Ropey videograb of an Osprey having a quick circle as it headed north through a grey Shropshire sky
A bit of south back in the wind, and the first Osprey of the year has just gone NNW over #salopobs 🥳 Watched for 15mins as it covered about 6 miles from Acton Burnell to Central Shrewsbury #ukbirding #vismig #migration
Screenshot of the amazingly varied spectrogram of a Skylark song, the first sound before dawn at home other than the odd shouty crow in the wood
That time of year again when we're woken up by the sound of hieroglyphics being carved into the sky above #salopobs 😍 #skylark
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Sunday night was a busy one for #nocmig at #salopobs with the expected territorial Little Grebe, Coots and Moorhens, Barn and Tawny Owls, then a Bittern at 2300 and finally this yappy Mandarin at 0539
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Collage of four distant phonescoped images of a passing adult Iceland Gull showing the white wingtips and pale grey upperparts
#salopobs garden tick 💥151💥 came in the form of an adult Iceland Gull this morning, WSW over Condover at 0838. Amazing, especially in this era of dwindling wingers. I take it all back @danbranch94.bsky.social! #ukbirding
Atrocious videograb of 6 Russian White-fronted Geese in flight. You can sort of make out the small size, slender wings and dark tones... sort of
A glorious springlike morning at #salopobs and another 6 Russian Whitefronts flew north across a backdrop of Skylark song. That's at least 1,772 that I've seen around Shrops, Lancs and Norfolk this winter #ukbirding
10 Russian White-fronted Geese flying south over Condover
One 2cy and 5 adult Russian White-fronted Geese in winter wheat
Russian White-fronted Geese packed into a winter wheat field
Near-adult Caspian Gull (right), adult Yellow-legged Gull (swimming to its left), Lesser Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gulls
Fantastic morning #shropshirebirding started with 10 Russian Whitefronts southbound from #salopobs 🥳, then another visit to the epic frontage at Crudgington Moor: 💥276💥 RWFGs looking stunning as ever with a side order of near-ad #CaspianGull and 3 Great Egrets 🤩 #goosing #ukbirding
A calm night amongst all the wind and rain this week saw lots of early season #owl activity at #salopobs including this pair of Barn Owls 🪶🦉🎙 #nocmig
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A vivid green band of aurora in the southern sky, almost obliterating Orion
I hope you've been outside tonight. This was the view SOUTH from #salopobs about an hour ago as vivid, naked eye, ground-lighting #aurora pulsated across the #Shropshire sky. Strongest stats ever recorded by my favourite app! And could be more to come ❤️😎💚
Snowdrifts along the drive, the distant Wrekin hidden in a cloud
Remarkably monochrome at #salopobs this morning. Kestrel hunting in the garden, flocks of thrushes overhead, tree down in the lane and the power finally came back on this evening #uksnow #ukbirding
Male Blackbird taking a break from feasting on ivy berries to hassle the marauding Fieldfares in the hawthorn
One of two Song Thrushes covering the perimeter of the lawn
Fieldfare leading the charge in Operation: take over the hawthorns
Thrushy magic in the #salopobs garden between jobs today, amazing what a bit of snow will do
Sunrise-watchers on a snowy Wrekin summit this morning
Lesser Black-backed Gulls streaming west from roost
Snow on the hills and a record-smashing 3,230 LBBGs out of roost past #salopobs this morning #ukbirding #uksnow
Shaky shot of a juvenile Goshawk perched in a conifer looking nervously at the mobbing corvids
One of the first birds of the year at #salopobs was this stunning juv Gos that was eventually chased off by the Crows (shame it was too dark and dank for a decent photo). 52 species so far in 2026 #lowcarbonbirding #ukbirding
Montage of photos from salopobs in 2025: Gannet, LBBGs, hybrid hirundine, Osprey, Greenfinch, Corn Bunting, Marsh Harrier, Starling, Wheatear, Redstart, Hobby
Happy New Year! 2025 was another record year at #salopobs with ✨️128✨️ species recorded (10 nocmig only), including 3 new ticks (GCGrebe, Avocet and Gannet!) bringing the overall total to 💥150💥 Three Bittern nights, Quail, Ospreys, Scoters... #happydays
The last sunset of 2025 from the salopobs tower
Last watch of 2025 at #salopobs this evening produced roost flights of Great Egret, 2 Mandarin, 13 Red Kites and 2,450 LBBGs. Not bad at all. Rare geese must be waiting for 2026... #ukbirding #newyearseve
Juv Gos in a pine tree
December is always too busy, and things at #salopobs get neglected, so it was nice to grab half an hour in the long lost sunlight this morning, with a hunting juv Gos and flyover Great Egret as reward. Merry Christmas one and all ✨️🎄🥂 #lowcarbonbirding #ukbirding
Part of a mega flock of migrating Woodpigeons taken on my phone from the back door
