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RSPB Science @rspbscience.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Reposted by Matt Livesey

Good news: #NaturalEngland have offered RSPB funding through the #SpeciesRecovery Programme Working in partnership, this funding will allow the RSPB to take action for 25 threatened species in England - from Turtle Dove & House Martin to Lesser Spotted Woodpecker & Shrill Carder Bee #wildagain

Caption: One of the 25 threatened species set to benefit from this new funding - Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Alt text: Small woodpecker with a red crown and black-and-white wings clinging to a pale tree trunk, against a soft green forest background.

Credit: RSPB / Ben Andrew

Caption: One of the 25 threatened species set to benefit from this new funding - Turtle Dove

Alt text: A small dove with mottled chestnut and black wings, a black and white neck pattern and an orange eye, against an out-of-focus green background.

Credit: RSPB / Ben Andrew

One of the 25 threatened species set to benefit from this new funding - House Martin

Alt text: Four House Martin clustered on muddy ground, showing glossy blue-black heads and wings and bright white bellies, with a soft beige foreground and greenish background.

Credit: RSPB / Ben Andrew

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I’ll be keeping an eye out 🤞🏻

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Pleased to say that all 5 young successfully fledged from the nest through late afternoon and early evening today. And all wearing legs rings having been rung by approved BTO ringers @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust @sbbtrust.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT) challenges the conclusions of a recent review by Ingate calling for radical new strategies in managing the British Swallowtail (Papilio machaon britannicus). www.sbbt.org.uk/latest-news/...

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Early days but you may have found a successful way to create and maintain "ark populations", which until now looked impossible to do despite lots of discussions across conservation bodies. The issue of course is how labour intensive it is to find nests, & what % need protecting to stabilise numbers

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So far so good - chicks hatched a week ago and so far all five still being fed @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

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Yes but it doesn't stop eviction by blue tits unfortunately

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Alexander Lees @alexanderlees.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Unfortunately not because willow tits often prefer to excavate their own cavities, and even if they use the nest boxes blue tits can just boot them out

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Nest protection an emergency room conservation intervention that is unlikely to be scalable to reverse declines, but may prevent local extinction and thus warranted. Ultimately we need to stop giving generalists like Great-spotted Woodpeckers a leg up by feeding them #Ornithology

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Wild Horizons @wildhorizons.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

The last Willow Tit nest of the season now fledged, successfully protected from Great Spotted Woodpecker predation. No GSW predation in protected nests this year, in stark contrast to 100% predation rate by GSW in unprotected nests. Very promising results.

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I've spent quite a few evenings at one of Hertfordshire's most infamous birding attractions this spring and summer - Ashwell dungheaps. Watching and photographing Yellow Wagtails from the car with nothing but the wind and birdsong is the perfect soundtrack to end the day with #hertsbirds

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

It's very hard to get people to stop doing something they enjoy (unless there is a negative effect on them). That's the crux of it, and facts won't change a lot of people's minds if it doesn't suit their world view. This will probably be a slow burn as th3 message slowly percolates and spreads.

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I had heard that gardens act as a sink for them - in that they get pulled in but have lower breeding success than wider countryside? Although our driveway probably on borderline between both

Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Spotted Flycatchers confirmed as nesting on our driveway in Weston Colville. 1 egg laid as of yesterday morning with birds around again today - will monitor for @btobirds.bsky.social Nest Record Scheme @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Dogs have a far larger impact on birds in UK than cats - they don't need to actually kill birds to damage populations. Disturbance threat alone renders whole beaches and other sites unviable for breeding. Not seen evidence of cats having population level impact on any bird species here so far

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Wild Horizons @wildhorizons.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

The last few days in the nest are a dangerous time for Willow Tit nestlings, their constant loud begging calls giving away their location. On this occasion they attracted the attention of a Tawny Owl, which tried its luck as one of the nestlings was calling from the entrance. This was a close call!

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Pair of Spotted Flycatcher around Weston Colville for at least the 5th year in a row. Slightly further from my house this year, so can't watch them through the window like last year! @cambsbirdclub.bsky.social

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Rufus D @rufusdawson.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Deep within a Gloucestershire valley is a hidden world. The wider countryside is covered by mixed-age beech woodland in a complex mosaic of forest, commons and farmland. But in this quiet corner, a strikingly different blend of habitats can be found - and with it a mix of unusual species. (1/10)

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

These look very good Tom! Look forward to seeing what our entomologist makes of them

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Nick Acheson @themarshtit.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Great good sense - and careful diplomacy - from @tonyjuniper.bsky.social on R4 Today just now: the evidence is that white storks were simply never a breeding bird in the UK, so they’re not a conservation priority.

