Birdwatch Magazine

25 September, 2025

For birders, October is all about migration – and arguably no species epitomises this month in Britain than Red-flanked Bluetail. Don’t miss David Campbell’s story of this species’ extraordinary increase in the latest issue of Birdwatch! Ian Lycett started making regular autumn trips to Scilly 40 years ago. From ‘Yanks’ to ‘Sibes’ to seabirds, each visit has produced amazing birds and a host of great memories. An autumn day on the east coast can be heaving with birds or as dead as a doornail. Yorkshire birding stalwart Craig Thomas offers advice on how to read the weather and predict a fall. The way in which we digest bird news has changed beyond all recognition over the past half-century. From postcards to grapevines and pagers to apps, Josh Jones looks back through the ages Situated off the south-west coast of Wales, the small island of Skokholm was chosen as the location for Britain’s first bird observatory back in the 1930s. Today the island continues to be a fantastic place for migrants, seabirds and much more, as warden Richard Brown explains. A scarce autumn migrant to Britain, the skulking Barred Warbler is a realistic prospect for any bird-finder in the Northern Isles and along the east coast – and it is possible elsewhere, even inland. Ed Stubbs discusses the species’ habits and features and compares it with the similar and more familiar Garden Warbler. Once feared lost from Cornwall forever, Chough has returned to the county in force in recent years, as Hilary Mitchell of Cornwall Birds explains. Also in this issue, Mike Alibone gets his hands on the new Pro-Series tripods from ZEISS. There’s also advice on what shutter speed to use for bird photography, October patch memories and birding in the Azores, while our columnists discuss bird films and the right to roam