We have moved to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 196 (October 2008): table of contents

Features

• Stoddart, A. Short-toed Lark and Skylark [How to distinguish between these two variably plumaged birds]
• Stoddart, A. Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas [A detailed guide to telling these similar species apart]
• Birkhead, T. Myth takes [Early interpretations of the migrations of birds]
• Alfrey, P. The pioneers [Are vagrants freaks of nature or do their wanderings have a purpose?]
• Hale, W G. Grounds for investigation [Is the Magellanic Snipe of the Falkland Islands a species in its own right?]
• Young, S. Focus group [Getting good close-up head shots of birds]
• Marvin, N. Mountain anticipation [What links a British explorer, two islands and a nuthatch?]

Better Birding

• Garden birds – Feed the Birds Day
• Building skills – An ill windFind your own ... Richard’s Pipit
• Tip from the top – Keith Betton
• Must see – Grey Phalarope
• First records – October outsiders
• What's on - October events
• Optical events - October guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• October high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds: mainland ‘islands’

• Kerr, I. Holy Island, Northumberland
• Saunders, D. South-west Gower
• Piotrowski, S. Orford Ness, Suffolk
• Pullen, D. Tarbat Ness, Highland

News and related items
News digest – Rare birds at risk from registration list cuts; Reserve restoration benefits birds Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: Common Bush-Tanager Chlorospingus opthalmicus; subspecific status: Dunlin Calidris alpina; relationships: woodpeckers Picus, and starlings Sturnus; nomenclature: Himalayan Buzzard Buteo burmanicus]

Tools of the trade
Products: World of Birds 2009 [forthcoming reader holidays, including Japan in February, Syria in April, Texas/Mexico (combined) in April, Azores in October and Guatemala in December]
Brochure watch: Birdseekers 2009 Internet: global resources; newsgroup nuggets; website of the month
Book reviews: 100 Birds to See Before You Die by David Chandler and Dominic Couzens (Carlton Books); Britain’s Best Wildlife: the Top 40 Sights to See by Mike Dilger (Collins); Gardenwatch: Making the Most of Wildlife on Your Doorstep by Sarah Whittley (New Holland); Humans, Nature and Birds: Science Art from Cave Walls to Computer Screens by Darryl Wheye and Donald Kennedy (Yale University Press). Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Atkin, K, and Haywood, P. Audouin’s makes waves in Lincolnshire [Audouin’s Gull Larus audouinii, Lincolnshire, 15-23 August 2008]
Wing, S. Warbler gets the Cape party started ... [Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia, Cape Clear, Co Cork, 24-30 August 2008]
Haslam, B. ... but waterthrush is the headline act [Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis and Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria, Cape Clear, Co Cork, 26-30 August 2008]
Vinicombe, K E. Madness on the high seas [MV Scillonian pelagic, 10 August 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: August 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, August 2008, including photos of Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini, Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, Great Shearwaters Puffinus gravis, Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii, Wryneck Jynx torquilla, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva, Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola, White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus, Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis, Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta, Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera, Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis and Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in August 2008, including photos of Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis in Egypt, Allen’s Gallinule Porphyrio alleni in Spain, Masked Booby Sula dactylatra off the Azores, Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni and Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata in Sweden, and Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis in France.

We have moved to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 195 (September 2008): table of contents

Features

• Stoddart, A. Garden and Barred Warblers [How to distinguish between these two similar warblers]
• Garner, M. Green-winged, Common and Baikal Teal [The key features that help to separate females of these three confusion species]
• Alibone, M. All eyes on binoculars [The annual buyers’ guide to more than 250 models of binocular]
• Madge, M. State of emergency [A look at the losses and gains among Britain’s birds]
• Gardener, A. The original Scilly season [September can be very exciting as an autumn birding destination]
• Marven, N. On location – Wotsit all about? [Texas birding in spring]
• Young, S. Storm forecast [Photographing Leach’s Storm-petrels]

Better Birding

• Find your own ... Wryneck
• On the move – Heading for a fall
• Tip from the top – Erik Hirschfeld
• Must see – Spotted Crake
• First records – September stars
• What's on - September events
• Optical events - September guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• September high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Parker, T. North Teesside
• Bradshaw, C. Isle of Sheppey, Kent
• Wormwell, C. Isle of Man
• Doolan, J. Kilcummin Head, Co Mayo

