BirdGuides Blog

Batumi Raptor Count need count coordinators

2013-05-08T13:17:00.004+01:00

Batumi Raptor Count are seeking enthusiastic and dedicated raptor-watchers to serve as a Count Coordinator and strengthen the team for the entire autumn 2013 season. The team of count coordinators lead the daily operation of the count and guarantee the quality of the monitoring. If you think you might wish to apply, please read more here: http://www.batumiraptorcount.org/news/count-coordinators-wanted.

Send your application by 20th May 2013 if you wish to be considered for the position.

RSPB Bempton seabird cruises

2013-04-14T20:12:00.000+01:00

Gannet and Puffin Cruises

Take a gannet and puffin cruise and you’ll find yourself surrounded by thousands of seabirds, including colourful Puffins swimming around the boat, and other seabirds plunging head first into the sea to catch some fish. On the three-hour round trip from Bridlington Harbour, ideal for both beginners and experienced enthusiasts, you’ll visit the spectacular chalk cliffs at Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head — a seabird city home to hundreds of thousands of nesting seabirds.

Skua and Shearwater Cruises
Alternatively, instead of sailing to Bempton Cliffs, try our skua and shearwater cruises later in the season which sail out into the North Sea searching for migrating seabirds on their long journeys south. Look for shearwaters, skuas and terns amongst huge numbers of other seabirds including auks and gulls. These trips are slightly longer to allow time to go in search of these exciting seabirds.

GANNET AND PUFFIN CRUISES
Saturday 4 May at 9.30am
Saturday 11 May at 5.00pm
Sunday 19 May at 9.30am
Sunday 26 May at 6.00pm
Saturday 1 June at 9.00am
*Sunday 2 June at 10.00am — FAMILY
Saturday 8 June at 5.00pm
Saturday 15 June at 9.30am
Saturday 22 June at 4.45pm
Sunday 30 June at 9.30am
Sunday 7 July at 4.00pm
Saturday 13 July at 9.30am

SKUA & SHEARWATER CRUISES
Saturday 31 August at 9.00am
Saturday 7 September at 10.30am
Sunday 15 September at 9.00am
Saturday 21 September at 10.30am
Sunday 29 September at 8.30am
Saturday 5 October at 9.30am

All the cruises leave from Bridlington harbour and last between 3–3.5 hours (except for Family; see below). Tickets are priced at £20 per adult, £10.00 per child under 14 or £50.00 per family ticket (2 adults + 2 children).

For those of you with children we are running a special family cruise this year tailored especially for them on Sunday 2 June at 10.00am. This will be a much shorter cruise, lasting about 1.5 hours, and will include children's quizzes, special commentary and family competitions. Ticket prices for this cruise will be just £10.00 per adult and £5.00 per child under 14.

For bookings, or more information on these and other events, please phone 01262 850959, email: bempton.cruises@rspb.org.uk, or visit www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature

Atlas of Migratory Bird Hunting

2013-03-26T19:52:00.002Z

Do you live in an area where hunting of migratory birds takes place? If so, Dr Paul Jepson of University of Oxford is interested to hear about it. Hunting of migratory species is still widespread but we lack any easily accessible overview of its distribution or trends. The project aims to provide an opportunity for anybody who has witnessed migratory bird hunting or knows of places past or present where it occurs to their knowledge. You can help map the hunting of migratory birds by filling in this questionnaire: http://research.ouce.ox.ac.uk/limesurvey/index.php?sid=47842&lang=en

Ortolan Bunting

Tawny Owl on eggs

2013-02-25T13:51:00.000Z

It may still be February, but breeding is well underway for Tawny Owls. The BTO website has a live web-cam pointing at and in one pair of Tawny Owls; you can watch what they're up to here: http://www.bto.org/news-events/news/2013-02/tawny-owl-clutch-complete

The pair's first egg was laid on 6th February and by 11th February there were three eggs in the nest. The female is now incubating the eggs — a task that will last about 28 days.

They're not the only birds to be nesting so early in the year. A Collared Dove in Thetford was on eggs before January was out! Full story here: http://btoringing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/how-do-you-like-your-eggs-frozen.html

3rd Global Bird Watchers Conference, Gujarat

2013-02-22T12:09:00.000Z

Back in January I received an email inviting me out to Gujarat, India, to visit the 3rd Global Bird Watchers' Conference — unfortunately for me, I was in Oman at the time and by the time I was back home it was too late to sort out the necessary visa for visiting India. Thus I sadly missed out on what I am assured was an excellent and successful conference. Uttej Rao kindly sent me a selection of photographs from the conference to show me what I missed out on, including some superb photos by Filipino photographer Ramon Quisumbing of the birds seen.

