Features
- Vinicombe, K E. Hybrid ducks [How to untangle Aythya hybrids]
- Young, S. Class of 2007 [Account of October 2007 on the Isles of Scilly, including images of Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata, Blyth’s Pipit Anthus godlewski, Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum, Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator and Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata]
- Robb, M. Petrels night and day [Sound-recording exploits at colonies of White-faced Storm-petrel Pelagodroma marina, with images including photos and sonograms of this species and Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro]
- Young, S. Don’t forget how to focus [Using manual focus in bird photography]
- Cocker, M. Working for Africa’s birds [Profile of the African Bird Club]
Better Birding
- Find your own … Water Rail
- In the field – Going solo, or two’s company?
- Garden Birdwatch – Practise on winter diners
- Must see – Shore Lark
- How to … Choose a place to bird
- Birding equipment – Keeping it clean
- Tip from the top – Dave Gosney
- What’s on – December events
- Optical events – December guide
- Birding courses and workshops
- December high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland
Where to watch birds
- Pullen, D. The Black Isle, Highland
- Wormwell, C. Isle of Man
- Donaghy, N. Kenfig, Glamorgan
- Scott, B. Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire
Competition
Win Kowa prizes worth over £2,400
Birdwatch Artist of the Year 2007 – a selection of the best entries, in association with the Society of Wildlife Artists and Swarovski Optik
News and related items
News digest – 2007 breeding season; storm is bad new for Bitterns; green light for oil platforms; reprieve for African flamingos Fraser, M.
ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Sincora Antwren Formicivora grantsaui. National list: Britain, including recommendations from the BOURC’s Taxonomic Sub-Committee such as species-level recognition of Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans and American Herring Gull L smithsonianus. Relationships: Barbtails and treerunners Margarornis complex; Starling and mockingbird families Sturnidae and Mimidae]
Tools of the trade
Product review: Nikkor 300mm AF-S VR f2.8 G IF-ED telephoto lens
Brochure watch: Limosa Holidays
Internet: updates and new websites, plus website of the month.
Book reviews and previews: Flight Identification of European Seabirds by Anders Blomdahl, Bertil Breife and Niklas Holmstrom (Christopher Helm); John Kirk Townsend by Barbara and Richard Mearns (Barbara and Richard Mearns); The Lapwing by Michael Shrubb (T & AD Poyser); Watching British Dragonflies by Steve Dudley, Caroline Dudley and Andrew Mackay (Subbuteo); The Bird Songs of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by Andreas Schulze and Karl-Heinz Dingler (Musikverlag Edition Ample)
Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Spurrell, B. Grosbeak’s late show on St Agnes [Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus, Grinlington Farm, St Agnes, Scilly, 23-29 October 2007]
Moore, I. ‘Squeaker’ calls in Yank warbler [Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata, The Garrison, St Mary’s, Scilly, 9 October 2007]
Shaw, K. Foula - twinned with Siberia [Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope, Foula, Shetland, 5 October 2007]
Lidster, J. Snipe strikes again on Scilly [Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata, Lower Moors, St Mary’s, Scilly, from 11 October 2007]
Baines, R. Easterlies blow in surprise from Asia [Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica, Flamborough, Yorkshire, 3-4 October 2007]
Mullarney, K. Shy Blyth’s joins the Irish list [Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum, Mizen Head, Co Cork, Ireland, 10-11 October 2007]
Monthly highlights summary: October 2007
Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, October 2007, including photos of Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla, Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata, Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos, Radde’s Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi, Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens, Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus, Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla, Pine Bunting Emberiza leucocephalos, American Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura and Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum.
Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in October 2007, including photos of Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor, Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea, Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus, Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor and Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus on the Azores, Goliath Heron Ardea goliath in Egypt, Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach in Denmark, and Eastern Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus in The Netherlands.
ISSN 0967-1870
