Birdwatch Magazine

IN THIS ISSUE

For birders, May is all about migration – and there is arguably no better place to witness this phenomenon than at Tadoussac in Canada where, if the conditions line up, hundreds of thousands of warblers, thrushes, vireos and flycatchers may be seen in a single day. Don’t miss the extraordinary story of this unique movement in the latest issue of Birdwatch!
Also in the May edition, Sarah Harris takes a look at some the ‘springtime show-offs’, celebrating the weird and wonderful courtship displays that are carried out by a huge variety of British birds at this season.
Meanwhile, dedicated patchbirder Steve Nuttall details the history and birds of his beloved Belvide Reservoir, which has cemented itself as one of the best inland birding sites in the entire country, producing a conveyor belt of unexpected rarities to this corner of the West Midlands.
There’s also an in-depth profile of the Dutch island of Texel. One of Europe’s most famous year-round birding destinations, the island is at its best in the spring, with territorial White-spotted Bluethroats, displaying Black-tailed Godwits, vast flocks of migrant shorebirds on the mudflats and bustling tern colonies on the wetlands. Marc Guyt is your guide around this special place.
This month is prime time to be on the lookout for Black Tern across Britain and Josh Jones shares his knowledge to help you go about finding your own, as well as recognise three rarer visitors that may also appear in either spring or autumn.
Also in this issue, Mike Alibone gets his hands on Opticron’s newest image-stabilised binoculars – the Imagic IS 16x42, with its impressive 16x magnification. There’s also advice one which is the best camera lens to buy for bird photography, what to look out for on your patch this month and high-altitude birding in Bhutan, while our columnists discuss noc-mig, renaming birds and getting the public more engaged with conservation.