Army Birding

The following provisional dates are for ringing at RNAS Merryfield: 10 - 12 April - Coinciding with first arrivals of Nightingales and other farmland/scrub migrants. 15 - 17 May - Migrants 5 - 7 Jun - Juveniles 3 - 5 July - Migrants and residents 17 - 19 July - Post breeding nightingales and residen...

The following dates are provisionally added to the ringing calendar at Tices Meadow (all weather/conditions dependent). (Wednesday 18th December - Feeder birds) Wednesday 8th January - Feeder birds Wednesday 25th March - Nestbox check Wednesday 15th April - Nestbox check Wednesday/Tursday 13th/14th ...

Whether by accident or design, Tice's Meadow Nature Reserve in Badshot Lea near Aldershot is fast becoming the AOS 'home reserve in the South'. Their web site says it all but you will never be short of a welcome and the bird varieties at all times of the year make it worth a visit. Regular species i...

Nice report. takes me back to the old Blowpipe firing camps on Benbecula. The winds were always too high to fire for most of the time, so birding and field sports became the next priority. July was bad enough....Feb/Mar...!?

Bad news for the few of us having to hit the ground running in 10 days time to prove the science behind close waters feeding areas. Can think of worse tasks.

Agree - it's a really good publication and a pity that it doesn't get a wider circulation. Who wrote under the initials JP Jim??? A good article as well as Tony's. But what's this on page 96? The Joint Ringing Display Team gets a mention! Apparently we were very lucky to have Tim Cowley with us to i...

The news of increasing numbers of Frigatebirds now breeding on the mainland at Letterbox is overshadowed by the latest arrival on Ascension - Dylan Weber on 26 Jul 2015.

Congrats to Nicola and Sam Weber and look forward to Dylan joining us looking for geolocators on the Fairs in due course!

Dawn Balmer from BTO has asked if there are any volunteers to check a few House Martin sites on Skye this Spring/Summer.

If you are holidaying there or being dragged over the Cuillins at any point and have or want time on your hands, please get in touch with Dawn at BTO or myself.

Thanks

Many thanks. I'll have to keep up to date on the Donegal project.

Don't you just hate it when so much hard research is credited to someone else?

Probably as well that Cotleigh was only reduced to one representative bird name.

I feel another exped coming on!!!????

Interesting news of the Golden Eagle. Tony Crease, Brian Etheridge and I were talking of the assurance that the Scottish raptor group have that there will be no further Goldies in England. It appears that with only two pairs left in 'Galloway' the distance for a breeding pair to travel is now too gr...

At last someone has been decent enough to buy me a copy.

Thanks Laura!

What a great selection. Looks like you're benefitting from the westerlies as we are on the south coast. Unfortunately we are getting large numbers of casualties amongst the auks.

Spoonbill at CE was unheard of when I was there!

Many thanks - I'll get across one day to visit again.

Regrettably, attempts to take down nets and destroy equipment can result in serious confrontations with shotgun wielding trappers. A bit one sided all round. I know the spot you're referring to and so will Mark Easterbrook. We should at least know the number of the SBA police and the Cyprus birding ...

The subject of illegal trapping on Sovereign Base Areas is a long term embarrassment for us all in the Services but has not been given the attention it deserves from the UK Government. There is a common misconception that the responsibility for SBAs is that of the Armed Forces rather than of the FCO...