Ken and Linda Smith

Join Gwent Ornithological Society on Saturday 31 October for a fascinating talk by Stuart Keenor. 7.30 pm at Goytre Village Hall.A keen birder obsessed with finding Wales's elusive Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Everyone welcome! 🌳 #birdingwales #gwentbirds

This is such a valuable data set. We are happy to help - for the last 11 years we've counted the birds along a beautiful stretch of Chichester Harbour at Fishbourne.

Celebrating receiving an advance copy of my new Magnum Opus (with 4,000 images), by catching a Clifden Nonpareil on the same day.

Blue skies on my Chichester Harbour @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count this afternoon. 340 Oystercatchers the main bird of note on the very high tide. Masses of Sandwich Terns in the harbour (200+) showing what a good breeding season was had at Pagham. Too windy for many small birds though.

Pleased to report that our Swift chick fledged yesterday. Only one dropping under the nest box y'day instead of the usual 4 or 5 and a camera check showed it is empty and clean. This is the first on our housing estate after 8 years of trying, new boxes and playing Swift calls did the trick 👏

A real treat - 'Honey-buzzards and Hawfinches in Sussex' a talk by Mark Mallalieu on Weds 2 Sept at 7:30 in Chichester, details www.chinats.org.uk A joint meeting of Chichester Natural History Society and Chichester RSPB Group, non-members welcome entry £3. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Pleased to report that adult Swifts are still visiting the chick in our nest box today and fresh droppings are appearing on the ground under the box. ☺️ We are not seeing any other Swifts in the area.

Very excited Swifts nesting in our box only installed in Nov. First saw Swifts enter box on 21 June thought they were just looking for next year. But our nest camera shows we have a chick, still being fed by adults this week, seems very late?@grahamknight10.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social

Spent the morning with these godwit ring-reading hereos at Snettisham - Pete Potts and Ed Keeble. They have been here over five tides the last three days (and previosly at Frampton) and read over 60 ring combinations. Incredible effort adding to the life histories of godwits!

Blurry picture of a White-letter Hairstreak nectaring at East Quantoxhead, Somerset this morning.

After a 20 year wait, an LSW finally appears whilst I'm raptor watching, flying <2m above a grassy field for 150m and landing briefly on a willow sapling. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 'Ant-Flinger'- fascinating observations by David Bevan @djbevanphoto.bsky.social of a male LSW systematically removing & discarding wood ants whilst foraging for aphids. Article & video just published in @britishbirds.bsky.social see britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti...

Next generation of High Browns on Dartmoor being produced. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @bcdevon.bsky.social

Very promising results for protecting Willow Tit nests and good work by @wildhorizons.bsky.social . We love all Woodpeckers, but Great Spots are the culprits here.

Watch BBC Countryfile tonight, BBC 1 at 7:15. It will include a short film of us in the New Forest looking for Woodpeckers and talking about volunteering for Woodpecker Network and @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

A chance encounter with ITV and Ash Walmsley of the Ashdown Conservators.... and Honey-buzzards....on the Forest today. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social @sussexornitholo.bsky.social www.itv.com/watch/news/h...

The Yellow Horned Poppy and Viper’s Bugloss looking wonderful on West Worthing beach, some have even spread to the pavement. #wildflowers #vegetatedshingle #coastalplants @sussexwildlife.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social

🦆Great progress this week on the PEACEPLUS-funded ACCLIMATISE project led by AFBI! BTO staff deployed passive acoustic monitors on Sheep Island, the Skerries & Isle of Muck to track movements of tagged seabirds. Stay tuned for insights into our marine environment! @btobirds.bsky.social

Sussex Honey-buzzard nest camera is now LIVE. You can always find the live link (and previous days' recordings) at: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... Enjoy this UK first for this incredible species!

Springwatch are featuring a LIVE Honey-buzzard nest camera we installed for Sussex Ornithological Society and the Conservators of Ashdown Forest (10th June 8pm). This is/will be a UK first! The nest camera will be live streamed on WW YouTube channel (+ partners websites) from Friday 12th June 0400.

Exciting stuff !! We are delighted to be a part of this project with partners; Friends of Ashdown Forest, @wildlifewindows.bsky.social‬ and The Ashdown Forest Foundation. The nest camera will be live streamed on WW, YouTube channel + partners websites, including ours, from Friday 12th June 0400.