Uttej says: “The conference went of very well and was well appreciated by everyone. We had about 88 foreign delegates from 40 countries and about 210 Indian delegates. Here are some pics of what you missed. In a couple of pictures you might notice that the surface looks like snow. It is actually salt that has formed on the surface of the desert over a period of years. On bright moonlight nights it gives a awesome look as you can see a bed of white for miles on. This stretches for well over 100 kms.”

Sociable Plover — Ramon Quisumbing

Plain Prinia — Ramon Quisumbing

Painted Stork — Ramon Quisumbing

Green Bee-eater — Ramon Quisumbing

Cream-coloured Courser — Ramon Quisumbing

The 4th Global Bird Watchers Conference will be held in January 2014 (tentatively pencilled into the diary for 4th January). Details of the conference will be posted on the GBWC website; anyone wishing to attend can also contact Uttej Rao.

You can also read about Nick Moran's trip to the 1st Global Bird Watchers' Conference on our webzine here.

Off to a Flyer!

2013-01-08T17:25:00.003Z

2013 got off to a flying start with butterflies seen on the wing and a small moth migration experienced during the first weeks of the New Year.

The unseasonably mild weather tempted a number of butterfly species out of dormancy with sightings of Brimstone, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Speckled Wood and, most surprisingly, Painted Lady all reported. At Perivale NR (London), David Howdon (one of our mothing buddies) found an overwintering Comma. Can you spot it below?

Red Admirals in particular seemed particularly drawn by the glorious New Year’s Day sunshine experienced in some parts of the UK with individuals seen in Surrey, Hampshire and Gloucestershire.

But it wasn’t just butterflies that were tempted out by the warmth. Early January is usually a barren moth for moth-ers with Winter Moths and the occasional Dark Chestnut the usual suspects. But mild southerly winds from the Continent prompted a minor moth migrationwith reports of Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella), Silver Y (Autographa gamma), Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella), Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis), Small Mottled Willow (Spodoptera exigua) and Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon) recorded along the south coast of England during the mild spells.

Thanks to Liam Creedon at Butterfly Conservation. To keep up to date on the latest butterfly sightings visit First Sightings 2013.

BTO raffle 2012–13

2012-12-19T11:21:00.000Z

Once again, the BTO has some great prizes in this year's raffle. The proceeds raised will support the second year of our new Winter Thrushes Survey. Members and Garden BirdWatchers will be sent a sheet of tickets in the Annual Review and/or the September issue of Bird Table. If you don't receive these publications and would like to take part, or would just like to request more tickets, please contact Rachel Gostling on 01842 750050 or email at rachel.gostling@bto.org.

This year's fantastic prizes up for grabs are:

Ist Prize: A seven night wildlife break for two people in the Scottish Highlands with the Bird Watching and Wildlife Club at the Grant Arms Hotel (worth around £1300

2nd Prize: A pair of Opticron Verano 8x42 Binoculars (SRP £439)

3rd Prize: 5 x £100 worth of Ernest Charles Bird Food

Tickets are just £2 each and will help fund our work to learn more about charismatic winter visitors like the Redwing and Fieldfare! Return your tickets, payment and completed slips to BTO Winter Thrushes, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU by the 1 February 2012. The draw will take place on the 8 February. All prize winners will be informed within one week. Don't forget to ask your friends and family whether they would also like to be in with a chance to win one of these lovely prizes. Full terms and conditions, and more information about each of the prizes, can be found on the BTO website. Good luck!

Autumn at Falsterbo

2012-09-19T17:38:00.000+01:00

I think the technical term might be "working from another office", though the reality is that my "other office" currently looks like this:

I'm in Falsterbo, southern Sweden, and I'm leading a double life. In the afternoon, I'm working for BirdGuides; in the morning, I'm a ringer for Falsterbo Bird Observatory.