News and related items
News digest – birds of prey attacks hit record high; critical finch numbers on the up; puffin population plummets Fraser, M.
ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: Shrike-babblers Pteruthius; Brush-finches Buarremon. New subspecies: Black-striped Sparrow Arremonops conirostris. Relationships: Gulf of Guinea kingfishers Alcedo; National lists: Great Britain, Iraq]


Tools of the trade
Product review: Opticron HR 66 GA ED/45 telescope
Brochure watch: Birdfinders 2009
Internet: online osprey journey; notes form the newsgroups; flights of fancy; website of the month
Book reviews: Birds in Colour by Marc Duquet (Christopher Helm); Identifying Birds by Colour by Moss Taylor and Norman Arlott (HarperCollins); The Birds of Gwent by the Gwent Ornithological Society (Christopher Helm); A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia by Charles M Francis (New Holland).

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Hill, B. The young ones [Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis, Somerset Levels throughout July 2008]
Darlaston, M and Langman, M. Shear brilliance [Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan, Berry Head, Devon, 29 July 2008]
Harbard, C. Two-barreds invade in record numbers [Two-barred Crossbills Loxia leucoptera, record numbers from 20 July 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: July 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, July 2008, including photos of Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus, Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus, White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis, Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus rosea, Two-barred Crossbill Loxia leucoptera, Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus, Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica, presumed Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma feae.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in July 2008, including photos of American Great Egret Ardea alba egretta in the Azores, Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica and Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri in Norway, Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus in the Netherlands.

Free 36-page report: The state of the UK’s birds 2007, distributed exclusively by Birdwatch

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 194 (August 2008): table of contents

Features

• Bowman, N. Stranger danger [Photo feature of hunting Spotted Hyena in a flamingo flock] Vinicombe, K. Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs [How to distinguish between these two similar waders]
• Baxter, P. Fair trade [The excitements of three years living on Fair Isle]
• Callaghan, D. The stone runner [The private life of the Dotterel revealed]
• Marven, N. On location – Kentucky in Texas [Searching for American warblers at High Island]
• Young, S. Parkland paparazzi [Maximising photographic opportunities in your local park]
  

Competition
Win a £1,300 holiday for two to The Faroe Islands

Better Birding

• Find your own ... Melodious Warbler
• All the fun of the Birdfair
• Tip from the top – Tony Pym
• Must see – Wood Sandpiper
• First records – August archive
• How to ... identify immature passerines
• What's on - August events
• Optical events - August guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• August high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Ahmad, M. North Penwith, Cornwall
• Robson, N. Blue House Farm, Essex
• Croft, K. Anglesey
• Andrews, I. Lothian

News and related items
News digest – penguin populations take a dive; bringing wetlands back to Britain; genetic study shakes evolutionary tree; effects of US border wall on habitats and wildlife
Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Splits: White-eyed Foliage-gleaner Automolus leucophthalmus; Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes. Relationships: Hawk-eagles Spizaetus spp; National lists: Mexico, Uruguay, Oman and United Arab Emirates]


Tools of the trade
Product previews and reviews: all-new Swarovski EL binoculars preview; Opticron Aurora BGA 8x42 review
Internet: Searching matters; best of the blogs; ringing in colour; website of the month
Book and reviews: Where to Watch Birds in Wales by David Saunders and Jon Green (Christopher Helm); European Bird Guide by Peter H Barthel and Paschalis Dougalis (New Holland Books); A Sussex Guide: Sussex Wildlife by David Mortimer (Snake River Press); Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.


Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Turton, M. Pacific time on the east coast [Pacific Swift Apus pacificus, Beacon Ponds, East Yorkshire, 22 June 2008]
McEvoy, T. Make mine a double [Pacific A pacificus and Little A affinis Swifts, Spurn East Yorkshire, 26 June 2008]
Rawson, S. Bunting decorates Yorkshire garden [Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala, Whitby, North Yorkshire, 28 May 2008]
Davis, A, and Vinicombe, K. Why Chew’s gull is a Yank [American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset, from 8 May 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: June 2008


Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, June 2008, including photos of Eastern Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans albistriata, Balearic Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator badius, Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus, Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida, Spoonbills Platalea leucorodia, Rose-coloured Starlings Sturnus rosea, Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia, European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, Icterine Warblers Hippolais icterina, Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor, Black Stork Ciconia nigra, River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis, Citrine Wagtails Motacilla citreola and Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in June 2008, including photos of Swinhoe’s Snipe Gallinago megala in Finland, Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva and House Crow Corvus splendens in The Netherlands, Mongolian Finch Rhodopechys mongolicus in Turkey and Namaqua Dove Oena capensis in Greece.


Free 60-page supplement: the Official Programme for Birdfair 2008, distributed exclusively by Birdwatch

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 193 (July 2008): table of contents

Features

• Howell, P. Buzzard births [A close-up look at the hatching and development of Common Buzzard chicks]
• Thomas, M. Black magic Monty’s [A rare British appearance of a dark-morph Montagu’s Harrier, in Bedfordshire]
• Stoddart, A. Redshank and Spotted Redshank [How to separate these two similar Tringa waders]
• Vinicombe, K. Great and Cory’s Shearwaters [How to distinguish between these two large shearwaters, including Mediterranean and Cape Verde forms of Cory’s]
• Mitchell, D. Atlantic High [A look at the Azores in winter]
• Thomas, M, Knott, J, and Clare, J. Catching the killers [How bird of prey persecution in the uplands is being tackled] Marven, N. On location – The tallest of the tall [Whooping Cranes in Texas]
• Young, S. Adapting to digiscoping [Digiscoping with an SLR camera] Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

• Find your own ... Balearic Shearwater
• First records – July crackers
• Tip from the top – Mark Brazil
• Must see – Dipper
• BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – The young ones
• Feathers - Perfect plumage
• What's on - July events
• Optical events - July guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• July high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Hopper, N. Poole Harbour, Dorset
• French, P. The Wash, Lincolnshire
• Stowe, T. Newport Wetlands, Gwent
• Jones, G. Bassenthwaite and St Bees Head, Cumbria

News and related items
News digest – ‘Hoodies’ admitted to list at last [Hooded Merganser accepted by BOURC]; New revision of IUCN Red List; North-south divide between British breeding species; Saving birds

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Togian White-eye Zosterops somadikartai. Species confirmation: Zino’s and Fea’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira and P feae; Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis]

Tools of the trade
Internet: an eye for the ladies; best of los blogs; new on the net.
Book and reviews: The Birds of Essex by Simon Wood (Christopher Helm); Kingfisher’s Fire: a Story of Hope for God’s Earth by Peter Harris (Monarch Books)

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland
Hyndman, T H, and Gee, M. Back on the list! [Citril Finch Serinus citrinella, Fair Isle, Scotland, 6-11 June 2008]
Mayson, S. Warbler confusion [Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata, Westleton Heath, Suffolk, 10 May 2008]
Laurie P. Eagle spotted over Norfolk [Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina, Holt, Norfolk, 9 May 2008]
Parnaby, D. The Whimbrel that wasn’t [Upland Sandpiper, Bartamia longicauda, Loch of Strathbeg RSPB, 6 May 2008]
Draper, A. Lancashire nets a county first [White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis, Heysham NR, Lancashire, 6 May 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: May 2008

Recent reports
Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, May 2008, including photos of Whiskered Terns Chlidonias hybrida, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida, Short-toed Larks Calandrella bracydactyla, Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus, Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus, Grey-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava thunbergi, Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica, Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia, Bluethroat Luscinia svecica, Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris and Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in May 2008, including photos of Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus in The Netherlands, Pine Bunting Emberiza leucocephalos in Guernsey, American Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura in Denmark and a hybrid Pied x Collared Flycatcher in Malta.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 192 (June 2008): table of contents

Features

• Jones, G. Roof-tops for redstarts [Report on the creation of new roof-top habitats for Black Redstarts breeding in Manchester]


• Harbard, C. The twilight zone [Tips on finding birds which
  are active during the hours between dusk and dawn]


• Jones, G. Protecting the Pennine finch [Documentary of the
  alarming decline of the English Twite population and measures being taken to
  conserve it]


