West Oxfordshire Farmland Bird Project

We have been studying the Corn Bunting population at this farm in the Thames Valley for four years and have observed birds feeding in the solar farm @WestmillSolar every year. Today we made a superb find: our first Corn Bunting nest in the wildflowers between the solar panels.

No, no and no. #FactoryFarming - food waste on a massive scale - is not the future of a sustainable, secure food system, as well as having awful environmental and #AnimalWelfare impacts theguardian.com/environment/20…

This weekend marked the start of our breeding Lapwing surveys and the first nests to be located and monitored as part of the @_BTO Nest Record Scheme. There still remains great variation between colonies, with some hosting full clutches and others only just starting to display.

Last week saw us colour ring 7 Corn Buntings on a farm hosting flocks of over 200. The majority were feeding on the large areas of volunteer barley within cover crops established under SFI. This winter these have provided an immense “natural” seed resource for the birds.

Ed Conway’s superb summary of ‘farmageddon’. It’s not just inheritance tax that is putting farmers into financial jeopardy. The UK farming sector is under risk from a multitude of issues including rising food imports (often unregulated in terms of food standards) from abroad, cuts to countryside flood protection, unfair supermarket purchase prices and diminishing government subsidies for actual food production.

Fascinating briefing event in House of Commons on the UK Curlew Action Plan. Thanks to those who came and for the wide-ranging discussion. Curlew really are loved. Thanks very much to @CHinchliffMP for your support. 💪💪⭐️

This is a terrible story @SamCoatesSky Labour have declared a war on nature to appease property developer donors. Local councils have the right to defend their nature sites for example this designated SNCI that @KeepmoatHomes and @HomesEngland want to destroy. Report on that!

What is the point of keeping water privatised? This was the question Labour MP Barry Gardiner put to Emma Reynolds, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. However, when Reynolds said nationalising water would "cost an enormous amount of money", she was quizzed on where her figures were coming from. According to Gardiner, the Labour government has simply refused to do the maths.

Wildlife Trust has confirmed it has temporarily closed access to Hayley Wood Nature Reserve. 🚨❌ Dogs have bitten visitors, owners have been verbally abusive to staff when asked to put their dog on a lead, and dogs have worried livestock, according to the Trust. READ MORE: ow.ly/x6sg50YsWxN

Plans to clear 3,000 ha of tropical savanna in Australia's Northern Territory have been approved without a federal environmental assessment, prompting strong criticism from conservationists concerned about the impact on threatened birds: bit.ly/3Noh9VI

Speak up for our rare and precious chalk streams! Support The Wildlife Trusts' response to the NPPF consultation, calling for robust protection of chalk streams from future developments action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/183198/ac…

And just so you know what kind of scumbags you're dealing with here over recent months South East Water have been in the High Court twice, trying to keep their activities secret. Turns out they had been illegally abstracting water without a licence, 52.3 million litres of it. And were trying to suppress the fact they were about to be fined for not supplying water. No doubt major shareholders @NatWestGroup will be able to confirm that they approved of the company trying keep all of this secret from their customers and the public.

Law suit against South West Water by the people of Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton and Lympstone is now expanding to include the towns of Dawlish, Sidmouth, Teignmouth, Newquay and Penzance. Tell your friends. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

EU declines full ban on lead ammunition despite 60,000 public submissions rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/EU_…

The RSPB has reported that seven satellite-tagged Hen Harriers are suspected or confirmed to have been illegally killed in England during 2025, all on or close to land managed for grouse shooting: bit.ly/4t0P9Yb

Monitoring gannets with a drone: illegal. Killing gannets with NatureScot licence: legal.

Environmental “good news” looks like this: • A species hovering near extinction has a slightly better breeding season • A long-lived toxic chemical is banned decades after its harm was known I’m glad for both, but a reminder of how small the wins now look against the losses.

Six Hen Harriers ‘vanish’ on or near grouse moors in 2025 and another is poisoned rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Six…

Yet another major wake up call. The UK govt has shifted its priority away from nature towards a very narrow focus on carbon. We must hope this alarming report forces a reversal. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Those who have followed me for a long time will know I’ve been highly critical of the management of the @GaywoodRiver by the King’s Lynn IDB @The_WMA Thank you for listening & putting up with my constant moaning🧐leaving the riparian plants has transformed this rare #ChalkStream

International Swan Census data from 2020 was used to produce the overwintering population estimates of Bewick’s and Whooper Swans.🦢 If you would like to contribute to the next ISC in January, please view the vacant site map to request a site near you.⬇️ app.bto.org/gsmp/public/va…