Falsterbo is one of western Europe's premier migration spots, both for Passerine and raptor migration. Indeed, over the last week or so I've been sat with in the garden my laptop working al fresco on a number of occasions; I've managed to notch up a list of 17 raptor species during that “work” time (Pallid, Hen & Marsh Harrier; Golden, White-tailed and Lesser Spotted Eagle; Osprey; Red & Black Kite; Merlin, Kestrel, Hobby, Peregrine; Common, Rough-legged and Honey Buzzard; and Sparrowhawk). There's the occasional non-raptor surprise mixed in too, like a flock of 26 White Storks:

For Passerines, it looks like it's going to be a “woodland winter” — large numbers of Blue Tits are already passing through the peninsula along with higher than average numbers of e.g. Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nutcracker.

photo by Jan Baert

We've already caught some oddities. On 25th August we scored with a Yellow-breasted Bunting, the first record for Falsterbo and only the 34th record for Sweden.

We thought we'd stuck gold again on 16th September when we pulled this odd Acrocephalus warbler out of the nets — it superficially resembles Paddyfield Warbler but things just don't add up. A hybrid seems to be the answer, but between what is still open to debate. There are more photos of the bird online here.

Bempton cruises in September

2012-09-03T18:58:00.001+01:00

Sail out into the North Sea into the heart of the migrating seabird action as many species pass by on their way south for the winter. They can include Arctic Skuas and Arctic Terns, as well as Gannets, auks, Gulls, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, many of which — tempted by the ‘chum’ (cocktail of smelly fish bits!) that is thrown overboard — can be seen at close quarters right alongside the boat. Boats run on:

Saturday 8th September at 9.00am

Saturday 15th September at 9.00am

Sunday 23rd September at 9.00am

Saturday 29th September at 3.30pm

Saturday 6th October at 9.00am

As usual these will be aboard the MV Yorkshire Belle, sailing from Bridlington Harbour out into the North Sea to where the latest reports indicate there are migrating seabirds such as Arctic and Great Skuas, Sooty, Balearic and Manx Shearwaters plus many terns and plenty of Little Gulls. They last up to 3½ hours and cost £18 per adult. Booking is strongly recommended as they can get full, and this can be done by phoning the RSPB Bempton Cliffs cruise office on 01262 850959 and paying by debit/credit card over the phone.

Bridlington seabird cruises

2012-08-27T09:03:00.002+01:00

The RSPB cruises off Flamborough Head for autumn 2012 will be starting a week on Sunday. There will be 6 of these:

Sunday 2 September at 10:45am
Saturday 8 September at 9:00am
Saturday 15 September at 9:00am
Sunday 23 September at 9:00am
Saturday 29 September at 3:30pm
Saturday 6 October at 9:00am

As usual these will be aboard the MV Yorkshire Belle, sailing from Bridlington Harbour out into the North Sea to where the latest reports indicate there are migrating seabirds such as Arctic and Great Skuas, Sooty, Balearic and Manx Shearwaters plus many terns and plenty of Little Gulls. They last up to 3½ hours and cost £18 per adult.

Booking is strongly recommended as they can get full, and this can be done by phoning the RSPB Bempton Cliffs cruise office on 01262 850959 and paying by debit/credit card over the phone.

Back from BirdFair

2012-08-20T21:36:00.000+01:00

What an enjoyable weekend that turned out to be! Great to see so many people at BirdFair and glad that the weather (just about) held. Here are a few highlights from Sunday:

The East Asian–Australasian flyway mural taking shape.

A stick insect enjoying the tropical heat and humidity.

We're not allowed to show you what's attached to this camera (seriously, the guys on the Canon stand told us off for trying to take a photo of it)... but oddly we can show you this.

Optics envy.

Big BC cheque

2012-08-18T22:37:00.000+01:00

The lovely Nick Baker and the lovely Martin Warren paid a visit to our stand today for the hand over of our (disappointingly small) giant cheque. £1 from each copy of our new butterfly DVD is going directly to Butterfly Conservation. The photo pretty much sums things up:

In other exciting news, Fiona got her binoculars checked by the clever man at Zeiss.

And the internet people came to fiddle with the internet box, which is located behind our stand.

The art marquee is getting a bit slippy now but marquee 7 has stayed afloat and the other marquees are — apart from being a bit muggy — largely fine. We're really enjoying being at Birdfair and hope that anyone who hasn't had a chance to call in and say hello will be able to do so tomorrow. We're in marquee 3, stand 14.

Celebrity barrow boy

2012-08-17T22:31:00.000+01:00

We've survived BirdFair day 1.

Mud report: Art Marquee, muddy with potential to turn slippy. Marquee 3, fine. Marquee 7, damp turning wet. Far Isle, fine (they have cuddly Puffins on their stand).

All the birding greats have paid us a visit.

