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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A few misty autumnal mornings this week producing a fantastic temperature inversion across the Adur valley & the Weald from Steyning Roundhill early on. Numbers of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, House Martins & Swallows still passing through, & a couple of Wheatears too. #UKBirding #SouthDowns #Autumn

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Several years ago we planted several native trees & shrubs in our garden. It is so rewarding just now to have a near constant trickle of Chiffchaffs foraging in said trees, fuelling up on tiny insects (pics 2 & 3) as they migrate to Iberia & North Africa one bush at a time. Incredible... #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Possibly my last Whinchats of the year as they pass through on their long migration south. Monarch's Way, near Cissbury Ring, West Sussex. #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For me an Arctic Skua in full on pursuit mode is one of the most exciting sights in birding - such breathtaking effortless agility at speed - they are often very persistent in quite prolonged chases, though by no means always successful. Off Dungeness last week. #seabirds #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I've become more & more obsessed with seabirds in recent years, with all the Skua species amongst my favourites. So it was terrific to see numbers of Arctic Skuas patrolling the tern flocks off Dungeness last week, a few light phase birds but most were dark phase ads & juvs. #UKBirding #Seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Many delightful juv/imm & adult Common Terns amongst the numbers of Sandwich Terns, with a few Arctics & Black Terns & a couple of Little Terns passing Dungeness in my several sessions seawatching there last week. #UKBirding #Seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Many Sandwich Terns of various ages, & in different plumages migrating along the coast at Dungeness last week. Always a bittersweet moment as summer migrants depart until next spring... #UKBirding #Seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

2 rather relaxed & confiding young Foxes around Dungeness Power Station perimeter fence during our short break last week. #Foxes #Wildlife #Kent

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Immature & adult Little Gulls at the ARC pit, Dungeness last week. #KentBirding #Seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Juv. Pallid Harrier a couple of miles from home north of Cissbury Ring this morning. Gloomy, damp conditions & never particularly close so heavily cropped pics. Terrific bird, such languid effortless flight low over the downland. Many thanks to the finder. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The marvellous Red-necked Phalarope at West Rise Marsh was constantly on the move into the wind across the lake searching for & often finding tiny food items during the couple of hours I spent watching it, occasionally it would hit the jackpot with a larger item. #UKBirding #waders

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Juv. Red-necked Phalarope at West Rise Marsh, Eastbourne in the week. Delightful, fragile looking little bird, that belies it's toughness as it will spend the winter out at sea far away from Europe. #UKBirding #waders

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

One of my most eagerly anticipated autumn migrants, this Whinchat was the most co-operative of 3 seen at Cissbury Ring this morning. Another trans-Saharan migrant - just incredible the journeys these small birds make... #UKBirding #birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It's brilliant to be able to see (& hear) Ravens regularly locally these days. I always think they add a bit of an "edge" to the South Downs landscape, but I seldom get to see one as close as this one that joined me as I sat for a while on Steyning Roundhill this morning. Awesome birds... #Birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Spring or autumn, I love seeing Wheatears & always feel the need to photograph them. I must have so many Wheatear pics! So, here are yet more of 3 seen on Steyning Roundhill this morning...probably one of my favourite birds. Incredible that these small birds will soon be south of the Sahara! #Birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A nice bonus to the marsh terns at Dungeness were 4 Little Stints (pic of 3 of them) right in front of Firth on Burrowes Pit at Dungeness RSPB last week + Marsh Harrier in front of the iconic water tower. #UKBirding #KentBirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Although the rarer White-winged Tern was the star of the show at Dungeness RSPB in the week, the accompanying juv. Black Terns were good value, feeding continuously back & forth into the brisk breeze over Burrowes Pit...really enjoyable couple of hours... #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Some exceptional views of the juv. White-winged Black Tern at Dungeness this week. In constant motion feeding over the water & occasionally interacting with the 2 (or possibly 3) Black Terns & numbers of Common Terns present on Burrowes Pit at Dungeness RSPB. #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I always enjoy seeing Marsh Terns, so a trip to Dungeness in the week to spend some time watching a White-winged & accompanying Black Terns on Burrowes Pit was well worth the effort - nice to be able to compare & contrast them as they fed over the water in the strong breeze. #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Our first very welcome persistent rain for 2 months this morning, 4 hours of it! Glorious petrichor! Cissbury Ring; Redstart 2, Blackcaps 30+, Lesser Whitethroat 3, Whitethroat 6, Reed Warbler, Willow Warblers, Wheatear & my first 3 Spotted Flycatchers of the year. #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Looking at some more of my Hummingbird Hawk Moth photos from the other day...I hadn't realised quite how furry their bodies are...I especially like that 1960's style long fringe over the eyes! #naturephotography

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

With so many Hummingbird Hawk Moths in the UK this summer, I spent some time closely watching one repeatedly visiting Verbena Bonariensis in our garden. Their positioning of their long proboscis accurately into the flowers every time is very impressive. Almost bat-like profile in last 2 pics?