• Elsom, S. Bravo Brazil [Highlights of a birding trip into Brazil’s
  bird-rich Atlantic rainforest]


• Marven, N. On location – On the woodpecker trail
  [Woodpeckers, scarce waders and leopards are tracked-down in South Africa’s
  Kruger National Park]


• Young, S. In the frame – Lighten up and manipulate
  [Salvaging underexposed photos]

Better Birding

• Find your own … Golden Oriole


• Other wildlife – Moth magic


• Past rarities – June jewels


• Tip from the top – John McLoughlin


• Must see – Woodlark


• BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – Get spotting with Great Spots


• What’s on – June events


• Optical events – June guide


• Birding courses and workshops


• From dusk to dawn – special events to find European Nightjars, owls and moths


• June high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Parnell, E. The Brecks


• Mitchell, D. Durness, Sutherland


• Barthorpe, I. Suffolk coast


• Drewitt, E. Bristol

Competition

Win £1,000 worth of Hawke binoculars as prizes

Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

News and related items

News digest – proposed Wash barrier condemned; raptor persecution targeted; Malta hunting ban; seabird slaughter

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Potential splits: Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti, Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans, Golden-winged Grosbeak Rhynchostruthus socotranus. National lists: Colombia, Papua New Guinea]


Tools of the trade

Product review: Hawke Frontier 8x42 binocular.

Brochure watch: Birdquest 2008-09.

Internet: Image processing software.

Book and CD reviews: The Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside by Steve White, Barry McCarthy and Maurice Jones; Where to Watch Birds in North West England and the Isle of Man (third edition) by Allan Conlin, Dr JP Cullen, Pete Marsh, Tristan Reid, Chris Sharpe, Judith Smith and Stephen Williams; Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by Martin Kenefick, Robin Restall and Floyd Hayes; and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Offord, S. Central Asian invasion! [Black Lark Melanocorypha yeltoniensis, Winterton Dunes, Norfolk 20-21 April 2008]

Reid, J [Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus, Fair Isle, 1-2 May 2008]

Bellamy, A. Crake expectations [Little Crake Porzana parva, Exminster Marshes RSPB, Devon, from 9 April 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: April 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, April 2008, including photos of Pallid Swift Apus pallidus, European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis, White-spotted Bluethroat Luscinia svecica cyanecula, Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla, Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans, Pallas’s Warbler, Phylloscopus proregulus, Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus, White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla, Ross’s Gull Rhodosterhia rosea, Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra, Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus, Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, White-billed Diver Gavia adamsii, Great Egret Ardea alba, Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola and Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in April 2008, including photos of Two-barred Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides plumbeitarsus on Madeira, Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus in Greece, Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis and Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel in Kuwait and White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes githagineus in Sardinia.

Birdwatch - issue 191 (May 2008): table of contents

Features

• Shorrock, G. Moorland crimestop [Report of a recent success in the ongoing war against bird of prey persecution]
• Vinicombe, K. Black Kite [Which features to look out for when identifying this rare raptor]
• Grantham, M. Mistaken destinations [More migration mysteries answered in the concluding part of this feature]
• Harbard, C. Amazon adventure [A trip to a remote corner of Peru]
• Marven, N. On location – Canopy capers [Birding in the Kruger National Park, South Africa]
• Young, S. In the frame – Getting white right [Exposure and how to work it out]

Reader holiday – Azores, 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

• Find your own ... Dartford Warbler
• Bird names – Splits, lumps and sex changes
• Past rarities – May days
• Tip from the top – Jim Lawrence
• Must see – Kentish Plover
• BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch – Gold among thistles
• What's on - May events
• Optical events - May guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• May high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Williams, J. Orkney
• McLoughlin, J. Filey, North Yorkshire
• Hobson, P. Hathersage, Peak District, Derbyshire

News and related items

News digest – volunteers needed for new Priolo Atlas; egg thief jailed; finches flock to gardens; help Seawatch SW in Cornwall; petrel comeback; more help for albatrosses
Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [Taxonomic revision: Tristan Bunting Nesospiza acunhae. National list: Britain]

Tools of the trade

Product review: RSPB 8.5x42 WPG binocular; BirdVoice.