I finished the afternoon with lovely Israeli wine and some great talks from Mark Andrews and Martin Garner. Roll on tomorrow!

Greetings from Rutland

2012-08-16T21:00:00.002+01:00

We've arrived; we've set the stand up; and we're ready to rock 'n' roll at 9 tomorrow morning — Marquee 3, stand 14 if you're passing.

After setting up, we headed out for a bit of birding: Osprey, Little Egret, Yellowhammer, flocks of Linnets. All very pleasant, and a nice change from Feral Pigeons and screaming parakeets.

And what of the weather?

It's not actually all that bad. The ground at Egleton is still quite firm — no doubt helped by the plastic tracks that have been laid — though it looks like marquee 7 might be teetering on the edge of a muddy abyss. We'll report back with more mud news tomorrow.

More importantly than the weather, what about the barrow boys and girls? Don't worry, there're here with horns in hand.

Josh and Stephen are particularly excited that the BirdGuides news app is now on Android as well as iPhone:

Bats, birds and small wind turbines

2012-08-13T17:30:00.000+01:00

The latest research, just published, suggests that operating small wind turbines (defined as units generating less than 50kW electricity) may have little effect on bird activity at the fine-scale studied, but could reduce bat activity. Depending upon location, this may affect the availability of roost and foraging sites. Read the full paper here (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0041177) or a summary here (http://www.sbes.stir.ac.uk/research/ecology/micro-turbines.html).

Young Starlings on microturbine photo Elfie Waren

Catching the Bug

2012-08-12T09:17:00.000+01:00

I've just finished reading (and listening to) Catching the Bug by The Sound Approach. It's superb. Really superb. However, that's not what I want to talk about — I'll write a full review soon. I want to skip from The Sound Approach to birding to...

The Sound Approach to beeing

Let me introduce you to Bombus sylvarum, the Shrill Carder Bee.

It's quite a rare bee in the UK; indeed, it was a tick on my bee list. They're lovely little things. As their name suggests, they're rather shrill.

However, before we look at that further, let me introduce you to another bee that was new for my bee list.

Bombus humilis, the Brown-banded Carder Bee.

Brown-banded Carder Bees sound like... well, bees. Have a listen:

Shrill Carder Bees, in contrast, sound... shrill. Who'dathoughtit.

The shrill buzzing noise actually proved a really useful way to pick individuals up as they whizzed from bush to bush.

And just for fun:

I was going to annotate these and make some clever comments about fundamentals and modulations but after 90 minutes of being bored senseless by the London 2012 closing ceremony I'm not sure I've got the brain power... Still, I hear the Spice Girls are going to make an appearance later. I hope Geri's got her Union Jack dress on.

Earlier in the day, in case you're not fed up of bumblebees yet, we saw at least several of these; or should I say we managed to ID several of these:

Bombus soroeensis, Broken-belted Bumblebee

In total, we managed to see ten species of bumblebee.

Also this:

It's a Puss Moth caterpillar and it was speeding across the track at Dungeness ARC pit. They're green right up until the point at which they pupate, so this individual must have been right on the cusp of pupating. It was massive — about the size of my finger; and in case you're wonder, its head is at the right-hand end.

It was generally quiet for birds. Two Little Stints were on ARC pit along with two Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper and a decent flock of Golden Plover. A Reed Warbler and a couple of Common Whitethroats were in the trapping area at the obs.

Visit Planet Gannet

2012-07-18T13:20:00.000+01:00

With Gannets galore on jaw-dropping cliffs that plunge 400 feet straight into the sea, now’s the time to get a taste of one of Britain’s best wildlife spectacles. The Gannet colony at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, between Bridlington and Filey, is at its peak between now and September — so staff and volunteers at the nature reserve have organised a series of events to bring visitors closer to these amazing seabirds.

First up is Tea with Gannets, which takes in a guided tour of the reserve, followed by tea and cakes served in the marquee. The event runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays from July 24 to Sept 29. Cost: £3 for RSPB members, £6 for non-members. Booking essential, call 01262 851179.

Glorious Gannet Evening Walks, accompanied by experts from Yorkshire Coast Nature, give a wonderful insight into the life and loves of the bird. A stroll along the cliffs in the fading light will make the perfect end to a day. Walks take place on Mondays and Thursdays in August at 6.30pm. Cost: £2. Booking essential, call 01262 851179.