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Pretty sure I've seen this same pair of beautifully glossy Choughs in the same area in West Penwith on my visits over the last few years in late summer (from their leg ring bling). Always together, but never with any juvs. Tough foraging in this parched landscape... @cornishchoughs.bsky.social

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Common Sandpiper - awake, asleep, awake. 1 of 8 seen at Drift Reservoir last week (also more distantly 5 Green & 2 Wood Sandpipers). #UKBirding #waders

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Manx Shearwaters, Pendeen Watch, West Cornwall last week. In late summer with the right wind conditions many thousands can fly past at reasonably close range. Throw in some of the rarer shearwaters & Storm Petrels etc & it surely is one of UK's great birding spectacles. #seabirds #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I was very lucky to happen on this group of 8 Stone Curlews in a very shimmery stubble field on the edge of Salisbury Plain last week, even heard them calling once or twice...softened the blow of missing the one that turned up <2 miles from home in Sussex on the same day! #ukbirding

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Reposted by Colin Holter

Jeremy Bartlett @jeremybartlett.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I’m helping save Coul Links. Will you? Coul Links is a beautiful and unique wildlife habitat in the Scottish Highlands. But it is threatened once again with development. Join me in urging Scottish Ministers to say no to this damaging application. action.rspb.org.uk/page/166270/...

action.rspb.org.uk

Save Coul Links!

Your voice could help save this precious habitat from a new threat of development.

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

One of the upsides of the current "heatwave" is the number of utterly charming Gatekeepers in the garden this summer, they are especially attracted to Marjoram flowers. Great news that they seem to be particularly abundant this year...one of my favourite butterflies. @savebutterflies.bsky.social

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Common Terns, Rye Harbour, East Sussex. Smaller & more agile than the nearby Sandwich Terns, & perhaps a bit more belligerent, but scarcely any less voluble than their larger cousins. Time well spent watching their comings & goings... #ukbirding #seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Sandwich Terns, Rye Harbour, East Sussex recently. Always something going on in the colony - gloriously garrulous birds capable of creating a truly marvellous racket. #ukbirding #seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Absolute pleasure to see this superb adult Caspian Tern at Dungeness RSPB on Friday morning. Impressive bird though always distant, but great scope views. Absolutely dwarfed a Common Tern + other species nearby showing just how big it was - the largest tern species in the world. #UKBirding #seabirds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Common Tern chick (at Rye Hbr) anticipating a meal, & with watchful parents as it takes a precocious dip (which didn't last long before it scuttled back onto the island with the parents looking far less concerned once it was back on dry land). @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #UKBirding #Birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

More of the Common Terns at Rye Hbr last week, food carrying & often involved in altercations with their neighbouring terns & gulls & just occasionally having a placid moment on a post...marvellous sights & sounds... @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #BirdingUK #Birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Some more Sandwich Terns from Rye Hbr last week. I love the animation of the feathers that photography shows, something you can never appreciate with the naked eye - like the ruffling of the trailing edge of the primaries when slowing down to land in pic 3. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

The Common Terns from the Denny Hide at Rye Hbr seemed to be bringing in a greater variety of prey than the Sandwich Terns; sand eels, sprats, also I think possibly prawns & maybe baby squid or cuttlefish? Constant & very entertaining activity in the colony. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

The Sandwich terns at Rye Hbr are nesting on the island just in front of the Parkes hide this year giving wonderful close range views. Fascinating to watch the comings & goings (& squabbles) in the colony. They seemed to be finding plentiful sandeels & sprats. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #UKbirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Little Egrets are now commonplace over much of the country, but I enjoyed watching this one successfully fishing in front of one of the hides at Rye Hbr last week. I think sometimes it's all too easy to disregard the species you see often. Good to stop & look... @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #Birds

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

What a conservation success story Avocets have been. Good to see many pairs with young at Pagham Harbour this year, & more last week at Rye Harbour. Such elegant birds, but noisy & feisty when they need to be. #UKBirding #Birds #Sussex

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Birding doldrums? Now is prime time to spend a bit of time at a tern colony on the coast - lots of activity as parents are very busy feeding young. Such a delight to watch these Little Terns at Pagham Harbour recently, where they seem to doing quite well.🤞 @sussexornitholo.bsky.social #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

This Garden Warbler with an impressive beakful of insects was chacking constantly & only dived into a nearby hawthorn (where it clearly had a nest) when a loitering Jay flew off, clearly a very careful parent... Southern Block, Knepp last week. @sussexornitholo.bsky.social #UKBirding

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

We had one evening of very clear distant visibility on North Uist, which gave us our best ever views of the remote St.Kilda archipelago some 40 miles out into the Atlantic (for most of our week St.Kilda was invisible - cocooned in Atlantic weather systems). #Scotland #Hebrides #StKilda

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

We saw many Great-Northern Divers around Skye & the Uists coastlines in May, it's always such a treat to get good views of them in their splendid breeding plumage. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Nearing the end editing my photos from the Uists last month... Raptors are never far away on the islands, we saw both eagles, though Hen Harriers seemed fewer than our previous visits, but good numbers of Short-eared Owls incl. these 2 on Benbecula, such mesmerising buoyant flight. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

A few more of the beautiful Arctic Terns on North Uist, May 2026. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Always great to see white-winged gulls - we saw both Iceland & Glaucous Gulls on our recent trip to the Uists, both 2nd cy birds I think. The Iceland was at Ardivachar, & this absolute bruiser of a Glaucous was on the rocks off Balranald beach one evening. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Eiders are a commonplace around the Hebrides, but I think they are iconic birds of northern coastlines, often providing a gentle crooning soundscape to many a coastal walk, or equally at home offshore in rough seas during a seawatch. I always enjoy my encounters with them. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

The Uists host important populations of breeding waders on coastline, moorland & machair. Ringed Plover & Redshank amongst them. We were pleased to see so many on our trip last month. #BirdingScotland

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Colin Holter @bostalbirder.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

The insects & invertebrates in decomposing seaweed on the hebridean beaches are the attraction for the waders, a food bonanza to fuel migration. These 2 breeding plumaged Knot happily fed as I sat nearby - likewise this Whimbrel, whose calls always evoke spring migration to me. #BirdingScotland

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