Internet: swift connections; one man and his blog; research resources.

Book reviews and previews: Birds of Surrey by Jeffrey Wheatley (Surrey Bird Club); Birds of Napa County by Herman Heinzel (Heyday Books); A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Tadao Shimba (Christopher Helm); Cutting Away: the Linocuts of Robert Gillmor (Langford Press); and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Jones M. Blackpool’s star attraction is a gull [Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea Marton Mere, Lancashire, 31 March 2008]

Walker, D. Dunge does Junco double [Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis, Dungeness, Kent 7-9 April 2008]

Astins, D. Wales welcomes American quacker [American Black Duck Anas rubripes, Pembrokeshire, from 16 March 2008

Monthly highlights summary: March 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, March 2008, including photos of Bonaparte’s and Ross’s Gulls Larus philadelphia and Rhodostethia rosea, Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck Aythya affinis and A collaris, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus, White-spotted Bluethroats Luscinia svecica cyanecula, Hume’s Warbler Phylloscopus humei, King Eider Somateria spectabilis and Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in March 2008, including photos of Black Scrub Robin Cercotrichas podobe, Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus and Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptylorhynchus in Israel, Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major in Belgium and Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola in the Canary Islands.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 189 (March 2008): table of contents

Features

• Malpass, M and J. An appetite and a half [Extraordinary photo essay featuring a Goosander battling to eat a Pike]
• Harbard, C. Beck from the dead. [The definitive rediscovery of Beck’s Petrel Pseudobulweria becki]
• Grantham, M. Regular returns [Everything you wanted to know about spring migration - part one]
• Vinicombe, K E. Purple Heron [How to ensure you recognise one when you see it]
• Mitchell, D. Protecting the Priolo [A look at the plight of the Azores Bullfinch Pyrrhula murina and how you can help to save it]
• Howlett, D. A volunteer abroad [How one man worked as a field volunteer on the Azores Bullfinch project]
• Marven, N. On location: watching wood owls [A tale of South African owls and other birds]
• Young, S. East is best, not west [How much better England’s east coast is than its west in winter]
  
  
• Birdwatch Big Day 2008 – how to take part

• Reader holiday – Azores 7-14 October 2008

Better Birding

• Find your own ... White Wagtail
• On the move – raptors return
• Past rarities – remember these?
• Tip from the top – Bill Thompson III
• Must see – Pied Flycatcher
• BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – How to sex a Dunnock
• What's on - April events
• Optical events - April guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• April high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Taylor, D. Christchurch Harbour, Dorset
• Archer, P. Waterford, Ireland
• Dee Estuary, Cheshire and Flintshire

News and related items

News digest – nine species added to the new British list; Corn Buntings recover; road threat to Socotran wildlife.

Fraser, M. ListCheck - updating the world view of birds. [Relationships: Widowbirds and bishops Euplectes spp. National lists: Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville and São Tomé and Principe; Subspecific status: Dunlin Calidris alpina]

Tools of the trade

Product review: Viewranger mapping tool for smartphones.

Internet: top of the blogs; what’s new on the net; good migrations.

Book and DVD reviews and previews: Birds of Wiltshire by James Ferguson-Lees et al (Wiltshire Ornithological Society); Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 7, edited by P J Higgins, J M Peter and S J Cowling (Oxford University Press); Birdwatching in England (DVD) by Paul Doherty (Bird Images); A Life in Detail by Terance James Bond (Langford Press); Images from Birding by Michael Warren (Langford Press); and Book shelf – Sue Monahan’s look at the latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Bastin, N. King Eider is Devon’s first [King Eider Somateria spectabilis Appledore, Devon, from 19 February 2008]
Harbard, C. Winter warblers: a new trend? [Rare Phylloscopus warblers: February 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: February 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, January 2008, including photos of Franklin’s and Mediterranean Gulls Larus pipixcan and L melanocephalus, Bitterns Botaurus stellaris, Firecrests Regulus ignicapillus, dark-breasted Barn Owl Tyto alba guttata, Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, Black-bellied Dipper Cinclus cinclus cinclus, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls Larus delawarensis and smithsonianus, Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in January 2008, including photos of Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor in the Canary Islands, Blue-winged Teal Anas discors and Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla in the Azores, Hume’s Warbler Phylloscopus humei in Italy, and Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum in The Netherlands.