For younger visitors, the Greedy Gannet Club is a great way to spend a fun-filled hour or so in the company of Seabird Steve and his crew. Making Gannet masks, creating Gannet finger puppets, folding Gannet paper darts and going on Gannet walks are just some of the things they’ll be getting up to. The Club is every Thursday in August, 10.00am – 4.00pm, There is no charge for the activities.

And for those with a passion — or just a passing interest — in photography, the RSPB Gannet Photography Workshops, led by Yorkshire Coast Photographer Steve Race, are a must-do. As well as offering those taking part the chance to capture incredible up-close images of Gannets, Steve’s experience and expertise offers a real opportunity to improve your skills. RSPB/Yorkshire Coast Nature Gannet Photography Workshops run every Monday and Friday in August, 10.00am. Cost: £10. Booking essential on 01262 850959.

Chris is in Africa

2012-07-17T10:19:00.000+01:00

Chris — the BTO tagged Cuckoo — has made very rapid progress over the past few days. Having been still near Antwerp on 7th July, an unconfirmed location on Thursday 12th July placed him in the Po watershed, near the river Po itself northeast of Parma. We assumed he would be set in for a prolonged stop-over in preparation for his Sahara crossing but the expected confirmation of this location never came. Instead, we received a series of locations on Sunday 15th July showing that he had passed straight over mainland Italy and had stopped in Sicily!

But amazingly, just a week since he was last in Antwerp, locations received last night (16th/17th July) indicated that he was in the latter stages of his Sahara crossing. He was in the Tenéré Desert, a vast expanse of sandy desert in eastern Niger. The locations placed him about 500km (310 miles) north of Lake Chad. Last year Clement, the first Cuckoo to cross the desert, did so from 14th July so, assuming Chris left Sicily in the evening of 15th July, the timing of his crossing is very similar. This remarkable development means that Chris has now moved about 3,800km (2,360 miles) since we last received a location for him in Belgium ten days ago (7th July). We don’t know precisely when he left there but we received unconfirmed locations for him in northern Italy on 12th July and Sicily on 15th July so clearly he has not made any significant stop-overs other than the one in Belgium. He spent about a month there after leaving the UK so presumably this is where he did his preparation for the desert crossing — he's due to transmit again in two days; check out the BTO Cuckoo pages to see if he has managed to complete his amazing marathon from northern Europe to the savannahs south of the Sahara.

Batumi Raptor Count and Festival 2012

2012-07-16T21:26:00.002+01:00

Last autumn I visited Batumi on the Georgian Black Sea coast and it was seriously great. Plenty of migrating raptors, lots of interesting species from the edge of the Western Palearctic, and some great interaction with the locals. The Batumi Raptor Count is running again this autumn for its fifth year and, to mark this milestone, BRC are celebrating with the Batumi Bird Festival. The festival runs from 19th to 23rd September — more details can be found on the BRC website: http://www.batumiraptorcount.org/projects/batumi-bird-festival

Ornithological Society of the Middle East summer meeting

2012-07-03T08:57:00.002+01:00

Saturday 7 July, BTO Headquarters, Thetford, Norfolk — all welcome.

This year’s Summer Meeting Programme has ‘Migration through the OSME Region’ as a theme and as usual we have a wide range of countries and topics. Doors open at 10.00 — join us for refreshments and a talk with old friends before the meeting. In addition, following last year’s successful outing on the Sunday, Chris Mills of Norfolk Birding will be leading a similar walk with the possibility of seeing a number of Breckland specialities. Once again we have also arranged a meal after the meeting — this year we will be returning to the Mulberry, which we last visited in 2008. We hope you will be able to join us for one or both of these extra events — please let Ian Harrison know on 01545 571022 or at secretary@osme.org.

Finally, please note that all profits from the 2012 OSME Raffle will go to the endangered White-headed Duck conservation project administered by the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK). Give generously to this worthwhile project!

The Programme is as follows.