A few glances outside #salopobs whilst getting ready for school and work confirmed today was another big pigeon day. I counted 5,400 heading SW in some massive flocks 0740-0750, but then we had to go 😟 What could have been... #vismig #ukbirding
A section of a large flock of migrant Woodpigeons
5 Egyptian Geese coming in high from the west
More high-flying migrant Woodpigeons
My clicker counter, still hot from counting 44,110 Woodpigeons, 290 Fieldfares and 620 Starlings
A flood of 44,110 Woodpigeons past #salopobs this morning was a new site and county record, and almost overwhelming at times. 5 Egyptian Geese high east were a bit of a surprise #vismig #ukbirding
A majestic Woodpigeon pauses in our dead Oak
Screenshot of this morning's vismig totals from trektellen.org
Blue sky Woodpigeon movement
Woodpigeons on the move again on this beautiful sunny morning: 18,800 flew SW at #salopobs along with 1,240 Starlings, Chaffinches, Skylarks and a few more thrushes #loveautumn #vismig #ukbirding
One of the local Fallow bucks at the end of a hard rut. That eye doesn't look great
Screenshot of this morning's vismig totals from the excellent trektellen.org website
After a few days away, this morning's #vismig was headlined by 426 Chaffinches +Brambling, 4,430 Woodies and 620 Starlings. All under the, er, watchful eye of the zombie Fallow buck 👀 #salopobs
Three layers of migrant Wodpigeons passing SW over the Shropshire countryside, Wenlock Edge in the background
Another great #salopobs morning with 61 species recorded including 💥19,120💥 Woodpigeons SW, 2 Great Egrets, Brambling +225 Chaffinches, 79 Fieldfares, 2,310 LBBGs... ebird.org/checklist/S2... #vismig #ukbirding
4 Whooper Swans flying SE past the obs, following other Midlands overshooters yesterday. Yeartick 128, smashing last year's record of 124
Just a few of the 10k Woodpigeons flying SW in 2hrs this morning
Great Egret high south, still exciting to see and still surprising to be an expected part of the year these days
A magical morning at #salopobs (even though I overslept 🤦🏻♂️) with 4 Whoopers SE (obs yeartick 128), a Great Egret high south, 10,060 Woodies, 20 Crossbills, double Gos 😍 ebird.org/checklist/S2... #loveautumn #vismig #ukbirding
Migrating Woodpigeons against grey clouds
Migrating Woodpigeons flying high SW through a blue sky
More blue sky Woodpigeon migration
It's Woodpigeon time again! Great morning at #salopobs headlined by 10,460 Woodies heading SW along with the first Brambling of the year and 248 Chaffinches. 2,520 LBBGs out of roost tried to distract, and the juv Gos looked as overwhelmed as I felt! ebird.org/checklist/S2... #ukbirding #vismig
Me, mindblown, in a muddy field coloured red by the intense glow of an unbelievable sky full of aurora borealis, 10th Oct 2024
Happy one year anniversary of the night the #aurora turned the Shropshire countryside red 💥💃💥 This was the view to the east from the field in front of #salopobs, just before a flock of Common Scoter peeped overhead 🤯
Pale (leucistic?) juvenile Red Kite
Thought #shropshirebirding (and #salopobs) might have finally got in on the ibis influx this morning when an all too distant and brief candidate flew SE down the Severn, but a check of likely spots produced nothing better than this creamy juv Red Kite 😕 #ukbirding
Golden hour glow from the rising sun over the Lime trees of Pitchford Estate with Acton Burnell Hill and Wenlock Edge beyond
Brief sunset colour over Earl's Hill
Saturday sunrise and Sunday sunset from #salopobs. Great weekend 🍂💚😎
Juvenile Hobby and attendant Magpie in a pine tree
12 very cold Swallows on overhead wires
Chiffchaff
A juvenile Hobby was the highlight of a glorious autumn morning at #salopobs along with freeze-dried Swallows, a couple of Chiffchaffs, and the first Redpoll of the year
The view over the Severn Valley and the Wrekin from salopobs. Clear sky and misty
Happy #AutumnEquinox 🍂 Stunning frosty, misty morning at #salopobs, coldest September morning for about 5 years! ❄️ #loveautumn
Wheatear in the golden glow of dawn after being rudely flushed off the garage roof. Migration in action!
Beautiful autumnal 🍂 morning today at #salopobs began with flushing a Wheatear off the garage at first light, the first of two, and the year's first c25 Pinks NW over Shrewsbury #vismig #ukbirding
Red sky in the morning - the stunning pre-dawn glow over the Severn Valley and The Wrekin ahead of the rain
22° solar halo over the Shropshire countryside - another indicator of incoming bad weather as the preceding layer of cirrus slides in front of the sun
Lesser Black-backed Gulls - some of the 1,160 that came my way from the Shrewsbury rooftop roost this morning
60 spp by 11am from #salopobs this beautiful morning. 223 #vismig Mipits +3 Crossbills, 6 Siskins, 180 Swallows, 14 albas. 2 YLGs amongst 1,160 LBBGs out of roost, and the big juv fem Gos again 😎 #ukbirding #lowcarbonbirding
A retreating shower cloud with a partial rainbow at its foot and lumps of mammatus at the top
Spent the afternoon up a ladder getting the #salopobs roof storm-ready, in between squally showers. An eye-level southbound Swift was the obvious highlight 😍
