Birdwatch Magazine

In the month of Global Birdfair, we are excited to include an overview of this exciting event’s role in international conservation. John Fuller looks back at the history of the fair and the projects that it has provided vital support to over the years. Evidently, by simply visiting the event, which is a hub of the worldwide birding community, you are helping to save species from extinction.
While July has become a month for birders to come together at Birdfair, it is also a month to keep an eye out for one extremely rare falcon from Asia. With only two previous records in Britain, Amur Falcon would be a fantastic prize for any birder’s efforts. You’ll feel confident at picking one out after reading Andy Stoddart’s ID field notes this month.
Local birding is a theme of the July issue. Ahead of the release of his new book The Complete Guide to Patch Birding, Ed Stubbs looks back at his ‘unintentional’ year of birding almost exclusively at one favourite local birding site: Thursley Common. During this record-breaking exercise, Ed reflected on the benefits of sticking to one birding hot-spot, as opposed to switching between multiple local sites. Peter Alfrey also shares his experiences of patch birding, having moved away from his landlocked local patch to pastures new on the south coast. However, the bird-finding prospects weren’t the upgrade he expected them to be …
In the latest in our series on county listers, veteran Shetland birder Dennis Coutts shares his highlights from more than 80 years of birding the archipelago. With several mega finds and some bizarre experiences under his belt, he has plenty of stories to tell.
There are also some incredible tales from the Calf of Man in Eleanor Grover’s feature profiling the Isle of Man’s only bird observatory. This uniquely placed migration hot-spot has drawn in vagrants from all directions, while the wardens are always keen to make use of innovative recording methods.