ♥️The RELIEF is unreal! Tell England to follow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿by emailing PlanningPolicyConsultation@communities.gov.uk now!WOOP!

Close up profile of Herring Gull with black background

Gulls are in serious trouble in Scotland.

These remarkable birds are facing significant pressures. A recent report revealed licensed control could have contributed to declines ➡️ rspb.org.uk/scotland/news/licensed-gull-control-in-scotland

We must balance the needs of protected species and people.

The wintering flock of Twite at Cocklemill was up to 88 today, and the Nuthatch range expansion seems to have reached the East Neuk #birdingFife

This kingfisher took absolutely everything out of me — 23.5 hours of work! As one of my favorite birds, I just had to capture its stunning turquoise plumage in wool.

#kingfisher #needlefelting #woolart #handmade #birds #bird #art #sculpture #felting #felt

a redwing sits amongst branches yellow with lichen, with many red berries

A fieldfare perches on top a tree at the golf club, a grey sky behind it

a group of four waxwings perch on a bare bush, bathed in golden sunlight

a waxwing perches on a bare bush, blue-grey sky behind, winter sun hitting it. It is looking up and to the side, the sun just hitting its eye

back to uni now, and once again thinking about the amazing number of migratory thrushes and waxwings I saw in Monifieth last week 🙂‍↕️ #BirdingScotland 🪶

excellent day spotting some stunning Waxwings at Monifieth, a very obliging flock made my first time seeing them fairly easy! #BirdingScotland 🪶

a cormorant swims in the Eden

A white-throated dipper perches on a rock in the Eden, a metal ring is seen on its leg

an otter looks over its shoulder to the opposite river bank, with eyes on the camera

a grey wagtail hops along the waters edge, pecking through grasses and leaves

A good selection of wildlife in the river Eden in Cupar on a cold January afternoon #BirdingFife 🪶❄️

A few of the six Little Egret's seen at Loch Leven today. Third & fourth pics taken in snow storm. #BirdingScotland

An Arctic Skua flying over the West Sands, St Andrews

A Nuthatch at Lochwinnoch RSPB

A visiting Avocet amongst the ducks and waders at Eden Estuary - March 3rd

A Glossy Ibis at Angle Park, causing quite the group of birders to assemble - October 25th

I’m still new enough to the hobby that lifers have come fairly easily this year, 38 new species! Highlights include the Glossy Ibis, Pied Avocet, a very loud Water Rail, and an Arctic Skua on my birthday :) let’s see what 2026 brings! #BirdingScotland