Free checklist

Birds of Britain: the Complete Checklist by Dominic Mitchell and Keith Vinicombe. Second edition, fully up to date to March 2008, with nine new species added (all with detailed supporting evidence), plus a further 23 updated accounts for species at variance with the BOU list, and an 18-page tick list (with 12 columns per species). SRP: £3 when sold separately.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.

Birdwatch - issue 189 (March 2008): table of contents

Features

• Vinicombe, K E. Cirl Bunting [How to distinguish this scarce British breeder from Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella]
• Vinicombe, K E. Redhead [A close look at the identification pitfalls of this vagrant Aythya duck]
• Alibone, M. The third way [Winter in Israel can be every bit as exciting as in spring or autumn]
• Marven, N. On location: Ticking tapaculos [One man’s quest to track down this Neotropical family]
• Young, S. Teasing out a Goldfinch [A perfect technique for getting this finch to pose for your camera]

Better Birding

• Find your own ... Goshawk
• How to ... Pish and squeak
• On the move – Blasts from the past
• Building skills – Shape up your flocks
• Tip from the top – Paul French
• Must see – Cetti’s Warbler
• BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – Take two thrushes
• Equipment – Getting it in the neck
• What's on - March events
• Optical events - March guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• March high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Charles, D. Killibegs, Co Donegal
• Glenn, N. Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire
• Taylor, M. Rye Harbour, East Sussex
• Winter, S. Bedfordshire

News and related items

News digest – Farmland birds threatened; Malta taken to court; breeding helped by feeding; more Black Grouse in Scotland.

Fraser, M. ListCheck - updating the world view of birds. [Split: Forest Buzzard Buteo trizonatus. Regional and national lists: North America, Bolivia and Uganda]

Tools of the trade

• Product review: Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD binocular.
• Brochure watch: Sunbird 2008
  
• Birdwatch reader holiday report: Autumn bonanza [Sweden in September 2007 at Oland and Falsterbo with thousands of migrants]
• An audience with Andy Rouse at the NEC Birmingham in March
  
  Internet: Are you a ‘badger’?; ‘Book’ keeping; Know where you’re going
  
• Book reviews and previews: Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 12, edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and David Christie (Lynx Edicions); Antarctica: Exploring a Fragile Eden by Jonathan and Angela Scott (Collins); A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife by Hadoram Shirihai (A&C Black); Where to Watch Mammals in Britain and Ireland by Richard Moores (Christopher Helm); The Garden Bird Year by Roy Beddard (New Holland); and Book shelf – a brief look at some latest releases.

Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Harbard, C. Pembrokeshire’s Pacific returns [Pacific Diver Gavia pacifica, Llys-y-fran Reservoir, Pembrokeshire, from 16 January 2008]

Harbard, C. To tick a tichodrome [Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria, Boulogne, France, from 20 January 2008]

Harbard, C. Sparrow’s golden egg for Cley [White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys, Cley, Norfolk from 3 January 2008]

Monthly highlights summary: January 2008

Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, January 2008, including photos of Iceland Gulls Larus glaucoides, Hume’s Warblers Phylloscopus humei, Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus, Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius, Ross’s Goose Anser rossii, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans, Common Crane Grus grus, Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes, Smew Mergellus albellus, Glaucous Gulls Larus hyperboreus, Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes Podiceps auritus and P nigricollis, Pacific Diver Gavia pacifica and American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in January 2008, including photos of Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus in Spain, Pine and Rustic Buntings Emberiza leucocephalos and E rustica in Turkey, Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis and Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata in the Azores, and Brown Booby Sula leucogaster and Sooty and White-eyed Gulls Larus hemprichii and L leucophthalmus in Egypt.