11.00 Introduction – Geoff Welch, Chairman
11.15 Tracking Migrants into Africa Paul Stancliffe
12.00 Lebanon - an Important Bird Country Helen Demopoulos
12.45 Lunch break
13.45 34th Annual General Meeting
14.15 Bird Survey and Ringing in the Western Desert, Egypt, 2010 (part of a longer term study of the south-eastern migration route) Przemyslaw Busse, Krzysztof Stepniewski & Matt White
15.00 Short break
15.15 Egyptian Vulture Conservation Challenges along the Eastern Mediterranean Migration Flyway. Stoyan Nikolov
16.00 Migration through Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Nick Moran & Oscar Campbell
16.45 Drawing of raffle and closing remarks.
17.00 Close of meeting

BTO House Martin survey 2012

2012-06-21T08:30:00.001+01:00

This is the fourth summer that the House Martin Survey is being run. Over 1,200 people across the UK have taken part in previous years providing us with a clear picture of how this wonderful summer visitor is doing. It seems that it is doing much better in Scotland and Northern Ireland, increasing by 114% and 40% respectively. In Wales and England, House Martins haven't done as well, falling by 2% and 15% respectively.

Help us find out what's happening this year by taking part in the 2012 House Martin Survey.

Five Welsh Cuckoos tagged

2012-06-04T17:28:00.002+01:00

The BTO Tracking Team have been busy in Wales this week and, as of yesterday morning, have now tagged five Welsh males! So that's all the Scottish and Welsh males tagged as well as two English males from Norfolk to compliment Chris and Lyster. These new Cuckoos will be available for sponsorship sometime in the next few weeks.

Chris and Lyster haven't moved far from their previous locations around Mildenhall and the Broads respectively and are presumably making the best of the breeding season while it lasts. Last year Clement, the first Cuckoo to leave the UK, left on the 3 June. The poor weather experienced this spring might mean our birds leave a little later this year.

It's also looking increasingly unlikely that we will hear from Kasper's tag again. Take a look at the blogs here.

Blue Tit smokehouse

2012-05-29T16:43:00.001+01:00

Following on from the Blue Tits nesting in a life jacket, we received this email from Brad Robson:

I took this picture on Friday at Desie Mackenzie's pub The Linnet Inn at Boho, west Fermanagh. He had called RSPB to tell us about local birds using the cigarette-butt boxes for nesting. He has three of these boxes, this one next to the pub door, one in the outdoor smoking area and one by the shop door. The one in the smoking area was used by Robins and appeared to have fledged some young by last Friday. The boxes had been used by customers until Desie noticed butts being thrown out and when he looked inside found in the case of the Blue Tit that much of the nest was constructed from the filters in the cigarette butts. He then searched on the net and designed the warning signs and provided ashtrays and sand buckets for customers to use instead. Whilst I was there both parent Blue tits were busiliy feeding the chicks and they are likely to fledge soon. I also gave Desie two conventional nest boxes in the hope that the birds will use them next year.

Five Scottish Cuckoos tagged

2012-05-27T17:24:00.001+01:00

The BTO Cuckoo-tracking team have satellite-tagged five new males near Loch Katrine in Scotland, the first Cuckoos of the class of 2012. More details about these birds will follow in June but don't forget that some of these birds are still available to be named.

As of 22 May Lyster was back in the Broads, just west of Acle. He really is covering a lot of ground, presumably in search of female cuckoos. Anecdotal evidence suggests they are in short supply at the moment.
During this time we received a reported sighting of a satellite-tagged Cuckoo in the area of the River Chet. On close inspection of Lyster's movements, it's very likely it was him.

A location from Chris's tag on the morning of the 24 May showed that he was still near Mildenhall, Suffolk, on the southern bank of the River Lark. Female cuckoos have been heard in this area and might explain why he seems reluctant to leave.

(wild)life jacket

2012-05-26T17:41:00.000+01:00

An RSPB member stumbled across a Blue Tit that chose to build its nest in a peculiar place — an emergency life jacket.

Luckily, Julia Keddie from Richmond in Surrey, wasn’t in need of the equipment at the time. She said: “I was taking a walk around Kew Gardens with a friend when I noticed a flurry of activity near to the life jacket equipment and went to investigate. After a while I noticed a Blue Tit going in and out of a small opening on the front and realised it must be nesting there and raising its family. Fingers crossed nobody will fall into the lake during the rest of their nesting period; if they do there’ll be some very unhappy birds.”

Ian Hayward from the RSPB’s Wildlife Enquiries team, said: “It may look like an odd place to set up home, but there’s probably a nice nest-sized cavity in there. Birds make their nests in all sorts of weird and wonderful places. They see a safe, secure and cozy spot to lay eggs and raise chicks and don’t care what it looks like or what the neighbours might think. We get sent lots of pictures from members who’ve spotted unusual nesting habits. In the past we’ve had birds nesting in traffic lights, bins, hanging baskets and even an ash tray outside a pub, but that's the most unusual one I’ve seen this year.”