Cracking birding days like today make me miss my grandad John intensely. He passed away in March and him & my grandma Pat are the reason I love birds and nature. John was a long term BTO volunteer so I'm doing my surveys for him. He taught me so much and I'll be forever grateful

Days like today make me very happy with my move to Belfast. I bumped into a white-tailed eagle on the Antrim Plateau & watched it for ages being mobbed by all sorts incl a peregrine & a pair of hen harriers! With crossbill, cuckoo & red squirrel in the forest behind me. Buzzing!

The Canadian pale-bellied brent geese have been another highlight of moving to NI. c30,000 birds winter on Strangford Lough, which is 75% of the breeding population! I'm still astounded by this fact and feel very lucky that I can see these high Arctic breeders 30mins from Belfast

Starting to feel settled in Belfast & have been enjoying adventures in my new home on the island of Ireland. A lizard in the Wicklow Mountains, a Waxwing pair feeding each other berries in Bangor, & lots of frogs whilst helping to prep the ringing site have been recent highlights

Winter trees make my heart happy 😍 For me, they turn a winter walk into a treasure hunt - there’s so much colour around if we look closely. I just *love* how they’re all exactly the same yet completely different at the same time, how head-pleasing is that?! 🤌

A wonderful morning practising wader ID at Dundrum Bay on Saturday with NewryMourneDown Biodiversity Team, thanks to everyone who came along.

Got to grips with our godwits and picked out two grey plovers. Hundreds of Canadian pale-bellied brent geese also a highlight!

#RippleNI

For #COP27 #biodiversity day, our #RippleNI Project Officer Sorrel joined Keep NI Beautiful for a beach clean and wildlife walk yesterday on NI's impressive north coast. They recorded 16 bird species using the new BirdTrack app, with highlights of Sanderling and Purple Sandpiper!

Meet Sorrel Lyall, Project Officer of Ripple NI - a pilot community-based nature engagement project. Read Sorrel’s blog to find out more about her career so far and her goals for the Ripple NI project 👉 bit.ly/3sOy9qx

#ConservationCareers #MyBTO #BTOYouth #RippleNI

The Northern Ireland Birdwatchers' Conference is now open for booking! Join us on Saturday 5th November, 09:00 to 17:00, at the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre near Lurgan for a day of talks, birdwatching, and socialising.

See the programme and book here:
bit.ly/3fVSRRP

We're really looking forward to running more face-to-face training this autumn, kicking off with visiting some wonderful wetlands in D&G on Saturday 8th October.
More details here: bto.org/community/even…
Please RT and spread the word!

Our Ripple Project Officer Sorrel Lyall will be there on Saturday to spot the birds in Magheralin Old Graveyard. BTO volunteers and supporters are very welcome to come along and get involved with this BioBlitz! Join us from 3pm, sign up via the tweet below! 👇

Made the move to Northern Ireland yesterday with a car jam packed full of stuff. Was welcomed by a pretty sizeable pod of common dolphins from the ferry, I reckon at least 50!

My phone binned video of the dolphins is crap so here’s Aisla Craig as I said goodbye to Scotland!

I’m very excited to have started working for BTO on a new project to engage people in nature across Northern Ireland. More soon! Sooty shearwater and storm petrels from the ferry to Belfast this weekend

I’ve been pretty quiet on here for the past year to focus on uni and other things, but yesterday I graduated with a first in BSc Biological Sciences Ecology from the University of Edinburgh. It’s been a stressful but fun four years and I’m definitely going to miss Edinburgh!

What does it take to be out in nature alone as a woman? In awe of all who adventure, inc those @LucyLapwing and I spoke to whilst making Clipped Wings for BBC Radio 4 - Mon 8pm + Wed 11am - bbc.in/3LZDzG4 - lee craigie Alison Ogden Sorrel Lyall and Blast Running's Cat Bruce

Happy Pride Month!

Pride is a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and recommit to making nature welcoming to all who fight to protect it. It takes a great team to save nature - Let's build a movement of nature lovers where everyone is welcome, and everyone feels safe.

1. Happy Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 Today we are announcing our updated Inclusivity Statement! This is part of our ongoing commitment to remove barriers faced by people from under-represented groups in ornithology and birdwatching.
Read the Statement 👉 bto.org/about-bto/bto-…

We’re pretty chuffed to have been given a special commendation at the inaugural Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival today for a short film we made with Sorrel Lyall about #diversity in birding. All credit to Stephen Magee and Sorrel for getting this v important message out there!

An exciting day out!

Thanks to everyone who came to our 2nd biodiversity workshop! We’ve now made & given away 74 nestboxes to families, students, members of the public & park rangers + 22 more boxes to LRG. We've given out 97 seed packets - that’ll make 400m2 (1.5 tennis courts) of meadow!