Delightful scene - but don't get confused these are both Great Spotted Woodpeckers, an adult female (on the left) feeding its youngster. Young Great Spots have a red cap when they leave the nest and are sometimes mis-identified as male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. (not by anyone on here though!)

Knepp Estate After realising I hadn’t seen a Turtle Dove for several years,a trip to Knepp this afternoon soon put that right. Pair flying around and perched from the viewing tree platform.

Please do submit any nesting house martin records via BirdTrack, with breeding evidence and number of occupied nests. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social have a county wide study this year. If you want to visit a known site in Sussex some are still available request here soshousemartins.birdsurvey.org.uk

There are now two more female Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers out in the world! What a joy it’s been to share this patch of woodland with these incredible birds for the last 11 days. Thanks to @lesserspotnet.bsky.social for the guidance. The clearing feels very quiet now! #HantsBirds #NewForest

And away… I must have just missed this little one fledging this morning. She was sat in the adjacent beech for an hour calling to be fed. Soon after she was chasing her mother around further afield. One left to go! #HantsBirds #NewForest @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Two healthy chicks seen this morning - great to see both survived the Jay attack. They’re roughly 18 days old so due to fledge quite soon. The female parent seems to be visiting the nest less often now #HantsBirds #NewForest @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

It's coming to the end of lesser spot season, and chicks are fledging. Listen out for calling chicks if you're in the woods. Video by Paul Cox (thanks Paul for permission to use).

These 2m and 2f LSW young will fledge in the next few days. Two other Somerset nests have already fledged on Thursday. There will be young calling from LSW and GSW nests over the next two weeks @ukrbbp.bsky.social @lesserspotnet.bsky.social @btosomerset.bsky.social @somersetbirds.bsky.social

6 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nests have been monitored in Devon and Somerset this year. One failed at the hatching stage, others will be fledging in the next few days, 1-2 weeks early. Young can now be heard calling in nests @lesserspotnet.bsky.social @somersetbirds.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social

Fabulous Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest found and monitored by Woodpecker Network volunteer @angusrobin.bsky.social

This is the sound to listen out for - if you are searching for a Lesser Spot nest to monitor - well done @angusrobin.bsky.social

I cant believe the lesser spot chicks haven't fledged yet. The female kept calling at them to come out this morning. At one point for over 6 minutes straight. The adults are tired and want the chicks to forage for themselves. They are doing there best to avoid the lunges! @lesserspotnet.bsky.social

Please to have found a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest this morning,3 young and adults seen bringing food to hole. Thanks to LSW team which arrived to scope nest early afternoon.

Incoming!!! LSW

Very good news. Well done for monitoring the feeding visits. The weather has turned so cold, the chicks will need all the food they can get.

Looks like 4 chicks doing well in the lesser spot nest. Parents working hard. 16 visits in one hour of monitoring today @lesserspotnet.bsky.social #Birds Perhaps a week to go. Beginning to be able to hear the chicks from outside so get out looking people.

Lesser spots doing well. Lots of aphids to feed young. Female has been staying close to the nest for long periods. Could be because she has been keeping brood warm or she was worried about the local great spot who was nearby @lesserspotnet.bsky.social #Birds

Whilst monitoring a lesser spot nest yesterday the male would often feed with 5 metres of me. Lovely to watch. @lesserspotnet.bsky.social #Birds

Our LesserSpotNet volunteers have data on 4 LSW nests so far, all with 5 or 6 eggs, a good number. 3 have hatched which is very early, they will fledge around 21 May (average 30 May). So look out for adults bringing food to the nest & let regional co-ordinators know www.woodpecker-network.org.uk

Pleased to monitor our first 2026 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest on 2 May, found by a LesserSpotNet volunteer in the Home Counties. Nest camera showed 3 chicks just hatched + 3 eggs waiting, both adults feeding. Good to get data on clutch size. Another very early nest & the highest at 16 metres

Lesser spots male keep young warm overnight. He was still doing so until 10 today. Kept popping out to feed. Female arrived to much relief about 10. A privilege to monitor these nests for @lesserspotnet.bsky.social #Birds The birds then were swapping over every 12 minutes on average.

Lesser Spotted Wdpkr nests monitored across Southern England are generally early this year, with several already hatching. Some nests will fledge from mid-May, with young birds audible preceding week. @lesserspotnet.bsky.social @somersetbirds.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @ukrbbp.bsky.social

Records from Tring, Elstree, Baldock, Northchurch, Garston, Ware, St Albans, WGC, Ware and Bishop’s Stortford, but not yet here in Sawbridgeworth

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