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 Note

What’s in the digital edition?

Boom time

Garden gold! • Jimmy Crawford made history when he discovered Ayrshire’s first-ever American warbler visiting his garden feeders.

Holboellii hullabaloo • A sad end for a striking Red-necked Grebe in Shetland looks set to help confirm it as a British second.

Anti-sociable? • News of a Sociable Lapwing on a Cornish estuary was apparently suppressed until word got out, with the bird then enjoyed by many.

West is best! • Western counties boasted the month’s two main prizes, in the shape of a Nearctic passerine and mega wader, as early summer migrants began to arrive.

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The Cape Verde seabird show • The West African archipelago made further birding headlines in February, with some major WP breeding news and a flurry of Black-capped Petrel sightings.

When a birder migrates • Our new columnist, David Campbell, reflects on bidding farewell to one patch and saying hello to another following a recent house move.

The one that got away • Our columnist reflects on the formerly closer relationship between the UK and the EU – and what might have been for our wildlife and the policies that protect it.

The cricket teal • Scarce, secretive and full of character, Garganey is a favourite of many birders. Dan Owen explores the fascinating life history of this long-distance migrant.

Cape crusaders • More than 60 years ago a hunch that Cape Clear Island, off the coast of Co Cork, would be a productive spot for bird migration was proved correct in spectacular fashion by a group of pioneers. Steve Wing explores the history and growth of the bird observatory, which has produced many spectacular rarities over the decades, and offers advice for visiting birders.

Common and Black Redstarts • April is a probably the best month for finding either Black or Common Redstart on your patch, with both of these attractive species on the move at this time. Ed Stubbs offers tips on how and where to find them.

Shifting spring • The arrival of spring can be relied upon, but just how is ‘season creep’ affecting our migrant birds compared to in the past? Josh Jones investigates the rapid changes being observed in the status and distribution of some of our most celebrated summer visitors.

Island dreams • An off-the-beaten-track island-hopping trip in search of Indonesia’s endemic birds brought Keith Betton into contact with some of the world’s least-known species.

Flying back from the brink • Preserving and restoring habitat is a crucial step when it comes to saving threatened species. World Land Trust’s Christie Reed introduces a successful initiative to help the Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw in Bolivia.

Perfectly portable • With its lightweight construction and competitive price, Nikon’s new 800-mm lens has been turning heads in the photography world. Kit Day puts it to the test.

Shetland in photos

An extraordinary life

An essential for southern birders

Hope for the future

Trekking in spring

Fieldcraft: reading bird behaviour

Northern Lapwing

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Attracting insects

April arrivals

View to a kill

Healthy gardens

Belize

your letters &photos

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In the next issue May

The frustrations of Facebook birding