Birdwatch UK October 2017

http://www.birdguides.com/birdwatch Birdwatch•October 2017 5

REGULARS

6 The big picture

An amazing influx of huge

numbers of Great

Shearwaters at Long Point

beach on Massachusetts’

Cape Cod.

8 The big stories

Stormy weather delivered

a selection of North

American rarities to

British and Irish shores

this month.

12 Analysis: rarities

Seabirds dominated the

headlines, but England’s

first American Yellow

Warbler would have been

popular had it lingered.

16 Analysis: scarcities

The usual scarce

migrants were in short

supply, but large numbers

Where

to watch

birds

to watch

birds

Head to

the

Cornish valleys

of Nanquidno,

Cot and Kenidjack

for the possibility of

rare and scarce birds, and

maybe even a vagrant, this

autumn. Blyth’s Reed

Warbler is this month’s

target bird.

23

BLYTH’S REED WARBLER BY STEVE YOUNG (WWW.BIRDSONFILM.COM)

Find out why balloon

releases can be bad

news for birds and other

wildlife in our Q&A pages,

and learn about birds’

wingspans and why they’re

important.

65

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE BY NEIL BOWMAN

YELLOW WARBLER (PORTLAND, DORSET, AUGUST 2017) BY TIM WHITE

THIS ISSUE OCTOBER 2017

12

Hawke’s Nature -Trek

spotting scopes

have been redesigned – find

out if Mike Alibone was

impressed by the changes.

Plus: the latest release from

The Sound Approach, this

month’s photo challenge

and a new book on owls.

56

of seabirds kept birders

happy.

20 Western Palearctic

In a quiet month for the

region, the major birds

were long-stayers.

31 The political birder:

Mark Avery

Environment Secretary

Michael Gove gave a

speech to encourage

conservationists – but

did he mean it?

53 Murmurations: Lucy

McRobert

Whale-watching tours can

be good for profit, people

and cetaceans, if they’re

done right.

77 Your letters and

photos

One reader argues

against the necessity of

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the Ruddy Duck cull,

describing it as a stain

on conservation.

78 News of the wild:

Bill Oddie

What are Britain’s least-

loved bird species? Bill

has been compiling a list.

READER SERVICES

61 Bookshop

Get Shorebirds in Action,

our Book of the Month,

and many more titles at

specially discounted

prices.

73 Subscriptions

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up to Birdwatch today and

save 20 per cent on the

cover price, while getting

every issue delivered

direct to your door!

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