FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

Four of the UK's bird species, including  Puffin  and  Turtle Dove , have today [Thursday 29 October 2015] been added to the list of birds considered to be facing the risk of global extinction. The latest annual revision of birds on the  IUCN Red List , which has been announced by BirdLife International on behalf of the IUCN, doubles the number of UK bird species considered to be facing the risk of extinction to eight. The IUCN Red List assesses the threat of extinction for each bird species. Those with no immediate threat of extinction are listed as Least Concern. Those species considered to be facing a threat of global extinction are listed in three levels of descending threat: Critically Endangered; Endangered; and Vulnerable. Shockingly, a further 14 UK species are considered to be Near Threatened, meaning that any further deterioration in their status could see them added to the Red List too. Turtle Dove  has declined massively in Britain ( Photo...

The week at a glance (21st - 27th of October) Chestnut Bunting  on Papa Westray Chimney Swift  briefly in Co Cork Blyth's Pipit  still on Scilly Another  White's Thrush  on Shetland Apparent  Short-toed Treecreeper  in East Sussex Few people paid much attention to a report of a  Yellowhammer  on Papa Westray, Orkney, last Monday until a poor-quality photo emerged late on the Tuesday evening, suggesting it might be something altogether rarer. It was not until 24 hours later, late on Wednesday evening, that further images emerged and served to confirm suspicions — the bird, with its rich chestnut hue on the upperparts, face and in particular tertial fringes, was surely a  Chestnut Bunting ! With no sign of the bird since it was briefly seen on the Tuesday, the automatic assumption was that it had gone — a potential first for Britain seemingly slipped through the net and rendered untwitchable. It was therefore somethi...