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

BirdGuides @birdguides.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Natural England has revealed that it does not believe White Storks to be native to Britain – and it views releases of the species as not a conservation priority:

bit.ly

White Storks 'not native' and releases 'not a priority', says Natural England

The government's nature agency said growing interest in rewilding projects involving storks had raised

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

UK Great Spotted Woodpeckers & Blue Tits destroy half of all Willow Tit nests, far higher than elsewhere, far higher losses than other tits. UK has among highest GSW & Blue Tit abundance in the World, as we've created a paradise of endless free food, safe nestboxes, and few nest predators (martens).

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Edward Pollard @epollard.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

One to watch. One theory I have heard as to why the species is declining in parts of its range is warming winters. Not something that Knepp can manage @chrisvanswaay.eurosky.social www.birdguides.com/news/black-v...

birdguides.com

Black-veined White set for return to Britain at Knepp

A landmark reintroduction project at Knepp Estate in Sussex is aiming to restore Black-veined White to Britain for the first time in more than 100 years.

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Is that a 66% national decline in one year? Very bleak.

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Species go up and down annually, but a two-thirds (66%) decline of a resident bird in a single year is sign of accelerating terminal decline - that's not a slump that the single-brooded, low-density, low dispersal Willow Tit is going to bounce back from. Bad years get worse, better years are rare.

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Wild Horizons @wildhorizons.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Blue Tits are a problem for Willow Tits, often taking over WT nest cavities by aggressive eviction. With 6 WT eggs inside, these BTs spent an entire day removing nesting material! The second day was full on warfare, ending in successful WTs. Now a full clutch of 8 eggs safely under incubation. Phew!

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

No worries - please don’t hold Dearne valley up as an unmitigated success though. It has now turned out to be patient zero in why the North is not the refuge for willow tits we thought it was!

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

What about Dearne Valley? Famously now absent of Willow tit, but designated for them

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Nice news from Kent, but coppicing trends & deer don't seem to explain Nightingale declines nationally. Coppicing hasn't been common for almost a century, and they're disappearing from sites where habitat unchanged or improved (Paxton,Bradfield), esp north & west. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Sounds of hope in Kent as more nightingales join dawn chorus

Elusive nightingale ‘doing well’ at Northward Hill, Kent, but experts cite concerns around loss of habitat

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Similar in a large meadow full of them I regularly visit in Herts with a count of 9000+. The white ones are always in the same areas

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Reposted by Matt Livesey

Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Very telling from the birdfood industry. Despite new RSPB/BTO advice on birdfeeding based on a solid scientific review, and RSPB taking a ££ hit themselves, EVERY major birdfood company is attacking/rejecting the guidance, claiming to know better, putting their incomes over conservation. Shameful.

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Used to see them in Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage all the time!

True but we have 15-20 years more data since then. Which, combined with some albeit anecdotal evidence , offers faint hope it may be holding up better. The next round of projects will likely be the last chance, so important they actually ask right questions & not carry out more failed hypotheses!

Durham may be the last hope for the species in England, although we have no population trend or demographic data to interrogate that (yet). Previous studies have been on “stable” populations that then collapsed. Why no “mainstream” conservation organisation has bothered to look at Durham is baffling

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For Great tits and Blue tits combine studies across England range from 0-67%. For GSW predation (which often happens after usurpation) it’s then 17-28%. Not many studies have looked at the first bit as it involves following paired birds. And none of the studies have been in the North East 1/2

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Highlight of last night's first moth trap of the year was this pristine Chocolate-tip. The first I've ever had to the garden here in South Cambs. Also Brindled Beauty x 2, Streamer, Common Quaker, Nut Tree Tussock and Early Grey.

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Matt Livesey @mlivesey.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Yes at the moment, the best thing we can do for the species as a whole is demonstrate and document the scale of the problem, then broadcast across the sector. Once that is done, solution trialling on how to stop it can start with hopefully a lot of weight behind it

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yes hopefully it survives, but a silver lining if not is that it will go towards the greater good 😂