Birdwatch

BirdGuides Travel 2026 available online now!

Read reports from thrilling birding trips and get inspired for your next holiday with our free digital guide, available at www.birdguides.com.

Snow alert

Snow Goose is most often seen as an escape in the UK, but wild vagrants arrive annually and feral populations also exist. Sam Viles looks at the status of this goose.

Field ID notes: Rough-legged Hawk

Raptor enthusiast Jack Ashton-Booth looks indepth at how to separate juvenile Roughlegged Buzzards of Nearctic origin from the more familiar European birds.

ONE

of the staples of winter birding across my patches is searching through the large numbers of diving duck that winter locally. This has proven productive in recent years, with multiple Ring-necked Duck and a drake Ferruginous Duck being the rarest...

Contents

WOW! It’s with great excitement that I say that Birdwatch magazine has reached issue number 400. It’s taken the best part of 34 years to get to this stage, but here we are. In that time, the birding landscape has changed dramatically on so many...

WARBLER WORKOUT

Swot up on Booted and Sykes’s ID with the autumn ahead

SEABIRD SEASON IS HERE!

Download the essential World of Birds 2025 guide!!!

Read reports from thrilling birding destinations and get inspired for your next birding trip in this FREE guide: bit.ly/WoB2025

HOW

was your spring? Hopefully it’s been productive. I’ve found 2025 to be a betterthan-average year for Black and Arctic Terns on my patch, with some nice movements of both species, and early May’s Red-footed Falcon influx produced at least three...

Field ID notes: nightingales

Andy Stoddart suggests tips for finding and identifying Common and Thrush Nightingales this month.

A tragic demise

The total destruction of the once-abundant Great Auk has left a disturbing legacy, as Tim Birkhead details in his new book.

Aurora BGA VHD

With levels of performance, comfort, ergonomics and attention to detail better than anything we’ve done before, the Aurora are among the very best lightweight field binoculars available today. 30 year guarantee. 8x42 £799 I 10x42 £809

Aurora BGA VHD

With levels of performance, comfort, ergonomics and attention to detail better than anything we’ve done before, the Aurora are among the very best lightweight field binoculars available today. 30 year guarantee. 8x42 £799 I 10x42 £809

The mystical Arctic rose

Ross’s Gull has captured the imaginations of birders since the 19th century. Ed Stubbs profiles this High Arctic denizen.

SEE HAWFINCH THIS WINTER!

MORE POWER, MORE PUNCH

Optics Events

The best place to test and compare a wider range of our equipment under field conditions. Some events are attended by Opticron staff who are there to offer expert advice on the range and help you make the best choice based on budget and application.

Optics Events

The best place to test and compare a wider range of our equipment under field conditions. Some events are attended by Opticron staff who are there to offer expert advice on the range and help you make the best choice based on budget and...