Exclusive reader offer

Petrels Night & Day: A Sound Approach Guide by Magnus Robb, Killian Mullarney & The Sound Approach. Order a copy at the special price of £27.95 by the end of this month

Birdwatch – issue 188 (February 2008): table of contents

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Get Involved at Birdwatch – new opportunities for freelance writers and a vacancy for a full-time member of the editorial staff. More details at : www.birdwatch.co.uk






Features

• Balmer, D. Boom time for breeders [An inside look at the first Bird Atlas results]
• Vinicombe, K E. Snow and Ross’s Geese [The status in North America and Britain and distinguishing features of these two species]
• Soar, W. Best of 2007 [A look back at a year that produced five new species for Britain and many other twitchable megas]
• Martin, L. On a plain in Spain [Focus on early spring in Extramadura with its wide range of visiting and resident birds]
• Marven, N. On location: Jaguars, jacamars and Jabiru [Brazil’s Pantanal wetland and its wealth of birds and other wildlife]
• Young, S. Steering towards success [Using cars as mobile hides for bird photography]

Better Birding

• Find your own … Glaucous Gull
• How to … Keep a county list
• On the move – Down memory lane
• Tip from the top – Dick Newell
• Must see – White-fronted Goose
• BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch – Blackcaps in winter
• Bird coloration – Playing pool
• What’s on – February events
• Optical events – February guide
• Birding courses and workshops
• February high-tide tables for Britain and Ireland

Where to watch birds

• Daw, P. Argyll coast
• Bowerman, P. Severnside, Gloucestershire
• Ahmed, R. Hetton, Co Durham
• McKenzie, D. Crossness, Thamesmead

News and related items

News digest – The law bites back; Polish forest reprieve; scoter not common; and endemics lose rainforest.

Fraser, M. ListCheck – updating the world view of birds. [New species: Antiquoia Brish-Finch Atlapes blancae. Relationships: Kites, hawks, eagles and Old World vultures - Accipitridae. National list: Seychelles]


Tools of the trade

Product review: Zeiss DC4 camera eyepiece.

Brochure watch: Bird Holidays 2008

Birdwatch reader break: spring in Syria [pioneering guided tour in search of Northern Bald Ibis, Iraq Babbler, White-eared Bulbul and many other Western Palearctic specialities]
The last albatross adventure – Sula Sgeir, May 2008 [Rare Bird Alert’s final charter to see Scotland’s regular Black-browed Albatross]

Internet: Test your knowledge online; migrant tracks; and out for the count

Birdwatch Book of the Year 2007
The shortlist, highly commended runners-up and winner of this prestigious annual award

Book reviews and previews: Birds and People: Bonds in a Timeless Journey by Nigel collar, Adrian Long, Patricio Robles Gil and Jaime Rojo (Cemex/BirdLife); Finding Birds in Ireland: the Complete Guide by Eric Dempsey and Michael O’Clery (Gill and Macmillan); Birds of the Palearctic: Passerines by Norman Arlott (Collins Field Guide); and Book shelf – a brief look at some latest releases.


Accounts of recent rarities in Britain and Ireland

Fisher, A. Great Blue hope comes alive [Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias, St Mary’s, Scilly, 7 December 2007]
Bending, R & S. Crowning glory for Cley [White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys, Cley, Norfolk, from 3 January 2008]
Hallam, N. Thayer’s ‘scare’ [Unidentified gull Larus spp, Dix Pit, Oxfordshire 4-28 December 2007]
Wilson, M. Lone observer scoops a Sociable [Sociable Plover Vanellus gregarius 21 December 2007]

Monthly highlights summary: December 2007


Recent reports

Monthly round-ups from eight regions in Britain, and from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, December 2007, including photos of Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis, Siberian Chiffcaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis, Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Black Brant Branta (bernicla) nigricans, Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis, Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti, Brambling Fringilla montifringilla, Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata, Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia, Ring-billed and Sabine’s Gulls Larus delawarensis and L sabini, Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Richard’s Pipit Anthus richardi.

Highlights summary for the Western Palearctic in December 2007, including photos of Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor and Little Whimbrel Numenius minutus in Kuwait, Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea in France, White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis in Iceland, Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius in Spain and Parrot Crossbill Loxia pytyopsittacus in The Netherlands.

We have moved back to www.birdwatch.co.uk

Stories from the Birdwatch Newsdesk are now being posted direct to www.birdwatch.co.uk, the relaunched website of the magazine - please bookmark it in your browser and be sure to visit it regularly for news and reviews, features and much, much more. This blog will remain online for the time being as an archive of news stories published since June 2007.