Great Northern Diver, offshore today
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I’m like a kid in sweatshop with my new camera (Sony A7V), so cheated a bit today and went out early to Linford Manor where the residents are un-phased by long-lensed twitchers after a lifetime of evading off-lead dogs and feral children with fistfuls of Warburtons. The Moorhens in particular giving zero f**ks!
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Lovely shot!!
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Ah …so no cutting the pyracantha for a while then …
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BBC4 will be marking Bill Oddie’s unique wildlife TV career on the evening of Sunday 16th August: starting at 7pm with The Best of Bill Oddie Goes Wild, followed by Birding with Bill Oddie: Bill’s Beginnings, and finally Bill Oddie’s Top Ten Birds.
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I think I saw one near here last year. I was wondering whether that had been one of the Sussex ones.
Depressing news 
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Christ ! …big numbers…
What’s your thoughts on this Paul - avian influenza? Overfishing? Climate change? All of this and more? Any hope for recovery?
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Fuck ! Look at the numbers. How ? What can be done about it ?
Certainly all of the above are factors, to some degree.
HPAI is on the decline here and I’m sure that populations will eventually recover (Bonxie & Gannet numbers, in particular, are showing some signs of improvement)
Overfishing is my biggest worry. Restrictions have been introduced, though too little, too late and the lack of Sandeels is alarming.
I would love to be able to say yes but with politicians only interested in policies that win votes, I suspect the measures needed will be very low on their list of priorities.
Piss off the fishing/farming/energy industries to save our seabirds? I doubt it.
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A red-necked phalarope has been sighted on Redmires reservoir near Sheffield, two of my friends have seen it. Must have lost its bearings a bit.
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Possibly a Scandinavian bird on its way back to the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean
Ours migrate north-west and winter in the Pacific.