ScrubUpBritain

It’s also important to think carefully before sharing sightings of rare breeding birds in the spring & summer - could this lead to disturbance, or worse? Read the RBBP guidance here tinyurl.com/RBBPsound and if in doubt, don’t! [2/2]

On Tuesday evening our ringing team recaught a Woodcock on Wheldrake Ings after dark, and after checking our database, it turns out that we ringed this individual at the same site (as a first year) in January 2019 – so seven years after ringing and now almost eight years old 🐦

A new bird atlas for Britain and Ireland has been announced by five conservation organisations: bit.ly/4retJoC

The UK Government has unveiled a 10-year deer management strategy for England, pledging to make culling easier in a bid to address what it describes as an expanding deer population that is damaging woodlands and farmland and impacting ground-nesting birds: bit.ly/4aZ3CvU

A bit of media today trying to raise awareness of the plight of the Tree Sparrow. Started with an interview on BBC Radio Wilts talking about unloved birds - Tree Sparrow is the obvious candidate! Then finding out my article on Tree Sparrows is in this month's Birdwatch Magazine.

With temperatures of up to 18.7 degrees C and Sand Martins, House Martins, European Barn Swallows and Stone Curlews arriving, the total number of species recorded in 2026 has now climbed to an impressive 268 with an additional 12 species from Ireland (280)

I have always dreamed of getting one of our birds retrapped in Africa. It has finally happened! We ringed this Reed Warbler on the Salisbury Plain in August 2024. It was retrapped this morning 4459km away at Kartong Bird Observatory in The Gambia. A truly brilliant record.

This year's coppicing in Spring Wood almost finished (just before bird nesting season) - plenty of beanpoles & peasticks, hedge stakes etc made along with lovely thick dead hedges, providing cover and food for many species. @IpswichGov @BaberghSuffolk #coppicing #localwood

The Woodpecker Network is encouraging birders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers by using passive acoustic sound recorders: bit.ly/40gem3L

50% rise in lekking Capercaillie at Abernethy over five years rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/50P…

Fantastic to see that 30 lekking male Capercaillies were recorded in the Abernethy area in 2025. A 50% increase since 2020. Such great news for the Scottish Highlands. Let's hope this year is successful!! (Photos below from 2026) @BirdGuides #TwitchingTheUKandIreland

The RSPB has reported a significant increase in Western Capercaillie numbers at its Abernethy Forest reserve, providing a rare piece of positive news for a species facing extinction in the UK: bit.ly/4tsyzAQ

North Wiltshire Ringing Group ringing recovery: Grasshopper Warbler ringed by us on Salisbury Plain on the 28th August 2025, recovered Donges, Loire-Atlantique, France on the 18th September 2025. 21 days since ringed, 437km movement #birdringing #migration

Quite impressive watching this Great Grey Shrike hover yesterday, this individual at Fillingham performed very well as we watched it hunt voles over the cover field. Mixture of video including slo-motion.

Scotland becomes first UK country to put Swift bricks into law rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Sco…

Stunning session at a sewage works near me. Highlights were this Goldcrest that is wearing a Belgian ring, and a lovely Firecrest.

@mattthesparrow @TonyJuniper @NWDLT @nigel_pleass @robmhowe65 @WiltsBirdClub @SpaceForNature @_BTO Happy New Year Matt, you are doing a great job, keep going mate!!

Happy New Year everyone. My New Years Resolution is to keep trying to save Tree Sparrows in Wiltshire.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all from ScrubUpBritain. Wishing you all a hugely productive and exciting new year ahead! An image from October last year on North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory. We've lots of exciting plans for the new year ahead. Have a great evening peeps 🎆

Stills cleaned up and cropped as best I can from the video of the male Hen Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, and Merlin in the same frame. Second photo shows Hen Harrier & Merlin perched next to each other. That's like the planets aligning. Shellness Beach, Kent.

Whilst surveying a farm last night we came across this Woodlark, a first for us at night. Here is a nice comparison of it with a Skylark. The rest of the farm was great with 70 Skylarks and 20 Woodcock seen.