Shropshire Ornithological Society

Arctic Terns are incredible birds!😀 Some individuals migrate 11,000 miles or more each way from Arctic to Antarctic. Birds who live for 25 years will travel in excess of 500,000 miles on migration, enough to go to the moon & back (a distance of 480,000 miles on average). 🌙🌍

Eurasian Spoonbill has enjoyed a bumper breeding season on RSPB reserves this summer, including the first nesting of the species in Cambridgeshire since the 1600s: bit.ly/3LvLgX2

Do you like seabirds? The Isle of May? Lighthouses? Bird Observatories? Then this podcast is for you! Join @UK_CEH on a visit to the SMP Key Site, the Isle of May via their latest #podcast for Counting the Earth: audioboom.com/posts/8545141-… @_BTO @JNCC_UK @RSPBScience

Time to get your erasers out ... In a major taxonomic shake-up, redpolls are to be lumped into a single species, it has been announced. Full story here: bit.ly/3ScmQFp

Adult Pectoral Sandpipers turn up on same schedule as Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stints. All three species breed in Siberia. More here: wadertales.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/whi… @BirdTrack graphs from Sep 2022 Juveniles will turn up later.

WeBS is great for beginners to birdwatching as you don't have to know bird songs or calls, just the ability to identify common waterbirds. It’s very satisfying! There’s always space for new @WeBS_UK counters. Click on the link or, for local info, DM us 🙂 bto.org/our-science/pr…

Job alert 📢 We’ve got a great opportunity for a Senior Research Ecologist to join our Dispersed Threats team to undertake modelling-based research as part of the iPREPARE project. Discover more & apply➡️ bto.org/jobs #ConservationJobs #ConservationCareers #Ornithology

🌊 Happy World Seabird Day! 🐦 Seabirds are crucial indicators of marine health, but sadly, they are among the most threatened bird groups globally. They face a range of threats both on land and at sea, and consequently many species are declining. 💔 Among these threats is the ongoing increase in global sea surface temperature, which causes negative impacts such as reductions in food availability and alterations in breeding habitats. 🌡️🐧 Our global network of Partners are at the frontline of seabird protection, but there's still so much more to do! 📊🔍 More data and collaborative research are essential for developing effective, long-term conservation strategies. Read more here 🌐 cambridge.org/core/blog/2024… Help us tackle threats from climate change here 👉 birdlife.org/campaigns-appe… 📸 Atlantic Puffin © Rudmer Zwerver / Shutterstock

This #GeneralElection is your chance to drive change. Use your vote to stand up for nature and help our world. 🌱 We NEED more from the next UK government. Tomorrow, you have the chance to vote with nature in mind 🗳️ 🌟Remember your photo ID 🌟 #GiveAnX #GE2024

We ringed 69 Tree Sparrow nestlings last night from 14 boxes. Many pairs gave up up in the recent cold wet weather but those who kept going have been very successful. Keep going my little beauties!

Barn Owls usually hunt at night – even in total darkness they can find the smallest vole using their super-sensitive hearing. One ear is higher than the other, which helps them to pinpoint exactly where tiny sounds are coming from. barnowltrust.org.uk/owl-facts-for-…

Sayaan says ‘so long’ to @KneppWilding, leaving the English coast at Worthing on the exact same date he did last year & arriving in France 236 miles later. Also in France, this is Joe's third autumn migration providing data. Follow their journeys ➡️ bto.org/cuckoos

Over 60,000 people here today shouting loud and clear #RestoreNatureNow! Huge thank you to everyone who has made it such an excellent day and called loud and clear for a wilder future 💚

A thread on the great work @CuanWildlife Rescue do for sick and injured wildlife in Shropshire, in this case supported by the giants from @shropsfire, and a link for ways you can support Cuan to continue helping.

Important notices for SOS members: In case you are not already aware, the door code for the Members' Hides at Venus Pool has recently been changed; please refer to your membership card for the new code.

Early morning at VP yesterday a Ringed Plover was the first of the year, Oystercatchers feeding the chick with Brook Lamprey again, 2 Lapwing, LRP, m Shoveler, f Goosander, Cuckoo, Cetti's, 35 Stock Dove. Osprey at nearby Leighton after, plus Mandarin and Redstart.

Happy International Dawn Chorus Day!

Spotted Flycatchers incoming😀 Although not as numerous as they once were, this species should arrive in numbers according to this week’s @BirdTrack migration blog. Also discover how weather may have influenced the #BTOCuckoos migration. Have a read➡️ bit.ly/4dlhpwV

Talked to the Powys CC mower man this morning, and pointed out a little patch of lady's-smock; he seemed genuinely interested. He cut just the edge of the verge and when he'd gone, look what I found ... he'd cut very carefully round the patch of lady's smock. What a hero!