Birdwatch

Birdwatch magazine is the UK’s number one bird watching magazine for keen birders, featuring the latest rarity reports, ID guides, optics reviews and birding holidays, plus features and news from across the world.

Birdwatch

Editor’s Notes

Bonus digital content!

On the wrong side of the world

Madeiran magic! • A major development in our understanding of Madeiran Storm Petrel’s status in British waters came from the Southwest Approaches during September, as expedition organiser Scott Reid reports.

East-coast ‘Pech’ draws in the crowds • Stephen Egglestone discovered Britain’s first twitchable mainland Pechora Pipit for 18 years thanks to his well-established morning routine.

Brows raised • A ringing session on the Dorset coast resulted in Joe Stockwell extracting an East Asian bunting on his last net round.

Mass arrivals • From phalaropes to ibis, it was a month of major influxes – but with some top rarities in the mix too. Sam Viles reports.

Thrills aplenty • Megas from both east and west were among the highlights of an event-filled September, as Sam Viles reports.

Birding The Fens in winter: where big skies meet big flocks • At first glance, The Fens may appear stark: a flat, seemingly endless patchwork of farmland stretching across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Suffolk. But this low-lying region hides some of Britain’s most dramatic winter birding spectacles. When the water returns to the washes and floodplains, the landscape transforms into a magnet for wildfowl, raptors and roosting flocks. For birders willing to embrace the chill, The Fens in winter are anything but bleak.

DAVID CAMPBELL Working out the weather • Do you know your isobars and occluded fronts? Our columnist used to pay little attention to the weather’s impact on migration, but now he’s engrossed.

MARK AVERY What next for bird flu? • It’s 20 years since the first confirmed case of HPAI in the UK. Our columnist reflects on some of the most severe outbreaks and wonders what the future holds.

The crossbill conundrum • With so many subtle clines in terms of both features and calls, the genus Loxia poses a classification nightmare throughout the Holarctic. After four decades of studying these fascinating finches, Craig W Benkman summarises the latest findings.

Desert wanderer • Seen by some as heralding the end of autumn migration, a vagrant Desert Wheatear can provide a glimpse of the exotic on a gloomy day. Simon Papps takes a look at the species, including how British records have increased significantly in recent decades.

Field ID notes Greater and Lesser Scaup • The identification of two similar-looking diving duck is further complicated by an intermediate Nearctic form of the larger species, as Dan Owen discusses.

Inside and outside the box • Birding could be a much less enticing prospect in British weather without access to hides. David Callahan investigates their history and uncovers some of the more unusual examples from Britain and around the world.

When Lesser became more • Last winter, birders on the Yorkshire and Norfolk coasts witnessed an unprecedented influx of Lesser White-fronted Geese from the reintroduced breeding population in Swedish Lapland. Sarah Nordlinder reveals the origins of these birds and how they found their way to England.

Man, Oman! • From Arabian specialities to stunning migration and some sought-after wintering species, Oman offers easy birding with endless highlights, as Jake Gearty discovered during a recent visit.

Hunted for its ivory • A recent encounter with the Critically Endangered Helmeted Hornbill has left Paul Jepson wondering how enterprise, art and innovation could save the species.

Vantage point • Flying higher, Hawke’s Vantage...