Birdwatch Magazine August 2021 Back Issue

IN THIS ISSUE

■ Focus on falcons: Peregrine is the default large falcon in the UK, while Eurasian Hobby is a much anticipated summer visitor. Eleonora’s Falcon is a mega species that would put a smile on any rarity-finder’s face. Fast flying & similar looking, it can be challenging to separate these species. Our advice will help you recognise all three.
■ Big dippers: every twitcher has one - that heart-breaking, hilarious or downright frustrating tale of ‘the one that got away’. From boats and planes chartered to remote islands, only to find the target bird did an overnight bunk, join Ian Lycett as he takes a trip through some of the more outlandish stories of the biggest dips.
■ Unprecedented arrivals: the famous 1968 irruption of Nutcrackers saw more than 200 reports of this species in the UK. But what drives these mass movements & why do some species seem particularly prone to them? We delve into the reasons & history of such unique migrations.
■ Time to bury the hatchet: conservationists & gamekeepers are often characterised as being in conflict. But don’t we want similar things, and couldn’t we achieve more by working together? Jake Fiennes of Norfolk’s Holkham Estate argues that it’s time to make peace.

August’s digital edition has lots of exciting bonus content, including:
• Video of this year’s amazing Rosy Starling invasion;
• An introduction to the World Land Trust’s Wildfires Appeal;
• An image gallery of the RSPB’s newly updated Harrier ED spotting scopes;
• Footage of Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Hobby & Eleonora’s Falcon in flight;
• Sound recordings of Dunlin & Little Stint calling;
• More videos of a Snowy Owl in New York’s Central Park; the European Roller in Suffolk; a Yellow Warbler at Portland & a Long-billed Murrelet at Dawlish Warren;
• Film of rarities & scarcities from Britain, Ireland & the wider Western Palearctic.